Work Text:
Gideon’s words hung in the air for a few moments, neither Sara nor Ava moving.
“I - I wanna go back to our room,” Sara said, slowly swinging her legs off the chair in the med-bay and standing up.
“No, babe, wait - Gideon, is there anything - ”
“I’m sorry Miss Sharpe, but - ”
“Please just stop!” Sara cried, grabbing Ava’s arm for support. “I just - I wanna lie down. In my own bed. I don’t - I just…” Sara’s chest was heaving. She couldn’t breath and felt like she was going to be sick.
“I’ve got you, babe,” Ava said, taking Sara’s arm to support her. All the energy and pep her girlfriend had had a minute ago had been sucked away. Sara looked pale and small. They walked in silence back to their room. Sara shuffled to the bed and sat down, leaning over and resting her head in her hands, her hair flopping forward, hiding her face. Ava didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know how to help, or what to say or what to do.
“I’m just going to the bathroom. Be back in a minute,” Ava said awkwardly. Sara didn’t move. Ava hated seeing her so defeated, all her confidence and enthusiasm gone in seconds; it felt like a stab in the heart. She couldn’t imagine what Sara was feeling.
Ava formulated a brief plan. Go to the bathroom. Make a cup of herbal tea. Get a water for Sara. Help Sara into bed.
“Nate. Why are you loitering?” Ava asked, almost walking into him.
“I’m not loitering. I’m waiting.”
“For what?”
“The bathroom,” Nate said, slowly shifting from one foot to another.
“Why is there a queue at this hour? It’s not the morning or just before bed,” Ava hissed. She didn’t have time for this. “Who’s in there?”
“Can’t a girl take a leak in a bit of peace?” Charlie called.
Ava sighed and ran her hand through her hair.
“How’s Sara?” Nate asked, then clenched his teeth as Ava glared at him. “Like that, huh? Can’t Gideon - ”
“Nope.” Ava didn’t dare say more, worried she would snap or burst into tears. This wasn’t Nate’s fault. Ava was angry and frustrated with herself, with Gideon, with the whole situation, with having to wait to use the damned bathroom.
“You can go next,” Nate offered.
“I need to get off this damned ship,” Ava mumbled.
“Gideon can arrange that,” Nate said.
“What?”
“If you want. Hack a hotel system, book you a room. Get some air, change of scenery. Money’s not an issue.”
“Is that how you stay in that resort in Aruba?”
“We going to Aruba?” Charlie asked, adjusting her skirt and stockings as the the bathroom door opened. Nate wasn’t sure where to look; Charlie poked out her tongue.
“I am not taking Sara to Aruba,” Ava said, feeling a headache coming on. The last place she wanted to go was a party town filled with stinky, drunk college students, screaming, sandy over-excited children, and sunburnt middle-aged middle-Americans. The idea of the heat and the humidity and the noise was too much.
“Oi, Gideon, find somewhere for the Captain and Mrs Captain to crash for the night,” Charlie said.
“You guys aren’t worried?” Ava asked.
“About what? Sara? Yeah, of course. Or do you mean you two spending the night off the ship? Nope,” Nate shrugged.
Ava pursed her lips. “Do you think it’s a good idea?”
“If staying here’s gunna drive you nuts, and Sara’s mental health is going down the drain quicker than her physical health, then you two getting out for a few hours is probably the best thing for all of us,” Charlie said.
“Plus it’s two less people in the morning bathroom queue,” Nate added.
“Gideon, how soon before we can go?”
“I’m ready when you are, Ms Sharpe,” Gideon replied.
“Ten minutes then,” Ava said, slipping between Nate and Charlie into the bathroom. “You two are in charge. Don’t do anything stupid, and don’t break anything, yourselves included.”
“Look after the Captain,” Charlie said.
“Always,” Ava swallowed, the door sliding shut between them.
…
Ava pulled out her overnight bag and begun packing changes of underwear and their pyjamas. Sara hadn’t moved from her spot, sitting hunched on the edge of the bed.
“Am I packing for hot or cold weather, Gideon?” Ava asked.
“Cool, but not freezing, Ms Sharpe,” Gideon replied.
Ava grabbed their coats and threw them on the bed, then set about finding woollen jumpers. It was only one night, but she liked to be prepared.
“What are you doing?” Sara mumbled.
“We’re going out for the night.”
“We got an Encore? Now? Can’t Astra deal with it?”
“No. Not that. I mean just us. Mini vacation. Mystery destination, Gideon’s organising it all.”
Sara lifted her head and rolled onto the bed, facing Ava. “Why?”
