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Laurel shivered against the biting night wind, wishing she had listened to Dinah when she told her to grab a jacket before they left. It was too late now though, Dinah was walking right beside her and if she had nothing else, she had her pride. If only Dinah didn’t know her as well as she did, maybe then she would’ve gotten away with it.
“Let me guess, you’re cold,” Dinah grinned cheekily at her, clearly waiting for her to admit defeat.
“Of course not. I- I’m fine,” Laurel stuttered, trying and failing miserably at pretending to be perfectly warm.
Dinah raised an eyebrow at her, before staring pointedly at her hands. “Then care to explain why your hands are shaking?”
Laurel paused for a moment, trying to think of an excuse. When none came to mind, she looked back at Dinah, only to find the smug grin back on her face.
She sighed, finally accepting defeat. “Okay fine, I’m cold,” she muttered, closing her hands into fists to stop them from shaking.
“I’m sorry, what was that you just said?” Dinah asked, eyes sparkling with amusement.
Laurel glared, watching as her grin widened. “I’m cold. Is that what you wanted to hear?”
“Indeed it was. Glad to see you’ve moved past your need to be the most stubborn woman on Earth,” Dinah chuckled, shrugging off her jacket.
“I thought that was your job,” Laurel retorted, before noticing a jacket being held towards her in Dinah’s outstretched hand.
“Wait, what’re you doing? No- No, stop. Either way this ends in one of us freezing their ass off. Better me than you, I mean, I’m the one that forgot to bring a jacket.”
Dinah sighed exasperatedly, continuing to stick out her hand. “C’mon Laurel, just take the jacket. I’ll have you know I don’t get cold easily. Besides, I don’t want to think about what it’ll be like to have a sick Laurel in my care.”
Laurel glanced at the hand holding the jacket, trying her best to school her features so that Dinah wouldn’t know just how desperate she was for some warmth, before sticking her tongue out and grabbing it from her hands.
As she slipped the jacket on, Laurel couldn’t help but notice the faint, woody scent that seemed to wash over her, enveloping her like one of Dinah’s warm hugs. She inhaled deeply, a small smile blooming on her face as she followed Dinah down the sidewalk towards their apartment.
God, this woman was gonna be the death of her. Every single time she thinks she’s managed to squash the tide that is her feelings, Dinah goes and does something as small as giving her a jacket, and like the moon to her ocean, she pulls her tide back up once again.
Dinah reaches for Laurel’s hand, pulling her to walk faster so they can get inside and heat up as soon as possible. Despite the fact that she said she would be fine, it is difficult to walk around in a t-shirt during the winter, and hypothermia is an option best avoided.
“I knew it! Now you’re the one who’s cold. 'Don’t get cold easily’ my ass.”
“Doesn’t matter anyway cause we’re here,” Dinah said, pushing the door to her bar open and stepping inside. They both sigh in relief, glad to be away from the cold, winter air.
“Alright, I’m gonna head upstairs and take a shower. Feel free to grab a drink if you want. Oh, and when you come up just hang my jacket in the closet,” Dinah said, turning towards the elevator.
Laurel took her up on that offer, and went to grab a beer from behind the bar. As she moved to sit down on the stool, the jacket knocked against the edge of the bar, making an odd, quiet thunking noise. Laurel looked down in confusion, before reaching into the pocket and feeling a small rectangular object inside. Closing her fingers around the object, she lifted her hand out of the pocket and turned it around.
It took Laurel a second to figure out what she was looking at, not at all expecting to see what was in her hand. An iPod. A freaking iPod. And not even a new model, seeing as it had buttons rather than a touch screen.
Laurel snorted, turning the object around in her hands. Of course Dinah Drake of all people would be the only person in all of 2040 to own one of these ancient things.
She stared at the iPod curiously, wondering what kind of songs Dinah would have in her playlists. Most likely old classics, like the ones she loved performing for her bar patrons. Before Laurel could convince herself not to peek, she quickly pressed the home button and watched as the screen brightened.
The playlists at the top were typical enough, sad songs, bar playlist, working out, etc. But as she scrolled down, something completely unexpected caught her eye. Right there, in the center of the screen, was a playlist titled laurel. If she wasn’t intrigued before, she definitely was now.
Why would Dinah have a playlist named after her? Surely she was seeing things. But no, after blinking a few times to make sure she wasn’t going insane, her name was still right there in the middle of the screen.
Laurel clicked on the playlist, wondering what Dinah could possibly associate her with. Her first thought was that if anything, it had to be rock or metal, as that had always been Laurel’s personal taste in music. She still didn’t understand why Dinah would make a playlist based on her own favorites though, seeing as she had always made it clear that she hated Laurel’s music, and complained every time Laurel blasted it on her speakers.
But no, the songs she saw in the playlist were nothing of the sort. In fact, at the very top of the playlist was the song that Dinah had been performing when Laurel had first stepped into her bar. “Sunny.”
She could still remember that moment as clear as day, could still recall the surprise and relief all wrapped up in one at seeing Dinah alive, well, and singing. She didn’t realize that that moment had also made such a lasting impression on Dinah as well.
