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As she walked out of her final class for the day Ava Sharpe slung her bag over her shoulder mentally going over a list of things to accomplish for the evening. Starting her Junior year of college had been fairly uneventful for the last 6 weeks, but it was about to start to get very intense as Basketball season ramped up. She had kept up on her conditioning, but practices were about to start back up.Between practices, classes, and class work her schedule was going to be chaotic to say the least. Shifting the bag into a more comfortable position the blonde pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and checked the time. Amaya won’t be back tonight. Her roommate had gone out of town for the weekend. As much as she enjoyed Amaya’s company she was glad to have a low-key weekend ahead of her. She had met Amaya their freshman year...they had shared a dorm room. They got along so well that they had requested to room together again their Sophomore year and decided to get an apartment this year since it was an option to stay off campus.I could still get a run in. Considering either the run or starting on the project that wouldn’t be due for another week she opted for the physical activity knowing she could still research in the evening, but running in the dark wasn’t a great idea. As she slid her key into the lock she went over the best route to run to avoid the most foot traffic.~~~As she returned to the apartment Ava sucked a breath in through her nose and pushed it out through her mouth as she put her hands on her head to suck in as much air as possible. She had pushed a full-on sprint for the last 2 miles of her run. One last breath and she grabbed her keys again opening the familiar door.As the door shut behind her the tall blonde made her way to the refrigerator as a familiar burn began to set in her muscles. Lingering in the fridge for a minute she closed her eyes and grabbed the filtered water pitcher. Swiping at the sweat gathered on her brow she smiled to herself feeling pretty damn good for a Friday afternoon. Out of habit she dropped her keys on the bowl on the counter before glancing at her phone again to make sure she hadn’t missed her weekly call with her parents.Nodding to the beat of the music playing on her earbuds she grabbed a glass and filled it with the water prior to stretching. After the glass of water and a banana to ward off the chance of cramping she started to stretch out. Her thoughts on her coursework she would need to complete before her Monday class. It was important to keep her grades up and to stay on top of basketball... that scholarship was key to her attending Star City University. Her parents wanted her to go somewhere closer to home, but for her career-oriented brain she had to get her bachelors at Star City.  It was the best option on her resume and she needed to be the best.Shower then maybe the library. Nodding to herself as she stood and pulled her earbuds out and moved into her bedroom. It was neat and sparsely decorated with just a few family pictures and not much else. Gathering her clothes for the evening she smiled to herself as she thought about the relaxing evening ahead of her.~~~Now that she had showered Ava moved towards the kitchen to find something to eat. It was a little late in the afternoon to be lunch, but the rumble in her stomach demanded calories. No sooner than she had moved into the kitchen the tall blonde woman heard her phone ping. Groaning slightly knowing that was a text message and not the expected call from her mom, she glanced at the lock screen and debated for a moment. Finally, she touched her finger to the screen and quickly typed in her password.

Gary

Today 13:42 PM
We’re going out tonight.

Today 13:45 PM
Are “we”?
Yes.
No.
It wasn't a question, Ava.
We don't have classes tomorrow.

Besides you haven't gone out with us in FOREVER! 
I have practice in the morning.

No problem... take a nap now.

We'll pick you up at 8 for dinner.

THEN we're going out!

Today 13:58 PM

Stop fighting me, Ava.

Today 14:05p PM

AVA!

Fine.

Today 14:08p PM

Wait... who is "we"?

Just you, Lily and I. Maybe Kendra.

I need to be home before 1a

I can't commit to that...

Gary...

:)

Tossing her phone to the side as she swung her legs over the couch. She leaned back into the cushions as she closed her eyes. Damn Gary and his bubbly attitude. She tried to think of a good enough reason to tell him no yet again, but she kept drawing a blank. Maybe it was time she took a little time away from school work and training before things got really intense.~~~Just as the blonde finished pulling her hair back into her trademark bun and secured it onto the back of her head she heard a knock at the door. 15 minutes early like always. “Hang on. I’m coming.” She looked in the mirror and looked at her basic tee shirt and jeans. Shrugging her shoulders satisfied with her appearance, she moved to the door.As she pulled the door open she couldn’t help, but notice Gary’s smile diminish on his face as he looked her up and down. “Ava, no.” He shook his head and pushed her back into the living room. “You can do better than this.” He looked over his shoulder. “Lily is on her way...we have a few minutes.”She rolled her eyes allowing herself to be pushed back into the apartment. “Gary, I’m not looking to impress anyone. I really would rather just stay home anyway. So, don’t push me.”He shook his head. “You’re not getting out of this. Practice starting will give you the perfect excuse to ditch me in the future. Tonight...we dance!” The word practice rolled off his tongue like a swear word. He pointed at her head, “First things first...that bun has to go.” He threw his hands in the air overly animated. “We aren’t going to a job interview for crying out loud.”She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m still missing the point here. Once again...I’m not trying to impress anyone.”He set his jaw for a moment before grabbing his phone out of his pocket. Without saying another word to Ava, he spun on his heel and zipped through his contacts. “Lily...hurry. I need back up.” She could tell that he was listening to the woman on the other end of the line as he peered over his shoulder at her. “No, seriously we have a wardrobe emergency that I am going to need an assist with.” He was listening again.“You’re being ridiculous.” She gave herself a once over again. “I’m not wearing anything that different from you.”He frowned and moved towards the door just in time to open it as a brunette was raising her hand to knock on the door. “I’m wearing what sets off my assets.” He swept her hands downward with a flourish towards the floor. “I’m wearing my skinny jeans.” He turned slightly nodded towards his rear. “Your assets are different from mine Ava.” He arched his eye brow as he slid his phone back into his pocket and watched as short brunette practically jogged around the corner of the building into their line of sight. “Lily, please.” He shouted out the door then gestured towards the blonde again.Lily smiled at Ava apologetically as she approached. “Hey Ava.” She glanced at Gary and raised her eyebrows, “You're wound a little tight tonight Gary. I thought the point of tonight was to loosen up a little?”His hands shot into the air again, “That IS the point... this is why-” He walked over and set his hands on Ava’s shoulders. “Maybe lose the tee shirt, grab a button up?” Taking a deep breath to calm himself he continued. “Hair down for once?” His glasses slid down his nose a little and he looked at her over the top of the rim. “Please.”Rolling her eyes again she moved towards her bedroom, “Ridiculous. You are being ridiculous.”The brunette fell into step behind her. “Come on Ava. Let’s check out your closet.” As Lily closed the door behind them she smiled sweetly. “Cut him a little slack. He found out where his crush was going to be tonight.” She shifted through Ava’s closet looking past a few articles of clothing. “That said...we’re on Gary support for the evening.”“Ah.” Ava took off her tee shirt and tossed it aside. “So, we’re watching a nervous Gary all night?”The brunette spun on her heel to face her friend instead of the closet and knitted her brows together, “Do NOT abandon me Ava. I don’t have the strength to deal with him solo tonight.” She chuckled lightly at the eye roll she received in return.Ava shrugged and sighed relinquishing her evening to her friend’s needs, “Well at least I know I’ll be home at a decent hour.”“Thank you!” The shorter girl handed the blonde a light blue button up shirt. “This one...I love how it brings out your eyes.” She smiled, “Seriously though...let your hair down for once. It’s been weeks since-”Quickly shifting the subject Ava nodded and tugged the shirt on buttoning all but the top button. “No Kendra, I take it?”“HA!” Lily shook her head, “She figured out what was going on and bailed. Plus, I think she kinda had plans with Carter.”“Mmhmm.” She just shook her head as she released her hair and dragged it off to one side. “There.” She turned and looked at Lily holding her arms out, “Happy.”The brunette tilted her head and seemed to be considering Ava for a moment. “Wait.” She walked over undid one additional button. Taking a step back she quirked her eyebrow. “Necklace?”Ava narrowed her eyes, “Who is it exactly you’re trying wingman for? Gary or me?”Lily threw her hands wide, “Why not both?” She smirked at her friend for a moment.“I’m not ready, Lily.” Shaking her head, the blonde pulled a necklace out of her drawer to make her friend happy. “Can we go now?”Lily nodded and smiled warmly at the blonde. “I’m more than happy.  Let’s see if Gary approves and get the hell out of here. I’m starving!” ~~~The 3 friends ate before heading to a local bar that allowed people under 21. As they entered and were ID’d Ava took in the crowd that had just begun to fill the space. She half smiled at Lily and leaned closer to her ear before speaking. “Why exactly did I wear my hair down? It is burning up in here.” She looked around doing a quick assessment of the crowd. “And it looks to be mostly men out this evening.”The brunette pushed her away playfully, “Why Ms. Sharpe I though you weren’t coming out to impress anyone?”The taller woman shrugged briefly, “No, but since I’m here it would be nice to at least have something to look at.” She turned her attention to Gary who was scanning the crowd intently. She then leaned towards him, “Well, where is this crush we’re here to stalk?”“Hmmm.” He pushed his glasses up briefly and continued to look around. A slow smile slowly spread across his face and he nodded across the bar. “There.”Ava followed his gaze and saw a blonde man gesturing to a small group gathered around him. Giving him a once over Ava noted the loose red tie and the white dress shirt with the top 3 buttons undone. It made her think of the way people started to dress down towards the end of a wedding reception. She was about to comment when she looked over at Gary and saw the glimmer in his eyes. She hesitated deciding against the snarky comment she was considering. “Are you going to go over there?”As if he was snapped back into reality the dark-haired man looked at Ava shock in his eyes. “What? No... I mean...not yet. Maybe later.” He then smoothed his hands over his shirt and looked around his nerves clearly getting the better of him. “Uh, I need to find the men's room.” And with that he disappeared in the crowd.Ava nodded and sighed, “And so here we are.” As soon as he disappeared from sight she turned back to the short brunette.Lily just shook her head, “Yep.” She looked around, “Wait, is that Ron?”Ava shook her head and started to move to block her exit. “Lily...don’t you leave me.” Her tone was warning, but the brunette was already backing away from her shrugging her shoulders.“Make a friend Ava. That’s why we’re here!” She smiled genuinely as she pursued her query.Ava exhaled slowly and watched as her friend abandoned her. It was moments like these that she wished it was November already...her 21st birthday couldn’t get here fast enough. At least then she would be able to enjoy a drink. As she approached the bar she got the bartenders attention and ordered a coke. She looked at the dance floor while she waited for her drink. It wasn’t long before she felt a presence next to her. Sliding over a little she made some room for the man that was standing a little too close for her liking.“Hey.” His smarmy smile made her skin crawl a little. “Let me buy you a drink?” She shook her head and turned her attention forward again. “Come on. I just want to buy you a drink.”She cleared her throat before she spoke, “I’m not really into guys.” This was the only issue she had with some of the all-inclusive clubs and bars. Some guys could get really bold after a few drinks. “It’s just not my thing.”His eyes narrowed for a moment and he looked her up and down, studying her. “Maybe you just haven’t found the right guy.”That was when she heard a glass hit the countertop a little too loudly drawing her attention away from her would be suitor. As Ava turned to pay for her drink, she noticed that it was a different bartender than she had placed her order with. The tall blonde picked up on the other woman’s tone immediately, “Back off man. The lady clearly said no.” She glanced at Ava for a moment, checking to make sure she was okay? Then returned her gaze to the man and continued. “You know I will throw you out of here.”The man grumbled to himself as he gathered his drink and disappeared into the crowd again.Reaching for her wallet she was assaulted by the woman's icy blue eyes. Before she was able to pull out any cash the woman held up her hand, “Minor or designated driver?” When Ava gave the bartender a questioning look the shorter blonde nodded towards the very non-alcoholic drink.Quickly catching on Ava half smiled, “Maybe a bit of both?” She set her hands on the counter palms down showing the bartender the very clear “M”’s written on the top of her hands indicating that she was still underage.The bartender smiled knowingly, “Designated drivers don’t pay. Enjoy your coke and thank you for being responsible.”Ava thought for a moment she could get lost in that smile. “Thanks for the back up.” She paused for a moment.  “And the drink.” She still dropped 5 bucks on the counter as the woman moved onto her next customer. Ava couldn’t help but watch for an extra minute as the bartender smiled at her next customer and ran her hand through her blonde hair. It was the same smile she had received. Yeah, get those tips. She exhaled slowly. She was hoping that smile was for her alone, but really that was the point when your pay was dependent on tips.Back to the task at hand. Not being particularly outgoing outside of her small group of friends she debated for a moment about being a bit bold. For Gary. It didn’t take her long to make up her mind. She took long drink from her glass as she moved towards man in the loosen red tie and swallowed as she found a place to settle just outside of the group he was entertaining. She listened to him talking for a bit and chuckled lightly to herself. Gary always was a sucker for an accent. Looking back towards the men’s room Gary had disappeared into Ava swore she felt eyes on her.Glancing back towards the bar again she saw ice blue staring in her direction. It was then that she took a moment to really observe the bartender, from a safe distance. Shorter, blonde... cute dimple on her chin Ava noted. The pounding beat of the music thumped in her ears and she pushed a loose strand of her hair behind her ear breaking the eye contact. Nope, not why I’m here.  Ava refocused her attention on the Brit. After what seemed like an eternity he turned towards her and smiled, she could only describe the grin as cheeky?“Hey there, love.” She could tell he was turning up the charm. She started to wonder if Gary was barking up the wrong tree.“Haha, no.” She shook her head to signal her disinterest.“Ah, my apologies, Pet.” He continued to smile coyly. “I’m John.”Gritting her teeth at the new nickname she refrained from wrinkling her nose at him, just barely. Instead she gave him a nod, “Ava.” Fortunately for her, that was the moment Gary reappeared at her side. “And this is my friend Gary.” She nudged her friend forward lightly. “Gary, this is John.”Gary attempted not to sound too eager when he finally found his voice, “Yeah, I think we have a class together.”As their conversation picked up Ava was able to slowly extract herself and decided to see if Lily was anywhere to be seen. No Lily, but there were those blue eyes again. Still from a distance, but definitely back on her. She fought the slight smile that tugged at the corner of her mouth.Trying ignore the bartender Ava made her way to the dance floor, no shame in dancing solo. After all that was a surefire way to not stomp on someone else's toes. She just closed her eyes and felt the music for a while. She was lost in the music for a while when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Snapping her eyes open she saw Lily smiling back at her.“Gary’s talking to John?!” The brunette’s eyes were large with surprise.Ava smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I might have forced that on him.” She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. “You and I both know he’d still be standing against the wall without a little nudge.”Lily grinned even wider, “Hell yes. Thank you again for coming!” Lily put her hands on her hips as she watched the two men chatting. “Now if I could only get a drink.”Ava glanced at her friend for a moment, “What do you mean?”Lily tipped her head towards the bar. “They’re so busy over there, I’m having trouble getting anyone’s attention to order.”“Hmmm.” Ava grabbed Lily’s wrist and pulled her away from the dance floor and towards the bar more curious than anything. As soon as they approached the blonde bartender met her at the corner of the bar.“Need another coke?” The blonde raised her eyebrows with a smile.Ava shook her head and pulled Lily forward without saying a word. A little surprised the brunette quickly rambled off her order. As the bartender hustled away to prepare the drink Lily turned to look at her friend. “Huh. I swear I was up here for like 15 minutes before I gave up.” She then looked from her friend to the bartender and back again.Ava quickly shook her head before Lily could say anything. “No. I know what you’re thinking and no.” The tall blonde continued to shake her head as she spoke again. “I’ll be back. Ladies room.”Pushing through the ever-growing crowd Ava slid into the restroom checking her phone on the way, it was just after 11p. Pocketing her phone, she glanced in the mirror making sure she wasn’t sweating too badly. She hadn’t realized how many bodies were on the dance floor and in the club at this point. The restroom had 2 stalls, but was completely unoccupied except for Ava. Satisfied that her hair was still in order she made a move to exit the door swung open and a drunken girl stumbled in. “Whoa.” Ava took a step back to let the girl in.As soon as she ran into one of the stalls Ava made a move to exit, but the drunk girl with dark brown hair had other ideas. The stall door swung open and Ava quickly averted her eyes. “Hey, wait a second. I want to talk to you.”Taking a step back Ava somehow managed to lose her voice.The girl walked back out of the stall and approached her almost as if Ava were her prey. “Are you gay?” Ava felt uneasy at the way she looked her up and down.“I am.” She wasn’t ashamed and this girl was drunk and small enough Ava wasn’t worried about getting hurt. More intrigued as to why that question had come up out of the blue.The drunk girl licked her lips before she spoke again. “I used to be gay. I lived with a girl for a while.”Ava snorted and started for the door definitely over this conversation. That wasn’t at all the direction she had expected it the woman to go.The drunk girl threw her arm up blocking Ava’s progress. “Look, my boyfriend and I have a room at the hotel across the street. We’re looking for you know, someone to join us.” The brunette's eyes ran up Ava’s body and back down again. “Do you think I’m pretty?”Now she felt very uncomfortable. “You should probably keep looking. I’m definitely not your girl.” She let an uncompromising tone slip into her voice. What the hell is going on tonight?The drunk girl pressed closer reaching for the blonde, “Are you sure?”It was then that the door swung open again and a small group of girls slipped into the room. The drunk girl was surprised and stepped back. Ava took that as her opportunity to step around the drunk and head back out to the club.Shaking her head, she made her way back to Gary who surprisingly was having an easy conversation with his crush after all. “Sorry to interrupt.” She leaned closer to Gary’s ear. “I just had a bit of a situation.  I don’t want to stay here.”She quickly noted the disappointment on his face. “Oh, are you okay?”“I’m fine. Look, Inferno isn’t that far away. I’m going to go.” She nodded towards John. “You stay here. Just give me your keys and I’ll come back and get you when you are ready to go.” She grabbed his shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. “Have a couple drinks Gary.” She gave him a knowing smile as she nodded towards John before she started to walk away.Gary nodded, “Oh! Lily already left a little bit ago, she asked me to let you know.”Ava nodded, “Okay. I’ll see you later.” She leaned in closer, “Remember to call me when you are ready.” She back away giving him a serious look.He nodded again. “I won’t forget.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Stepping into the club the tall blonde looked around at the crowded lobby.  It seemed to be much busier than Time Masters, she noted.  Once she paid the cover after showing her ID she walked through the lobby and into the main floor.  There were tables set up all along the outer perimeter of the large open space.  At the far side there was a fairly large bar and a set of stairs leading to the second floor.  The second floor was open, and glancing up Ava noted the people sitting and watching the dancefloor intently. What are you doing here?  You could have just taken an Uber home.  Moving through the crowd she knew why.  For once her shy friend seemed to be forgetting his nerves and was really hitting it off with John.  She had no idea what Gary had seen in the man.  In her opinion he had seemed to be may a bit full of himself.  Arrogant.  That was the one word that definitely came to her mind. Finding a 2-seat table she sat on one of the chairs and pulled out her cell phone not really needing anything.  It was more to use it as a random distraction than anything.  Like your track record with choosing a significant other is great.  She leaned back in the chair rolling her shoulders attempting to release the tension that had begun to settle there.  She absently tried to shake that thought away, there was no way Ava was going to waste any more time on her. Taking a deep breath in and then releasing it she pulled up her messenger and debated about firing off a message to her best friend.  Deciding against that she tapped her phone on the table thinking of better ways she could be spending her time.  Putting the phone away for what had seemed like the thousandth time she stood back up and made her way to the bar.  She stood there a few minutes waiting for the bartender to acknowledge her.  She’s not as cute as the blonde at Time Masters.  As the thought entered her head Ava’s brow furrowed, why was she still thinking about that blonde bartender. Once she had the bartender's attention she just asked for water.  Once the glass was delivered, she dropped a couple ones on the counter collected her drink and moved away from the bar.  As she made her way back to the table she had occupied before she tried not to make eye contact with anyone.  The last thing she wanted was a repeat of the last couple of hours. Lost in her thoughts and the music she almost didn’t notice the vibration of her phone in her pocket.  Grabbing it she unlocked the screen and read the message.

Gary G
Today 12:35 AM
I haven't forgotten.
I'm not ready to go yet.
I'll be in touch.

Ava glanced at her phone and shook her head.  She sat at the small table looking at the now empty glass in front of her.  Getting out of bed was going to be a bitch in the morning.  She prayed Coach Hunter wouldn’t run them too hard, but honestly, she knew he would hit them with a pressure test.  See how much conditioning she and her teammates had maintained in the off season.  Her mind had started to drift off thinking about drills, sprints, and 1 on 1’s. “Dance with me.”  Out of nowhere a husky voice next to her spoke. Jumping slightly at the sound Ava spun around to confirm who she thought was speaking to her.  “Excuse me?”  Her breath caught in her throat slightly as ice blue seemed to draw her gaze. The by now familiar bartender actually smirked at her, “Dance with me.” Ava could tell by her tone that it wasn’t a request...more of a demand.  Leaning back and away from the woman Ava looked her up and down.  She was attractive for sure, though not necessarily someone Ava would typically go for.  And she definitely wasn’t feeling the fact she just straight up demanded it.  She narrowed her eyes slightly, “Does that normally work for you?” The shorter girl raised an eyebrow and smirked, “Of course.”  Her tongue ran over her lower lip briefly.   She watched Ava for an extra minute as she seemed to be reassessing what was happening between them.  “Hm.  Maybe I was reading your signals wrong.”  The shorter blonde tilted her head slightly as she spoke. Not really knowing why she was so annoyed the taller blonde eyed the bartender suspiciously.  “Did you follow me over here?”  She had a feeling that maybe it was due to all the unwelcomed advances she felt like she had been fighting off all night.  Damn that head tilt is adorable.   The bartender shrugged her shoulders then and took a large step away from the tall blonde before leaning in on an attractive guy that Ava had been sitting next to.  Those blue eyes stayed on Ava the entire time, but she spoke to him.  “Dance with me.”  As the words left her mouth the bartender arched an eyebrow at Ava as if to say watch this. Ava observed as the man immediately jumped to his feet abandoning his friends to take the woman to the dance floor.  She just shook her head and considered her next move.  This has been one hell of a night.  Pulling her phone out of her pocket again Ava checked the time and her messages.  Nothing new...10 minutes had passed.  Finally, her curiosity got the best of her and she turned to face the dancefloor.  Sure enough there she was, hanging on the ‘attractive’ guy, but her eyes returned to Ava.  What is her deal?  Caught looking Ava noticed that cocky smirk lighting up the girl's lips again. Frustrated with herself Ava stood up then she leaned her elbow against the bar just watching that intense look capturing her attention.  Get it together Sharpe.  She wasn’t the type to just hook up with someone, but damn this girl was pushing her buttons.  She was about to confront the blonde when she spotted her friend Nora walking in.   A thought ran through her head as she plotted on how to knock that annoyingly grating smirk off the blonde's face.  Looking back at the blonde to make sure she was watching Ava made her way over to Nora.  She smiled as she approached.  “Hey Nora!” The dark-haired girl smiled back and wrapped her arms around her.  “Ava!  Gary told me you were here, but I almost didn’t believe that you actually left your apartment.” The tall blonde nodded and smiled, “It’s been an...” How to sum up the evening, “interesting night to say the least.”  She ran a hand absently through her hair. Nora raised her eyebrows in interest.  “Yeah?”  She nodded, “I can’t wait to hear all about it.” “I need a favor first.”  Nora looked intrigued and nodded urging her friend to continue.  “Hit the dancefloor with me?” Nora’s expression shifted to curiosity for a moment, but she hesitated, “I’m waiting for Ray.” Ava sighed and rolled her eyes, “I figured that.”  The blonde shifted uncomfortably trying to decide how to tell her friend she was having a petty stare off with a complete stranger.  “I just need too...” “Short blonde?”  Nora’s question seemed to come out of the blue.  Until Ava noticed that Nora was looking over her shoulder.  The blonde nodded slowly a questioning look on her face.  Nora smiled reading between the lines.  “She’s looking this way.” “Does she still have that smirk on her face?”  Ava sighed and rolled her eyes resigning herself to the harassment she was bound to endure later. Nora laughed, “No.”  She quickly grabbed Ava’s hand and pulled her on to the dancefloor grinning like the Chesire Cat.  “You so owe me the whole story!” Ava nodded as she began moving to the beat, “I really do.” In the meantime, the dark-haired woman seemed content to shift the conversation for now.  “Why’d you leave Gary at Time Masters?  Were you stalking her?”  Nora moved closer to her friend.  Hoping to have the desired effect on the blonde stranger. “No.”  She answered maybe a little too quickly.  “That would be another long story, but hopefully he’ll call soon.  I told him I wanted to be home by 1.”  Nora shot her a look.  “I know...I should have known better.” “For what it’s worth you look good tonight Ava.  Hair down...what’s the occasion?”  They were close enough friends that when Nora reached out to push a lock of hair behind her ear Ava didn’t even flinch.  They had been friends for years so the intimacy of the action didn’t faze her.  Plus, she knew it might affect the cocky blonde as well. “Gary and Lily...need I say more?”  Nora shook her head and grinned.  “And yet here I am dancing with you.” “Never a dull moment.”  Nora smiled genuinely as she glanced over Ava’s shoulder trying to keep an eye on the other blonde woman.  “Well, she’s moving towards the bar.  What’s your play here?” Ava shook her head dismissing the question. “No play.  I just didn’t like her attitude.” “Really?”  Nora’s brows furrowed slightly, “Since when do you even care what someone else thinks?”  Ava watched Nora’s face as her eyes got big for a moment.  Just before she could turn around to see what had prompted her reaction Nora caught her arm.  “Nope, don’t look.  She’s coming over.” Ava just mouthed the word What? Her brows raised. Now Nora smirked and leaned in close, “Well whatever game you were playing worked.  I’m going to get a drink, lover.  Good luck.”  With a snicker and a wink.  She was gone before Ava could stop her. “Damn it.”  She whispered under her breath.  She could feel the blonde woman’s presence behind her before anyone ever spoke.  As she heard someone clearing their throat Ava trained her features into what she called ‘Agent Mode’.  Stoic and unemotional.  As soon as she turned around pretending to be following her friend's departure with her eyes Ava immediately spotted the bartender and that damn smirk had returned.  As she inadvertently made eye contact, but then nodded towards the man she had been dancing with.  “What happened to your dance partner?  Was he not entertaining enough for you?” The smirk never faltered as the blonde spoke.  “Nah, he’s not really what I’m looking for tonight.  If I’m being really honest with myself.”  The shorter blonde looked her up and down waiting to see if she’d respond.  “Plus, I wanted to set the record straight.  I didn’t follow you so don’t flatter yourself.”  There was a little edge in her tone.  “I was helping to cover during a rush at Time Masters...and I have the tendency not to drink where I work.  I try to stay professional.”  The woman leaned in close and Ava could smell her...a mixture of sweat, alcohol, and was that cinnamon? Trying to appear nonchalant Ava scoffed a bit still not able to quite figure out why this woman got under her skin so fucking much.  “Is that so?”  She nodded before she spoke again, “Then...why did you feel the need to approach me again?  This conversation didn’t even need to happen.”  Testing the waters, she leaned in towards the end of her statement crossing into the bartenders’ personal space just a little.  Almost immediately Ava knew she made a mistake by being that close.  Too close.  Something pulled in the pit of her stomach as the woman spoke again. “Tell me then...was that your girlfriend?”  The shorter blonde tilted her head waiting for an answer. That damn head tilt again.  Ava’s brain started to panic, but she wouldn’t allow her tone or demeanor betray her.  Abort...walk away NOW Sharpe.  Ignoring the voice in her head she looked over the blondes' shoulder to Nora who was standing at the bar staring at her with wide, expectant eyes.  “No.”  She knew her eyes let her down as they glanced at the short blondes' lips then back to those blue eyes that had been intriguing her all night. The spark that erupted in those eyes told Ava she had been caught looking.  “Sara.” “Hmm?”  Her stoic demeanor faltered for just a moment as she hummed the question. “My name’s Sara.”  She tilted her head again just slightly, but stepped out of Ava’s personal space.  “I kind of feel like maybe somewhere along the line we may have gotten off track.” The air somehow seemed to get heavier...and hotter?  “Ava.”  She cleared her throat, “Yeah, maybe we did.” The shorter woman grabbed her hand leading Ava across the bar to the second floor where there was a second bar and more comfortable seating.  At Sara’s gesture Ava sat on a couch in a dark corner of the second floor.  “So, Ava...”  The shorter blonde sat next to her, their shoulders just barely touching.  “What do you do?” Fighting the urge to lean into where their shoulders met Ava turned her head so she was looking into those ice blue eyes again.  “I’m studying at Star City University.”  Staring into those eyes she tried to determine if there was genuine interest or if she was just forcing conversation. Sara nodded briefly seeming to be appraising the taller woman carefully.  “What are you studying? Ava cleared her throat and smiled to herself, “Emergency Management and Homeland Security.”  A smile tugged the corner of Sara’s mouth briefly.  Actually, if Ava hadn’t been staring then she wouldn’t have even noticed.  “What about you?” “Oh, you know just another Business Major...I graduated last year so I’m messing around working in a bar and trying to stay out of debt.”  After she spoke Sara raised up slightly and slung her leg over Ava’s lap so she was straddling her hips.  “And, I think that’s enough prerequired small talk.”  The smaller blonde draped her arms over Ava’s shoulders as she settled down. Taking a deep breath, the tall blonde was assaulted by the scent of the older woman.  They were so close and Ava could feel her warmth as desire began to build within her.  Instinctively Ava ran her hands up Sara’s back pulling her closer.  Before she could do anything, else Sara’s mouth was on hers their lips moving like it was second nature.  Then Sara’s hands were tangling in her hair.  Ava had just started to move her hands to the other womans’ hips when her phone vibrated in her pocket.  Groaning she broke the kiss.  “I have to take this call.”  She was a bit surprised at how breathless her voice sounded.  Seeing the crease on the Sara’s brow Ava reminded the other woman.  “Designated driver.” Sara nodded and leaned back just slightly so Ava was able to retrieve her phone.  She noted the missed calls from Gary.  Unlocking the screen she quickly maneuvered to the missed calls so she could return his call.  Before she could complete the process to make the call, she felt lips connect with her throat.  “Sara...”  The name easily escaped her mouth as Ava tilted her head back to give the blonde more access.  What are you doing Sharpe?  You don’t even know this woman.  She tried to talk herself into moving away, but her touch just felt good and RIGHT somehow.  “I need to … I need to call my friend back.” “Mmhmmm.”  The woman moved her lips away from Ava long enough to utter a few words, “You think that, but *I* think you NEED to be doing something else with your hands.”  Sara grabbed Ava’s hand that wasn’t holding the phone and placed it Sara’s ass.  Tilting her head back Sara quirked an eyebrow, “Don’t you, honestly?” Groaning Ava instinctively closed her hand around the firm ass her hand was placed upon.  “Fuck.”  The tall blondes head swam as Sara moved back to her pulse point.  She couldn’t help but imagine that mouth on her elsewhere.  Instantly caught up in the moment she dropped her phone and touched Sara’s chin guiding her back into a kiss.  Ava ran her tongue over Sara’s bottom lip asking for entrance and Sara’s lips almost instantly parted allowing it.   She wasn’t sure how long they were caught up in each other when the harsh lights of the bar turned on.  Squinting Ava flinched pulling away slightly as a bartender yelled from the other side of the bar.  “Time to go!  We’re closed...”   Sara groaned as Semisonic’s Closing Time played through the speakers, “Seriously, every night they play this song.  EVERY night.” The taller blonde smiled lightly, “Are you here every night?” Sara shrugged as she slid of Ava’s lap and extended her hand to help her up.  “Maybe, maybe not.”  She then nodded her head towards the door.  “Walk you to your car?”  Ava nodded.  “Don’t forget your phone.” “Right.”  Grabbing her phone, she looked at the lock screen and saw more missed calls and a few messages.  “Shit.”  She ran her hand through her hair trying to smooth it back into place as she was led out of the bar by the smaller woman.  This time she made it to the contacts and dialed Gary’s number as she was pulled out of the main door. Almost instantly a somewhat high-pitched voice squeaked on the other end of the line.  “Are you still at Inferno?”  He wasn’t mad...she could tell by his tone. “Yes, they just closed I’m headed the car now.  Are you ready?”  She looked at the blonde in front of her half smiling and still processing what had been happening mere moments ago. “Sort of?”  There was something in his tone that she wasn’t quite able to decipher. “Hmmm, Gary I’m not sure what that is supposed to mean.” There was a slight pause.  “Look just stay put...we’re walking over to you now.  It’s not that far.” “We? As in you and Lily?”  A very male voice could be heard in the background. “No...no, definitely not Lily.  Just...give me a few minutes, okay?” “Yeah, okay.”  With that she hung up and found herself face to face with the small blonde again.  She held up her phone and shrugged her shoulders slightly, “uh, I have to wait for my Gary.” Laughing lightly the woman nodded, “Cool, cool.”  Ava watched as she shifted her weight slightly.  “I’ll wait with you if that’s okay?”  Ava nodded and Sara smiled.  “What are you driving tonight?” “Oh.”  The taller woman gestured to the SUV they were standing near.  “This is Gary’s Blazer.  I told him he could go ahead and drink...that I’d drive. Since...”  She raised her hands indicating the Minor “M”s drawn on her hands, “It definitely wasn’t in the cards for me.” “Sometimes it’s better to be sober.” She leaned in close, “That way you can remember everything.” Swallowing the lump in her throat she nodded, “I definitely won’t argue against that.” Letting go of Ava’s hand Sara pushed her up against the driver side of the SUV initiating another kiss while wrapping her arms around the taller blonde waist.  “Might as well entertain ourselves while we wait.” She didn’t know what it was about this woman, but Ava just wanted to go along with whatever Sara wanted.  They picked up where they left off on the couch as Ava’s hands slid down Sara’s back.  “Sara?”  Just as Ava’s eyes closed she heard the British accent and felt the smaller woman pull away from her. “Hey John.”  Ava stood still as Sara turned to face the two approaching men and leaned against her.  She looked up and Ava over her shoulder, “I’m guessing that’s your Gary?”  She noted the familiarity John and Sara seemed to have.  He’s probably a regular at Time Masters and she tends bar there.  That made the most sense to her. Nodding the taller blonde saw the knowing smile on Gary’s face.  She looked from the Brit to her friend and noticed the fresh hickey forming on his neck just under his tee shirt.  Not to mention they were holding hands.  “Hey Gare.”  She nodded towards him.  He just smiled stupidly back at her. John ran a hand through his hair “So Pet, I have a suite at the hotel across the street.”  He was definitely looking at Ava.  “Nice place...2 bedrooms and an adjoining living space.”  He turned his head slightly to gaze at Gary whose grin threaten to split his face in two. “Oh.”  Ava nodded. “That’s great John, I’m pretty tired actually...I didn’t really feel like waiting for an Uber tonight.”  Sara was the one that had spoken up.  John grinned at the shorter blonde woman as he slung an arm around Gary and placed a kiss on the top of his head. Gary looked at Ava trying to study her expression.  Not really getting a good read on her he slid out of John’s grip smiling the whole time.  He grabbed Ava’s hand as he walked towards her tugging her away from the other two people standing there.  “Please, excuse us for a second.”  As they got out of earshot Gary looked Ava in the eyes and put his hands on her shoulders.  “Are you okay with this?  With what’s happening right now?” Confused she looked at him for a moment.  “Hey, no judgment here Gary.  Will you be okay to find a ride home?” He sighed heavily, “Really Ava, seriously?” “Yeah, of course you can always Uber.” His gripped tightened on her shoulders, “Ava, come on.  You can’t be that oblivious.”  He studied her face for a moment as confusion settled on her expression.  “Or maybe you can.”  He took a deep breath and nodded towards the pair that were now engaged in light conversation.  “John and I are going to that hotel over there...there are two separate bedrooms.”  Ava nodded.  “SHE has no intention of going home...”  He raised his eyebrows not really thinking he needed to spell it out any further.  When she just looked from him to the other two, he continued.  “Ava, she is really into you.” That was the moment that it sunk in.  She shook her head.  “No, Gary I can’t.”  She dropped her eyes to the concrete parking lot as panic started to sink in.  “I’m not ready.”  She looked at her phone checking the time.  “It’s 2:30 in the morning.  I have practice.  I *HAVE* to do well to maintain my scholarship.”  She glazed over her most obvious protest.  Not wanting to mention her name out loud. He moved his hands to her cheeks, forcing her to look into his eyes.  “Ava, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.  You just need to decide what you want to do.”  He half smiled at her.  “I saw how you were looking at her Aves...you are into her too.” “Ugh, I barely know her name.”  She sighed trying to get her head together. “It’s fine.”  Now he smiled at her warmly.  “You can just go home.  Take my Blazer and I’ll get an Uber to your apartment tomorrow to get it back.  No big deal, okay?”  Ava nodded.  “Right now let's go over there so you can say good bye at least.” Taking a deep breath, she nodded again.  Her panic had begun to subside as they approached the other two again and Ava cleared her throat.  “I’m uh, going to head home.  I have something to do in the morning and I should actually already be asleep.” The disappointment on the blonde womans’ face was clear.  “That’s too bad.”  The smirk was back again and the dimple made a reappearance.  “I was looking to spending more time with you.”  She looked into Ava’s steel blue eyes, “You’re sure?” No.  “Yes.”  Reaching into her pocket Ava retrieved the keys. The two men rejoined their hands and the blonde male looked at Sara, “You still coming with us?” Her eyes never left Ava’s as she spoke, “I don’t think so.  I may catch a ride home, myself.” Ava shifted her weight momentarily as the two men walked away.  Clearing her throat, she felt like she owed Sara something.  “Hey, I’m sorry about this, Sara.” Running a hand through her hair absently she frowned to herself.  “I do have... The bartender cut her off, “Look, it’s fine.  You don’t owe me anything.  Although...” The smirk gone Sara simply smiled an easy grin at Ava.  “*If* you are headed back to campus you will be close to my apartment.  I wouldn’t turn down a lift.” Ava nodded and looked at the ground smiling to herself. “Of course.  Where can I drop you?”  She smiled because she would get to spend a little more time with the bartender. “Just the gas station at the corner of Main and High would be fine.”  As soon as the doors were unlocked, she slid into the passenger seat. Ava nodded as she started the car and buckled her seatbelt.  She waited for Sara to buckle up before sliding it into drive.  “I just want to be completely honest with you.”  She didn’t know why she kept talking, but it was as if she couldn’t stop herself.  “I just broke up with my girlfriend about a month and a half ago.”  She could feel the bartender looking at her.  “I’m just...I don’t feel like I’m ready for anything, really.” The bartender nodded, but laughed lightly.  “Ava, I’m not looking for a relationship here.”  She shrugged her shoulders, “It’s just sex.”  Observing the way, the other girl tensed up she knew there was more.  “How long were you together.” Ava cleared her throat, “4 years.” Turning her eyes forward looking through the windshield, “So, high school sweetheart...first love?” Releasing the breath, she was holding Ava gave a single nod.  “Yes.” The bartender shook her head, “Well, that’s a damn shame.”  She paused for a moment regarding the student before continuing.  “We could have had fun, Ava.  We still could...everyone needs a rebound.” She tried to keep her cheeks from flushing.  “That’s not really how I work.” Out of the corner of her eye Ava saw the blonde sink back into the seat of the car and look out the window.  “Yeah, I picked up on that.”  She drew something in the condensation that gathered on the window when she exhaled.  “And I don’t really do feelings.” Ava turned into the gas station, “So, I guess here we are?”  Having arrived at there destination Ava felt like it held a double meaning.Nodding the blonde opened the door and dropped onto the pavement.  “I guess so.”  She waited then hopped back into the car leaning across the center consul towards the student and waited. Closing the gap Ava pressed her lips to Sara’s again.  Her hand cupping the bartender's cheek.  It was slow and gentle.  As she pulled away Ava rubbed her thumb across her cheek.  “Good Night, Sara.” Dropping out of the car once again the short blonde nodded and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.  “Good Night, Ava.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Groaning awake Ava grabbed her phone and shut the alarm off.  Sitting up and swinging her legs off the bed she instantly regretted her decision to go out the previous night.  2 and a half hours of sleep wouldn’t be nearly enough.  Her only reprieve being that she wouldn’t have any classes with the way her schedule had worked out.  Gathering her practice gear, she moved to the bathroom yawning the entire way there. After a shower and changing into her gear the blonde made her way into the kitchen to grab a banana and a granola bar.  She stole a quick glance at her phone as she filled her water bottle.  Stretching her neck out she heard a door open behind her.  “Morning Amaya, I hope I didn’t wake you up.” “When did you get in?”  Amaya sat at the dining room table and leaned back in the chair.  She fully intended to go back to sleep after her roommate left. Ava yawned, “Not early enough.”  glancing at her phone she noticed the messages she had received from Nora while she was still at the bar, but had yet to respond to.  “Shit.” Amaya studied her friend for a moment.  “What is it?” “I forgot to respond to some messages last night.”  She opened the message and scrolled through the multiple messages.

Nora

Today 1:21 AM
Ray is here. He wants to say hi.
Today 1:42 AM
Where did you go?
Today 1:45 AM
Oh, there you are...

Today 2:35 AM
So bar is closed...we're going home.
Have fun Ava.
Oh and message me in the morning...
So I know you are still alive.

Ava groaned at the picture attachment her face flushing slightly.  It was clearly her making out with the blonde at the bar last night. Amaya perked up, “What?” Locking the screen quickly the blonde shook her head at her friend.  “It’s nothing.”   Smiling Amaya nodded towards the phone, “That blush didn’t look like nothing.” Grabbing her warm up sweats Ava quickly slipped them on over her shorts and shot Amaya a look.  “I have to go.”  Her actions hopefully showing that she wasn’t going to share the message with her friend and roommate.  “Gary should be stopping by later.”  She gestured to the keys on the counter.  “His keys.” Amaya nodded, “What did you get into last night?” Ava shook her head again.  “Nothing that out of the norm.” Amaya cleared her throat as the blonde reached for the door.  “Is that so?”  Ava slowly turned to face her friend and nodded.  “Well, then I’ll just assume you ran into a wall with your...neck?” “What?”  Confused, Ava looked into the mirror.  “Shit.”  She had somehow missed the hickey when she was in the bathroom.  “No no no no.”  Dropping her the rest of her gear onto the counter she moved back to into her bedroom stripping off her warm up jersey and started rooting around in her dresser grabbing a tee shirt with a snug neckline.  Pulling it on she stepped back into the bathroom bringing her practice jersey with her. Amaya leaned against the wall in the hallway watching her friend dart into the bathroom looking smug.  ” So, you didn’t run into a wall?”  She laughed lightly. Fortunately, the tee was enough to cover the mark and Ava sighed.  “Maybe I did."  The blonde shot her friend a look as she walked past her to gather up her gear after she put the jersey back on. “Listen Aves.  I’m not saying you owe me an explanation, but I did prevent you from going to practice with a hickey out in the open for everyone to see.”   The blonde nodded, understanding what she was hinting at.  “Yeah, that’s fair.”  She continued to speak as she moved to the door.  “Dinner tonight?” “I can’t.  I’m meeting the Legends.  Unless you wanted to join us for the very first time?”  The Legends were a group of Amaya's friends, mostly History Majors, that had teamed up on a trivia night and gave themselves the team name Legends and it just stuck.Ava shook her head, “I’ll pass...especially for this conversation.  I can’t meet your group of friends AND have this conversation with you.”   “Lunch?”  Amaya suggested. Ava nodded as she opened the door and left the apartment behind.  Glancing at her phone quickly she figured she wouldn’t be late, but she wouldn’t be as early as she wanted to be either. ~~~ Arriving just ahead of the start of practice Ava ditched her bag in her locker quickly changed her shoes and made her way to the court to warmup.  Stretching out by the bench she looked around at the team searching for new faces.  She knew from the e-mails Coach Hunter sent out that they had a couple new freshmen on the team, but for the most part the team would remain unchanged from last year. “You look like hell Sharpe.”  A surly voice rang out in her direction. Looking over her shoulder at her team mate Ava shook her head.  “Shut up, Tomas.  I had a long night.” The other woman scoffed at her, “Looks more like the night was too short.”  She nodded towards their approaching coach.  “He’s going to run you ragged, you know that, right?”  Nodding the blonde followed the shooting guards’ eyes to their coach.  “Good luck Director.” Continuing to stretch she smiled at the nickname.  She had earned it the end of last season when she took over the starting position as point guard when their senior starter had sustained and ACL injury effectively ending her College Basketball career.  She wasn’t happy that Courtney had gotten injured, but she was happy to show their coach she could start and be a leader to the team.  So much that she had done her best to get one of the Captain positions this year. At camp she had pushed herself and the team to get better.   She needed this year to be their best yet.  Last year they hadn’t even been anywhere near the playoffs, but this year she decided would be different.  Now all she had to do was motivate the team to come along with her. There were 2 shrill blasts of Coach Hunters whistle to pull the team to order and Ava hustled some of the other girls along as they met in the center of the court. ~~~ At the end of practice all Ava wanted to do was collapse.  As predicted Coach Hunter had run them hard.  Also, just as Zari had predicted he seemed to be particularly hard on Ava.  She fought to remain on her feet.  All her body wanted to do was sink to the floor like many of her team mates and catch her breath just lying on the hardwood court.  “Alright ladies!”  The Coach looked at his team.  “We have a lot of work to do.  Some of you performed better than others, but we all need to get better.”  He watched the team closely, “Starting Monday we’ll have Strength and conditioning from 6am till 8am.  Then we’ll have a 30-minute team meeting to discuss progress.”  He paused making sure everyone was paying attention.  Team practice will start at 3:30p and typically go till 6p.”  He paused letting all of that information sink in.  “I’ll announce Team Captains on Monday at the Team Meeting, understood?”  The team either responded verbally or nodded.  “Alright.  Hit the showers ladies!”  He started to walk back towards his office, but paused before speaking again.  “Sharpe, I need to see you in my office.” There was a feeling of foreboding as Ava took deep breaths, but moved towards the offices with a forced pep in her step.  She looked to Zari who shrugged and tossed a towel at her.  Once she stepped into his office the Coach looked up and gestured for her to close the door and take a seat.  She did as he had requested and wrapped the towel around her shoulders.  “Yeah, coach?” He sat behind his desk and studied her for a moment.  “Ava, where’s your head at?” She raised her eyebrows questioningly.  She thought she had done fairly well at practice.  “I’m not sure what you mean?” He took a deep breath and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he leaned forward.  “Here’s the deal.  I was ready to give you the captain position, but your performance today was average at best.”  He maintained eye contact with her, “I’ve come to expect more from you.” She nodded, “Yes sir.” “I’m going to need someone to LEAD this team if we are going to have a winning season this year.”  She nodded again.  “Okay, show me on Monday and we’ll see where everything falls.  Remember, I need leaders...not average.” “I got it.  I’ll do better, I promise.” He nodded and leaned back again glancing over his notes.  “Hit the showers.” ~~~ She had taken her time in the shower, but pulled on a fresh tee shirt as quickly as possible.  Moving towards the exit Coach Hunters words rang in her ears.  ‘...average at best.’  Her sweaty warmup gear in her string bag Ava made her way through the gym eyes on the ground mentally assessing her performance. She heard the distinct sound of someone running behind her, “Hold up Sharpe!” Turning Ava spotted Zari running towards her.  “Hey, Z.”  She slowed her pace allowing Zari to catch up. “Thanks for waiting, he really pushed us today.”  Her team mate looked at her with a pained expression, “Everything hurts!”  Zari smiled at her warmly as she matched Ava’s pace.  “How bad was it?” Ava grunted running a hand down her sweats, “Bad enough.” “You want to grab a coffee?  We can talk about it.” Shaking her head, the blonde waved a hand at her team mate.  “No, it’s fine.  I need to take a nap or something.  That way I can actually function later.” Zari nodded, “Alright.  If you’re sure?” Ava smiled, “I’m sure.”  The walked a couple of steps in silence.  “Why don’t we grab a couple of the others and do a small pick-up game tomorrow?  Maybe grab lunch after?”  Zari wrinkled her nose, but Ava continued anyway.  “We need to get to know the freshies anyway.” Grunting Zari shrugged her shoulders, “You really are after that Captain position, aren’t you?” Ava rolled her eyes, “What I’m after is a Championship, Tomas.  I'll send out an e-mail blast to see who we can get to attend.”  She watched the other woman for a minute.  “I’m sure others will come, but I’d love it if you’d be there.” “Yeah, yeah Sharpe.  You can count on me.”  Zari then headed away from Ava, “Well, it’s coffee for me...some of us have CLASS on Fridays.” Ava laughed, “Maybe so, but you don’t want anything to do with my Wednesday class load, trust me!” ~~~ A loud knock on the door shook Ava from her slumber.  Her muscles protested as she stood up and made her way to the door suspecting who was on the other side.  Peering through the peephole she saw Gary smiling to himself and looking away from her apartment door.  Swing it open she greeted him, “Morning, Gare.” He turned to face her and she recognized the same smile from last night.  “AVA!”  As she stepped aside to let him in his smile only faltered slightly.  “You look tired.” She nodded towards the couch where she had obviously been napping.  “Yeah, it was a long night.  I was asleep.” “Oh my God, did you make it to practice?!”  His tone was panicked and concerned. She smiled at him and nodded.  “Yeah, I did.”  She walked over to the counter and slid his keys towards the man.  He just stood there and stared at her expectantly as she sat back on the couch pulling the blanket back over her shoulders.  Taking a deep breath the blonde gestured towards the chair.  “Come on, tell me about your night.”  She knew he was dying to talk about it.He practically ran to the chair and flopped down.  “John is so awesome.”  Ava smiled, genuinely happy for her friend.  “We went to his room and then...” Ava quickly held up her hand and shook her head, “Gary, I don’t need the details.” He pushed his glasses up and made a serious face, “Right, of course.”  He was practically bouncing.  “We’re going on a date tomorrow night.” “Well, that seems a little backwards, but yeah...that’s great.”  She wondered if she would have to have the Shovel Talk with John Constantine.  She wasn’t looking forward to it, but of course she would if necessary. He smiled and watched her carefully, “So what happened with Sara?” Ava swallowed and shook her head suddenly distracted by the blanket around her shoulders.  “Nothing.  I dropped her off and came home to nap before practice.” Gary narrowed his eyes at her for a moment.  “Yeah, but you got her number, right?” The blonde woman looked up at him, “No, why would I do that?” He through his hands into the air, “Because you were both OBVIOUSLY into each other.” She sighed, “I thought so too, but we’re in different places.” He shrugged his shoulders, “What does that even mean?!”  Before she could answer he kept talking.  “John knows her.  I’ll get her number for you.” Ava held her hand up again.  “No, you won’t.” He pouted for a moment, “I can though.” She shook her head more resolutely this time.  “Absolutely not.”  They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes.  “Go home Gary.  Shower.  Nap.  Do whatever it is you need to do to get through the rest of today.” Nodding he stood up and snagged his keys off the counter.  “I’ll text you later?” She nodded as he walked out the door.  As soon as it closed, she grabbed her phone and sorted through her emails.  Several girls from the team had already responded to her request for the pick-up game.  Thankfully all 3 Freshman had confirmed that they would attend.

