Happy Thanksgiving everyone! You guys are what I'm grateful for. I'm so glad that I get to be part of such a (usually) positive environment. You always make my day better. Thank you!
It was the first Thanksgiving since the team of Legends had returned to the present time. They were on shore leave, having gone almost eight months without another visit home. Felicity and Cisco had, knowing that their friends were back in town, had the wonderful idea of a big Thanksgiving dinner with all the vigilantes and superheroes they knew. It would mark the first time Team Flash, Team Arrow, Team Supergirl, and Team Legends were all in one room together.
Each and every one of them had had their doubts about spending Thanksgiving together. Putting pretty much every superhero in the tri-city area in one room was never destined to go perfectly, but overall, it was going pretty well.
Oliver Queen was…apprehensive, to say the least. Felicity had offered for her and Oliver to host (offered being the most polite term). This was probably what was making him this nervous. Certain members of the teams tended to butt heads, and to imagine all of them in a room together was a scary thought indeed.
Oliver had always joked about how awful Thanksgiving dinners would be, what with their roundup of deranged fathers and overenthusiastic mothers, but this was quite possibly worse than even that (although neither Malcolm Merlyn nor Donna Smoak were invited to this particular event).
The afternoon of Thanksgiving, when the smell of spices was wafting from the kitchen all over the house and people began arriving, carrying with them bottles of wine or desserts, Oliver began to feel something suspiciously like domesticity. He'd very rarely felt that around anybody — Felicity being the exception — never mind these people. He looked around him and saw criminals next to cops and lawyers, those who had died with those who had killed them, old and young, good and bad, all together and without even the slightest sense of animosity.
Oliver was surprised that there had been no talk of their night jobs at all. Not once had how they tend to spend their evenings come up in conversations. He was even more surprised that he hadn't wanted to talk about it yet. Instead, he wanted to know how they were doing, how their lives were going beyond their superhero alter egos.
They were no longer business partners.
They were his friends, his family.
Throughout the day, Oliver's eyes kept moving to Sara and her husband Leonard Snart. He'd known that Sara and the apparently reformed criminal had gotten married at some point during the last eight months of time traveling; he'd heard it from members of the various teams, and from Sara herself, but with her team galavanting across space and time, he hadn't had the chance to see them together for himself.
The first thing he noticed when Sara returned from her time travel mission — even if it was just only for a few days — was that she'd changed. She was different, softer, the anger that had glittered in her eyes for so long had been replaced by what looked like fierce protectiveness.
He'd been told — not by Sara, but another member of her team — that Leonard had died during their mission. They'd gotten him back eventually, but for a while, it'd seemed like he was gone for good.
Both Leonard Snart and Mick Rory surprised Oliver. He'd been most apprehensive about allowing the ex-convicts into his home, more so than everybody else, and that was saying something, as multiple aliens were also on the guest list.
They were not the men he'd expected them to be.
Mick Rory may be built like a wall with the temperament to match, but he was far gentler that Oliver had predicted, treating everyone with the kindness of one who'd been denied it for far too long.
Leonard Snart possessed all the sarcasm and dry wit that Oliver had been warned of, but he also looked at Sara with more love that he had ever seen before.
They were sitting on the couch together, his arm slung around her shoulders, her sock-clad toes tucked under his thighs. She and Thea were talking animatedly over the sound of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on the TV; they'd watched it together since they were little and their families celebrated the holiday every year. Ollie, Laurel, and Tommy always thought they were too cool to hang out with their little sisters, so while they went upstairs and did their teenager-esque things, Sara and Thea sat and watched the parade downstairs, usually doted over by Moira.
Throughout their conversation, Oliver noticed that Leonard's eyes hadn't come off of Sara, the look of absolute adoration never leaving his face.
He was definitely not the same man he'd warned Ray Palmer about at the very beginning of their mission.
Sara and Leonard sat on the couch together for a little while before they went their separate ways. Sara struck up a conversation with Iris West and Alex Danvers while Leonard sat in on a remarkably dull discussion Martin, Ray, and Harrison Wells were having about molecular physics. Leonard had actually picked up on a few things during the mission, and found that he was actually able to contribute to what the three scientists were talking about.
A while later, Leonard looked up and couldn't find Sara anywhere inside the apartment, that is, until he looked out the window and saw her standing on the balcony, staring out into the city.
Leonard excused himself from the conversation before crossing the floor and joining Sara outside. Her bare arms were wrapped around her in the chilly November air. Leonard removed his jacket and draped it around her shoulders. She let her arms slip into the sleeves as she smiled up at him.
