Prompt: Best friends when they were little but one moved away and they run into each other again AU
AN: I like to challenge myself by taking an AU prompts and try and keep them within the shows timeline. I suck at titles and I hate coming up with them.
My Best Friend
Sara, Nate and Ray had not made it far into the Time Bureau's headquarters when several agents surrounded them with guns drawn. Sara's focus shifted the minute the tall blonde in the pantsuit approached them. She rolled her eyes at the barked order of getting on the floor. She told her team to do as instructed but of course Ray being the Boy Scout that he was decided to have a friendly talk. She watched as pant suit took Ray down, she couldn't help but make a joke about the ridiculous pant suit. She watched the blonde stand and point her gun at them. The gun didn't scare her, no, it wasn't the first time she'd faced the barrel of a gun, the gun she cared very little about, she looked past it and into the eyes of the gun's owner. She knew those eyes, or at least she thought she did. The odds of it being who she thought it was were near impossible, but then again, the odds of her being alive had also been impossible, yet here she was, she'd managed to cheat death several times. She shook her head, it couldn't be her friend because she could never point a gun at her. She'd never been happier to see Rip as she had been at that moment. Nate going after Rip had been just what she needed to disarm the blonde agent and turn her weapon against her. It annoyed her that the blonde didn't seem to be phased by this and continued to watch Rip as if Sara didn't have a gun pointed in her direction. She figured she'd been wrong about the woman being her friend when Rip called her Agent Sharpe. She felt a twinge of sadness, a part of her had really hoped it had been her friend Ava, even if it appeared she hated her now.
Ava had known this day would come, she just hadn't known when. Years of therapy led her to believe she'd be prepared for it, but it was clear to her now that she wasn't. She felt foolish for thinking that seeing her old friend wouldn't trigger a very dark time in her life. The foolish feeling quickly turned to anger, as she looked at half the people responsible for breaking time. She quickly took down the smiling man and dropped him to the ground, stood up and pointed her gun at the person she long ago called best friend. She tried not to show it but it infuriated her that Sara was able to use the commotion of Dr. Haywood's confrontation with the director to disarm her and point the gun at her. She sent a final glare to the blonde before pretending she wasn't there at all. She took the gun when Sara offered it back to her. She lost her composure the moment Sara made a crack about her missing the anachronism. She was glad Rip had been there to cut her off or who knows what she would have said or done.
She had been surprised Sara and her team had come to rescue her. The Sara she'd known long ago had once abandoned her and she'd expected nothing more from her now. A part of her had been ready to thank her but a bigger part of her was still angry and so instead she proceeded with insulting Sara's team.
The next time Sara saw Agent Sharpe was after she'd captured Gary. The agent's arrogance annoyed her to no end. She wasn't surprised when she found herself in a baton fight, followed by a hand to hand fight. She couldn't believe she'd actually thought the woman that was trying to arrest her could have ever been her friend, but every time she'd convince herself Agent Sharpe was not her old friend the woman would say something that would plant that seed of doubt all over again. She remembered Ava always loving cats more than dogs and so when the large sabretooth chased after her she knew she had to save her on the off chance that she was the person she wished her to be. Once again, instead of a thank you the time agent began berating her for breaking Time Bureau rules.
Ava couldn't believe that Sara had saved her, yet again. What really annoyed her was that she'd managed to get her hands on Time Bureau technology. Immediately she began to lecture her and the more she spoke the more her past anger seeped into her words. She knew the anger she'd just displayed, the one that had caused her to say too much, had nothing to do with the gadget Sara now possessed. She could deactivate the device very easily, her anger stemmed from issues she'd long thought she'd resolved. She followed Sara to her office and picked up the picture of Sara and Laurel with Oliver. She had not been surprised at how beautiful Laurel was. She'd always been one the pair had looked up to her as children. She'd read that she'd passed away and a piece of her heart broke for her old friend. She'd known how close they were, her death must have been very hard on her. A small part of her respected Sara for not using the time ship to rewrite the past, she was sure she'd never tell her that. Her heart skipped a beat when Sara asked her if she'd forgotten something. Her mind went back to when they'd been kids, when she'd heard that similar phrase.
"Aren't you forgetting something," Sara asked, running after her.
Ava smiled and dropped her bag, engulfing Sara in a big hug. "Sorry Sarebear, I didn't want to keep dad waiting, you know how angry he gets."
"I'll tell my dad if he so much as yells at you." Sara glared at the man waiting impatiently behind the wheel.
"I'm okay, but thank you. I love you."
"Love you too Avey, see you at school Monday." Sara gave her another hug before watching her walk off to meet with her dad.