Nora
Today 9:32 AM
Good Morning.
She lives!
Indeed she does.
And she needs a favor.
What's up?
Delete all the pictures you took last night.
Ha! Not a chance. Pretty sure you're out of favors, Sharpe.
Nor, please.

Frowning when she didn’t get a response Ava threw the blanket off and moved into her bedroom gathering cloths to wear for the day.  As she changed, she looked at her reflection staring at the hickey remembering last night.  Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to just hook up with someone? Shaking the thought away she frowned slightly.  Dressed and ready for the day she gathered her books and headed to the library hoping to get a couple quiet hours of studying done before meeting Amaya for lunch. ~~~

Amaya
Today 11:42 AM
Hey Ava, where are we meeting?
Let's go to Bennett's Diner. I'm at the library so I can be there in 10.
Sounds great.

Packing up her books the blonde swiped her hand over her face.  It felt like she had accomplished nothing today.  Practice hadn’t gone well and she was still tired.  Worse yet her brain kept replaying what might have been if only she had gone to that hotel or followed Sara to her apartment.  She shook the thought away.  You can’t possibly be considering this.  Moving through the library she tried to decide what exactly she was willing to share with her friend about last night. The short walk to the diner was uneventful as she slipped inside, she grabbed a table near the door awaiting Amaya’s arrival.  Studying the menu, she ordered a water to start with.  Sinking back into the booth she tossed the menu down and grabbed her phone looking to see if she had missed a message from her friend. The door to the diner swung open and Amaya zipped in closely followed by...Zari?  “Hey Ava!”  They both slid into the booth. “Hey?”  She looked from her friend to her team mate.  “You guys know each other?” Zari shrugged her shoulders and smiled, “I’m a Legend.” “Ah!”  Ava looked to Amaya, “2 years and you never mentioned that you knew one of my team mates?” Amaya smiled and raised her eyebrows, “You never showed much interest in getting to know the Legends so I guess I just compartmentalized.  Zari didn't even know you were my roommate until about 20 minutes ago.”   Ava nodded, “That’s fair I suppose.” “I hope you don’t mind I tagged along.”  Zari smiled as she grabbed the menu from Ava. “Ah, no.  I suppose not.”  Ava sat up again.  “As long as you keep your mouth shut.” Zari smiled and nodded, “Of course, Director Sharpe.” As soon as the waiter took their order Ava settled back onto her side of the booth and looked at her friends.  “Okay, where to start...” “Well, where did you guys go?”  Amaya piped up. “Time Masters.”  Ava took a drink from her water as Zari snickered. When Amaya elbowed her, she turned and looked at Amaya with faux hurt in her eyes.  “What?”  Turning back to Ava she continued to talk, “Seriously Ava...you went to Time Masters on Thirsty Thursday?” “Wait, what?”  Ava blinked at them in disbelief. Zari nodded still grinning, “Yeah, Director.  Thirsty Thursday and it has absolutely nothing to do with drinking.” Groaning the blonde sank into the booth a little more.  “That explains so much!” “What happened?”  Amaya studied her face. “This guy at the bar was hitting on me.  Some girl cornered me in the bathroom and tried to get me to go to a hotel with her and her boyfriend.  The bartender was borderline stalker-ish.”  She pinched the bridge of her nose as everything started to make sense. “Stalker-ish?”  Amaya’s eyebrows knitted together. “Yeah, after the incident with the girl in the bathroom I left.  I went to Inferno and the bartender from Time Masters showed up there.”  She scratched her head absently.  “She asked me to dance, but I said no... I asked her if she followed me.” Zari squinted her eyes, “Bartender at Time Masters?” Amaya made eye contact with Zari and shook her head.  Ava looked between the two of them not picking up on the look they were sharing.  “Yeah.  So?” Obviously getting the picture from Amaya, Zari shook her head.  “Nothing...go ahead.” “Yeah...so anyway Nora...” She looked at Zari, “My friend Nora.  Shows up and I think I’ll mess with the bartender a little bit.  I don’t know why, but she just annoyed the hell out of me.”  Zari’s eyes met Amaya’s again as if pleading to her.  “So, I dance with Nora for little bit.  The bartender comes over and we start chatting.  At first, she was still annoying the hell out of me.”  She shrugged her shoulders, “But then something changed.  I don’t know, but the next thing I know we’re making out.” Zari chokes on her water.  “The Time Masters bartender?  You made out with the Time Masters bartender?”  Ava nodded.  Looking at Amaya as Zari spoke directly to her friend.  “Ava made out with the bartender from Time Masters.” “Yes, I heard.”  Amaya broke eye contact with Zari, “That’s where the hickey came from, I’m assuming?” “Wait, you have a hickey?”  There was a chuckle in her tone as Zari spoke. Ava nodded as her cheeks flushed.  “Yeah, I uh...didn’t know until Amaya let me know this morning.”  She cleared her throat before continuing.  “So, anyway Inferno closes and I call Gary.  He decides to meet me in the parking lot at Inferno.  The bartender offers to wait with me.  While we were waiting for him, we start up again.  Then Gary shows up with John apparently the bartender knows him.” “Wait...John Constantine?”  Zari is grinning like an idiot again. Ava looks at Zari and nods, “You know him?” Amaya speaks up, not letting Zari elaborate.  “Legend...by proxy.  Friend of a friend?” “Good lord...so many History majors.” Amaya laughs at that.  “Ava, you were at Time Masters.  Of course, you’ll find the history majors there. “Apparently the thirsty ones.”  Ava shrugged.  “So anyway...apparently John had a suite.  He and Gary were going to the suite...the bartender pipes up that she didn’t feel like catching an Uber home and since it was 2 bedrooms, she could stay in the 2nd bedroom.” “Oh my God Sharpe, did you sleep with...”  Again, Ava’s roommate elbowed her team mate before she finished her statement.  “...the bartender?” Ava shook her head seriously wondering what was going on between her friends.  “No.  I told her I’m not ready for any kind of relationship.” Zari’s face scrunched up, “Did you say relationship?  Like the actual word relationship?” Ava shook her head.  “I didn’t, but she did.” Zari nodded, “Bet things cooled off real fast after that, eh?” “Yeah, apparently she doesn’t do feelings.”  She looked a little down, “And I’m not the type for just sex.”  The blonde shrugged her shoulders and spun her water glass.  “So that was my night.” Leaning back Zari didn’t say another word.  Instead she looked to Amaya.  “So, what happened with the bartender?  How did you leave it?” “I just drove her back to somewhere close to her apartment.  We didn’t even exchange numbers.”  Avoiding making eye contact with her friends Ava’s eyes remained focused on her glass.  “Did I fuck up?  Should I have gotten her number?  Gary said he could get it for me." Amaya smiled at her affectionately, “Of course not.  You did what you were comfortable with.” Ava nodded and excused herself from the table for a moment.  As soon as she was out of earshot Zari looked at Amaya with wide eyes.  “Uh, your roommate almost hooked up with Sara.” Amaya nodded, “Yeah, I got that.”  She exhaled slowly.  “Ava is still working through all the crap that Leah left her with.” “Shit, that’s right I forgot about that.”  Zari shifted in her seat as their food was delivered.  “Do we tell her?” Shaking her head Amaya popped one of Zari’s fries in her mouth.  “No, I went 2 years being Ava’s roommate without their paths crossing.  Chances are fairly good that will continue.  Besides she never mentioned Sara by name.  Maybe it was someone else?” Zari shot her a skeptical look.  “You know it wasn’t.”  She looked towards the direction Ava had gone.  "Keep in mind, you have an apartment now.  We used to meet in common spaces, but now we don't have too.  PLUS, since Sara isn't in school anymore I doubt she'll want to meet up at the Student Union or Library like we had been the last couple of years."Sighing Amaya ran a hand absently through her hair.  "Of course you're right."Zari grinned mischievously, "What was that? I'm right?""I'm not telling Ava, but I'm not going to purposefully keep them apart."  Amaya studied Zari's face for a moment.  "If or when they run into each other in our presence we play dumb, agreed?"  She then looked up quickly to make sure Zari noticed Ava was on her way back to the table.  Zari quickly nodded in agreement.  It was then that Amaya remembered her offer to introduce the blonde to the group.Coming around the corner Ava slid back into the booth pulling her plate closer as she studied her friends.  They were strangely quiet when she arrived.  “So, is there anyone else in the Legends that I am likely know?” The two exchanged a look she couldn’t quite read.  “I don’t think so.”  Amaya responded.  “Well, I mean you met Nate that one time.” Swallowing the bite of her chicken wrap she had bit off Ava quickly sat it down not really feeling hungry any more.  “Yeah.”  Needing to change the subject again Ava spoke.  “Do you guys go to Time Masters?” “Not on Thursday.”  Zari laughed. Sliding her plate away the blonde sighed not really in the mood to deal with of Zari’s harassment.  “I think I’m going to go watch some film.” “Aw, come on Ava.  What game are you going to watch?  We’re a month out from our first game.”  She watched as the blonde slid out of the booth. She sighed and dropped some money on the table.  “Our footage, from last year.  Maybe I can figure out something for our strategy this year.” “Come on Ava, I’m sorry.”  Zari gestured for her to sit back down. Smiling warmly the blonde shook her head, “No, it’s fine.  I need to go.”  Standing up she started towards the door, “I’ll see you in the morning, Z.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Standing at the top of the top of the key Ava dribbled the ball looking across the court for one of her team mates to get open.  She had opted to take on the 3 freshmen and Zari.  Alex Danvers was guarding her.  Ava assumed that Alex, a Senior, was the most likely choice for one of the Captain positions.  Dodging Alex’s attempt at a steal she then used a bounce pass to get the ball to Zari who shot for 3. As the ball fell through the net the blonde smiled and shot her friend a grateful look.  Just behind her Alex groaned and looked to her team.  “Alright, huddle up you guys!  We need to get our shit together...the freshies are killing us!” Ava smiled and moved to gather her team as well.  She dropped her voice as they huddled up, “Great news, we’re already in their heads.  So just keep the pressure up and we should have no problem finishing them off.”  When she had met up with one of the assistant coaches, Amy Gideon, she was able to access the film on the new freshmen.  Once the teams had been selected, she used their strengths to make the team gel really well.  Some might accuse her of cheating, but really all she had done was properly prepare for the game. Zari nodded in agreement, “We have this, ladies.”  They moved back to the center of the court waiting for the other team to regroup after Ava had explained the next play she wanted to run.  Zari looked across the park enjoying the cool fresh autumn air.  It made the physical activity more enjoyable.  Her hands on her hips she looked towards the park entrance and saw Amaya approaching.  Zari smiled and waved as Amaya got closer.  Something in her expression seemed off somehow, and it was at that moment she saw the group that was walking with closely behind her. Ava shifted stretching her legs while she waited, “Come on Danvers.  Call your play and let’s get going.” The tall brunette shot her a look over her shoulder before finishing with her team.  “Don’t get cocky Sharpe.”  Alex called for the ball and they were in motion again. The blonde followed her opponent closely until she got an opening.  Lunging forward she knocked the ball from the brunette’s hands taking possession of the ball and moving down the court before Alex had a chance to react.  After taking the easy lay-up Ava recovered the ball and turned to face her opponents.  “Really Danvers? I know you’re better than that.” Grunting the brunette held up her hand calling for the ball.  “Just...let’s finish this.” Grinning widely the blonde tossed the ball to Alex as she took her position on the baseline.  Seeing her team come together the tall blonde smiled inwardly knowing that victory was practically assured.  Her concentration was broken by a loud 'whoop' off in the distance.  Turning to see where the sound was coming from, she saw Amaya approaching and gave her a brief nod before looking back to Alex. “Post up, Z!”  Ava’s ears perked up at the sound of the shouting voice behind her.  She recognized that voice, freezing in her position she just watched the brunette in front of her.  The blonde hoped she was able to hide the shock from her expression. Before Ava could react the brunette she had been guarding stood straight up, “Sara?”  As Alex turned to fully face the approaching group she secured the ball under her arm.  “Time out, Sharpe.” As her opponent walked past her to approach who she now knew to be the familiar bartender Ava quickly turned on her heel to ensure she kept her back to the smaller blonde.  She muttered under her breath, “Fuck, you can’t be serious.”  Walking to the sideline away from the direction Alex had gone, she grabbed her water and took a big gulp.  All while listening as Alex and Sara started chatting.  She jumped slightly when a hand touched her arm.  Turning her head, she saw Amaya and smiled, “Oh, hey.” “Hey, yourself.”  Nodding at the court Amaya spoke again, “How’s the game going?” Ava huffed ignoring the question, “Amaya...did you know?”  She stared her roommate down. She ran a hand absently through her hair.  “I thought maybe, but you never mentioned a name.” “Hey Ava!”  A male voice rang out. “Shit.”  The tall blonde looked at Amaya as Nate approached them.  “Oh, hey Nate.”  She forced a grin and faced the man.  “What are you guys up to?”  As she looked over, she tried to avoid contact with those damn blue eyes.  Instead she was met with full on eye contact. “Ava!”  The was an intonation in the bartenders’ tone as she spoke. “Hey Sara.”  The tall blonde shifted nervously as she observed the group in front of her, “I didn’t realize you knew Amaya...or Zari...or Nate?” She shrugged then smirked, “We're all Legends.” Chuckling lightly Ava nodded, “Of course you are.”  She the turn her head to look at Zari narrowing her eyes slightly. A glimmer of realization sparkled in the smaller blondes’ eyes, “Wait, Ava Sharpe!  You’re Amaya’s roommate?” Alex gestured from her teammate to Sara and back again, “Soooo how do you two know each other?” Ava choked on her water, but Sara piped up before she could recover and respond.  “We met at Time Masters earlier this week.” Rising her eyebrows Alex nodded, “I didn’t know you went to Time Masters, Sharpe.  Heck I thought you were still underage.” “She was driving her friends.  You have to admire a responsible adult.”  The bartender continued. Ava cleared her throat.  “Come on Danvers, we have a game to finish.”  She forced the brunettes attention back to the court.  She knew she was retreating, but what choice did she have. ~~~ Ava’s team managed to pull off the win, but Alex and her team seemed to pick it up a bit towards the end of the game to make it very close.  “Great game Alex.”  She high five’d her teammate.  “Let’s gather everyone up and get some lunch.”   The brunette nodded in agreement, “Sounds good.” The tall blonde took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from her brow using her shirt inadvertently exposing her abs.  “Is that what I missed out on?” Ava’s cheeks flushed even though she knew no one else had heard Sara.  “Sara.”  She shook her head.  Clearing her throat before she even attempted  continue.  She caught Sara staring as she pulled the hem of her shirt back down in place.  She tried to ignore the heat she felt flushing her cheeks before she found her voice.  “Are you and the Legends going to join us?” “Maybe, seems like this is a team thing.  We wouldn’t want to intrude.”  Sara raised her eyebrows quizzically. Ava shook her head, “You wouldn’t be.  The whole team isn’t even here...it’s not really an official team activity.”  She gestured over her shoulder, “All we’re going to do is hit the food trucks on the other side of the park.”  She paused a moment.  “Come on, I’ll buy you lunch for defending my designated driving honor.”  Sara laughed and Ava knew she wanted to hear that laugh over and over again.  Keep it together Sharpe.   Her heart was pounding in her chest...maybe even more than it had been when she was sprinting on the basketball court.“That’s not really necessary.”  Sara waved Zari, Amaya, and Nate over.  “Lunch, guys?” As the basketball team members gathered their gear the Legends started towards the other side of the park.  Sara gestured between Zari and Ava, “You two need to shower.”  She pointedly re-established eye contact with Ava. Ava just shook her head, fighting back the grin that tried to flash across her face.  “Do you ever stop with the flirting?”  She was trying to deflect the intense gaze. Shaking her head, the shorter blonde smirked at Ava, “I don’t think you want me to.” “So, hey, we’re all still here.”  Zari spoke up.  Getting the attention of the small group she continued, “So, what possessed you all to come to the park anyway?” Nate interjected, “Well, you had mentioned last night that some of the Bulldogs were going to be playing here and I thought we could check in on you, ya know in case you were short a player or whatever.” Zari rolled her eyes and tipped her head back, “Nate, are you here just to check out the girls?” “Haha...no?”  They all knew better by the way he had answered with a question. As the basketball team caught up, they all started chatting.  Most of the conversations were about evening plans.  The freshmen seemed anxious to find out the places off campus to hang out.  Amaya looked to her roommate, “What about you Ava?  What are you going to get into this evening?” “Well...” She slowly exhaled and looked up trying to think of everything she needed to get done before Monday.  “I do have a paper I need to work on for my Risk Management class.”  She looked across at the current line-up of food trucks trying to decide which would give her the biggest impact for protein. Nate groaned, “Are you serious?  It’s Saturday...Sunday is for cramming papers.” Ava shot him a look, “Cramming?  No, no... you can’t be serious.” “Oh, I’m totally serious.  We’re in college...aren’t we supposed to be having fun and figuring out who we are going to be once we get out in the real world?”  He used air quote to emphasize real world. “Not if you already have a plan.  Then you just need to execute it.”  The taller blonde made a decision and moved to the truck that touted a vegan menu.  As she moved towards the truck, she felt Sara’s presence next to her again. “Are you vegan?”  Sara looked at her questioningly. “No.  I just know this truck has some healthy, high protein options and I need to refuel after the game.”  She spoke as if it was common knowledge, because to her it was.  Nodding towards the truck Ava spoke again, “What will you be having to eat?”  As she turned her head to look at the bartender she winced at the suggestive expression on her face.  “No, don’t say it...” Then there was that laugh again, “You make it so damn easy though.” Ignoring the interruption Nate tried to continue their previous conversation, “So you’re saying you already know what you want to do when you grow up?”  His nose wrinkled in confusion. Allowing her focus to leave the blonde again Ava smiled at the man with seemingly perfect hair.  “You don’t?  We aren’t going to be in college forever.” His expression changed slightly, “I suppose, but I figure I still have at least this semester before I really need to focus.” Amaya laughed and elbowed him, “Nate is great at Trivia, but decisiveness isn’t his strong suit.” “Well, hopefully he’ll be able to decide on food.”  She pointed at her intended target.  “I'm going vegan today.”  Glancing at the shorter blonde who seemed to be standing incredibly close.  “Care to join me?”   She swallowed the lump in her throat somewhat fearing rejection.  This isn't a date or anything.  She can eat where she pleases.Zari groaned, “Come on Ava!  It’s Saturday.”  She pointed at a different food truck.  “That truck right there has a hamburger that uses a DONUT instead of a bun.”  Her eyes wide as if she was convincing Ava that eating a “Donut” burger was somehow a good idea. Ava adamantly shook her head, “You go right ahead and put that garbage in your body.  I’m good right here.”  She slid into line to wait her turn.  The blonde point guard feinted injury when Sara shook her head and stepped towards the “donut” truck with Zari. Sara shrugged her shoulders and smiled, “I really need to try this burger.” As Ava watched the bartender back away, “I’m not certified in CPR.  So, when you go into cardiac arrest, I won’t be the one to try and save you.”  Wincing at her own words Ava wrinkled her nose realizing just how flirtatious her statement had come out.  Where the hell did that come from Sharpe?   Sara paused, “Were you just flirting with me?” Being called out on her statement Ava dropped her head slightly trying to hide the flush on her cheeks.  “That didn’t come out quite like I intended.”  She winced as she looked back up.  “Just go get your burger.”  The taller blonde waved them away crossing her arms across her chest. Sara walked backwards for a few steps keeping her eyes on Ava before turning and following Zari.  Ava watched as they linked arms and started laughing as they discussed lunch possibilities.  “Sorry, I didn’t say anything.” Glancing over Ava saw her roommate smiling at her.  “It’s fine.  You're right, I didn’t really get into specifics when I told you about her.” Amaya nodded and looked forward, “Yeah, but honestly.  I knew.” Ava noted the small smile at the corner of her friends’ mouth when she spoke.  “You did?” Nodding the dark-haired girl shifted her gaze back to the blonde, “There’s only one bartender at Time Masters that’s THAT forward.”  They took a step closer to the food truck as she continued to speak, “Are you okay?  This isn’t weird, right?” Ava shook her head, “No, of course not...it’s fine.” Nodding the dark-haired girl looked forward again.  “You’ll let me know if it does get weird?  I almost tried to convince her not to come, but I honestly figured one way or another your paths were going to cross.  Why not let it happen sooner rather than later?” ~~~ After getting their food the large group slowly gathered at some nearby picnic tables to eat and visit.  Ava noticed the Nate seemed to be able to chat with everyone easily even when he was the only guy present.  Sara and Zari walked over and sat across from Amaya and Ava.  Looking at the ‘burgers’ Ava wrinkled her nose, “That looks so gross.” Sara shot her a mischievous grin, “Don’t knock it till you try it Princess Tofu!”  There was a teasing lilt to her tone and the taller blonde just shook her head. Nate burst into laughter, “Princess Tofu!  Good one, captain!” Sitting up a little straighter Ava decided to change the subject.  “So, what are the Legends up to this evening?” Nate spoke up first, “Well, I think we’re meeting some of your teammates at Time Masters for a little trivia, maybe a drink or two.”  He looked at Sara, “I think John and his latest squeeze will be joining us later.” Perking up at that Ava swallowed the bite she had just taken, “Latest squeeze, you say?"  She looked directly into Nate’s eyes, “Does John have a LOT of um...dates?” Sara touched Nate’s arm before he could talk again, “He’ll be good to Gary.”  All of the teasing in her tone from earlier had shift to something reassuring.Her attention diverted back to the blonde woman, “Yeah?  I just...I try to look out for Gary.  Recent events aside he's normally pretty awkward around people.” Nodding his head, “For sure!  I get that, but you can trust Sara, she knows John better than anyone.  She and John...” “Nate!”  Zari elbowed him then her voice dropped, “Shut your mouth.” Amaya rubbed her temples and shot him a look.  “Anyway...tonight will be trivia, drinks, and friends.  That should just about cover the activities for the evening.” Sensing a moment of discomfort in the conversation Ava took a deep breath, “That sounds great.”  She returned her attention back to her food...ready to finish and get back to her apartment to shower as soon as possible.  She pulled out her phone.

Nora

Today 12:11 PM
Tell me you are free this evening.

Today 12:15 PM
I can be.  What’s up?

Today 12:16 PM
Nothing important...I owe you a story and it just got more complicated?

Today 12:16 PM
Oh, this should be good. Dinner?  7ish?

Today 12:18 PM
Am I stealing you from Ray?

Today 12:19 PM
No, he’s meeting friends.

...Ray’s a Legend, isn’t he?

Today 12:20 PM
Did Sara tell you?

YOU KNOW SARA TOO?

...uh...so dinner at 7?

Today 12:22 PM
Absolutely.  Pick me up at the apartment.

As Ava slid her phone back into her pocket she sighed and looked at the group gathered around her wrapped up in their own conversations.  As she finished eating the blonde gathered her trash and stood up.  “It was great to officially meet you all.  I’m going to head back to the apartment.” Nate leaned back in his seat, “You should come to Time Masters...meet the rest of the team.”  His smile was charming as he tried to convince her to join them. Shaking her head Ava declined, “I actually have dinner plans.”  She noted that Sara turned to look at her. Zari chewed on a piece of her donut, “Do you have a date Director Sharpe?” Scoffing Ava shook her head, “No more than you do.  Just dinner with a friend.”  As she walked away, she waved her hand over her head.  “Have a great evening everyone.  Bulldogs, I’ll see you Monday morning.  Legends...well, I’m sure our paths will cross again.” ~~~ Moving around the apartment Ava looked at the clock knowing Nora would be there soon.  After she had gotten back from the park she had showered, changed, and started working on her paper.  Her work was now put away and she gathered her hair in a quick ponytail.  It was about fifteen till seven when she heard the knock on the door.  Opening the door, the blonde smiled at her friend. Nora held up a bottle of wine and a bag of groceries.  “We’re staying in and cooking tonight.” Nodding Ava stepped aside and invited her friend in.  “I actually really like that idea.”  She took the bag from the dark-haired girl and moved into the kitchen.  “What’re we having?” “Pasta.  We’re going to carb up.”  She gestured to the bottle she was holding, “Get us a couple of glasses.” Reaching into the cabinet the blonde grabbed to glasses and set them down in front of Nora, then she started unloading the bag.  “So, uh...were you also aware of ‘Thirsty Thursday’?” Nora chuckled as the cork popped, “You weren’t?” Shaking her head, the blonde started gathering the pans they would need to cook dinner.  “Nope.”  She popped the p when she spoke.  “That knowledge really would have helped me get through the night.”’ Nora handed her friend a glass and smiled as she took a sip from her own glass, “I don’t know when I left you at Inferno it seemed like you had the situation well...in hand.”  She quirked a brow at the blonde. Groaning Ava leaned against the counter after setting a pot of water on to boil.  “That was terrible.”  Nora chuckled.  “Inferno wasn’t so bad.”  She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt.  “Time Masters was intense.” “Well, tell me about it.”  She moved into the kitchen and started helping prep for dinner. Nodding Ava paused before speaking, “First off as soon as we got there both Gary and Lily bailed on me.  Gary got nervous and hid in the restroom...Lily was looking for some guy.” The dark-haired woman seemed unimpressed, “So far this sounds pretty average.  Especially for Thirsty Thursday.” Shooting her a look Ava continued, “I went to get a drink, soda, and this guy starts hitting on me.  I shot him down.  He kept pushing so, I told him I wasn’t into guys.  He just kept talking, but then the bartender...Sara, stepped in and told him to back off or she would kick him out.”  Ava took a sip of the wine before continuing.  “So, I of course thanked her.” “So that was your introduction to Sara Lance?”  Nora nodded.“Yeah, so...when you came into Inferno you knew exactly who she was?” Nora held up her hand pausing from dinner prep, “Whoa, whoa...we’ll get to Inferno.  Just catch me up with Time Masters.  Sara had run Mr. Didn’t-want-to-take-no-for-an-answer off.” Narrowing her eyes Ava conceded and continued her story, “Anyway, I decided Gary was never going to make a move on his own and the only reason we were even AT Time Masters was so Gary could talk to John.  Taking matters into my own hands I hung out a bit until I got John’s attention.  We started talking and Gary showed up so I introduced them and then excused myself once it seemed like conversation was flowing.”  Taking another drink she paused, “I swear every time I looked over it seemed like she was watching me.” The dark-haired woman smiled, “It’s entirely possible, knowing Sara.” Shaking her head at her friend the blonde continued, “I was able to find and speak with Lily for a little bit...she ordered a drink from Sara.  After that I went to the restroom and I kid you not, Nor, this drunk woman corners me in the bathroom and starts talking about how she ‘used to be gay’ because she lived with a woman.”  The dark-haired girl fought back her laughter.  “Here's the kicker, she was trying to get me to join her and her boyfriend in their hotel room.” “Wait!”  She couldn’t stifle her laughter any longer, “Some drunk proposed a threesome with you and her boyfriend while you were in the bathroom?!”  Ava nodded.  “Holy shit that’s unreal!” “Tell me about it.”  Ava absently chewed her lower lip before continuing.  “After that I left and went to Inferno.  I did let Gary know so he could call me when he was ready and we could leave.  At that point Lily had already left according to Gary so I saw no reason to stay plus I wanted to avoid the drunkard and her boyfriend.”  She finished her first glass of wine and Nora refilled it.  “I was there for a while before Sara asked me to dance."  Remembering that moment clearly she thought about how she had reacted, "I think what bothered me was she didn't so much ask as demand.  I may have kind of insulted her pick up technique so she asked a guy standing nearby and they started to dance.” The dark-haired woman seemed to think about that for a moment.  “That all seems right.  So, I’m guessing that’s about the time I showed up?” Ava nodded, “Yep.  Now let’s get your side of the story...you know Sara.” Nora smiled and sipped her glass, “That’s actually how I figured out it was her you were trying to mess with."  When her friend paused Ava just raised her eyebrows asking her to continue.  "Obviously you figured out that Ray is a Legend.  I've gone out with the group a couple of times.  We were really there to meet up with Sara believe it or not.” Groaning Ava came to another realization, “So, she knew the *whole* time.  She knew I was trying to mess with her.”  She ran a hand absently through her hair and then downed her second glass of wine. Nora reached over and refilled her glass, “Take it easy on the wine.  I personally would like some actually WITH dinner.” Rolling her eyes Ava reached into a cabinet and pulled out a second bottle and sat it on the counter.  “So, have all my friends been hanging out for the last 2 years without my knowledge?” The dark-haired woman then shook her head, “No, not quite.  Gary and Lily have no ties to the Legends that I am aware of.  I actually met Ray when Amaya and I went out together to get your birthday present, after shopping I went with her and met up with the Legends.” “This is just crazy.  It doesn’t really seem possible that our paths haven’t crossed before.”  The blonde started chopping the garlic. “To be fair Aves, between school, basketball, and ...well...Leah you have been very tied up.”  Nora had paused before saying the Ex’s name, but it was true.  “I mean we did invite you out, but you were always busy.  I mean you didn’t tell us you were busy...you just were.”  The blonde seemed to concede the point as she started to throw the ingredients into the pan.  “Now, how did you end up with Sara in your lap upstairs?” The mention of her Ex’s name had set her on edge slightly.  “Well, after you abandoned me, we started talking and she led me upstairs.  Once there we talked for a bit and then one thing led to another...and she wound up on my lap.” “Okay, yeah, I have the pictures.  What about after?  When the bar closed?”  Nora was studying her carefully. “Well, I was still waiting for Gary so I couldn’t leave yet.  She offered to wait with me.  We might have made out in the parking lot?”  Nora shook her head, “Then when Gary showed up with John there was talk of a hotel room with two separate bedrooms...” “Whoa!  Aves, did you...?” Ava shook her head, “No!”  She knew the protest had fallen from her mouth a little too fast.  “I mean...I don’t ...I don’t think I’m ready.  Not after everything that happened.” “It’s okay, you know?”  Nora watched her shuffle nervously, “You’re allowed to take as much time as you need.” “Yeah, I know.”  Closing her eyes, she pinched the bridge of her nose, “I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that 2 of the people I’m closest to know the not so random person I made out with at the bar.” Laughing the dark-haired girl grabbed the pasta and strained it.  “Sara’s definitely no where even remotely near random.”  She waited a moment before continuing, “She’s actually pretty great if you get to know her."  She looked at the blonde over the rim of her glass as she sipped from it.  "Are you going to get to know her?” Shaking her head Ava swiped the pasta and tossed it into the pan of sauce she had been preparing.  “Not likely.  We didn’t even exchange numbers.”  Taking another drink she paused, “Apparently she doesn’t do feelings and I do.  Soooo...here we are.”  Nora hummed to herself and sipped her wine as she watched Ava plating their dinner.  The blonde turned and pointedly looked at her best friend, “What?” Taking the plate offered to her Nora moved to the small table and sat the plate down the retrieved both the opened bottle as well as the unopened bottle of wine.  “Nothing.  I just think the chances of your paths crossing now that you have some free time are pretty good.  Not to mention that you and Amaya share an apartment...dorm rooms aren’t really conducive to guests, but apartments are.”  Once the bottles were placed on the table the dark-haired girl took her seat.  “All I’m saying is you’re probably going to be seeing her more than you think.” Ava shook her head as she grabbed her glass and plate as well as silverware for both of them.  “Nor, 2 YEARS and our paths never crossed.” “Mmhmm...and already you have seen her twice this week.  Thursday and this morning.”  Nora raised her eyebrow as she grabbed a set of the silverware. Ava opened her mouth to protest, but no words came out and her brow furrowed.  “Coincidence?” Laughing Nora shook her head, “Are you asking me or telling me?” The blonde groaned, “Can we just eat and talk about something other than Sara Lance?”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ava awoke to the sound of knocking on the apartment door.  Groaning she grabbed her head, the 2nd bottle of wine maybe wasn’t the best idea she had ever had.  Tossing her blanket aside she climbed out of bed trying to locate her phone to check the time.  As she was reaching for her lamp the pounding resumed on the door.  Abandoning the phone search she grabbed her Star City hoodie off the back of her desk chair, she tugged it on as she moved through the apartment towards the front door.  Noting that it was still dark out she looked through the peephole before opening the door.  Sara?  Unlocking the door she quickly pulled it open, “Sara, it’s late.  Is everything okay?” “Oh hey.”  The blonde smiled at her and leaned nonchalantly against the frame of the door.  “Good evening beautiful.”  Ava studied her for a moment...the white leather jacket, black tee shirt underneath, tight jeans, and boots. The tall blond felt her cheeks flush with heat.  It was then that she noted Sara’s slightly slurred speech and glazed over eyes.  “Are you drunk?”  She sighed as she watched the bartender shuffle her feet on her doorstep. “Maybe, a little bit.”  Her grin grew wider while she stood there.  “I lost my keys...I couldn’t get into my apartment.” Ava watched her carefully, “Did the bartender take your keys?”  The smaller blonde just continued to smile and shrugged her shoulders.  Ava looked over her shoulder at the parking lot looking for an unfamiliar vehicle.  “How did you even get here?” She gestured over her shoulder, “Mick dropped me off.”  She spoke matter of factly.  “You know Mick Rory?!”  When Ava didn’t react, Sara held up her phone, “’Maya said I could crash on the couch?”  The shorter womans’ eyebrows raised as she asked the question. As if just realizing they had been standing in the doorway Ava snapped back to reality.  “Of course.”  She quickly stepped aside and gestured for Sara to come in.  “I don’t think she’s home right now though.”  When the smaller blonde paused Ava gently grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside.  Once inside she secured the door behind them. As she was led to the couch Sara spoke up, “Oh yeah, she and Nate went over to Zari’s to play some video games or something, I think.”  She looked across the darkened Livingroom.  “Mick was already almost all the way here when Amaya told me they decided to go over there for a while, but she said she would let you know I was coming.”  At Ava’s encouragement she sat on the couch. After releasing Sara’s wrist Ava turned on a light on her way to the kitchen, “I didn’t hear my phone.”  She grabbed two glasses out of the cabinet before moving to the frig to get the pitcher of filtered water. “Ooooo...”  Sara groaned and leaned her head onto the back of the couch.  “I woke up...wait no.  I woke you up.”  She started giggling to herself as she slowly slid to the left now laying down on her side, sinking into the couch. Glancing up and into the Livingroom Ava filled the glasses knowing that they both would benefit from having something other than alcohol in their systems.  After replacing the pitcher into the frig she grabbed the glasses of water and made her way back into the Livingroom.  She stood and watched the giggling bartender for a moment.  “Here you need to drink this.”  She held one of the glasses out to Sara. Sara stopped giggling and shook her head, “No way, I’m already drunk.” Ava sat the glasses on the coffee table and held her hand out to help Sara sit up, “Oh, I know.  This is water.  You should hydrate before you go to sleep.  It may help in the morning.” Sara threw her arm over her eyes and groaned, “Please don’t make me think about the morning.” “Well, drink some of this water and your hangover might not be as bad.”  The taller blonde gently lifted Sara’s arm off of her face. “I could care less about the hangover.”  She took the offered hand and pulled herself upright again, Ava didn’t miss the fact that she held her hand an extra second than she needed to.  Or that’s just in your head.  “I have a family brunch and as much as I love my perfect sister I just don’t know if I can listen to my parents go on and on about her when I’m such a fuck up.” Sitting next to Sara, Ava grabbed one of the glasses of water and pressed it into her hands.  “I really doubt your parents think that.” The bartender scoffed and took a drink from the glass, “You really don’t know me.” “Well, maybe not, but what I do know is you managed to get a college degree.  You’re employed, have your own apartment, and seem to be supporting yourself.  I think that in and of itself is a pretty major accomplishment.”  Shifting a little on the couch Ava watched as the bartender took another drink from the glass. “Some of that may be true, but I’m not working at the DA’s office.  I dropped out before I got my degree.”  She set the now half full glass down.  “I’m not engaged.  I’m not...” Ava put her hand on the bartender's knee to stop her rant, “...you’re sister.  You’re not her.  You’re Sara Lance.”  She paused thinking that maybe the moment was a little too intimate and removed her hand from Sara’s knee.  “Captain of the Legends and defender of designated drivers everywhere.”  Ava smiled at Sara hoping the older woman would smile back.  She did notice a slight upturn at the corners of her mouth, but it was so brief if Ava hadn’t been paying attention, she would have missed it. “You’re sweet.”  Reaching out Sara tucked a stray strand of hair behind Ava’s ear.  Unable to stop herself the tall blonde leaned into Sara’s hand that now rested on her cheek.  Too close.  Ava could feel Sara’s breath as she leaned in.  “Ava, I really want to kiss you.”  Instead of responding verbally the taller blonde turned her head slightly so she met Sara’s lips with her own. It started out chaste, but Ava could feel Sara shifting closer on the couch while deepening the kiss.  She could taste the whiskey still lingering on Sara’s breath.  Ava pulled back, “Wait...wait.”  The smaller blonde pulled back just slightly, “You’re drunk.” Sara studied Ava’s face for a minute, “No, at this point I’m buzzed at best.”  She gave Ava a quick peck, “I know exactly what I’m doing.”  Ava looked into those icy blues and got lost for a minute. “Are you okay?”  With the question posed Sara moved to Ava’s neck pressing her lips gently to her pulse point while she waited for consent before moving any further.  Ava could sense that if she wanted this it could just be another heated make out season with the bartender, but giving consent would definitely lead to more.Sara’s words echoed in her head from days ago, ...Everyone needs a rebound.  Closing her eyes, she focused on the feeling of Sara’s lips against her skin.   She came to a decision, “Yeah, I’m good...just...no visible marks, please.”  She could feel the smaller blonde smile against her skin as Sara guided Ava's back against the couch.  Sara pressed her down gently as she moved her body between Ava's legs her hips meeting Ava's.Ava slid her hands up Sara’s shoulders and pushed her jacket off and onto the floor.  “This hoodie has to go.”  The bartender whispered against Ava’s neck just below her ear.  Immediately complying Ava sat up and grabbed the bottom of the sweatshirt easily lifting it off and tossing it across the back of the couch.  She could feel the cool air of the room hit her abs as her shirt rode up exposing her midriff when she removed the sweatshirt.As she started to reach for the shorter blonde again Ava felt lips connecting to her lower stomach.  Looking down she saw Sara’s head just above the waistband of her pajama bottoms and inhaled quickly trying to catch her breath.  She leaned her head back as she felt the bartender kissing her way back up gathering Ava’s tee shirt as she went exposing her further.  She hissed quietly when Sara bit lightly underneath her right breast.  “Sara...”  Her voice was barely audible.Smirking up at the student Sara ran her tongue over the mark.  "Don’t worry, I don’t think anyone is going to see that.”  With that she tugged Ava’s shirt encouraging her to sit up enough so that the bartender could remove it.  Of course, she hadn’t been wearing a bra to sleep so she was fully exposed now.  “I’ve been thinking about this since I caught a glimpse of those abs at the park this morning.”  Studying the woman leaning over top of her Ava reached for the hem of Sara’s shirt needing to even the playing field.  “Not yet.”  Sara’s voice husked in her ear as she grabbed Ava’s wrists and pinned them over her head.  “I’m not done with you yet.  Keep your hands right there.” So much was happening all at once, Ava felt the bartender's hands release her wrists as she moved to take her right nipple in her mouth...while Sara took her left breast into her hand gently kneading it.  Ava arched her back into Sara's touch, and it had barely registered that Sara’s free hand had wound up on her hip.  That was until Ava felt Sara's fingers hooking onto the hem of her sleep pants before the bartender started to push them down. ~~~ The sound of the front door shutting woke Ava from her slumber.  Her eyes snapping open she looked around trying to get her bearings knowing she wasn’t in her room.  There was a warm weight on her lap.  Glancing towards the door she saw Amaya standing there looking a little awkward.  The true events of the evening all started to come back.  She and Sara had been talking after the bartender had shown up on their doorstep.  She had kissed Ava and unlike the dream she had apparently had, the tall blonde put a stop to anything further happening.  She had reminded the short blonde of her own words.  Sometimes it’s better to be sober.  You remember everything.  Things had cooled off quickly after that and they had wound watching some show on Netflix that Ava had turned on just to keep them distracted.  Putting the pieces together Ava then realized they must have fallen asleep at some point.  With Sara's head on her lap and Ava had somehow managed to fall asleep sitting up.  Swallowing she tried to figure out how to extract herself from the situation without waking the sleeping girl in her lap.  You had a fucking sex dream about your roommates' friend.  Get a damn grip Sharpe.  Gently sliding her hand under the blonde’s head, she lifted it up just slightly and moved out from underneath.  Grabbing a nearby pillow with her free hand she placed it in the spot she had been sitting. Satisfied that the other woman was undisturbed Ava grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and placed it over Sara before looking up at Amaya who was still watching her with a quirked eye brow.  Sighing Ava shook her head and gestured back towards the bedrooms down the hall.  As they got out of earshot, “Hey, so Sara’s here.” Amaya nodded, “I can see that.  Did you get my text?  Well, ANY of my Text messages?” Shaking her head Ava ran a hand absently over her Star City hoodie.  "No, I was asleep when she got here...I didn’t take the time to find my phone since she was pounding on the door.” Wincing Amaya shot her an apologetic look, “I didn’t think you’d be asleep yet.” “Yeah, it’s fine.”  She looked back towards the Livingroom.  “I'm still adjusting to basketball schedule, but you should get to bed.  We both should actually.” “How bad was she?”  Amaya nodded towards the couch.  “She can be...a handful when she’s had a little too much to drink.” The taller girl just shook her head, “She wasn’t terrible.  We talked for a little bit.  She passed out pretty quickly actually.”  She rubbed her tired eyes, “I’m just going to turn everything off and head to bed.  Um, should I set an alarm or something for her?  She said she has brunch in the morning with her family.” Amaya shook her head, “No, she’ll get up in time.  I am a little surprised she mentioned it though.  Typically, she doesn’t like to talk about it.” Ava brushed off Amaya’s revelation with a gesture indicating drinking, “Well, I feel like maybe she wasn’t feeling a lot of inhibitions.”  She then waved Amaya towards her room.  Once her roommate was out of sight Ava returned to the Livingroom quietly.  Grabbing the two empty glasses she sat one in the sink than moved to the refrigerator and refilled the second glass.  Reaching into the cabinet near the sink she retrieved a couple of pain relievers. Returning to the Livingroom she set the refilled glass and pain relievers on the coffee table before brushing a stray strand of hair out of the shorter girl’s eyes.  Shit.  Standing up again she knew she was going to need to try to avoid the gorgeous woman sleeping in front of her.  She was going to need to protect her heart from this woman for sure.  On a positive note Leah was finally starting to feel like a distant memory. ~~~ Running across the court Ava dribbled the ball moving as quickly as possible.  In her mind she *knew* her performance was head and shoulders over what she had shown on Friday.  At this point she could only hope that it would be enough.  As the last of her teammates arrived at the Baseline Coach Hunter blew his whistle.  He gestured for his Assistant Coach to follow him as they moved to the sideline Ava watched he they looked over his notes and glanced back at the team. Zari walked up beside the blonde before flopping on the floor, “Are you nervous?”  Ava shook her head stretching out her shoulders.  Zari shook her head, “Liar.” Rolling her eyes at the brunette Ava continued to stretch, “I’m really not.  Not anymore anyway.  What’s done is done at this point.”  She looked up as she heard the whistle again and the coaches made their way to the center circle.  She held her hand out to Zari to help her up. Clasping the tall blondes hand Zari pulled herself up.  “Good Luck Director.”  They moved to the center of the court as well. “Alright ladies.”  The head coach looked up studying his team.  “We have a long way to go.  First game is 3 weeks out.  Our first week we will have games Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday.  Fortunately they are all home games, but you need to be ready.”  He nodded to his assistant Coach, “We will be dividing you up for afternoon practice.  Coach Gideon will be running some additional dribbling drills for some of you.  Your handling of the ball seems to have gotten a little lax in the downtime.  Your Team Captains will be running some various one on one drills.”  He paused then smiled at his team coyly, “Oh wait, you probably want to know who those captains are?”  He looked to his assistant again and nodded as the girls shifted anxiously. Coach Gideon stepped forward, “Congratulations to Captains Alex Danvers...”  A knot formed in Ava’s stomach, “and Ava Sharpe.”  The Coach smiled as the two women approached him.  “You both have shown outstanding skill in leadership on and off the court.  Remember you are representing not only yourselves, but the team and the university at all times.” As she approached the brunette co-captain Ava reached out and shook her hand, “Great job, Danvers.” Alex clapped her shoulder, “You too, Sharpe.” “Alright, we’re keeping this meeting short, I want to meet with my Captains and set the tone for the year.  Go ahead and hit the showers ladies...I’ll see you all at 3:30p be ready to put in work!”  Rip walked towards his office gesturing for the others to follow. ~~~ After meeting with the Coaches Alex and Ava walked towards the locker room discussing their first team practice coming up this afternoon.  As they enter there were shouts of congratulations and lots of pats on the back.  It was easy to get lost in the excitement and chatter. After showering and changing Ava headed to her first class feeling a little lighter than she had in the morning.  The last two days had gone better than she had expected.  She woke up late on Sunday, but she didn’t have anywhere special to be and it was nice to feel rested finally.  Sara was already gone by the time she had drug herself out of bed, but Ava did note the empty glass in the sink and the missing pain relievers. She had met up with Gary and Lily to listen to them talk about their respective dates from Saturday night over a late lunch.  Gary seemed so genuinely happy, and the blonde was happy for her friend, but still a little concerned about how John would treat him.  Lily seemed less enthusiastic about her date than Gary was about his, but it still seemed to have gone fairly well. They of course had asked about her night...she omitted the arrival of the drunk bartender...just telling them she had a quiet evening at home prepping for what was sure to be a busy week.  For her the first week after basketball started back up was always the worst.  Trying to balance classwork along with practices, and homework was always a challenge, but she always seemed to find a rhythm as the season went along. As she took her seat in the lecture hall, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.  Checking the clock, she ensured she still had several minutes before class officially started.  Sitting back in her seat she grabbed her phone and unlocked it.  Pulling up her message she saw a message from an unknown number.  Frowning slightly, she tapped the thread to pull up the message.

Unknown
Today 9:49 AM
I hear congratulations are in order, Director!

Ava studied the message.  The only people that called her director should have been already saved in her phone.  For a  second,  she thought maybe it was one of the Freshmen, but they had all been present after practice and had already congratulated  her in the lockeroom along with Alex.

Unknown
Today 9:51 AM
Thank you. Who is this?
Thank you for the ibuprofen.
Sara?
Defender of designated drivers everywhere...I hope you don't mind, Zari gave me your number.
It's fine. How was brunch?
Uh...shit. That whole conversation really happened, didn't it?
Yep.
I talk a lot when I drink.
Yep.
I can sometimes get a little..."handsy"?
You don't remember?
It's a little sketchy...
Nothing happened.
Damn, strike 2. My charm is seriously failing when it comes to one, Director Sharpe.

Ava stared at the phone for a minute trying to decide how to continue before deciding to just put it away until after class. ~~~ After team practice ended Ava found herself shuffling into the library knowing she’d need to eat at some point, but she wanted to make sure to get at least some classwork completed prior to heading home.  Pulling out her study materials she got set up and grabbed her phone looking at the open message.  She thought for a moment before firing off a message.

Sara
Today 19:14 PM
You did mention you dropped out before you got your degree as well.
I must admit I'm curious as to why you would lie about that.

She waited to see if she would get a response.  After a few minutes she decided that maybe the bartender was most likely at work.  Pushing the phone aside after setting it to vibrate she went back to work on the task at hand. After what felt like hours, she felt the table vibrate and she looked up at the phone to see who was trying to reach out to her.  She was hoping it would be a certain blue eyed bartender, and sure enough it was a new message from Sara.

Sara
Today 20:45 PM
I did mention I talk too much when I'm drunk.
So, do you have to be drunk to answer the question?
That question? Absolutely.

Disappointed she set the phone down again even more curious about the mysterious bartender that had somehow invaded her dreams.  Taking note of how late it had gotten she started to pack up her books and tried to decide where she would stop to get something to eat from.  Someone placed their hands on the table across from her and she looked up and met eyes with the 3 Legends she was most familiar with.  "Hey guys."  She kept her voice quiet as she studied Zari's expression.

Her teammate gestured around the library, "What are you doing here?  We should be celebrating your win!"

Ava shrugged her shoulders and walked towards the exit Zari, Amaya, and Nate following closely behind, "It's not that big of a deal...besides we need to get up early."

"Come on, Ava.  One drink?"  Zari continued to protest.

She shook her head, "Even if I wanted to no one will serve me."

"Danvers and the rest of the team are at Time Masters...you are missing out on a team activity Ava."  Nate smiled at her coyly, "What kind of Captain does that?"  He raised his eyebrows as he spoke.

