Chapter 12: Stop. Holding. Back.
"I was under the impression that you would be waiting at home"
"Is that a complaint I'm hearing?"
Nyssa grinned and leaned slightly down to kiss the other woman on the lips, letting it linger for a few seconds "Not at all"
The very loud and inappropriate calls startled them seconds before they heard Damian's backpack hit the floor. Sara quickly pulled away from the kiss, reaching to her left without even looking at what she was doing, and getting a hold of Damian's shoulder before the boy could resume what he was about to do.
She looked at Nyssa half smiling "He's your nephew alright"
The brunette chuckled and turned to her right to look at her nephew, who was discretely trying to find a way to break free from Sara's grip "Damian" she called calmly, ignoring the smirking men that kept staring at them.
He turned around to face her "Yes?"
She raised one eyebrow and half smiled, obviously amused "Do not engage" she instructed in Arabic.
"They are disrespecting you and aunt Sara, khala" he explained, carrying the conversation in Arabic, his small fists clenching tightly "I cannot allow it"
Sara bit her lips, trying not to grin and look too proud of the boy's reaction. She let go of his shoulder and took a step back, letting Nyssa handle the situation.
"They are not worth it, Damian"
"That behavior cannot be tolerated, khala"
"Holy shit, he even speaks just like you!" the blonde said laughing.
"Sara!" Nyssa hissed, turning her head slightly in Sara's direction.
"Sorry, sorry!"
The brunette got down on one knee and placed a hand on Damian's shoulder "Men like that are not worth your time" she said looking into his eyes.
"No man should use that language, let alone addressing a woman" he said frowning, folding his hands behind his back, adopting a serious stance "I once was Warith al Ghul, I shall not let them walk unpunished. They are a disgrace for my gender"
"Respect, kid" Sara said, winking at him when the boy looked up at her.
"Just so you know…" one of the twenty-something year old guys that were shouting before started, coming to stand next to Damian "…if you, babes, are looking for a daddy for your next one, I volunteer. We can start practicing tonight after you put the kid to bed"
Nyssa looked up at him frowning.
Sara rolled her eyes and rubbed her temple.
Damian's jaw clenched.
Before any of the boy's aunts could react, the man was lying on the floor, groaning in pain and grabbing his knee.
Both women looked at Damian in surprise, and the blonde walked closer to him when she noticed they were drawing too much attention to themselves "We need to move" she said picking up Damian's backpack and duffle bag, then looking at Nyssa and gently pulling her up "Now"
The brunette nodded and kept her hand on Damian's shoulder, grabbing her luggage and following Sara to the nearest exit.
Once outside the main building, Sara slowed down so they would catch up with her, and Nyssa positioned Damian between the two of them as they kept walking to the car.
The blonde nudged the boy and looked down at him smiling "That was pretty badass"
"Do not encourage that kind of behavior, beloved" Nyssa said before the boy could respond, then continued "Damian, I appreciate you attempt to defend our honor, but you should have let us handle the situation"
They got to the car, and Nyssa stood looking at the boy while her fiancée loaded the trunk with their bags. He bowed his head and folded his hands behind his back "I apologize, khala. I wasn't able to control my temper before such narrow mindedness and disrespect"
The brunette nodded once and ran her fingers through his hair "I know how hard it is to do so, I do not judge you"
"Thank you"
"Hey, at least the guy is still alive. It could've been way worse. He is Talia's son, after all" Sara said shrugging and winking at Damian "Just stay outta trouble, kid, you mom will dismember us if anything happens to you"
"I will" he assured her, smiling.
The blonde smiled and handed the car keys to her fiancée, who took them with a short nod and a smile, before walking around the car to get in the driver's seat. Sara then opened the back door, nodding for Damian to climb in, and closing it after the boy.
"Seatbelts" Nyssa said, pushing the button to start the car, and the other two complied.
After a few minutes, Sara turned around as much as her seatbelt allowed her to and looked at Damian "Nice to meet you, by the way. Great first impression, kid" she held her fist in the air in front of him, and he fistbumped her, giggling.
"Nice to meet you, too, aunt Sara"
"How was your flight?"
The boy shrugged "It was alright"
"Your khala is not much of a talker, huh?"
He giggled and shook his head "But that's fine, 'cause neither am I"
Nyssa looked at him on the rearview mirror and smiled, getting a smile in return.
"Is that a 'League born' quality?"
"Maybe" he answered with a shrug "My mom is like that, too"
"Yeah, I say it is, then" Sara said nodding "Oh! Babe, don't take our exit" she exclaimed, pointing at the following exit "We're gonna stay at my dad's this week"
Nyssa frowned and glanced briefly at her "Why?"
"He's staying at Donna's"
"That does not answer my question"
"We don't have a spare bedroom" the blonde explained "This way Damian can have his own instead of the couch"
The brunette sighed, but didn't take their exit, as instructed "I refuse to sleep in your father's bed. I do not look forward to Captain Lance shooting me, and I believe there still is a strong possibility of that happening"
Sara chuckled and shook her head "He won't shoot you, babe. But, anyway, no. We'll stay in my old bedroom and D can take Laurel's. She's cool with it, I asked"
Nyssa pursed her lips and nodded once, then frowned "I do not have any clothes at your father's house"
"What do you think I've been doing all day?" she asked, looking at the brunette "Dad and Tommy helped, we took some of our stuff there already"
"Please tell me none of them packed my underwear" she said, eyebrow raised, glancing at Damian who seemed distracted looking out the window.
