embers

They met in an abandoned warehouse. Tall empty walls that echoed. Nyssa imagined that they stretched on forever. The thought made her feel suffocated. She missed the crisp mountain air of her childhood. The clean smell of flowers and snow. The thought of Laurel deep in the bones of this place made her feel even worse. But she had a job to do. She had reasons, she had plans, she had a war to fight. So she breathed deeply, steadily, and kept her gaze straight ahead.

Even when they dragged Laurel out in front of her, pushing her to her knees, somewhere that girl should never be, all Nyssa could do was stare straight forward. Straight at an arrow. She felt her jaw twitching from the effort. She could tell from what she heard of Laurel's breathing that she was angry. That was good. She still had her spirit within her.

"You will come with us to Nanda Parbat. You will reveal what you know of the league and it's magic."

Team arrow stood behind Nyssa. This crook in front of her. But she didn't move. She didn't owe them a single movement. She didn't belong to them. She belonged to herself, and whoever she chose to give herself too. And that was not this thug. It wasn't a husband. It wasn't the league. It wasn't the demon, her father. It was one person. She looked at Laurel finally, purposefully, knowing she would find her answer.

She saw that they had hurt her. This was to be expected, and she knew Laurel could take it. But still. There was a dark purple bruise blossoming on her cheek. Bruised peach, trampled flowers. It made Nyssa want to cut throats.

Laurel's eyes were wide and bright, but they weren't scared. She was looking at her like she always looked at her, like she trusted her to do the right thing.

Nyssa knew what kind of terror a league led by mercenaries could do. They would destroy worlds. But there was a twisting in her stomach. She wanted very badly just for Laurel to be ok.

"Don't, Nyssa." Laurel says, her voice as gentle as feathers, as sunlight. Nyssa is surprised to see Laurel smiling, and she knows what it means. She's trying to tell her it's ok.

"Do you not value your woman's life?" Blackbeard chuckled.

Nyssa scowled that medusa scowl of hers. "Do not call her that." She stood up a little straighter. "What would be the point of saving her when I would lose her anyway? Lose her faith in me?" There would be a point, of course. She would endure any hatred, any loss, for Laurel's life. But she raises her head and gathers her strength when she sees Laurel. She's looking at her like she is proud of her. And so she carries on, addressing Blackbeard once more. "You know nothing of love."

Blackbeard sighed. The sharp ring of his sword echoes around the room. Everyone else draws their weapons, Nyssa doing it automatically, staring at Laurel the whole time, like she's trying to keep her there in the world by sheer force of will. There is a shift in the air. Silent communication. Some understanding that meant Laurel knew something was coming. Laurel nods almost imperceptibly, even as a sword is pressed against her throat. Her face has settled into a serene calm.

"I made myself clear. If you refuse me, Laurel Lance will die."

Nyssa glanced at him. Then she smiled.

"What are you smiling at?" He asked a little uneasily. Only just realizing there might be something to be uneasy about. As if this arrogant man could ever be a league member, let a lone leader.

"If it had been anyone else this plan might have worked." Nyssa told him. "You were after all, correct in your assumption that I would do anything to ensure the safety of..." She hesitated for the briefest moment before saying "The safety of my beloved." She lets the worlds settle inside of her. "But you were wrong about one thing."

Team arrow was still behind her, poised and ready, like jungle cats ready to pounce.

"She doesn't need me to do anything." Nyssa finishes in explanation. "In fact, I would wager she has simply been waiting for the right moment."

"For what, exactly? To laywer me to death?" Blackbeard sneers.

"No," Laurel grunts. "To kick your ass."

And then several things happened at once. Arrows were shot, swords rang out, people inexplicably fell from the ceiling. The usual. But that is not what Nyssa would remember most. What Nyssa remembers most, is this;

Laurel sprang up, her hair flying wild at the wind. She was like a lion roaring against the burning sun.

And she fought. Hard, brutal smacks, dull thuds of flesh being hit. Bruises and blood.

But she was free. She was moving and breathing and fighting. She was real, she was a heartbeat, a war drum, a victory cry. She was every thought, every wish that Nyssa had ever kept hidden. She is a thousand exploding stars.

She was there, right in front of Nyssa, saving herself, looking like a valkyrie, like a myth. But she was present and here with her. With Nyssa, in her bones. She's living, she's oxygen in veins. Nyssa loves her more in that moment than any memory, any fiction she could invent.

Laurel falls asleep on her shoulder as they make their way home. Nyssa doesn't move a muscle so she doesn't wake her up. She thinks about what she'd like to do now, and for some reason all she can think about is fries and chocolate milkshake.

When they get back to the city there are hugs and tears and various manly grunts instead of actual emotional expression and Laurel accepts all of this gracefully. Nyssa watches calmly, waiting. She is patient. She had been waiting for something inexplicable, unnameable, for her whole life. She feels this unnamed thing might finally be coming into focus.

They sit at the same table they always sit at and order the same thing they always order. The routine is comforting, like it had always been this way.

Laurel's eyes scan the walls of the restaurant where there were many Polaroids of the customers from over the years. Families grinning, the kids faces covered in food. Couples holding hands on the table without noticing, the touch familiar. A hundred lives all spread out in front of her. It's why Laurel loves it here. It's the same reason she stands on rooftops. It reminds her of all the people she fought for. The people she tried to save. They look happy.

She is struck by a thought suddenly, when she looks in their eyes. Like they are speaking to her. Like they are saying it's ok. It's ok, you did it. You saved us. We're alright now. You can go. We'll be fine. Go and be as happy as us. It's your turn. We love you, we love you, we love you.

She listens.

Laurel takes a deep breath and looks at Nyssa, her face soft in the low light.

"We could go somewhere." She says.

Nyssa blinks in surprise but doesn't speak.

"You know, I've never really traveled. I always said after college, but, well, you know." She trails off. She doesn't sound sad exactly. Just nostalgic for things that didn't happen.

"Could you really leave here?" Nyssa asks. "Really? And with me?"

Laurel thinks about it seriously for a moment. "Yes."

"Oliver and Felicity couldn't leave." Nyssa points out.

Laurel shakes her head. The ideas, the words come to her fully formed just waiting for her to notice them and catch up.

"They thought it was either or. They tried to be different people. We wouldn't need to do that. We can travel and still help people. People always need help, wherever they are. Star city isn't the only place that needs a hero." Laurel sighs again. "I mean we don't have to. If you don't want to. It might be better for you to settle somewhere."

Nyssa shakes her head slowly. "I did think that. But then I realized that peace, that normality, it didn't come from this city. It...It was you. You are that place. I would go anywhere with you."

Laurel's face breaks with emotion and she reaches out to take Nyssa's hand across the table.

So this is how it starts. There are no grand proclamations. No cruel to be kind. One does not make decisions for the other. It's a partnership. There are a few moments of course, when one thinks they might be safer apart. But they respected and loved each other enough to accept, not to hurt. And besides, what would be the point of killing yourself just to stay alive if you weren't going to live your life at the end of it? So they spread their wings and flew away.

And everybody lived.