"Just come out for a little bit.  At least you got to sleep in on Sunday."  Amaya smiled warmly hooking her arm through Ava's, already dragging her out the door.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Leaving her books and dirty practice gear in Nate’s trunk Ava followed the man with the perfectly styled hair into the bar.  As he walked in, he was greeted by several people the tall blonde didn’t know.  She simply nodded a greeting to most of the people.  Once they started to get to the back of the bar, she started to see familiar faces, “DIRECTOR!” Smiling she moved towards the few faces of her team that she recognized.  “Hey, Conners!”  She greeted the freshman.  Then looked at the rest of the faces that walked up to greet her before returning to their conversations. Beside her Ava heard a rough voice bark out, “Pretty, you owe me a beer!” “Yeah, yeah Mick.  Give me a minute to at least settle in.”  Nate returned to the conversation he had started with one of her team mates.   Ava turned to take in the man who had spoken, his name was familiar.  “Mick Rory?”  She held out her hand to greet him.  The large bald man looked at her outstretched hand then back up to her face.  He grunted at her...she assumed it was a greeting as she dropped her hand. The tall blonde then turned to look at Amaya questioningly.  She nodded, “Yeah, that’s Mick.”  She canted her head slightly, “But...how do you know that?” Ava looked towards the bar looking for familiar blue eyes, a smile, and dimple that she just couldn’t seem to shake from her thoughts.  “Um...Sara mentioned that Mick Rory was the one who had dropped her off the other night.  I just assumed it would be the same Mick.” Amaya nodded knowingly, “Now that you mention it...we really didn’t get a chance to talk about Saturday night.” The tall blonde shot her roommate a pleading look.  “Maybe this isn’t the best time to discuss it.”  She raised her eyebrows to indicate anytime they weren’t in public would be more appropriate. “Okay, but you aren’t off the hook.  I still want to know how you found out about family brunch.”  The brunette smiled and waved at someone behind Ava. Once she had turned Ava could see Sara at the bar talking to her Co-Captain Alex Danvers.  She shifted uncomfortably as she noted how close they were standing to each other.  Alex leaned in so she could whisper in the bartenders’ ear.  After a brief moment she leaned back again both of the women smiling at each other.  Ava noted the scotch that Sara grabbed from the shelf and poured.  She then slid the glass across the bar to Alex. She quickly turned her head away before they caught her staring.  Beside her she heard the bald man bellow again, “Haircut!”  She followed his eyes and saw Ray approaching.  Smiling warmly at the man she waved.  “You owe me a beer.” Ray looked at Mick with a confused look on his face.  “Uh...I don’t think that I do, actually.”  He then turned his attention to Nate, “Bro!”  They high five’d.  “Did you see the new trailer for Detective Pikachu?” “What?  There’s a new trailer?”  Nate looked excited as he pulled out his phone, the time he was spending with her teammate apparently circumvented by his need to see the movie trailer. While Nate messed with his phone Ray turned his attention to the tall blonde, “Congratulations Ava!  Team Captain...that’s quite the accomplishment.” “Thanks Ray.”  She knew either Nora or Zari had most likely let him know.  “I’ve been putting in some work to get it.  That’s for sure.” She felt a hand clap her back, “Yes you have!”  She turned to see Alex standing beside her.  “We both did.”  She held up her drink as if to toast her.  “Director Sharpe.” Ava mocked holding up a drink she didn’t have.  “Captain Danvers.” ~~~ It was just after eleven o’clock and Ava started to shift towards the door, it was definitely time to call it a night.  She wouldn’t judge her teammates, but she knew she needed to be on her toes for tomorrow.  Between practice and classes, it was going to be another long day and Wednesday would be even worse with an extra evening class crammed in.  She had finally spotted Nate a was about to get his attention so she could retrieve her books and gear, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.  She turned to see who was trying to get her attention.  She was met with the sight of her childhood friend.  “Hey Nor, I was just about to head out!” The dark-haired woman rolled her eyes, “Of course you were.  Ray said you were here...I didn’t believe him so I had to see for myself.”  She looked towards the bar, “Oh, and your girl is here too.” “Stop.”  Ava pushed her friends' shoulder.  “It’s not like that at all.  I told you.” “So, just another coincidence, right?”  The corner of her friends’ mouth quirked up in a knowing smirk.   Ava looked across the bar at the blonde behind the counter smiling and chatting with another patron.  “This is where the team came.  What was I supposed to say, I’ll meet you somewhere else?  Besides I wasn’t planning on staying long and I didn’t even know if she was working.  It’s a Monday after all.”  Nora nodded and raised her eyebrows with every excuse Ava offered.  “Just...just stop.”  She turned quickly on her heel, “Nate, I need to get my stuff out of your car.” The man turned away from his conversation with Ray, “Are you leaving?” The tall blonde nodded, “Yes, I have things to do early tomorrow.” Nate looked at Nora and waved, “Oh hey Nora!  I didn’t see you get here.”  His attention drawn elsewhere for the moment Ava’s eye drifted back to the bar looking for the familiar blonde, but she was gone. Beside her the basketball captain heard her friend greet her boyfriend, but she didn’t hear the actual words that were spoken as she scanned the entire bar still looking for the bartender.  Resigned that she had missed the other woman somehow, she turned her attention back to Ray, Nate, and Nora.  Clearing her throat, she got Nate’s attention again.  “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I really should get going.” “I can get your gear, but how are you getting back to campus?”  As he spoke, Nate led her away from the group and towards the door digging his keys out of his pocket. She followed and shrugged her shoulders, “I’ll just get an Uber...it’s not a big deal.” He nodded his head, “I would take you, but I’ve had a couple and I think it best to stick around for a while.  Hopefully metabolize most of the alcohol or I’ll be Ubering myself.”   After Ava had said her good byes to the team as well as the Legends, she found Nate again, dragging him out of the bar towards the parking lot.  “Sorry to pull you away. As they approached his car and he popped the trunk open allowing her to grab her bag before closing again.  They started walking back towards the bar as Ava pulled her phone to summon a car.  “Hey, I was thinking, the Legends are planning a Halloween party on the 27th.  You should come!  It’s a house party so uh, you don’t have to worry about you know, being underage.” She considered it lowering her phone, “I don’t know, maybe?  We have an Exhibition game on the 28th.  Depends on what time the game is, I suppose.”  Lifting her phone again she pulled up the app and called a car to take her home. “Amaya said you take basketball pretty seriously.   That’s why we never met before...uh...”  He shifted uncomfortably.  “That night.”  He scratched the back of his head absently as he looked at the ground.  “I really am sorry for some of the stuff I said that night...” She raised her hand to stop him.  “You had no way of knowing, Nate.  It’s okay.”  Her mind drifted back to the night she had met Nate for the first time.  It was the same night her Ex had confessed her infidelity and also mentioned that she was pregnant.  As the memory flooded back the tall blonde leaned against the wall to wait for her ride.  “I’m just going to wait for my car, you can go back in.” “Are you sure?”  Nate shifted for a minute noting the slight change in the blonde woman’s demeanor. She nodded in the affirmative and waved him away.  “I’ll be fine.”  She dropped her bag to the ground as he walked back inside.  She looked up and down the alley as she waited for the car that the app said would arrive in 6 minutes.  It was a quiet night, exactly what you’d expect for a Monday evening.  She ran through plays in her mind hoping to get some time with Coach Hunter the next morning to share her insight from the pick-up game with the freshmen over the weekend.  Anything to distract her mind from drifting to the trip she had made to Central City weeks ago. Staring at the scuffed toe of her Converses’ Ava’s mind started drifting to the cardio routine she wanted to work on in the morning as well as maybe trying to increase her weight for her conditioning.  Just focus on what you can control.  Rolling her head from one side to the other she felt the pull of her muscle as she stretched it out.  He eyes had closed as she exhaled trying to relax her mind to make it easier to fall asleep once she got home.  Her eyes snapped open at the sound of laughter nearby, laughter that she easily recognized by now. “Oh hey, Ava.”  The blonde bartender almost walked right into her as she turned the corner a little too quickly and had to stop abruptly to avoid colliding with the tall blonde.  Involuntarily Ava stood fully upright as a second person darted around the corner and smacked into the back of the bartender.  The bartender caught the other person as they stumbled forward.  “Be careful.” “Hey Sharpe, we were...uh...”  Ava recognized her co-captain immediately.  The brunette turned to look at Sara hoping she would come up with an answer for her. As she took in the scene and processed Ava took a deep breath trying to keep her frame of mind focus on basketball and school.  Things you can control.  This was quickly becoming the mantra for her Junior year of College.  She held up her hands and shook her head, “Hey, I don’t need to know.”  She looked around hoping to will the damn car to show up and save her from this uncomfortable situation.  She gestured to the street, “I’m just waiting for my ride.” “You’re heading home already?”  The blonde bartender glanced at the tall brunette standing beside her before looking at Ava again.  “I thought you guys were celebrating?” Shrugging her shoulders Ava attempted to avoid Sara’s gorgeous eyes...especially when she had just come out of the darkened alley with her co-captain.  “We have practice early so, it’s really not ideal to stay out too late.”  She stole a glance at her phone hoping the car was close.  3 more minutes until the car would arrive.  She shuffled her feet for a minute before looking at Alex, “I’ll see you in the morning?” Nodding the brunette awkwardly grabbed the shorter blondes’ hand and pulled her towards the door of the bar, “Absolutely!  See you in the morning Sharpe.” Rubbing the bridge of her nose Ava tried to wiped the image of the bartender and her co-captain together.  You told her twice that you didn’t want anything with her.  TWICE, why the hell would you expect her to wait around.  You barely know her as it is.  Leaning against the side of the building again she tilted her head back so the back of her head was resting on the wall.  Just as her heart rate started to calm, she heard the car pull up.  In one smooth motion she stood and grabbed her bag slinging it over her shoulder. Sliding into the back-seat Ava confirmed the drop off address before leaning her head back looking at the ceiling of the car.  Her mind and heart were racing as she made a decision.  I need to spend some time away from the Legends.  This is all happening so fast.  I’ve known her for 5 days and I’m so hung up.  She swallowed and licked her lips trying to refocus on something else, anything else. ~~~ Sitting at the small dining room table situated in the corner of the kitchen Ava looked at the textbook propped open in front of her.  Jotting a few notes in the margins she barely bothered to look up when the front door swung open and her roommate walked in.  “Hey Amaya.”  She sat her pencil down and grabbed at another book making sure she didn’t lose her place in the textbook. “Morning Aves.”  The dark-haired girl dropped her own books onto the coffee table.  “I’m meeting Zari for lunch.  You should join us.”  In response the blonde simply held up the apple she had in the hand that wasn’t scratching down notes.  Amaya leaned against the back of the couch watching her friend.  “You should have something more substantial than fruit.  Don’t you have practice this afternoon?” The blonde nodded, “Yes, but I need to submit this to my Risk Management project group before 5 and since I’ll be at basketball until 6:30-ish I’ll need to get it done as soon as possible.”  As she spoke the tall blonde looked up at the clock on the wall.  “I’m on my 2nd draft now.  So, I really just need to do another read through.”  She rubbed her eyes and leaned back in her chair.  “Once I get through this I’ll get something on my way to practice.” Amaya nodded, but didn’t move.  “So, I haven’t really seen you since you got the captain position last Monday.”  It was true, Ava had easily been able to avoid too much contact with well...anyone.  It wasn’t hard with her schedule, but this was the first time anyone really called her out on it.  “What’s going on?  The last time you kept yourself this busy was well, when everything went down with Leah.”  Ava opened her mouth to protest.  “No, you know I’m right.  I get it, I know you are busy, but don’t isolate yourself again.  It wasn’t healthy before and it’s not healthy now.”  She took a deep breath before continuing.  “That said, the Legends are coming over tonight.  We’re going to have a movie night.” For the first time since Amaya got home Ava set her work aside and gave her roommate her undivided attention.  She felt her shoulders tense up slightly.  “Uh...cool.  I’ll, um, get a hold of Lily and see what she’s up to tonight.” Amaya studied her friends’ reaction, “No, you are more than welcome to join us.  I really just wanted to tell you so you would know what you were walking into when you got home tonight.” “Right.”  Ava nodded again and tried to force the tension out of her shoulders, unsuccessfully.  “How many people are you expecting to show up?” “So far, Zari, Nate, and Sara.”  Amaya paused and Ava knew she was waiting to see if she would react, when she didn’t the dark-haired girl continued.  “Ray wanted to check with Nora so, they may both be joining us as well.  “Mick already declined and I’m pretty sure John is going out with Gary again, but I’m sure you already knew that.” Ava looked back down at her paper for a moment, “Those two really fell into each other.”  Amaya hummed in agreement.  “I never would have thought it’d last this long.” Amaya stood up looking to the clock, “Are you sure you won’t join us for lunch?”  Ava nodding giving her attention back to the paper in front of her.  Amaya knew Ava was deflecting, but she also knew that it wouldn’t do any good to push her either.  “Let me know if you can make it tonight?” “Yeah, I don’t know.  Maybe.”  She ran her hand absently through her hair.  “I wouldn’t want to intrude.” Rolling her eyes Amaya grabbed a pillow off the couch and tossed it at the tall blonde.  Ava easily smacked the projectile away.  “If Nora comes you have no excuse.  Besides it’s not like we haven’t all hung out together before anyway.” Ava snorted, “It just feels like I’m cutting in on your friend time.  Your group is so close and I just want to be sure you get plenty of time with them.” “Yeah, well I do get plenty of time so, don’t worry so much.”  Amaya moved towards the door again knowing she had to leave or she would be late to meet Zari.  “Alright, Aves.”  She shot her friend a pointed look, “I’ll see you tonight.” Ava waved her away looking over her paper.  Once the door had closed, she leaned forward and rested her head in her hands.  There was movie night and tomorrow night would be the Halloween Party she had inadvertently committed to attending.  She had almost 2 weeks Legends free...aside from Zari and Amaya of course, but that was going to rapidly come to a close. ~~~ It was pushing 9:30 by the time Ava found herself outside her apartment door.  She stared at it for a moment listening to the various voices inside.  Amaya and Zari had been texting her to come home and hang out with them.  Once Nora had arrived, she chimed in and they started sending pictures to entice her further.  A low-key evening was exactly what she wanted, but she also knew when Sara was involved that wasn’t going to be likely.  She had been able to avoid the short blonde completely for 11 days, ever since she saw her with Ava’s Co-Captain in an alley next to Time Masters.  However, now she was just beyond the door that stood in front of her. Forcing herself to take a deep breath she opened the door while plastering a fake smile onto her face.  “AVA!”  The group shouted in unison as she quickly closed the door behind her.  She gave them all a generic wave as she looked at the gathered group.  Amaya, Zari, and Sara occupied the couch.  Nate was sprawled across their chair in the corner.  Appropriately enough Nora and Ray had claimed the love seat and were sitting closely together. “Hey guys.”  She moved through the Livingroom with her book bag over her shoulder.  She took note of various empty beer cans and wine glasses filled at various levels.  Individual conversations picked back up as she disappeared down the hall and into her room.  Dropping her books onto her desk she moved further into her bedroom to drop her basketball gear into the hamper.  I’m going to need to do laundry tomorrow morning.   “Hey.”  Ava turned her head at the sound and saw Sara leaning against the doorframe of her bedroom.  She nodded in response and fussed with some papers on her desk as if she had been looking for something.  “So, the other night...that was kind of awkward, right?” Ava laughed lightly, “Yeah, a little.”  She tucked a stray strand of hair that had fallen from her pony tail behind her ear. The shorter blonde nodded, “Thought so.  We really were just talking.” “Uh, no.  It doesn’t matter.  You really don’t owe me any kind of explanation.”  She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Okay.”  Sara smiled.  It wasn’t that trademark smirk Ava had associated with her.  “Look, I know you are busy, but we really should hang out sometime.  Maybe lunch tomorrow?” “Can’t, I promised Gary a post-Constantine date lunch.”  There was a short pause before she continued, “I’ve been too busy to do much of anything lately...I’ve been neglecting some of my friendships.”  Ava could have sworn she saw a dejected look cross her features before she trained them to be neutral again. “I’d say dinner, but there’s the Halloween Party.”  She shifted to look over her shoulder back towards the Livingroom.  “Nate said you were coming?” Ava nodded in the affirmative.  “Yes.  I told him I’d be there, but I can’t stay really late.  Our first game of the season is Sunday.”  She shrugged her shoulders, “It’s just an exhibition game, but it’s still important that we do well.”  She licked her lips and watched as Sara stood upright, no longer leaning against the doorframe.  “See how the team meshed together.” “Zari said you have been working with the freshies...trying to get their performance to mesh with the rest of the team.”  That too soft smile was still lingering on those lips and Ava knew if they stayed in her room too much longer, she might be tempted to do something she could regret. Ava waved her hand, “I don’t want to talk about basketball.”  she nodded back towards the Livingroom.  ” We should get back out there before they think we got lost.”  She walked past the shorter woman, but grabbed her hand pulling her along behind her back into the Livingroom where a heated debate about something Ava hadn’t quite sorted out yet was taking place.  Releasing Sara’s hand Ava stepped into the kitchen and looked at the “snacks” spread out on the counter.  Sighing she grabbed a pear out of the fruit bowl she kept stocked at all times.  She could feel the short blonde hoovering behind her for a moment before moving into the Livingroom and joining in the debate. Making her way out to the room where everyone else was she pulled a chair around from the dining room and sat down.  “No, it’s almost Halloween, we aren’t watching Christmas Vacation yet.  The damn turkey hasn’t even been carved yet.”  Nate spoke as he pointed at Ray. “Come on, Nate!  Anytime is great for Christmas.”  Ray rolled his eyes and threw his arms in the air dramatically.  He then turned his gaze to Nora, “What do you think?  Christmas?”  He smiled at her encouraging her to agree with him. “Sweetie, no.”  Nora sat her hand on his thigh comfortingly when he leaned into the love seat pouting.  “Compromise, Nightmare Before Christmas?” Ray raised his eyebrows and sat upright again looking to Nate who nodded as well. A grin on his face Ray gave Nora a quick kiss, “You are so smart.” “STOP!”  Zari threw popcorn at Ray and Nora.  “There will be none of that.” “Just get the movie.”  Nate looked at Amaya. Amaya smiled and grabbed the remote pulling up Netflix.  “Calm down kids.  I’ll get your cartoon.” “WHOA!  NBC is NOT a cartoon.”  Zari turned on Amaya and poked her side. Ava just watched as the group interacted with each other and smiled to herself happy to hang back and let them talk as the movie was queued up.  She stood up headed back into the kitchen, “Anyone need anything while I’m up?”  After receiving several no’s, the tall blonde grabbed a glass from the cabinet filling it from the pitcher of water she retrieved from the refrigerator. “Now this seems familiar...vaguely.”  Fighting the chuckle that slipped past her lips Ava looked up meeting sparkling blue eyes.  “Stressing the vaguely.” “Hmmmm.”  Ava looked at the smaller woman keeping her voice low, “Have you been drinking Miss Lance?” Sara raised her eyebrows and looked at the ceiling.  “Just a little.” Replacing the pitcher in the refrigerator Ava then turned back to Sara, “So, why did you lie about getting your college degree?”  The tall blonde watched as Sara winced a little at the question. “Somehow I knew you’d get back to that.”  She studied the wine glass in front of her as she spoke.  “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”  She shrugged, “It sounded better for a hook up situation.”  She took a sip of her wine.  “Much better than ‘Hey, I dropped out last year because I couldn’t hack it.’”  The short blonde looked up at Ava again, “See what I mean, much less attractive.” Ava studied the shorter blonde, “There’s a story there.” “Mhmm.  One that I am not ANYWHERE near drunk enough to share I might add.”  Sara took another sip of her drink.“Well, I guess there’s always the Halloween party.”  Ava smiled issuing a challenge to the bartender. Sara nodded, “Touche, Director Sharpe.  The catch there being you’ll actually have to stay late enough for me to get chatty.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Getting an early start to the day Ava had started the washing machine prior to going for a short run to try and clear her mind.  Tomorrow was the first game of the year and she knew even though it was just an exhibition game it would set the tone for the year.  Based on practices she felt they would do well.  Coach Hunter had listened to her suggestions in regards to maximizing the potential of the Freshman. It was important to her to do well as a leader of the team.  She needed to maintain her scholarship and it would be great on her resume.  This morning her run was more of a fast-paced jog, just looking to warm up and get some fresh air in her lungs.    As she turned a corner her phone rang.  Glancing down at the screen she saw her mother’s name.  Halting her run she stepped off the sidewalk to catch her breath before answering.  Sucking in one last deep breath she wiped some sweat off her brow before answering the call, “Hello?” “Ava.”  There was a pause, “Are you out of breath?  What are you doing?”  There was a little bit of concern in the older womans’ tone.  The tall blondes’ eyes looked around the campus as she spoke, “Yeah.  I was just going for a run.”  She glanced at the time as she did some quick math, she realized it would barely be 6:30 in the morning, “It’s really early there.  Is everything okay?” The tone in her mother’s voice shifted, “Better than okay.  Your father just got off the phone with the bureau about your meeting for the internship.”  She could hear the excitement in her mother’s tone and Ava’s heart leapt into her chest.  “The gentleman you will be meeting with will actually be in Star City for meetings on Monday.” Taking a deep breath, “Wow, that’s just...wow.  Okay.”  Her hands shook as she took in the information that she was just given.  “Where do I need to be and when?” “Your father will get you the details.  I just wanted to be sure you have something to wear other than sweats, work out gear, or jeans.” Ava heard the slight condescension in her mother’s tone.  She let out a slow breath as she leaned on a tree.  “That’s why you called?”  She heard her mother hum in the affirmative.  “I have a few things with me, but I left most of my nice clothes at home though.  I wasn’t sure that I’d need them so soon.” There was a sigh on the other end of the line, “I sometimes wonder where your head is.  If only you were closer then...” “Yes, yes...I know.”  Cutting her mother off she tilted her head up to look up at the sky.  “You *know* the program here in Star City is better than anything back home.”  She heard her mother huff.  “And you can’t argue with a full ride on the basketball scholarship.”   “Actually, I can.  However, I get it.  This is what you wanted.”  There was a quiet and slightly tense moment between them.  “Use the emergency credit card.  Take Nora with you and get something to wear to the meeting.” Ava paused before speaking.  “Thank you.  Please tell him I said thank you as well.”  She kicked at the ground. “Listen, you know you’ll get it.  So, you might as well get a couple additional outfits while you are at it.”  Ava heard her mother sigh, “Which field offices did you apply for?” Ava rubbed the bridge of her nose, “Mother...” There was another moment of quiet.  “Anywhere in California this time?” “Yeah, LA and San Francisco.  The other 4 locations are here...Star City, Springfield, Central City, and Indianapolis.”  She waited to hear her mother’s response. “Well, at least there are a couple options on the table that will at least get you into the same state.”  The older woman was quiet for a moment.  “I know you only applied to them to make me happy, and I do appreciate it.”  She then cleared her throat, “I need to get ready for work.  I love you.” “I love you too.”  She hung up the phone knowing she should be more excited, but the disappointment she could sense in her mother’s tone weighted heavily on her.  Pushing off the tree she decided she had time to finish her run and then meet Gary for Lunch.  After lunch she would call Nora and see about doing a little shopping. ~~~ As she entered the diner that tall blonde was able to spot her friend easily.  Of course, it was more by sound than sight.  “AVA!”  Making her way to the corner booth she took the seat across from him and picked up the menu.  He grinned widely at her, “Are you going to the party tonight?!” “Mhmm.”  She nodded absentmindedly as she looked for something that would catch her eye.  “I take it John invited you?” Gary’s smile somehow managed to grow wider.  “He did!”   “Are you going to dress up?”  Ava wrinkled her nose at the thought, they weren’t children anymore...it seemed silly to dress up for Halloween. “I am.  John doesn’t seem into it, but it’s Halloween.  It’s like the one time a year you can be someone else for a night.”  He shrugged his shoulders, “Why wouldn’t you?” Leaning back into the booth she dropped the menu, “I’m not going to either.” “Come on Ava!”  He implored her. She held up her hand, “No, last time I listened to you and changed my outfit things got really...” “...hot?”  He waggled his eyebrows at her. Sighing she shook her head.  “Complicated.” He rolled his eyes and turned his head away from her dramatically, “Come on Aves, Nora showed me the picture.”  His eyes returned to his friend, “I saw you in the parking lot that night.  There was nothing complicated about what was going on.” She pushed his water glass on the table staring at it.  “Well, all of that made things more complicated.”  She tapped the menu, “Tell more about John.”  She knew that would be an easy way to shift the conversation away from herself. “Nice try Sharpe.”  He looked at her over his glasses.  “Talk to me.  What's going on in that head of yours?” She tried to shake off his question, “School, Basketball...the usual.” He watched her carefully, “Come on.  I’ve seen you during basketball season the last 2 years.  There’s something else.” Taking a deep breath through her nose the tall blonde looked away from him.  “Come on Gary.  Don’t act like you don’t know.”  She sat up again, “You know what.  I’m not talking about it.”  She held up her hands as if to motion that the conversation about that part of her life was over. Rolling his eyes, he admitted defeat.  “Fine.  Game tomorrow?”  She nodded.  “Lily and I will be there.  We picked up our student tickets.  Are you guys ready?  How do you look for the season?” She smiled thinking about the last practice they had.  “Good, I think.  I’m just curious how the freshman will do on the court when there’s an actual game.”  Ava looked at her hands briefly.  “I feel like it can still go either way.” “What about Alex this year?  I know she was strong last year until the ankle sprain.”  He noted the faint wince that crossed her face at the mention of he co-captains name, but he decided not to bring it up...yet. “Um, she’s good.  She’ll be great.”  She rubbed the back of her head, “I’m not worried about any of the returning players.”  Their waitress came over and took their order and they fell into idle chat as they waited for their food.  As Gary ate Ava pulled out her phone opening the chat window with Nora.

Nora
Today 12:43 PM
Have time to go shopping this afternoon?
Not for a Halloween costume.
No. I need to get some interview clothes.
Yeah? It's about time the call came. Are you nervous?
A bit, but it's not till Monday. I still have the party tonight and the game tomorrow to get through before I can completely focus on the interview.
Wait, are you comparing the pressure of the basketball game and the interview to attending a party? Does it really feel the same?
Ugh, Nor please. Shopping or no?
Yes, we'll discuss it in person.

Gary swallowed a bite of his sandwich before he spoke up again.  “Is that Nora?”  He smiled trying to look at her phone.  “Tell her I said hi!”  He shuffled in his seat.  “Is she going tonight?  With Ray?”  Ava nodded and smiled.  He practically beamed back at the tall blonde.  “I’m shipping them so hard.” She lifted an eyebrow his direction, “I’ll be sure to let her know.  Oh, can I borrow your car Monday?"~~~ Nora shifted some clothes on the rack before looked back up at her friend, “Okay, so what are we after here?”  Taking a moment her gaze moved from the clothes back to her friend again.  She dropped the volume in her voice.  “FBI internship for this summer, right?” “Yep.”  Ava inadvertently popped the p as she spoke while keeping her eyes trained on the clothes trying to stay focused. “I’m feeling a power suit for this one, Aves.”  Nora watched as a smile slowly found its way onto her friends’ face.  “How are you feeling?” “Nervous.”  It was easy to admit to her childhood friend. Shaking her head, the dark-haired woman huffed slightly, “You are a piece of work.  2 years ago, you interned with the CIA last summer with FEMA, and your nervous about an interview for an internship with the FBI.” “You know this is important.”  Nora sighed, but didn’t say anything waiting for her friend to say what she really wanted to.  “I’m afraid they’ll talk to Leah.  I don’t know what she’ll say.  What she will tell them.” Nora braced an arm on the rack leaning closer to the tall blonde, “If the bitch lies to them, I’ll find somewhere to hide the body.  I can promise you that.” Ava laughed at that, “Yeah.”  Inhaling sharply through her nose she sighed and turned her attention back to the task at hand.  “I just want to be done with her.” Smirking Nora grabbed her hand and pulled her deeper into the store.  “Great news Aves, you ARE.”  She looked over her shoulder at her friend as she grabbed a couple items off the racks and handed them to the tall blonde.  “You are the only one hanging on.”  Nora tapped her friends’ forehead.  “You are the only one that has allowed her to keep space in that head of yours.”  Finally grabbing a blazer, she shoved it into her friends' arms, “Tough love time, Ava.”  She grabbed the tall women's shoulders, “LET...HER...GO.  She was terrible to you and for you.  You know that now.” Ava looked at the clothes in her arms then at her friend.  Giving the tall blonde a look that dared her to try and argue.  When she didn’t Nora pointed to the changing rooms.  Rolling her eyes Ava moved towards them.  “Yeah, yeah...I’m going.”  As she entered the room hanging up the various clothes Ava knew the dark-haired girl was just on the other side of the door to the dressing room. There was a small paused when neither of them spoke.  “What else?  I know that look.”  Trying on the simple white button up with the blazer Ava tried to pretend like she didn’t hear her friend.  “Ava, use your words you, useless lesbian.” “Pam wants me to come home.  Like to stay, I can tell.”  She looked in the mirror before stepping out of the changing room to get Nora’s opinion.  “She sounded so disappointed when I told her most of the field offices I applied to were around the area here.” Nora surveyed the outfit, “Weird.  You guys haven’t really been close since you came out to her.”  She gestured to the clothes, “This works, but I want you to try the smaller shirt...it’ll look a little more tailored, I think.” Ava walked back into the changing room to switch out the button up with the smaller size as requested by her friend.  Smirking she realized Nora was right before she even started to button it up. She swung her arms to make sure she still had full range of motion.  When she was satisfied, she stepped back out where her friend stood.  “You’re right, but the Sharpe’s are still protective.  Plus, I think she’s still hoping it’s a just a phase.” Nora’s face lit up with a smile, “Yes, that’s so much better.”  It was then that Ava’s words sunk in.  ” Wait, a phase?  Oh Pam.”  Shaking her head, the dark-haired girl scoffed, “You would’ve thought she had plenty of the boyfriend drama with Carly.” “Apparently not.”  She appraised her reflection in the mirror one more time.  “Yeah, this is good.”  She felt confident in the navy-blue pantsuit.  She knew she could wear it like armor and use it to help hide her vulnerabilities that seemed to be multiplying daily.  “Pam said to get more options for clothes, but I’ll be back in Fresno at some point before I’ll need the rest of my wardrobe.  I can always grab the rest of my stuff and bring it back if I get assigned here. “So, we’re already done shopping?”  Ava knew she could hear a bit of relief in her friends’ voice. “It would seem so.”  She gathered the items they had decided on and walked to the register to check out.  Ava looked at the floor for a moment then back up at Nora.  ” So, um...you know a lot about the Legends?” As they waited in line Nora turned on her heel the corner of her mouth turning up slightly.  “I do spend some time with them, yes.  Something it seems you have been actively avoiding lately.” “Yeah, maybe.”  Reading the look Nora threw at her she conceded.  “Yes.”  She swallowed hoping Nora wouldn’t read too much into the question she was about to throw out into the universe.  “Is Sara seeing Alex?” Nora actually laughed out loud, “Sara Lance?  And your Co-Captain?”  Looking at her friend pointedly the dark-haired girl made sure she made eye contact.  “Absolutely not.  I can say with confidence Sara isn’t seeing anyone regularly.” “Right, of course.”  Ava nodded, “She doesn’t do feelings.” Nora smiled knowingly, “Are you ready to talk about her?” Exhaling slowly, she considered it, “I don’t know what it is Nor, there’s just something about her.” As they approached the register Ava sat the items down as she greeted the check-out clerk with a smile.  After they made it through the check-out process Ava followed Nora out of the store.  “Come on, let’s go grab a coffee and chat some more.”  As they walked into the coffee shop and got into line Ava looked at the menu deciding what she would have.  While they waited Nora watched her friend.  “What do you think it is?  More importantly what do you want it to be?” Ava looked up at the ceiling briefly gathering her thoughts, “I don’t honestly know.” Nora nudged her friend, “You should talk to her.”  After a moment Nora spoke again, "Like talk, talk...not just making out."~~~ Ava approached the house with the address that Ray had given her.  The music was blaring from out of the house and there were several people she didn’t recognize hovering around the front yard.  In the back she could tell there was a bonfire going.  Nodding as she walked past a few people she moved towards the backyard as opposed to walking into the house. As she turned the corner there were finally a few faces she recognized gathered around the fire.  As she approached a few heads turned in her direction.  She spoke a simple greeting with a small wave.  “Hey guys.” “Director Sharpe!”  Gary’s voice rang out before anyone else had a chance to say anything to her.  Following the sound of his voice she saw a large blue fuzzy costume approaching. Unable to hold back she laughed out loud at him, “Really Gary, Beebo?” He removed the mask grinning widely at her.  “It’s pretty great, right?!”  He gestured towards the ground ensuring Ava had taken in the complete outfit. “It’s...um...it’s really something, Gare.”  She gave him a quick hug in greeting.  “Where’s John?” Gary scratched his head then pointed towards the house.  “He said something about needing supplies to exercise a demon after he saw my costume and went inside.” Ava stifled a laugh, “Oh Gary, how long ago was that?” He shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know.  I’m pretty sure he might just be getting his costume, but it’s fine I’ve been hanging out with my new friends!” As he motioned towards the fire Ava saw Nate and Ray smiling in her direction.  She could tell it was a little forced, but she knew Gary could be a lot to deal with.  Especially if you weren’t used to him.  She returned their smiles sympathetically as she walked closer to the fire.  She noted that they were both in costume as well.  Ray dressed like Superman and Nate wore a toga...not real original, but they still wore their costumes well.  She had just begun to wonder if Ray had talked Nora into costume when she exited the house...clearly dressed like Lois Lane per her press ID.  “There you are!  I thought you were going to ditch us.” Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear Ava shook her head, “I told Nate I’d be here.  I just got a little caught up in some work and lost track of time.” “I knew you would.  I told Ray we should have picked you up.”  She shot her boyfriend a look and he just smiled softly back at her.  “Come on inside for a little bit?”  The dark-haired woman gestured towards the house. Ava looked at the three men, “I’ll see you later guys.”  Ray and Nate looked like they wanted to stop her from leaving, but refrained knowing Nora wouldn’t be happy if they did.  As she entered the house through the back door, she noticed all the people that were crammed into the house.  “Couples costume, that’s cute Nor.” The dark-haired woman rolled her eyes, “If you saw how happy it made him, you’d get it.”  She gestured towards the kitchen, “There are drinks in there.  I’d recommend the punch, but go easy on it.  It’s definitely HEAVY on the alcohol.”  Ava nodded as she looked towards the kitchen then scanned across the rest of the room.  Nora leaned in close, “She’s in the Livingroom.” Feigning innocence the tall blonde looked at her friend with a furrowed brow, “Who?” “Who...”  Nora shook her head and grabbed Ava’s hand dragging her into the Livingroom. Across the room Ava spotted her right away.  With a sharp intake of breath, she took in Sara’s costume...at least she thought it was a costume.  The black leather corset with matching jacket and pants were almost more than Ava’s gay heart could take.  “Oh sweet God.”  Nora laughed lightly next to her catching her arm as though she was going to fall over.  “Get it together Sharpe.  You’re a big gay mess right now.” Ava looked at her friend her mouth still hanging open, “Are you seeing this?” Nora nodded, “Yeah, I’ve been here for 2 hours...I’ve seen it already.”  She then pulled her friend back towards the kitchen, “Let’s get you some punch before you pass out.”  As she handed the blonde the cup she pulled back slightly, “Remember, it’s strong.” “Yes mom.”  Ava took the drink and sipped at it tentatively. “And what are you supposed to be?  A studious college student?”  Even without turning Ava was very familiar with her voice by now. Just before she turned, she sipped the drink again hoping it would be enough to keep her shit together at seeing that costume again.  “Sure, let’s go with that.”  Spinning slowly on her heel she was happy that she was in fact able to maintain her composure this time.  “And you are...a super hero?  Vigilante? Rock Star?  Charlie’s Angel?” And there was the smirk, “I can be whatever you want me to be.” Ava coughed into her drink as she was trying to take a sip when Sara responded.  She laughed lightly and looked around for help, but Nora had somehow disappeared into the crowd.  She abandoned me?  Fuck, I’m in trouble.  “Well, how drunk are you?”  She tried to deflect even though Ava knew it would be hard with Sara looking like that. “That depends on what you want to do?”  Ava watched her closely not noticing the glassy eyed look she had when they had fallen asleep on the couch together.  Sara grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the crowded kitchen and down to the slightly less crowded basement.  At least it was cooler down there and Ava could only imagine how hot all of that leather had to be.  “Just a heads up, I’m not drunk enough to discuss the school situation.” The taller blonde nodded, “Yeah, I could tell.  It almost feels like you knew I was going to shake you down for answers so you were refraining from drinking.” A faux look of surprise crossed Sara’s features, “What, me, no.  Ava, that’s ridicules.” “Mmhmm.  Right.”  There was a pause, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. “I have an idea.  You tell me something about yourself and then I’ll tell you something about me.”  Sara studied her expression as Ava tried her damnest not to get caught looking at Sara’s cleavage. “Okay, that seems fair.”  She thought for a moment, “I’m from Fresno.” Sara blinked at her, “You’re from California and you CHOOSE to go to school here?”  Ava nodded as if it made perfect sense.  “Okay, well I grew up right here in Star City.” Seeing that she was only going to get as much as she was willing to give Ava tried to think what lines of information, she was willing to share.  “I have 2 siblings, a brother and a sister.” Nodding Sara, “I just have one perfect sister.” “I remember you mentioning that before.”  Ava decided to push a little, “So since I already knew that how about you tell me something else?” Sara’s face screwed up in thought, “I played soccer growing up.” “And you already know about basketball soooo...my Birthday is November 26th.”  Ava wondered how long she could keep this up. “December 25th.” Ava looked at her surprised, “Christmas? No...”  Sara nodded in the affirmative.  “Sara that’s kind of awful.” She shrugged her shoulders, “My mom and dad always tried to make sure to try to keep the 2 separate, but it wasn't really that easy for them sometimes.” Nodding Ava moved onto the next subject thinking maybe she could work her way up to the school situation.  “My brother and sister are older.  Like out of the house before I made it to middle school, but the Sharpe’s always tried really hard to help me fit in so it didn't seem weird.”  She finished off the punch not thinking about what she had just said. Sara studied her for a moment.  “You are aware that you just referred to your family as the Sharpes, right?” The tall blonde froze her heart sinking in her chest.  “Yeah.”  She looked for a horizontal surface to set her empty drink down on.  “Um...”  She looked for Nora in the crowd needing some kind of security from someone that she knew wouldn’t judge her.  “The Sharpe’s adopted me when I was 10.”  Sara didn’t say anything, but Ava saw the softness in her eyes.  She looked at the floor, “I really don’t want to talk about it right now.”  She tried to hide her panic as she realized she had just shared one of her most guarded secrets with someone who was practically a stranger.  It felt strange how easily it had rolled off her tongue.As if Sara could sense Ava’s discomfort she nodded then smirked at the tall blonde.  “Well, we don’t need to talk at all.”  The tall blonde felt her face flush and she wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or her growing fondness for the bartender.A large part of Ava was ready to just give in.  There was a good chance that her constant thoughts about the short blonde were due to a simple physical attraction that would be sated by just going along with whatever Sara had in mind.  Maybe with her mind clear she could go back to focusing on what was really important, her future.  Laughing lightly Ava dropped her eyes to look at the floor briefly.  “You are incorrigible.” Shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly Sara raised one of her eyebrows.  “Maybe, but I still think you love it Sharpe.”    As she spoke, she leaned in close so she was whispering next to the taller girls' ear. Ava’s breath caught in her throat as she felt her warm breath hit her pulse point.  The same place Sara had left her mark weeks ago, of course it had healed long ago.  Biting her lower lip, she pulled back slightly so she could look into those eyes that seemed to stare directly into her soul.  “You love this, don’t you?”  She kept her voice steady as she spoke.  “Messing with me?"  Her words sounded a little harder than she had intended them to be.The smirk faded, “If I’m being honest, you confuse the hell out of me Ava.”  Sara shook her head.  “One minute you are flirting right back and the next you take a hard shift and I just don’t know what you want.”  There was a slight undertone of frustration in her voice, but it remained slightly playful.   “I mean, I get it your girl cheated on you and got knocked up.  That’s going to fuck your head up pretty bad, but it’s been what 2 months at this point?” Ava set her jaw as she took a step away from the smaller woman.  “Classy, Miss Lance.”  The warmth that had begun to settle into her chest faded rapidly.  “I didn’t realize there was a set amount of time to recover from having your heart stomped on.”  She took another step away maintaining eye contact for a second longer before she turned on her heel and climbed the stairs not looking back.  She headed straight for the door go the backyard.  As she exited, she wasn’t sure how she was feeling about the whole situation.  All she really knew was that she needed to be away from the bartender. Before she got too close to the fire, Ava spotted Nora sitting with Ray and Nate.  A concerned look crossed her friends face as she approached, “What’s wrong?” Pointing back towards the house Ava’s voice involuntarily rose as she spoke, “She is a child.  She pushes my buttons like she actually wants to be around me.  Then the next thing I know she’s telling me I need to just get over Leah, like she knows shit about it.”  Noting that people were starting to turn to look at her Ava dropped her voice, “She doesn’t know anything.” Nora looked towards the door then back at her friend, “I left you alone for like 20 minutes, what the hell happened?” “I need to go.”  Ava started walking towards the front of the house pulling her phone out of her pocket.  As she started to open her Uber app when she received a text message.

