Sara hit the ground with a hard thud.
"Beloved! I am so sorry!" Nyssa rushed to her aid, evidently feeling guilty for knocking Sara down.
Sara chuckled at her girlfriend's antics, "I'm fine, really. It probably won't even leave a bruise."
She pushed herself up from the ground, it would certainly leave a bruise....not that she would tell Nyssa that. As much as she loved the dark-haired assassin, she was very overprotective, and it was just recently she had partially stopped babying her. Even though Sara was one of the most skilled members of the League, Nyssa did all she could to keep her out of danger.. Sara was grateful for that, but she needed her space sometimes.
"I think we are done for the day," Nyssa declared, picking up a towel and wiping the excess sweat from her face. Even when she was disheveled and sweaty, Sara thought that Nyssa was the most breathtaking woman she had ever seen.
"Oh, I think not, I'd quite like to have a go with the Yellow Canary I hear everyone talking about," a softly accented voice rang through the dojo.
Nyssa knew that voice, and she had learned to despise it. She turned around to see her suspicions confirmed,
"Talia," she sounded exasperated, "We are done for the day. Sara let us go," Nyssa gently took hold of the blonde's hand. If there was anyone she didn't want Sara being around, it was her sister.
Sara was confused, "Why? Who is she?" she asked rather loudly, Nyssa would have to teach her to be more subtle.
"Oh Sister, I-" Talia began.
"Half sister," Nyssa interrupted,
Talia waved her off, "As I was saying. I am rather offended that you did not tell your little bird about me. Why I have heard much of her," Talia moved toward Sara, and extended a hand to her. "Talia al Ghul, the real Heir to the Demon," she said proudly.
Nyssa rolled her eyes, earning a smile from Sara, her sister hadn't changed at all.
"Ta-er al-Sahfer," she paused, "Sara Lance, college dropout," she smirked.
"You know how to pick them sister, I heard you picked her up like a stray dog from the rain," Talia loved getting a rise out of her sister.
"Enough!" Nyssa raised her voice, "Sara, I think we should be going."
"No," Sara stood her ground, "If she's going to act like an ass then I'll be happy to kick hers."
Talia smiled like a child who had gotten away with stealing a cookie, "I see why you like her Sister, she's a spirited one. Cocky, but spirited. Step forward, and let's see if you could perhaps provide me with some entertainment."
Sara began walking forward, when Nyssa grabbed her elbow,
"As much as I love you, please do not fight my sister. She is not a worthy opponent, and though you would beat her in a fair fight, she fights dirty," she tried to dissuade her Beloved from sparring with her wretched sister.
"We both know that I can do that too," she wiggles her eyebrows, and Nyssa blushed slightly, "I can handle myself Nyssa. Let me fight her," Sara insisted,
"I cannot let you do that Beloved," Nyssa was more serious,
Sara immediately became defensive, "Don't you think I can take care of myself in a fight?"
"That is not what I said Sara," Nyssa tried to calm her girlfriend down. Talia just had to wreak havoc wherever she went.
"Well I-" before Sara could finish, Ra's walked into the training room.
"Aaah Ta-er al-Sahfer, I see you have met my other daughter Talia," he sensed the tension in the room. "I have a mission for you to go on, meet me in twenty minutes in my chambers." He started walking out, before he stopped and looked back, "Talia, you too."
Sara stormed out after Ra's, leaving Nyssa and Talia standing next to each other.
"Do you see what you have done?" Nyssa growled, "Can you not, just once, stay out of my personal life?"
"But you do not see Sister, I find pleasure in watching you squirm," she grinned from ear-to-ear,
"I am no butterfly Talia," And with that, Nyssa walked out, leaving her demented sister smiling in the dojo.
...
"Sara?" Nyssa walked slowly into their shared bedroom, her Beloved wasn't there, she had obviously gone to talk with her father. Talia had dug her into a pit. She did not underestimate Sara, she merely didn't want to see her get hurt. She knew she had messed up. She had learned early on not to make light of the blonde beauty that she had found on the ocean.
Nyssa sighed, she'd have to fix this.
...
Sara had made sure she was out of the room by the time Nyssa would reach it, she didn't feel like talking to her right now.
I mean, she trained me! She, of all people should know that I can handle myself against some random person. Okay, maybe Talia isn't some random person, but still, she could take care of herself! Sara huffed, she had better cool down before she met with Ra's.
...
Sara bowed politely at the feet of the Demon's Head, waiting for his permission to rise.
"Ta-er al-Sahfer, I have a new mission for you. You and my daughter Talia," he gestured to the woman at his side, "Among a few more of the men in our ranks, are going to Budapest. Your mission is to kill Ivan Alkaev, you will be briefed on the specifics of the mission on the plane."
