Chapter 23: Of Spiders & Mean Wedding Planners

"Wait, you can't be serious" when Sara only shrugged and readjusted her ponytail, Laurel turned to look at the other woman sitting with them at the beach "Nyssa?"

"Yes?"

"Is she serious?"

"About what? The wedding or trying surfing?" she turned to look back in the direction of the house and spotted Roy approaching them with two surfboards "Nevermind. I believe both are"

"What is your problem with doing things the normal way?!"

"You should be used to it by now" the blonde shrugged again and stood up when she saw Roy standing next to them "I love the woman, I wanna marry her as soon as I can" she took the board he was handing her and looked down at her sister one last time "You don't even need to go find something to wear. Beach wedding. Just wear what you're wearing now and you'll be good"

"I'm wearing a bikini"

"Exactly" she jerked her head in the direction of the ocean and the young man smirked and nodded before running after her with his own surfboard.

Laurel turned to look at Nyssa "So, this is really happening then?"

The brunette laughed and nodded as she tugged on the visor of Sara's Rockets cap she was currently wearing "Captain Lance and Mrs. Smoak are taking the train to Central City tonight"

"For what?"

"Talia offered to make a stop there on her way here. Both your parents, with their significant others, of course, will board her jet and fly here together"

They interrupted their conversation when they saw Sara fly off her board, hitting the water hard and at a weird angle, only to reappear a few seconds later shouting "I'm okay!"

Both of them laughed before Laurel pointed out, going back to their previous topic "That's very generous of her"

"I don't know how, or when it happened, but Talia is quite different from the woman I knew growing up" Nyssa admitted.

Laurel frowned and pursed her lips "You think a certain time-traveling bird had something to do with that?"

"Oh, no…" the woman shook her head "...I do not think so. I am absolutely positive that was the case"

They laughed again and Laurel turned to look at her "If anything, it proves how much she loves you"

"It does" the brunette nodded with an easy smile.

"I know you love her just as much"

"I do"

"And not that you or Sara need any kind of approval from anyone to do whatever you want with your lives, but, for what is worth, you have mine. I'm really happy you're marrying my baby sister, I've never seen her as happy as she is with you"

Nyssa looked at her smiling softly "Thank you, Laurel. You have no idea what those words mean to me"

The other woman scooted closer and rested her head on her shoulder "Well, it's true. I'm still mad that she is talking you into doing this kinda crap outta nowhere, tho"

The brunette laughed and shrugged "Her spontaneity has always been one of the things I love the most about her. She balances my deep rooted need to plan every move"

"Yeah, that I figured" Laurel chuckled "And I can see how you ground her, so you balance each other out"

Nyssa nodded and smiled "So, how did it go with your husband?"

Laurel moved back and eyed her up and down suspiciously, gasping when the other woman smirked and arched an eyebrow "You know?"

"I know"

"I'm gonna kill her" she said looking at her sister.

"It was not entirely her fault; I found the pregnancy test and was ready to punch her, so I believe I left her no choice"

The explanation made the other woman chuckle wholeheartedly and nod in agreement "Yeah, she was screwed" she smiled softly remembering Tommy's reaction "He's so happy, Nyssa. I was definitely not expecting that reaction"

"And you? Are you happy?"

"Like you wouldn't believe" Laurel said smiling.

"May I ask for a favor?"

"Always"

"Please, don't name the baby Sara if it's a girl. I'm positive she must have already suggested it"

Laurel scoffed "Like we need three of those running around. Dig and Lyla already made that mistake, those suckers"

Right after she said that, a giggling toddler dressed in a red bikini ran past them in the direction of the water before her father even noticed, giving her a good headstart before he could try to chase her.

"See what I mean?"

Nyssa laughed and quickly jumped up, easily catching up with the toddler and scooping her up in her arms "And where do you think you are going, young lady?" she asked laughing.

Baby Sara giggled when her aunt kissed and tickled her exposed belly, holding Nyssa's face in her tiny hands to stop her "Swimming!"

The brunette woman gasped in mock shock "All by yourself?"

"Yeah!"

Nyssa looked at Diggle and nodded smiling to let him know she would keep an eye on his daughter "You know you are not supposed to do that, sweetie, it's dangerous"

"Auntie Sara and uncle Roy are doin' it" she shrugged pointing at the two.

