They manage to get her back to Star City in one piece after a week's recuperation in Talia's quarters. She's no longer in post-Gambit mode, and she remembers Oliver, Diggle and Felicity, now. She still can't remember Nyssa, though, or the fact that she's spent the past two years as the Black Canary.
"I'm sorry," Laurel tells Nyssa in the car on the way back to her apartment.
"Sorry for what?" Nyssa says, and it's still hard for her to believe they're in the same car together, that Laurel is breathing again. Nyssa's heart skips a beat when Laurel meets her eyes and all she sees are pools of warmth, even if they lack recognition.
"Sorry I can't remember," she says. "I - clearly you were someone important to me."
"I do not know if I would go that far," Nyssa says without thinking, and for a second Laurel looks hurt.
"You seem like the type who would underestimate her importance, though," Laurel says eventually, and it surprises Nyssa that Laurel is still so perceptive even after what happened to her.
"What makes you say that?"
"There's just - something about you," Laurel says with a smile. "I can tell."
"For whatever it's worth… you were certainly important to me," Nyssa says.
Laurel shrugs, still with that smile on her face. "I figured. I just - find it hard to believe I was some… vigilante. Like, what happened to me saying I didn't have to go outside the law to find justice?"
"I have never had particular regard for the law, at least not in this country, so I would not be best placed to answer that question."
"Right, yeah, you're an… assassin?"
"You sound like you don't believe me," Nyssa quips, and part of her likes this Laurel in a way, the Laurel who didn't start off thinking badly of her. "Although perhaps 'former assassin' is more accurate."
"Still. You don't look like one."
"I did not realise killers had to look like anyone."
"No, I mean - you're way too pretty to be an assassin."
Laurel catches Nyssa off-guard with that, and for a second Nyssa doesn't quite know what to say.
"Sorry," Laurel says again, when Nyssa is silent for an entire thirty seconds. "I didn't mean - obviously I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, just -"
"You do not need to apologise," Nyssa says, recovering swiftly. "I was merely - taken aback. Thank you, but I am. A killer, that is."
Laurel doesn't seem to perturbed by this, though. "And you dated my sister?"
"Sara and I were together, yes."
"Right," Laurel says, and if Nyssa didn't know any better she'd say Laurel sounds disappointed. "And that's how we know each other?"
"Yes."
There's silence again, but thankfully it's broken by the sound of the car screeching to a halt. Nyssa gets out of the car first, holding the door open for Laurel, who follows her out.
"You should rest," Nyssa says once they get inside her apartment. She starts lighting the candles in the fireplace. "The flight was long, was it not? And you are probably tired."
"You know what I'm craving right now?"
"Big Belly Burger?" Nyssa guesses with a small smile as she straightens.
"How did you know that?" Laurel says, raising her eyebrows.
"I told you we were friends," Nyssa replies, and Laurel smiles at that.
"I should probably call Dad, let him know we got home okay."
"You do that, and I will make the order. I presume you will have your usual."
"How do you even know what my usual -" Laurel begins to say, but then she smiles. "Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks, Nyssa."
"You do not ever need to thank me, ya Laurel." The endearment slips out before she can stop it, and Laurel's brow furrows a little in confusion, but she smiles back nonetheless.
When the food comes, Nyssa can't help but grin as she watches Laurel dip her fries into her strawberry milkshake. Nyssa does the same, thankful for the ritual that Laurel is doing so absentmindedly - or, rather, what it reminds her of.
"I know it's a bit weird," Laurel says through a mouthful of milkshake-covered fry, "but it tastes so good. Don't laugh at me."
"I am not laughing. I promise. I am just - recalling a happy memory. And lamenting the fact that you cannot remember it."
"And this… memory involved fries and shakes?"
"Yes. We were in that diner on Sixth Street -"
"Oh, the one that does black and white milkshakes?" Laurel says cheerfully.
