Sara was nervous as hell. Last night had been…a start. An amazing start. They'd talked, they'd laughed…they'd kissed. Sara breathed a sigh of relief and sunk into her seat slightly, her arms resting gently over her chest. She didn't need to be nervous, Ava liked her. She really liked her. She knew more than others, way more and she still really liked her.

"Are you ready to order?" A ginger waitress asked as she smiled gently, drawing Sara's attention away from the empty seat in front of her.

"Oh, I'm just waiting for…" Sara trailed off as Ava walked through the door. She still wasn't used to seeing the blonde out of her uniform and she couldn't help but stare as she walked excitedly over to the table. "Her…" She finished causing the waitress to look up at the equally loved up blonde.

"I'll give you two a minute." She mumbled, moving past Ava as she finally reached the table.

"Hi." Ava smiled.

"Hi back." Sara beamed. Stumbling to her feet to pull out Ava's seat. "How's Annie and the baby?" She asked as she nervously fidgeted with the menu.

Ava's smile deepened. "They're both good. He's beautiful…Poppy was telling him all about you." She blushed lightly.

"Obviously." Sara smirked as she reached out her hand to capture Ava's.

"Why am I so nervous…" The blonde whispered.

"I am too." Sara giggled as she whispered back. "I've been sitting here for like fifthteen minutes." She admitted, dropping her head into her spare hand.

"I was up half the night thinking about you." Ava blurted. Her eyes widening as she saw the amused smirk fall onto Sara's face. "And I just realized how pathetic that sounds."

"No! I'm flattered really…maybe next time I could be there…keeping you up half the night." The captain smirked wickedly, covering their joined hands with her spare one.

Leaning forward slightly, Ava purred."Maybe that can be arranged."

"Coffee ladies?" The pair jumped apart, their faces deep red as the waitress smiled brightly.

"Yes! Coffee." Ava coughed, dropping Sara's hands as she picked up the menu.

Two coffee's and an awkward smile or two at the waitress after the pair were sitting in a soft silence. Their hands once again joined in the middle of the table. Fleeting glances shared as they sipped on the much needed caffeine fix.

"I'm sorry." Sara smiled sadly as she broke their comfortable silence.

"You don't have to keep apologizing, Sara." Ava reassured, rubbing her thumb over Sara's rings.

"I do." She nodded. "I've never wanted to apologize to someone this much before." Sara admitted, an embarrassed smile tugging on her lips.

"I'm honored." Ava laughed. "Whatcha thinking about?" She whispered as she saw Sara's eyes glaze over slightly.

"Nessa." She answered without thinking, her heart hunting as she felt Ava's grip loosen slightly.

"Your ex?" She muttered, trying to hide the hurt in her voice.

"I'm sorry that came out wrong." Sara quickly fumbled with her words before taking a deep breath. "I was thinking about her, just not like that…I was thinking about the day we met and how open she had been with me. She made it look so easy, I wish I could be like that." She admitted, hoping that Ava understood where she was coming from.

"Me too." She smiled sadly. "Since I started at the Bureau I feel like I've been too afraid to speak my mind." She shrugged.

"Afraid of spilling too many state secrets?" Sara joked with a wink.

"I wish it was that simple." Ava snorted, before her smile softly faded. "Everyone looks at me like I shouldn't be there."

"Because of your mom?"

"Because I'm a woman…but that doesn't really help much either." She mumbled, smiling for a second as Sara squeezed her hand lovingly. "And then you came along."

"And ruined everything?" She asked sadly.

"No. Not in the slightest." Ava was quick to defend. "You showed me how powerful I could be. You overcame everything and were still kicking everyone's ass. I wanted that. I wanted the respect that you had, even in the Bureau, nobody would have dreamed of saying anything behind your back." She felt pathetic as she spilled the thoughts plaguing her mind. "And then we happened." Her heart skipped a beat, visions of every heated moment the pair had shared over the last few weeks.

"Did anyone say anything?" Sara's eyebrows raised, ready to match up to the Time Bureau and punch the smirks of those douchebag's faces.

"No..quite the opposite actually. Suddenly I had respect." She admitted meekly. "But it wasn't real, the respect. It faded as quickly as it appeared…because it wasn't really for me." She dipped her head in embarrassment, afraid to meet Sara's worried gaze.