"That sounded so wrong" Laurel pointed out smirking, getting a glare from Nyssa "I'll shut up now" she added pursing her lips, trying not to laugh.

"Yes, but they are adults. If you wish to go swimming, you need an adult to go with you"

Baby Sara huffed frustrated—and a little bit annoyed—and rolled her eyes.

"What's going on with this nugget?" Sara asked as she walked out of the water, leaving her board on the sand.

"Ms. Sara Diggle decided to go swimming unsupervised" Nyssa explained, shifting her hold on the toddler so she had her resting on her hip now.

"Is that so?" the blonde asked with faked seriousness.

"Yeah!"

"Stubborn, aren't we?"

"Yeah!"

"C'mere!" Sara said laughing and reaching for the toddler, holding her by the waist from behind.

She quickly lifted her over her head so baby Sara could sit on her shoulders, making her shriek "You're cold!"

The blonde chuckled and held the toddler's legs "Is your tiny butt getting cold?"

"Yeah!" she shouted playing with Sara's wet ponytail.

"Well, you wanted to go swimming. The water is cold, better get that tiny butt used to it now"

"Okay" she said and patted the top of the blonde's head "Let's go!"

Both women chuckled and Sara asked "Can I kiss auntie Nys before we go?"

Baby Sara huffed again, clearly exhausted with all the grown ups already "Why?"

"'Cause I love her and I missed her"

"Fine" she said frustrated, elongating the word for a more dramatic effect.

Sara laughed and leaned forward, turning the cap Nyssa was wearing around and smiling when her fiancée took a hold of her waist before kissing her softly. She prolonged the kiss a little more than necessary, and baby Sara seemed to notice, because soon enough, she had one hand on each of the women's foreheads and was pushing them apart, making them laugh again.

"Party pooper" Sara said poking the toddler's thigh, which made her giggle "One day, you're gonna want to kiss someone, too, and I'll be there to push you apart"

"No, I won't!"

"Yes, you will" she reaffirmed, walking to the water.

"Nuhuh! Gross!"

Nyssa smiled and resumed her previous position, sitting next to Laurel as they watched Tommy run as fast as he could all the way down the beach to join both Sara's, splashing water everywhere.

"You better be wearing sunscreen!" Laurel shouted loud enough for her husband to hear.

The man just turned to look at her and nodded, giving her two thumbs up.

"You are aware he is lying" the brunette observed amused.

"Of course, but this way, tonight when he is a sorry excuse of a whining shrimp, I can tell him 'I told you so' before giving him that lotion you guys make; and we all know how much I enjoy saying that"

"I told you so, Tommy"

"Laurel, please"

"I warned you"

"Why do you have to take so much pleasure outta my misery?"

"Well, she's gotta get it somewhere, right?" Sara smirked and shrugged.

"Stay out of this" her sister warned her.

The younger woman laughed and wrapped her arms around her fiancée's waist, pulling her closer to her body to be able to hug her from behind without having to move from her seat.

"You want me to beg?" Tommy asked.

"Actually, I would enjoy seeing that" Oliver pointed out from the other couch, raising his hand.

"Shut up, man"

Felicity looked up from her tablet and nudged her boyfriend's leg with her foot "Don't be mean, he's suffering both from sunburn and Laurel's ego"

"Hey!"

"Well, she's not wrong" Sara pointed out when her sister protested.

"Okay, people, listen up!" Thea shouted walking down the stairs with a yellow pad and a pen in her hands.

She looked around and nodded to herself when she saw everyone gathered between the living room and the kitchen. Noticing her hot-pink brother she paused and frowned "What the hell happened to you?"

"I forgot the sunscreen"

"To go where? Hell?" she scoffed and reached for the small tube of lotion sticking out of Laurel's back pocket, tossing it for him to catch; which he did "You have exactly four days to start looking at least relatively normal, or you'll ruin all the pictures. I'm pretty sure you glow in the dark right now"

"Thank you!" he said almost crying as he started to apply the lotion.