"You okay?" Leonard asked as they turned to face the city again. There were very few cars on the streets; most of Star City was spending Thanksgiving with their families. Leonard leaned against the railing as he looked across the skyline.
"Yeah," Sara said, "I just miss her more than usual right now is all."
She was referring to her sister, Laurel, who'd she found out died several months earlier. That wound was still fresh for Sara, and while Leonard wanted to help in any way possible, he also knew that besides being there when she needed him, there wasn't really much he could do.
He turned to face her and let Sara step forwards, wrapping her arms around him as her cheek pressed against his chest. He locked his arms around her shoulders as he planted a kiss in her hair.
"She'd be so proud of you," Leonard said, resting his chin on the top of her head. He felt her nod against his chest.
The door to the balcony opened and Oliver stepped onto the deck.
"Oh, sorry," he said, turning back towards the house when he saw Leonard and Sara stepping away from each other.
"No, you don't have to go," Sara said. Oliver, somewhat uncomfortable, turned to face them, sticking his hands in his pockets.
"Snart," he nodded towards Leonard.
"Queen."
"Oh my god," Sara rolled her eyes, "Are you really going to do this."
"Do what?" Oliver asked defensively.
"Act like you hate each other!"
"We don't hate each other," Leonard drawled, "We tolerate each other."
"It's Thanksgiving for chrissake. At least pretend to like each other."
They both glared at each other. Sara looked between the two with raised eyebrows.
Finally, Oliver gave up.
"Alright," he said, exhaling loudly.
"Good," Sara smirked, "How's life been for you, Ollie?"
"You know, it's not always a picnic, but it's been pretty good lately," he replied, "And yourself?"
"About the same," Sara nodded, "It's rough; we sometimes go places."
"How's married life treating you?"
"Good," she repeated, "He makes me happy."
"Then that's all I could ask for," he replied, "You've got a fan club, by the way,"
Oliver nodded towards the tall window. Sara looked and saw Caitlin, Felicity, and Thea quickly turning away.
They talked for a few minutes, but soon submitted to the cold and went inside. Barry and Cisco made a beeline for Sara. They had just met her a few days before when the Legends had shown up to help them with a meta, and they took whatever opportunity they had to pick her brain about whatever topic came to mind (plus, they'd be intrigued about anyone who'd marry Captain Cold). That left Leonard to deal with Thea, Caitlin, and Felicity by himself.
"Snart," Thea said, sauntering up to him and crossing her arms in front of her chest, "How you been?"
"Good," he replied, "And yourself?"
"Not bad. Saving the world is tough, but I'm sure you know a lot about that."
"So I've been told."
"I remember when you were just a criminal giving us a run for our money," Caitlin said reminiscently, "Now look at you."
"Yes, yes, I know," Leonard rolled his eyes, "I'm a whole new man, let's all move on."
"How's Sara?" Felicity asked, "I feel like I haven't seen her in ages now that you're in Central City."
"She's good. She gets a little stir-crazy every now and then," Leonard shrugged, "but for the most part, she's good."
"I don't even want to imagine what Sara's like stir-crazy," Thea snorted, "You must be at least half-way decent if you're dealt with that."
"She makes me happy," Leonard repeated a testament Sara had said earlier, "It's not 'dealing with' anything. It's being there with her while it happens."
"You guys are so cute!" Felicity squealed, unable to contain herself any longer.
"You should see them at S.T.A.R. Labs," Caitlin joined, egged on by Felicity's excitement.
"Ugh, I wish I could be there to see them," Thea complained.
"They're so cute. You should have seen them last week when they were helping us out."
"It's not fair! You guys got to hang out with the Legends all week. We haven't seen them in ages," Thea whined. Last week, when the team had been granted shore leave, they had taken all decided to take the time off to visit Central City. A few members of the team had yet to meet the group at S.T.A.R. Labs, and the rest of them wanted to check in. They just happened to pick the week a particular nasty meta showed up, and the Legends jumped in to help. A few members of team Arrow were less than pleased about the extra attention the Flash and his team in Central City were getting from the time travelers.
"The whole time he was always covering her," Caitlin continued, "And they always went on side missions together and they always patched each other up afterwards."
"Oh my god that's so cute," Felicity cooed.
Sara appeared around Leonard, wrapping her arms around his waist. He draped his arm across her lower back.