Both of the woman nodded their agreement.
"Happy hunting ladies!" he smiled evilly.
...
Sara was happy to have a mission, she really was, and at the moment, she felt that she needed some time away from Nyssa. It was unbelievable that Nyssa didn't think she could hold her own against Talia. She wasn't the weak girl that was picked out of the wreckage on Lian Yiu.
Nyssa had been sitting on the bed, worrying about how she was going to apologize to Sara. She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the door open. The assassin was on her feet in seconds.
"Sara I'm so-"
"No, you don't get to say sorry and expect everything to cool down magically." Sara was pretty upset. "I'm leaving for a mission with Talia, I don't know when I'll be back."
Nyssa was livid that she had to go with Talia, she had no doubt in her mind that her sister would try and wreck their relationship further.
"Be safe," Nyssa's voice was barely above a whisper.
Sara wasn't taking her attempt at trying to make it up to her, "Oh, I forgot, I can't take care of myself. Right. I'll have to get Talia to back my every move, because apparently I'm a weak child who doesn't know how to handle herself in the field. I get it, I mean, I know that to you I'm just a weak little puppy that you rescued from the rain, a stray just like Talia said,"
It was a low blow, and Sara regretted saying it, but she wouldn't apologize, she wanted Nyssa to know that she wasn't happy, but there was no need. Nyssa already knew she was in trouble.
Sara had been angrily shoving clothes into a duffel bag, and she saw Nyssa cringe. Both Sara's comment, and her awful packing made the brunette even more unhappy than she was already.
As Sara was about to leave Nyssa said softly,
"I love you,"
"Debatable," Sara shot back, she knew it would hurt, because there was nothing further from the truth. She knew that Nyssa loved her to the ends of the earth and back.
...
Nyssa sent her sister a message on her cellphone,
"Try anything, and mark my words, I will kill you."
She soon got a reply,
"I'd like to see you try."
Her sister just made her blood boil.
...
Sara sat quietly on the plane, she was happy that the League allowed her to have an ipod, it was her saving grace on long flights. She put on her headphones and Haunted by Taylor Swift came on,
"Fitting," she whispered to herself.
She slowly drifted off to sleep. It was going to be a long flight, so she may as well rest up for the mission.
...
Nyssa sat on her bed, their bed, and tried to hold the tears back. She pulled Sara's pillow close, it smelled like her. She loved Sara with all her heart, and the fact that Sara doubted that, cut her deeper than any blade could ever have. She took a deep breath to compose herself, it was no use moping.
She went to train, and boy did she train. She stayed until late that night, until neither her legs nor arms could bear the strain anymore.
...
The team stayed in a hotel that night, the mission was going to be completed the next day. Sara was happy that she had some time to prep for the mission. But it also gave her time to think over her fight with Nyssa. She would try and forget about it.
She sat in her hotel room that the League had booked for her, happy that she was allowed her solitude...that was until she heard a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" she asked,
"It is Talia," she heard the familiar voice that Nyssa detested,
"Come in," she said, Talia was supposed to be bringing her the instructions for the mission.
The girl walked into the room and threw a folder onto the bed, but before Sara could read it, she started rattling off about the mission details.
"You and I are to go to a banquet together, wine and dine, you are essentially my arm candy," Talia stated,
Sara huffed, Nyssa's sister was an ass, before she could say anything Talia continued.
"I will get a dress delivered tomorrow morning, be ready by 6:30 p.m. When I have collected you, we will go to the banquet. Make everyone jealous, you will then go and distract Ivan, while I slip a little present into his champagne. We wait for proof of death, then we return to Nanda Parbat."
"And why do I have to distract him?" Sara complained,
"Because I am the Heir and you will do as I say," Talia said smugly, Sara rolled her eyes.
The pair were supposed to look like an item the next night. Sara wasn't so sure she's be able to deal with spending that amount of time that close to Talia. One upside was that if she completed it, she knew Nyssa would be livid, both for her having to 'date' Talia, and that her sister was going to make a show of it.
...
Just as Sara had assumed, Nyssa was furious when she found out that Talia and Sara had to fake being in a relationship. She had no doubt in her mind that her awful sister arranged it. She really couldn't wait until she returned to Gotham, she despised her being around the League.
...
Sara prepped for the mission the whole day. And as promised, the dress arrived in the morning. She had to admit, it was a nice dress, Talia had good taste.
That evening, she did her hair and makeup all pretty, and got dressed into the beautiful gown. Sara made sure she was ready by the time Talia arrived, she'd rather not cross Nyssa's psychopathic sister.