"Now!" the young woman started again looking around "I'm in charge of planning, cause I said so and no one objected. And, let's face it, I'm obviously your best option if we wanna pull this off in four days" she paused to look at Sara and Nyssa, who smiled and nodded encouragingly "So, you two…" she pointed at the couple with her pen "...only thing I need you to do is pick whatever you wanna wear, choose your wedding bands if you want them, and keep it quiet when you have sex so the rest of us can sleep"

Nyssa blushed furiously and the blonde laughed "I was serious before with the clothes, tho, beachwear. Whatever you wanna wear, I don't care. I'll be wearing a bikini if I can convince Nyssa, and we all know I will, so plan accordingly"

"Color?" Thea asked tapping the end of the pen to her lips.

"Dunno" Sara shrugged.

"White for Sara, red and black for Nyssa" Laurel said tilting her head as she stared at the two women.

"Yes!" Thea snapped her fingers and pointed at Laurel grinning "That's what I'm talking about, baby!" she started scribbling something down.

"I did not agree to that" Nyssa pointed out arching one eyebrow.

"You will" Laurel stated matter of factly.

"How could you possibly know that?"

The eldest Lance looked at her sister with a smirk "What underwear are you wearing?"

Sara laughed and reached for her waist, slightly pulling down her shorts on one side to answer her sister's question.

Thea scoffed and looked at the brunette "You're so screwed, you will agree tonight. Remember to keep it down"

Then she began pairing people up and reading from her list, handing down several tasks that needed to be taken care of before Nyssa could protest again.

After several minutes of debating, ending with Thea shouting for everyone to shut up and do as she says, she finished with the last task "Oh, and last but not least, there's a huge spider in one of the bathrooms upstairs that kept staring at me while I peed, so if someone can take care of that—"

Nyssa quickly untangled herself from her fiancée's embrace "Burn the whole house to the ground" she said over her shoulder as she rushed out the back door.

"Okay…?" Thea frowned looking at the former assassin as she walked down the stairs leading to the beach as fast as she could "What was that all about?"

Sara smiled softly when she noticed Lourdes and Saracon were trying not to laugh "She's afraid of spiders"

"I believe her suggestion of burning down the house was serious" Lourdes observed giggling.

"Oh, it totally was" Sara nodded her agreement "It's not the first time she comes up with that solution to deal with a spider situation"

Sara walked into the kitchen area and grabbed an apple from the bowl full of fruit. Sitting on the counter, she took a bite and looked at Thea "So, it took two nights instead of one, but that would be a 'hell yes' on the bikini front" she said while chewing.

The young woman grinned and winced at the same time "Of course; can't imagine how Nyssa could ever resist all that sexiness you have going on right now" she said, waving her hand in front of her and scoffed when the blonde stuck out her tongue full of tiny, half-chewed apple pieces.

"God, Sara, it's too early to be that disgusting" Laurel said rolling her eyes.

"It's never too early to annoy you"

"Sometimes I just hate you"

"You both love me" she waited and swallowed this time before speaking again "So, what are we doing today? And where is my beautiful fiancée?"

Thea leaned back against the counter and took a sip of her coffee "You and your beautiful fiancée will go get your wedding bands and whatever it is you convinced Nyssa to wear. You'll be escorted by Laurel and Lourdes so they make sure you do what you gotta do instead of wasting the whole day doing God knows what, like you did yesterday"

"As for Nyssa: she went to the airport" Laurel continued, looking at her phone for confirmation "Talia's jet just landed"

"They're here already?"

"Oh, no. She went there early to kill time, since we have nothing to do here" the young Queen looked at her in disbelief "It's less than three days before your wedding, Sara! Yes, they're here already!"

"Isn't the bride supposed to get special treatment instead of all this crap I'm getting?"

"You gave us four days to plan a wedding. You'll take what you can get, Lance, and you'll love it" Thea ordered glaring at her while Laurel laughed "You're going jewelry shopping, please look like an adult, go change"

The blonde looked down at her body, noticing she was only wearing a black bikini top and some torn cut out shorts and jumped off the counter "You are the meanest wedding planner ever!"

"What was that all about?" Lourdes asked entering the house through the back door.

"Sara doesn't approve of my methods" Thea explained "And I don't give a tiny rat's ass. I get results"

The woman laughed and reached for the yellow pad that was resting on the island counter, scribbling something down "Here's the address to pick it up. He said it should be ready in forty-eight hours. He can't deliver it, though, so we have to send some of the boys with a truck"

Thea leaned over the island counter on her elbows and grinned "Great! Thank you so much! I'll tell Ollie to rent a truck and take some of the guys with him when it's ready. How much—"

Lourdes shook her head smiling "Payment is already taken care of. How do you think I convinced him to go from a week to forty-eight hours?"

