Pre-Chapter Note: Sorry about the delay. I wanted to post this when I was sure AO3 was going to stay up this time. Like stated before, this is just a short chapter to wrap up Year 4. The first chapter for Year 5 will be posted Monday.
Starling City
"Ready to go?" Tommy asked his friend, car keys in hand as he waited next to the door.
"Ready," Sara confirmed, her purse around her shoulder. She glanced backward, where Ollie was packing his own bag. "Sure you can't come, Ollie?"
Ollie glanced over at them and shook his head. "Can't. Walter really wants me to attend this board meeting at the company. He said it would be a good learning experience."
The other two of their trio frowned. "How so?"
"One of the members of the IT department turned out to be the ex-hacktivist who created the supervirus that was used in all those bank heists in Gotham. You know, the ones that were stopped by that crazy vigilante chick?" Tommy and Sara nodded; it was all over the news, and even now the whispers had yet to die down.
"Well, it turns out the mastermind behind the heists was her dad, and proving himself 'father of the year', he sold her out when he was arrested. Allegedly it was some twisted way to force her to fulfill her 'potential'; really, it was so he could lessen his sentence, not that it worked." Oliver rolled his eyes — narcissists. Always making excuses for their self-serving actions.
"Okay," Sara said slowly. "What does this have to do with a board meeting, then?"
Oliver shrugged. "Her employment was terminated and she was arrested by the FBI. Rather publicly, at that. The whole debacle, however, is now something of a black eye for us and the Board is meeting to discuss how to best recover from this. We're probably going to mandate and implement more stringent background checks and a more comprehensive interview process so someone else can't slip through the cracks like that again."
Tommy blinked. "I mean, if she's a hacker then I'm not sure a stricter background check would've helped much."
"Maybe not, but as she was being cuffed, she claimed that QC shouldn't let the FBI arrest her since she's a valuable member of the department and its overall productivity will go down without her," Oliver rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Even though she was an associate at best."
"Wow," his best friend whistled. "It takes a special amount of narcissism and ego for a random IT worker to claim that a billion-dollar company can't survive without you."
"Yup, hence the revamped interview process. It's kind of disturbing that we didn't pick that up while we were putting together her personality profile."
Sara sighed. "Well, you have fun with that. Meanwhile, I'm heading off to the airport to make my breakup with my girlfriend official." She threw her arms upwards. "Yay me."
Seattle
"Where is she, where is she…?" Sara tapped her foot as she looked amongst the ever-shifting crowd of people at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, trying to spot a familiar head of red hair. Was she already gone? Sara's heart sunk at the thought of leaving things between Alex and her like that. She already had plenty enough regrets as it was, this was one she didn't want to add to the list.
"Found her!" Tommy's voice piped up, and Sara whirled around to see her friend pointing toward the direction of security. Already she could spot Alex, and her heart stopped.
"ALEX!"
Sara ran to her as much as she could in the airport, watching as Alex's head turned towards her in surprise. "Alex!" Sara said again, coming to a stop and grabbing her knees in exhaustion. "Thank God I caught you before you left."
"Sara, what are you doing here?" Alex asked, setting down her bag.
"Why wouldn't I be here? Did you really think I was going to leave things between us like that?"
Alex pursed her lips. "Well, you made it pretty clear you weren't happy with me."
The other woman sighed. "I know. And I'm sorry about that. It's just… that… I love you, Alex."
"And I love you," Alex reiterated, taking Sara's hands into her own. "I don't want to leave you, Sara, trust me. But my mother… she needs me."
"I get that. I understand. It's just… hard."
"Yeah," her now ex-girlfriend said, sadly. "It is."
They stared at each other for a long moment, before falling into an embrace. Sara felt her tears return as she squeezed Alex as hard as she could, desperately hoping to make this moment last as long as possible. Alex squeezed back, just as hard.
"Promise that you'll always remember me," Sara whispered.
"I will. As long as you promise you do the same."