Laurel chuckled to herself. She supposed it made sense that if not rock and metal, this would be a song to associate her with. Grabbing the earbuds attached to the iPod, Laurel pressed play on the playlist. She’d never listened to the original song before, so now was as good of a time as any. While the song began to play, Laurel continued to scroll through the playlist, taking note of all the titles.
As she scrolled, however, her confusion returned. While she didn’t recognize most of the songs (old classics weren’t really her thing), a lot of the titles seemed to have to do with, well, love. Which didn’t make any sense, because why would Dinah have a playlist full of love songs titled after her? Why would-
sunny one so true, I love you.
Wait- I love you? She specifically remembers Dinah singing the words “I’m in love with you,” and there’s no way she’s wrong about that. Every detail of that day is still etched into her brain. Sure, the meaning isn’t too different, but why would Dinah change the lyrics for no reason?
Laurel thinks she knows what this means, but she’s been disappointed far too many times in her life, and she can’t afford to have this kind of hope, especially not with Dinah.
Dinah.
Dinah, whose smiles are so blinding that Laurel feels dizzy looking at her. Dinah, who lets her live in her apartment even after everything she did to her. Dinah, who never expects her to be like the other Laurel, just wants her to be herself. Dinah, who-
"Ahem."
Laurel starts, looking up from the iPod and quickly reaching to yank the earbuds out of her ears. She didn’t even notice Dinah come back down. She doesn’t say anything for a moment, staring at the damp curls that frame Dinah’s face and the oversized band t-shirt that she shouldn’t look hot in but still does. “I- uh… I was just curious about the music you listened to. Didn’t think you’d uh, have a playlist named after me. Unless it’s not about me, in which case disregard everything I just said.”
Dinah almost looks nervous for a second, as if she’s debating what to say, but she schools her features so quickly Laurel almost thinks she imagined it. Instead the expression she now sees on Dinah’s face is one of… determination?
“No, you’re right. You’re the only Laurel I know so... yeah it’s about you.” Dinah says, staring directly into Laurel’s eyes.
“Oh.” Laurel looks back down at the iPod, trying to think of how to respond to that. She doesn’t know if she can handle getting an explanation for the love songs.
“Is that all you’re gonna say? No snarky comment? You always have one of those.” Dinah says, chuckling softly.
“Well, no. I mean- actually, I have a question.”
“Shoot.”
Laurel looks back up at Dinah, faltering for a second at the intensity she finds in those bright green eyes. “This might be a stupid question, but that day when I came to find you here, in 2040, you were singing that song, ‘Sunny.’ I distinctly remember you using the lyrics ‘I’m in love with you,’ but I just listened to the original song now- you know, since it’s at the top of the playlist -and the real lyrics are just ‘I love you.’ So… that a stylistic choice or…?”
She watches as Dinah pauses and looks down at her hands. Picking at her nails, she asks, “Did you see all the other songs on the playlist?”
“Some of them, yeah. I scrolled through a bit. Why?”
Dinah lets out a small breath, smiling nervously. She moves closer, taking both of Laurel’s hands in hers, and Laurel feels like she’s losing all ability to breathe. “If that’s the case, then I think you know why I changed the lyrics.”
It takes Laurel a full minute to comprehend what Dinah is implying, and it isn’t until Dinah releases her grasp on her hands that Laurel thinks to actually say something.
“Sorry, I- I shouldn’t have said anything. Just forget about it, okay? I’ll delete the playlist, just-”
“Wait no! No, that’s not- don’t delete it. I love it- I love-”
“I love you.”
Now it’s Dinah’s turn to start, her mouth a perfect “o” shape as she stares at Laurel. The emotion in her eyes is overwhelming, and Laurel suddenly starts panicking, because maybe she was wrong after all, maybe that’s not what Dinah meant-
Her thoughts are cut off by hands on her cheeks, and soft lips being placed on hers. If her feelings were a high tide before, they were a fucking tsunami now.
Laurel melts into the kiss, quickly bringing her hands to rest on Dinah’s waist, pulling her in closer. They stay like this for a few minutes, gripping onto each other like their lives depend on it.
As much as she’d like to kiss Dinah for the rest of her life, they both need air, and frankly if Laurel continues like this, she’s pretty sure her heart will beat out of her chest. She pulls away gently, smiling as Dinah chases after her for a second.
“So… is that your way of saying you like me too or…”
Dinah throws her head back and laughs, slapping Laurel lightly on the arm. “I don’t know how much clearer you wanted me to be. Although to clarify, this is my way of saying I love you too.”
Laurel grins back at her. “Well, good. Because otherwise I’d probably be on my way to find a motel right about now.”
“As if I would ever let you leave. You’re stuck with me,” Dinah says, wrapping her arm around Laurel’s waist.
“Good.” Laurel repeats, unable to stop smiling.
“Good. But now that we’ve covered that, shall we head upstairs? I’d rather kiss you in a place where people can’t stare at us through the window. And hey, maybe I’ll teach you some of those songs on the piano.”
Laurel grabs Dinah’s hand, giving it a small squeeze. “Lead the way.”