Ava quickly recovered, there was no way Sara knew who she was, she faced Sara and rolled her eyes when Sara mentioned Gary as the forgotten something.
The next time Ava sees Sara she fires a warning shot at her times ship and they're on a collision course towards each other. Sara was as stubborn as she'd always been and she refused to change her course. Sara's words of not rolling on one of their own was what had pushed her to time jump. With each encounter she felt her anger towards Sara dissipate and that scared her.
Sara wanted to give Agent Ava Sharpe a chance but she managed to squash each change with her determination to take the team in. A big part of her wanted to give up on the ridiculous notion that the woman was her childhood friend but her heart wouldn't allow her, not fully. Deep down she knew the agent was her Ava and if Ava wanted to pretend she didn't know her then she'd do the same. She'd wait it out.
Since her deal with Ava to turn Rip in, the Time Bureau allowed them to travel through time without being a pain in their side. Sara moved towards the screen holding Ava's call, she smiled as her team left her office not wanting to face the wrath of the agent. She wondered what it was that the agent was calling to lecture her on this time, they hadn't had a chance to mess this anachronism up, not yet, she wasn't blind to the fact that things always got worse before they got better when her team was involved. She watched Ava's face as she admitted to calling to lecture her, it was a face she was very familiar with while growing up. She couldn't help but hide her surprise when instead of lecturing her Ava offered her condolence for the loss of Martin Stein, it touched her more than she cared to admit. She realized that she'd been going about things the wrong way, the Ava she knew never liked to be challenged, it only made her fight back to prove a point, she was stubborn that way. Instead of excluding her from what her team was doing, she instead asked her to join them, she'd called it an outside perspective but Ava had seen right through it. She'd been surprised at how quickly Ava opened a portal and stepped through it onto the Waverider.
The anger that Ava had held onto for so long lessened just a bit as she watched the saddened look on Sara's face at the mention of Martin. So when Sara asked for help she didn't give her too hard of a time, instead she stepped through to the Waverider and followed Sara's instructions. She'd felt like she was breaking a hundred bureau rules as they interacted with the Vikings, on top of it all, she felt ridiculous in her costume. To her surprise Sara telling her she looked good actually helped her relax and caused her to smile. She hid the smile reminding herself that things hadn't changed, not completely, she still held anger towards Sara and a few compliments were not going to erase the past. As Ava had expected, the Legends managed to muck things up but quickly worked to fix it. Things were turning out fine, until that is, Darhk and his daughter, Nora, showed up. She hadn't expected for Sara to retreat, her respect for her only grew. She'd thought about her team above everything. She was hesitant at asking the bureau for help, that would only clue them in to her helping the Legends but Ray mentioning Sara almost dying and going into a coma the last time she faced the pair of villains pushed her to ask Director Bennett for a team, as she'd expected the director had denied her request and ordered her immediate return. This had been exactly what she'd been afraid of.
Sara had thought they'd been making progress, that the Ava she remembered was finally making an appearance, she could see it in her face, it was killing her to have to say no, but she was still not willing to disobey her director's orders. Ava's younger self would have disregarded all rules if it meant helping a friend, but she realized not for the first time that the Ava she knew had changed, she wondered what it was that had broken her friend, that had made her fear the consequence of violating rules. She'd hoped by telling Ava she needed her that it would change her mind but she watched sadly as Ava returned to the time bureau with her own sad look plastered on her face.
Sara was shocked she came face to face with Ava on the beach after having been so close to being touched by Mallus. She couldn't believe that Ava had returned. "Aren't you afraid of getting in trouble for disobeying orders," Sara asked after they'd returned to the Waverider and she'd been given a clean bill of health by Gideon.
"It was worth it." Ava gave Sara a small smile before walking out. "See you again."
Sara smiled, remembering all those times her childhood best friend had said those exact words. "It was worth it." After all these years, she was still there, there was still a good chance she'd be able to reach her. "Avey." She called out but it was too late. Ava had already opened a portal and returned to the Time Bureau. Any part of her that wanted to be patient and give their relationship time disappeared, her friend was just out of her reach, she wanted to call her and confront her, ask her why she'd been so mean to her, and why she'd pretended she didn't know her. She had so many questions, like why her last name was now Sharpe, why she was a rule follower all of a sudden, why she had changed so much. Sara had hardly recognized the person that Ava had become. She knew she herself had changed a lot from the little girl Ava once knew but the Sara Ava had known was still there. She still made an appearance. She allowed for others to see her friendly, fun side. Ava had completely locked away her personality and for what? The Time Bureau? Sara couldn't figure out what had made her friend so cold. So distant. So difficult to reach. It had taken her almost being trapped in another dimension for the old Ava to make an appearance.