"I assumed natural hotness and incredible persuasion in Spanish? No? French?"

The woman laughed and blushed "No, dear"

"Who's hot?" Sara asked walking back into the kitchen. She stopped dead in her tracks, cursing under her breath, looking down at her phone and swiping her thumb up repeatedly.

"Your future mother in law" Laurel smirked and took a sip of water.

"Yes! Gotcha little fucker!" her sister said, following it with a grunt, and looked up "What? God! Laurel, don't say that!"

"Well, where do you think Nyssa got it from?" Thea shrugged and Sara rolled her eyes "What did you catch there?" she asked with a smirk, nodding at her phone.

"None of your business"

"Are you still catching Pokémon?" Laurel asked in disbelief.

"It's a generational thing, you wouldn't understand" her sister stated smirking.

"You're less than three years younger than me"

"And don't you ever forget it" the blonde smirked at her older sister again before looking at Thea "There was a Dratini"

"And you didn't tell me?!" the younger woman reached for her phone "You suck so much, Sara! I thought we were in this together!" she waited for the app to load "If I missed it, I'll tell Felicity, and then I'll punch you and you'll sport a very fashionable black eye in all of your wedding photos" she frowned and bit her lip in concentration.

"You can try, but I'm pretty sure I can hold my own against you, Speedy"

"Nyssa trained me"

"So? She trained me, too" the blonde smirked "First, if I may add"

"Shut up!" Thea held one hand up and started swiping up, just like Sara was doing before "Dammit! Wait!" she repeated the action a few more times before clenching her fist "Yes!" looking up, she smiled at the blonde "Looks like you won't get your ass kicked today"

"Like you could take me"

Thea placed her phone down "Wanna go?"

"After you, cutie, hope you don't break a nail" Sara smirked, motioning to the back door.

"Oh, it's on, pigeon"

They both started walking to the door, but didn't get too far before Lourdes moved to stand in front of them, her arms folded and a disapproving look on her face "What do you two think you're doing?"

"Sparring" Thea answered innocently looking up at the woman, while Sara looked down at the floor.

"No, you are not. I know I'm not your mother but if I have to act like it, I will" the woman jerked her head in the kitchen's direction "Go back in there and finish breakfast. We all have a long day ahead of us"

Both young women looked up at her, then at each other, sighing at the same time and turning around to do as instructed.

"That was awesome" Laurel laughed.

"Shut up" her sister glared at her, walking to the coffee maker to pour herself some.

"I will not. I have to tell mom! By the way, weren't you supposed to change?"

"I did!" the blonde stated, resuming her previous position on the counter while Lourdes handed her and Thea a plate of pancakes "Thanks" she added, smiling at her.

"You put on a tank top and a pair of Chucks, that's not changing" Thea observed.

"You'll take what you can get, Queen, and you'll love it"

"You okay babe?" Sara asked looking at her fiancée once everyone else got out of the SUV they had rented.

Nyssa unfastened her seatbelt and leaned back on her seat, closing her eyes and resting her hands on the steering wheel "Yes"

The blonde unfastened her own seatbelt and turned in her seat to face the other woman "You sure?"

"I am" she smiled and turned her head to the right, opening her eyes and smiling directly at her fiancée "I am also quite tired and slightly overwhelmed. Bringing both our sisters and mothers along might have been a bit much"

Sara chuckled and nodded her agreement "Is there anything I can do to help you?" she leaned closer and kissed her softly.

"Those help"

"Yeah?" the blonde smiled and kissed her again, using her right hand to run her fingers through Nyssa's hair "Better?"

Nyssa moved her hand to the back of Sara's neck and pulled her closer again "I am not sure, maybe if we try one more time..."

The sound of knuckles and rings against the window startled them a couple of minutes later "C'mon, do I have to turn on the hose on you? Can't you keep it in your pants for a couple more hours?"

Sara jumped startled by Thea, accidentally honking when she placed her hand on the steering wheel to move away, making both, Thea and Nyssa, laugh "Shidt, I bidt my dtongue!"