Sara
Today 00:03 AM
Where did you go?
Don't worry about it. I'm taking my drama elsewhere.
Don't be like that Sharpe. I was out of line...let me apologize in person.
That's not necessary. Enjoy your evening.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Closing the chat window Ava stared at her phone trying to decide what to do next.  She heard the footsteps approaching and assumed it was Nora, her friend would want to know what was going on after that outburst.  “I wasn’t a business major.”  Ava clenched her phone in her hand with a vice-like grip knowing exactly who was standing behind her.  “I was Pre-Med.” The tall blonde sighed and rubbed her hands over her face.  “What do you want Sara?”  Ava didn’t move, not wanting to look at the bartender that had made her question everything. “Well, that’s an improvement over Miss Lance.”  There was silence and Ava assumed the other woman wanted her to say something, but when she didn’t the smaller blonde spoke up again.  “I had a really crappy day and I took it out on you.  That was wrong and I am so sorry.” “Okay.”  The tall blonde spared a glance over her shoulder, but remained rigid falling into ‘Parade Rest’.  When her ‘brother’ Dan had come home from drill camp he had taught young Ava a lot of the positions and commands he had learned.  She had considered following in Randy and Dan footsteps in joining the Army, but ultimately decided to go in a different direction.  However, when she felt uncomfortable in a situation, she noticed that she had a tendency to tap into those memories.  It was a part of the walls she was able to build to keep most people out. She heard Sara shift behind her, “Okay?”  The tall blonde just nodded still looking forward.  “Look, I know I fucked up.  It’s honestly what I’m best at.”  Ava could sense the woman shift behind her, but she refused to turn and look.  “I don’t expect you to leave the party, you just got here.  The others were happy you came.”  She sighed.  “If you stay, I’ll leave you alone.  I don’t want everyone else upset with me because I’m an asshole and you left.” “You don’t know me, Sara.”  Ava’s shoulders dropped slightly and her voice was just above a whisper.  “I don’t get why you said those things.”  She released her hands that had been clasped behind her back so her arms dropped to her sides.  “I just shared something with you that few people here know about me.” Another voice a little further away cut through the cool night air.  “Aves, are you okay?” Had she been facing the other direction the tall blonde would have seen the almost glare Nora sent Sara.  “Yeah, Nor.  I’m okay.”  She tried to clear her mind of all the thoughts swirling around and creating confusion.  What’s important here?  Cut through the extra bullshit that doesn’t matter.  She needed to compartmentalize her thoughts and feelings so she could clearly assess what was happening.  As she thought more about it, she realized Sara’s dig wouldn’t have affected her as much if she wasn’t so concerned about the upcoming interview.  Not to mention she felt like she was taking strong steps forward to moving on from that broken relationship after the tough love conversation with Nora earlier.  Keeping her expression even she turned around and looked to her friend, “I’m fine, really.”  She turned her eyes to Sara even though she continued to talk to Nora, “Just give us a minute.” As soon as Nora was out of earshot Sara spoke again.  “I think I said that stuff because I wanted to see how far I could push you before you’d fight back.” Ava shook her head, “No, you didn’t.  You wanted to push me away.  I don’t know why, but maybe you’re just scared.” The shorter blonde scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest, “I’m not scared of you.” “No.”  Ava shook her head in agreement, “Not me, but you are scared of something.”  Taking a deep breath, she looked at her phone again.  “I made a huge scene.  I can’t go back up there now.”  She shrugged her shoulders as she spoke, “You are just going to have to own being the asshole for the night, I’m  afraid.” “Yeah, I deserve that.”  Sara looked back at the house for a moment.  “How are you getting home?” “I’ll get an Uber.”  She held up her phone briefly. The bartender held her hands up, “Hear me out.  Let me drive you?”  Ava started to protest, but the shorter blonde cut her off, “Wait...just wait.  I haven’t been drinking because I wanted to avoid answering your damn hard questions.  I want to do something to show you that I’m not a complete dick.”  She then gestured over her shoulder towards the house, “Plus, I’m fairly certain Nora is plotting my death as we speak.”  Ava shook her head and was about to refuse her offer, “And since you told me a major truth...I’ll tell you why I dropped out of school.”  She then pulled her keys out of the leather jacket and smiled hopefully at Ava. “Okay.”  She nodded then followed as Sara walked towards the street where most of the cars were parked. The bartender gestured towards a nearby sedan, “This is me.”  Ava walked around to the passenger side and climbed in as soon as the door was unlocked.  It felt remanence of the first time they met only Sara was driving this time.  As soon as they were on the road the smaller blonde started talking without taking her eyes off the road.  “A couple years ago I started hanging out with my sisters’ friends.  She was away at law school and they kept coming around so I didn’t figure it would hurt anything.  Long story short school kind of started to fall to the back burner when the people you are hanging out with were loaded and bought you everything you needed.”  Ava studied her face closely, watching for any changes in her expression.  “Everything was great right up until I got involved with one of them.” After a few minutes of silence Ava decided maybe she needed to say something to keep the conversation going.  “Relationships can be distracting.” Sara hummed to herself, “I wouldn’t call it a relationship.  Just...involved.”  The tall blonde noticed the distracted look in the smaller womans’ eyes.  It was like she was trying to decide what she was willing to share.  “Anyway, by the time I realized how far my grades had fallen it was too late.  I didn’t see any way to get them up fast enough to get my bachelors.  So that would put med school off the table so, instead I dropped out...that way it was my choice.  That way I didn’t fail.” Ava shook her head, “Did you talk to your adviser?  Did you even take the MCAT?” The bartender's eyes got big for a second, “What?  How do you know...” Now it was Ava’s turn to smirk at Sara, “I had a lot of options to weight out before I decided what direction I wanted to go with my career.”  She let the smirk fade, “Seriously though, did you?” “No.”  Still looking at the road ahead, “It’s complicated.”  She turned down the street that lead to Ava and Amaya’s apartment.  As the car pulled into the parking lot they were both quiet. Sara pulled the car into a parking spot as the taller blonde unbuckled her seatbelt, but remained in the seat trying to decide how to approach what she wanted to say.  Biting her lower lip as she thought, she looked at Sara.  “Come in?  If you want to keep talking.” The shorter blonde looked at Ava for a moment and seemed to be considering it.  “I don’t want to talk about school anymore.” Ava swallowed, even after all the drama at the party she wasn’t ready to let the blonde go.  “You don’t have to.  Come in, tell me how you fell in with the Legends?”  She smiled encouragingly at Sara.  “I mean, if you would rather go back to the party and hang out with everyone else I totally understand.” Turning off the engine Sara nodded, “Okay.  Just for a little bit though.  I promised Mick I’d help him clean up.” Getting out of the car Ava dug her keys out of her pocket as she approached the front door.  She felt Sara’s presence behind her as she unlocked the door and invited her in.  Stepping in she tossed her keys on the counter as she shut and locked the door behind Sara.  “By the way, this costume makes an impression.” Sara laughed for the first time since the incident at the party.  “Oh, I am well aware.  There’s actually a mask too.” “There is not.”  Ava prayed it had been left behind at the party.  Reaching into the jacket pocket Sara produced the mask.  The tall blonde moved towards the kitchen trying to ignore the mask in Sara’s hand, “Did you want something to drink?” “No, I’m good.”  The shorter blonde sat down on the couch making herself at home. “Okay.”  She dug around in the frig before deciding on some juice.  “Tell me about the Legends.  How did a Pre-Med student fall in with mostly history buffs?” “Time Masters.”  Sara said without hesitation.  “No real story, one night they needed one more person for their team and I wanted to win.”  She met Ava’s eyes as the athlete sat down.  “I did well enough that they let me join in whenever they needed help on trivia night and we started hanging out when it wasn’t trivia night.”  The short blonde paused for a moment, “Your turn?”  The taller blonde nodded.  “Why Star City?  You gave up sunny California to come here.” Clearing her throat Ava nodded, “Yes.  I did my research.  The Emergency Management program here is one of the best in the nation.  And Coach Hunter came to me with a full ride through school.  It just made sense.”  She took a sip of her drink.  “I didn’t want to be any more of a burden to the Sharpes than I *had* to.” “I’m sure they don’t see you as a burden.”  Sara protested. “And I’m sure your parents don’t see you as a complete fuck up.”  Ava smiled at her warmly, “Maybe just a little bit of a hot mess.”  She held up her hand and separated her thumb and index finger apart a little. Sara pushed her shoulder, “Jerk.”  They sat in silence for a few minutes, “Are we okay, Sharpe?”  The short blonde watched her hopefully. “Yeah.”  Ava noticed her voice was quieter than she had intended it to be, but it was true.  They were fine.  Things had gotten tense, but Ava could tell Sara genuinely felt like crap about what happened. “Strike three though.”  Sara half smiled at the athlete. She shook her head then watched Sara as she spoke.  “Good thing I play basketball and not softball.”  When a confused look crossed the bartenders face the athlete spoke up again, “You get 5 fouls before you get ejected.”  She sat up a little straighter knowing she was toeing the line again.   ”I wouldn’t recommend getting into foul trouble though.  I think it’s still pretty early in the game.” Sara leaned in about halfway between them, but paused wanting Ava to be the one to make the first move.  Ava saw the bartender look from her lips back up to her eyes again.  “This is your game, you call the first play, Director.” The taller blonde licked her lips briefly before reaching across the gap between them and pushing a strand of hair behind Sara’s ear.  They had done this before, but Ava wanted it to be different.  Leaning in she pressed her lips against Sara’s and they were exactly how she remembered them.  She could feel Sara’s hand on her cheek then moving to the back of her neck.  She could feel the couch dip next to her as Sara moved closer.  Reaching out the athlete grabbed the bartenders' hip and pulled her closer.  She felt Sara smile into her lips as she straddled Ava’s waist.  “This seems familiar.” Pulling away just enough to look into Ava’s eyes Sara spoke, “It does.”  She lowered herself to rest on Ava’s lap as she spoke.  “Are you okay with this?” In response the athlete pushed the leather jacket off Sara’s shoulders and allowed it to fall to the floor.  “You are so beautiful.”  She then pushed their lips together again, but with a bit more force this time.  Her hand that settled on Sara waist dropped down to her ass and pulled her closer.  The bartenders scent assaulted her senses as Ava arched her back trying to get closer.  Leather, cinnamon, and just a small undertone of sweat.  A small groan escaped her throat as Saras arms wrapped around her neck.  One of the short blondes’ hands managed to pull her high pony tail loose.  The hand that wasn’t holding Sara’s ass found its way to her bare shoulder now that the jacket had been removed. Sara deepened the kiss, moving her tongue against Ava’s mouth.  Ava parted her lips for the bartender as soon as she felt her tongue, allowing her access.  Ava lets another small moan escape as Sara’s tongue explores mouth.  Breaking the kiss Sara moves to Ava’s neck.  The tall blonde leaned her head back allowing Sara full access.  Ava moved her hand from Sara’s shoulder.  She had intended to move down to Sara’s waist, but her fingertips brushed against the zipper at the back of the corset and she froze.  She felt the smaller blonde stop too and Ava could feel her smile against her neck.  “So, you do have a room in this apartment?” “You know I do.  You’ve seen it.”  Ava waited as Sara shifted back off the couch.  She immediately missed the pressure of the other woman pushed against her.  On instinct alone Ava grabbed the jacket as they walked towards the hallway bringing it with them.  She grabbed Sara’s hand and walked the blonde to her room.  As soon as the door was closed Sara pushed the taller woman against the door pushing their bodies as close together as possible.  Ava was able to reach over and turn on the light before becoming too occupied. Ava felt Sara’s hands untucking her shirt from her jeans.  As the short blonde started to unbutton her shirt Ava heard the bartender mumble something.  She hummed a question in response.  “Do you like this shirt?”  Before she could respond to the odd question Ava heard tearing as Sara gave up on the buttons and just ripped the shirt open buttons flying across the room.  “Sorry.”  The shirt was forgotten as Ava felt Sara’s tongue run across her abs.  Sara’s warm mouth was a hard contrast to the cool air that she now felt on most of her torso. Moaning her head fell back against the door, “Shit.”  She felt her desire starting to build.  “Sara.”  When the shorter woman stood closer to her Ava wrapped her arms around the woman pausing at the zipper again.  “Can I?”  She tried to keep her breathing even not wanting to seem too eager.  Sara simply smiled at her.  As she pulled the zipped down with one hand she followed with the other realizing as she did that Sara wasn’t wearing a bra under the leather corset.  Once the zipper was all the way down the article of clothing was still being held up between their bodies.  Ava swallowed as Sara pulled away and let the corset fall to the floor. The tall blonde knew her mouth was most likely hanging open, but she did care as she took in the woman standing before her, now half naked.  She shrugged off the now buttonless shirt and moved to Sara craving the touch of skin against skin.  As they met Sara spun the taller blonde and pushed her towards the bed.  As soon as the back of her knees hit the edge of the bed she stopped.  Sara wrapped her arms around the taller blonde unfastening her bra before brushing her lips against her collar bone.  As if on instinct alone Sara bit down drawing a moan from Ava.  “Sit down and slide back.” The command in Sara’s tone sent a shiver down Ava’s spine and she immediately complied.  Sara climbed up the bed and in turn Ava’s body.  It was incredibly sexy and the tall blonde knew she was already wet.  Sara’s eyes met Ava’s for a moment before she took one of her nipples into her mouth.  Her hand massaging the athlete’s other breast gently.  Ava exhaled quickly every time Sara’s tongue ran over the nipple captured in her mouth.  Her senses were completely overwhelmed as she felt Sara’s thigh press up against her center.  Even through her jeans the pressure felt amazing.  “Fuck...Sara.”  Her voice was broken and seemed like she was whining for more. Sara moved up further and kissed the tall blonde.  “Hey, I don’t know how far you want to go with this, but I’m going to have to take these pants off.”  She smirked as she cupped the tall blonde’s face in her hands.  “You have me so worked up and I really don’t want to try to explain this to the dry cleaners.” Without saying a word Ava’s hands moved to the button before Sara could react.  “Let me, please.”  The short blonde nodded and Ava quickly unfastened the button and drew the zipper down.  She looked back up at Sara who was watching her intently.  She pushed Sara’s pants down over her ass then sat up and rolled them over so she was on top.  Ava tugged the leather pants off, but left her panties in place.  As she dropped Sara’s pants onto the floor her breath caught in her throat as she took in Sara’s almost naked form.  “So, fucking gorgeous.”  She glanced up at Sara who had closed her eyes.  Ava kissed just above the panties before the taller blonde moved her hands down Sara’s side and hooked a finger through the waistband of the panties pulling them off as well.  Tossing them off the side of her bed and kissed the inside of the short blondes’ thigh.  She hesitated, only for a moment, Ava knew what she was doing.  She wasn’t a bumbling teenager anymore, but she had only been with her ex.  What if I’m not good enough.  Looking up she was met with those icy blues that seemed to haunt her. Sara didn’t say a word, it was as if she knew what was running through Ava’s mind.  Sitting up she pulled Ava into a searing kissing turning them over so the athlete’s back was pressed against her comforter.  Ava’s breath caught in her throat as Sara’s hands moved down her body and paused at the hem of her jeans.  Unbuttoning the jeans Sara pressed her lips just below Ava’s ear.  “Up.”  Raising her hips up at Sara’s command Ava helped the smaller blonde remove her jeans and underwear in one pull.  When Ava settled back onto the mattress Sara moved her hand to the tall blonde's midsection running her fingers down her abs.  Checking in the bartender looked into Ava’s eyes as her hand moved to her center.  “Are you ready for what happens next?” Ava wrapped her arms around Sara’s shoulders as her fingertip grazed her clit for the first time, needing to feel the other woman against her.  Overwhelmed by the sensation She arched her back into the touch.  “Sara....please.” “You’re already so wet for me.”  Ava was pulled back from the pressure that was building as Sara stopped her ministrations.  “Tell me what you need.” Ava’s mind raced as reality sat in and she knew she had crossed a line that they couldn’t come back from, but in that moment, she decided she didn’t care.  “Your fingers, please...I want your fingers inside.” The tall blonde’s eyes fluttered closed as she felt Sara’s hand leave her clit and move to her entrance.  As she felt the first finger slide in easily Ava involuntarily ground down seeking more friction.  “Open your eyes, I want to see you.”  Sara withdrew then added a second finger sensing the it was what Ava needed.  The moan that escaped Ava’s throat told her she was right.  Feeling a forehead pressed against hers Ava finally opened her eyes and found the familiar blues staring at her.  There was a soft smile before Sara spoke, “There you are, beautiful.” That alone was almost enough to send Ava over the edge.  Before she could say anything, Sara’s mouth was on hers again, capturing the moans that left her as Sara started to move in her.  As Sara set the pace the tall blonde matched it moving easily with the woman pressed up against her.  Her breath started to get uneven as she got close...the pressure building.  The small blonde’s teeth grazed her lower lip as she curled her fingers hitting her front wall.  Ava’s fingers dug into Sara’s shoulders as her release came crashing around her. Moving much slower Sara didn’t stop completely helping Ava through her orgasm.  It wasn’t until the bartenders’ thumb brushed against her clit that Ava caught the other womans’ hand with a quick intake of breath, “Wait, it’s too much.”  Ava kept a hold on Sara’s wrist, not wanting her to withdraw, but also not wanting her to move. She could feel the bartender studying her face, “Whatever you need, just tell me what you need.”  Soft lips were on her collar bone again, reinforcing the mark that had already started to form.  It happened so quickly Ava was barely aware she had even been worked up again, but between Sara’s words, her mouth, and her fingers still inside of the tall blonde it was enough to send Ava over the edge again.  She could feel Sara’s head lift to look at her face when she tensed up and dug her fingernails into Sara’s back again.  “Did you...” Unable to find her voice Ava just nodded.  She noted the cocky smile that grew on Sara’s face.  Ava pulled her down into a kiss enjoying the small blonde pressed against her as she released her wrist allowing her to withdraw from Ava.  She let out a small groan at the loss.  Sara’s hand brushed through Ava’s hair before she broke away from the kiss and sat at the end of the bed.  Swallowing Ava watched as the she stood and stretched before grabbing her clothes off the floor, “What are you doing?” Sara smiled at her then gestured towards the door, “I’m going to go.  I promised Mick...” Ava looked at her confused, “You are leaving, now?” The bartender nodded as if this was normal behavior.  “Well, yeah.  I mean tonight was about you.  I don’t need...” Her arms crossed in front of her chest Ava just watched as her stomach dropped.  “Stay.”  She was staring at Sara's back not knowing how she would respond.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Stay?”  Sara turned her head to look at Ava and the tall blonde couldn’t help feeling exposed and vulnerable.  It felt like the short blondes’ answer could tear her in two.  “You really want me to stay?”  A small smile appeared on her lips. “Please.”  The shorter blonde nodded indicating that she would stay.  Ava slid to the edge of the bed before standing up.  As she pulled open her dresser, she was glad she was able to get laundry done earlier in the day.  “You probably won’t want to sleep in that.”  She gestured to the leather costume in her hands.  “Tee shirt and shorts okay?”  She held out the aforementioned garments out to the smaller woman.  “They’ll probably be a little big on you.” “It’s fine.”  She took the clothes and smiled.  “Thanks.”   Oddly enough after what had just happened Ava felt the need to turn her back to Sara while she put on the pajamas the tall blonde had provided.  Grabbing her own pajamas, the tall blonde pulled on the thin shirt and shorts.  Moving to the bed Ava pulled back the comforter and climbed in looking over at the shorter blonde who was just watching her.  She held her hand out to the bartender to encouraging her to join Ava in bed.  It was difficult, but she managed to keep her breathing steady when she saw Sara wearing her SCU basketball tee.  She was actually surprised at how much it had affected her.Without saying a word Sara took the offered hand sliding behind Ava.  The taller blonde felt an arm wrapping around her waist pulling her close.  She closed her eyes so she could just focus on the warmth of Sara pressed against her back.  A thought entered her mind as she felt the short blondes’ breath against her neck.  “You could still talk to your adviser.  I can go with you on Monday if you want.” Sara shifted behind her and Ava felt the bartenders hand brush through her hair gently.  “Shhh, get some rest, Aves."  The tall blonde leaned into her touch.  "You mentioned that you have a game today and you need to sleep if you are going to play well.”  Content the tall blonde closed her eyes, and just before she drifted to sleep, she could have sworn she felt a kiss pressed against her shoulder blade.  But that would have been too intimate so it was probably just a dream, probably. ~~~ Ava awoke to the sounds of voices beyond her bedroom door.  Turning she looked for Sara, but there was no sign of the bartender.  Even her costume was gone.  Sitting up she took another sweep of the room she checking to see if any sign of Sara remained.  After not finding anything she climbed out of bed.  Grabbing a hair tie off her dresser and pulled her hair back quickly before opening the door and walking into the Livingroom.  “Hey sleepy head!”  Amaya smiled at her over the top of her coffee cup.  “I know how you feel about caffeine before a game, but there’s more coffee in the pot if you need some.” Shaking her head, the taller blonde rubbed her hands across her face, “No, I’m okay.  I just need to grab a shower.”  Taking in the rest of the Livingroom she saw Sara sitting at the other side of the couch opposite Amaya. “Good Morning.”  Sara shot her a somewhat cocky smile.  She didn’t leave. Ava smiled at her warmly, “Good Morning.” The shorter blonde turned her eyes away from Ava when she spoke again, “Thank you by the way.  I appreciate that you let me crash on the couch last night.”  She took a sip of her coffee before returning her gaze to Ava.  Furrowing her brow Ava was about to ask what she was talking about when she saw the subtle shake of Sara’s head. “Uh...sure.  No problem.”  There was a pang of hurt in her chest as she realized the short blonde was hiding last night from Amaya.  Why?  Would Amaya even care?  Or did Sara just not want anyone to know.  Swallowing the lump in her throat Ava gestured over her shoulder, “Um, I’m going to grab that shower and head to the arena.”  Her eyes never left Sara hoping she would give her something...some reason for the lie. When she entered her room and closed the door the basketball captain grabbed what she needed to change into after her shower.  As she grabbed the last item she needed, she noticed her phone flashed with multiple alerts.  Sighing she grabbed it knowing at least one was going to be Nora.  One was Nora from Last night and the other was from “The Legendary Captain Lance”.  Pulling up the chat window she saw that Sara had messed with her contact information and added a picture that looked like it was taken this morning.  She debated for a moment then fired off a message before switching to Nora’s Chat window.

Nora
Today 00:51 AM
What the hell, Ava? Where did you go?
Today 1:22 AM
Did you ditch me for Lance...again?
Today 1:23 AM
I swear you were just yelling about how mad you were at her.
Today 1:45 AM
It's official, I searched everywhere at the party. You ditched me...again.
PLUS, I can't find Lance either. You and I will be discussing this.
Today 1:50 AM
Call me...

Setting her phone aside she moved into the bathroom starting to question if the previous night had even happened...had it all been a dream again.  Taking off her sleep shirt she dismissed that idea seeing the bite mark on her collar bone.  One thing she knew for sure...last night did nothing the sate her interest in the blonde like she had hoped. Sighing she knew even though everything was confusing she needed to fall into her gameday routine, routine was exactly what she needed to help sort her thoughts properly.  Not wanting her phone to interrupt she had grabbed her iPod and queued up her Gameday playlist.  She knew she turned up the Bluetooth speaker up a little more than necessary, but she needed to drown out the voices in the Livingroom. ~~~ After her shower she felt more awake...she had returned to her bedroom and grabbed her ear buds and connected them to the iPod as opposed to her phone and kept the playlist going.  Going over her mental checklist she grabbed her bag and moved into the kitchen to retrieve her prepared breakfast smoothie and granola bar.  Amaya had been well aware of her routine and simply waved as Ava moved to the door to leave. As she started down the sidewalk, she felt a hand close on her shoulder to get her attention.  Spinning to face whomever was breaking her routine Ava took a deep breath already suspecting who it was.  When she was faced with the short blonde, she tried to look unphased.  Pulling out one of her earbuds Ava just looked at the other woman waiting for her to say something.  “I’m sorry about that...” She gestured over her should towards the apartment. Ava held up her hand and shook her head, “I’m not doing this right now.”  Sara froze, clearly surprised at the harshness in Ava’s tone.  She raised her eyebrows, “I’m serious.  I have somewhere to be and you don’t dictate everything about whatever this thing between us is.” Sara shifted uncomfortably, “Let me give you a ride to the arena.  We can talk on the way.” Ava shook her head, “No.”  To show how serious she was she placed the ear bud back into place.  “I have a routine and I’m not going to break it so you can fuck with my head before a game.”  She jogged backwards for a couple of strides, “It's Sunday, don't you have a brunch to attend?”  With that she spun on her heel towards campus and picked up her pace ignoring anything that might have happened behind her. It was a good 15-minute run to the arena.  The crisp fall air helped to clear her head to focus on the game ahead.  She greeted security as she walked into the lockeroom to put her things away.  As usual she was the first to arrive.  Tossing her bag on the bench she finished her smoothie.  Opening her bag, she grabbed her phone and tossed everything else into her locker.  She looked at new alerts from Sara, Nora, and Gary/Lily.  Ignoring them all she put the phone into the locker and removed her ear buds adding them to the collection in the locker.  Stretching out her arms as she moved towards Coach Hunters office, she thought about all the plays they had worked on leading up to their opening game. As she approached the office, she knocked on the open door greeting the two coaches standing in the office.  “Hey, I just got here so I wanted to check in.” “Hey Ava, are you ready?”  She nodded and smiled briefly at Coach Hunter.  “I’m going to have you starting like we discussed on Friday.  I may rotate you out with Danvers depending on how it goes.” “Yes, sir.”   She nodded again falling naturally into ‘Parade Rest’ without being consciously aware of it. “You put the work in last season when she was out injured, but she is a Senior and our starter last season so I’ll give you both a chance and we’ll see whom earns the spot.” “I completely understand.  If Alex gets it, I promise I’ll give her all the support I can.”  Coach Hunter clapped her on the shoulder. “I know you will.”  He shot her a quick smile.  “Now head back to the lockeroom, Coach Gideon and I have a few notes to go over before the game.” “Before I go, Coach.  I have an interview tomorrow for a summer internship.  I might be a little late to practice.”  He frowned, but nodded. “Just do your best to be on time.” ~~~ The game was over, and Ava sat in the lockeroom a towel pulled over her head as her elbows resting on her knees.  Her breath had finally evened out and she knew she need to go out with Alex and talk to the local media, but she wanted to compose herself first.  She felt a hand on her back and as she lifted her head, she saw Gideon who nodded towards the door, “They’re ready for you.”  She stood and stretched her neck out looking for Alex before moving the towel off her head to cover her shoulders.  “You did great.”  Gideon gave her a reassuring smile. She sighed, “Maybe, but it wasn’t enough.”  They had lost in the last two seconds when the other team had taken an easy lay-up over one of the freshmen.  She rubbed the towel over her face to capture the last of the remaining sweat that had collected on her features. Gideon gave her back another pat before speaking again, “We’ve got South Florida on Tuesday, don’t get too caught up in your head.  That is the official start of the season.  That’s the game we need to focus on now.”  She gestured towards the door where Alex waited. “Right.”  Ava nodded knowing her coach was right, but the loss still stung.  She trotted up to Alex, “Ready?” “Yeah, let’s get this over with.”  Being the senior captain Ava followed her out to the media room.  There were only a few local reporters so she knew it wouldn’t be very long.  They were already questioning Coach Hunter.  The brunette took the seat next to their coach and Ava sat next to her.  The name placard in front of her had her name on it. The media conference didn’t take long, and most of the questions had been directed to either the coach or Alex.  Which suited the blonde just fine, but she was happy when they were done and she could take a shower.  She stayed in the shower a little longer than she normally would have, but when she exited, she assumed everyone would have already left.  She was wrong.  Alex sat on the bench in front of Ava’s locker...as if she had been waiting for her.  “Hey.” The brunette looked up as Ava approached, “So that was kind of awful.” The blonde dropped to the bench next to the brunette, “Agreed.  We have a couple practices before Tuesday.  South Florida looks great on film.  We’ll have to go at them hard if we’re going to stand a chance.” Alex looked at the blonde studying her expression, “I’m going to ask Coach Hunter to start me on Tuesday.” Ava bit the inside of her lip and stood up grabbing her stuff out of the locker.  “Alright.” “I just wanted to let you know.”  The brunette dropped her gaze to the floor for a moment.  “You seemed distracted out there today.”  The blonde turned to look at her co-captain. Taking a deep breath, the blonde shook her head, “If you want to start then by all means go to coach, but don’t you dare imply I didn’t try to do everything out there that I could.” Alex held up her hands in surrender, “Don’t get defensive.  All I’m saying is you could have been our high scorer.” “Alex, come on...we’re on a team.  I’m not going to take every shot.”   The brunette stood up and approached the blonde, “You’re right, but you need to be more aggressive.”  She gave Ava a challenging look, “When I start on Tuesday...you’ll know that Coach Hunter agrees.” “Jesus, Danvers we’re on the same team.”  Ava threw her bag over her shoulder and slammed the locker closed. “Just a little friendly competition, Director.”  The brunette smiled at her, “Look, maybe get some sleep instead of going to a party on the night before a game.” Walking away her irritation grew, “See you in the morning, Danvers.”  As she exited the arena, Ava saw Gary and Lily waiting outside. Gary waved at her wildly, “AVA!” “Hey guys.”  She approached them forcing a smile on her face.  “Thanks for coming.” Lily gave her a small sympathetic smile, “That was a great game overall.” The blonde snorted, “It really wasn’t.” Gary threw an arm around her shoulders, “Can we take you out for a late lunch...early dinner?” “I’m not really feeling it guys.”  The tall blonde shook her head really just wanted to get home. “FIIIIINE...just desserts then.”  Gary steered her towards his blazer.  “Then when we’re done you can drop us off and have my truck for tomorrow.”  He grinned widely, “What do you say?” She looked from Gary to Lily and back again, “Well, how can I say no to that?” “No possible way!”  Lily joined in trying to cheer up her friend. ~~~ It was starting to get late when Ava finally made it back to the apartment.  When she opened the door, she found Amaya, Zari, and Sara sitting on the couch.  “Where the hell have you been?” Zari watched the tall blonde as she walked into the apartment.“Gary and Lily caught me after the game.”  She tossed the keys to Gary’s car onto the counter.  “We hung out for a little while.”  She avoided looking at Sara as she moved through the livingroom.  She shot a pointed look at Zari, “You sure bolted out of there as soon as the game was over.” “I didn’t want to get caught up in interviews.”  She smiled as she popped a piece of popcorn in her mouth.  “We saw you on the news.” Ava rolled her eyes, “Great.  How bad was it?” Amaya spoke up, “Actually it wasn’t bad at all.  It was mostly your Coach...a little you and a little bit from Alex.” Ava cringed internally at Alex’s name, “Well, that’s good I guess.”  She pointed over her shoulder and took a couple steps backwards.  “I’m going to go change and try to relax a bit before turning in.  You ladies have a great night.” Zari looked at the clock then at Ava, “What, it’s early...you’re already thinking about going to bed?” Ava nodded taking another step backwards, “It’s been a long day and tomorrow is going to be even longer. So, shut it Tomas!”  She looked at Zari and held up her phone, “Plus I’ve been ignoring this all day so I have a bunch of messages and I need to call home.”  On her way through to the hall she dropped off her dirty smoothie cup.  “I’ll take care of dishes later.”  She yelled over her shoulder not looking back.  Once she was safely in her room with the door shut, she tossed her dirty clothes in the hamper. And hung her now empty bag on the back of her desk chair.  Grabbing her phone, she opened Nora’s message first knowing that response was long overdue.  She typed a quick message to let her know she was still alive. She flopped down on her bed.  As she pulled her pillow behind her head, she realized she could still smell cinnamon and leather clinging to her sheets.  She paused as the memories from the previous night came creeping back into her mind.  Then the events of the morning that followed.  Making a decision she retrieved her extra sheets and blanket from the closet and completely stripped the bed.  It was about time to wash everything anyway.  She frowned at the once empty hamper now overflowing again.  She could start the comforter in the wash, but that would require walking back through the livingroom and she absolutely refused to do that. After she remade the bed, she sat on the edge debating on either to check Sara’s messages or call Captain Sharpe.  Laying back on the fresh sheets she dialed Randy Sharpe.  After 2 rings his voice rang through the phone, “Aves.” “Hey, Cap.”  She made sure there was a smile in her voice. He chuckled at the nickname.  “Saw the game, tough break, kid.” “Yeah, I think Tuesday’s game will be better.”  She stretched out starting to feel a couple of the fouls she had taken. “I streamed the interviews online.  You look good, kid.”  It made her smile genuinely.  “We’ll get to properly see you in 2 weeks, right?” She glanced at the game schedule on her desk, “Yeah we play Sacramento State Friday the 16th and Stanford on Sunday.  I talked to Coach and if you guys can make it to Stanford, I’ll be free almost all-day Saturday.  I know it’s a bit of a drive.” “Non-sense!  We’ll be at the game Friday too.  It’s not every day we get to see a Sharpe on the court.”  There was a small pause in the conversation.  “I’m guessing you are calling about tomorrow?”  She could hear the smile in his voice.  “You’ll meet Agent Wells at the field office in Star City at one thirty.” “Got it.”  After her afternoon class she would have just enough time to get back to the apartment change and then drive to the field office.  “I let Coach Hunter know I might be late for practice depending on how long the interview goes.” “Good thinking.  Better to prepare them for the worst just in case.”  She heard him talking to someone else in the background, “Aves, I have to run.  Remember to take your practice gear with you in case you can’t make it back to the apartment in time.  Call me when you get to the field office tomorrow.  I’ll talk the nerves out of you.” “Sounds great.  I love ya, Cap.” “Love you too, sport.” She ended the call as a new notification came across from Nora.  She swiped it away finally opening Sara’s messages.

The Legendary Captain Lance
Today 8:37 AM
I fixed my contact information in your phone.
Today 9:30 AM
We are going to talk about this...
Today 9:40 AM
I can explain...just call me later, okay?
Today 10:42 AM
Here it is less than 24 hours later and once again I'm texting you to call me so I can explain myself. AND apologize to you again. Still think I'm not a complete disaster?
Today 14:45 PM
COMPLETE DISASTER!
Today 21:34 PM
I can handle a disaster. What I don't want to be a part of is lying.
Today 21:35 PM
Ava...I didn't know how you would feel this morning. I didn't want to tell her anything you didn't want her to know. Especially since we haven't had a chance to talk it through ourselves.
Today 21:40 PM
Can we talk? Can I come back there and talk to you?
Today 21:41 PM
Please...
Today 21:44 PM
Sure.

She sat the phone down and waited for the knock at the door.  She crossed the room as the knock came.  She pulled the door open and gestured for Sara to come in.  As soon as the door closed again Ava spoke up, “So what excuse did you use to come and talk to me?” She followed Sara’s eyes as she looked from the bed to the hamper.  “No excuse, I just told them I needed to talk to you.” Ava’s tone softened, “I’m not trying to be a hard ass here, but you know I have trust issues.” “I know, I just don’t want to say anything until we know where we stood.”  Intense blue eyes watched her every move. “And where is that?”  Ava was searching for something she knew she wouldn’t find.  “Friends?”  Sara looked hopeful. “Friends...”  Ava rubbed the bridge of her nose.  I knew last night was a mistake.  She exhaled sharply, “Sure, Sara.  Let’s be friends.” The shorter blonde shifted from one foot to another uncomfortably.  “Ava...what do you think about telling our friends?  I’m not looking to lie to them, but I don’t want things to be awkward either.”  She looked at the floor not making eye contact with the tall blonde.  “We have a lot of friends in common.” “Awkward.”  Ava looked around her room.  This wasn’t at all how she had wanted this conversation to go.  “Look, I’m not going to lie to my friends, but I won’t bring it up either.”  Nodding Sara turned to walk out of her room and Ava clasped her hands in front of her and stared at them trying to sort this mess out. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”  The shorter blonde paused at the door.  With her back still to the tall blonde Sara spoke up again.  “Did you mean it?” Ava looked up from her hands, “What?”“When you said you’d go with me to see my adviser.”  That’s when Ava saw it.  The Sara that stood in front of her now was different.  She wasn’t the cocky, confident bartender that flirted with her constantly. The taller blonde unclasped her hands and ran them down her thighs.  “Of course.”  Two distinct thoughts jumped into her mind as she spoke.  First, she would need to genuinely put forth effort into this friendship that she wasn’t entirely sure she could handle.  Second, there was absolutely no way she would have time on Monday to go with Sara to see her adviser. As the bartender nodded Ava could see her confidence returning.  “I’m going to call and schedule a meeting with her.”  She paused, “I know you’re busy.  I don’t actually expect you to go with me.”  She shrugged her shoulders, “Just the fact that you are willing too is enough.” Ava nodded and sat on the edge of her bed.  “Well, schedule it and if I can make it, and you still want me too, I’ll go with you.”  She managed a smile, “In case I can’t make it, do yourself a favor and schedule the MCAT when you talk to your adviser.”  The icy blues studied her curiously an unasked question lingering there.  “I’m thinking you are going to need to retake a lot of courses.”  For the first time since the short blonde had entered, she started to feel like herself again.  This she could do, talk school.  Feelings were just way to intense to even begin to think about.  “See what your MCAT score is.  I feel like it will give you the confidence and motivation you need to fight the rest of the way through.” “You give me way too much credit.  You’re assuming I’ll do well.”  Sara cocked an eyebrow at Ava as if to challenge her thought process. “You will. I’ll help.”  She released a breath knowing in the back of her mind she couldn’t handle it, but she was still hopeful her traitorous heart wouldn’t betray her.  At least not until she was able to settle into the ‘friend role’. “You would really do that?”  Hopeful blues now looked at her. Trying to remain nonchalant she nodded, “That’s what friends do.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ava stood rigid in front of her bathroom mirror ensuring everything was perfectly in place.  Adjusting the collar of the starched white button up for the last time she walked back into her bedroom.  She then grabbed a watch off the top of her dresser a she walked into the Livingroom where she had left Amaya and Zari sitting before changing into the navy-blue pantsuit.  As soon as she walked into the hall still fastening the watch onto her wrist their chatter stopped and they both turned to look at her.  “Damn, Director.”  Zari took in the overall look, “That suit is...something.” “What are you guys talking about?”  Sara’s head popped out of the kitchen and she froze in place when she spotted the tall blonde. Keeping her features neutral she nodded towards Zari, “I hoping by something you mean professional and if that’s the case, thank you.”  She grabbed Gary’s keys off the counter before moving towards the front door. “What’s the occasion?  Funeral? Are you going to court?  Filing a complaint with the Dean?”  Ava managed to keep a smile breaking across her face as she noted that Sara still hadn’t moved from her spot in the kitchen. “Interview.” She knew her answer came out short, but she didn’t have a lot of time to waste on conversation.  She grabbed her bag off the chair next to the door knowing she would need to leave the interview and go directly to practice.  She maintained eye contact with Zari, “Coach knows I might be a little late.” Sara finally found her voice, “Are you getting a job?” Ava shook her head, “Hopefully an internship this summer.” “What the hell internship requires a power pantsuit and your bun of steel?”  Zari watched her waiting for an answer while taking a bite out of a donut. Ava shook her head in response, “Nope, I’m not going to jinx it.”  She considered telling them more, but ultimately decided against it.  She pointed at Amaya.  “If all goes well you will know when they call to talk to you.” A small smile started to crept across Amaya’s face.  Since they had been roommates back at the dorm she had been through this process with Ava before.  “If it’s what I think it is, good luck.  I know how important it is to you.” “What, no call for me?”  Sara leaned against the countertop and feigned hurt. Zari looked between the two roommates.  “Of course, you used Amaya as a reference.” Ava looked at Sara and just shook her head without saying a word.  She then turned her attention to Zari.  “Of course.  They want to talk to any roommates.” Scratching her head, the shorter blonde spoke up again, “What kind of internship wants to talk to your roommate...that’s odd.” Ava shot a look at Sara over her shoulder as she just continued out the door.  “You have a phone call to MAKE, Lance!  We can talk about that later.”  Closing the door behind her, Ava continued to the parking lot and tossed her practice gear in the backseat of the borrowed car.  Sliding into the driver's seat she set her phone onto hands free and placed it into the center consul as she put on her seat belt. She started the car with then pulled up her father’s phone number and dialed it as promised.  After the first ring he answered, “Ava!”  His voice was clipped, but his tone was warm. “I’m on my way to the field office now.”  As she backed out of the parking space she focused on the road and not the nerves that were starting to gather just under her skin. As if sensing her nervousness Randy spoke again, but less clipped this time.  “It’s a slam dunk, sport.  No reason to be worried you already had an internship with the CIA and FEMA, even if this one doesn’t work out you still have options available to you.” She sighed, “I think this is the one though.  I think this is where I want to go.”  Taking a deep breath, she continued.  “It just feels different, right.  More important...heavier somehow.” She heard him exhale, “I can understand that.”  There was a pause.  “We’re proud of you.” Ava felt a tightness in her throat.  “I know.”  She said it, but she didn’t believe it.  Not really.  Ava did manage to hide the waver in her voice from him.  The Sharpe’s had always been kind to her and had never treated her differently from their biological son and daughter.  Sometimes she felt bad for not regularly calling them mom and dad, but she knew they understood that she had her reasons. “When you get to the field office, you’ll ask for Agent Thomas Wells.”  He took a moment, “Are you ready?” “I am.”  She focused on the road, she already when where the Bureau field office was.  She had planned for this trip.  “Okay, traffic is getting heavy.  I’m going to focus on driving.  I’m sure they will call you later.”  She waited a moment for the Army Captain to say something.  “Let me know what you can.” “You got it.  Not that you need it, but good luck kid.” She smiled, “Thanks Cap.”  Then she disconnected the call. ~~~ Hustling across the gym in her heels and pantsuit felt oddly natural, that was right up until the catcalls started.  She shook her head at her teammates.  “Yeah, yeah...just wait till I get back out here.  I’ve got some drills in mind for you guys!”  Out of the corner of her eye she caught Alex talking to the coaches.  Damn.  Of course, Ava’s tardiness would give her a leg up on the starting position the following evening.  Still worth it.  If need be, she’d earn the position back.  She’d bested Alex at the park...she’d do it again if she needed to. Honestly, the interview had gone so well she kind of didn’t care.  If it was so important that the Seniors were starters then Alex could have the position, but she felt like that wouldn’t get them a championship.  Maybe they wouldn’t get one under her leadership either, but Ava needed to be on the court in order to find out. After she changed into her warm up gear and trotted onto the court, she immediately heard Coach Hunter call her over.  Switching up to a full sprint she ran over to him.  “Coach?” He cleared his throat, “Sharpe, I know you had good reason, but you were late.”  She nodded in agreement.  “We need to be consistent and since you are a leader on this team, I’m going to need you to run suicides until I call you back.” “Yes sir.” He took a breath and dropped the volume of his voice, “How did it go?” She grinned as she started to move towards the baseline, “Totally worth it.” As it turned out he let her run for the first half hour she was actually at practice.  She rejoined the team as they were going over plays for the following evening.  By the time practice was done Ava was so ready to call it a night.  Emotionally and physically she was wiped out.  Coach called everyone over before dismissing them for the evening, “Tomorrow we’re going to try a change in the lineup.  “Danvers, Tomas, Grande, Cronin, and Miller you will be starting.”  He flipped papers over on his clipboard and looked up at the team.  “That’s it, ladies, get some rest and we’ll see you in the morning!” Ava swore under her breath knowing that her tardiness had affected her position as a starter.  Honestly though she was too upset about it.  She would earn it back soon enough and where she had been was way more important.  She shot a smirk at Alex and leaned closer, “Game on, Danvers.” The brunette smiled back, “Oh it’s been on, Sharpe.”  She challenged. ~~~ After showering Ava put the suit back on, not wanting to stuff it into her bag.  Besides she was just heading home anyway...though she was sure she looked a little comical with the power suit and her tennis shoes.  Crossing the court, she saw Zari talking to Amaya just outside the door of the gym.  As she approached, they turned to face her, “Director, you should come to trivia night.” She shook her head, “That’s a hard pass for me.”  She poked a finger in Zari’s direction, “You should probably call it a night a bit early too.”  When Zari shrugged her shoulders, Ava rolled her eyes and waved at them as she walked towards the apartment. As she walked home Ava pulled out her phone and dialed Nora’s number knowing she was overdue for a conversation with her best friend.  She half expected to get sent to voicemail on the first ring, “Hey Ava, how was the interview?” She actually sounded chipper which was great for a Monday.  “It went really well actually.  I’d expect a phone call from the bureau.”  She glanced over her shoulder at the gym, “I’m heading home from practice, now.” “Good, I feel like you could use the break.”   “What are you getting into tonight?”  Ava shifted her bag onto her back and considered stopping to grab take out so she could just get home and relax.  Maybe work on a paper for a while then decompress before heading to bed early.  Sleep hadn’t come easy due to her nerves trying to get the best of her. “Well, I was debating about going to trivia night with Ray, but I wanted to chat with you first.”  The tall blonde tried to read her friends tone. “Me?  Why would I affect if you went out tonight?”   “Well, I kind of feel a little bad...I ditched you at the party.  I figured you had things you needed to talk out with that bartender.”  Ava took note that she hadn’t said Sara’s actual name.  “Then you had a fight of some sort.  Shortly after that you both disappear.” Ava cleared her throat, “Yeah, all of that’s true, but like I said in the text I sent you.  Sara is fine.  We had a misunderstanding at the party.” “You mean she said something stupid and pissed you off.” Laughing lightly as her friend read her like a book.  “Yeah.  That’s probably accurate.” “What did she say, Aves?” Getting the hint, the blonde stopped laughing, “It doesn’t matter anymore, Nor.  I’m fine and we talked.  She knows she was out of line.” There was a hum on the other end of the line, “So, the last couple times you have been left to talk to her...” Sighing Ava rubbed her eyes, “I’m going to stop you there.  I’m not going to talk to you about Sara Lance anymore tonight.” “Look, I just want to be sure you’re okay.  I feel like I put you in a position when I bailed on you.” Looking both ways before jogging across a street Ava stifled a yawn.  “You didn’t.  I feel like at some point during the evening our paths would have crossed anyway.  I can almost guarantee the fight would have happened regardless.” Seemingly satisfied, her friend shifted the conversation, “You sound tired.” “Trouble getting to sleep last night.”  She stopped in front of a little coffee shop that was a couple blocks from the apartment.  “How was the rest of the party, anyway?” “It was actually really good.”  Her friend paused before speaking again, “Once the annoying yelling people left.” Ava could actually HEAR the smirk in her tone.  “Funny.  Well, I’m going to order some food, drag it home, maybe get some studying in and call it a night.” “Sounds like a typically Sharpe evening.  Good Night Aves.” “Good night, Nor.” ~~~ Running out onto the court with her team the tall blonde watched as her teammates took the court as she made her way to the sideline.  She took a seat next to the coaches.  Based on the film she knew South Florida was going to come out strong.  She worried her lip, eyes on the court, and her hands clasped in front of her watching her team as they lost possession of the ball at tip off.  Refraining from saying anything she just winced a little.  “That’s okay, just get it back.”  She shouted encouragement to the women on the court. She was watching the opposing team just as much as her own.  Looking for some sort of weakness they could exploit, but they looked just as good as they had on film.  The opposing shot guard took the shot for 3 and it dropped in directly through the net. Her teammates were struggling to find their rhythm as Zari took a shoot that bounced off the back of the rim and into the hands of the South Florida Bulls Power Forward.  She could only watch as the ball was tossed across mid court to the small forward who took it to the net for an easy lay-up. “Come on.”  Ava muttered under her breath as her team sprinted across mid-court again trying to get points on the board.  She watched as they just reacted to the other team's defense.  She jumped to her feet, but refrained from saying anything when the ball was stolen and taken back for another easy lay-up.  She looked from the scoreboard to Coach Hunter.  7-0...they hadn’t even gotten on the board yet.  This was going to be brutal unless they had a momentum shift.  As Alex took the ball out Ava made eye contact, “Slow down and run an actual play.”  She had just mouthed the words, but it was clear that the Senior had received the message. She tossed the ball inbounds to Zari and called for it back signaling for one of the new plays they had been practicing the last several practices.  Ava nodded as Alex set up the pick and tossed the ball back to Zari who seemingly had found her center as she shot and sunk a 3 pointer.  The student section roared at the successful play.  Leaning forward she felt eyes on her and she turned to find the assistant coach giving her a knowing smile before returning to the game in progress. Halfway through the first quarter Coach Hunter turned to the bench, “Sharpe, Conners check in for Danvers and Grande.  They were still behind as Ava moved to check in at the Scorer's table and then wait for a dead ball so she could get into the game.  She knew it was most likely so Alex could catch her breath and then she’d be back on the bench, but Ava would make an impact while she was on the court.  Kneeling in front of the table she waited to the officials to signal her in.  While waiting she leaned over to Conners, “Syd, watch the girl you are on...she has tendency to throw her elbows.” The red head kneeling next to her smiled, “I thought I might have noticed that.”  They both looked out at the court.  “What’s the plan out there?” Ava swallowed as she watched the Bulldog’s play start to break down.  “We play it just like we are in practice...we’re just up against a group of teammates that are a bit more aggressive.”  When the ball bounced out of bounds there was a whistle and the officials gestured them in.  Running past Alex, she gave her a fist bump as if to tag her out of the game, “Grab a drink.” Nodding the brunette jogged to the sideline and approached Hunter.  He was gesturing to a play on his clip board to the team on the bench.  Looking at the court she watched as the opposing team tossed the ball inbound, but it was really close to where she was standing.  Seizing the moment, she lunged forward and batted the ball down towards Zari.  As soon as her feet hit the ground, she started towards the opposite end of the court with her eyes on Zari to make sure she had secured the ball and was moving with her.  The ball was passed back to Ava and she took a jump shot, sinking into the net she made her first points of the game.  Running backwards she moved to mid court at the Bulls took the ball out at the baseline. The game went back and forth several time, but slowly the Bulldogs were closing the point deficit.  They actually managed to tie the game as the last seconds of the first half ticked away and Zari sank another 3-point shot.  As they walked to the locker room Ava gave her a high five, “Great shot, Z.” “Thanks, director.”  Once they were in the locker room Ava grabbed her water bottle and drank until the bottle had been drained.  She snagged a towel from her locker wiping the sweat from her brow before moving towards the center of the room where most of the rest of the team had gathered to wait for their coaches. Alex stepped next to the tall blonde, “You’re doing great out there.” Ava nodded then glanced over at her teammate, “Well, I mean you did wear them down for us.”  She gave the brunette a small smile.  It looked like she was about to say something, but Ava just shook her head.  “We’ll get the W together, as a team.” Nodding the brunette looked away as Coach Hunter walked into the room, “Alright ladies, we knew this was going to be a tough one...” ~~~ With 4 minutes left in the 4th quarter Ava passed the ball to Conners and set a pick to get the defender off the shot guard.  Unfortunately, she had forgotten about those swinging elbows and took one to the face.  Dropping to the court she heard a whistle blow.  She brought her hands to her nose feeling a sharp throbbing pain there.  Her fingers felt something wet.  “Shit.”  As she brought her hands into her sightline could see the blood.  The medical staff was on the court before she had a chance to react and she could hear Zari yelling at the girl that had struck Ava.  Getting back to her feet she held one hand to stave off the bleeding and grabbed Zari’s shoulder with the other, “Z, back off.  I’m good.”   When Zari backed off Ava turned to the medic who looked at her nose carefully, “It’s not broken.”  He handed her some gauze, “Let’s go.” As she was led to the bench, she fist-bumped her team that remained on the court, “Finish this, ladies.”  As she passed Alex, she fist-bumped her as well.  “Take ‘em down captain.”  She took a seat leaning forward so the blood could drain freely within choking her.  The medic was back with an ice pack as Alex took her place on the free throw line.  The team captain was able to sink both shot increasing their lead.  The medic handed her an ice pack wrapped in a towel. As the minutes ticked down all Ava could do is watch as her team secured the win.  She smiled as the last seconds ticked away.  Standing up she pulled the towel away to find her nose still bleeding.  A hand on her shoulder pushed her back down as the rest of her team met the opposing team center court to congratulate each other on a good game.  Looking over she saw Gideon shake her head.  “You have to get the bleeding to stop before you get up.”  With that she left to greet the other team as well. Slightly frustrated she pulled the towel away again hoping it had stopped as both teams headed to their respective locker rooms.  The medic approached again as the arena began to clear.  He took the towel from her and tipped her head back slightly.  “It’s almost stopped, go ahead and head back.”  Handing the towel and ice pack back to her Ava still felt the throb of pain, but it was starting to wane.   ~~~ As soon as she got back to the apartment Ava dropped her bag on the floor and crumbled onto the couch.  It was late, she had gone out with the team to get something to eat before heading home.  It was their first win of the year as well as the first official game of the season.  Some of the other girls had gone out after, but she still had extra classes on Wednesday and she didn’t want to risk staying out too late. The door to Amaya’s room opened and she poked her head out.  “Hey, how are you?” Ava opened her eyes and watched as her roommate walked into the livingroom, “I’m okay.  We won.” “That’s what Zari said.  She said you had to sit out the last couple of minutes of the game too.”  Amaya sat on the couch Dropping her head back into the cushion, “I got elbowed in the face.” Amaya winced, “Damn.” Ava stared at the ceiling for a moment considering starting a conversation she had known she would need to have eventually anyway. “When she was drunk, she mentioned her family Sunday Brunch.  She never said anything more than that.”  The blonde rolled her side to the side so she could look at her friend.  “I only know it’s a big deal because you keep bringing it up.” Amaya nodded, “I see.” Closing her eyes, the blonde tried to relax her tense muscles, “She told me she dropped out of school because of a ‘complicated involvement’.  I don’t know what exactly that means, but I told her to talk to her advisor to see what she needed to do to get back into school.”  Lifting her head again she looked at Amaya.  “She’s going to need support to get through it, and I plan to help as much as I can.” “...but...”  The brunette filled in the blank. She ran her hands over her face, “I don’t know how much I can help.  You know her better than I do anyway.” Amaya studied the blonde, “Of course I’ll look out for Sara.  All the Legends will.”  She paused for a moment, “She told you about Ollie?” Ava shook her head, “No, at least I don’t know that name.”’ Amaya nodded fearing maybe she had said too much.  “Sara is...complicated.” Looking at the ceiling again Ava laughed, “Yeah, I got that.”  With that she sat up and grabbed her bag hopping off the couch and heading back to her bedroom, “Good Night, Amaya.” “Good Night, Ava.” As she closed the door behind her the tall blonde tossed her bag onto her desk too tired to bother with any of it at this point.  Flopping on her bed she debated the need to change into pajamas.  It was when she decided she needed to brush her teeth that she gave in grabbed her pajamas before heading into the bathroom to brush her teeth. Her evening routine complete she opened up her phone seeing messages from both of the Sharpes, Nora, and Sara.  Sitting back on her bed she read through all the messages first.  The Sharpes were checking in to make sure she was okay since they had seen the game.  Nora had heard about it from Ray via Zari so she was checking in as well.  Sara was checking on her as well, but she also had a note that she was meeting with her adviser on Wednesday.  Quickly she sent message to the Sharpes and Nora that she was okay and headed to bed.

The Legendary Captain Lance
Today 22:17 PM
Zari said you got hurt during the game. She made it sound like you are a war hero...are you okay?
Today 22:37 PM
I'm meeting with my adviser tomorrow at 4:15p.
Today 23:43 PM
That's great! I'll have practice, and I have an evening class so I can't break away. Let me know how it goes. Oh, and don't forget to schedule your test.