Sara laughed and placed her left hand on the brunette's thigh "No, I did all the actual packing myself"
"Thank you" Nyssa said relieved.
"You are very welcome" she smiled and kept her hand on Nyssa's thigh, rubbing it softly with her thumb.
The other woman glanced down at her lap, then at her fiancée, and finally back at the road "Keep in mind our nephew is in the car with us"
"I'm just being affectionate, don't make this awkward"
"Do not underestimate him, beloved"
Sara twirled her bō and rolled her eyes "He is like, what? 4' 3"? I'm only stating facts, babe. Don't worry, I'll go easy on him"
"You are barely over a foot taller"
"That's irrelevant"
"Precisely my point"
"I won't underestimate him, okay? I'm just saying, he's a kid"
"He is a trained assassin"
"So am I" she winked at the other woman and walked further into the backyard, where Damian was twirling his own bō staff, getting comfortable with its weight.
Nyssa smirked and sat down on the wooden steps, ready to supervise the boy's training.
"You ready, D?"
He nodded once, then assumed his fighting stance.
Sara smiled softly and moved to deliver the first blow, which Damian deflected perfectly. She went for two more, faster this time, and the boy easily blocked both, managing to switch into attack mode after.
After a few minutes, Nyssa stood up and took a few steps closer to them "You are both holding back. That is unacceptable"
The blonde tried to take advantage of the slight distraction, but Damian smirked as he ducked back just in time.
"Oh, yeah?" Sara asked, rushing the boy with a series of combined blows and sweeps, all of which he deflected or completely avoided.
He waited for the right moment and, taking advantage of her obvious surprise, swung his bō at Sara's feet. It connected before she could react, and she found herself lying on the damp grass.
"I warned you" Nyssa stated, her smirk evident in her voice.
"Shut up" Sara groaned frustrated, and as soon as Damian was within reach, she hooked his bō with her's and sent it flying close to where Nyssa was standing.
The blonde flipped herself back to her feet and started twirling her staff again "Want yours back?" she asked with a smirk.
Damian matched her smirk and shook his head "I don't need it"
"Huh" Sara shrugged "It's your funeral"
She swung again, Damian ducked back. Sweeped at his feet, he jumped over it. She tried a fake blow to his left side, then went for his right when he moved to block it. He, somehow, managed to grab the end of her staff before it hit him and, with a slight twist of his arm, shoved the other end to her ribs.
"Stop holding back, Sara" Nyssa instructed again, almost growling.
"He's a kid! I don't wanna hurt him, Nyssa!" the blonde said, looking at her for a fraction of a second; enough to feel her bō escape her grip and lay several feet away from them.
"Stop. Holding. Back"
"Oh, it's on, little dude!" she said half smiling, glaring at the boy.
And she stopped holding back.
They went back and forth for several minutes in hand to hand combat, without weapons now. Damian was able to hold his own better and way longer than either woman expected, but found himself on his back eventually, with Sara's hand on his chest, pinning him down.
"That is enough" Nyssa instructed, picking up both discarded weapons.
Sara grinned down at the boy and held her hand down, pulling him up when he took a hold of it "You are awesome, D, you know that?"
He shrugged and blushed, reminding her of Nyssa, who often had the exact same reaction when receiving a compliment "Well, you are"
"Of course he is" the brunette said proudly "He is my nephew"
"Yeah, yeah" Sara smiled softly and patted the boy's back, walking him back to the house, followed by Nyssa.
"You kids done playing with your sticks?"
"Shit!" the blonde jumped, instinctively shoving Damian behind her "Dad!"
"What?" the man asked from the couch.
"Don't do that! If Nyssa came in first, you'd be at least bleeding already!"
Quentin looked at the brunette, who only shrugged in response, silently backing up Sara's theory "Well, I knocked and rang but you kids didn't hear, so I figured I'd let myself in"
"This is your home, Captain, you do not need to knock" Nyssa said smiling, moving closer to shake his hand "Thank you for your hospitality"
"Oh, but I do" he said wincing "I'm not looking forward to another Christmas surprise"
Nyssa had the decency to blush and look down, while Sara only smirked and held her chin up "I think it was more of a birthday surprise for me you just happened to interrupt"
Quentin glared at her in complete silence.
"Anyway" the blonde rolled her eyes and placed her hands on Damian's shoulders "Dad, this is Damian" then she looked down at the boy "Damian, this is my dad, Quentin"
"Captain Lance" Nyssa corrected.
The boy walked closer and extended his hand politely "Pleased to meet you, Captain Lance"
Quentin shook his hand and looked from the boy, to Sara, to finally Nyssa "Yeah, he is definitely related to you" he smiled amused and looked back at the kid "Nice to meet you, too, Damian"
The man looked up at his daughter while reaching inside his jacket pocket "So, you guys have plans for today?" he asked, holding up four pieces of paper that looked a lot like tickets to some kind of game.
"No way!" Sara exclaimed happily, reaching for the tickets.
Quentin smiled and pulled them out of her reach "Go get ready, kids, we leave in an hour"