It is her new normal, but Nyssa still struggles to believe it is all real:
Waking from sleep with Sara wrapped around her middle, firmly.
Possessively.
It was her old normal, too, but that life feels like a dream now, hazy and distant. They were so young, and thought they were forever.
Now, she hurtles through time, always at Sara's side, waking and sleeping. When she sees them, Sara's crew is still struggling to know where she fits in, but she catches Sara staring at her in wonder, in awe, in joy, and then Nyssa knows this is where she needs to be.
Even if there are still the (more than) occasional bumps. The time they were separated (different lengths, another thing Nyssa is still wrestling with) is a mystery to both of them. In the last two weeks, neither of them has been quick to volunteer any of those details. Nyssa's details are not particularly pleasant, and she has no desire to burst the rather adorable cloud Sara has been walking around on. Besides, when they are alone and able to discuss these things, very little… discussing… occurs.
On that note, Nyssa stretches as best she can while Sara's arms are locked around her waist. The Waverider operates on a standard twenty-four hour wake/sleep schedule in an effort to maintain some semblance of normalcy. Even with all the extra physical activity she has been partaking in, Nyssa does not need this much sleep.
Sara does not, either, strictly speaking, but she's never been one to turn down extra sleep when they are in a safe haven.
That is what this is, a safe haven hurtling through the time stream, this cabin, especially. In here, it is just them, and all the time (pardon the pun) in the world.
Gideon has already uploaded more data onto the tablet by the bed. With barely more than a few words passing between them, the AI has begun a basic introductory course to just how any of this works.
For the second time in as many years, Nyssa feels completely out of her element, struggling to build a life for herself so far from the future she was raised to expect: death, or the service of it.
After taking up the tablet, Nyssa wrestles her second hand free and gently threads her fingers through Sara's messy hair. Things are clearer with Sara right beside her. The world makes some kind of sense. Sara has always been the center of her world, and there is a clarity in having that center present in her life again.
Sara mumbles a little in her sleep, turning her face towards Nyssa's hand. Nyssa smiles, letting her palm brush across Sara's cheek lightly before returning her attention to the basics of time travel.
"Oh my god, the Captain lives!" Jax teases as Sara enters the kitchen.
Sara rolls her eyes in response.
"I'm surprised you can even walk straight."
"Shut up, Jax."
"Captain or not, you can't expect me not to give you hell when you shack up in your quarters for two weeks with a super hot assassin from your past."
Sara keys in her order for coffee, then Nyssa's.
"We're not shacked up."
"I'd believe that more if I saw her sometimes. Not that I blame you. Like I said - super hot. Please don't hit me - I've seen Mick's eye."
"He deserved it."
"Not surprised. The rest of us know how to be nice to company, though, you know."
Sara raises an eyebrow.
"Okay - me'n'Gray. Me'n'Gray know how to be nice. Amaya, too."
The word company strikes Sara as odd. That implies an end date, a transitory visit, and Sara didn't intend that. She hopes Nyssa doesn't intend that.
But she guesses she hasn't done a good job of integrating Nyssa into the crew. The thought of that integration process, though, gives Sara headache.
"She's not someone, well, she's not just someone from my past." This is Jax, and if there's anyone she can even sort of talk to about this, it's him. "We were…" Sara searches for the proper word to describe them. 'Girlfriends' or 'dating' doesn't really capture the epic nature of what they share, that feeling of inevitability. "Together. For five years."
"Damn," Jax loses his teasing grin. "That's a long time, Sara. What happened?"
"I died. Again. For real."
"That's heavy."
"Yeah…"
The coffees and a little breakfast are ready.
"So are y'all together again?" Jax asks.
Sara blows out a breath.
"I haven't had enough coffee to answer that question."
Because Jax is the best of them, he lets it lie there.
"Well, my point stands: we all want to get to know her. So stop hiding her."
"Okay, okay."
"And before we pick up another aberration."
"Hey, who's the captain here?" Sara gripes good-naturedly as she balances their breakfast in her arms and heads for the exit.
"Hard to say, 'cause you're hiding from your feelings and not being a grown up."
"If being emotionally mature were a requirement, none of us would qualify. Not even Rip!"
Jax gives her that, grinning as she takes her leave.
"I admit, I remain unclear on the science behind the Vanishing Point."
"Well, that's better than me. 'Cause I know nothing."
"Captain Lance is not as diligent in her studies as you are, Ms. al Ghul."
"No one asked you, Gideon," Sara complains with a bit of a pout. She is cross-legged on the bed, fingers working at a set of braids.
Nyssa chuckles.
"You captain a ship hurtling through time without understanding the tenets that allow you to do so."
"Captain Lance is also the pilot."
"Gideon!"
Gideon is growing on Nyssa, quickly.
"Butt out, Gideon," Sara says, waving her hand vaguely over her head.
"My apologies, Captain. I will give you your privacy."