She plugged it into the charger after turning the ringer off.  5am was going to sneak up on her fast, but that wasn’t uncommon with late games.  Once she turned off the light sleep came quickly.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The rest of the week had gone along fairly normally.  Ava had spent shared her time between class, basketball, and the library so, nothing really out of the ordinary.  Sara had messaged her about the meeting with her adviser, it had gone well and she was enrolled to get back into class for the winter semester.  Taking Ava’s advice, she had also scheduled to take the Medical College Admission Test for January 18th.    As she went for a morning run Ava enjoyed the brisk Saturday morning air.  No pressure for the day, nothing pressing that needed to be done for once.  They had easily won the game against Detroit the previous afternoon so spirits were high.  Gary had gotten four tickets to the football game that evening and had invited John, Ava, and Lily.  They had all decided to go and then maybe grab drinks after, of course Ava would take care of the driving for the evening.  Gary had seemed surprised at how easily she had agreed to go, but since there wasn’t a game on Sunday she decided to embrace the free time while it lasted.    Running through campus early morning always helped her find her center and she did feel more like herself than she had for the last two months.  In just over 3 weeks they would play Central City and the chance that her path could cross with her Ex was very real.  She knew she would need to cross that bridge when she got there, but really didn’t foresee it being an issue.  They hadn’t spoken since Ava had ended it.  She had come to terms with the fact that she wasn’t upset that it was over as much as it felt like she had wasted 4 years of her life with someone that would through away their relationship so easily.    The team was finally coming together as well.  The tall blonde had talked to Coach Hunter about shifting her position to Center.  The Senior class last year had taken their starting center and Judy had been doing a decent job, but Hunter had said he was considering the move before Ava brought it up since she had played that position in High School.  He had said that it still felt like it could be their weak point.  So, that would also allow her and Alex to be on the court when necessary, but also keep their opponents on their toes since they hadn’t seen them in those positions before.  All week they had been working on it and the plan was for Ava to take over on Tuesday evening against North Carolina.  That would be their first away game so, it was going to have a different feel to it anyway.    Crossing south campus, she turned up towards the library focusing on her breathing.  She stole a glance at her Garmin noting that she was on track to beat her Personal Record.  Making a decision she veered off course heading away from campus entirely.  When she had slipped out of the apartment Zari was asleep on the couch and Amaya was still in her room.  She would surprise them by picking up breakfast at the Diner on her way back.  It didn’t take her long to arrive at her destination.  Stopping outside she stopped the progress on her watch and inhaled deeply to catch her breath before entering the restaurant.    She walked into the diner and moved towards the bar and grabbed a menu off the counter.  She had just started to study the menu when she felt a hand touch her shoulder.  Jumping slightly, she spun around.  “Hey, Ava!”  Of course.    “Sara, you scared me.”  She started to wonder at what point that smirk had gone from annoying to endearing.  She looked nice, navy sweater with a deep v neckline, black jeans, and of course the leather jacket that she seemed to wear daily.  Today her hair flowed down her shoulders instead of being pulled back.  A memory of running her hands through that hair struck Ava right before she realized she had been staring.  “You’re out and about early this morning.”  She cleared her throat trying to seem nonchalant.    “Yeah.”  She gestured over her shoulder, “I’m having breakfast with my sister and her fiancée.”  Looking over Sara’s shoulder she noticed a man and woman entering the diner.  The woman had brunette hair and stood a couple inches taller than Sara, but you could definitely see similar features between the two women.  “I wanted to tell her about school before everyone else.”    Ava nodded, “That’s great Sara.”  The tall blonde started to feel a little self-conscious as she noted how they were dressed versus her running gear.  She was certain she was a mess.  “I should probably let you get back to it.”  She smiled at the short blonde as she pushed strands of her hair that had broken lose from her pony tail behind her ears.    “Would you want to join us?”  She looked hopeful.    Ava shook her head, “No, I’m a mess.  You should spend time with your sister.”    Brushing away Ava’s comment, “You look fine.  I can still spend time with her even if you are here.  Heck, she brought Ollie.”  That caught her attention.  Ava Sharpe might be oblivious when she was being hit on, but she was observant about just about everything else.    “Sorry we’re late Sara!”  The brunette woman hugged Sara before stepping back and taking note of the tall blonde's presence.    Shaking her head Sara looked at her sister, “You are right on time.”  Ava noticed her tense slightly as she hugged the man briefly.  “Good morning Oliver.”  Had she not been watching she probably would have missed it.  “Laurel, this is my friend, Ava.”    Ava noted a spark of recognition in the brunette’s eyes.  “Ava!  Sara has told us so much about you.”  She held out her hand to the tall blonde.    Taking the brunette’s hand, she gave it a firm, but not hard shake.  She remembered Sara mentioning that she worked at the DA’s office.  “It’s nice to meet you.  I apologize for my appearance, I was out for a run and just bumped into Sara.”    “Ava this is Oliver, my fiancée.”  The man stepped forward and smiled warmly at her shaking her hand.    The tall blonde nodded at him as she took his hand returning the smile.  “Oliver.”    “We should grab a booth.”  Sara moved towards a booth in the corner grabbing Ava’s hand dragging her along.  At this point Ava felt like there was no way to extract herself out of this situation without seeming rude.  Sara slid into the booth still pulling her along.  The tall blonde sat next to Sara as Laurel and Oliver sat across from them.    As soon as they were seated the waitress stopped by and dropped off menus and took their drink orders.  Settling into the seat Ava looked at the menu even though she had already decided what she was going to order.  It wasn’t necessarily an uncomfortable situation, just one she wished she had the chance to prepare for.  “Sara mentioned that you were from California.”    Ava looked up from the menu and to the brunette, “Yeah, Fresno.”  Sliding the menu away she looked to Sara wondering what all she had told her sister.  “I’m at Star City University, but I’ll bet she already mentioned that too?”    The brunette nodded, “She did.”    Ready for the attention to be shifted off of her Ava looked to Sara, “Has she told you her exciting news yet?”  The tall blonde raised her eyebrows at the shorter blonde.    Laurels’ eyes turned to her sister, “I’m not sure.  Sara?”    Ava could hear her breath in deeply before speaking, “I enrolled for Winter Semester.”    “And?”  Ava elbowed her to encourage her to continue.    Sara shot the tall blonde a look, “I scheduled to take the MCAT.”    Oliver finally spoke, “MCAT?”    Sara nodded and Ava noted again how she dodged any kind of eye contact with the man, “Medical College Admission Test, it’s what medical schools use as a part of admission.”    Laurels face erupted into a smile, “Sara, that’s fantastic!”  The brunette reached across the table and grabbed Sara’s hand.  “I’m so proud of you.  Do mom and dad know yet?”    Sara shook her head, “I wanted to tell you first.”    “You’re going to need to buckle down and really go for it this time.”  Laurel studied her sister carefully, “I know you can do it.”  She turned to her fiancée, “Isn’t that great news?”    He nodded, “Yeah, Sara that really is great.”  He leaned into the booth, “If you need anything, you know we’re happy to help.”  He slid his arm around Laurels shoulders and looked back at his menu.    Ava glanced back at Sara without being obvious.  She leaned back in the booth and turned her head so she could whisper to the shorter blonde without the couple noticing, “Are you okay?”    “Yeah.”  She nodded, “I’m good.”    The waitress came over and took all of their orders, “When is your test?”  The brunette spoke up again once the waitress was gone.    “January 18th.  Lots of time to study, but I can take it up to 3 times this year if I need to improve my score.”  Sara held onto Laurels hand.    “Where are you thinking about going to Medical School?”  The tall blonde inquired.    “I want to see where my score falls then I’ll start applying.”  The bartender seemed unsure where she would fit in, but Ava knew Sara would do well wherever she went.   The conversation about Sara's schooling continued until their food arrived.  As they ate Ava shifted the conversation to the couple before it had a chance to circle back around to her, “So, have you set a date yet?”    Laurel shook her head, “Not yet.  We’re both just so busy right now, the timing just doesn’t feel right.”  Laurel turned and looked at Oliver, “I haven’t been with the DA for very long and it didn’t seem right to take time off so quickly after starting.”    Ava nodded, “That makes sense, but you could always set a date for the future.”    Laurel shot her sister a look, “Oh, Mom is going to love her.”    Sara laughed and shifted in her seat, “I don’t know about all that.”    “You don’t think so?”  Sara shook her head.  “Why?”    Sara turned and looked at Ava, “Tell Laurel your major.”    Ava looked at the sisters a moment before she spoke, “Emergency Management, minoring in Criminal Justice.”    “Oh yeah, I see what you mean.”  Laurel raised her eyebrows.  At Ava’s confused look the brunette continued, “Mom always told us never to marry a cop.”    Ava sat up a little taller and looked at Sara confused.  Rolling her eyes at her sister Sara protested, “Laurel, we’re not...we’re just friends.”  Her eyes went back to Ava’s.    “Oh,” Laurel just looked at Sara for a moment.  “I thought...”    Ava glanced at her watch, “I need to go actually.  I’m supposed to meet up with some friends later.”  She gestured at her outfit, “And I need to get ready.”  The whole situation started to feel very uncomfortable as she dug some money out of her pocket and set it on the table.  “It was really great to meet you both.”  She turned to Sara and noticed the flush on her cheeks, “Call me later?”    The shorter blonde nodded.  “Yeah, I need to go over some stuff with you.”  She paused for half a beat, “School stuff.”    “Right.”  As she left the diner behind her the tall blonde couldn’t help, but feel a little confused by what had taken place.  What had Sara been telling her sister.  Did Laurel know they hooked up and just make an assumption?    And what was the deal with her and Oliver...Ollie...whatever the hell his name is.  As she exited the diner a thought about that entered her mind and she hoped she was wrong.  Not bothering to reset her Garmin, Ava found her stride again and ran home. ~~~    When Ava arrived home, Zari was just starting to stir on the couch.  Tossing her keys onto the counter the tall blonde tried to minimize the noise she making.  Starting the coffee pot, she set a box on the counter that contained both donuts and bagels.  She had to leave the diner in a hurry, but she still wanted to do something nice for her sleeping friends.  As soon as the box made contact with the table Zari’s head popped up, “Do I smell donuts?”    Glancing over at Zari Ava managed to refrain from rolling her eyes.  “There’s coffee brewing, but the first thing you smell is the donuts?”    She extended her hand over the back of the couch as she sat up a little taller, “Priorities, Sharpe.”  When the tall blonde didn’t move Zari frowned, “Donuts.”    Amaya’s door opened as Ava handed the box to her teammate, “There are bagels in there too.”  As Zari made a face the athlete turned her attention to her roommate.  “Good Morning. I started coffee.  I’m going to grab a shower.”  With that she backed down the hall to her bedroom to gather her cloths before hopping into the shower. ~~~    Stepping out of the shower she wrapped a towel around herself and wiped the steam off the mirror taking a deep breath.  She felt better now that she was clean, and had a moment to think.  Her thoughts running through the events of the morning.  She suspected what was going on between the bartender and Oliver.  Sara, please tell me you did not sleep with your sisters' fiancée.  Unfortunately, it made sense.  After she had mentioned complicated involvement to Amaya her roommate had made a comment about Oliver.    She considered other possible options as she dried off and got dressed, but she kept coming back to the same conclusion.  Fully dressed, but with the towel wrapped around her shoulders she exited the bathroom walked towards the idle chit chat in the livingroom.  When she appeared in the hall the talking fell silent.  As she walked into the kitchen area, she noticed both Amaya and Zari watching her.  “What?”  She ran the towel through her hair as she spoke.    Zari rested her cheek against the back of the couch, “Where were you off to so early this morning?”  Her entire face was lit up with an ornery smile.    Ava shot her a questioning look, “Saturday morning run, Z.”  Grabbing water from the refrigerator she filled a glass.  “Just like every other Saturday morning.”  Once she replaced the pitcher into the frig, she joined the duo in the livingroom.  She sat down on the love seat.  The tall blonde noticed them exchanging a look.  “What?”  She groaned trying to sink deeper into the love seat.    “You didn’t have an early morning rendezvous?”  Zari waggled her eyebrows at Ava as Amaya elbowed her.    Amaya looked at Ava over the rim of her coffee cup, “Sara sent me a text to see if you made it home.”  As Ava pinched the bridge of her nose Amaya paused, “She was asking if you were upset.”    “Okay, first off...rendezvous Z, seriously?”  Her teammate shrugged her shoulders and took a bite out of a donut.  “Secondly, no.  I ran into her at Bennett’s.  She invited me to join her, Laurel, and Oliver for breakfast.”    Zari choked on the bite of donut in her mouth, “Come again?”    Sipping her water Ava continued, “I don’t think she was expecting Oliver so when he showed up, she just kind of invited me so she didn’t feel like a 3rd wheel.”  She was oversimplifying the encounter, but it was way easier than digging to deeply into the situation.    “So, you met Laurel then?”  Ava nodded in the affirmative to her roommate.  “So, are you upset?  You don’t seem upset.”    The tall blonde shook her head then, “I’m not.”   She wasn’t sure if she was annoyed or found it endearing that Sara had messaged Amaya to check on her.  On one hand it was kind of sweet and showed that maybe she cared.  However, on the other hand why not message Ava directly.  “I left a little suddenly, but I just had some things I need to get done prior to going to the game.”  She stood up finishing off that glass of water.  “Speaking of which, I have an assignment to wrap up.”    “You’re going to the football game?”  Zari shouted down the hallway at her.    “Support Athletics, Zari!”  Ava retorted.    “It’s not even real Football!”    Ava laughed, “If you are referring to soccer, that’s soccer.  This is football.”    Needing to have the last word Zari shout one last point, “They barely even use their feet...how’s that FOOTball?” ~~~    The group had decided to meet up at Gary’s since it was the closest to the stadium.  Ava assumed that the trio was already pre-gaming as she climbed the stairs to his apartment.  His next-door neighbor was setting up a beer pong table on the shared porch.  She gave him a polite nodded as she walked past him.  “Need a hand?”    He shook his head and jerked a thumb towards the door to his apartment, “Naw, my lazy ass roomie can get out here and help if I need it.”  He then nodded towards Gary’s door, “You going to join us later?”    “I don’t think so, we’re going to the game.”  She moved to the door and knocked on the door as she spoke.    Shrugging his shoulders’ he continued to set up the table, “Well, if you change your mind there’s always room for more.”    “Thanks.”  She turned just as the door opened and Lily grabbed her arm dragging Ava into the apartment.    Once Lily had her inside, the brunette sighed heavily, “Thank God you’re here!”  She then gestured over her shoulder, “Gary is getting really into this.” Ava noted the block ‘SCU’ lettering painted on Lily’s cheek.    She tried to see what her friend was trying to show her, “What do you mean?”  It was then that Gary appeared in the room.  He was topless and mostly covered in red body paint.    “Ava!”  He practically ran into her.  “If you and John will let me paint you too the we can ‘SCU’!”  He was smiling from ear to ear.  “You could be the S, I’ll be the C and John could be the U!”    She held up her hands to prevent him from getting any closer to her with the paint.  “No, no... it’s way too cold for that Gary.”    Lily shot her tall friend a surprised look, “Really Ava, that’s your objection?  The cold?”    The tall blonde simply nodded her head, “Well, yeah.  I have a sports bra.  By the time you get the body paint on you may as well have a shirt on.”    A shirtless John Constantine came out of the backroom Ava knew to be Gary’s bedroom.  He had an unlit cigarette hanging out of his mouth.  “Aye, Sharpie.”  He looked to Gary and grinned, “You missed a spot on your back, love.”  As Gary tried to look at his back John held out his hand for the paint.  Once Gary handed over the paint John looked to the tall blonde and gestured towards the paint in his hand, “He talk you into this?”    “Nope, it’s November in Star City and I’m from California.”  She thought about it for a moment as she looked at Gary’s disappointed expression.  “I will go for some face paint.”  She shot Gary a warm smile.  She moved into the livingroom.  “So, what’s the plan for tonight?  I was just invited to the neighbor's party.”    John shook his head, “Nope, we’re going to Time Masters after.  If I have to endure all of this school spirit, I’m going to need some spirits to look forward too.”    Lily nodded, “Okay, so we go to the game...then come back here to get Gary’s car.  Ava you drive us to Time Masters and we finish out the evening there.”  She looked around the small apartment.  So, Aves, will you be driving everyone home or are we crashing here?”    Ava looked to Gary, “If you don’t mind being without your car, I can take everyone home and then just bring your car back tomorrow sometime?”    “Yeah.”  Gary nodded as John applied more of the pain on his back.    Ava followed Lily into the kitchen the brunette grabbed a beer out of the frig.  Tilting her head, she held the drink towards Ava.  Ava shook her head, declining the beverage.  “Are you going all straight edge on us tonight?”    She leaned against the counter and watched the brunette as she cracked the beer open.  “I’m just not feeling it today.  You guys cut loose and I’ll keep an eye on you.”    Lily took a drink from the bottle.  “Will you be here or home for your birthday?”    “I’ll be here.  We actually have a couple of games in Cali the weekend before Thanksgiving.  So, I may just stay here instead of going home at all.”  She looked over her shoulder into the livingroom where Gary had started to cover Johns' chest in the red paint.    Lily laughed, “I’m not sure your mom will go for that.”  She took another drink and watched her friend closely.  “If you do wind up staying, I’m sure you can have dinner with us.  You know my dad likes you.”    “I do.  We’ll see how it goes, but I just might take you up on that.”  She brushed her hand through her hair.  “Even if it doesn’t work out, I appreciate the offer.”    “Now, more importantly we need to plan your 21st.  It’s like 3 weeks away, right?”  The tall blonde nodded.  “I know it’s on a Monday, but we should still go out.  When do you have games that week?”    “Sunday at Central City and the next game isn’t until the following Sunday.”  She tucked her hands into the pockets of her hoodie.    Lily’s brow furrowed, “Central City, the day before your birthday?”  Ava nodded.  “You don’t think...”    “No.”  Ava shifted uneasily, “I really don’t think Leah gives a shit.  At this point she’d be what 3 - 4 months along.  I’d think she has bigger things on her mind.”    Lily hummed in agreement as she took another drink, “You sure you don’t want a beer?”    “Absolutely sure.”  Standing up she pulled out her phone and looked at the weather app.  It had been unseasonably warm lately and she was sure that the temperature would drop out today.  With a High of 77 and a low of 66 she made a decision.  “Gary!”  She said his name as she walked into the livingroom mostly to announce her presence so she wouldn’t walk into something she didn’t want to.    When she walked into the room her friend was just breaking away from the blonde man.  It was clear that they had been kissing.  “Hey Aves.”      She took off her hoodie and tee shirt, “Let’s do it.”  She held her hand out for the paint. ~~~    The football game had been a lot of fun John, Ava, and Gary had wound up on the scoreboard more than once.  She suspected that maybe since the game was televised, there was a good chance they had been on tv as well.  As they walked away from the stadium all four of them had been laughing loudly.  Ava was happy to just let everything go for the evening.  The Bulldogs had soundly defeated their opponent so the entire campus was in a celebratory mood.    As they approached Gary’s apartment, they could see that the neighbor's party had overtaken the entire yard.  Ava lead her somewhat intoxicated friends through the crowd and ushered them into the apartment.  “Did you guys still want to go out?”    John nodded vigorously, “Absolutely, but first a shower.”  He smirked at Gary and pushed him towards the bedroom, “I need to get this red paint off.”  As they entered the bedroom John glanced over his shoulder, “We’ll just be a minute and then if you want to take a turn, you’re more than welcome, Sharpie.”    Lily wandered back into the kitchen, “What are you going to wear?”  Ava looked at her hoodie realizing that it was covered in red paint.  She grabbed a bottle of something out of the cabinet.  “I mean we could run back to your place...”    Ava shook her head, “No, that seems like a potential waste of time.”  She grabbed the tee shirt she had worn to the apartment, but left behind when they had gone to the game.  “I guess this’ll have to do.”    Lily sipped her beer, “I still can’t believe you actually did that.”  She gestured up and down towards the tall blondes’ torso.  “It’s been a long time since you really cut loose.    Ava nodded in agreement, “I know.  I guess I just wanted to get out of my head for a minute and scream for a game that didn’t matter for me.  Just enjoy being in the student section unconcerned about the game itself.  Does that make any sense?”    Laughing Lily shook her head, “Absolutely not!”    Ava shoved her shoulder, “Shut up.”  After a few minutes John and Gary walked into the kitchen looking fresh and clean.  Ava looked at John and groaned slightly.  He shot her a questioning look, “John, if you are going to wear the shirt and tie...could you just do up another button or two and tighten up that tie?  At least until we’re at the bar for a while.”    John looked down at his shirt and shook his head as he wrapped an arm around Gary’s shoulders.  “Sod off Sharpie, this is my look.”    The tall blonde shook her head, “I’m telling you, it would look so much better.”    He looked at Gary then back at Ava.  He gestured to her tee shirt, “Tell you what, you wear the shirt and tie properly to the bar.”  John gestured to Gary.  “You are roughly the same size.”  Ava picked up on the challenge in his tone.    The tall blonde suspected he was just pushing her buttons, but her competitiveness kicked in and she grabbed Gary’s hand pulling him away from John.  “Oh, it’s on Constantine.” ~~~    As she parked at Time Masters Ava glanced in the rearview mirror, “Alright, break it up you two.”  Getting out of the SUV she quickly adjusted the sleeves of the shirt as she rolled them up.  She took a good look in the side mirror to adjust the red tie and make check her hair to see that it hadn’t gotten completely fizzed out.  Fortunately, it had dried in soft waves and she pulled it over her right shoulder.    Lily came up on her left and smiled, “Look at you primping.”    Standing upright the tall blonde shot a look at the brunette, “I’m not primping.”  She wrinkled her nose, “Okay, maybe I am, but it’s just because I want to prove a point to Constantine.”    “Sure, Aves.”  The brunette pushed her playfully.    When Ava heard the rear doors close behind her, she locked the car and started towards the bar.  “Sharpie, you realize with your hair down you have an unfair advantage.”    She turned her head towards him a small smile creeping across her face, “Did you just say my hair is better than yours?”  John started to protest, “Because I feel like that’s what I just heard.”    “Bollocks.  Just get inside the bloody bar, Ava.”  He pushed her forward slightly.    She laughed again, “Did you just call me, Ava?  Oh John, this competition is already over.”    As they entered Time Masters, Constantine slung his free arm over Ava’s shoulders and leaned in close, “There never was a competition, pet.”   He grinned at her mischievously.  The tall blonde hesitated as he walked past her to the bar to order the first round of drinks.  “What are you drinking, Sharpie?!”  His voice was much louder this time when he spoke.

Even before she looked up Ava knew exactly who would be standing at the bar serving drinks that night.

