So this was a sequel to Chapter 18 requested by AvengingLegendHobo, sorry it took so long. Also i have decided that we're going to sort of see other one-shots in this storyline continue throughout these, so i'll leave a note just like this when it becomes relevant!
Leonard Snart had always believed life only had one thing in store for him, stealing. However after being recruited for a mission to stop a murderous warlord traveling through time and nearly dying in the process himself, he had come to accept that life was working out a lot differently than how he originally thought it would. Sara was a big part of that; before the mission he never could've believed that a day would come where he had a borderline happy life, although normal was still far from being part of the equation. Ever since Mick picked him up from the temporal zone he had been living with Sara in Star City, where she had returned in order to help Oliver with his new team.
Every member of this new team had been afraid of both him and Sara at first, and they tried to keep it that way for as long as possible, but nothing lasts forever. Curtis and Rory were still mostly living in fear, though Curtis had lately begun to grow more comfortable around Sara. Rene never had it in him to be truly afraid until Sara got annoyed to the point of bringing out her knives, and that hasn't changed.
Then there's Evelyn.
By the time Leonard showed up the teenage girl was more or less comfortable around Sara, and over time that came to extend to him. But she appeared to see the two of them strictly as teachers, until the night of the storm.
After the deaths of her parents Evelyn was placed into the foster system, but she didn't even last one night in a home before she ran away. Since joining the team she had been living with Oliver but he had a bad habit of forgetting to get her a house key. There was one night where he had to leave town on mayoral business and once again forgot to give his teenage guest a key to get into the apartment. To make matters worse the weather had been in a torrential downpour that night and so, along with Rene, Evelyn had shown up at Sara and Leonard's apartment asking to stay the night. Ever since then her presence in the Snart/Lance apartment had become regular.
It started slowly, Oliver finally gave her a key to his place as soon as he got back from his business trip so it's no like being locked out was going to be an issue anymore. But they don't live too far from Oliver and so some nights when he was working late as mayor and left no food in the apartment she would show up for dinner, neither Len nor Sara ever cared. Speaking of Sara, upon returning to Star City she had tried joining Thea in working Oliver's campaign but it soon became obvious that she was not the sort of person meant for an office job. Eventually she wandered her way into the city's rec center and wound up with a job teaching basic self-defense and survival to little kids. Since Evelyn doesn't go to school she started tagging along with Sara some days, and then most, and now she had basically become the blonde's unofficial teaching assistant. So yeah, Len and Sara were both pretty used to the teenager's constant presence in their lives. But Leonard still didn't expect it when he came home from his own job one afternoon and found her collapsed on the couch during the hours she and Sara were normally teaching.
"No class?" He questioned, toeing off his boots by the door and sparing her a glance. She shook her head weakly and as he drew closer Len noticed that she looked miserable and her cheeks were flushed with fever.
"Sara wouldn't let me go," she mumbled before she suddenly erupted into a fit of coughs. Len winced in sympathy for her as she rose to a sitting position and then flopped back onto the cushions with a groan of misery as her coughing settled.
"Oliver know your sick?" Leonard found himself asking while he went to the kitchen and began opening and closing the cabinets in search of a can of soup.
"Yeah, he said I'm skipping patrol tonight." She informed and Len nodded in approval, though he had been hoping she'd tell him why she was enduring her suffering on his couch as opposed to Oliver's, or more specifically why she had dragged herself all the way over here if she feels so awful.
But he wasn't going to prompt her for an answer; instead he simply fished his phone from his pocket and set about calling his girlfriend in order to ask her to bring home some soup for their guest. However he hadn't even dialed the number yet when the apartment door opened and Sara walked in, two grocery bags in one hand and her key in the other.
"Hey," She greeted Len as she kicked off her shoes before making her way into the kitchen and setting her bags on the counter, giving him a quick kiss as she walked past him.
"Hey," he replied, knowing that he didn't need to tell her about the sick teenager on their couch, as she was already retrieving a package of cough drops from one bag and tossing it into the next room.
"Thank you," Evelyn croaked as Sara began pulling a few cans of soup, a box of tissues, and just a few other groceries she and Leonard had been meaning to get for almost a week now, on the counter before tossing the plastic bags under the sink in case they might be needed later.
"You're welcome," she replied, smiling appreciatively when she saw Leonard fumbling around for a pot and grabbing a soup can, as well as putting the other groceries away.
This left her free to grab the thermometer from where she had left it this morning and go into the next room. First she placed her hand on Evelyn's head, the younger girl making and annoyed whining sound when she did, and frowned.
