Seasons of Love
Chapter 1: New Year's
Summary: Laurel and Mick's evolving relationship as seen through the holidays.
Disclaimer: I don't own Arrow, Flash or Legends.
Laurel was fidgety. She had begrudgingly agreed to accompany her younger sister to this New Year's Eve party, and she had been right to not want to be here to begin with. Everyone in attendance was a friend or acquaintance of Sara's, and Laurel only knew a [very] small handful of them from Sara's years growing up. Of course, Sara was working the room, making sure to talk to each guy that was there to size up who she wanted to share the first kiss of the new year with. But from where Laurel stood by the door, it appears Sara had narrowed it down to 3 guys: Leonard Snart, Oliver Queen and Ray Palmer. Laurel couldn't help but shake her head as she watched her younger sister grind against Ray. Sara was clearly making him uncomfortable... at least it was clear to Laurel, Sara seemed oblivious.
"She seems to have narrowed it down, so there's no point in me throwing my hat into the ring. But I will gladly throw my hat into the ring to be given the honor of sharing your first kiss of the new year." A deep voice said in Laurel's ear.
"What makes you think that I don't already have someone that I'm planning on kissing at midnight?" Laurel asked, her eyes staying on her sister and not turning to look at her companion.
"I saw Sara literally drag your pretty ass in here. And I haven't seen you talk to a single guy, other than a brief 'hello' when Merlyn Junior walked by."
"He could be meeting me here." Laurel said defensively as she spun around to stare none other than Mick Rory down.
"Who would that be? Barry? Cisco? C'mon Laur. You know that I know you better than to believe that either of those two would be your midnight kiss." Mick said with a raised eyebrow.
"What if it's someone that you don't know. I do have friends outside of Star and Central Cities." Laurel said, her arms coming to fold across her chest.
"Do you now?" Mick asked with a smirk.
"You're an asshole Michael Rory." Laurel bit out.
"And you're a terrible liar Dinah Lance. Just admit that you don't have someone to kiss at midnight and we can move on to other topics of conversation." Mick said as he took a step closer to Laurel, effectively bursting her personal bubble.
"I really don't see how it's any of your business Mick." Laurel said, her voice breaking at how close they were now standing.
"I'm making it my business Laurel. There's no way I'm going to let you not have someone to kiss when the clock strikes midnight. Now, do you honestly have someone to kiss, or not?" Mick asked.
"Not..." Laurel said with a sigh of defeat.
"Well, it's a minute to midnight, and I think you're wrong." Mick whispered.
"LAUREL... YOU GOTTA COME OVER HERE!" Sara yelled across the room.
Laurel glanced away from Mick to where her sister was smiling wildly at her, the evidence of how drunk Sara was, well, that was in the way she was holding onto Leonard. Looking back to Mick, Laurel knew what she was going to do. She wasn't going to pass up a midnight kiss on New Year's Eve, even if that kiss was with Mick Rory. Shooting her sister an apologetic smile, Laurel refocused her gaze on Mick.
"One kiss Rory." Laurel muttered as the other party goers started the countdown.
"That's all I'm asking for Lance." Mick replied as he brushed loose strands of Laurel's hair behind her ears and leaned in.
The kiss was over before Laurel even realized it was happening. Mick had just kissed her to save her from embarrassment, and while she appreciated that, there was a huge part of her that wanted more than just a quick kiss. When Mick moved out of her personal space, Laurel's eyes snapped open. While Mick didn't move far, Laurel felt like it was the Grand Canyon that was separating them. But Mick was lingering, waiting to see what Laurel would do next. But the minutes passed by and when it looked as if she wasn't going to say or do anything, Mick started to turn away, deciding to take a beat and move on. Clearly Laurel wasn't interested. Boy, was he wrong. As soon as Mick started to turn away, Laurel grabbed his arm and pulled him back towards her; her arms wrapping around his neck and her lips meeting his in another, much longer, kiss.
"What happened to just one kiss?" Mick asked in a low voice when they pulled apart for air.
"It wasn't enough." Laurel admitted.
"LAUREL! COME ON!" Sara called again.
"Wanna get out of here Lance?" Mick muttered.
"Where did you have you in mind Rory?" Laurel asked.