"Thank you," Sara says firmly. She returns her attention to Nyssa, eyes softening as the annoyance drains from them. "Sorry I don't know more. You should ask Jax at dinner tonight; he knows the technical stuff."
"At dinner?" Nyssa asks, leaning over and laying her fingers over Sara's, taking over for her on the right braid.
Sara flushes a little pink. "Yeah, I thought we could do a team dinner tonight."
"If that is what you wish."
"I mean, we don't have to, if you don't want to."
Nyssa cuts her off with a kiss. She can feel Sara's smile against her lips, relishes it, still marvels that she is free to kiss her whenever she wants again.
"So you are not hiding me anymore?"
"Oh my god, I'm not hiding you!"
"Mhmm."
"I… don't want to share you. That's different."
"Mhmm," Nyssa repeats knowingly, tying off the braid.
"Stop that. My crew is embarrassing."
"Your crew is your family, and I would appreciate a second chance for a first impression."
Sara softens again. She's been touchy since she came back from retrieving coffee, taking her good-natured teasing just a little too seriously. Now, though, she turns her complete focus to Nyssa, and Nyssa can feel herself bloom under the attention.
"When you put it that way. I think that ship has already sailed with Mick, though."
"You did not have to blacken his eye."
"Yeah, I did," Sara remains steadfast.
Nyssa is not used to being looked after, to having her honor defended, but Sara is the only person, in space and time, that she will comfortably allow to fight her battles. She will not continue to fight Sara on this.
"Well, I hope we will not have a repeat of that interaction at dinner tonight."
"Only if he didn't learn his lesson." Sara pauses, looks at Nyssa so sweetly, and leans in to kiss her. "I have to go. Jax and I have a standing walk through of the Waverider, make sure she's running right. You should get out. Explore. 'Cause I'm not hiding you."
"Of course you aren't."
Team dinner is going to have to wait, because they have what they apparently call an "aberration", designated by a wailing alarm. From Nyssa's studies, an aberration is when history has changed in some way from the established canon of time, and it can have wide-ranging effects.
This aberration appears to originate in Chicago, 1927, and involve Al Capone, a figure from American crime history, and Elliot Ness, a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent responsible for bringing him to justice.
Nyssa takes this opportunity to witness Sara's team in action. So far, she is still working out the role each plays.
Nathaniel Heywood is the historian, it seems, in addition to a man capable of turning into steel. She learned the latter from Sara, with some vague handwaving surrounding a failed experiment from Dr. Palmer. Dr. Heywood has the self-important air of an academic, so his role as team historian is not surprising.
Dr. Raymond Palmer, of course, is familiar to Nyssa, though she had other things on her mind when they were last in each other's orbits, things Nyssa sincerely hopes Raymond has not mentioned to Sara and has the good sense to continue not to. He is as overeager as ever, but she has seen the "Atom" suit in action, and it is an asset.
Dr. Martin Stein, the third and final doctorate aboard, is a strangely nervous man, and he seems very distractible. If Sara had not already informed her that he is an essential half of "Firestorm" with Jefferson Jackson, the ship's mechanic and Sara's closest confidante aboard, then Nyssa would have many questions about just what he was doing aboard.
Nyssa had at first felt the pangs of jealousy when she got to know Jefferson, or "Jax", this handsome, easy-going young man who has been such an important part of Sara's recent life. She still wishes that she had Jax's knowledge of who (and how) Sara has become, but beyond that, she is merely grateful for the strength of their bond, apparent to Nyssa even from her mere two weeks aboard and very rare interactions with him.
Mick Rory is, frankly, a criminal, but Nyssa supposes so is she, by some laws. He is crass and brutish, but Sara seems to care for him (despite blackening his eye for a lewd comment in Nyssa's first days aboard) and he seems more than capable in a fight. He apparently also wields a gun of fire, which is certainly an asset.
Finally, there is Amaya Jiwe, the woman out of time, bearer of an ancient Zambesi totem that… well, Sara had been vague on the details, but essentially it allows her to channel the abilities of animals for her own gain. Nyssa is curious to see how that works in action, since she cannot wrap her mind around the theory of that magic.
And then, of course, there is her Sara, the Captain of this ragtag group of "Legends" hurtling through time, protecting the timeline as best they can. Nyssa is intrigued to observe Sara's leadership style: she has always seen the potential in her Ta-er al-Asfer.
Sara chooses a conservative approach, quite reasonable from what Nyssa has read about timeline preservation. The fewer people involved, the better. She sends the bickering Ray and Nate off to intercept Agent Ness and keep him safe. She sends Jax and Professor Stein to be their back up, a solid choice given their unique nuclear abilities.
"Welcome to time travel," Sara says, her nerves dancing under her skin, and Nyssa instantly regrets the way she must have been appraising everything around her. She relaxes her stance and even manages a wry smile to help ease her beloved's discomfort.
"I look forward to seeing how this works."
tbc