“Because we need a break. We need some air. You’ve been in a coma for days, and the last time I left the ship was to visit literal hell. I need to not share a bathroom with eight other people for one night. I want to order room service. I want to sleep in a bed with tightly-tucked hotel sheets. I - I think I’ve been needing this for a little bit, but didn’t realise. And I - I think you need it too.”
Sara knelt on the bed. “One night?”
“One night. The team will be ok, and I need to take care of you. I’ve left Nate and Charlie in charge which I’m beginning to think may not have been the best idea and - ”
Sara leant across and awkwardly grabbed Ava’s arm. Ava took Sara’s hand and kissed the back of it, looking into her clouded, unseeing eyes. Ava tucked Sara’s hair behind her ears with her other hand.
“Ok,” Sara said, forcing a small smile.
“Really ok?”
“Really, Aves. For one night, it might be just the thing we need.”
Ava smiled and exhaled, realising she had been holding her breath. “Ok. Coat, beanie. I’ve got my phone and wallet. Come on, babe, up you get.”
Sara stood up and Ava dressed her in her coat and beanie.
“Sunglasses?” Sara asked.
Ava found her sunglasses and handed them to Sara, pulling on her own coat and throwing the bag over her shoulder. “Ok, Gideon. Call us if it’s the end of the world or something terrible.”
“Or not,” Sara smirked, taking Ava’s arm.
“Enjoy your night off, Captain, Ms Sharpe,” Gideon said as Ava opened the portal with her time courier.
Ava and Sara stepped through into a bright, blustery park. Wind was blowing off a huge, blue lake surrounded by mountains.
“Where are we?” Sara asked, turning her face into the sun, and taking deep breaths of the crisp, fresh mountain air. The cold wind whipped against her cheeks, but it made her feel alive.
“I was about to say Canada, but the cars are on the wrong side of the road,” Ava said, looking around. Her phone pinged and she pulled it out of her coat pocket.
“Who’s that?”
“Gideon sending the hotel booking confirmation,” Ava replied. “Welcome to Queenstown, New Zealand, Sara Lance.”
Sara smiled more genuinely this time, holding tight onto Ava’s arm and interlacing their fingers as Ava used her free arm to figure out the directions to the hotel. “Ok, up this way, not far. And we have a $200 room credit, so I think we’re having room service for dinner.”
“It has been way too long since we ate non-fabricated food,” Sara said, stumbling slightly.
Ava pursed her lips, noticing that Sara was less sure on her feet than she had been in the Waverider. They didn’t speak much as they walked to the hotel, the foyer almost too warm after the blustery briskness outside. A few minutes later they were in their second-floor room with a king-sized bed and a balcony overlooking the lake. Ava unpacked their few things, while Sara stood on the balcony, hands tightly gripping the rail.
“What does it look like?” Sara asked.
“You know the opening scene from Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers? With the helicopter shot over the mountains?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah. That. Quite specifically that exact shot. Plus the lake. It’s - it’s really beautiful, babe,” Ava said, coming to stand behind Sara. She wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. “Your cheeks are cold.”
“I’m fine, I’m still in a coat and beanie,” Sara said.
“The bathroom has two sinks,” Ava said, unable to contain her excitement.
“Seriously?” Sara chuckled.
“Very serious. And a massive bath.”
Sara leant her head into Ava’s shoulder. “Between that and the massive bed, I think we’re going to find out just how well I know your body, Miss Sharpe.”
Ava chuckled, kissing Sara’s neck. “The room-service menu has a good selection of food and drinks, and the bar downstairs had a very wide range of spirits.”
“I’m not eating downstairs,” Sara said quietly. “I’m not - not ready to do that.”
“You ok?”
Sara shrugged.
“Talk to me,” Ava breathed.
“Can we go for a walk?” Sara asked.
“Will you talk to me on the walk?”
Sara sighed. “I’m scared,” she swallowed. “And I hate being scared. Then I get frustrated with myself for being mad at being scared. And I - I’m… I’m so scared of losing you…
“I’m not going anywhere,” Ava said, turning Sara around to look at her face. Ava removed Sara’s glasses and touched her forehead to her girlfriend’s. “I love you, Sara. Nothing is going to change that, and I am not going anywhere. So please don’t worry about that.”
Sara blinked, forcing back tears.
“We’ve faced worse,” Ava said quietly. “Or at least, things this bad. I thought I had lost you. And I - I didn’t know what to do, and - ”
“In the vision you were dead. I stabbed you and your blood was all over the floor. And it was my fault. I am so sorry.”