"Someone far away from short, drunk and blonde over there." Mick said taking Laurel's hand in his and leading her out of the room.
With only a brief glance over her shoulder, Laurel allowed Mick to take her away from the party. For years, Laurel had tried to deny that there was a certain pull and attraction between her and Mick, but with one kiss, all of that had changed. She was ready to see just what there could be between them, and she wasn't going to shy away from Mick any longer. She just hoped he felt the same way and all of this wasn't just pity because she didn't have a boyfriend that she could have kissed at midnight. When they got to the lobby of the Central City branch of Queen Consolidated building, Laurel gently pulled Mick to a stop.
"Mick... where are we going?" Laurel asked softly.
"I was going to take you back to my place, I know that it's a long way back to Star City. And clearly Sara isn't in a state to head back tonight. You saw her with Len, she's going back to his place tonight." Mick said with a concerned look on his face. "Is that something that you are okay with?" He asked, stepping closer to Laurel and running his thumb along her cheekbone.
"I don't know..." Laurel admitted.
"We can get you a hotel room for the night." Mick offered.
"Sara and I have a hotel room, but I don't know if I want to go there either." Laurel replied.
"Then what would you like to do?" Mick asked.
"If, and it's a big if, we went back to your place, could we just talk, or plays games, or something like that?" Laurel asked.
"Of course, we can; I wouldn't force you to do something you aren't sure that you're ready for." Mick said as he gave her hand a squeeze.
"Thank you, Mick." Laurel said with a small smile as she allowed him to lead her outside.
When the cold night air hit Laurel's face, she cursed under her breath before coming to a stop and looking over her shoulder and back into the lobby. She had forgotten her jacket, and her purse, upstairs. Which meant she also didn't have her phone with her since she had left her phone in her purse. When Mick realized that Laurel had stopped yet again, he walked back over to her and placed a hand on her lower back.
"Everything okay? You're not regretting your decision to come home with me already, are you?" Mick asked, trying to keep the tone light.
"I forgot my jacket and purse upstairs. And my phone is in my purse. I don't really trust Sara to think straight when she's wasted, and I don't know anyone who works at this branch of QC, so I don't know if anyone who might find them would return my stuff to lost and found. We need to go back upstairs." Laurel said with a frown.
"You lead, I'll follow." Mick said with a smirk. "And to hell with what anyone else has to say about it." He added when Laurel fixed him with a half-assed glare.
"Are you going to be a gentleman if you follow me?" Laurel asked.
"What all can a gentleman get away with doing before he gets something broken?" Mick countered.
"Not much." Laurel replied. "An arm around my waist, or a hand on my lower back, as long as said hand doesn't travel down to my ass, would be two things that I would allow." She added after a moment or two's thought.
"I'll do my best, but I make no promises." Mick said with a smirk and a wink as he wrapped his arm around Laurel's waist and pulled her closer.
"Mick..." Laurel said in warning.
"Just trying to help you get warm." Mick replied innocently.
"If you say so Mick." Laurel muttered under her breath while walking towards the building.
Laurel didn't want to admit it, to herself, or otherwise, that Mick being concerned about her being cold, and wanting to help her stay warm, comforted her, or that she appreciated it, but the truth was that it did. If you had asked her the day before, who she thought she would be sharing her company with in the first few minutes of the new year, she never would have answered Mick Rory. They knew each other, but they had never been close. Mostly their interactions had been through other people, and because of their odd group of friends. And even then, Mick had shown interest in her previously, but she hadn't reciprocated his feelings back then. It had, though, been years since she had politely turned him down when he has asked her out on a date, but he hadn't given up, and now, Laurel was silently thankful for that. She knew him a little bit better now, and she now called him a friend. But maybe, after tonight, depending on how the rest of their time together went, there could be more to their friendship. Maybe. Laurel wasn't sure just yet how she wanted the rest of the night to go.