"Precisely. And I had been - lost, for quite some time, lonely, when finally I sought you out. I began training you and you began showing me the - simpler pleasures in life. And one of them," Nyssa says with a smile, "is dipping chips into milkshake."
"You mean fries. Are you British?"
"No, I was merely taught by a Briton, and I learned English with his accent."
"Right." Silence falls once more except for the sounds of them eating their food and sipping their drinks.
"Is… something on your mind?" Nyssa asks once she's finished her fries. She sips on her milkshake.
Laurel laughs. "I mean. I've just come back from the dead after being shot with an arrow in the chest, none of which I can remember, and I also can't remember the assassin who taught me to be the - what was my vigilante name again?"
"The Black Canary."
"Right."
"But I wonder… if there is something that is concerning you," Nyssa says tentatively, because she can't get past the look on Laurel's face that something is wrong. Nyssa wonders, briefly, if the bloodlust is already kicking in, even though instinctively she knows it will only manifest in combat situations.
"There is something," Laurel admits.
"Whatever it is -"
"Why did I come back?" Laurel interrupts.
"I have explained how the Lazarus Pit works."
"No, I mean, why? Why did you back my dad's play in bringing me back?"
Nyssa falters. "Because I could not bear to be on this earth without you," she says finally.
"Nyssa..." And to Nyssa's surprise, Laurel covers her hand with her own.
"Yes?"
"Were we… more than just friends, at any point?"
"What makes you say that?" Nyssa says evenly, trying not to give anything away in her expression, but it's useless when she's drowning in Laurel's eyes.
"Because of what you just said. Because you brought me back from the dead. Because - there's just this - feeling, right here -" Laurel places her hand on her heart "- that we're… something else to each other. And I know you said you and Sara were together but I just have this feeling that there was something going on with us. Maybe after she died." Nyssa stays silent, not moving her hand from underneath Laurel's but also not saying anything. "I don't know. Am I being crazy?"
Nyssa sighs. "You are not," she admits. "We were… something."
"Did you love me?" The bluntness of Laurel's question should surprise Nyssa, but it doesn't. After all, it's Laurel.
"I did," Nyssa says faintly. "Very much."
"And now?"
And she shouldn't, she really shouldn't, but Nyssa finds herself leaning forward, cradling Laurel's cheek with her hand. Laurel closes her eyes at her touch, but then Nyssa realises what she's doing and her hand falls away.
Laurel finds her hand again, though, and twines her fingers with Nyssa's, their palms level with each other. Tentatively, her other hand goes to the back of Nyssa's neck, and Nyssa couldn't stop her if she tried. Not that she does. Nyssa melts into Laurel's touch, closing her eyes, and when Laurel finally kisses her, she's sure her heart has dropped to her stomach.
It's only brief - the barest of kisses, merely the slightest brushing of Laurel's lips against Nyssa's lower lip - and yet it's enough to make Nyssa breathless. When their eyes meet Nyssa finds herself saying softly, "Nothing has changed. I love you. I always will."
"What about Sara?"
"She gave us her blessing," Nyssa says. "And she and I agreed we would move on. But I do not… want to force you into anything."
"You aren't forcing me," Laurel tells her. And as if to prove her point, she leans in, kisses Nyssa again. It's longer, this time, more sensual, and it doesn't take much for Laurel to coax open Nyssa's mouth with her tongue. But it's as Nyssa feels the hot hum of Laurel's moan in the back of her throat that she realises what she's doing and pulls away.
"I'm sorry, I cannot… I will not take advantage of you."
"You're not," Laurel insists. "I mean, sure, I've never kissed a girl before, but it seems easy enough to figure out."
Nyssa laughs lightly despite herself, because there's just something about this Laurel that makes her weak at the knees. And Nyssa realises, now, that Laurel's softer, without those rough edges to her that had made them so alike and had drawn them together in the first place. She's without bruises or scars or cracks, just… happy. Blissfully so.
"Tell me about us, then," Laurel says. "You say you love me."