"You still feel warm," she declared and Evelyn only rolled her eyes, like she couldn't have told Sara that. "Come on, sit up." The blonde instructed, completely ignoring Evelyn's annoyance and only grabbed her arm and pulled her up when she refused to comply. She then popped the thermometer into the teenager's mouth and waited for the beep, while Leonard came into the room and took a seat in the recliner.
"So where'd you pick up the cold?" He asked just as the thermometer beeped and Sara confiscated it, frowning again when she saw the number.
"Don't know," Evelyn replied in a noticeably horse voice, "But I would guess it was probably somewhere between the stakeout behind the dumpster and the fight that ended in me being pushed off the docks."
"Well you have a fever of 101," Sara informed, Evelyn simply groaned as she returned to lying on her back.
"I don't like being sick," she moaned, prompting both Len and Sara to snort with laughter.
"Nobody really LIKES being sick." Len said and his girlfriend nodded in agreement before turning her attention to their ill guest.
"Are you gonna be ok alone if we both go on patrol tonight?" She asked and Evelyn nodded.
"Yeah, I can go back to Oliver's if you want." She offered but Sara shook her head in refusal, which was backed up by Leonard.
"Nice try kid, but you're not going anywhere with a 101 degree fever." He told her, getting up from his seat and going to check on the soup.
"I'll text Ollie and have him bring your pajama's and toothbrush to the bunker tonight, anything else you need from his place?" Sara asked but Evelyn only scoffed.
"No, I'll be lucky if he can even find my pajama's." She muttered, it's not that her pajamas would be difficult for Oliver to find; they're located in the top drawer of the dresser of his guest room. The problem is that while she does stay with Oliver, the two of them are very distant roommates.
When she wakes up in the morning, he's either gone or on his way out. She makes herself a bowl of cereal for breakfast, watches TV, gets dressed, and heads over to meet Sara for teaching at the rec center. After that she goes to the bunker, and once the other's get there training begins. After that it's dinner, then more training with Oliver, and then maybe patrol. At night she usually goes straight to bed, as does Oliver, and thus the cycle repeats itself in the morning. So it's not that she suspected finding her pajama's would be a challenge for Oliver, she just hoped he wouldn't grab a pair of leggings and a good shirt by mistake.
Sara just smirked at the comment and reached down to ruffle her hair.
"If he brings the wrong things, I'll go and get the right ones myself." She promised and Evelyn smiled.
"Thank you," she murmured gratefully before once again breaking into a fit of coughs.
As promised, Sara texted Oliver about Evelyn's overnight supplies, and as expected he hadn't exactly shown up with what Sara had in mind. He brought a backpack down to the bunker when he showed up for patrol, though he could've very easily fit what he brought into a plastic bag. There was a toothbrush, a fitted t-shirt that looked to be a size or two small for Evelyn, and a matted pair of discount store pajama pants.
"Do these fit her?" She asked and, somehow unsurprisingly, Oliver shrugged in response.
"I just grabbed what was on her floor," he replied, Sara continuing to rifle through the bag.
"You didn't pack any underwear," she continued, at that Oliver just let out an uncomfortable sigh.
"Can we get back to the mission please?" He more or less demanded, Sara rolling her eyes in response as she discarded the bag. Leonard was chuckling quietly to himself behind her, as he knew that he and his girlfriend would definitely be making a pit stop at Queen's later on tonight.
After a long patrol that ended with little more than a minor drug bust and another dead end on Prometheus, the team returned to the bunker and upon realizing there was nothing left they could do for the night they called it quits. It was at this point that Sara and Leonard went to Oliver's place where Sara packed what she deemed as a more acceptable bag for Evelyn, including clothes for the morning. She made a note to take the younger girl shopping at some point, as her dresser was mostly bare and what she did have looked old and worn.
When they got home it was nearly midnight and they were half expecting to find Evelyn already asleep, but she wasn't. Instead she was slouched on the couch just as they left her, some old cartoon playing on the TV via Netflix, and a plastic bag of tissues hanging halfway off the coffee table.
"Feeling better?" Len asked, Evelyn gave a sniffle and wiped at her eyes before answering.
"No," she replied, hoping he had written her actions off as results of her cold but upon seeing the quizzical look on Sara's face she knew she wasn't so lucky.
Len noticed it to, and one exchange of glances with Sara not only confirmed his thoughts but also had him nodding and heading to the bedroom, leaving the two girls alone.
Once Leonard was gone Sara made her way for the couch, dumping the backpack of Evelyn's things on the floor as the teenager sat up to make room for her. She took the offered seat and noticed how Evelyn was avoiding her gaze by staring down at her lap, but chose not to comment on it just yet.