“No, no. Baby, that is not your fault. It wasn’t real.”
“It was real,” Sara said, her voice cracking.
“You changed it,” Ava said, tightening her grip on Sara. “You saw the future, but you were able to change it. You might be able to harness this power, to use it.”
“I don’t want it,” Sara said, finally unable to stop the tears. “I want to be able to see you.”
They stood on the balcony for a few minutes, wrapped in each other’s arms and their own thoughts. Ava tried to think of something helpful to say, but nothing came to mind. She just held onto Sara, hoping her presence would be enough to reassure her girlfriend she was loved and not alone. They’d find a way to fix this. The Legends always did. Things always got worse with them before it got better. Ava didn’t know a comforting way to say that.
“Come on, babe,” she said, once she could feel that Sara had stopped crying. “Let’s go for a walk.”
…
They returned an hour later, red-cheeked from the cold, but feeling all the better for the walk along the lakeside. In a few places the wind was blowing cold mist off the lake, which had made Sara squeal with laughter at the unexpected blasts of water. Her steps had become more confident the more they walked, and by time they returned to their room with the sun setting behind the mountains, Sara’s enthusiasm had returned and she had the evening all planned out.
“You said there’s M&M’s in the mini-bar, right?” Sara asked, climbing onto the bed.
“Can’t you wait for room-service? It’s only just past five o’clock,” Ava said, shutting the curtains.
Sara kicked off her boots, which Ava proceeded to carefully place by the door. “I haven’t eaten for days,” Sara said, pulling off her coat.
“Fine,” Ava said, grabbing the M&M’s out of the mini-fridge and throwing them to Sara. “And you know those shoes have laces, right?”
“You know I can’t see when you throw stuff at me, right?” Sara smiled, groping about on the bed for the candy.
“Sorry, babe.”
“I mean, I’m good, but I might be a little out of practice and have taken a bit of a knock to my confidence,” Sara said as Ava crawled onto the bed beside her. “Were you cleaning up my things?”
“It’s one thing for you to make a mess under normal circumstances, I don’t want you spraining an ankle on a stray item of clothing,” Ava said, tearing open the packet. “Want a drink?”
“Cocktail hour?”
Ava tipped some M&M’s into Sara’s hand and grabbed the room service menu. “It’s certainly that time. Want some starters?”
“All of them,” Sara said, shuffling closer to Ava, holding her hand out for more M&M’s. “Because I know what I’m having for my main.”
“Oh my gosh, Sara, you are a terrible person!” Ava laughed, “Eat your candy.”
“Are you blushing?” Sara asked.
“Shut-up.”
Sara grinned, tipping the M&M’s into her mouth. “Well, I think that you’re wonderful. And I’m going to show you exactly how wonderful very soon.”
…
A cocktail each, half a bottle of champagne, and seven delicious appetisers shared between them later, Sara allowed Ava to undress her as she ran the bath.
“Did you put oils in the bath?” Sara asked.
“No, there’s candles though. And bubble bath, but it’s not scented.”
“Wow, Gideon really knew what to get for our room,” Sara said, lifting her arms as Ava pulled her shirt and bra off.
“The bath’s there,” Ava said, leading Sara to the edge of the bath. “Get in carefully.”
“Aren’t you joining me?”
“I’m still dressed, babe,” Ava said, turning off the taps.
“Well, hurry up!”
Ava chuckled and shook her head, quickly pulling off her clothes and dumping them in a neat pile out of the way before joining Sara in the tub.
“Move your leg.”
“Over here?”
“Oh, careful, the tap’s there.”
“What about over here?” Sara said, leaning forward through the bubbles, trying to get to Ava.
“Ow. Babe!”
“Sorry.”
“Careful.”
“Ouch.”
“Ok, stop,” Ava said, not sure whether she wanted to laugh or shake some sense into Sara. “I know you wanna lead, and you can later on, but if you try to in the bath, you’re going to end up slipping and splitting your head open and I really don’t want to have to go back to the Waverider early.”
“So, what do we do?” Sara asked, quite enjoying the sensation of the bath. Being surrounded by bubbles and warm water and Ava’s limbs made her feel better than she’d felt all day.
“Swap positions.”
“What?”
“Let me lead.”
“Ava Sharpe,” Sara grinned.
“Sara Lance, you are insufferable,” Ava said, taking Sara by the shoulders and manoeuvring her so that Sara’s back was resting against the edge of the bath, while Ava straddled her. “There. Now you can’t slip.”