And as soon as her eyes met icy blue the tall blonde knew Constantine had set up somehow.  Somehow he knew how affected she was by the bartender.  What she couldn't figure out was the why.  Why would John Constantine care about her?  Or was it Sara he was trying to look out for.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ava ran her hand down the perfect Windsor knot she had formed less than an hour before.  ” Just a coke is fine.”  She moved up to the bar taking in the low-cut black shirt Sara was wearing.  “Hey Sara.”   The shorter blonde shot her that trademark smirk.  “So, this is a new look on you.”  She grabbed a glass from behind the counter filled it with ice then added the soda and set it on the counter pushing it towards the athlete.  Sara’s attention moved to the trio that had entered with her.  “But not on you.”  The bartenders’ eyes turned to Constantine as she spoke.  “Ava, are you twinning with John?”   Ava scoffed and shook her head, “Not at all.  I simply suggested that he should try to properly wear the shirt and tie.  Instead he suggested I wear it to prove it was a better look.  So, here we are.”   Sara nodded then reached over sliding Ava’s tie between her thumb and index finger quirking an eyebrow.  “Sorry John, the girl has a point.”  Ava swallowed as she followed Sara’s eyes up the tie pausing on her lips then continuing until their eyes met.  “I have to say she has my vote.”  She released the tie and broke their eye contact, “What will the rest of you be drinking tonight?”   Shaking his head, John pulled out his wallet and handed Sara his credit card, “Go ahead and open a tab, love.”  He took a quick glance over the rest of the bar pulling Gary close and kissing the top of his head.  “Tonight, we’re celebrating some sports victory...apparently.”  Smiling he shrugged the shoulder not leaning against Gary, “Seems as good a reason as any to drink.”   Turning to the register the bartender slid the card into the register after saving the transaction she started, “You got it John.”  Once the first round was served Sara turned her attention back to Ava, “You’re driving again tonight, I’m assuming.”   John turned and raised his glass to Ava, “To the Designated Driver!  Cheers!”   Lily raised her glass and smiled, “Here, here!”   “Thank you, Director!”  Gary chimed in.   Ignoring the slight flush to her face Ava held up her soda, “We’re going to have a great night.”  She looked over at Sara after taking a sip of her drink with her friends.   “Alright then, where is everyone?”  John directed his question to the bartender.   Sara shrugged her shoulders, “Winning home night game...most people are on campus drinking or passed out, not at the bars.”  Ava watched as she looked at the sparsely populated bar.  “It got pretty quiet once the game was over.”  She gestured to the tv’s above the bar, “I did see you guys.”   The taller blonde didn’t miss the pointed look she received, but it was Gary who spoke up first, “Oh!  We made it on tv?!”  He was practically bouncing.  His smile was so large it practically split his face in half.  “I knew it!  I knew the cameras couldn’t pass us up!”   After a few minutes of idle chatter John, Gary, and Lily took their drinks deeper into the bar to find a table, but Ava paused by the bar.  She watched as Sara moved behind the bar collecting and cleaning glasses.  “How late are you working?  You were supposed to call me...about school.”   The short blonde looked up at Ava through her lashes as she continued to wash a couple glasses. “I got distracted and lost track of time.  I’m closing tonight.”   The taller blonde nodded acknowledging her response.  She then took a seat at the bar.  After a few seconds, she spoke up again, “I printed off the study guide for the MCAT...there’s a practice test.  I thought we could start with that and see where we should focus your studying.”   Sara laughed lightly as she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, “I can’t believe you are real.”   Ava’s brow furrowed slightly at the comment, “Of course I am.  I was gathering some research materials for finals and I came across the file so, I just thought I might as well go ahead and print it off for you.”  The tall blonde started to feel a little self-conscious, “I hope I didn’t overstep.  I was just thinking it’d be a great way to see where your strengths and weaknesses might lie.”   “You’re right, it was very thoughtful of you.”  The bartender cleaned the last glass in front of her.  “I didn’t really want to talk to you about school though.”   “No?”  Ava shifted on the barstool, “Maybe you wanted to see if I was upset this morning?”   Sara’s face crunched up, “Amaya told you about the text.”  The tall blonde nodded, “I probably should have just messaged you directly, but I wasn’t sure how to ask.”   “Well, maybe instead of sending the message to my roommate you just send it to me instead?  The exact same question.”  The tall blonde raised her eyebrows as though to emphasize her point.   The shorter blonde nodded conceding, “That’s fair.”  She stacked the clean glasses and looked around the bar area to make sure there weren’t any patrons waiting to order drinks.  “I did want to thank you for staying and having breakfast with us.”   Ava leaned forward onto the bar, “Your sister seems really nice.”   Sara nodded in agreement, “She really is.”   A little afraid to push Sara too far, the tall blonde bit the inside of her lip as she considered questioning the bartender.  Throwing caution to the wind she spoke up.  “Sara, what’s the deal with Oliver?”   Her eyes shot up instantly meeting with Ava’s.  “What do you mean?”   Sitting her hands on the bar top Ava noted the tension that had gathered in the bartenders’ shoulders.  “Well, you just seemed really tense around him.  Kind of like you are right now.”  When their eyes met Ava noted how soft and vulnerable the bartender seemed for the first time ever, at least since Ava had met her.  Backpedaling the tall blonde held up her hands in surrender, “It’s really none of my business so, you don’t need to tell me anything you don’t want to.  I just wanted to be sure you are okay.”   The bartender dropped her eyes to the sink in front of her for a moment seeming to be pulling herself back together.  “Is that why you asked if I was okay at the diner?”   Shrugging Ava nodded, “I noticed you couldn’t meet his eyes and as I mentioned before you seemed very tense.  It just felt really out of character for you so, yes, I wanted to make sure you were okay.”  She looked at her hands on the bar top.  When she looked back up, she noted that the cocky smirk had returned to Sara’s face, but Ava could still see some of the vulnerability remaining in her eyes.  And that was the moment she started to realize that Sara’s smirk was like Ava’s ‘agent mode’.  It was the armor she used to keep people from getting too close.   The smirk still firmly in place Sara nodded, “Aw, I didn’t realize you cared so much.”     Shaking her head Ava sat upright and withdrew her hands from the bar top, “Don’t do that.”  Feeling a little exasperated with the smaller blonde, Ava decided to call her on it.  “You know I care.  That’s why you asked me to join you for breakfast this morning.”   Taking a deep breath Sara looked to the opposite end of the bar and Ava assumed she was looking for a customer to save her.  “Look, what are you doing tomorrow night?”   Standing up Ava looked toward the table where John, Lily, and Gary had sat down.  “I haven’t made any plans yet.”   Sara nodded as she followed Ava’s eyes over to the table, “Let’s get something to eat, dinner maybe?  We can talk more.  I just don’t want to get into it here.”   The taller blonde nodded, “That’d be nice.”  She couldn’t stop the smile from forming, “Have you been to The Olive Branch?”  Sara shook her head, “It’s close to my place.  It’s coffee and Woodfired Pizza.”   Sara laughed, “That’s an interesting combination.”   Shrugging, the athlete smiled. “You’ve never wanted a Macchiato with a Pepperoni pizza?”   “I can’t say that I have.”  Ava saw the tension leaving the bartender again, but she could tell she was still guarded.  “I’ll give it a try...I’ll meet you there at 6?”   Picking up her soda the tall blonde nodded before moving to the table her friends were seated at.  She had somehow managed to refrain from saying ‘it’s a date’, because she knew it wasn’t.  Taking the empty chair across from John, so that she was facing the bar.  She sat drink down on the table.  “So, what are we talking about?”   Gary grinned, “Well, we were talking about you.”   “Me?”  She looked around the table, “What about me?”   “Gary!”  Lily shot him a look, “What the hell?!”  It was clear she kicked him under the table.   “Ow!”  Gary grabbed his shin and looked at the brunette woman the hurt clear on his face.  “What’d you do that for?”   Lily forced a smile, “Just that we think maybe you’re ready to start dating again.”  She studied her friends’ expression trying to get a feel for her reaction.  “It’s just that we can tell that you’ve been trying to stay busy to distract yourself, but it was fun to see you cut loose today.  I haven’t seen you smile as much as you did at the game since...well, since Leah.”   “Ugh, we are not discussing this.  Especially when the three of you are drunk.”  She pushed her chair away from the table slightly, “I will say this though.  I am over the girl, but I’m not ready to go looking.  Especially not now.”   Sipping her beer Lily continued, “You think you are busy all the time during basketball season, but you aren’t.  You still made time to travel to Central City like every weekend for the last 2 years.”   “Lily, you aren’t listening to me.  I’ll date when I’m ready.”  Almost as if it were as natural as breathing her eyes darted up at the bartender over John’s shoulder.  The tall blonde took a drink of her soda to try and hide her actions, but the gleam in Johns eye told her that he saw it.   John tapped the table with his fist drawing Lily’s attention to him, “Cut her some slack, darlin.”  He looked to Ava half a smile on his face, “Grab us another round and I’ll straighten these two out, eh?”   Nodding the athlete walked up to the bar and waited as Sara finished serving another patron.  As soon as she had the shorter blonde's attention she leaned forward, unconsciously needing to be in her space.  “Another round for the table.”   “You got it.”  As she grabbed a beer for Lily the shorter blonde glanced at her over her shoulder, “Did you need topped off?”  Ava shook her head.  Sara continued by pouring John’s whiskey.  “And last but not least...Gary’s amaretto and diet.”  Sara slid the drinks over to Ava, “Do you need a hand?”   “No, I can manage.”  She carried the drinks back to the table and passed them out.  True to his word as soon as she sat down, they were discussing Thanksgiving break activities.   By the time Sara had yelled for last call her table companions were well ‘lubricated’.  She had a feeling getting all 3 to the car would be a little bit like herding cats.  The tall blonde finished her soda and looked around the table, “Are you guys ready to call it a night?”   Lily leaned back in her seat and grinned seemingly at the ceiling.  “Aves, I need waffles.”   “Oh my God, can we get waffles?”  Gary sat up immediately and looked around the nearly empty bar.   Sighing Ava stood and made her way to the bar to settle up for John who had his head buried in Gary’s neck.  She waited near the register as the bartender finished cashing out a smiling couple that made their way to the door wrapped up in each other.  Ava watched them go as she waited for Sara to realize she was waiting.  After a few minutes of watching the short blonde flirt with a patron sitting at the bar Ava cleared her throat to try and get Sara’s attention.  “Oh, hey Ava.  Closing out Johns tab?”  The tall blonde simply nodded and looked back at the table where her friends were giggling about something.  Sara laughed as the register printed a receipt.  “Are you wrangling all of them by yourself?”   “Yes.  Of course, it’s not the first time, although John used to be Nora.”  Ava furrowed her brow in thought, “He’s either going to be way easier since Gary is involved OR worse for the exact same reason.”   Putting John’s card and receipt on the bar top Sara shook her head, “My money is on worse.”  The bartender paused a moment, “If you wait a bit, I can get things presentable for the morning shift and help.”   Ava shook her head, “I feel like that means you are going to half ass your job.  I couldn’t allow that on my account.”  She grabbed the receipt and card off the counter sliding it into her own pocket knowing that in his current state John might lose it.  She took half a step backwards, away from the bar.  “I’ll see you tomorrow.”   Sara nodded, “Absolutely.  You have my number if you decide you want help tonight...”  She paused and raised an eyebrow.  “With them, of course.”  She gestured towards John, Gary, and Lily.   “Of course.”  Shaking her head Ava fully turned and walked back to her friends.  “Alright, let’s get you all home.”   “No, waffles Aves!  PLEASE!”  Lily’s voice was about two octaves higher than it normal was.   Sighing she pulled Lily out of the chair and allowed the brunette to lean onto her side.  “Fine, Bennett's will still be open and it’ll probably be beneficial to get something in all your stomachs to soak up some of the alcohol.” ~~~   After getting food into her trio of friends Ava had dropped off John and Gary first.  She made sure to get them into the apartment and secured the door behind her so they were safely inside.  Once she got back out to the SUV, she noticed Lily had passed out in the passenger's seat.  As Ava started the vehicle again the brunette began to stir.  “Thanks for breakfast Aves, you’re the best.”   Before she was able to shift the truck into drive, she felt Lily’s head rest on her shoulder.  “No problem, hopefully it’ll actually help your hang over in the morning.”   The brunette sighed, “Not likely.”   As she shifted the car into drive, she eased it out onto the road to make her way to Lily’s apartment.  “Are you going to fall asleep on me?”   A small yawn escaped from the brunette, “I’m awake.”  There was a moment of silence before she spoke up again.  “I’m glad you’re okay.”  It wasn’t more than 30 seconds later Ava heard Lily snoring softly into the tall blondes’ shoulder.   “Me too.”  Ava smiled knowing it was true. ~~~   Grunting as she rolled over Ava reached out to grab her phone.  Thinking she wondered if she had set an alarm, but soon realized it was her ring tone and not her alarm.  Yawning she answered without even looking to see who was calling or what time it was.  “Hello?”   “Are you still in bed?”  She recognized Daniel Sharpe’s voice right away.  “Better not let the Captain find out.”  He tone was light and she swore she heard a laugh in there too.   She pulled the blanket over her head, “I had a long night, what time is it?”   “Well, it’s 0800 here so I’m thinking 9 there?”  She grunted in response, that meant she had been in bed all of 4 hours.  She really needed to get a grip on her weekends.  “I saw you on the tv last night, sis.”   She froze, “No, you didn’t.”   “Oh, but I did.”  He chuckled.   “You don’t even watch SCU football.”  She sat up pushing the blanket aside.   “You’re right, I don’t.  I do however watch SportsCenter and the highlights.”  She waited thinking that maybe he was just messing with her, “Think about it...would I call to let you know *IF* I hadn’t seen it?  How else would I know you covered yourself in body paint and wore the “S”.”  He laughed, “I’ll just assume it was for Sharpe.”   Getting out of bed she realized she was still fully dressed aside from the tie that now hung on the back of the chair next to her desk.  She remembered having to practically carry Lily into her apartment before making her way home.  “Did you really just call to harass me about this?”   “Well, I mean I could have, but no.”  His tone got slightly more serious, “I’m going to ask Ashley to marry me.”   “What?!  That’s great Danny!”  Ava could feel her excitement for her brother bubbling over.  “It’s about time.”  They had been dating for 6 years and the whole family had been waiting for him to pop the question.  They all knew it really was just a matter of time.   “Yeah, I know.”  She noticed a complete change in his demeanor.   She allowed concern to bleed into her tone, “So, what’s wrong?  There’s something bothering you.”   “It’s not really a bother, per se.   I’m being deployed to Afghanistan.”  There was a pause and Ava sat back down onto her bed while she still had the ability to do so.  “That’s why I’m hoping to get married fairly quickly.”  He cleared his throat, “If something happens, I want to make sure Ashley is contacted right away.”   Sitting on the edge of her bed Ava hummed in agreement, “I can see that.”  She ran a hand through her hair thinking about the ramifications.  “Have you told mom and dad?”   “About being deployed?  Dad probably knew before I did.”  She could hear the smile in his tone.  “The potential engagement?  No.  I want them to be surprised too.”   “But you’re calling me, at 9 o’clock in the morning, on a Sunday.”  She laid back on her bed again to stare up at the ceiling.   “I am.”  There was a lilt to his tone.  “I wanted to be sure you would be okay if I proposed at your game on Sunday.  I want you and Carly to be there.  I want the whole family present.”  There was a pause before he continued.  “Ideally maybe even Leah?”   Ava couldn’t prevent the groan from leaving her throat, she couldn’t believe she really hadn’t really talked to her brother in months.  “No issue with the game proposal, but maybe do it somewhere nicer, Danny?  Set up a dinner or something after the game?”   “You’ll be headed to get on a plane after the game Aves.”  She knew he didn’t miss the groan in her voice, but was thankful when he didn’t bring it up.   “Saturday night then?  Dinner...you have just under 2 weeks.  Make it special.  Ashley at least deserves dinner for putting up with you.”  She rubbed her hand over her face, “And I broke it off with Leah.”   “Oh, Aves, I’m so sorry.”  She picked up on the concern in his voice.   She took a breath, “Don’t be.  I’m fine.  Turns out she’s pregnant.”   “Um...”  His voice trailed off.  “I’m...not really sure how to respond to that.”   She laughed, “Neither was I.”  There was a short silence between them.  “Did you get a ring?”   “Of course, I’ll send you a picture.”  He was quiet again.  “So, it seems like I have some planning to do.  Now, not only do I have to plan a trip to California, but also a proposal.”   She laughed at his tone.  “I know you don’t like me now, but you’ll thank me later.  Trust me when I say she will appreciate the fact that you didn’t just drop on one knee in the middle of an arena.”  Sitting up again Ava looked at the floor, “I’ll let you go, but I’m glad I’ll get to see you in a couple weeks.  It’s been too long.”   “It really has.  Bye Ava.”  He hung up and Ava tossed her phone on the bed beside her.   She looked at the phone and thought about all of the changes that were happening in such a short amount of time.  This time last year she knew exactly where she was headed and whom she wanted to be with.  Now she had options to weight out and decisions to make again. ~~~   After having spent most of the day just relaxing at the apartment and studying for maybe an hour or so. Ava started walking to the restaurant even though she knew she would be 20 minutes early.  She just couldn’t kill any more time lounging around the apartment.  As the brisk fall air hit her face, the tall blonde took a deep breath smiling as she walked with a steady pace.  After she showered, she dressed in her everyday jeans and the blue button up she had worn when she first met the bartender.  She had pulled her hair back into a quick messy bun not really overly concerned about her appearance.  This is not a date.   As she entered the restaurant Ava smiled and approached the counter to greet the woman at the register.  “Hey Julia, can I get a small flat white?”   The woman behind the register nodded and keyed in the order.  “Absolutely.  Not eating today, Ava?”  Ava didn’t stop in everyday, but it was close enough to the apartment to be convenient for frequent stops.   “Not yet.  I’m meeting a friend.”  Julia was about the same age as Ava and seemed to always be there when Ava stopped in for breakfast, but not normally when she stopped by in the evening.  She watched as the brunette started making her drink.  “Late shift tonight?”   The woman wrinkled her nose as she messed with the espresso machine.  “Yeah, there was a call off so I volunteered to stay over and help out.”  Changing the subject, the barista nodded towards Ava, “No books, I take it this isn’t a study session?”   The tall blonde shook her head, “No.  Not today.”   Julia slid the drink across the counter, “A date?”   “No, just meeting a friend for dinner.”  Ava felt her face flush involuntarily.   As the athlete started to dig out her wallet the barista waved her away, “I’ll just start an order for you since you are eating later.  Go, sit, wait for your friend.”   “Thanks.”  Taking her espresso Ava grabbed a booth near the front of the shop so she could look out the window and wait for Sara.  It was maybe 5 minutes before she saw the bartender approaching.  She was wearing an olive green long sleeved under shirt with a low-cut black v neck tee shirt over it.  Paired with jeans that Ava swore hugged every curve.  Her hair was down and Ava couldn’t help but notice the way it moved as she walked across the street towards the store front.   Focusing her mind, Ava took a sip from her drink as the shorter blonde entered the restaurant and smiled at her.  “Hey Ava!”   She noticed the way Sara said her name, it seemed to be a bit softer than her normal speaking voice, but the tall blonde dismissed it immediately.  She stood up and walked over to Sara abandoning her booth for the moment.  “Sara.”  She nodded to the bartender.  “I just grabbed something to drink while I was waiting.”  She gestured to the menu board trying her best not to be awkward.  “We can get something to eat if you want?”   Ava watched as the shorter blonde looked at the menu for a moment, “Maybe just a cappuccino for now?”   The brunette behind the counter spoke up, “Small or large?”   Sara turned to looked at the woman, “Large, please.”   Ava spoke up, “Add it to mine, Julia?”   The woman behind the countertop nodded as she focused on making the drink.  “You’re on a first name basis here?”   Ava noticed the slightly raised eyebrow, “It’s really close to the apartment...and the coffee is good.”  The tall blonde gestured to the menu board, “You may want to come back for breakfast sometime.  They have a sandwich served on a donut...I hear that’s kind of your thing.”   The athlete noticed as the shorter blonde laughed lightly and moved her hair off her shoulders, “One time, Sharpe.  Not to mention I had Zari peer pressure.”  She seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, “Unless you are suggesting we have breakfast...”  She trailed off with a smirk on her face.   Shaking her head Ava grabbed the cappuccino from the barista as she sat it on the counter.  “Come on.”  She moved back to the booth and her espresso.  She sat Sara’s drink on the table as she moved back into her seat and took a sip of her own drink.  As Sara sat across from her Ava wondered for a moment how to get conversation going with the blonde without getting caught up in blatant, constant flirting.   “How much trouble did the 3 musketeers give you last night?”  Sara smirked at her, “I haven’t seen John THAT drunk in a long time.  He must have needed to block all of the peppiness from participating in school spirit.”   Ava shrugged her shoulders, “They weren’t that bad.  The trick to being a good designated driver is loading them up with carbs as soon as possible.  Waffles or pancakes work best.”  Sara gave her a look that asked her to continue.  “It soaks up some of the alcohol and tends to help make them even more tired.”  The athlete sipped her drink, “A stop at Bennett's on the way back and we were good to go.”   Sara nodded and the tall blonde could see that she was following her train of thought.  “Not bad.  Did you also give them water and ibuprofen?”   Ava shook her head, “Water, yes at Bennett’s, but once you are home and tucked in it’s your responsibility to get your own medicine.  I’m sure at least Lily and Gary had a rough morning.  I don’t know John well enough to draw any conclusions there.”   “He probably spent the morning taking care of Gary.  John has a high tolerance.” Ava noticed Sara fidgeting with her mug.  Is she nervous?  Sighing Sara leaned back in the booth, “Laurel asked about you at brunch this morning.”   Caught off guard Ava just watched Sara for a moment waiting for the smirk to appear, “Me?  Why?”  Thinking back on their conversation at breakfast yesterday Ava tried to piece together why she would be a part of any kind of family discussion that morning.  She groaned and pinched her nose, “It’s not because I bailed out like I did, is it?  I just needed to get out of there.  I had been running all morning and I was sweaty and...”   Sara cut off her rambling, “Whoa, no.  It wasn’t that at all.”  She spun the mug around again studying its contents.  “She wanted to know if you would be joining us for brunch at any point.”   When Sara looked up and their eyes met Ava could tell that it was significant that Laurel had asked.  “Is that normal?  That one of you friends would come?  I mean, I like your sister.  If you wanted me to go I would.”   “I don’t know, maybe.”  Sara cleared her throat and dropped her gaze from the tall blonde.  “It’s usually Mom, Dad, Laurel, Oliver, and myself.”  There was a pause before she continued to talk, “I just thought I might mention it...see if maybe you would be interested.  I know we don’t really know each other that well, but I just find it easy to talk and just be around you.”   The tall blonde, “Yeah, I get that.  Maybe, if you wanted me to come with you.  It’ll be rough to find time now though.  I have games the 4 weeks.”   Sara nodded, “After that?”   Ava licked her bottom lip thinking about her schedule.   “Finals.”   A small sigh escaped from the bartender, “I get it.  It’s fine.”   “Sara.”  The other girls name came out like a sigh, “I’m not saying no.  I mean, a girl’s gotta eat, right?”   A small smile appeared on her face, “Yeah?”   Nodding the tall blonde knew she wouldn’t deny the bartender.  “Of course.  Although I think you should maybe fill me in the meantime so I can refrain from acting like an idiot around your family.”  She had a sudden realization as they sat there, “Oh my God, Sara.  Did you tell your mom and dad about school?  How did they take it?”   The smile spread across the other womans’ features, “I told them.  They are ecstatic.”  Ava couldn’t help, but smile back at her.  “That’s actually when Laurel mentioned you and my Mom asked when she would get to meet you.”   Slightly confused Ava shook her head, “What does you going to back school have to do with me.  That’s your accomplishment.  All you, Sara.”   The shorter blonde shook her head, “I wouldn’t have, if you hadn’t suggested it.”   “Well, I don’t know about that, but I’m glad you did.”  The caffeine had begun to really kick in as she watched Sara’s demeanor change slightly.  Furrowing her brow, Ava decided to press the bartender for answers.  “What’s wrong?”   “Oliver.”  Ava took a deep breath fearing that her hunch was about to be confirmed.  “My grades had already started to slip after I slept with Oliver, but when they got back together it got so much worse.”  Sara winced as the words left her mouth.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Taking a deep breath Ava nodded, “I can only imagine.”  She did her best to hide the majority of the shock from her face knowing Sara didn’t need judgement right now.  The tall blonde felt that what she needed was support.  “Does Laurel know?”   The bartender shook her head, “No.  Oliver and I agreed not to tell her.”   Of course, Ava had to be right.  Normally she would have been happy she was able to figure something like that out, but the hurt she knew the situation had to be causing made her heart ache.  “Do you want to tell her?  You guys seem so close, I can’t imagine keeping a secret like this from her.”   “I don’t know.”  Ava watched as Sara ran her hands over her face and sighed.  “I’m afraid that it’ll hurt her more if she knows.  They are engaged...”  Ava listened as Sara’s voice trailed off.   Ava leaned back studying the shorter blonde, “Would you want to know?”  When she didn’t answer the athlete exhaled slowly.  “If they weren’t together at the time, you didn’t do anything wrong Sara.  But by hiding it from her it’s almost like you are saying that you did do something wrong.”  She paused before continuing, “If you are feeling guilty that’s likely the cause of your grades suffering, and if that’s the case then it may still affect you unless you do something about it.”  She shrugged her shoulders, “It’s not really my place to say, but think about it.  I think if she finds out from anyone other than you it will hurt her.”   Nodding in the affirmative Sara started to fidget with her mug, “I’ll definitely think about it.  I guess I’m just afraid she’ll start to see me differently too. The same fuck up my parents already do.”   “Sara, stop.”  The tall blonde wondered how this was the same confident woman that had flirted with her almost constantly.  “You are not a fuck up, and I’m starting to think you that are the only one who thinks you are.  I’m sure you’ve made some questionable choices in your life, but we all have.”  She tapped the mug in front of her, “Hell I wasted 4 years on a cheater.”  She thought for a moment, “No, I take that back...I wasted 2 years.  And to be completely honest, I still don’t regret it.”   The bartender looked at her with questioning eyes, “You don’t?”   Ava shook her head.  “I do wish it ended differently, but if I didn’t go through all of that then I might not have met you...”  The tall blonde paused, “and the other Legends.  Or I might have, but the situation would have been completely different and who knows how that could have turned out.”  She gave Sara a warm smile.   Sara seemed to be lost in thought for a brief moment as though conducting an internal debate.  When she spoke up again Ava could clearly see a guarded look to her expression.  “And what if I told you I slept with Alex?  Would you still want to be my friend?”  Ava studied the look the bartender gave her after she spoke, it was almost as if Sara wanted to get a rise out of her.  *WANTED* Ava to think less of her.   “Honestly, I thought maybe you had.”  The taller blonde looked at her mug in order break eye contact for a moment.  “Between the way you both acted at the park, coming out of the alley that night, and how she acted after the exhibition game the day after she saw us talking it’s not a difficult conclusion to come to.”  She was able to successfully hide the disappointment in her tone.   Sara’s face shot up, “What did she do?”  Ava could definitely read concern in her eyes.   Waving the question away Ava tried to dispel Sara’s concern, “It doesn’t matter. We got everything settled.”  As she spun the mug in her hands again, she gestured to the menu board, “Are you hungry?  Everything I’ve ever tried here has been really good.”  She needed the subject change to sort out her thoughts with the new revelations.   The shorter blonde shook her head, “No, I might have overdone it at brunch.”   After a few quiet minutes Ava decided that the best way to change the subject was to shift back to school, something a little more neutral.  The tall blonde cleared her throat, “So, I know it’s over 2 months away, but what is your plan for the test?  Did you want to get together to study on any specific day?”  When the shorter blonde just shrugged Ava knew she may need to push her a little.  “Well then, what does a typical work week look like for you?”   The shorter blonde shrugged her shoulders again, “It varies, although I usually work evenings when I am on the schedule.”  Ava noticed how the bartender seemed a little broken, her confidence shaken.   “Okay, so what do you think about taking the practice test Friday afternoon?  I arranged my schedule so I don’t have any classes on Fridays this semester.”  She pulled out her phone pulling up her calendar.  “I have a project I need to wrap up...we could meet at the library around 11a?”   Sara nodded in the affirmative, “That could work, I don’t have to be at Time Masters until 7.”   “That sounds perfect.”  Ava tapped the information into her phone.  “That should give you just enough time to get the test done.  Then we can figure out what you need to focus on later.  I’ll be there earlier to wrap up my project.”  Still studying the calendar in her phone, Ava didn’t look up before speaking again, “I’ll have to head out around 3 since I have practice in the afternoon.”  Finally looking up from her phone Ava could sense the concern lingering in Sara’s eyes.   The bartender shifted in her seat, “Are you sure you have time for this?  I’m sure I can get Amaya or one of the Legends to help.”   The taller blonde smiled, “I’ve got time.”  She paused, “Although it might not be a bad idea to get some other people working with you too.”  She thought for a moment, “Is there anyone that you shared classes with you could still work with?”   “Maybe.”  She took a long drink from her mug, “I have a few people I could reach out to that might be willing to have a study session or 2.”   “Great.”  The athlete looked from her drink up to the bartender, “What about work?  Do you have a plan as far as balancing work and school?”   Ava waited as the bartender smirked, “I’m going to talk to my manager about just working weekends when it’s the busiest and they need the extra help.”  The athlete could sense Sara’s confidence starting to return as their conversation slipped further from her family concerns. ~~~   Ava laughed as Sara finished telling her the story about tap dancing during an elementary school performance of Peter Pan.  “And I can’t believe I just told you that story.”  Chuckling lightly Sara looked up at the ceiling as if she was looking for somewhere to hide up there.   “So, you can dance?”  Ava raised her eyebrows as if to reinforce the question.   The tall blonde watched the bartender as she shook head her incredulously, “That’s what you got out of that story?!”   Ava nodded, “Would you rather I focus on the fact that you were paralyzed from stage fright?”   Sara rolled her eyes animatedly as her cheeks flushed lightly and Ava took in just how beautiful she was. “Absolutely not.”   A small smile playing at the corners of her mouth Ava decided to see if she could extend that blush.  “So, your fight or flight response for self-preservation is to tap dance?”   The bartender rolled her eyes, “I knew I’d regret telling you that story.  I was like 7.  Trust me I can fight if I need to.” She watched Sara’s eye light up, “In fact, based upon your future line of work I have to imagine you should be able to fight as well.”   “Eh, maybe a little.”  Ava held up her hand and tilted it from side to side as if to indicate she was so-so.   Sara’s eyes lit up as if she just had an ‘Ah-Ha’ moment.  “Okay, so you help me with the classwork and I’ll help you with fighting.  I mean if you’d be up for sparring sometime.”   “Yeah, maybe.”  Hearing someone clear their throat loudly, the athlete looked over at the counter spotting the brunette who nodded towards the clock.  “Oh my God, they need to close.”  A feeling of guilt slipped into her thoughts as she looked back to Sara, “Can you believe we’ve been here almost 3 hours?”   The shorter blonde shook her head, “Not at all.”   Jumping up the tall blonde took care of the bill and made sure to give Julia a generous tip.  “I’m sorry, we just lost track of time.”   The brunette shot her a knowing look, “No worries.  Have a great night.”   As they walked out of the restaurant Ava pulled her jacket a little tighter around her to ward off the cool night air.  “Okay, so I’ll see you Friday?”  She turned on her heel to face Sara as she walked backwards.   Sara nodded, “Yeah.”  They walked towards Sara’s car since it was the only one left in the parking lot.  “Can I give you a ride home?”   Shaking her head Ava gestured over her shoulder, “No, that’s not really necessary.  The apartment is like a block away.  I’ll be home by the time you can get the car warmed up.”   The shorter blonde smiled, “You’re probably right.”  Ava watched as she leaned casually against her car obviously not really ready to part ways yet.   Neither one of them moved or said anything for a good 2 minutes.  It was when the shorter blonde pushed off her car and leaned in that Ava placed her forehead against Sara’s essentially stopping her from getting any closer.  “Sara.”  The taller blonde could feel the warmth of bartenders' breath against her lips.  She closed her eyes and resisted the urge to give in and kiss Sara right there on the spot.  Instead Ava ran her hand down Sara’s arm as she took a step backwards remembering the bartender's declaration that they should be friends.  Opening her eyes again she stared into icy blue and took another step backwards.  “Good night.”   The bartender bit her lower lip and nodded, “Good night, Ava.” ~~~   Landing on the court Ava tucked the ball away as an opponent tried to knock it from her hands.  A quick look and she tossed it to Alex as she ran down the court to set up a pick allowing Alex to pass to Zari.  Once Zari had possession of the ball, she took two steps and planted her feet tossing the ball towards the basket.  Finding a position under the net Ava waited to see if she would need to pick up another rebound, but the swoosh of the net above her let Ava know Zari had hit the 3-point shot she took.   Smiling Ava found her feet and quickly hurried to the midcourt line.  4th quarter with 3 minutes remaining and SCU was up 9 points.  She knew North Carolina would try their best to come back, but they hadn’t played aggressive so far and it wasn’t likely that they would be able to find their rhythm now.  Keeping her focus the tall blonde remained in her zone guarding the girl that had been trying and failing to take the ball away from her all night.   Time ticked away and SCU was able to increase their lead another 6 points as their opponent lost all focus.  As soon as the final buzzer rang out Ava met her teammates mid court as high 5’s and congratulations were passed around.  Once they were done with their teammates they lined up and shook hands with the opposing team.   She and Alex hurried to the media room for the obligatory after game media conference.  Once the conference was done, she’d need to shower then hurry to the bus so they could catch the plane back to Star City.  Taking her seat next to Alex the tall blonde tried to stay focused as more and more of the questions had begun to shift to her over the course of the last several games.  She adjusted the microphone in front of her and waited for any questions that might come her way.   It was a fairly typical conference and she was able to easily answer all questions that had been posed to her.  Most of them had been about their next game against the University of Connecticut, who was ranked #1.  It was an away game also; which Ava knew would play against her team.  As the conference started to wind down Coach Hunter dismissed them.  Smiling one more time for the camera’s Ava thanked the reporters and headed down the hall towards the locker room.   “Wait up, Sharpe!”  Alex’s voice rang out as she caught up with the blonde center.  “What do you think about UCONN?”   Not meeting her co-captains' eyes Ava shook her head, “We’re going to need to buckle down and really strategize if we are going to stand a chance.”  She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck absently, “I don’t think it looks good, Alex.”   Her co-captain nodded in agreement, “We should get together and study film sometime this week.  See if we can come up with some kind of weakness we can exploit.”  They turned into the locker room.  “I know your schedule is chaos tomorrow, and mine sucks on Thursdays.  What about Friday afternoon, before practice?”   Ava shook her head, “Can’t.  I have a project I need to get done.  Saturday will be too late, I think.”   The brunette shook her head, “I can’t Saturday any way.  I have a lunch date and I’m hoping it will go well and run late.”  She shot a smile Ava’s way.   She returned the smile then looked away as they approached their respective lockers.  She tapped her fingers on the locker as she thought about Sara’s confession and wondered if it was just a coincidence that Alex was mentioning her date.  “Well, what about late tomorrow?  If we can get a key from Hunter maybe I could meet you there around 8 after my lecture?”   Alex nodded as she grabbed her gear, “Yeah, I think that could work.”  She moved towards the showers.  “I’ll see you on the bus Sharpe.” ~~~   As Ava walked into the library to her typical table in the corner, she grabbed the materials from her bag that she needed to work on her project.  She slid the practice test over to the chair next to her stifling a yawn.  The week had gone well, but it was long and she hadn’t been able to get a lot of sleep.  Needless to say, she was looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.   She and Alex had worked hard come up with a solid plan for UCONN on Sunday.  They had stayed up until almost midnight watching film and taking notes, fortunately Coach Gideon was able to join them as well.  She was actually the one to send them home before it got even later.  The great thing about getting it done Wednesday night was they were able to start to plan, offering their observations to the coaches and team at the Thursday evening practice.  Plus, they still had one more evening team practice tonight where they would be able to fine tune their strategy.   Rolling her shoulders, she leaned back and stretched as deeply as she could.  The next minute she was focused completely on her paper sorting through her resources.  Time must have gotten away from her as a cup was set on the table in front of her.  Blinking she sat back and followed the arm until she met bright blue eyes and a warm smile, “Flat white, right?”   Smiling she nodded, “Yeah, thank you.”  The tall blonde gestured to the seat next to hers as she started to sort some of the materials she no longer needed.  “Is it 11 already?”  Sara nodded then sat a bag on the table next to the coffee cup.  Her brows furrowed as Ava looked up at Sara questioningly, “What’s this?”   Sara sat down, looking at the test on the table in front of her.  “Amaya was worried you haven’t been eating enough, so I stopped and grabbed us sandwiches when I grabbed the coffee.”  She tapped the test and looked back at the athlete and smiled, “I wasn’t sure was you liked...we didn’t really get around to food the other night so I couldn’t even take an educated guess.  That said, I went ahead and grabbed a couple different things.  The coffee, I remembered though.”   Ava sat back and just took in Sara’s appearance.  It was fairly standard for her, a black shirt with a deep neckline and jeans.  She tried to stop herself from staring fondly as Sara slid off her white leather coat.  The memory of pushing the black leather off her shoulders finding its way into her mind.  She recovered quickly, not wanting those memories to invade her thoughts.  “You didn’t have to do all this.”  She spoke quickly trying to avoid the distraction.   The bartender shrugged, “And you don’t have to help me, but apparently that’s what friends do.”  She half shrugged, “At least that’s what a gorgeous blond told me.”  Sara pushed the cup closer, “Here, you look like you could use the caffeine.”   Ava took the cup and thought about drinking it for a moment, normally she would start hitting water soon to hydrate for practice.  However, nothing sounded better than the espresso right now.  She took a sip and couldn’t refrain from closing her eyes letting the perfectly made drink warm her up.  “Thank you, this is just what I needed.”   Sara pushed the bag of what Ava presumed was food closer to her, “Choose your sandwich.”  When it looked like Ava might fight her on that the shorter blonde shook her head, “You have to so we can get started on this test.”   Giving in Ava dug around in the bag as quietly as possible before pulling a sandwich out and sliding the rest back over to Sara.  Once that was done, she realized Sara had brought literally nothing with her.  Getting into the bag she brought with her she retrieved a pencil and stop watch.  “Okay, so I think you should go all in with this one.  The timed sections, all of it.”   Nodding in agreement the bartender took the pencil from her and their fingers barely brushed, but it felt electric to the athlete.  When her eye’s shot to Sara’s she noticed that the shorter blonde apparently hadn’t felt it.  Calming her beating heart she struggled to clear her mind.  “Alright, it looks like you still need to wrap up a few things.  I can work on this while you finish your work.”   Turning back to her project Ava noticed out of the corner of her eye that Sara was reading the instructions for the first section.  Settling back into her groove she pulled her paper back in front of her and scratched a couple notes into the margin about some adjustments she wanted to make.  In her peripheral vision she noted Sara starting the stopwatch and going right to work.  Of course, that was the moment she felt her stomach threaten to growl so she grabbed the sandwich and unwrapped it.  She was certain she saw the corner of Sara’s mouth turn up for the briefest of seconds.   Holding the food in her left hand she continued to work as she ate.  She got so consumed again that she barely registered the knee that was pressed against her leg as they both worked through what they needed to get done.  Once she felt it, Ava stole a glance at Sara trying to get a read on her expression, but the bartender seemed to be completely focused on the test in front of her.  She returned to her own work and resisted the urge to either move her leg away from the touch or place her hand on Sara’s knee.  Just don’t acknowledge the contact. She probably doesn’t even realize she’s touching my leg. ~~~   It was almost 3 and Ava was packing up all of her material trying to be as quiet as possible knowing Sara was almost done with the section she had been working on.  After a minute the shorter blonde stopped the watch and looked up at Ava.  “Time to go?”  The tall blonde nodded.  Sara held up the stop watch, “Do you need this back?”   Shaking her head, “No, you finish up here.  I won’t need it.”  She lingered for a moment, “When can we get together again?”   Sara leaned back in the chair, “I’m busy all day tomorrow.”   Ava felt her heart drop at that information, “I have a game in Connecticut on Sunday.  However, there aren’t any classes on Monday.”  She tried to ignore the knot that formed in her stomach as her mind raced, wondering what the bartender could possibly be up to on Saturday.  Also, fearing that she already knew.   Nodding the short blonde absently flipped the pages of the test that she had already completed.   ”Can I call you later?  To let you know how this goes?”  Ava nodded.  “Maybe we can get together again next weekend?”   Ava met Sara’s eyes as she spoke, “I can’t.  I’ll be in California all weekend.”  She shifted uneasily and looked at her watch.  “I have to go, but call me...and let’s plan on getting together Monday afternoon.”  Her feet wouldn’t move, “Thank you for lunch.  It was an unexpected, but very welcomed surprise.”  The thank you was an afterthought.  Something to let her be in the bartenders orbit a little longer.   Sara sat up again and a teasing smirk crossed her lips, “You’re welcome.”  With that she dropped her eyes back to the test appearing to be anxious to get back to work.  “I’ll call, later.”  The bartender spoke without looking back up.   Moving to the door Ava stole a look over her shoulder, confused by the way Sara had seemed to tense up when she talked about going home.  Once she was outside the cool air woke her up and she picked up her pace to get to the gym.  This practice was important if they were going to do well on Sunday.  She pushed all thoughts of blue eyes and dimples out of her mind as she crossed campus. ~~~   Looking over at her phone she noted that it was already after 10p.  Turning her head Ava stared at the ceiling and closed her eyes trying to decide if she should just go to sleep right now.  Practice had gone great and they were as prepared as they could be.  Sighing she placed her arm over her eyes slowly releasing the tension she had been carrying.  Sara hadn’t called, and it made Ava worry that she hadn’t done well with the practice test.   The tall blonde knew the bartender was at work so it was likely that she wouldn’t hear from her until Sunday at the earliest...maybe even Monday when they had agreed to meet up.  She had just started to drift off when her phone started to ring.  She glanced at the lock screen before answering.  As she swiped it to answer she spoke up, not allowing the person on the other end say anything, “Two calls in one week, Danny?”  She heard him chuckle lightly.  “I’m going to start thinking you really do like me.”   “Well, to be fair you are the one that has me having to actually plan a proposal.”  She heard him huff, “So, no... I’m not really a fan of yours at the moment.”  She stifled a yawn.  “Were you sleeping?”  She could hear the lilt in his tone, “It’s not even 11 there, what are you 80?  Ava, you are ruining your college experience.”   She rubbed her eyes and fought to keep the annoyance out of her tone.  “Yeah, yeah.  So, did you call just to see if I was asleep or do you need help with the proposal?”   There was a clear pause before he spoke again, “Neither, actually I just wanted to check in on you.”  She immediately picked up on the concern in his voice.   Pinching the bridge of her nose and sighed.  “Danny...”   He cut her off as she was about to dismiss his concern as unfounded.  “I talked to mom, dad, and Carly.  Aves you didn’t tell any of us about the break up.  I mean I get not telling mom, but what about the rest of us?”   “I’ve been busy, anytime I’ve talked to dad it just never came up and you’ve been busy.”  She kicked off her shoes and pushed herself higher up on the bed.  “Carly has the twins so her hands are full.  Besides I have Amaya, Nora, Gary, and Lily...I promise I’m good.”   “When’s the last time you talked to Dr. Franz?”  She knew that some of his concern started to bleed away, but it was still there.  “I get it, you have plenty of friends.  Just remember your support system if it gets to be too much.”   Everything he said started to sink in at the mention of her therapist.  “I’ve talked to her at least 4 times since it happened.  I know when I need help.”  She then groaned, “Jesus Danny, you told mom and dad?”   His tone was quiet, “Well, I mean not technically.”  She rubbed her temples with her free hand knowing that they would be almost unbearable the following weekend.  “I just asked if they knew that you broke it off.”   “I swear as soon as you hang up, I’m immediately calling mom and telling her about the proposal.”  She tried to keep her voice light even though she was starting to feel a little stressed at the prospect of having her life analyzed by her parents when she saw them next.   “Please don’t!  It’s bad enough trying to pull everything together from a distance, but I really don’t need the extra input.”  She smiled as she heard panic entering his tone.   “And THAT is why I didn’t say anything.”  Grabbing her pillow, she tucked it under her head.  “I planned on waiting until after winter break to tell them.”   Ava hear him hum thoughtfully.  “Shit Aves, I wasn’t thinking.  I went directly into Big Brother mode.”  They fell into a comfortable silence for a few minutes.  “For what it’s worth, I think you are better off not having to deal with the long-distance relationship.”   “Says the man who is about to get deployed to another country.”  She quipped back without hesitation.   He laughed again and she could picture him shaking his head.  “That’s different.  You’re supposed to have fun in college.  You know...go to football games...half naked, except for the body paint.”   “STOP!”  She smiled glad to have her mind off the thought of talking to her parents again.  “Please tell me that you at least kept that piece of information to yourself.”   “Of course.”  She could hear voices in the background.  “I have to go, but promise me you’ll call if you need to.”   “I will.  Good night, Danny.  Oh, and make sure you make that proposal extra special so that’s the only thing anyone will want to talk about.”  After he said good night she hung up and stared at her phone half expecting it to ring again.  Settling into her pillow she opened the message window with Nora.   
Nora Today 22:13 PM Danny told everyone about Leah. Today 22:17 PM Everyone? Pam, Randy, Carly...everyone. Today 22:19 PM LOL, Pam is going to show up at the Stanford game with a date for you. Nor, no.  Today 22:20 PM His name will be Jeff...wait maybe a Shaun.  He’ll be a football player or something. ...why do I even talk to you.  Today 22:25 PM Because you love me. Are you drunk? Today 22:26 PM Are you? Today 22:28 PM ...yes.  We’re at TM...Ray is driving.  You should come out! Ray and I will come and get you!  HAHA, no.  Today 22:31 PM So, you can football and drink with Lily & Gary, but no love for your best friend  that knows EVERYTHING about you. What are you getting at? Your bartender is here.  I can tell her some stories. Today 22:32 PM You wouldn’t.  Nor, I’m already in bed.  This has been a long week.  Tomorrow?  Later though I reserved a room to work on my group project with my classmates in the afternoon. Nerd... Good night, Nor.
   Setting her phone down she relaxed back into her pillow again.  Ava knew if she was going to go to sleep, she really should get up and change.  She decided to just close her eyes for a little bit and soon she drifted off to sleep.   Ava was woken up by her phone ringing.  Without opening her eyes, she grabbed the phone and held it in front of her face.  Once it was in position, she opened her eyes and saw Sara’s picture and ‘The Legendary Captain Lance’ as an incoming call.  Without putting too much thought into it she answered the phone, “Hello?”  Ava’s voice was still thick with sleep.   “Hey.”  Sara’s voice lilted back, “Were you asleep?”  Ava simply hummed in response.  “I’m sorry, Aves.”   Fighting a yawn Ava stretched her neck.  “What’s going on?”   “This is going to sound pathetic, but I can’t seem to get the image of you in the tie out of my head.”  Ava opened her eyes at that.  “I just really wanted to talk to you.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes with her free hand Ava sighed.  “What time is it?”  She sat up scooting back to lean against her headboard.   “Late.  I just got home from work.”  The tall blonde felt like she could tell that something was off.  Her voice was still flirty, but something faltered towards the end of the sentence.  “I woke you up again.”   Glancing at her phone Ava saw it was 3:23 in the morning.  There was just silence on the other end of the line.  “So, talk to me.  Sara, I’m listening.”  She could hear the bartender’s breathing on the other end of the call start to pick up, but she wasn’t saying anything.  “Come on, what’s got you so upset?”   There was a sharp exhale, “I failed the practice test.”  Fuck.  Ava’s mind began to race not knowing exactly what to say.  “I’m just worried that I’m making a mistake by trying again.”   Ava made sure her tone was reassuring when she spoke, “Listen, that’s why you took the practice test.  We’ll look at it and figure out what to do.”   There was a note of panic in the bartender's tone when she spoke again, “I already told everyone I am going back...I’m just going to let them down again.”  All hints of flirtation gone.   “Sara, stop.”  Keeping her tone even she swung her legs over the edge of the bed.  She was familiar with Sara’s panicked tone.  She had heard in her own voice too many times to count.  “You aren’t going to let anyone down.”  When she was greeted with silence, she spoke up again, “You’re at home, right?”   There was half a beat of silence before Sara finally spoke up, “Yes, my apartment.”   She stood up and stretched trying to get the blood circulating again.  “Are you okay, do you want me to come over?”  As she spoke, Ava walked to her closet and dug out her Star City hoodie and pulled it on.   “I don’t know, maybe.  I’m probably just freaking out because it’s starting to be real.”  Moving into the living room she grabbed her running shoes to pull on even though she hadn’t really gotten a proper answer.  “It’s just a lot and I’m still processing, I think.”   “What’s your address?”  She pinched the phone to her ear with her shoulder as she spoke, which freed up her hands to tie her shoelaces.  She looked up as Amaya’s door opened.  Her roommate shot her a questioning look as she stood and grabbed her keys off the counter.  “I remember where I dropped you off, you aren’t that far.”   “You don’t have a car.”  Sara’s voice seemed a little quieter when she spoke, but Ava could still clearly hear the panicked undertones.   “You aren’t that far.”  She repeated, but this time put more conviction in her words.  “I’m already at my door and ready to go.  I just need to know where I’m going.”   “I’m sorry.  Just go back to sleep, I’ll be fine.”  Ava looked back at Amaya and held up a finger to halt any questions she might have tried to ask.   “Don’t be.  There’s a lot going on right now.”  Ava looked at her roommate when she spoke, “Sara, it’s fine.  It’s probably like a 10-minute jog for me.  Plus, I fell asleep early so I’m okay, for now.”  After some coaxing Ava was able to finally get the information from the bartender.  As soon as she hung up the phone she looked to Amaya, “She’s pretty stressed out about starting school again.  I’m going to go check on her.”   Amaya nodded to the counter, “Take Zari’s car...she won’t mind.”   Ava looked at the counter and noticed the extra set of keys she had somehow missed before.  She quickly looked back to Amaya, “Zari’s here?”   Nodding Amaya peaked over her shoulder then looked back at Ava and half shrugged her shoulders.  “Do you want us to come with you?”   Ava shook her head as she grabbed the keys, “No, she already seems overwhelmed.  The 3 of us might be too much.”  As she opened the door Ava looked at her roommate nodding to her bedroom door, “We should talk more about this later.” ~~~   After parking the car Ava approached the door of the apartment and after confirming the address knocked.  It was barely 30 seconds when she heard the locks being disengaged and the door slowly opening.  She stood on the porch stiffly with her hands clasped behind her back.  “Hey.”  She smiled warmly at Sara when the door opened.   The bartender took a step back and gestured for her to come in.  “That was fast.”   “Yeah.”  Ava pointed over her shoulder, “Borrowed a car.”  She walked into the apartment and looked around.  For some reason she wasn’t surprised that Sara had a studio apartment.  The open floor plan just seemed to suit her.  It wasn’t messy, but there were some clothes draped over furniture around the room.  Following Sara’s lead Ava sat on the couch, but made sure there was some space between them since she hadn’t had a chance to really gage what Sara needed.   “You didn’t need to come all the way over here.”  Ava turned so her body was angled towards the bartender.   Leaning against the back of the couch she rested her head on the cushions.  “Come on, talk to me.  What’s going on?  This feels like more than just school.”   Sara huffed and mirrored Ava’s position, “I just...I think I’m going to tell Laurel.”  Ava watched as she closed her eyes as if lost in thought.  “I’m afraid that I’ll lose her.  That she’ll hate me for waiting so long to tell her.”   Ava gave her a small smile even though she knew Sara wouldn’t see it with her eyes closed. “She won’t.”  She put a supportive hand on Sara’s knee.  “I’m not going to pull any punches she’s going to be upset, but I don’t think she could ever hate you.”  Taking a deep breath Ava made a decision.  “Family is so important Sara.  You have to keep them as close as you can.  You never know when life could take people from you.”  She bit her lip trying to decide how much she wanted to actually say.  “This secret you are keeping is driving a wedge between you and Laurel weather you are consciously aware of it or not.”   Sara’s eyes opened again and Ava couldn’t help falling back into those bright blues.  “I just don’t want to disappoint her...or mom and dad for that matter.  This is so much bigger than a random one-night stand.”   She gave Sara’s knee a supportive squeeze.  “You’ll be fine.”  It took everything in Ava not to pull the shorter blonde in for a kiss.   Ava could feel Sara’s eyes studying her face, “How are you so sure about me?  Even when I’m not.”   The taller blonde just looked right back at her, “Well, for one thing my phone told me that you are the LEGENDARY captain Lance.  So, I’m pretty sure anyone with that title can handle quite a bit.”   Sara laughed lightly, “Right.”  Neither of them said anything for a while as they sat on Sara’s couch.  “So, a quick question.  Feel free not to answer.  If family is important to you, why are you halfway across the country from them?”  Ava felt the tension in her shoulders as she pulled her hand away from Sara’s knee.  At the moment Sara held up her hands, “I’m sorry.  You don’t need to tell me.”   After she spoke Sara yawned and leaned heavier into the couch.  “You should get some rest.”  Ava leaned forward and tucked a loose strand of hair behind Sara’s ear.   The shorter blonde tilted her head into Ava’s hand before she was able to move it away, “Would you stay?”   Nodding Ava leaned back into the couch again.  “Yeah, I can.  As long as that’s something you want.”   Smiling, Sara stood up and grabbed Ava’s hand guiding her over to the bed.  As the shorter blonde climbed into her bed Ava became suddenly aware that Sara was wearing her Star City basketball tee.  Once Sara had settled in the athlete sat on the edge of the bed and kicked off her shoes and took her hair out of the pony tail before lying on her side facing the bartender.  “Thank you for coming over.”   Nodding Ava licked her lips, “Of course."  The tall blonde inhaled deeply before speaking again.  "There's something I want to tell you something no one else here knows.  Well, except Nora.”  Ava pulled a pillow under her head as she cleared her throat.  “My dad worked for the government.  I’m not exactly sure which agency, most of his work was classified.”  She paused thinking again, and know that it was too late to back out now.  “He worked with Captain Sharpe frequently.  So, since we all lived in the same neighborhood, we were all really close.”  The athlete knew Sara was listening to her every word.  “Carly actually babysat me frequently when our parents would all go out.”  She smiled at the memory of staying up to late and eating candy.   “One day, Captain Sharpe showed up at the house.  Dad wasn’t home yet so, it was very unusual.”  Ava felt the tears starting to sting her eyes, “He came to let us know that Dad had been killed in the line of duty.”  Ava’s voice caught in her throat and she felt Sara’s hand catch her wrist in an attempt to ground her.   “Ava, you don’t have too...”   “No, I do.”  She moved Sara’s hand from her wrist so that she could just hold her hand for the moment.  The next part was going to be even harder to say out loud.  “After Captain Sharpe left my mom really broke down.”  Closing her eyes, she tried to get her thoughts together so she would be able to be completely coherent.  It was in that moment that she came to the realization she was about to tell this woman about the hardest time of her life.  “It had been a couple of weeks and I knew she was struggling.  I told the Sharpe’s and they tried to help as much as they could.  They set us up with a therapist and even made sure we had everything we needed.  One day she told me to wait downstairs until the Sharpe’s came over, but 10-year-old me got scared when I heard the gunshot.  All I wanted was my mom since I knew my dad was never coming home.”   “Jesus, Ava.”  She could feel impossibly strong arms pulling her into a tight embrace.   Ava buried her face into Sara’s neck unable to prevent the tears from falling.  “We still live in that same neighborhood and I am so very thankful for the Sharpe’s, but I can’t be in the shadow of that house.”  Her voice caught as tears ran down her face, “I think Pam knows...mom knows, but she still wanted all of us to be close for as long as possible.”  She took a deep shaky breath trying to calm herself down.  “I’m sorry, you were having a rough night...I didn’t mean to make it about me.  I just needed you to know.  You never know what tomorrow is going to hold.  You have to move forward without any regrets.  You regret Oliver because it’s going to hurt Laurel, but I think you are right to tell her as soon as you are ready.”   Sara’s hand brushed a few tears from her cheek as she pulled away a little bit, “I can’t even imagine going through something like that.  How...?”   A sad smile pulled up the corner of her mouth, “So much therapy.  The Sharpes still worry a lot since obviously I have a family history of depression and suicide, but I still have a therapist I trust and can talk to whenever I need her.”   Sara’s hand rubbed up and down her back as Ava’s breathing started to even out again.  “You are amazing.  I’m struggling with talking to my sister and you...you’ve been through that and you are so...well, YOU.”   Ava chuckled lightly, “Such a sweet talker.”     Sara pushed against her shoulder playfully, “Go to sleep, Director.”  Ava made note that Sara had visibly stopped herself from saying her last name.  Ava turned onto her side to face away from the shorter blonde and quickly found herself wrapped up in her arms and pulled close again.   It felt a lot like the night of the party only Ava felt so much closer to the shorter blonde.  As her eyes drifted closed sleep took over. ~~~   Ava blinked awake as sunlight shown across her face.  It was nice to wake up without an alarm.  As she laid in bed a little longer, she became very aware of the arm wrapped around her waist, the legs tangled in her own, and the warm steady breath on the back of her neck.  Memories of the previous night invaded her mind as her eyes snapped open and she looked around the apartment.  There was no way to untangle from Sara without waking the bartender up.   The warm body behind her wasn’t unwelcome, but the tall blonde didn’t want to keep winding up in this situation with Sara.  She knew she wanted more, she would like to wake up every morning like this.  She tried to turn to see if she was be able to escape from the future med student.  As soon as she started to move Sara’s grip tightened, “No, just go back to sleep.”   Sara’s voice was rough and sleepy when she spoke.  “Babe, I need to get Zari’s car back to her.”  The term of endearment slipped out and Ava tensed a bit wondering if Sara had caught it.  If she didn’t mention it.   “Zari doesn’t need a car.”  Ava felt Sara burrow her face between her shoulder blades.   Her heart was racing, but she did her best to keep it under control.  “Don’t you have something to do today anyway?”  Ava swallowed hoping Sara might cancel what she had suspected was a date with Alex.   The tall blonde heard a groan and then felt the warmth against her back move away as Sara’s arm left her waist.  “Yeah, you’re right.”  The bartender rolled onto her back.   Following suit Ava rolled onto her back so their shoulders were just barely touching.  Looking over at a very sleepy Sara Lance the tall blonde knew she had to go as soon as possible.  Sitting up she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and moved to the edge of the bed hopping down.  “So, I’ll see you Monday?”   “You’re leaving now?  I could make breakfast or something?”   Shaking her head Ava avoided eye contact as she slipped her shoes on.  “No, it’s okay.  I should get back.”  She pulled her hair back quickly tucking it into a messy bun.   “I’ll text you later?”  The shorter blonde sat up in bed.   Standing up Ava moved towards the door grabbing her keys off the coffee table, “Yeah, that sounds great.”  After she pulled the door open, she paused in the doorway, “Have a great day Sara.”   “You too Aves.”  As soon as the door closed, Ava released a breath she didn’t realize she was holding.   She jogged down the stairs and made her way to Zari’s car.  Once inside she started the car and rested her head on the steering wheel while she waited for the car to warm up.  What the hell are you thinking?  After a few minutes she backed out of her parking spot and headed back to her apartment.  Glancing at her phone as she drove, she calculated that she had a couple of hours before she needed to be at the South Campus Library to meet her classmates.   Walking into the apartment she was greeted by Amaya and Zari curled up on the couch together.  As soon as the door opened, they both looked up.  “Is everything okay?”  Amaya was the first to speak up.   Ava nodded as she kicked off her shoes and dropped both sets of keys on the counter.  “Yeah, I think she just got a little overwhelmed last night.”   Zari squinted at the tall blonde, “Did you uh...comfort her through the night?”  A smirk slowly formed on her face.   Rolling her eyes Ava shook her head, “Well, I spent the night and made sure she was okay.  I’ll just assume that’s what you mean.”  She walked down the hall towards her room desperate for a shower.  “We can talk more about COMFORTING THROUGH THE NIGHT later.”  She could smell Sara lingering on her clothes and it was almost too much to bear. ~~~   Ava sat at the bar at The Dog Pound waiting for Nora to arrive.  Her study session had gone well and they had all, but wrapped up the group project.  It was only a few minutes before someone sat down next to her, “Hey, Aves.”  Nora waved a hand at the bartender to get his attention.   “How was your night, Nor?”  Ava shot her a little side eye as she spoke.   A small groan was the only answer she would get for that, “That bartender of yours has a heavy pour.”   Nora’s comment had been benign, but the tall blonde snapped back at her, “She’s not mine.”   The brunette slowly turned her head and studied Ava’s face, “What the hell?  You know what I meant.”  Ava rubbed the bridge of her nose as she avoided eye contact.  “What’s gotten into you?  Basketball stress, Sharpe stress, or Sara stress?”   Rolling her eyes, the tall blonde looked back at her friend, “Yes.”  She paused before continuing.  “I slept with Sara.”   “Wait, what?  When?”  Nora’s eyes were wide.   Ava finally turned and made eye contact with her best friend, “The night of the Halloween party.  And again, last night, but last night we literally just slept.”   “And the after party, Party, wasn’t just sleeping?”  Ava shook her head in response.  “So, are you guys a thing now?”  Ava shook her head again, and she never wished it was her birthday more than at the moment so she could get a drink.  “No?  Ava, you are really into her.”   Slowly exhaling Ava nodded, “You have no idea.”   “Why haven’t you told me before now?  You seem like you’re struggling with this.”  Concern was clear on her face.   “This is going to sound so dumb.”  Ava took a drink from her water.  “We talked about it after and decided that we probably shouldn’t just outright tell everyone...because our friend circles overlap so much.  Plus, we decided to just be friends.”   Nora’s eyes narrowed, “I’m going to kick her ass.”   “No, you are not!”  The tall blonde sent her a pointed look.   “Ava, I know Lance...those are all her words, not yours.”  The brunette protested.   Ava sighed, “Maybe so, but I agreed except I refused to lie to any of my friends.  Had you asked I would have told you.”   Nora scoffed, “At what point am I going to ask you if you fucked Lance?”   Ava had gotten used to Nora’s bluntness after being friends for years.  She waved away the question, “That’s not the problem, Nor.”   “No?  What’s the problem then?”  The brunette look confused.   The tall blonde rubbed her forehead, “I’m really falling for her.”  Ava’s eyes met with her dark-haired friend.  “It feels too soon for any of this to be happening.”  Shaking her head, she fought the tears that were threatening to fall.  “Nor, it’s only been a little over 2 months since Leah.”   “Ava.”  Nora sighed and her whole demeanor softened.  “Look, I know this whole situation has to be throwing you off.  I KNOW you would like everything to fit into your perfect plan, but Aves that’s not how life works.  We both know this all too well.”   Sitting up a little taller the blonde rolled her shoulders trying to release some of the tension that had gathered.  “Ugh, I know.  I really do.”  She ran her hand absently through her hair.  “I just really like her and I don’t want this to just be a rebound...I don’t think it is?”   Nora sighed and took a long drink from her wine glass the bartender had delivered moments earlier.  “You can’t know anything for sure right now.  Not without actually communicating with Sara.”  The brunette watched her friend, “Have you told her how you are feeling?”   “No.”  There was a moment of silence before Ava spoke up again, “I did tell her about mom and dad.  Last night.”   Nora nodded, “How did that even come up?”   “We were talking about some things she has going on...I was telling her how important family is.  How you never know what tomorrow is going to hold.”  Ava took another drink from her water.   “How did she react?”  The brunette was studying her carefully.   “Good, I think.  She just...we pretty much went to sleep after that and she just held me.”  Ava couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face at that thought.   Nora tapped the bartop and shrugged her shoulders, “Shit.  You’ve got it bad.  What’s your plan?”   “I think I’m going to carry on with things the way they are now until I get back from Cali.”  Ava nodded as if she was making the decision at that very moment.  “That way I’ll have some time away and can really assess what this is before I make an idiot out of myself.”   “So next weekend?”  Ava nodded.  Nora drank the rest of her first glass of wine.  “Okay, so there’s that.  What are we going to do to Danny?”  Nora then snapped her fingers, “If we sort out this Sara business before you go...you could have a new girlfriend to tell Pam about!”  Nora held her hands up when Ava shot her a glare, “I’m just trying to help.  I mean maybe Jeffrey-Shaun will be a really great guy.”   “I really hate you sometimes.”   Nora laughed warmly, “Except that you don’t.”   Sighing Ava nodded in agreement, “Except that I don’t.” ~~~   It was gameday and this was a big one.  Ava was ready, in fact the whole team was ready.  As she walked towards the arena Ava noticed that the crowd was larger than normal which wasn’t too surprising considering what was on the line.  ESPN camera crews were setting up as she walked across the court heading to the locker room.  Everything felt electric and every single worry on her mind was gone.  Her only focus on the game.   After changing the blonde moved into the warm up facility sliding in her ear buds as she started a treadmill.  She started out at a jog just to get warmed up.  The gameday playlist getting her into the zone she closed her eyes, remaining focused.  After about 15 minutes or so she could sense another presence in the room, but she just kept on with her warm up.  When the treadmill finally slowed then stopped, she opened her eyes and saw several of her teammates taking advantage of the equipment as well.   She pulled her earbuds and stopped her music, “What took you so long Zari?”  Taking a long drink from her water bottle as she eyed the shot guard.   “Not everyone feels the need to be here 6 hours early, Director.”  Zari finished tying her shoes before starting to stretch out.   “I wasn’t here 6 hours early.”  The blonde joined her friend in stretching out now that she had warmed up.  “Are you ready?”   “So, fucking ready.”  The brunette was practically bouncing with energy.  “They’ve already completely written us off.  Did you see what they are predicting the score to be?”   “No, I don’t want to know...I’ll know what it is at the end of the game.”  Ava didn’t want to psych herself out by looking at the predictions especially not now.  She had gotten good luck messages from Gary, Lily, Nora, and her family.  She knew her family would be watching.  She had also gotten a message from Sara that she hadn’t taken the time to respond to.   After a half an hour the team ran out on the court to warm up.  Ava met up with Alex and the Coach Hunter and Gideon to go over their strategy one more time.  As they walked back to the bench Ava took off her warm up jacket.  “She came.”   Ava looked over at Alex questioningly, “Who?”  She followed Alex’s eyes to see who she was looking at in the crowd.   “Maggie.”  A smile spread across Alex’s face as she ran backwards onto the court.  “My date yesterday."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Blinking Ava turned and looked at her co-captain, “The girl you had a date with yesterday drove all the way to Connecticut to watch you play?”   Laughing Alex shook her head, “Well, she said her friend already had tickets and had been trying to talk her into coming anyway.”  Ava swore she saw her cheeks flush slightly, “So, it’s not really a big deal.”   “Well crap, now we have to win.”  Sliding her jacket on the back of a chair on their side of the court.  Shooting her a teasing grin Ava continued, “Want to take the tip off?”   Rolling her eyes Alex watched as Ava stepped onto the court, “Knock it off, Director.  Let’s just focus on the game.”  Zari, Sydney, and Crystal joined them on the court.  “Alright ladies, we’re the underdogs and we don’t have the home court advantage to boot.  Let’s just play our best and leave it all out on the court.”   “We’ve practiced and we’ve studied.  We are ready.”  Ava added as she moved to the center circle.  Her opponent was already there waiting.  Maintaining eye contact with the other woman Ava listened as the referee blew the whistle and held the ball out before checking on the 2 teams.  Once the ball was in the air Ava pushed off as hard as she could, reaching the ball first she pushed it towards Alex who quickly recovered it and made her way down court.   As soon as her shoes hit the court the tall blonde was on the move in pursuit of the ball.  Before she was able to get into position under the basket, she saw Zari hit the first shot of the game.  Her eyes drifted to her opponent following her lead.   ~~~   Sitting on the bench in the locker room Ava drank from a water bottle and wiped the sweat from her face.  The first quarter had gone well, but the second quarter they seemed to lose their stride and were now trailing by 9 points at the half.  Rip was pacing in front of the team going over what had been working in the first quarter, but not in the second.   Listening intently Ava could hear the frustration in his tone.  After the first quarter they all knew they could win.  They just needed to keep the pressure on, but UCONN was quick.  There was a reason they were in the #1 position in the country.   ~~~   Panting Ava looked up at the scoreboard, they were still down 8 points with just under 3 minutes remaining in the game.  Alex was at the throw in line waiting for the referee to hand her the ball to toss it in.  As soon as the whistle was blown Alex tossed the ball to Zari who bounced it out to Sydney, their small forward.  Taking the shot Sydney sunk a 3 pointer, closing the gap a little bit more.   Running towards the opposite end of the court Ava saw an opening as Huskies passes seem a little lazy.  Reaching out she smacked the ball towards Zari as they attempted a bounce pass in front of her.  Zari was able to recover it while still running.  Matching Zari’s stride Ava blew past the girl trying to guard her and called for the ball.  Getting the ball back as she crossed the free throw line, she jumped to take an easy lay-up.  As the ball left her fingertips an elbow slammed into her shoulder.  Off balance from the hit when she landed Ava hit the court hip first.  As she hit, she glanced up and saw the ball pass through the net.   Quickly getting back onto her feet as she heard the referee’s whistle Ava spun on the girl that made the contact.  The girl smug grin struck a nerve and Ava started to step forward, but before she could say anything, Zari was at her side.  “You good?”  She started to shift to get around her friend, but Zari moved with her.  “Sharpe.”  At the sound of her name she got her focus back.  “Are you good?”   Nodding the Center made eye contact with her teammate, “Yeah, Z, I’m good.”  Moving to the free throw line she stretched out her shoulders and waited for the referee to toss her the ball.  As the ball hit her hands, she heard the Huskies fans yelling to break her concentration.  Keeping her form exactly like she had multiple times in practice she easily shot the ball and it dropped through the net without even touching the rim.   Her teammates came over to congratulate her, “2 more points ladies and we’ll tie it up...3 to take it all.  We have plenty of time. So, let’s make it happen.”  She shot them all a determined look.   As the whistle blew again the Bulldogs all moved to guard their respective opponents.  The next thing she knew Ava was under the net collecting the ball from a missed 3-point attempt by the UCONN shot guard.  As she came up with the ball, she looked for Alex.  Starting to dribble down the court slowly she bounced the ball over to Alex and broke into a full sprint to get to the other end of the court.   Staying on high alert she watched as Zari, Alex, and Sydney all passed the ball between the 3 of them trying to shake their defenders.  Stepping forward she blocked the path of the girl that had been covering Zari.  As the defender stumbled, Alex passed Zari the ball.  Zari tossed the ball towards the net as the final seconds ticked away.  Hearing the ball hit the rim Ava spun on her heel ready to rebound the ball if necessary.  As the ball rolled around the rim Ava Jostled for position, but the ball finally fell through the net and the buzzer blew.   It took a full 5 seconds for her to realize that they had actually won.  It wasn’t until she saw the bench clear and rush Zari that it really became clear.  A laugh slowly built in her chest as she finally joined her team around Zari.  “You did it, Z!”   “Holy shit, we did it!”  After a few minutes of celebration Coach Hunter was able to get the team enough under control to get them to line up to greet the other team.  They fell back into the normal postgame routine even though they were still on a high from the win.   As she passed the woman that she had been guarding Ava reached out to shake her hand, but the other woman paused a sour look on her face, “This isn’t done Sharpe, we’ll see you in March.”  As she walked past the woman threw her shoulder into Ava.  Taking a deep breath, she shook her head.   Alex and Ava followed Coach Hunter to the media room knowing there would be a crowd, but they weren’t really prepared for all the questions coming at them at once.  Coach Hunter was able to get the room under control quickly for the moderator to take over.  Most of the questions had been directed to Coach Hunter about his plans for the rest of the season.   As soon as the media conference ended the captains practically ran to the locker room to rejoin their team to begin celebrating.  As they entered the locker room a lot of the chatter died down.  Zari piped up immediately, “We should go out tonight!  We don’t have classes tomorrow.”   Kicking off her shoes Ava grabbed her clothes to change into for the bus ride to the airport, “I don’t know, Z. By the time we fly...”   “Sleep on the damn plane, Sharpe.”  Zari grinned as she took a bite out of a donut.   “Where did you even get that?”  Grinning Zari shoved the rest of the donut in her mouth.  Shaking her head Ava headed to the showers ready to get head home.  “Let’s see how we are all feeling by the time we make it back to campus.”  The tall blonde already knew it was going to be a long night of celebration.   Zari held up her phone, “Amaya is going to change the locks so you can’t get into the apartment when we get back.”  A smirk slowly grew across her face.  “At least not until we have properly celebrated!” ~~~   Grabbing a seat on the bus back to campus Ava sat next to Zari, “So, how long have you and Amaya...”   Zari’s cheeks flushed for a moment, but she shook her head.  “Not long.”   Ava elbowed her friend, “I’m happy for you guys.”   Zari shifted in the seat moving so the her back was against the window of the bus.  Facing Ava directly she spoke up, “So, Time Masters?”   “We should go to The Dog Pound, it’s on campus.  It’ll be easier for everyone.”  Ava didn’t miss the pointed look Zari gave her, “What?”   Crossing her arms Zari quirked an eyebrow, “She doesn’t work tonight.”   Looking towards the front of the bus Ava broke eye contact, “It’s a campus bar, we’re celebrating a team win it just makes sense.”   “The drinks and food are better at Time Masters.”  Zari pushed.   “Ugh.”  Ava rolled her eyes and leaned her head back into the seat.  “Fine, the team can decide.” ~~~   13 young athletes running through the door at 10 o’clock on a Sunday night wasn’t something that was common for Time Masters, but it was happening anyway.  Of course, Ava was sure they could be heard LONG before they actually arrived.  She and the Freshmen made their way over to a back corner where they situated a couple of tables together.  Meanwhile the rest of the team piled up at the bar.   Counting off chairs the tall blonde confirmed they had enough seats for the entire team.  “Hey!”  Tamara tap her shoulder and pointed at the tv over the bar that was tuned to the local news.  “They’re showing highlights.”  Turning to look at the television Ava couldn’t help, but smile with pride as she saw Her team’s highlights from a well fought game.   “Well done ladies!”  Turning to see who had spoken, Ava saw Nate, Ray, and John all sitting across the bar.  Nate was holding up his beer in a toasting gesture.  “You really shook things up this afternoon.”  He stood up and walked towards them a coy smile on his face.   “Hey, Nate.”  Naturally there would be a few Legends here at any given time.  “Thanks, it was pretty intense, but we pulled it off as a team.”  She nodded to her teammates, “I’m sure you remember Tamara, Adriana, and Giada from the pick-up game at the park?”  Nate nodded.  She turned to her teammates, “You remember Nate, I’m sure.”  She gestured over to the table he had vacated, “That’s Ray and John.”   Everyone greeted each other as they started to shift the tables again to include the 3 men in their group.  Nate glanced at his phone, “Amaya is on her way and I think Nora may be stopping by also.”   Mentally Ava ran through a checklist in her head...it sure felt like that was going to be all of the Legends except for one.  It didn’t seem likely that she wouldn’t show up.  That is unless she already had plans or wanted to drink, Ava remembered that she didn’t like to drink at Time Masters since she worked there.  “Cool.”   Ray smiled and shot her a smile, “Hey Ava.”    Smiling back, she gave him a warm smile.  “Hey Ray.”  She then took a moment to really look around the bar.  It was already moderately busy without the rowdy team there.  She sat down next to him chatting idly with her teammates as the others slowly made their way back to the tables.  She saw Amaya walk through the door and head straight for Zari.  Ava frowned slightly realizing she was so caught up in her own bullshit that she hadn’t even realized two of the people closest to her starting...what...were they dating?  She’d have to talk to Amaya to get more information, knowing Zari wouldn’t be as forth coming.   Zari plopped down across from her, “Director Sharpe almost hit a bitch.”  She was grinning mischievously as she took a drink from her glass and looked from Ava to Amaya.   Rolling her eyes Ava shook her head, “I did not.  Even IF I almost did, she had it coming.”  Amaya raised her eyebrows at her.  “She almost fouled out by hitting me alone.”  She rubbed her not quite sore, but not quite uninjured hip, “I’m probably going to have a bruise.”   Zari shrugged her shoulders, “Geez Ava, why do people like hitting you so much?  You had the bloody nose then this bitch.”   She smirked slightly, “People fear talent.”  Half the team laughed at that. ~~~   They had been at Time Masters for at least an hour chatting idly when Ava saw Alex look at her phone, smile, then look up at the door.  Following her co-captains eyes’, she saw a dark complexioned woman walk into the bar and look around as though she was seeking someone out.  It only took a moment for Alex to seek her out and lead her back to where the team and Legends had gathered.  She was introducing her to the team and working her way towards where Ava sat between where the Legends started and the basketball team stopped.  When Alex got to her Ava held out her hand, “Ava Sharpe.”   “Maggie Sawyer.  I’ve heard a lot about you Ava.”  She took Ava’s hand with a firm grip.   The tall blonde raised her eyebrows and looked at Alex for a moment.  “All good I hope.”   She nodded and smiled, “Of course.  Alex just mentioned you were a monster on the court.”  Ava shot Alex a look.  “She wasn’t wrong.  You were all pretty great today.”     Leaning back in her chair Ava stretched, “I think Alex dedicated the game to you.  You should have seen her face when she spotted you in the crowd.”    Alex threw a napkin at Ava, “Knock it off, Sharpe!”  Ava took note of Alex’s flushed cheeks and laughed.  Alex turned and looked at Maggie, “Don’t listen to her.  It’s way past her bedtime.”   Putting her hands over her chest in mock hurt Ava gave Alex a shocked look.  “Why are you attacking me like this?  I thought we were friends?”   “Whose attacking you?”  Ava’s eyes shot up as a Coke is set in front of her.  The short blonde that seemed to appear out of thin air shot Alex a look, “It’s you, isn’t it?”   Alex simply shrugged, “Maybe.  Sara, this is Maggie.”   “Hey Maggie.”  Ava watched as Sara shot her signature smile at Maggie before turning back to the tall blonde.  “Brought you a refill.”   Looking towards the bar Ava’s brow furrowed, “Were you working?  I didn’t see you.”   Shaking her head Sara nodded towards Ray, “No, but I asked this guy where everyone was.  So, I thought I might as well join you.”  She looked around the bar, “Besides I hear congrats are in order once again.  You ladies are having a banner year.”  Ava watched as Sara leaned on the table across from her, “What do you think Director are you going to go all the way?”  Her voice seemed to drop an octave.   Ava had begun to notice that Sara seemed to act differently when they were in a public setting versus being in private.  She wanted to believe that it meant something, but it was hard to read.  Shaking her head, she took the flirtation in stride, “Yeah, I think we can.”   Sara’s smile grew, “Seriously though, what time are we getting together tomorrow?”  The short blonde stole a couple french fries off of Zari’s plate.   “Aw, fuck off, Lance!”  Zari pushed her away as she popped the stolen food into her mouth.   Sara took a step away laughing and holding her hands up, “Easy tiger.  Sorry the kitchen’s closed.”  She then looked back to Ava a smile still plastered on her face.   “Uh.”  Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear Ava looked up at the bartender.  “Well, Coach is giving us a pass on the morning practice so, I’m free all morning.”   Nodding the shorter seemed to be thinking for a minute, “Come over in the morning?”   “I can meet you at the library.”  Ava spoke up before Sara could suggest anything further.  “Say around 9?”   A slightly dejected look crossed her face, but it was gone just as quickly as it appeared.  “Sure, that sounds great.”  Taking a breath through her nose she looked up and down the table, “What’s everyone else drinking tonight?”   All the sounds of the bar faded into white noise as Ava tried to focus anywhere, but the bartender who was now engaged in conversation with Amaya and Ray.  She fell into idle chatter with her teammates for a while.  Once the adrenaline from the win started to finally wear off Ava excused herself from the group trying to figure out the best way to make a graceful exit without drawing too much attention.  Looking at her phone she summoned an Uber, “Hey guys, I’m going to call it a night.”  Fortunately, it was late enough no one really said much of anything since most of the girls on the team were starting to fade as well.   The short forward, Sydney spoke up, “Ava, can Jensen and I catch a ride with you back to campus?”   “Of course, the car is 5 minutes out.”  Ava gestured for them to follow her out.  As they got to the door the tall blonde glanced over her shoulder and saw Sara smile and wave as she walked out the door. ~~~   Sitting at her usual space in the library Ava glanced at her phone no messages and it was 9:32am.  Tapping her pen on the book in front of her she thought about all of the things she could be doing on a day without classes.  Shaking her head, she fired off a message to Sara and gathered her bag, but left the stack of reference material she had pulled on the desk.  Stepping out of the library she looked at her phone to see if she had received a response of any kind.  “Nothing.”  She muttered under her breath.   Extremely annoyed she started to walk back towards her apartment when her phone finally rang.  Glancing at the lock screen she debated answering it.  After 4 rings she finally conceded and took the call, “Sara.”   “Look, Ava, I’m sorry.”  Her voice still sounded tired like she had just woken up.  “I can be there in like 20 minutes.”  Ava swore she heard a woman giggle in the background.   “Cool.  You’ll find all the material I pulled for you on the desk in the back corner...where we met up last time.”  Her tone was terse.   Sara groaned on the other end of the line, “Ava, please I just overslept.”   Scoffing Ava started to walk again, “So, I gathered.”  She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, “Look Sara, here’s the thing I l...”  She caught herself and cleared her throat, “like you.  I just feel like every other conversation we have consists of ‘I’m sorry, Ava’.”  She paused to see if the bartender would try to defend herself.  When the line remained quiet, she continued.  “I want to help you, but I don’t have time for games.”   “What?”  The tone in the bartenders’ voice was incredulous, “I’m not playing games with you.”  Ava heard rustling around, and she assumed the bartender was getting out of bed.  “It really sucks that you think that.”   She shook her head as she continued walking, “What else am I supposed to think?”  The headache forming behind her eye started to intensify, “I shared something so very important to me and I thought maybe we were...I don’t know.  I just thought we were beyond bar pickup lines and being stood up.”   “I’m going to be late, Aves, I’m still coming.  I’m not standing you up...I just over slept.”  It almost sounded like she might be pacing.   “Look, here’s the deal.  I’m leaving Friday afternoon for California.  I’ll be gone all weekend.”  Pausing Ava thought long and hard before saying the next sentence, “Why don’t you take some time and figure out what it is you really want?  And maybe once I get back on Monday if you still want my help you call me.”   There was a touch of anger, maybe frustration in Sara’s tone, “Ava, you are overreacting.  This is ridiculous.”  Ava wasn’t sure why she didn’t end the call there, but they both stayed on the line neither one saying a word.  “Maybe you are the one that needs to figure out what it is you want.”   Sighing Ava tried to calm down. “No, I’m pretty sure I know what I want, but I’m not sure if it even really exists or if it’s just something you show me when it’s convenient for you to get what you want.”   There was a frustrated grunt, “I don’t know what you want from me?  Or what you expect from me?”   “Can you just not be an asshole for a minute?  Maybe understand where I’m coming from and that there are consequences for your actions.”    She waited for some sort of response, but once again was greeted by silence.  “Just take the week and try to sort out what you want. Good bye.”   Sara’s voice piped up before Ava could end the call.  “What if I don’t need or want to wait a week?”  All the frustration and anger, gone from her tone.   Slowing down her pace Ava chewed her bottom lip thinking, “What do you want, Sara?”  She wasn’t sure she wanted the answer, but she wanted to hear it anyway.   After a few tense minutes Sara’s voice was clear.  “You.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Friday 11/09@ 21:43p   Sara moved quickly around the bar serving as many people as she could.  Moving from one patron to the next she was always conscious of the regular creeps.  The bartender wanted to make sure Time Masters was always a welcoming environment for all of her patrons.   She was sure to keep a smile on her face as she served knowing that people would always leave a better tip for a friendly face.  “Hey Sara.”  Glancing up from the drink she was pouring the blonde saw a familiar face.  Well, it was familiar, but she couldn’t place quite from where.   “Hey.”  Capping the shaker, she had poured the drink into she gave it a vigorous shake as she maintained eye contact with the attractive brunette.  “What are you drinking tonight?”   The brunette bit her lower lip as her eyes moved from Sara’s lips to her arms and back to her eyes again.  “I’ll have whatever is quick and easy.”  The bartender took a moment to appraise the short black dress and plunging neckline.   Sara knew that look and she shook her head, “Unless you are referring to a draft beer, not tonight.”  Grabbing a martini glass, she poured the shaken drink and dropped an olive in it before turning to serve it to a woman waiting at the end of the bar.  She took the bills the woman offered as payment and gave her a smile before returning to the attractive brunette.   “Come on.”  As the brunette spoke, she bent over giving Sara a generous eyeful.  That was the moment she full recognized the woman.  They had had a good time about a month ago.  Pausing Sara started to recall more of that night.   Reaching below the counter she grabbed a pint glass and held it up quirking an eyebrow.  “If I remember correctly you were drinking the pumpkin ale.”  It was a pretty safe guess since Sara was pretty sure she had been in with a bachelorette party that had been trying all of the “Harvest” ales that night.   Giving up the brunette dropped back onto her heels and nodded, “Yeah, that’s fine.”  Sara poured the beer as the woman held out her credit card even though she looked dejected.   Careful to keep a minimal head on the beer she slid it to the brunette, “Opening a tab or just the one drink?”   The other woman seemed to be thinking for a moment, “Go ahead and open a tab.”   Nodding Sara moved to the register entering the brunette’s...Christina’s information.  Turning back to the brunette she maintained her smile, “Anything else I can get you for now?”   The brunette shook her head, “No, not right now anyway, but I’ll be back.”   As soon as she was gone Sara shook her head, feeling like she really needed to make better choices.  As that thought ran through her head the image of a tall blonde in a white button up and tie ran through her head.  “And that is the first genuine smile I have seen from you all night, love.”   She nodded towards the blonde-haired man, “John.  The usual?”  She asked as she poured the tumbler of whiskey.   He looked around the crowded bar, “Better make it a double.”  As she poured his drink he continued, “And what or who pray tell has you smiling like that?”   She shook her head, “Just happy to be here.”   He laughed as he grabbed the tumbler, “Bollocks, I think you forget how you are talking to, Sara.”   She just held out her hand for payment, “I know exactly who you are John Constantine.”   He slid an unlit cigarette behind his ear before retrieve his wallet. Handing over his card he shook his head, “Open a tab for me, eh?”  She nodded and started to enter his information as he continued to talk to her.  “I saw you turn down that lovely brunette.  That’s a little out of character.”  When she didn’t respond he kept talking, “Maybe you’re feeling blonde a bit more tonight.”   Shaking her head, the bartender laughed, “John, you are dating someone.  I’m not a homewrecker.”   He grinned at her as he backed away with his drink, “I’m not talking about me, Sara.”  He held up his drink as if to toast her and disappeared into the crowd.   She didn’t really have time to dwell on his words as she moved onto the next customer.  As she continued to make drinks, she stayed focused on the job at hand.  She flirted occasionally at least when it seemed appropriate, knowing it would be out of character if she didn’t.   As Ray approached the end of the bar she looked over, “Another round for the table?”  He nodded.  As soon as she finished with the customer she had been serving, she started to make the drinks for the Legends.  “I may have to cut your lady off soon.”  She nodded towards Nora who was now staring at her phone, but had been talking a little louder than necessary earlier.   Smiling he nodded, “I totally understand that.”   Setting the drinks on the bartop she nodded towards the dark-haired woman, “You might make sure she isn’t drunk texting someone.”   Oblivious as he gathered up the drinks, he just grinned a little wider.  “Oh, it’s fine.  She’s just texting with Ava.”   Sara nodded and grabbed a couple bottles of beer popping the tops she sat them on the counter as well, “Yeah?  Is she coming out tonight?”  She managed to avoid eye contact with the smiling man.   Ray arranged the drinks sitting in front of him, “No, apparently she had a long day so she’s going to call it a night early.”  Sara hummed in acknowledgement.  Ray counted out the drinks, “Well, I think that’s everyone.”   Lost in thought for a second, she snapped back into reality, “Here, let me help you carry this back to the table.”  She grabbed as many of the drinks as she could carry and followed Ray back to the table setting down the drinks.  “A fresh round for my favorites.”     As the bartender distributed the drinks called out the orders confirming where they were placed.  “Ray, can we go pick up Aves?”   As he sat next to Nora he leaned over and glanced at her phone, “Hon, she doesn’t want to come out tonight.”   Sara couldn’t help, but smile at how SOFT drunk Nora was.  The normally sarcastic woman was smiling warmly at her boyfriend.  She held out a glass of wine towards her, “And for the lady.”   Nora took the glass her eyes caught Sara’s and a smirk formed on her face, “Just a tip, if you are ever go paint balling with my “friend” Ava, don’t get too close.  She will use you as a human shield to protect herself!”   Laughing lightly Sara took a step away from the table, “I’ll keep that in mind.” ~~~    Time Masters had stayed busy all night, which wasn’t surprising since it was Friday night.  Sara had been able to chase out the last customer at two thirty and by the time she drove home she KNEW it was late, but her apartment was quiet.  It felt too quiet after the night she had.  She thought about Ava again, about how perfectly together she was especially compared to Sara’s hot mess.  That made her think about their talk and telling Laurel about Oliver.  Opening her the top drawer of her dresser she grabbed the first tee shirt and shorts she could see and quickly changed out of her work clothes.  It wasn’t until she had already changed that she had put on the shirt Ava had let her borrow the night of the Halloween party.   As she moved through her home her eyes landed on the practice test on her dining room table.  Stopping as she walked past, she picked it up and turned it over in her hands a couple of times.  She felt like she had failed the test once she graded it against the key.  There was so much pressure behind everything.  This was her future and she was already messing it up again.  The bartender remembered her promise to call Ava.  Running her free hand over her face she knew better than to try and call now.  She would absolutely already be in bed, asleep, like every other normal human being on the planet.   Walking over to her couch she dropped onto the cushion and nibbled on her bottom lip trying to decide what the best thing to do was.  Of course, that would be to go to bed, but she was Sara Lance and decision making wasn’t always her strength.  Before she could second guess her terrible decision, her phone was ringing and up against her ear.  Immediately she started to pray that her call would go to voicemail.   “Hello?”  The voice on the other end of the line had clearly just been woken up.   Sara silently cursed herself, “Hey.”  She kept her tone light as if she didn’t know what time it was, “You were asleep?”  There was a quiet hum in response.  “I’m sorry, Aves.”   There was half a beat of silence before Ava spoke up again, “What’s going on?”   Wincing slightly at the directness of the question Sara’s mind raced trying to decide ultimately why she had decided to call the other woman so late at night.  Like word vomit honesty apparently won out, “This is going to sound pathetic, but I can’t seem to get the image of you in the tie out of my head.”  Sara could not stop talking even if she tried, “I just really wanted to talk to you.”   She wasn’t sure how she expected the athlete to respond, “What time is it?”  Sara could hear her shifting on the other end of the line.    “Late.  I just got home from work.”  What the hell are you thinking, Lance.  She kept her tone light as she spoke.  “I woke you up again.” Sara looked at the test still in her hands and the realization that not only had she failed the test, failed as a sister, but she was failing as a friend as well.   “So, talk to me.  Sara, I’m listening.”  Sara was about to start her classes up again and she had failed this practice test.  It was going to be even worse than before PLUS she would be wasting even more money on a failing prospect.  “Come on, what’s got you so upset?”  The worry in Ava’s tone was apparent.   Exhaling sharply Sara decided it was time to come clean. “I failed the practice test.”  Sara paused to try to gather her thoughts.  “I’m just worried that I’m making a mistake by trying again.”    “Listen, that’s why you took the practice test.  We’ll look at it and figure out what to do.”  Ava’s tone was hopeful and Sara knew she was trying to convey confidence towards her.   Hiding just how panicked she was starting to feel Sara spoke up.  “I already told everyone I am going back...I’m just going to let them down again.”  At least she felt sure that all of the fear she was feeling had been expelled from her tone.    “Sara, stop.”  The athlete’s voice made her feel less stressed about going back.  “You aren’t going to let anyone down.”  She ran and hand absently through her hair wondering how Ava had figured her out so easily.  “You’re at home, right?”   Sara’s brows snapped together at the question.  “Yes, my apartment.”    She could hear Ava moving around her room.  “Are you okay, do you want me to come over?”  The thought of dragging Ava out of her home in the middle of the night made Sara’s chest tighten.  This isn’t what she had meant to happen when she called, but then she couldn’t help thinking about Ava in her home.    “I don’t know, maybe.  I’m probably just freaking out because it’s starting to be real.”  Sara then stood up and started looking around her apartment.  What if Ava did come over, was this the first impression she wanted to make.  “It’s just a lot and I’m still processing, I think.”  Sara tried to make her voice seem light, knowing that she didn’t want to pull the taller blonde from her home in the middle of the night.   “What’s your address?”  The shuffling of the phone could be heard then her voice seemed slightly muffled for a minute.  “I remember where I dropped you off, you aren’t that far.”    “You don’t have a car.”  Taking a deep breath Sara fought the urge to beg her to come over, knowing it wasn’t what was best for Ava.    “You aren’t that far.”  Ava’s voice rang through the phone sounding steadier and more awake than before.  “I’m already at my door and ready to go.  I just need to know where I’m going.”    “I’m sorry.  Just go back to sleep, I’ll be fine.”  As if Ava could see her Sara shook her head to reinforce that she shouldn’t make the effort.    “Don’t be.  There’s a lot going on right now.  Sara, it’s fine.  It’s probably like a 10-minute jog for me.  Plus, I fell asleep early so I’m okay, for now.”  After a few minutes of pressing Sara realized she wasn’t going to win and weather she wanted Ava to or not, the tall blonde was coming over to her apartment.   She quickly picked a couple of things off the floor before sitting back onto the couch and pulling her knees to her chest.  What the fuck are you doing?  It felt like every single one of her insecurities were on display.  To top it off in the next few minutes the most driven and perfect woman since Laurel was on her way over to bear witness to the mess.    After what had felt like hours there was a knock at the door and Sara practically leapt from the couch and opened the door.  “Hey.”  Ava’s posture was tense, but Sara could live in her smile for the rest of her life, she was sure of it.   Realizing she was blocking the door she took a quick step back and gestured for the taller blonde to come in.  “That was fast.”    “Yeah.”  Ava pointed over her shoulder, “Borrowed a car.”  Sara walked back to the couch where she had been sitting before.  She watched as Ava studied her apartment.  Sara knew it wasn’t as neat or organize as Ava’s had been, but it wasn’t a complete mess today which made her happy at least.  After what seemed like minutes Ava joined her on the couch.  Sara noticed that Ava made sure there was a bit of distance between them.   Finding her voice Sara spoke up, “You didn’t need to come all the way over here.”    The taller blonde turned her body so she was facing Sara and then tilted her head so it was resting against the back of the couch.  “Come on, talk to me.  What’s going on?  This feels like more than just school.”    Groaning lightly Sara turned so she was facing Ava as well.  “I just...I think I’m going to tell Laurel.”  Sara closed her eyes so she could focus on her words instead of the woman in front of her.  “I’m afraid that I’ll lose her.  That she’ll hate me for waiting so long to tell her.”  Sara heart raced as she pictured her sisters’ upset face screaming at her.   “She won’t.”  Sara felt a face touch her knee and her breath caught in her throat, but she didn’t think Ava caught it.  “I’m not going to pull any punches she’s going to be upset, but I don’t think she could ever hate you.”  Eyes still firmly shut Sara heard Ava take a deep breath before she spoke again.  “Family is so important Sara.  You have to keep them as close as you can.  You never know when life could take people from you.”  The bartender listened to Ava’s words, but she was caught up in the cadence of her tone more than anything.  Sara just wanted to focus on anything other than Laurel’s potential reactions.  “This secret you are keeping is driving a wedge between you and Laurel weather you are consciously aware of it or not.”    Sara finally snapped her eyes open and found herself caught up in Ava’s eyes.  “I just don’t want to disappoint her...or mom and dad for that matter.  This is so much bigger than a random one-night stand.”    She felt Ava’s hand squeeze her knee gently.  “You’ll be fine.”  Sara just wanted to do something with the tension she was sure they both felt.    Sara took in the sight of the tall blonde and she swore she saw something in her eyes that felt like desire, but she knew she was most likely projecting her own feelings.  “How are you so sure about me?  Even when I’m not.”    Not moving from her position Ava spoke matter-of-factly, “Well, for one thing my phone told me that you are the LEGENDARY captain Lance.  So, I’m pretty sure anyone with that title can handle quite a bit.”    Sara laughed lightly, “Right.”  Sitting in comfortable silence Sara thought about Ava’s words and a question popped into her mind.  “So, a quick question.  Feel free not to answer.  If family is important to you, why are you halfway across the country from them?”  Sara saw Ava immediately tense up and jerk her hand back.  Reacting quickly Sara raised her hands in surrender, “I’m sorry.  You don’t need to tell me.”    The bartender tried to fight a yawn, but it managed to slip past her mouth.  “You should get some rest.”  Sara was frozen in place when Ava leaned forward and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.    Before Ava was able to move away Sara tilted her head effectively capturing her hand, “Would you stay?”  Swallowing she hoped the tall blonde would concede.   Sara watched as Ava slowly nodded her head.  “Yeah, I can.  As long as that’s something you want.”    As she stood up Sara tried unsuccessfully to fight a smile from forming on her lips.  Her gently took Ava’s hand in hers leading the athlete to her bed.  Pulling back the comforter Sara climbed into bed as she let go of Ava’s hand.  Sara noticed the tall blonde pause and stare at her for a moment.  Sliding her legs under the comforter the shorter blonde tried not to stare as Ava sat at the edge of her bed and took off her shoes.  She then pulled the ponytail holder out of her hair and Sara just stared at her back as her hair fell over her shoulders.  The shorter blonde was able to stop staring before the athlete laid down and turned onto her side facing Sara. Managing to find words again the shorter blonde spoke.  “Thank you for coming over.”    Ava licked her lips and it took everything in Sara not to pull her closer, “Of course."  Sara noticed that Ava took a deep breathe like she was trying to steady her nerves.  "There's something I want to tell you something no one else here knows.  Well, except Nora.”  Sara listened intently as Ava started to tell her about her family.   She heard the athlete’s voice catch in her throat and instinctively she reached out wrapping her hand around the taller blonde’s wrist to show her some support.  “Ava, you don’t have too...”    “No, I do.”  Ava shifted Sara’s hand so that they were holding hands.  Sara watched as Ava closed her eyes and continued to tell her story.  Sara saw her expression twist in pain as she spoke.   “Jesus, Ava.”  Letting go of Ava’s hand Sara threw caution to the wind and wrapped her arms around the athlete pulling her as close as possible.   Sara felt the tall blonde nuzzle into her neck.  She felt her cheek wet with tear brush against her chin.  “We still live in that same neighborhood and I am so very thankful for the Sharpe’s, but I can’t be in the shadow of that house.”  Sara heard her voice break as she continued to talk.   “I think Pam knows...mom knows, but she still wanted all of us to be close for as long as possible.”  Sara just listened as Ava continued.  “I’m sorry, you were having a rough night...I didn’t mean to make it about me.  I just needed you to know.  You never know what tomorrow is going to hold.  You have to move forward without any regrets.  You regret Oliver because it’s going to hurt Laurel, but I think you are right to tell her as soon as you are ready.”  Swallowing Sara looked at the ceiling trying to compose herself, wanting to stay strong for the tall blonde.   Pulling away from Ava just slightly the bartender brushed the tears from Ava’s cheek with her thumb.  “I can’t even imagine going through something like that.  How...?”    Sara watched as the corner of Ava’s mouth turned up just slightly, “So much therapy.  The Sharpe's still worry a lot since obviously I have a family history of depression and suicide, but I still have a therapist I trust and can talk to whenever I need her.”    Wanting to give her as much comfort as possible Sara gently ran her hand up and down Ava’s back.  “You are amazing.  I’m struggling with talking to my sister and you...you’ve been through that and you are so...well, YOU.”    Sara heard a small chuckle before the athlete spoke up, “Such a sweet talker.”      Sara nudged Ava’s shoulder with her own, “Go to sleep, Director.”  The bartender was very careful not to say Director Sharp like she normally would.  After a moment Ava rolled onto her side facing away from Sara. Without thinking twice, Sara wrapped her arms around Ava’s waist and pulled her close.  After only a few minutes Sara listened as the taller woman’s breathing evened out and she was sure that Ava had fallen asleep.   It was in that moment that Sara knew she needed to confess her feelings to the tall blonde...hell the fact that she even had feelings.  Sighing she leaned her forehead against Ava’s back, “I’m going to ruin you.” Sara took a deep breath, “In the morning.  I'll tell you everything in the morning.” ~~~   Subtle movements pulled Sara out of her slumber.  She could tell Ava was attempting to get up without her noticing.  She tightened her grip slightly around the athlete to acknowledge she was in fact awake. “No, just go back to sleep.”   She attempted to clear her throat once she heard how rough it sounded.   “Babe, I need to get Zari’s car back to her.”  If Ava had been facing Sara, she would have seen her whole face light up.    “Zari doesn’t need a car.”  Sara moved closer to Ava unwilling to let go until she said what she intended too.    Sara closed her eyes fully expecting to go back to sleep.  “Don’t you have something to do today anyway?”    Groaning Sara realized it was already Saturday and she had promised Laurel they would go shopping.  She considered canceling, but she had already postponed her sister too many times and maybe this was the chance she needed to clear the air with her.  “Yeah, you’re right.”  Sara rolled onto her back as she finally let go of Ava’s waist.   Sara felt the bed dip next to her and Ava’s shoulder brushed against hers.  Sara knew Ava looked over at her, but she felt like she could barely move fatigue still sitting heavy on her.  She sensed more movement before she heard Ava’s voice, “So, I’ll see you Monday?”    Sara’s eyes flew open, “You’re leaving now?  I could make breakfast or something?”  She needed Ava to stay so she could tell her that her ridicules notion about being friends was never going to work.   Sara sat up on her elbows as Ava got up.  “No, it’s okay.  I should get back.”  Worrying her lower lip Sara could only watch as Ava quickly put her hair up.    “I’ll text you later?”  The shorter blonde asked hopefully.    Ava walked into the living area and grabbed the keys off of the coffee table, “Yeah, that sounds great.”  Once she got to the door Sara watched as Ava paused and looked back over her shoulder, “Have a great day, Sara.”   “You too, Aves.”  As soon as the door closed Sara blew the breath she was holding out and fell back onto her bed.  “What are you doing, Lance?”  Sitting up again she climbed out of bed and made her way to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.  The night had been way too short for the day she knew she was going to have.   As the pot percolated Sara grabbed the papers off her dining room table that she had intended to share with the tall blonde when she arrived last night. ~~~   Yawning as she stepped out of her apartment Sara walked towards Laurel’s car with her travel mug of coffee firmly gripped in her hand.  Sliding into the seat she glanced at her sister and managed a small smile for her.   “Jesus, Sara you look like hell.  I thought you said this wouldn’t be too early.”  Laurel’s expression was slightly concerned.   Sara waved her concern away, “It’s fine.  My night just ran a little long than expected.”   As her sister backed out of the parking spot Sara caught the smirk that was tossed her direction, “What’s his or her name?”   Leaning back into the headrest Sara took a drink of the black coffee.  “Why do you instantly jump to that conclusion?  Maybe I had to work over for inventory?”  Laurel started laughing.  “Maybe I stayed up to clean my apartment?”  She laughed even louder yet.  “Maybe, just maybe I stayed up looking for the perfect wedding venue for my perfect sister.”   With that Laurel shot her a look of disbelief, “Come on, Sara.”   “Fine.  Ava came over last night.”  Sara beamed.   Laurel stole a quick glance over at her sister, “Breakfast Ava?”   Sara nodded in the affirmative, “Yeah.”  She then looked out the window, away from her sister.  “Where are we going anyway?”   Sara felt an elbow dig briefly into her side.  ” Don’t think you’re off the hook on this subject.”  Still looking out the window the blonde thought she might finally find the courage to talk to her sister about Oliver today.  “BUT...we are going to try on wedding dresses.  Well, a maid of honor dress for you.”  Laurel’s face was plastered with a smile and Sara’s stomach dropped.  Not today.  "Good thing I didn't stand you up."  Sara shot a smirk back at Laurel as she sat up.  Laurel shook her head, "Again, you mean."  Laurel maneuvered the car through the city knowing exactly where she was going.  Sipping her coffee Sara looked out the windshield, "Just the 2 of us or will Felicity and Thea be there?"  The brunette shook her head, "Just you and I today."  Sara smiled despite not being able to finally have the hard conversation with Laurel.  "Look at you.  I haven't seen you smile this much since...well since Nyssa."  Laurel winced slightly as she spoke.  "Am I out of line?"  "No."  Sara shook her head.  Nyssa had been the last person Sara had seriously dated.  It had ended when Nyssa had gone home and they just hadn't been able to maintain a long-distance relationship.  It had ended amicably, but it had still caused Sara to pull back on relationships entirely.  "However..."  She shot the brunette a serious look.  "Let's not talk about her, cool?"