By the time Laurel and Mick reached the top floor of the Queen Consolidated building where the party was still in full swing, their absence had already been noticed by some of their friends, so when they walked back in, most of their friends, Sara and Leonard included, turned to look at them. To Laurel's sanity, and thankfulness, Mick had let go of her waist before the elevator had stopped, so there wasn't that extra scrutiny but just the fact that she was walking back into the party with Mick Rory by her side, their friends were curious. Mick, on the other hand, was completely unphased by everything. He locked eyes with Leonard who was smirking at him, but Mick didn't react. He also noted the glare that Queen and Merlyn Junior were both sending his way, but he ignored them as well. He had come back up with Laurel so that she could get her things before they left to head to his place. But they were not lucky enough to be able to slip out once she got her things.
"Laurel? Mick? Anything you want to tell us?" Ray asked.
"Nope, not a thing, Haircut." Mick replied.
"It's fine Ray." Laurel said with a reassuring smile.
"Are you going to sleep with him tonight Laur?" Sara asked.
"No Sara, and you shouldn't be sleeping with anyone tonight either, given how drunk you are." Laurel replied with a brief side glance at Mick.
"But I wanna sleep with Lenny." Sara said with a pout.
"We'll be good Laur, I promise." Leonard said.
"That... doesn't account for much right now Leonard. You've been drinking as much as Sara has." Laurel said slowly.
"Look, Laurel and I just came back up here so that she could get her jacket and her purse, and now we're leaving. Have a good rest of the night everyone." Mick said, lightly taking Laurel's elbow in his grasp and turning her back towards the elevator.
"Don't do anything we wouldn't do!" Sara called out excitedly.
With a shake of her head, Laurel waved goodbye to her sister and her friends and allowed Mick to lead her to the elevator. Before the doors could open, however, Ray walked over to them.
"If you need me to give you a lift back to Star City tomorrow, Laurel, just give me a call." Ray said.
"Thank you, Ray, but as of right now, I'm not sure if I'll be heading back tomorrow or not. But I'll let you know." Laurel said, giving the man a quick hug.
"Anytime. Mick, take care of her." Ray said with a nod to the other man.
"Wouldn't think of doing anything different Haircut." Mick said with a gruff. "Time to go Laur." He added as the elevator showed up.
With one last smile and wave to Ray, the two stepped into the elevator and headed back down to the ground level. The ride down was silent, but it was a comfortable silence. But the closer that they got to the lobby, the closer Laurel found herself moving towards Mick. Even with her jacket on, she was missing Mick's natural body heat. By the time they reached the lobby, Laurel had her arm wrapped around Mick's and was leaning into his side. It felt nice to be in Mick's presence, and Laurel was trying to figure out just when exactly that had happened. Had it slowly been happening over the last few times that they had hung out? Or had it happened just tonight when he offered to be her midnight kiss? Laurel wasn't sure, but she also wasn't wanting to dwell on the unknown.
"So, Mick, what games do you have at your house that we might be able to play?" Laurel asked as the two headed back out into the cold night air.
"Not many. Monopoly is the only one that is coming to mind. Maybe Candyland from when Leonard, Lisa and I were younger. I have no idea what kind of condition any of the board games are in though. So even if I do have those, they might not be in any kind of playable condition." Mick said with a shrug.
"I'm sure we could make do with what you have." Laurel said.
"Are you sure you aren't too tired? I know that it's been a long day for you, having flown in from Star City first thing in the morning, and then all you girls going out shopping for most of the day to find party dresses at the last minute for tonight. We could always just get some sleep, if you would prefer that. Save games and talking until tomorrow." Mick offered.
"Now that you mention it, that actually sounds amazing." Laurel said as she attempted to stifle a yawn.
"Any time Laur." Mick said.
"Hey Mick, how long have we known each other?" Laurel asked.
"A decent handful of years. I don't know off the top of my head. Why?" Mick asked, turning his head to look at her.
"No reason, really. Just a random thought that popped into my head." Laurel said with a shrug of her own.
Mick didn't have a response to that, but it made him think. How long had they known each other? Surely it wasn't more than a few years, right? Mick wasn't sure, but really, did it matter? They were friends, and they had known each other, and hung out with each other enough times to consider the other one as a friend. Sure, they had their careers, and the fact that they lived in two different cities that were a considerable distance apart, but most friends did. And even with all of that, they were here together, now. The past was the past, wasn't it? Shouldn't the start of a new year be the start of living in the present?