Talia arrived exactly on time, well at least she's prompt Sara thought to herself.
"It is nice to see you again Sara," Talia greeted
And apparently she's bipolar too, one minute she's all moody and grumpy and the next everything is A-okay, Sara thought and smiled. "You too."
"I do hope that everything goes smoothly on this mission. And perhaps when we are back at the hotel, we could go to the League safehouse nearby and try that sparring match we spoke about earlier?" Talia suggested,
"Of course," Sara would prove Nyssa wrong, she could totally handle Talia.
The pair walked into the banquet and all eyes immediately landed on them,
"This shall be easy Ta-er Al-Sahfer," she leaned over and whispered into Sara's ear,
"It will be," Sara smirked.
The pair mingled, and laughed, and accepted compliments, all the time keeping an eye out for their mark. Soon enough, he pitched up. They knew it would look suspicious if they went and greeted him immediately, so they hung back until it was the proper time. After waiting an hour, Talia leaned over and whispered in Sara's ear,
"Now's the time, go get him," she pulled away, planting a kiss on Sara's cheek,
Sara shivered, she hated it when anyone other than Nyssa showed her such affection, but she had to suck it up, she was mad at Nyssa. And she was going to enjoy this.
"Hey there handsome," Sara sidled up close to the Russian, "I've been here all night, and not one other man has caught my eye like you have Darling," she said seductively.
"Well, I'm happy I could be of some assistance to a lovely lady such as yourself," he told her in accented English,
"The pleasure is all mine," Sara ran a hand up his arm.
In the meantime, Talia had worked her way up to the bar and had slipped the poison into the champagne that was making it's way to the Russian mobster. She did it quickly, and no one noticed. Perfect, everything was going exactly to plan.
When the waiter came by, Ivan accepted the champagne and downed it all in one go,
That was easy, Sara thought.
"Hey, are you okay?" Sara feigned concern for the man, he was sweating profusely, the poison taking effect,
"I-" before he had time to answer, he dropped to the floor,
Sara screamed, If they were to make it out, she had to play the part.
Talia rushed to her side,
"Are you okay Babe?" Sara's eyes widened for a second, those words did NOT seem normal coming from Talia,
"O-one minute he was fine and-and the next he passed out," Sara said between sobs, Really, she didn't know why she hadn't become an actress, she would have done SO well!
"It's okay Love, you're okay," Talia pulled her into a hug, and Sara buried her face in her shoulder.
"Like pie," she whispered into Talia's ear.
Talia smiled to herself, this girl was interesting.
Eventually everyone was herded out onto the street and eventually released to continue with their lives. Talia and Sara got into the nearby car waiting for them and headed to the safehouse where they could finally have their highly-anticipated sparring match.
...
Nyssa had received the news that the mission had been successful, she breathed a sigh of relief. She was happy that Talia hand't done anything to harm her Beloved. But the night wasn't over, Sara wasn't back in her arms, so she couldn't be entirely sure just yet.
...
Sara stood across from Talia, her fists were raised, and she was ready to fight. She could so prove Nyssa wrong. Talia couldn't be that hard to beat in a fight. Could she?
It turns out that Talia was incredibly hard to beat in a fight, for every blow that Sara landed, Talia landed three more. Sara was getting tired, she really hadn't thought it through. But Sara was stubborn, she would win just to prove a point.
"You are good Sara Lance, I must admit, you are a worthy opponent," Talia was breathless,
"As are you Talia," Sara replied, breathing heavily.
"Nyssa taught you well," Talia tried to distract her,
Sara wouldn't let it work, "Yeah, she did, she also taught me not to get distracted," Sara lunged at Talia, catching her off guard, and effectively knocking her onto the mat.
"Uggh," Talia groaned,
"Woo! I beat you! Take that Talia!" Sara did a little victory dance, and even though Talia was angry she got her ass handed to her, she smiled at the girl's antics,
"Don't be cocky about it," she laughed, standing up slowly.
"What? Did I hurt your feelings?" Sara said it in a childish accent,
Talia rolled her eyes, "What if you did? What would you do to make up for it?"
"Nothing," Sara paused, "Because I beat you!"
Talia shook her head, she actually found herself enjoying Sara's company, she wasn't a bad kid. And even though she would never admit it, she was happy her sister had someone to take care of her.
...
The next day they made their way back to Nanda Parbat. This time on the plane, Sara didn't sit alone, but with Talia. The crew kept shooting glances at them, suspicious of what Nyssa would think. The two girls just ignored them and continued with their conversation.
The flight was pleasant and the two bonded, Nyssa probably wouldn't be very happy about that, but Sara really couldn't care less.