"Gideon." Sara called the AI.
"Yes Captain Lance."
Sara had been ready to ask Gideon for a file on Ava but changed her mind. She knew Ava had a file on her and knew exactly who she was. Her heart hurt, she missed her friend. She wondered why Ava had wanted nothing to do with her until recently. "Never mind Gideon thank you." She wanted her questions answered by Ava not some file.
"If you're sure Captain Lance."
Sara sighed. "I'm not, but thank you anyway Gideon."
Sara left the Medbay and locked herself in her office. She poured herself a glass of scotch and sat in her chair turning away from the door and facing the screen she normally used to communicate with Ava. Every bit of her wanted to call, but a big part of her said they needed to have this conversation in person so that Ava couldn't simply disconnect when Sara pushed her for answers. Sara had been racking her brain trying to figure out what it was that Ava didn't want her to know.
Ava couldn't believe she'd let those words slip out of her mouth. It was a dead giveaway and she knew it. She quickly opened a portal and stepped through it but not before she heard Sara call her by one of her childhood nicknames. She sighed and closed her eyes. Every part of her was telling her to go back, to talk to Sara, to tell her everything, but years of being closed off and disconnected from emotion made it hard for her now. She sat in her dark office thinking about all the different ways she could talk to Sara, she was sure Sara would forgive her, because that's who Sara was, who she'd always been. She'd read Sara's file so many times, she'd seen all the pain she'd suffered but even now she saw that playful, caring, and mischievous girl she knew years before. She wished she'd been as strong as her friend, through everything she'd been through she had not allowed the world to change her.
"Agent Sharpe." Director Bennett opened the door without knocking.
Ava sat up straight in her chair, she'd been hoping by keeping her office dark no one would know she was in there.
"I gave you a direct order, and that was to return to the Time Bureau."
"As you can see sir I'm back." She knew it was the wrong thing to say but a part of her didn't care, being around Sara always brought back the Ava she used to be. "I'm sorry sir." She apologized, she was in deep water already, there was no need to make things worse. "I know I disobeyed your orders, but I hope you'll be forgiving after hearing what I have to tell you."
Director Bennett sighed. It wasn't like Agent Sharpe to disobey his orders, he figured she had a good reason for her behavior and he hoped whatever it was she was about to tell him, justified her actions because she was one of his best Agents and he didn't want to have to reprimand her.
"Mallus, sir, he's real." She waited for him to react, beside the raising of the eyebrow not much else happened. "When I went back to help the Legends, Sara, Captain Lance." She quickly corrected. "She was in another dimension. She'd followed Damian Darhk and ended up in another dimension where Mallus spoke to her. He's trying to find a way into our world and Damian is helping him. Sir, I'm afraid Director Hunter was correct to be worried. From the way Captain Lance described him, Mallus is trouble." Director Bennett said nothing, he was in deep thought. "My report sir." She handed him her report and hoped there was no punishment for not following his orders. Unlike Director Hunter who cared about the end result, Director Bennett cared about order and discipline, things that were extremely important to her, until recently, until Sara Lance walked back into her life.
"I'll take this to the council. Don't make a habit of disobeying my orders."
"Yes sir." She was about to tell him it wouldn't happen again but she knew where Sara was involved, it was likely to happen again, and soon. Once he left, she let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She jumped when a portal opened in her office. She shouldn't have been surprised that Sara had found a way to get her hands on another Time Courier. "How did you get your hands on a Time Courier." She wanted to hit herself. Of all the things she could have said, she was annoyed that the first words out of her mouth were about a damn time device.
Sara smiled mischievously, "I borrowed it."
"You mean you stole it." Ave knew she was stalling, she was avoiding the conversation she knew Sara was there to have.
"Seriously, this is what you want to talk about," Sara asked holding up the device. She sighed putting the device away. It made her sad to see her old friend like this. So indifferent, so closed off, especially towards her. "What happened to you," Sara asked.
Ava had thought she could have this conversation, but it was harder than she'd imagined. "I can't do this, not right now." Ava used her own time device to open a portal to her apartment. She knew she was abusing her time piece but she didn't care, her only goal at that moment was to get away from Sara and the heartbroken look on her face. She couldn't stand it. All she wanted to do was reach out and take her into her arms in a hug, but she couldn't, she felt so much resentment towards her still. She stepped into her apartment hoping Sara would take the hint but she was kidding herself and she knew it. She'd never known Sara to back down, not now not when they were kids.
"Avey." Sara followed after into her apartment.