Sara grinned, lifting her hands up through the bubbles to find Ava’s shoulders, pulling her towards her. “My body can’t, but my hands just might,” Sara grinned wickedly, one hand slipping down Ava’s back, the other up into her hair, pulling her face forwards into a kiss.
…
Ava combed and blow-dried Sara’s hair while they waited for the desserts to be brought up. Guessing that the quality of the desserts would match that of the earlier appetisers, they ordered four to share, and weren’t disappointed. They lay in each other’s arms on the king-sized bed, wrapped in fluffy white hotel dressing gowns, the champagne bottle empty and safely discarded, full, slightly tipsy and in a bit of a sugar-coma from the desserts.
“We should do this more often,” Sara said, her head nestled against Ava’s shoulder.
“I had no idea Gideon can organise this sort of thing,” Ava said.
“Eh. She doesn’t do it often. Kinda an abuse of resources and all that. Besides, if something happens to the timeline, we kind of need to actually be there, on the ship, captaining said ship.”
Ava chuckled, pulling Sara closer. “And I just remembered Lita is still on board.”
“Oh. Umm, oh well?” Sara shrugged.
“And Gary has a suspicious rabbit.”
“I’m sure the team can deal with a rabbit,” Sara said, snuggling as close to Ava as she could get.
“You ok?” Ava said. She still didn’t quite know what to say, but she knew she had to keep checking in with Sara, as Sara was unlikely to offer up the information unprompted.
“Maybe,” Sara said. “I’ve been thinking.”
“When have you had time to think?” Ava asked.
Sara chuckled and sighed. “Maybe Charlie can fix my sight with the loom. Maybe John can with magic. I don’t know. There’s more options than just Gideon. I’m not giving up. I can’t.”
Ava could feel Sara’s heartbeat increasing. She rubbed her back.
“Besides,” Sara said, forcing emotion down and leaning in to give Ava a quick kiss, “Would this work if we were both blind?”
“What?” Ava asked, searching for meaning that she’d usually find in Sara’s eyes that wasn’t there.
Sara flipped Ava onto her back and sat straddling her hips without Ava knowing quite how she’d done it. “Don’t play coy with me, Miss Sharpe,” Sara said, slowing untying Ava’s dressing gown, a delicious smirk on her face. “You know exactly what I mean.”
…
It took Ava a moment to realise where she was. She was lying almost diagonally across the massive hotel bed, with Sara curled against her side. Faint morning light peaked in through the gap in the curtains giving the room a soft light. Ava kissed the top of Sara’s head and gently stroked her hair.
“I’m awake,” Sara said.
“Did I wake you?”
“No, I’ve been awake for a while. I even managed to go to the bathroom and get a drink and come back without kicking any walls, walking into anything, or hitting my head.” Sara stretched out, and Ava looked at her milky, unseeing eyes, again feeling as though she’d been stabbed in the heart. Sara was putting on such a brave face; she didn’t deserve this. Ava prayed that Charlie or John or someone would be able to set this right.
“Did you sleep alright?” Ava asked.
“Well, I got to sleep very easily,” Sara smirked.
Ava pouted and blushed at the memory. Sara’s knowledge of her body was formidable. She hoped the rooms either side of theirs were empty or that the walls were very well insulated, because she had not been able to keep quiet.
Sara sighed. “And I slept ok-ish.”
“Nightmare?”
Sara shrugged.
“You could have woken me.”
“I could hear your heartbeat. Feel you were there. That was enough.”
Ava wrapped her arms around Sara and pulled her in close, kissing her cheek. “You are always welcome to wake me.”
“I know,” Sara said, cuddling into Ava.
“You ok?” Ava asked.
“Not really. But I have to be, so…?”
“You’re allowed to be not ok with me.”
“I don’t want to upset you or make you worry.”
“I’m a worrier. I worry anyway.”
“I know,” Sara said, grateful for their closeness.
“Any more visions?” Ava asked.
“Nope. I guess I probably need to talk to Charlie about that. Figure how why they only happen sometimes, because it’s not as though I didn’t have my hands all over you last night.”
“Promise to tell me when you have one? Even if it’s scary or sad or bad?”
Sara nodded. “I saw you dead. Can’t get much worse than that…” She lifted her head.
Ava moved slightly so that her lips met Sara’s. She closed her eyes as they kissed. “About that blindfold idea…” she said, after the broke apart to breathe.
Sara chuckled. “Gideon better have got us late check-out, because blindfolds and this bed is giving me a lot of ideas. Plus I am not missing out on room service for breakfast. Nate and Charlie can hold the fort for a few hours longer.”