The brunette started laughing even harder and rolled her window down "Is everything alright, Thea?"

"What's up with her?" the young woman asked, pointing at Sara who was touching her mouth and then looking at her fingers, checking for blood.

"She bit her tongue"

"Next time keep it in your mouth"

"Fuck you, Dthea"

"Maybe later. As for now…" she looked at Nyssa "...I'm pretty sure your sister is about to snap my brother's neck"

"Which brother?"

"Ollie"

The brunette shrugged "It was only a matter of time before someone did" she said nonchalantly, making Sara laugh.

"Nyssa, c'mon!"

"Alright, I shall intervene" she opened the door and got out of the car "But keep in mind I'm doing it for you, not him"

"Thank you!"

The three of them walked into the house, immediately spotting Talia glaring at a pissed, frowning Oliver "Don't be ridiculous, Mr. Queen"

"What's going on?" Sara asked stepping closer to them.

"I have been dying to meet the man who piqued father's interest and caused my sister so much unnecessary pain. So far, I am not impressed"

Nyssa looked around, noticing the fact that Sara's parents, along with her own mother, Damian, baby Sara, Sin and Laurel were nowhere in sight.

Felicity smiled at her and nodded in the direction of the back door "I told them to go see the pool deck and light up the grill. Laurel and Sin will keep them outside" she whispered.

"Thank you" the brunette whispered back.

"Is that why you came here?" Oliver asked taking a step closer.

"Excuse me?" Talia gasped and laughed at the same time, stepping forward in defiance "I am here because my sister is getting married, Mr. Queen, don't flatter yourself" she turned to look at Nyssa with a smirk on her face "You never mentioned his delusions of grandeur where of this magnitude"

"Hey, listen, you have a problem—"

And that's when time froze for Sara and Nyssa as they watched Oliver reach over and grab Talia's arm to make her look at him.

They saw Talia close her hand into a tight fist and a man they didn't notice before, stand up from the couch and move as if to separate them. Nyssa reached out just in time to pull Felicity away from the danger zone, while Sara did the same with Tommy.

And just as it froze, it unfroze when Talia's fist connected with Oliver's jaw, knocking him down in an instant.

The woman looked down at him with cold, dangerous eyes "Don't you dare touch me ever again, Mr. Queen"

Oliver jumped to his feet but before he could even say something, the man who was attempting to separate them grabbed his shoulders and held him back, looking into his eyes "As you can see, she can take care of herself, Mr. Queen; but let me make this perfectly clear: if you ever touch her again, I will personally make sure that's the last thing you do" he spat angrily, then turned to look at Talia, his expression softening "Don't you think that was a bit excessive? We are here for your sister and soon to be sister in law, not for you to pick fights with random vigilantes. I thought that was something you reserved exclusively for Gotham"

Talia had no choice but to smile at the man after the last part, making him smile in return "My apologies, Mr. Queen. Bruce is right, I did not come here to fight you, I am here for Nyssa and Sara" she turned to look at both women "I apologize for my behavior"

Her sister nodded and smiled back, then looked at Oliver "Are you alright?"

She noticed as Felicity elbowed him before he nodded and said "Yes. And I'm sorry for my hostility, Talia. It wasn't my intention to insult you"

"Yes, it was" she corrected him still smiling "But it is good to see you have a strong, reasonable woman by your side to set you straight"

"So…" Sara said, changing the subject and looking at the tall man standing next to Oliver "...Bruce, huh?"

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry…" he walked closer to them and shook her hand, then Nyssa's "...Bruce Wayne"

"Uh, 'Wayne' as in 'Damian Wayne'?" the blonde asked arching one eyebrow.

The man laughed and nodded "Yes, I'm Damian's father"

"Excuse me. Um, 'Wayne' as in Gotham's 'Wayne Enterprises'?" Felicity asked.

"Ah, also yes"

Nyssa smiled politely "Thank you for being here, Mr. Wayne"

"My pleasure, thank you for having me. And you can call me Bruce, we're practically family" he said with a wink.

Felicity approached him and Nyssa, and soon the three of them were engaged in conversation, leaving Sara free to ask Talia what she had been dying to ask her since the man said his name "So, you tapping that again?"