When they arrived at the airfield, they were jumped by a bunch of random shooters,
"Everybody get down!" Talia yelled above the din. She saw Sara go down, but assumed she was just dodging bullets.
Soon enough, the ground was littered with the bodies of their attackers, they honestly should have seen their defeat coming. No one crossed the League and came out alive. Talia looked around, all her men looked unscathed, until her eyes landed on Sara.
"Sara!" a voice cried out, but it wasn't her, it was a familiar voice, it was Nyssa!
Talia ran to Sara's aid, but saw Nyssa crouched over her. Nyssa looked up at her and glared,
"Hey, don't look at me, it was not my fault she got shot. Though I do regret it," Talia looked sorry that Sara was hurt.
"Sara are you alright?" Nyssa asked, her voice laced with concern.
"I'm fine Nyssa," she spat out, she was still angry with her for thinking she was weak. She stood up, clenching her teeth to shut out the pain. She wobbled as she stood up, the snow around her was stained. She stumbled and Nyssa lurched forward to catch her, but let go as soon as Sara glared at her.
Nyssa regretted ever underestimating Sara, and she was paying for it. All she wanted to do was help Sara, and it stung that her Beloved asked for Talia's help instead of hers.
"Talia, get your ass over here and help me up," Sara made sure to look at Nyssa to make sure she still understood how ticked off she was with her.
Talia looked apologetically at her sister when she helped the blonde up, even though she was the cause of the drama in the first place, she didn't want to be caught in the middle of it.
When they arrived at the temple, Nyssa was sure to get Sara medical attention, but soon retreated, knowing when she wasn't wanted. She would talk to Sara later, right now she had to go and plan a romantic dinner.
...
Sara walked into their room and found rose petals and vanilla scented candles littered across the floor. Her heart swelled at the effort Nyssa put in, but she wasn't going to let her get off that easy.
Nyssa had spent the entire afternoon making sure the room was perfect, setting out the candles, and the rose petals. She had even found a little red number to dress into for Sara.
Of course she heard the door open, and stepped out into the room and leaned seductively on the doorframe. "Hello Sara," her voice was as sweet as honey.
Sara's voice caught in her throat, Nyssa looked drop-dead gorgeous. "H-hello Nyssa."
Nyssa smirked because of the fact she got a reaction out of Sara, but her hopes were stunted when Sara leaved to exit the room.
"I'm still mad at you," Sara called from down the hall. She knew that if she didn't leave the room immediately, Nyssa would have been wearing even less that that little red dress. Even if she felt bad, she was beginning to enjoy teasing Nyssa.
The brunette assassin flopped onto the bed and rolled her eyes, Okay then, plan B it is then.
The next day Sara was working out in the dojo when Nyssa walked in. She almost walked out before Nyssa spoke up.
"Sara Lance, I challenge you do a sparring match,"
"I don't accept," Sara said moodily.
"Chicken," Nyssa teased, as she started clucking and waving her arms around. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't be caught dead doing this. But she was getting desperate.
Sara couldn't stifle a laugh, and she let herself smile. She held up a finger "One match. And don't hold back."
Nyssa raised her hands, "I wouldn't dare."
They immediately started sparring. Nyssa wasn't kidding when she said she wouldn't hold back. But Sara wasn't either. The two kicked, and punched, blocked, and parried. Neither was getting anywhere, until Sara decided to play dirty. She buckled over and Nyssa immediately rushed to her side. She took her chance and pinned Nyssa to the ground.
"You should be more mindful of your surroundings." Sara used one of Nyssa's favourite lines,
"How can I with such a beautiful view in front of me?" Nyssa hoped Sara would forgive her now.
"You're such a sap," she smirked at Nyssa, who was still pinned to the floor.
Nyssa shrugged.
"You know I beat Talia? I told you I could," Sara had brought her face menacingly close to Nyssa's, they were practically breathing in the same air.
"I have no doubt you did," Nyssa's voice was low and husky, but she would not make a move until Sara did.
Sara brushed her lips gently against Nyssa's ear, and it sent shivers down the other's spine, until eventually Nyssa couldn't take it anymore and she pulled Sara down into a kiss. Sara kissed her back hungrily, no matter how much fun she had teasing Nyssa, going that long without kissing her was torture. Nyssa melted into the kiss, she was relieved that Sara had seemed to forgive her.
The pair broke apart, much to Nyssa's dislike, but they needed to breathe.
"You're such a tease Beloved," Nyssa's voice was raspy from their makeout session.
"Next time," Sara whispered against Nyssa's neck, "I'll do much worse,"
"There won't be a next time." Nyssa assured her.