Reaching across the small table, Sara hooked her finger under Ava's chin and forced her head up to meet her. "I respect you, Ava." She gently caressed Ava's cheek, holding her head softly as Ava lent into her embrace. "Besides your mother, you're the only time stiff that I do respect. Those idiots don't deserve a second thought, let alone any respect." She gently pinched her cheek, forcing a small smile onto her face.

"You make me feel seen." She whispered, squeezing Sara's hand tightly. "I'm glad we did this."

"Let's get out of here." Sara's smile fell, as she threw a few dollar bills to cover the check and a generous tip for the waitress. "I've got some place I want to show you." She announced, standing at Ava's side with her hand held out for Ava to take. An invitation that she instantly accepted.


The marina was calm. Small groups of fishers, rich families and boat fanatics weaved through the endless rows of boats. Ava lent gently on the railing, looking out at the picture perfect day.

"Pretty." She smiled as Sara's shoulder bumped against her. Their hands met in the air as they stretched out their arms.

"It's where it all started." Sara admitted after a few moments of silent people watching. "The Gambit was docked right there the night I snuck on with my sister's boyfriend." She pointed over to the small boat that was docked in the old Queen spot.

"Oliver Queen?" Ava questioned - she knew the answer, she knew everything about Sara's past. But she knew that this was hard for the blonde to talk about, so she was ready to listen.

"I didn't even like him all that much." Sara laughed, turning away from the water as she leaned her back against the railing. "I just wanted to hurt her…" She whispered as Ava turned to face her. "I had told her I liked girls a few days before…and she laughed at me. She told me I was looking for attention because all eyes were on her and Oliver…so I went to his house and I kissed him…and I kept kissing him." Her eyes filled as she thought back to that weekend.

"I'm so sorry Sara." Ava gently reached down and laced their hands together, a small squeeze signaling for Sara to continue if she wanted to.

"When the ship picked me up I didn't fight them. I thought that I deserved everything they threw at me. It made me cold, hard…lifeless. And then I saw him again…I figured it was my bad karma that had caused all of this, so I risked everything to save him." Flashes of torture filled her mind, every scar on her body burning as the words left her throat.

"You don't have to-"

"I need to." She cut her off, pulling her away from the busy rail. Sitting down on a nearby bench, Sara kept her hand glued to Ava's. "I used to keep track of all the people I killed. Their faces littered my dreams…until there were too many."

"The league?" The blonde queried.

"Before, actually." Sara let out a sad snort. "The league came after, way after." She shivered, prompting Ava to wrap a loving arm around her strong shoulders. "They were like a second family to me…or I guess a replacement family. They took me in, pretended to love me and broke me. They took all the pieces of me and molded me into a monster. An assassin. They thought giving it a title would make it better. And at the time, it worked. I killed with honor…then I had to leave."

"You came back for your sister?" Ava watched as the memories flashed behind Sara's eyes. Her heart broke at the pain that fell upon her face.

"I came back to kill an old friend, but seeing Laurel was a bonus." She said matter of factly. "But like always, I blew everything up…I died."

"Hardly your fault." She quipped gently.

"I knew he was after me, I should have kept running but I just needed to see her again…and insead she watched me die…again." The tears that fell down her face were quickly wiped away as she continued. "It ruined her. She ruined herself to get me back."

"The pit?"

"The infamous Lazarus pit." Sara confirmed. "It brought me back to life…but there was nothing inside. Any essence of the Sara I was before…gone." She stood, wiping her eyes firmly. She paced slightly. Her skin was crawling as she relived everything. She had never told anyone everything like this, but if there was any hope for her and Ava, she knew that she needed to do this. "I was thirsty for blood, to feel a man die at my hands."

"But you came back…" Ava reached out her hand to pull Sara over to her, gently she wrapped her arms around Sara's waist.

"I fought my way back, clawed my way back to me." She mumbled, running her hands through Ava's soft hair. "The Legends helped. Rip gave me a purpose again and I became a hero…in my own little world."

"You are a hero Sara." She pulled her down to sit once again, happily opening her arms for Sara. With a soft smile she cuddled into Ava's embrace, closing her eyes as Ava placed a small kiss on Sara's head.

"When I'm with you…I don't feel like a monster anymore…I feel like the girl I was before I stepped on that boat." She whispered.

"Thank you for telling me all of this." Ava whispered back showering Sara's face with millions of kisses, until the pair burst out laughing.

"Thank you for not running." Sara smiled, before pushing herself up to capture Ava's lips.

Today had been a good day…but just like everything good in Sara's life, there was always something waiting round the corner to mess everything up.