"With all my heart," is Nyssa's immediate response, and she turns her hand over so she can squeeze Laurel's.
"Why?"
"Wh-why?" Nyssa repeats, nonplussed.
"Yeah. Like, I figure at least part of the reason I liked you, anyway, was because you're so beautiful. You have these gorgeous cheekbones and lovely eyes."
"The Laurel I knew never flattered me so," Nyssa says, "at least, not with words." Nyssa closes her eyes, remembers the way Laurel would mouth soft vowels against the hollow of her throat, the nape of her neck, kissing Nyssa's roughened hands, Laurel's fingers splaying over the scars that cover her shoulder blades. She sighs involuntarily, and it's clear Laurel notices. "In answer to your question," says Nyssa, "I love you for many reasons. I dreamt of you for weeks before I finally confessed how I felt about you. I dreamt of your lips, your hands... I fell for your goodness, your compassion, your love for humanity. But most of all, I felt like - our souls connected, from the very first time we met. And something, something almost celestial, has drawn me to you ever since."
"That's romantic," Laurel says thoughtfully after a moment, and she smiles for a second at Nyssa before it fades away. "But it's also kind of hard to believe. The two of us - soulmates."
"Why is it hard to believe? Because of Sara?"
Laurel shakes her head. "No. Sara has nothing to do with it. I don't know. Maybe it's because I haven't had much luck with the people who I thought were my soulmates."
"You mean Tommy Merlyn and Oliver Queen."
"Yeah. I mean - I can buy that I loved you. But - my soul? Yours? I don't think so."
"Perhaps. Honestly, I felt the same way for the longest time. But then I realised you saved me… and I did not know until that moment how badly I needed to be saved."
"What moment?" Laurel presses.
"I..." Nyssa begins to say. She trails off, though, and she can feel the hot flush of pink work its way up her cheeks.
"Tell me."
"The moment I made love to you for the very first time," Nyssa says finally, and she's unable to look her in the eyes, now. "I cannot explain why… but everything changed."
Unbidden, Nyssa feels the soft pad of Laurel's finger under her chin as Laurel lifts Nyssa's face to hers so their eyes meet once more.
"You don't have to explain," Laurel says softly, and her eyes are filled with something so warm, shining so bright, that Nyssa momentarily forgets how to speak. "You don't have to say anything. Just… show me."
And when Laurel kisses her this time Nyssa kisses her back, her mouth snatching at Laurel's with less uncertainty than before, Nyssa's tongue in Laurel's mouth and her hands cupping her face. Nyssa can taste strawberry milkshake and smells sweat, for it's hot tonight, even with the windows wide open and the softest breeze fanning their faces, but all that does is turn her on even more as she pulls Laurel onto her lap. Nyssa feels Laurel's fingers at the hem of her shirt, and Nyssa lifts her arms up, revealing her bra. Laurel stares at her scars, lips slightly parted, and after a second she reaches out and touches the bullet hole on her bare shoulder.
And then, to Nyssa's surprise, Laurel's legs tighten around Nyssa's waist and she presses a kiss on that spot. Then, her hand fisting in Nyssa's hair, Laurel kisses her again, so Nyssa can feel the swipe of Laurel's tongue against her own.
"Show me," Laurel says again, and Nyssa can't stand it a second longer - she gets to her feet easily, lowers Laurel onto the couch, pulling down her jeans and panties as she does so. And she doesn't even take her time like she normally does, so desperate is Nyssa to taste her again; Laurel's legs go up and over Nyssa's shoulders, and Nyssa buries her tongue inside her, making Laurel gasp and cry out. Nyssa doesn't stop, not even when Laurel trembles to her first climax; Nyssa keeps going even though her jaw is aching and her arms are starting to hurt from where they're supporting Laurel's legs. And when at last she comes again Nyssa pushes up the hem of Laurel's shirt so Nyssa can rest her head on Laurel's abdomen. Laurel reaches down, strokes Nyssa's hair.
"Wow," she breathes.