The rest of the short walk to Mick's car, along with the subsequent car ride to Mick's apartment was a quiet one. Both Laurel and Mick being lost in their own thoughts. They were both used to silence surrounding them whenever they were together, because they didn't have to fill their time together with talking, or listening to music. They had gotten to a point where they were comfortable enough around each other that they didn't need anything like that.
When they got to Mick's apartment, Mick opened Laurel's door for her, and offered her his hand to help her out of the car. Despite the help, Laurel still managed to slip on a small patch of ice and would have hit her head on the car's frame, but Mick was deceptively quick for his size, and managed to catch her before she got hurt, and pulled her to him. Keeping an arm firmly wrapped around Laurel's waist, partly to prevent her from slipping again, but also partly because he liked the feel of her body against his side, Mick locked and closed the car door, and led Laurel inside. Despite it only being a little after 1 in the morning on New Year's, his apartment building was silent, and there weren't any of his neighbors mulling about the lobby, so Mick and Laurel were able to make it to Mick's apartment without being stopped or being asked any questions, which Laurel appreciated, since she wasn't sure how they would easily be able to explain that they were just friends if Mick had a firm hold around her waist.
When they got into his little studio apartment, Laurel looked around. She had been there a couple of times, but had never actually been inside, only having been waiting in the hall for him when she and Sara came to pick him up on occasion for get-togethers with their friends, so she had no idea what to expect. But now that she was inside, everything that she saw made sense. Everything that Mick had put into his home was just so... well, it was just so like Mick. If Laurel hadn't come into the apartment with him, and had just been shown a picture of the place, she would have easily been able to say exactly who lived there.
"So... there's only the one bed, and then the sofa. I can lend you a shirt and some sweats of mine to wear, and you can take the bed, if you would like. Because I assume, clothing wise, that you don't want to sleep in your nice dress?" Mick questioned.
"That would be lovely, thank you Mick." Laurel said with an appreciative smile.
"The bathroom is right over there, and you can use that to change, and I'll get some new sheets on the bed for you." Mick gestured after handing Laurel some of his clothes to change into.
"You don't have to change the sheets just for me, Mick." Laurel said quickly.
"I need to wash them anyway, so it's not a problem." Mick said.
With a small nod of understanding, Laurel stepped into the bathroom and closed the door. Taking in her appearance in the mirror, she just stared. She was going to be spending the night in Mick's apartment for the first time. They were just friends, so this was strictly a platonic thing, so why was she freaking out so much about it? It wasn't like they were both going to be sleeping in the bed. Mick had offered to take the couch, while offering the bed to her. It was strictly platonic. Strictly platonic. Strictly platonic. Laurel kept repeating those two words over and over in her head, but they quickly lost their meaning. If tonight was strictly platonic, then why was Laurel wishing that Mick wouldn't sleep on the couch, and would sleep in the bed with her? Of course, she wasn't wanting to do anything other than sleep. Mick had been right earlier when he had said that it had been a long day for her, and Laurel really was exhausted, but she didn't want to put him out of his bed if they weren't going to do anything.
With a sigh, Laurel unzipped her dress and hung it on the bathrobe hook on the back of the door before slipping into Mick's clothes. They were, without a doubt, big on her, but other than rolling up the pants at the waist a bit so that she wouldn't trip when she walked, Laurel felt comfortable in them. Stepping back out into the main living area, Laurel glanced around before she noticed Mick on the far side of the bed, seemingly struggling with the new sheets. Walking over to him with a smile on her face, Laurel placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Need some help?" She asked.
"Gladly." Mick replied with a thankful smile.
Together, the two got the new sheets on the bed, and Laurel wiggled down under them, trying to find a comfortable position. But as Mick went to head to the couch, Laurel reached over and grabbed his hand to stop him. With a whispered insistence that they wouldn't do anything other than sleep, Laurel pleaded with her eyes for Mick to stay and sleep in his own bed. With a nod of confirmation, Mick slid climbed under the covers himself and turned to face Laurel. Before she could stop herself, Laurel leaned over and placed a small peck on Mick's cheek before completely laying down on her side and closing her eyes to sleep. Tomorrow was a new day and after the day that she had had, she needed her sleep to be able to figure out just what was happening between her and Mick.