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Shifting on the overly plush couch Sara sipped the mimosa the overly friendly salesperson had offered while she waited for Laurel to reappear.  Of course, they would be in the most high-end boutique in Star City, Laurel was marrying Oliver Queen after all.  Everything about the place was just too much.  Sara was sure she had seen some show on TV that featured the Shoppe and a bitchy bride to be.   At this point they were 3 dresses in and none of them really suited Laurel in Sara’s opinion.  Which felt odd since apparently they were seeing the final four Laurel had already narrowed down with the rest of the bridal party; during the multiple times Sara had canceled.  She genuinely thought at least Thea would have better taste than what she had seen so far.  Behind her she could hear Laurel approaching, without looking she started to talk.  “Laurel, which one did mom like?”  As she turned her head Sara’s mouth fell open.  “Why didn’t you come out in this one first?!”  Standing up she approached her sister so she could walk around her.   “Yeah?  You like this one?”  Finally closing her mouth Sara spun her hand around asking her sister to give her the 360 view.  Sara took in the asymmetrically draped sweetheart bodice and full A-line skirt with a beaded waistband.   Once Laurel was facing her again Sara nodded, “Lose the cap sleeves though.”   Groaning Laurel turned to the full-length mirror, “Sara, I don’t have your arms.”  The brunette rolled her eyes looking at Sara through the reflection.   Shrugging her shoulders, the blonde crossed her arms across her chest.  “Well, if you didn’t stop coming to the gym with me then you would.  It’s not like I didn’t show you my workout routine.”   A snobby salesperson hurried over, “These are detachable.”  She fussed with the cap sleeves for a moment.   As soon as they were moved out of the way Sara grinned widely at the brunette, “See!  You are gorgeous.”   Laurels small smile wasn’t missed by the blonde.  “You just might be right, little sister.”   Sara scrunched up her nose and set her chin on Laurels shoulder as she stood behind her looking at their reflection in the mirror.  “Of course I am.”  Fully taking in the dress Sara smiled before standing up straight again.  “Which one did mom like?”   “The second one.”  The brunette watched her sister’s expression carefully.  “You hate all the rest, don’t you?”   Flopping back down on the couch Sara grinned and sipped from the champagne flute.  “I hate them so much, Laurel.”   Shaking her head Laurel raised her eyebrows, “Well it’s a good thing you finally showed up then.  Otherwise I might have gotten married in Mom’s first choice.”   “I’m sorry-”   Laurel held her hand up to stop Sara from continuing.  “You’re here now.”  She nodded to the saleswoman as she started to walk towards the changing rooms again.   Before she could get too far away Sara piped up, “What about you Laurel, which one is your favorite?”   The brunette shot Sara a smile over her shoulder, “We’re sisters, Sara.  We have excellent taste.”   Sara watched as Laurel disappeared again and finished the drink in one pull then rubbed her hands over her face knowing she was running out of time.  She had declined trying on any brides' maids' dresses conceding to wear whatever everyone else had already decided on since she had missed the other appointments.  Leaning back into the couch she started to realize she was a really crappy maid of honor she had been so far; starting with sleeping with the groom.   Staring at the empty flute, she ran her hands through her hair and started to mentally prepare a list of what she needed to do to turn things around.  First thing, she needed to tell Laurel the truth.  Once that was done, ideally there would still be a wedding.  So, Bridal Shower, Bachelorette Party, and Speech at a minimum.  All of that of course hinging on if Laurel still wanted her in the Bridal party.  Hell, if Laurel still even wanted her around at all.   After a few minutes Laurel reappeared talking to the snobby woman who smiled warmly and nodded as the brunette pulled away.  Once Sara was within earshot she nodded to the door.  “Let’s get something to eat.”   Standing Sara followed her out the door.  “Where to?”   Laurel pointed across the street.  “There’s a great place about a block away.  We can walk it, it’s not very far at all.”  Sara fell into step beside her sister.  The older woman smiled warmly at her sister, “I ordered the dress.  So, can we start working out together again?”   Nodding Sara tucked her hands into her pockets.  “Absolutely.”  She was quiet for a bit while they walked.  “Did you set a date?”  She glanced over at Laurel questioningly.  “I mean typically you don’t get the dress until a date is set, right?”   Chuckling lightly Laurel nodded.  “We just decided last night.”  She turned to look at her sister.  “August 31st.”  Laurel seemed to get lost in thought for a moment.   Sara made sure to give Laurel the most genuine smile she could manage, but at the same time her stomach turned as nervousness started to set in.  “Laurel, that’s great!  Have you booked a venue?”   The brunette continued to smile widely.  “We decided to have it at the Queen Mansion.  The estate is beautiful, Sara.  You remember, right?”   Nodding the blonde distinctly remembered the last time she had left the estate.  “Of course.  I know I’ve been neglecting my Maid of Honor duties, but I promise to get it in gear.”   As Laurel held the door of the restaurant open for her, Sara slipped inside.  “You better.  We have a deadline now.”  Turning away from her sister Laurel smiled at the host.   “Ah, Ms. Lance.  Welcome back.”  The man walked over to them immediately with 3 menus’ in his hand.  “Will Mr. Queen be joining you today?”   Laurel shook her head, “Not today.”   Without missing a beat, the host dropped one of the menus’ back down.  “Right this way, ladies.”   Sara had to hold back a laugh as he pulled their seats out for them and set the menus’ down before rattling off the specials and disappearing back to the front of the restaurant.  “So, this is the VIP treatment, eh Ms. Lance?”   Laurel threw her a look over the top of the menu.  “Don’t be jealous Sara, it’s a terrible look on you.”  Her eyes lit up with amusement as she threatened to throw her napkin at the bartender playfully.   Grabbing the napkin Sara narrowed her eyes.  “Keep in mind, I still have a speech to write.”  She spread the napkin in her lap and smirked across the table.  “So, you better be nice or I will embarrass the hell out of you.”   Laurel just continued to look at the blonde, “So, can I expect a plus one?”   Sara glanced at the ceiling briefly.  “Maybe, but August is a long way off.”  As she spoke the blonde readjusted the napkin in her lap.   The brunette noticed her sister fidgeting, “And you’ll be back in school come January.”  Laurel looked at her with a smile plastered on her face.  “I’m very proud of you, Sara.”   The bartender managed to hide a flinch, but she felt it.  She had distanced herself from Laurel.  Ava had been right, Sara felt guilty even though she and Oliver technically hadn’t done anything wrong.  He and Laurel were definitely broken up at the time.  “Me, look at you.  Working in the DA’s office and marrying the most eligible bachelor in Star City.” ~~~   Sara looked at her phone and sent the message to Ava wishing her luck on the game she would be playing that afternoon.  Taking a deep breath before she opened the door to her family home Sara forced a smile on her face.  As soon as the door opened, she could hear her mom and Laurel laughing in the kitchen.  When she closed the door behind her Sara felt her father's strong arms wrap her up into a hug, “There you are baby girl!”   She held up the bottle of wine she had brought, “Sorry, it was a late night.”  After she had parted ways with Laurel after lunch she had gone to work and it had been an extremely busy night causing her to work late.  Quentin Lance nodded knowingly and took the bottle from his youngest, “Away game last night.  Always fills up the campus bars.”  He walked towards the dining room as Sara fell into step behind him.  “Sara’s here!”  He spoke loud enough to announce her presence to the entire house.   Dinah’s head popped out of the kitchen, “You’re late.”  Her tone was teasing, but Sara could hear the underlying disapproval there.   The blonde managed to keep a smile in her voice, “Good Morning, Mom.”  Her mother shot her a look then disappeared into the kitchen again.  “Do you need help?”   She could here dishes being shuffled around.  “Do you want to set the table with dad?”  It was Laurel’s voice that finally drifted out of the kitchen.   Sara turned and shot her father a lopsided grin, “We’re on dish duty, old man.”   He shrugged, “What else is new?”  As he spoke, he grabbed a stack of plates from the hutch.   Observing that he had grabbed four plates Sara grabbed the same in silverware.  “Just Lances’ this morning?”   Shooting her an amused look Quentin smiled, “Unless you brought someone with you, that I’m not seeing, then yes.”  He paused as he set the plates down.  “Oliver had an emergency at the office this morning.”  Sara nodded in acknowledgement.   Once the table was set Laurel and Dinah brought out the food that they had been preparing.  Laurel gave Sara a one-armed hug as she sat down a bowl of cut up fruit.  “Good Morning.  How was work?”   Sitting down Sara shot her sister a threatening look.  “Long.”   Taking her seat at the end of the table Dinah looked over the gathered family and smiled, “Sara, you look tired sweetie.”   “Yep.”  She popped the p as she spoke trying to hide her annoyance with her mother.  “That’s why I was running late this morning.”   Dinah hummed and passed the bacon to Sara, “Did you wind up meeting with your friend last week?  How was the study session?  Did you try the practice test?”   Her eyes wide Sara shot Laurel a plea for help.  “I did.  We are going to go over it tomorrow.”  That last thing she wanted to share with her mother was how poorly she had done.  11am was entirely too early to be scrutinized that much.   Laurel cleared her throat getting the attention of the table, “We set a date.”  All eyes moved to the brunette and Sara mouthed a thank you to her sister.  Laurel had always been better at being the center of attention.  She was great at managing people, which was why Sara knew she was going to be an amazing lawyer. ~~~   Most of brunch had been taken up with wedding talk which Sara was very thankful for.  As she sat back and mostly listened to her mom and sister discuss the details.  She did chime in when Laurel shared that they had selected a dress the day before.  The blonde could tell their mother was slightly disappointed that her first choice wasn’t the one that had been picked.   As she listened to the idle chatter, she pulled out her phone to see if she received a message back from the tall blonde.  Not seeing anything she glanced at the time.  Quentin glanced over as she set her phone on the table gently.  She leaned closer to him seeing the question in his eyes, “Are we going to slip away and watch the UCONN game?”   It was already ten minutes until one o’clock.  Quentin smiled, “Do you want to?”  She nodded returning his smile.  “Well then, let’s go!”  Both he and Sara stood up at the same time grabbing several dishes to carry into the kitchen.  After a second trip the table had been entirely cleared.  “We’re going to the living room.”  The patriarch of the family made his intentions known and kept walking right into the family room and grabbed the remote control before sitting in his chair.   As Sara sat on the couch, her dad turned the television on and found the game.  Wanting to make idle conversation Sara kept her voice even.  “What do you think our chances are?”   Quentin laughed and set the remote on the arm of his chair shaking his head, “Not a chance in hell, Baby Girl.”  Sara turned her attention to the television and watched as #12 moved to the center of the court for the tip off.  As if a sudden thought entered his mind Quentin looked over at his youngest, “Wait, since when are you so interested in basketball?”   As Laurel walked into the room she glanced at the tv screen.  Leaning against the doorframe she quirked an eyebrow at Sara.  “Pretty sure twelve there might have something to do with it.”   Quentin looked from his youngest daughter to the tv then back to Sara again.  Unfortunately, she was unable to stop her cheeks from flushing.  She immediately grabbed one of the decorative pillows on the couch and threw it at Laurel.  His brow knitted together in confusion as he looked at Laurel who attempted to avoid the pillow flying at her.  “Sharpe?  What does-” Once he saw Sara’s reaction he nodded.  “So, that’s Ava.”   “Can’t you keep your mouth shut?  Like ever?”  Sara glared at Laurel, but there really wasn’t any anger behind it.  Of course, she had mentioned Ava to her parents last week when she told them she was going back to school.  Dinah had been hesitant at first, but when Sara had mentioned the study sessions and the practice test, she seemed to warm up to the idea. ~~~   At some point during the second half basketball had become a family event and even Dinah was in the family room watching the game.  Perched at the end of the couch Sara groaned through most of the game watching the #1 ranked team edging out Star City at every turn.  It was clear why they were #1, but the Bulldogs were trying to fight back.  Quentin shook his hand at the tv, “If they can just get a momentum shift, they can pull it off!”   Sara drummed her fingers on the coffee table nervously as the seconds ticked away.  Alex was about to toss the ball in with about 3 minutes left in the game.  “YES!”  Sara and Quentin both jumped to their feet when the Bulldogs sunk a 3-pointer.  Clearly having a father/daughter moment they high-fived each other.  Sara smiled with pride as Ava smacked the ball away from one of the Huskies towards Zari and they made their way back to the net.  Sara bounced as Ava jumped.  “What the fuck?!”  The words left her mouth before she could censor herself.  She gestured towards the tv angrily when Ava hit the court after taking an elbow to her shoulder, “That was blatant!”   Beside her Laurel who was still sitting sucked in a breath, “Oh, your girl is about to hit someone.”  Sara didn’t correct her sister or actually even think twice about calling Ava ‘her girl’.   Sara watched as Ava jumped right up and made a move towards the girl that had fouled her, but Zari stepped in front of her blocking Ava’s path.  There were a few words spoken before Ava moved to the free-throw line.  Slowly Sara sat back down, her eyes never leaving the television.  Ava’s shot dropped through the net.  Sara’s eyes moved from the action on the screen to check the score and time remaining shown at the bottom.  In the moment her eyes left the action something must have happened because the next thing she saw was Ava collecting the ball from a missed shot.   Sara was back on her feet as Star City moved the ball back down the court towards the net.  She looked over at her dad who was also on his feet, even Laurel jumped up as Zari’s guard stumbled and she took another three-point shot as the final seconds slipped from the game clock.  The ball rolled around the rim, “Come on!”  When it finally dropped in all 3 of them couldn’t help, but shout throwing their hands in the air.   Smiling Quentin shook his head, “Well, I’ll be damned.  They did it.”   “Yeah, they did!”  Sara felt a strange welling of pride in her chest. She grabbed her phone to send another message to Ava, but then she realized the athlete hadn’t actually responded to her previous text.  She dropped her phone back into her pocket not wanting to be a bother.   Dinah leaned forward and looked at Sara, “So this Ava.  Have you known her long?”  Refraining from rolling her eyes Sara flopped onto the couch.   Sara knew exactly where this conversation was headed.  It wasn’t that her mom was opposed to ‘same sex’ couples so much as she didn’t want that life for *her* kids.  Trying to appear unphased Sara turned and looked at her mom, “Couple of months.”  She remembered Dinah’s reaction when she brought Nyssa home for the first time.  She had been civil, but Sara knew once her girlfriend left there would be a long talk.  “She’s Amaya’s roommate.”  Their attention returned to the television as the team captains and coaches moved to conduct interviews about the game.  Sara looked over her shoulder towards Laurel, “So, did you want to start working out now?”   “Maybe a little bit later.”  Laurel shook her head with her eyes wide as if to say I already saved you once today. ~~~   Stepping out of the shower Sara grabbed a towel wrapping it around herself.  “Are you sure you don’t want to come?”  She yelled through the door that was cracked open.   “No, not tonight.”  Laurel stretched out on Sara’s bed.  “I can’t believe you are actually going to Time Masters when you managed to get the day off.”  The brunette rolled onto her side and tucked her arm under her head.  “If you drink too much tonight please call me.  I’ll come and pick you up.”  After enduring more of their mothers questions Sara had managed to drag Laurel to the gym for a couple hours before they caught a movie and then dinner.  It had been getting late, but Sara had gotten a hold of Ray and decided that she wanted to go celebrate with the Bulldogs at Time Masters.  “Don’t you have to work in the morning?”  After drying off Sara quickly got dressed.   “No, Oliver and I scheduled a tasting tomorrow.”   Once she was fully dressed the blonde pushed the door open so she could see her sister.  “You guys really kicked it into overdrive.”  She watched her sister carefully. “Is everything okay?”   Laughing Laurel nodded, “Of course.”   Sara pointed at Laurel and drew her brows together, “You’re sure?”   The brunette grabbed a pillow and threw it as hard as she could at Sara.  “Everything is fine!  Once we decided on the date Ollie and I agreed that we should start making plans right away.”  Sitting up Laurel watched as Sara slipped back into the bathroom to finish getting ready.  “In the grand scheme of things 9 months isn’t a long time.”   Sara nodded at her reflection in the mirror, looking at Laurel through the reflection.  “No, you’re right.”  Guilt flooded through her body as she watched Laurel stand up and start to wander around her apartment.  Grabbing her toothbrush she applied some paste to it.  “So, I have to plan the bridal shower, write a speech, and plan a bachelorette party, right?”   “Mmhmm.”  As she brushed her teeth Sara saw Laurel pick up the pre-test off her dining room table and start to flip through it.  “Sara, is this the test you took?”   The blonde poked her head around the corner to see what exactly her sister was looking at.  “Ugh.”  She walked over and swiped it from Laurels hands, “Can you please not look at that?”   “It didn’t look like you did that badly.”   Sara groaned and pulled the toothbrush from her mouth again, “Give me a break.  I have so much to go over in the next couple of months.”   Laurel tilted her head, “If you’re so worried then maybe you should stay home tonight.”   Sara raised her chin then walked over to the kitchen sink to spit out the access toothpaste.  “HA!  Not tonight.”  Gesturing to her phone, “The Bulldogs are back in town.  We need to celebrate their win, Laurel.”   The brunette leaned on the edge of the kitchen counter, “Tell me about Ava.”   Sara paused and rinsed off her toothbrush a warm feeling flushing her neck and cheeks.  Retreating she headed back to the bathroom to put away her toothbrush.  “What?”   “What’s going on with you and Ava?  You told me she spent the night Friday, but that nothing happened.”  It was quiet for a minute.  “Sara, I know you like her.  It’s really obvious.  So, what’s the deal?  What’s holding you back?”   Stepping out of the bathroom again Sara raised her shoulder in a half shrug.  As Laurel lifted an eyebrow Sara knew she wasn’t getting out of this conversation.  “So, I met her at Time Masters.  Some idiot was hitting on her so, I told him to leave her alone or I’d kick him out.”  She rubbed the back of her neck absently, “She was just...I don’t know how to explain it exactly, but she’s not like anyone I would ever normally go for.  Everything was fine, we exchanged a couple of looks at the bar, no big deal.”  Taking a deep breath Sara took a moment to gather her thoughts.  “Until I got off work.  She had already left which was fine, but when I went to Inferno to cut loose a little, I ran into her again.”   Sara smirked a little at the memory, “So, I asked her to dance.  For some reason she thought I followed her there.”  She shook her head before continuing, “She actually had Nora, you remember Nora?  Ray’s girlfriend?”  Laurel nodded her head.  “Right, so she actually had Nora dance with her to make me jealous, I think?”  She laughed lightly, “It was adorable.  Obviously, she had no idea I knew Nora at all.”  She was a little embarrassed to tell Laurel everything, but continued anyway.  “So, we may have made out a little at the bar.”  Sara’s face scrunched up.   Laurel rolled her eyes, “Not surprising, Sara.”   Glancing at the ceiling Sara avoided Laurel’s eyes, “I might have tried to take her to a hotel.”  Sara heard a disapproving hum.  “She turned me down, said she had just gotten out of a long-term relationship.  So, you know, me being the helper I am.”  Sara exhaled sharply, “I offered to be a rebound?  You know to get it out of the way.”   Laurel’s palm hit her forehead, “I’d say something along the lines of you didn’t, but I know you did.”   Sara grinned warmly at the memory, “Long story short we found out we have a lot of friends in common so we kept running into each other, and I just feel like I’m so much more when she’s around.  Like I actually know what I’m doing with my life.”   Laurel’s head bobbed, “So, again, what’s holding you back?”   Sara rubbed her eyes, “Halloween night I took her home, to her apartment.  We talked a lot, and then we stopped talking.”  Sara raised her eyebrows hoping her sister was following long so she wouldn’t have to completely spell it out for her.  “I thought she had just taken me up on my offer to rebound.  So, I more or less left in the morning like nothing happened.  I knew she was upset with me so, we talked later and I suggested we could be friends.”   “This doesn’t look like friends, you do know that?”  Laurel moved from the kitchen area into the living room to sit on the couch.   “Yeah, it never really felt like friends either, but I wanted to keep things easy for her.”  Sara licked her lips, “She challenges me like no one else ever has.  I just thought it would be enough to have her in my orbit.”   Laurel smiled knowingly, “And it’s not.”   Sara shook her head, “No.”   “You should tell her.”  Laurel seemed to think for a moment, “You need to tell her.”   Sara crossed her arms in front of her, “I know.  I was going to the other morning when she stayed, but she got weird and bolted out the door.  Maybe she just wants to be friends?  Maybe she knows I’m crazy about her and didn’t want to hear it.”   Laurel’s eyes narrowed just slightly, “Nope, you need to tell her regardless.”  The brunette reached over and ran her hand down her sisters’ arm, “I haven’t seen you like this in a long time, and she actually gives a shit about you.”   Sara held up her hand, “That’s the other thing.  She could do so much better than me, Laurel.  I’m just a college drop-out, bartender.”   The brunette shook her head vehemently, “Wrong.  As of right now you are a pre-med student with a bartending gig.”   “Because she encouraged me, that’s the only reason.”   Laurel continued nodding, “Exactly.  Sara, I suggested you get it together and you did nothing.  This girl that you’ve known for how long suggests the same thing and you go for it.  You can’t tell me it’s not worth the risk.”  The brunette pressed a kiss to the top of Sara’s head, “Now, get your ass to that bar and get the girl...or not.  If not, at least you can say you actually tried.” ~~~   Walking into Time Masters Sara spotted the bar of the bar filled with the Legends and the basketball team.  She stopped at the bar first to order herself a drink.  The bartender on duty greeted her, “Sara, aren’t you off tonight?”   Nodding she gestured to the back of the bar, “Everyone came here so I figured I would tag along.”   Nodding Eliza grabbed a glass from below the bartop, “What are you drinking tonight?”   Thinking about what Laurel said Sara considered her options.  “Give me a Coke and 2 shots of Fireball.”  Eliza set the shots up and Sara immediately took both shots and set the empty glasses on the bartop.  Sara tapped the counter, “Rum and coke.”   Eliza made the last drink and set it down, “Jesus, Sara what are you trying to get yourself pumped up for?”   The blonde smiled at the cinnamon whiskey warmed her belly.  “A little liquid courage never hurt anyone, Eliza.”  She set her money on the counter, making sure she tipped her friend well.  Walking over to the group she over-heard part of the conversation that was taking place as she sat the coke in front of Ava and smiled.  “Whose attacking you?”  Sara looked around the table to figure out who Ava had been talking to.  Her eyes finally landed on Alex’s familiar face. “It’s you, isn’t it?”   Alex simply shrugged, “Maybe.  Sara, this is Maggie.”   “Hey Maggie.”  Sara smiled warmly at the woman Alex had introduced her to before turning her attention to the tall blonde.  “Brought you a refill.”   Sara noted that Ava’s eyes searched the bar around as if to figure out how she had missed Sara’s presence.  “Were you working?  I didn’t see you.”   Shaking her head Sara nodded towards Ray, “No, but I asked this guy where everyone was.  So, I thought I might as well join you.”  Sara appraised the team sitting together.  “Besides I hear congrats are in order once again.  You ladies are having a banner year.”  Sara leaned across the table so her face was close to Ava’s.  “What do you think Director are you going to go all the way?”   The shorter blonde watched as Ava studied her expression before speaking again.  “Yeah, I think we can.”   Sara’s smile grew wider as she gazed at the athlete. “Seriously though, what time are we getting together tomorrow?”  Trying to be sneaky she reached across the table and stole a couple french fries off Zari’s plate.   “Aw, fuck off, Lance!”  Sara felt Zari push against her shoulder as she put the stolen goods into her mouth.   Sara took a step back throwing her hands in the air. “Easy tiger.  Sorry the kitchen’s closed.”  Looking back to Ava she couldn’t wipe the smile from her face if she tried.   “Uh.”  Sara knew she was staring as she watched Ava push a strand of hair behind her ear.  “Well, Coach is giving us a pass on the morning practice so, I’m free all morning.”   Sara nodded seeing her chance to talk to Ava, to tell her how she felt. “Come over in the morning?”   “I can meet you at the library.”  Ava’s voice rang out before Sara could make any additional suggestions.  “Say around 9?”   Disappointed that her chance to talk to the tall blonde was being postponed Sara fought the frown she knew had slipped onto her face.  “Sure, that sounds great.”  Needing to have a moment not to overthink Sara looked around the group, “What’s everyone else drinking tonight?”   Sara started talking to Amaya and Ray, but noted as Ava seemed to pull away almost as if she was avoiding her.  She considered pulling the tall blonde aside and trying to figure out what exactly she was thinking, but when Ava started talking to her teammates Sara decided to leave well enough alone.  At least until she could get a moment to talk to her alone.  That way if Ava did reject her then it would be less embarrassing.   Sara noticed Ava stand and step away from the group.  As the tall blonde pulled out her phone Sara tried to extricate herself from the conversation she had fallen into.  That was until she heard Ava’s voice through the crowd.  “Hey guys, I’m going to call it a night.”   Ava was at the opposite end of the bar so Sara needed to act quickly if she was going to get a moment of Ava’s time.  As she was about to get off the stool and make her way to Ava she saw two of Ava’s teammates gathering their gear and follow her out of the bar.  Sara could only watch as Ava walked to the exit.  When the tall blonde paused and looked over her shoulder Sara beamed at her and gave her a small wave.   Once she was out of sight Sara swore under her breath and finished her drink.  She had, had a few drinks since arriving, but she could handle her alcohol and she knew it.  Excusing herself from the table she returned to the bar and order another.  Eliza studied her for a moment, “Sara, I’m going to need your keys if you are taking this drink.”   Rolling her eyes Sara sat her keys on the counter and took the drink.  “Sure, mom.”  There wasn’t any bite in her tone, but she was a bit annoyed.  She returned to the Legends side of the table and sat sipping her drink.   Nate sat next to her and elbowed her gently, “Hey, you okay?”   Summoning up everything she could Sara managed a smirk as she shrugged her shoulders, “Of course!”  Across the bar she saw a familiar face sitting at the bar staring at her,Christina.  Her face had begun to feel a little numb and she knew she was on the verge of bad decision Sara rearing her head.  She grabbed her phone and dialed the first number that came to mind.  The voice on the other end was fortunately very awake.  “Can you come and get me?” ~~~   “Get up!”  The voice stung in Sara’s ears as she groaned and turned over trying to extract her limbs from the sheet that was impossibly wrapped tightly around her body.  Wincing she moved to pull the pillow over her face.  “Sara, no, you need to get up.”   Blinking her eyes open she looked up at Laurel and shook her head, “I can’t.”  Her head was pounding and her mouth was dry.  Something hit her side, “Ow!”   Laurel was looking down at her disapprovingly, “You dropped your phone in my car.  You have like 6 messages from Ava.”   “Shit!  What time is it?”  Sara didn’t even try to sit up knowing the effort would be fruitless at the moment.  She glanced at the time on her phone’s lock screen.  9:35a.  “Fuck!”  She quickly unlocked it and pushed to call Ava.  It rang several times and Sara’s stomach knotted as she hoped Ava would at least answer.   “Sara.”  Her voice was terse and Sara knew she had seriously fucked up this time.   “Look, Ava, I’m sorry.”  Sara tried to hide the exhaustion from her tone.  “I can be there in like 20 minutes.”  As she tried to sit up and fell back down and Laurel giggled from the doorway as Sara floundered in the sheets.  Once Sara had extracted herself slightly, she shot her sister a pained look that caused her to get quiet.   “Cool.  You’ll find all the material I pulled for you on the desk in the back corner, where we met up last time.”  Sara didn’t think it was possible, but Ava’s voice seemed even more annoyed with her.   Groaning Sara ran a hand through her hair.  “Ava, please I just overslept.”   “So, I gathered.”  Sara heard Ava’s exasperated sigh. “Look Sara, here’s the thing I l...”  Sara could tell she was about to say something else, but stopped before shifting gears.  “like you.  I just feel like every other conversation we have consists of ‘I’m sorry, Ava’.”  Sara exhaled slowly knowing Ava was right.  She couldn’t argue with her about that.  “I want to help you, but I don’t have time for games.”   “What?”  Sara couldn’t keep her tone neutral as she spoke.  “I’m not playing games with you.”  Sara sat up letting the blanket and sheets pool around her waist.  “It really sucks that you think that.”   “What else am I supposed to think?”  The annoyance in Ava’s tone was very clear.   “I shared something so very important to me and I thought maybe we were...I don’t know.  I just thought we were beyond bar pickup lines and being stood up.”  It was then that Sara realized that it wasn’t annoyance so much as hurt.   “I’m going to be late, Aves, I’m still coming.  I’m not standing you up...I just over slept.”  Sara stood up even though her head was pounding at this point.   “Look, here’s the deal.  I’m leaving Friday afternoon for California.  I’ll be gone all weekend.”  There was a pause, but Sara knew not to say anything, she knew Ava wasn’t done saying what she needed to say.  “Why don’t you take some time and figure out what it is you really want?  And maybe once I get back on Monday if you still want my help you call me.”   Walking over to the wall Sara rested her head against it letting the coolness ease her pain a little.  When Sara spoke, she knew she let anger slip into her tone, but she wasn’t mad at Ava.  She was upset with herself for letting things go for so long, but she did want Ava to go and leave things the way they were for a week.  “Ava, you are overreacting.  This is ridiculous.”  Sara waited for the tall blonde to say anything.  Before she realized what was happening, she spoke up again.  “Maybe you are the one that needs to figure out what it is you want.”   Sara heard Ava sigh softly.  “No, I’m pretty sure I know what I want, but I’m not sure if it even really exists or if it’s just something you show me when it’s convenient for you to get what you want.”   Sara hit her head lightly on the wall and grunted before she was able to find her words again.  “I don’t know what you want from me?  Or what you expect from me?”   “Can you just not be an asshole for a minute?  Maybe understand where I’m coming from and that there are consequences for your actions.”    Sara stopped and really made her hung over brain think about what Ava was saying.  She knows what she wants, but doesn’t know if it really exists?  Before Sara was able to respond she heard Ava speak up again.  “Just take the week and try to sort out what you want. Good bye.”   Sara spoke up quickly, before Ava hung up on her.  “What if I don’t need or want to wait a week?”  She closed her eyes praying the tall blonde already hadn’t hung up.  When she didn’t hear a dial tone her heart started to pound in her chest hopefully.   Several quiet minutes ticked by before Sara heard Ava again, her tone softer this time.  “What do you want, Sara?”   Taking a deep breath Sara decided it was time.  No more hiding, put yourself out there.  “You.”  She inhaled deeply before continuing, “Look, I really like you too.  And I’ve been dancing around this idea of being friends and I just can’t.”  She spun around bracing her back against the wall and slid down into a sitting position on the floor.  She looked around Laurel’s guest room struggling to gather her thoughts through the pounding of her head.  “I know I said I could just be a rebound or something for you, but that’s not what I want and I don’t want to be friends.”  She was pretty sure all this was just word vomit at this point and none of it was making sense.  Especially since Ava hadn’t responded.  Pressing a hand to her forehead she sighed, “I get it, you want some time.  Take the week and I don’t know...if you want to talk to me after that call?  Fuck, if you don’t want to talk to me at least send me a text so I know I screwed this up too.”   “We should talk.”  Sara slid onto her side so she was laying down on the floor.  The pounding in her head had decreased slightly.   “Yeah.”  She pressed her eyes closed.  “You decide when and where.  I’ll be there.”   “Okay.  I’ll text you soon.  Good bye.”   “Bye.”  Sara hung up the phone and slid it across the floor away from her.   Laurel stepped into the room and sat on the floor across from Sara’s prone form.  She moved a glass of water and two ibuprofen in front of Sara.  “So, that didn’t sound like it went great.”   Sara reached out and grabbed the pills and water, “Could have been worse, I think.”  She sat up slightly and took the pills before dropping her head back down.  “I’m seriously a mess.  She deserves so much more than me.”   Laurel drew her knees into her chest, “Well, the way I see it you have 2 choices.”  Sara’s eyes looked up at the brunette.  “First, you can lay on the floor here in my guest room and feel terrible for yourself. OR you can get off your ass and be the person you think she deserves.”   Licking her lips Sara knew then what she needed to do.  She sat up with her back against the wall, “Laurel, I did something dumb and I need to tell you.”  She stopped and considered if this was just for herself or if it would be the best thing for her sister to know about Oliver.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sara leaned her pounding head back against the wall trying to decide exactly how she needed to word her confession.  Finally taking a deep breath she lifted her head so she could look her sister in the eyes.  As much as she just wanted to hide from her emerald gaze; Sara knew she needed to face what she had done, and own up to it.  “While you were away at Columbia.  After you and Oliver had that fight and you broke it off with him-”   Laurel quickly held up her hand and shook her head.  “Sara, stop.”  Sara saw the haunted look in her sisters' eyes.   Sara could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as her throat tightened.  “I need to tell you, Laurel.”  Her tone was pleading, but the brunettes’ shoulders just seemed to tense up.  “I’ve done so many things that I regret, but this...this is killing me.  I should have told you a long time ago, but I’ve been too much of a coward.”   Laurel quickly stood up and turned away from the blonde.  “I already know.”  Sara watched as Laurel wrapped her arms around herself.  “I’m not blind, Sara.  I saw the way you pulled away from everyone.”  Sara could hear the waver in the brunette’s voice.  “I noticed how the two of you interacted when Ollie and I got back together.  It was different than before I broke it off with him or even when we were together.”  Laurel paused, obviously processing her thoughts.  “And when we got engaged you almost completely cut off contact with me except for Sundays with mom and dad.  At least until recently.”   “Please don’t hate me.”  Shame washed over Sara as she pushed herself up off the floor.   Laurel’s head dropped forward, her back still to Sara.  “I don’t, but I am going to need some time.  I mean, I suspected, but knowing I was right is a whole other thing.”   Sara was frozen in place, not knowing what to do she reached out and touched Laurel’s arm.  “I’m so sorry.”  Sara felt a little bit of relief when Laurel didn’t pull away from her.  “I never meant to hurt you.  Had I known-”   The brunette sighed and placed her hand over Saras’.  “Look, we just had a great weekend and I’m meeting Ollie in a couple hours to start planning our reception.”   Sara nodded even though she knew Laurel couldn’t see her.  “I should-I should go.”  Dropping her hand Sara retreated to the hall bathroom to try and pull herself together before leaving.  As she closed the door Sara rubbed her hands across her face knowing that she had finally told Laurel was a relief, but she was also fighting the urge to throw up.  Sara was 99% sure the nausea had nothing to do with the hangover she knew she would be nursing through most of the day.   Sitting on the closed toilet seat she exhaled slowly trying to think about everything she needed to get done the rest of the day.  First and foremost, she needed to escape the bathroom, get to Time Masters to retrieve her keys, go home, and shower.  Fortunately, she didn’t need to report for work unless they tried to call her in.  She sat there for a few more minutes.  She was mostly waiting to see if she would throw up, but also to wait for the medicine to kick in to ease her headache a bit.  Standing up she swiped a ponytail holder from Laurels drawer and quickly pulled her hair back out of her face.     Looking up at her reflection she saw the dark circles under her eyes and attempt to swallow the tightness lingering in her throat away.  Everything had gotten turned upside down since she met Ava.  Sara wasn’t content to just cruise by anymore, she really wanted to get herself back on track.  Beyond the door she heard the coffee pot kick on. The smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted under the door.  Slipping out of the bathroom she re-entered the guest bedroom and quickly made the bed and retrieved her phone from the floor.   As Sara walked down the hall and turned into the kitchen, she saw Laurel sitting at the small kitchen table staring into her coffee mug.  She was clearly lost in thought.  Sara just stood dumbly in the doorway unsure of what to say.  “Get a cup and sit with me?”  Laurel looked up and Sara could tell that she was hurting, but there wasn’t any anger in her tone.   Nodding, Sara walked over to the coffee pot and poured herself a cup before sitting across from her sister.  She had prepared herself for screaming and yelling, but this was so much worse, quiet and contemplative Laurel was SO much worse.  “Can you just yell at me?  Kick me out?  Something.”   “No, I’m not mad.”  Laurel studied Sara’s expression as she spoke.  “I’m just disappointed.”  Sara felt as if she had been shot in the chest by an arrow.  “Disappointed that it took you this long to tell me.”  The brunette paused and sized Sara up, “And I can’t help but wonder how much longer it would have taken if there wasn’t someone out there calling you out on your bullshit now.”  Sara’s lips parted to say something, but Laurel shook her head.  “No explanations, Sara.  No excuses, just do better.  Be better.  Be my kid sister that dreamed of being a doctor because she wanted to help people.  As long as that’s what you still want.”   A small affectionate smile tugged at her lips as Sara remembered playing with her sister when they were younger.  Laurel had always been involved with the law somehow when they had played, obviously influenced by their father.  Sara on the other hand had leaned towards medicine.  It hadn’t been a major surprise when they started down their career paths as High School had started to come to a close.  Sara hesitantly met her sisters' eyes.  “Do I still have a speech to write?”   It was Sara’s subtle way of asking several questions at once.  Was there still a wedding?  Would she be allowed to be at the wedding?  Would she still be in the wedding?  Most importantly though, would Laurel still want Sara to stand beside her at the altar.  Laurel didn’t even take time to think about the question.  “Of course, but it better be a damn good one.” ~~~   Ava slid her phone back into her pocket, all while processing the fact that Sara had confessed to having feelings for her.  Not just friends.  Now, she needed to decide what she wanted to do with this information.  The bartender was a complete mess, but Ava knew she held so much potential to be so much more.  It just had to be Sara’s decision to tap into that potential.  It felt like she had been making strides to pick herself back up, but Ava still felt like their study session had been ditched for an overnight fling.   Although the confession of feelings had held some weight, but Ava couldn’t stop her brain from over-processing all of the information she had been given.  It was entirely possible Sara was afraid to lose Ava as a study partner.  So, maybe Sara used Ava’s confession about liking her to manipulate her into continuing to help.  Ava tried to shake that thought away, she should leave it up to Sara to explain if she wanted to.  Not to mention, Sara was pre-med certainly she had better options for people to study with than her.  People that were MUCH more knowledgeable in her field of study.   If that was the case then maybe Sara really did have feelings for her.  Maybe the studying was just an excuse to be closer.  Her memory shifted back to Friday afternoon.  Sara had shown up with coffee (she remembered Ava’s order) and sandwiches.  When they were working Sara’s knee, resting against Ava’s leg through pretty much the entire session.  And now she was over-processing everything again.   A cold breeze blew some fallen leaves across the path in front of her.  Ava watched as they swirled past and she knew, she knew she wanted to talk to the bartender before she needed to leave for the weekend.  Ava grabbed her beanie out of her coat pocket and pulled it onto her head continuing across campus towards her apartment.  Then she started to think back through all of her interactions with Sara.  As she began to realize that if they both had feelings for each other, then they had been acting like children.   She wondered if Sara had come to this realization as well.  Ava felt like it was too soon to text the bartender, but she knew as soon as she got back to the apartment, she would send a text anyway.  Tucking her hands into her pockets against the cold she thought about the events of the weekend, and everything that had led her to this moment.  What would the next step be?  Should she ask Sara out on a date?  They really did need to talk things through first.  It was a bit more complicated than just a random crush.  A not quite random crush with a habit of hooking up with people, Ava included.  She got lost in her thoughts until she actually arrived at her apartment.   Walking into the apartment she heard several voices all of which she recognized.  Plastering a smile on her face she kicked off her shoes and looked towards the living room.  “Hey, guys.”   Amaya, Zari, and Nate looked back at her.  “Hey, Aves.”  Amaya’s expression shifted to one of concern.  “I thought you were meeting Sara this morning to study?”   Shrugging off her coat Ava hung it up in the hall closet.  “Yeah, well apparently she forgot.”  She ignored the concerned looks the three friends exchanged.   “Did she forget or was she hung over?”  Nate shrugged his shoulders when Amaya shot him a warning look.   Ava shook her head.  “Most definitely hung over.”   Nate nodded his head chuckling lightly to himself.  “Good thing Laurel picked her up last night.”   “Laurel picked her up?”  As she spoke Ava took off her beanie and tucked it into her coat pocket before closing the closet door.  She made sure to keep her back to the Legends as she processed that bit of information.   “Yeah.”  Nate dropped onto the loveseat leaning back into the cushions.  “Just in time too.  That Christina chick was circling like a vulture.”   Zari shook her head, “Come on Nate-” Amaya was sitting on the couch, Zari’s head resting on her lap.   “What?”  He turned his head to look at the other 2 Legends in the room.  “That girl has been stalking the Captain.”   Sitting next to Nate on the loveseat Ava pulled her phone out of her pocket and unlocked it.