The blonde pulled away and nodded, a little jerkily. Alex smiled tremulously, her own eyes wet. "Maybe, one day, if we ever meet again, we can be friends?"
"I'd like that."
There wasn't anything left to say. Alex gave her hands another squeeze, then let go, picking up her bag and heading directly for security. Sara watched her pass through the gate sadly and felt a familiar pair of strong arms wrapping around her from behind. Tommy.
She looked up at one of her oldest friends and leaned into his hug. "Thanks for coming here with me."
Tommy smiled down at her, expression bittersweet. "Hey, what are friends for?"
Starling City
"So what did you want to talk about, honey?" Quentin asked softly, setting down the pot of tea on the coffee table. Next to him, Dinah picked it up and began pouring out three cups.
Sara swallowed. She had said goodbye to Alex just this morning, and she still felt raw from the emotions of that unwanted farewell. Truth be told, she shouldn't be doing this right now. But if Sara didn't do it now when she was willing and ready, would she ever have the courage to try again?
It had to be now. As nervous as she was, it had to be right now.
"I need to tell you something," she said, wringing her hands together. "You know how I've been spending a lot of time with Alex lately, right?"
"Yes. What about it?"
"Well, there's a reason for that." She swallowed again. "We were dating."
The room fell silent. Sara gathered up her courage, ignoring the way her parents were staring at her. "I'm bisexual, Mom, Dad," the youngest Lance confessed. "It's not a phase or anything—"
"Is that it?"
Sara stilled. She stared at her parents. It was only now registering that there wasn't any disgust or anger. Just sympathy. "You don't care?"
"Sara, you're our daughter," Dinah said softly, setting down her teacup to take her daughter's hands. "Why would care about something like that?"
Before she knew it, her eyes were beginning to water. Sara found herself in another hug before long, feeling something lodged in her heart finally loosening. They weren't rejecting her. She was still their daughter.
Thank God, Sara thought, burying her head into her parents' shoulders. Thank God.
It was a near-perfect moment. If only Laurel could be here too.
Gotham City
"And… done!" Laurel declared, fastening her Canary necklace around her neck. She looked herself over the mirror, taking in her appearance. Her long hair was no longer wine red but now pitch black, and she had traded her blue contacts for brown ones. Trading in a distinct appearance for a generic one, the change would hopefully make her less memorable.
"You look good," Barbara told her, entering the room. "The bus is almost here. Ready to go?"
Laurel nodded, picking up her bag. Inside were the essentials and a few changes of clothes, along with the few personal items she was keeping: the Hozen, and the List. She was traveling light, in case she needed to make a quick escape. Already she had the location of the first safehouse she would be staying in at the next city over — the place where she would make her solo debut as Black Canary.
It had been one month since the defeat of the Calculator and Jason's impulsive introduction into the Family. Since then, her young friend had settled in nicely at Wayne Manor, adopted as another of Bruce's children and blessed by Dick as his eventual successor as Robin. He was thriving in his training, and Bruce projected he would be ready for basic fieldwork within a year. Considering Jason was technically untrained, only having what he picked up from the streets, it was quite impressive.
He's going to be fine, Laurel mused. They all are. She had already said her goodbyes to the Waynes, giving each of them — even Bruce! — a hug. Now all that was left was her and Babs.
She walked outside the Clocktower and found the bus waiting for her. Next to it was Barbara, talking with the driver. Upon seeing Laurel, she gestured her over, and the two women exchanged a hug. "Don't be a stranger," Barbara said as they let go, a bittersweet smile on her face.
"I won't. I promise," Laurel replied, smiling back.
With that final word said, she boarded the bus for her next adventure. She had learned much in Gotham and gained even more, but it was time for her to go.
Laurel closed her eyes for a brief moment and then stepped inside. One more year, she promised.
One more year, and I'll be home.
And that's Year 4. Now all that's left is Year 5, and then onwards to Season 1. Oh, I can't wait.
Next chapter: The beginning of Year 5.