"Don't call me that." Ava snapped. "No one has called me that, not in a long time. You don't get to come back into my life and pick up where we left off like nothing happened. Like you didn't leave and forget all about me," she yelled.
Sara took a step back, she hadn't expected the anger, not to this extent. "Ava I'm sorry." She extended an arm to reach out to her, but thought better of it and lowered it to her side. "Please talk to me, tell me what I can do to make things better. I miss you."
"Don't," she warned. "I want you to leave."
"I'm not leaving Avey. Not until you talk to me." Sara prepared herself for the anger that was sure to follow, but it wasn't anger that came, just sadness. She almost preferred the yelling.
"Please leave and forget about this Sara, it's something you're familiar with." She turned to walk away. "I need a drink." She knew Sara wasn't going to leave, she was determined, always had been. She took out two glasses and filled them halfway with whiskey. She drank hers and poured herself a second, she knew she'd pissed Sara off but she didn't care.
"Are you fucking kidding me," Sara yelled, she was angry, she couldn't believe Ava was holding onto something that had happened so long ago. "You're mad at me for something I had no control over," she yelled. "For something that happened when we were eight." She lowered her voice. Yelling was not going to help the situation. She took a deep breath trying to calm down. "I was eight Ava, you and I both know I didn't have a choice."
Ava nodded handing her a drink.
Sara took the drink and followed Ava back into the living room taking a seat on the couch beside her, leaving space between them. Sara watched in silence as Ava finished off another drink and topped it off once again. She was a very patient person, she would wait.
"You know." Ava began after a few minutes of silence and a third drink. "I hated you for the longest time."
Sara opened her mouth to say something but stopped herself. There was a good chance that if she interrupted now Ava would close up and stop talking.
"I was so angry that you'd moved. That you'd left me with him." She finished off her drink and refilled her glass. "I was angry that you didn't call or write like you said you would." She repositioned herself so that she was facing Sara. "Things were okay for a while, but after six months of us not talking my father knew I'd lost my protection. He knew there was no one I could turn to, no one that would take my word over his."
Sara readjusted moving closer, she knew where this was going. Ava's father had been an angry man, he'd been cruel and violent towards Ava and she'd never said a word, Sara had witnessed it at one of their sleepovers and had brought it up to her dad, he'd had a chat with Ava's father and several threats were made, things had been better for her after that. "Ava."
Ava shook her head. "Don't." She couldn't stand the sympathetic look Sara was giving her.
Sara shook her head. She needed Ava to know. "Ava I called and wrote you for almost a year. Every time I called he told me you didn't want to talk. Ava you have to believe me, I must have written you hundreds of letters."
"You did," she asked, she wiped at the tears that ran down her cheeks, she wasn't sure when she'd began to cry, it was a long time coming. She'd pushed her feeling deep down and had tried to avoid them, pretending they weren't there. How could she have been so wrong, after so many years. "You did." This time it wasn't a question.
"I did." Sara repeated. "I was devastated when you didn't call or write back." Sara moved in closer. "I'm so sorry Ava, I should've been there for you, I should've known better." She wrapped an arm around Ava's shoulders.
Ava leaned into Sara resting her head on her shoulder as she continued to cry. "I'm sorry I was mad at you and that I tried to arrest you and shot at the Waverider." Ava apologized. She'd wasted so much time being bitter towards Sara.
"It makes sense why you wanted nothing to do with me." Sara hugged her. "I'm sorry Aves. I'm gonna find him and kick his ass." She threatened. "You know I can torture and keep someone alive for days." Sara made a wave like motion with her free hand.
Ava chuckled. "Don't you worry, I took care of that piece of garbage a long time ago." She sighed and relaxed against Sara. "He's in Iron Heights."
Sara shrugged. "I know a guy that can get me in."
"I appreciate the offer Sara, but there's no need. I've moved on."
Sara sat up and looked between Ava and the half empty bottle of liquor.
Ave pulled Sara back and returned to her previous position. "Well I thought I had, until you came along." She sighed. She'd spent years dealing with the loss of her best friend and the aftermath of her father's abuse. Years of therapy had helped her deal with the abuse but she'd never truly gotten over the loss of her best friend. She'd spent many nights nursing the bottle since Sara and her team had barged into the Time Bureau.
"I am sorry Avey." She kissed the top of her head. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you too Sarebear." She wrapped her arm around Sara and snuggled into her, finally feeling some semblance of peace.
Sara groaned, how could she have forgotten that ridiculous nickname and by the chuckle from Ava she knew she was going to use it any chance she could to embarrass her.
AN: I hope you enjoyed. This was supposed to be a somewhat happy fic, but it somehow turned dark.