"What are you guys talking about?" she asked.
"They have not stopped talking about how cute we apparently are."
"Hey, Cisco just said the same thing."
"Cisco said that we were cute?" he repeated, "Wait, never mind. That actually doesn't seem too far off."
They continued to talk for a while. Leonard and Sara were occasionally the topic of discussion, but mostly they talked about their lives, about the perils and pitfalls of domesticity, who they all were beyond the superheroes they'd become.
They finally ended the conversation when everyone was called to eat.
The food was set up buffet style, so they could take what they wanted and then sit at the long dining table that spanned nearly the entire shorter length of the apartment.
When they were all seated, Oliver stood up at the head of the table.
"Before you all start to eat, I just want to say something while I have you all here," he took a deep breath.
"I know I'm tough, and I know I'm hard on you, but you all mean so much to me. I know I don't say that very often, and I'm going to start saying it more. I'm grateful for every single one of you, even if it doesn't always seem that way."
He met Leonard's eyes where he sat towards the other end of the table.
"If you are here today, you mean something to me and I'm thankful for you every day."
"Here, here," Barry said, raising his wine glass towards Oliver. The rest of them followed suit.
I guess all I have left to say," Oliver continued, "is dig in."
Later, when they'd drank all the wine and eaten all the food and it was no longer Thanksgiving anymore, the group of superheroes and vigilantes began moving towards the door.
While Sara was saying goodbye to Felicity and Thea, hugging them tighter than she would have without several glasses of hard liquor in her system, Oliver approached her husband.
Leonard was pulling on his jacket — one of the sleek black leather variety, rather than his signature blue parka. He had Sara's coat over his arm, ready to help her into it when she was ready to leave.
"Snart," Oliver extended his hand towards the reformed criminal.
"Queen," Leonard replied, accepting the friendly gesture.
"Just so you know, I meant what I said earlier."
"I'm sure you did," he said, although his usual drawl was notably lackluster.
"No really. Look, you're important to Sara, and you're a positive force in her life, a life that has otherwise been very negative. Any good part of her life is something I'm grateful for. All I want for Sara is for her to be happy. You make her happy. I can't argue with that. Thank you."
"You're welcome," Leonard replied, unsure of what else to say. Fortunately, he didn't have to because Sara appeared next to him, having finished saying goodbye to Thea and Felicity.
"Ollie, are you ever going to leave Len alone?" she asked with raised eyebrows.
"Nope," he laughed, watching Leonard help Sara into her coat, "You're lucky I'm not making you choose between us."
"Yeah, so are you," Sara shot back.
"Touché." As Leonard and Sara headed towards the door, he said, "Be careful out there, Sara."
"You don't have to worry about me."
"I always do," he replied. Sara rolled her eyes, "You two take care of each other out, okay?"
"We will, Ollie," Sara reassured him.
As she and Leonard left the apartment, he turned back to see Oliver nod once. He returned the gesture and then followed Sara towards the elevator.
"Did you have a good time?" Sara asked, taking his hand in her own.
"Surprisingly, I did."
"Good," she replied.
They were silent for a few moments.
"I miss them," Sara said wistfully.
"We can come back, you know," Leonard said, "The team would be fine without us — significantly weaker, but probably fine."
"No," Sara shook her head, smirking slightly at Leonard's dry humor, "nothing like that. It's just everything that happened with Laurel sort of made me realize how dangerous what we all do is. Something could happen to someone like something happened to Laurel, and we'd never know."
"I feel the same way about Lisa," Leonard agreed, "I always said I'd be there for her whenever she needed me. Now she's older, she doesn't need my help much anymore, but it's tough to think that if she ever did need me, she wouldn't know where — or when — to look."
"I'm glad we got to spend Thanksgiving with them."
"So am I."
"When I was little, I would spend Thanksgiving with the Queens and the Merlyns. Moira and my mom would always hold up dinner and make us go around the table and saw what we're thankful for. Ollie and Laurel and Tommy all took it as kind of a joke, and Thea was too young to get it, but I always took it pretty seriously.
"I've been thinking a lot today about what I'm thankful for. I realized that it's all of them. Those people have seen me at my worst times, and even the ones who haven't — even the ones like Cisco and Barry who've never even met me before, they're all on my side. They all still support me. That's what I'm thankful for.
"And you," she quickly added, "I'm thankful for you."
"Good," Leonard smirked, nudging her shoulder with his own, "I'm thankful for you too."
Happy Thanksgiving!