"Everything ok?" She asked, Evelyn nodded but the sniffle she gave betrayed her, as it had barely anything to do with her stuffy nose.
"Yeah," she insisted, "I mean I feel like crap but it'll pass in a day or two." She continued with a forced laugh, one that Sara did not return.
"Evelyn," she said sternly, prompting the younger girl to look her in the eye.
Evelyn didn't want to look at Sara, because she knew that once she did she would lose it, and she was right. She was already exhausted, her skin felt hot and sweaty despite the constant feeling that the air around her was too cold, and her throat burned from crying for who knows how long before Sara and Leonard came home. She was too drained right now to keep her composure, and so the second she locked eyes with Sara she just broke. Tears began streaming down her face for the umpteenth time tonight and she did her best to scrub them away but it just wasn't happening.
"I haven't been, been sick since…" she trailed off, erupting into a full on fit of sobs as she buried her face in her hands. "I just want my mommy!" She sobbed.
Sara felt her heart break upon hearing that, how could it not? There wasn't anything she could do about it; hell she couldn't even begin to understand it. Sure there had been a few times in the league when she had contracted some virus or infection and wanted nothing but her parents, but at least she had known that they were alive. Although she'd doubted she would ever see them again, she had known she potentially could. But Evelyn, poor Evelyn is lying here miserable and with the knowledge that her mother will never again be here to make sure she's ok. Sara hates feeling helpless, but she does all she can do by putting an arm around the teenager's shoulders and that's enough to prompt the younger girl to collapse into the blonde's embrace. She buries her face in the crook of Sara's neck, the older woman rubbing her hand along her arm in a comforting way that she hopes does not stop. At some point she calms down, Sara's head having come to lean against hers long ago but she only notices when she shifts to pull out of her arms.
They just sit there in silence now, because neither of them can possibly say anything to make this ok. But when after a long moment Sara reaches over and gently cups her cheek with one hand, using her thumb to tentatively wipe away the tears that are still present on her skin, she doesn't feel so alone.
"Come on, it's late. Get into your pajamas and get some sleep, you need it." She instructed in soft voice and so Evelyn nodded, and then got up headed for the bathroom with the previously discarded backpack.
Now alone on the couch, Sara let herself huff out a sigh as she looked around at the mess of blankets, pillows, and tissues. She knew all about what happened to Evelyn's parents, and she knew that the teenager must still be hurting; but she didn't normally say anything. A part of Sara knew that it was the fever that had brought it on; that the first time being miserably sick without your parents around is always hard, especially if you're still young like Evelyn. But a part of her knew that this feeling isn't limited to today for Evelyn; that after her parents died she was all alone on the streets of Star City and now she has Oliver of all people looking out for her. It's not that Ollie can't protect her, the opposite actually, it's that he see's her as a student and someone he needs to teach. That mentality is fine for training, but he needs to learn how to turn it off at home.
Sara's thoughts were cut short when Evelyn emerged from the bathroom, signaling her to get up so that she could go to bed. With a smile the blonde vacated the couch, and walked over and ruffled Evelyn's hair affectionately.
"Goodnight," she said before heading into her and Leonard's bedroom.
Inside the room she found her boyfriend already in bed but not asleep, instead sitting up and flipping mindlessly through the channels of their little TV. He, of course, did turn the device off when he saw Sara getting ready for bed and watched her with quiet interest as she changed into her pajamas before finally crawling into bed beside him.
"Evelyn ok?" He asked, in response his girlfriend only groaned and buried her face between their two pillows. "Should I take that as a no?" He asked curiously, with a huff Sara brought herself to roll onto her back.
"She's fine, sort of. I need to talk to Ollie though." She murmured.
"Why?"
"Because, he's a lot of things but sensitive has never been one of them. She misses her parents and he's so distant that I think she still feels… alone." She explained and Leonard hummed in acknowledgement.
"And it's not like she can stay here," he mused, pulling Sara closer to him and feeling her nod against his chest.
"Unless she wants to sleep on the couch every night." She agreed, mentally cursing their one-bedroom apartment.
"Talk to Queen," Len finally encouraged, "But I have a feeling he's never going to be much of a softie no matter what you say, so in the meantime, I'll start looking around at other apartments." He promised, now that had Sara raising an eyebrow at him.
"You sure?" She asked, but could feel it when he shrugged as well as see the smirk on his face.
"If we find a place we'll talk to her about it, see what she thinks." He replied and so it was with a bright smile that Sara leaned up and placed a kiss on his lips.