The Legendary Captain Lance
Today 10:15 AM
Do you have to work tonight?
Today 10:17 AM
Nope.
Would you want to go to dinner?
Today 10:18 AM
Are you asking me out on a date?
No. Maybe. We really need to talk things through.
Yeah, do you want me to pick you up at the gym after practice?
Today 10:19 AM
That should work, we usually wrap up about 6p.

Sitting her phone on the arm of the loveseat Ava turned her attention back to the trio in her living room.  “So, what are all of you up to today?”   Zari leaned her head back so she was looking up at Amaya.  “No classes, so we were just planning on a quiet day.  At least until we have to take off for practice.”  Turning her head Zari looked back to Ava.  “I still can’t believe we beat UCONN.”   Shifting deeper into the cushions Ava nodded in agreement.  “If I’m being honest, we played great, but only because they grossly underestimated us.  I’m not 100% sure in a rematch we’d be able to take them a second time.”   Reaching over to the coffee table Zari grabbed a handful of almonds.  “I have to admit I’ve never wanted you to be more wrong than I do right now, but I think you’re right.”  She popped a couple of the seeds into her mouth.   Ava arched an eyebrow at her teammate.  “Of course, all that means is that we need to work harder, especially since we’re on peoples radar now.  The season is just going to get even more difficult with everyone gunning for us.”   “Coach will figure something out.”  Zari stretched out and smiled up at Amaya as she ran her fingers through Zari’s hair.   Feeling the need to shift the conversation away from basketball Ava spoke up.  “So, how long have you guys been a thing?  Apparently, I’ve been so hung up in my own crap that I missed it?”  As she spoke Ava propped her chin in her hand, studying Amaya and Zari.   Amaya winced slightly as she looked over to her roommate, “I wouldn’t say missed so much as we kept it low key.”  The dark-haired woman looked down at her girlfriend then back up to the blonde.  “I guess we just didn’t want to flaunt our relationship in front of you?”   Ava spun her cellphone on the armrest absently. “You don’t need to do that.  I’m doing okay, really.”   “Well, that said.  We were planning on going for lunch later if you want to join us?”  Nate spoke up next to Ava.  “You’d save me from being a third wheel.”  He shot her a warm smile. Conceding Ava nodded.  “That sounds great.” ~~~   Walking into the gym in her practice gear Ava listened to the familiar and strangely comforting sound of the basketball bouncing against the court.  Seeing Alex standing a center court with Giada Birdman, a freshman guard.  Moving to join them Ava noted that Alex stopped dribbling as she approached.  “Good afternoon, ladies.”   Alex turned and greeted Ava with a nod, “Hey, Director.  We were just going over some plays.”  She then nodded towards Giada.  “She’s going to do great things here.”   “What do we think about Stanford?”  As she asked the freshman looked from Alex to Ava.   “It’s going to be a challenge.”  Alex dribbled the ball she had been holding and looked to Ava.   “We’ll need to prepare for sure.  It’s going to be a lot harder than yesterday.”  She scratched the back of her neck thoughtfully.  “They know what we are capable of and won’t dismiss us like UCONN did.”   Alex hummed in agreement.  “We just need to be a team and work together.  Put out best out there and see what happens.” ~~~   After showering and changing into a plain black tee and jeans, Ava pulled on her SCU Hoodie.  As she walked out of the locker room, she slung her bag over her shoulder.  Keeping her eyes forward she started to feel more than a little nervous knowing she was about to have what could potentially be a difficult conversation with Sara.   As Ava exited the building, she saw a familiar sedan parked nearby and she continued moving towards it.  When she got to the car, Ava moved to the passenger side and bent over, tapping on the window of the locked car.   Inside the vehicle Sara jumped then unlocked the car waving Ava in.  She started talking as soon as the door opened.  “Sorry, my mind must have drifted off a bit there.”  She thrust a thumb over her shoulder.  “You can toss your gear in the back if you want.”   Before sitting next to Sara, Ava opened the back door setting her backpack on the back seat.  Once she was seated, Ava buckled up and turned to the bartender a smile forming on her lips.  “Hey.”   The bartender returned the smile and nodded towards the windshield, “Where too?”   Shrugging Ava just watched Sara, taking in her demeanor.  She could sense something was off with the bartender, Ava could tell something had changed.  It wasn’t necessarily something between them, but with Sara in general.  She turned so she was facing the pre-med student more directly.  “Are you okay?”   Sara thought for a moment then nodded.  “I’m not saying no, but we can talk more once we get to wherever it is that we are going.”  Sara gripped the steering wheel tightly in her hands.   “Why don’t you decide?  We’re in your city after all.”  As Sara started the car Ava continued to study her expression, still trying to get a read on what could be bothering the shorter blonde.   Keeping her eyes on the road ahead Sara loosened her grip on the wheel slightly.  “So, how was practice?”   The tall blonde rolled her eyes.  “Really?  You want to know about basketball practice?”   Sara smiled to herself and shook her head.  “No, not really.”  She paused and considered what she had said.  “Well, I mean I do.  I hope it went good for you, but-” She was rambling again.   “Sara, it’s fine.  Are you nervous?”  The bartender glanced over and their eyes met.   Sara blew out a breath.  “I think maybe I am.  It’s been an interesting day.”   Ava decided to shift the conversation to something more mundane for the moment.  “So, where are we headed?”   “Downtown, a place called Kate’s.  My dad and I used to go a lot when we had some free time together.  It’s just a small local place.”  Ava got the feeling that it was somewhere special to Sara.  The shorter blonde turned her head slightly towards Ava.  “I thought it might be nice for you to get off campus.”   Ava folded her hands in her lap, but met Sara’s gaze.  “Sounds wonderful.”   The traveled in silence for a few minutes and it felt comfortable to Ava, which was a little surprising all things considered.  “I wasn’t expecting you to text me so soon.”  Sara’s attention remained on the road ahead of her.   Taking a sharp breath Ava nodded.  “Yeah, I guess I really didn’t see any reason to put it off.”  She shot a lopsided grin to the bartender.  “Plus, I really didn’t expect you to be available tonight.”   Sara laughed softly and the sound caused a warm feeling to wash over Ava.  “Hopefully you aren’t too disappointed that I was.”   “Not at all.”  Ava watched as Sara spun the steering wheel skillfully as she swung into a designated parking area for the downtown businesses.    Pulling into a parking stall the shorter blonde shifted the car into park.  “We’ll have to walk a couple blocks.  Helpfully you aren’t too worn out from practice.”  Ava shook her head.  “Great.”   Ava paused a moment before opening the car door, it wasn’t until she had fully opened the door that she noticed Sara standing there holding out her hand offering to help the tall blonde out of the car.  She only hesitated slightly before accepting the offer.  As she walked beside the bartender, a respectful distance between them, Ava decided to keep conversation light for a little while longer.  “Okay, so before we get the restaurant.”  She stole a glance over at Sara.  “What would you recommend?”   Sara shrugged easily.  “I really haven’t had anything bad.  It’s mostly comfort food so, hopefully it’s not too heavy.”  Ava read more into that statement than she probably should have.   They fell quiet until Sara held the door open for Ava to enter.  As they walked in the taller blonde looked around taking in her surroundings.  She wasn’t sure what she had expected, but the rustic Irish pub theme caught her off guard.  I wasn’t until she spotted the name of the restaurant over the bar tucked in the corner that she realized it should have been obvious.  Cait’s not Kate’s.  Her eyes traveled across the stonework backwall the archway leading to the kitchen.   Ava’s attention was drawn back to the present when a gruff male voice rang out.  “Ah, Sara!  Will your Da be joining you?”  She turned towards the bar as a large bearded man with red hair came around the corner.  Gray was just beginning to appear on his temples.  He walked up and hugged Sara.   “Not tonight.”  Ava shifted her weight and started looking around again.   “So, just you and your one tonight?”  Ava could pick up on the faint Irish accent.   “Uh.”  Sara glanced over at Ava.  The taller blonde just smiled noting that Sara clearly wasn’t aware of the slang term for ‘her’.  “Yeah, this is Ava.”  The taller blonde could see a hint of a sparkle in Sara’s eyes when she spoke.  “Ava this is Treyvor, and this is his restaurant.”   He held out his hand for Ava to shake.  “Trev.  Nice to meet any friend of Sara’s.”  He smiled warmly.   She took his hand.  “So, not Cait?”   His smile widened.  “Cait was a lovely woman that left me behind years ago.”  Ava started to apologize, but he held up his hand to stop her.  “Always sounded better then Trev’s.”  He turned his attention back to Sara.  “Grab a table and I’ll send Gareth over to get your order.  Great to meet you, Ava.”  Before they walked away, he handed her 2 menus.   Ava followed Sara to a booth in the back corner.  As Sara slid onto the bench against the wall Ava’s chest tightened slightly.  She had typically preferred to have the seat that faced the front door so she would be able to keep an eye out for trouble, but in this case she relented and sat across from Sara taking one of the menus.  “So, you do come here a lot.”  Ava looked at the bartender over the top of the menu in her hands.   Setting the menu down Sara shrugged.  “Not really that often.  Trev is a friend of my family.”   Ava nodded again and set her own menu down.  “What happened that has you so off?”  Cutting right to it the tall blonde relaxed back into the booth.  Her eyes never leaving Sara’s.   Sara fidgeted with the edge of the menu.  “I tried to tell Laurel.”   Sitting up again Avas’ back was ramrod straight.  “What happened?”  Dropping her hands to her lap she curled her hands into fists to prevent herself from reaching out to still Sara’s hands.  What she couldn’t do was hide the shock in her tone.   At Ava’s tone Sara broke the eye contact looking at the table.  She then released the menu, and Sara seemed to get lost in her thoughts before speaking up again.  “I was at her place this morning when we talked.”  Ava’s thoughts drifted back to the giggling girl, Laurel.  “After I spent the weekend making wedding plans with Laurel, I knew I needed to tell her.  It wasn’t until I admitted that I-” Ava could sense that Sara had cut herself off.  “liked you that I got the courage to tell her.”   After it had been quiet for a few minutes Ava knew she’d need to push a little.  “How did that go?  You said you tried to?  You didn’t tell her?”  Ava watched as Sara spread her hands on the surface of the table and tapped the table top with her thumb like a nervous twitch.   “I tried to, but she stopped me.  She apparently kind of knew?  Her reaction wasn’t terrible, but not great at the same time.  If that makes sense?”  Ava just waited to let Sara explain if she wanted to.  “She’s said she isn’t mad at me, but she said she was disappointed.  Mostly because I didn’t tell her sooner.”  Sara exhaled sharply.  “Honestly, Ava, that is so much worse.  I really just want her to yell at me.  I know how to handle yelling, but I don’t need her to look at me with the same disappointed expression my mom does most of the time.”   Nodding Ava just listened at first.  “She may still get mad.”  Sara looked back up meeting Ava’s eyes.  “Look, all I’m saying is that she’s probably still processing what happened.”  Finally giving up Ava unclenched her fists and reached across the table just lightly brushing her fingers against Sara’s testing her reaction, ready to pull away in an instant.  “There’s a chance that she’s still going to get angry.”   That of course was the moment a tall lanky man made his way over.  He set two glasses of water on the table as Ava retreated back to her side of the table.  “Hey Sara.”  He pushed his unkempt, brown hair out of his eyes.  “The usual?”  He didn’t really bother to make any kind of eye contact with either woman.   “Yeah, that’d be great.”  The shorter blonde had pulled back just slightly at the intrusion.   Gareth glanced up from the notepad he had been writing in towards Ava.  “For you?”   Being jerked out of the conversation had the tall blonde reeling a little.  She glanced down at the menu and just ordered the first thing she saw.  “The Gaelic Chicken.”   Nodding the lanky boy pushed his hair back again.  “Anything to drink?”   “No, the water is fine.  Thank you.”  She got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she watched him walk away still fussing with his hair.  There was no way he was going to wash his hands enough times to justify that much hair touching.   “Trev, will bring out the food.”  Ava slowly turned to look at Sara and saw the knowing look in her face.  Her thumb was still nervously tapping out what now seemed to possibly be the beat of a song Ava thought she should know.  Sara looked up at the ceiling a moment.  “You were never a game to me.”   Feeling the tension in her shoulders Ava nodded.  Now they were getting to the crux of the conversation that needed to be had.  Slowly releasing a breath, Ava watched as the condensation from her water glass slid onto the table.  “Listen, Sara.  I get it you’re a free spirit and I don’t want you to change who you are for anyone.  Not even me.”   Sara’s brows knitted together.  “Aves, I’ve not been with anyone else since Halloween.  Hadn’t even considered it really.”  The confused look remained on her face as she continued.  “I’ve been so worried about how everything might fall apart that I haven’t bothered to be honest with anyone.  Myself included.”   Ava was finding it difficult to breath at the revelation.  “And now?  Now you are ready to be honest?”   Sara inclined her head.  “Absolutely.”  A confident spark flashed across her face.  “That first night I saw you at Time Masters I knew there was something about you.  Something I needed to know more about.”  The bartender paused and licked her lips to moisten them.  “I heard you tell that guy you weren’t interested and I intervened.  Once I did and you looked at me, I knew I didn’t need to save you.  You aren’t someone that needs that type of attention.”   Ava raised a skeptical eyebrow.  “You knew that from a look?”   Sara didn’t even bother to try to hide the small grin that formed on her face.  “You, Ava Sharpe are very intense.  I don’t know if you just don’t realize how expressive you are, but you can tell an entire story with a single look.”  Sara held up her hand.  “I however did NOT follow you to Inferno...that was a coincidence.”   “Right.”  Ava rolled her eyes, still unconvinced about that bit of the story.   The smile dropped from her face as Sara got serious again.  “I know I’ve said I could be a rebound or that I wanted to be friends, but I don’t.”  Sara huffed trying to make sure she said everything she needed to.  “I knew the night when you asked me to stay that I felt something.”  The shorter blonde looked down at her hands.  “I wanted to tell you at breakfast Saturday morning, but you bolted on me.”   As the pieces all started to fall together Ava rubbed the bridge of her nose.  “So, what do we do now?”   “Well, we should probably get our food.  Eat and I’ll take you home eventually.”  Their eyes met again.  “Then I’m going to ask you out on a proper date.”   “And if I say no?”  Ava shot her a challenging look.   The confident smirk returned to Sara’s face.  “Well, hopefully you won’t.”   “So, Sara Lance went and found some feelings?”  Ava’s allowed a bit of teasing into her tone.   Dropping the smirk Sara took a deep breath before speaking again.  “What can I say, you’re special.  You make me want to be better.”  She paused.  “Not for you, but because of you.”   Ava slid her hands back across the table again, more confident this time.   Placing her hands on top of Sara’s she effectively stopped Sara’s thumb from tapping against the table.  “Relax. Laurel is still here.  I’m still here.”   Sara stopped fidgeting and nodded.  “Yeah, you are.”  As she spoke the bartender turned her hands palm up and held onto Ava’s hands.  “Why?”   Ava could see the affection in Sara’s icy blues and she felt her heart leap.  “Because you are extraordinary.”   The stocky red-haired man appeared from the stonework arch with two plates in his hands.  He paused as he got close to the women as he was taking in the scene.  He cleared his throat and approached.  “Dinner is served, ladies.”  He sat the plates down at the end of the table.     Sparing a glance to her friend Sara nodded.  “Thanks Trev.”     “Just let me know if you need anything else.”  With that he headed back to the bar without saying another word.   Letting go of Sara’s hand’s Ava looked over at the meal they had been served.  “This looks amazing.”   “There’s a reason I keep coming back.”  Sara pulled both plates closer and slid Ava’s towards her.   Not too surprising the food was just as good as it looked.  After she finished her bit of chicken Ava nodded.  “I definitely get it.”  Conversation stayed light as they ate.  Once they had finished Sara insisted upon paying for both of their meals.  And gave Trev another hug on their way out.   As they walked down the street towards Sara’s car the tall blonde closed the distance between them and took Sara’s hand into hers.  They had been dancing around this for 2 months at this point and Ava for one was glad all the drama seemed to be over.  They already knew a lot about each other, but she was looking forward to getting to know more about the pre-med student.  Sara looked over and threaded their fingers together.  A thought popped into her head and it was Ava’s turn to smirk at Sara.  “Are you ready for what happens next?”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

As they drove back towards her apartment Ava leaned her head back against the headrest watching as the traffic drove by.  “Oh hey, I forgot to ask.  Did it hurt?”   Snapped out of her thoughts Ava sat up and turned to look at the shorter blonde.  “What?”   Sara stayed focused on the road.  “When you fell?”   Ava groaned and shook her head at the obvious pick up line.  “Are you being serious right now?”   Sara gave Ava a questioning look.  “Wha-” Then her eyes grew wide.  “No, no, no!  The game.  That Husky chick.”  Sara looked like she was trying to remember something.  “Fox, I think.  4th quarter...she knocked you down.  You got that foul shot.”   Ava’s expression changed from one of annoyance to an affectionate smile as she realized the bartender wasn’t just using some basic line to start a conversation.  “Who told you about that?”   The bartender glanced over at Ava again.  “Told me?  I saw it.”   Ava shot her a skeptical look.  “You watched the UCONN game?”   “Yeah.”  Sara managed to briefly look over at the blonde again.   “I thought you had Sunday Brunch with the family?”  Ava arched an eyebrow at Sara.   Sara shook her head.  “I did.  It’s at my parent’s place. So after we ate, I might have suggested that we watch the game.”   The taller blonde shook her head again.  “Bullshit.”  She shot Sara a challenging grin; it was one that she typically saved for the basketball court when she wanted to unnerve her opponent.   A hurt look crossed Sara’s features for a fleeting moment as she kept her eyes on the road ahead.  “My god, I have been an asshole.”  Sara’s voice was barely a whisper at first, but she cleared her throat and look of determination sparked in her eyes.  “Ask me anything about the game.”  She quickly held up her free hand.  “Except about halftime, I needed snacks.”   Ava shifted so she could see Saras profile clearly when they passed under the streetlights.  “Alright, what’s my jersey number?”   “Twelve.”  Sara smiled slightly.  “Come on.  You can do better than that, I could have seen any game and known that.”   “Okay, who made the winning shot?”  Ava crossed her arms across her chest.   Sara rolled her eyes.  “Zari.”  Pausing the shorter blonde licked her lips thinking about her next words carefully.  “A three pointer off your rebound.  And because I could have heard all of that at Time Masters last night; I wouldn’t have blamed you if you did hit that girl.  I’m not sure Zari should have interfered.”   Ava just stared at Sara, a little bit of surprise reflected in her eyes.  “Why didn’t you say something before?”   Sighing Sara drummed the steering wheel with her thumb.  “I was going to text you when the game was over, but you didn’t respond to my earlier text so I thought you were probably busy.  Post-Game interview, getting your gear, catching the bus, and catching the plane back.”  Ava watched as Sara nodded her head animatedly between each point she made before Sara finally sighed.  “And then it felt like you were avoiding me?”  Ava noted the way Sara’s nose scrunched up.  “Not that I could ever blame you for that.  Hell, I’m still shocked you came out tonight.”   Ava rubbed the back of her neck.  “Me too.”  Looking out the window she focused on the road ahead with Sara.  “I’m glad I did though.”   The car was quiet for a good ten minutes before Sara spoke up again.  “So, hear me out because I know it’s fast.  I have the best idea for tomorrow night.  Let me take you out?”   Ava flashed her an apologetic smile.  “I can’t.  I’m meeting with my study group after practice.”   Sara nodded.  “And you have a late class on Wednesday.”   “Yep.”  Ava popped the p when she spoke.   “Since you’ll be gone all weekend, I’m just going to assume you will need Thursday to prepare.  Plus, I’ll be at Time Masters anyway.”  Sara shook her head and chuckled lightly.  “So, we both kind of knew this was coming.”   “Yeah, hence the reason I asked you to dinner tonight, thinking you wouldn’t actually be available.”  Ava surveyed Sara’s expression.  “Pencil me in for next Monday?”   Sara tilted her head slightly as she turned her car into the apartment complex.  “It’s Thanksgiving week, won’t you just stay in California?  I figured you’d want to spend the holidays with your family.”   Ava quickly shook her head.  “Absolutely not.  I have classes Monday and Tuesday.”   As she pulled into a parking spot, Sara shifted the car into park.  ”Okay, yeah.  That should work.”  Turning the engine off, the bartender looked over at Ava again.  “Would it be lame to ask to walk you to the door?”   Ava gave her a warm smile and shook her head.  “Such a charmer, why don’t you save it for the first date.”  With that she gave Sara’s hand a squeeze and slid out of the car.  Opening the back door, she retrieved her basketball gear.  “Good night, Sara.”  She waited for the shorter blonde to respond before she closed the car door and slung her backpack over her left shoulder.   The athlete heard the car start back up, but it was clear that Sara had waited until Ava unlocked and opened the apartment door before she pulled away. ~~~   Backing out of the parking space Sara kept her eyes on the rearview mirror, ensuring there wasn’t anything behind her.  She had waited for the apartment door to close behind Ava before leaving, something deep inside Sara needed to know that she was home and safe.  As she turned onto the main road her phone rang.  Leaning to the side she retrieved it from her pocket thinking that it might have been a certain tall blonde.   Glancing at the screen she wrinkled her nose and huffed.  She thought for a moment before flipping the speaker phone on and dropping the phone into one of the empty cup holders of her center console.  “Ollie?”   His voice came through the speakers and by his tone she knew he was pissed.  “What the fuck, Sara?”  There was a short pause, but not enough for her to get a word in.  “I thought we agreed not to say anything to Laurel about that night.”   She blew out a breath.  “No, you said we shouldn’t say anything to her and I stayed quiet for a while, but it wasn’t right, Oliver.”  She could tell she was getting frustrated as she involuntarily started to get louder as she spoke.  “You know it wasn’t right to hide the fact that we slept together from Laurel.  The worst part is I didn’t even GET to tell her, Ollie!  She already suspected.”  Sara couldn’t stop her mind from drifting to the conversation she had with Ava after Halloween, and she knew she had been just as wrong as Oliver was by asking Ava not to say anything to their friends.   “Are you trying to stop our wedding?”  His tone was still angry, but he wasn’t yelling anymore.   “No.”  Sara’s voice was a little quieter as she spoke.  “Ollie, she loves you.  You-we can’t keep secrets like this from her.  Imagine if she found out after the wedding.”    “Sara.”  His tone was as abrasive as his words.  “No one knew except the two of us.”   Even though she knew he couldn’t see her Sara shook her head.  “You don’t know that, Oliver.  There’s always someone out there with an eye on you, looking for something to hold over your head.”  Sara swallowed before continuing.  “I did the right thing.  Maybe it wasn’t right for you, or for me, but it was the right thing for Laurel.”  She kept her eyes on the road ahead while she spoke.  “Once you really take some time and stop to think about this situation, you’ll know I’m right.”   Oliver’s rumbling voice drifted out of the speaker.  “At least, you could have let me know that you were going to tell her.”   “You would have tried to talk me out of it.”  Sara sniped back immediately.  “I made up my mind.  I’m not keeping secrets like that anymore.”  She gripped the steering wheel tightly in her hands.  “More importantly, how is she?”   He snorted on the other end of the line.  “Pissed.”   Sara rolled her eyes at how dramatic the man was acting.  “Did she call off the wedding?”   “No.”  Olivers’ response was barely a grunt.   “Well then, I think we both need to work our asses off to show her we’re worth her time.”  Sara waited a beat.  “Oliver, she hasn’t given up on us.  So, hang up the phone and go plan something nice for my sister.  Or if you are incapable of doing it yourself get your assistant to do it for you.”  He didn’t even bother to say goodbye, he just disconnected the call.  Looking down at the screen Sara just shook her head.  “Good Night, Oliver.” ~~~   Ava walked into the apartment fully intending to head directly to her room for the rest of the night.  As she closed the front door behind her Ava heard someone clear their throat.  “And where exactly have you been, young lady?”   As she turned around Ava saw Zari sitting next to Amaya on the couch with her feet propped up on the coffee table.  “Feet off the coffee table, we put food on it.”  Ava shot her friend a pointed look until she eventually dropped her feet onto the ground.   “Fine, my feet are off the coffee table.  Now where did you disappear to after practice?”  Zari crossed her arms across her chest and cocked an eyebrow in Ava’s direction.  When Ava didn’t respond Zari half smiled at her.  “Well...”  The dark-haired girl stood up and rubbed her hands across her thighs straighten out the wrinkles in her sleep pants.  “I did see you get into Sara’s car so I guess you can share or I can just ask the captain.”   Ava shrugged nonchalantly.  “We just went out for dinner.”   Zari narrowed her eyes as she watched the tall blonde carefully.  “You went out for dinner or you went OUT for dinner?”   “Just dinner, this time.”  As she spoke Ava smirked and walked past Zari and Amaya heading towards her room.   “This time?”  Amaya declared as she turned and leaned over the back of the couch.  When Ava didn’t respond Amaya repeated herself, but louder.  “Ava!  This time?!”   Ava spun on her heel and walked backwards down the hall.  “Yeah, that’s what I said.”  She winked at Amaya as she closed her bedroom door behind her.  Tossing her backpack aside she made her way to sit on the edge of her bed to wait for the inevitable.   It was barely 30 seconds before her bedroom door swung open to reveal both Amaya and Zari.  “Spill it, where did you go?”   Amaya smiled at Ava.  “What happened?”   “Honestly you guys, we just talked.”  Ava leveled her gaze on Amaya.  “Have you talked to Sara today?”   Amaya shook her head and shifted her weight to her right foot.  “No, should she have?”   “Not necessarily, but just be ready.  I think she is going to need you guys.”  Ava worried her lip as she thought maybe she had said too much.   Zari regarded the tall blonde with suspicion.  “Did you do something to her?”   “No.”  Ava shook her head.  “I think she’s just getting herself sorted out.”  She knew she had a far off look in her eyes, but she didn’t care. ~~~   After gathering her carry-on Ava followed Alex off the plane.  Walking off the plane she followed her teammates through the terminal without looking up from her phone.

The Legendary Captain Lance
Yesterday 14:38 PM
We just landed.
Great.  I have to get back to work, but call me when you can tonight.  I don’t care how late.
I will.

“Aves!”  The tall blonde finally looked up from her phone as they approached the baggage claim.  She looked around trying to figure out who had called her name.  Looking around at her teammates no one seemed to be paying a lot of attention to her.  As she turned her head to look behind her she spotted a familiar face.   A smile slowly split her face.  “Danny?!”  He was standing in his fatigues with his hands clasped behind his back, but a smile on his face.  As she approached, he dropped his arms to his sides.  “You’re here?!”   “Our flight came in not too long ago.  Figured we’d wait you out.”  Ava dropped her carry-on and wrapped her arms around her brother.  “I’m not the only one here.”  She followed his eyes as he nodded away from the baggage claim.   As she pulled away from Danny, she saw his girlfriend standing nearby.  “Hey Ava.”  Ashley gave her a small wave.   “You came too, Ash?”  Ava acted surprised since she wasn’t supposed to know that the other woman was coming too.   “Of course, after last week's game Danny insisted that we come.”  The woman with chestnut colored hair gave Ava a hug.  “It’s been a while, Aves.  You look good.”   “It’s been too long.”  Ava looked over as Pam and Randy Sharpe walked from around the corner and into view.   As the Sharpe’s all exchanged hugs Ava heard someone approaching.  As she looked over, she spotted the assistant coach.  She nodded to acknowledge the coach then turned back to her family.  “I have to go my team is waiting, but I’ll see you at the game tonight.”  After they all exchanged goodbyes Ava retrieved her carry on as well as her suitcase that Zari had grabbed off of the carousel for her.   Stashing her gear in the bottom of the bus Ava then loaded up with the rest of the team.  “Alright ladies, we’re going to the hotel first.  We’ll get checked in.”  Coach Hunter stood at the front of the bus.  “Then we’ll have about an hour and a half you can unpack, nap, whatever you need to do to adjust.  The bus will be leaving at 6pm sharp for the arena.  Do not make me come and find you.”  The bus lurched forward as they started moving to the hotel.  “You will have a free day tomorrow, but make sure you rest up.  Stanford will not sleep on us like UCONN did.”  Rip nodded then took his seat at the front of the bus.   Ava sank into her seat and looked out the window.  It was significantly warmer than it had been back in Star City and she had to admit she missed the sunshine.  Zari appeared over the back of her seat.  ”So that was the Sharpe family?”   Looking over Ava nodded.  “Most of them anyway.  There’s also my sister Carly, her husband Ted and their twins Bailey and Hailey.”  The corner of her mouth turned up as she thought about the twins.  “They’re coming into town tomorrow.”   Zari nodded.  “Oh yeah?  All the Sharpe’s in town just to see you?”   Ava shook her head.  “Not exactly.  Mom and dad were at the airport to pick up Danny and Ashley.  They’re in from Fort Hood.”   Smiling Zari nodded in understanding.  “So, Danny and Ashley came into town to watch you play and everyone else is coming for a visit tomorrow?”   “Mostly.”  Ava thought for a moment.  “Danny is going to be deployed.  He’s planning on proposing to Ashley this weekend.  The game was a decent cover to get all the Sharpe’s in one place that wasn’t a holiday.”   “Wow, that’s pretty cool.”  Zari rested her head on the back of the seat.  “Want to room with me?”   Ava inclined her head.  “Absolutely.”   “Cool, I sure hope you don’t snore.”  Zari then sat back down leaving Ava to her thoughts again. ~~~   Looking at her phone for an extra minute Sara dialed Laurel’s number and waited as it rang a few times before her sister eventually picked up the phone.  “Sara?”  Her tone sounded slightly concerned.  “Is everything okay?”   “Yeah, everything’s fine.  I honestly didn’t think you’d answer, you’re at work, right?”  Sara shifted her weight from one foot to the other nervously.  Laurel simply hummed in the affirmative.  “We haven’t talked since Monday.  I wanted to see if you still wanted to hit the gym tomorrow morning?”   There was a long pause on the other end of the line before Laurel finally spoke up again.  “I’m not sure.  It’s been a long week and I think I may just want to relax.”   Hiding the disappointment from her tone Sara leaned against the wall of the stockroom.  “I could understand that.”  Thinking quickly Sara knew she wanted to get Laurel out with her at some point during the weekend.  “Not to push, but we could go to Wildcat Gym.  It’s been a minute since we sparred.  And... uh, I can imagine you might have some pent-up energy to work out?”   “Tempting.”  Sara could almost hear the smile in Laurels voice.  “I’m heading into a meeting, but I’ll let you know.”   Nodding her head Sara was just happy that she didn’t get an outright no.  So, at least that was something.  Nodding to herself she created a new group chat.

Laurel's Ladies

Alright Ladies, Bachelorette Party ideas! 
Thea
It’s about time, you got off your ass.
Felicity
Vegas...always Vegas.
Joanna
Vegas is a bit cliché isn’t it?
I’m headed back to work.  Keep thinking.

Closing the chat window Sara slid the phone back into her pocket as she left the stockroom to return to her position behind the bar. ~~~   Jogging off the court Ava looked up at the scoreboard, they had soundly defeated Sacramento State with a score of 85 to Sacramento’s 53.  The best part about it in Ava’s mind was that absolutely everyone on the team got a fair share of time on the court.  The main thing to be careful of at this point, was not to get overly confident for the upcoming Stanford game.  As she exited the basketball court, Ava shot a smile and a wave to her family sitting in the stands.  She had called her mom from the hotel earlier and they talked for a few minutes and determined that by the time the game was over they would just wait until Saturday to get together.  It was going to be late enough by the time they got back to the hotel that all she would really want to do is go to sleep.  She had agreed to meet them in the lobby of the hotel in the morning for brunch.   Running into the locker room the tall blonde snagged a towel out of her locker wiping the perspiration from her brow.  As she looked back towards the door, she saw Alex poke her head in.  “Let’s go, Director!  You know the drill it’s conference time.”  As Ava approached Alex slung an arm over her shoulders.  “Get ready for this one.  The press came out full force.”   Letting herself be led into towards the media room by Alex, Ava could hear Coach Hunter and Gideon answering questions posed by the press.  As they got closer the blonde started to pick up on the murmuring of lots of different voices and the distinct sound of chairs squeaking on the floor.  Just before they walk into the crowded room Alex dropped her arm and walked in ahead of Ava shooting her a sly grin over her shoulder.  As soon as the team captains entered the room the energy in the room seemed to increase tenfold.   Ava’s pulse pounded in her ears, but she kept her breathing under control remaining calm.  It was just like being on the court and managing the momentum of the game.  Grabbing her seat next to Alex she managed an easy smile for the crowd as was expected.  Most of the questions were about last week's game against the Huskies or Sunday's game against Stanford.  A man towards the back of the room stood up.  “For the team captains.”  Ava leaned forward slightly toward the microphone in front of her anticipating the question.  “How do you respond to the accusation of referee tampering in last week's game?”   Out of the corner of her eye Ava saw Alex’s head snap to the side to look at Coach Hunter.  Turning up the charm Ava shot a smile to the questioner.  “Honestly, that’s really something for the NCAA to investigate and speak to.”  She turned and looked to Alex.  “I think I can speak for both of us when I say that both us, and our team trained hard bringing our best to Connecticut.  That’s what brought the win home to Star City.”   As she wrapped up her answer Coach Hunter held up his hands.  “That’s enough for tonight.  Thank you everyone for coming out.”  He nodded a dismissal to the two captains.   Their coach continued to speak to the media as the captains slipped away.  “What the hell was that?”  Alex looked over to Ava after finally finding her voice again.   Shrugging her shoulders Ava just kept walking.  “I don’t know.”  She glanced at the brunette as they made their way back to the locker room.  “We were major underdogs, Alex.  Of course, they’re upset and looking for any excuse.”  The blonde shoved the brunette’s shoulder as they walked into the locker room.  “Don’t let it get to you.  Let the NCAA handle it, that’s not what we are here to do.” ~~~   Ava fell back onto the bed back at the hotel.  Zari was still downstairs in the hotel bar with the rest of the team trying to wind down for the evening.  Sliding her arm under her head Ava grabbed her phone and pulled up Sara’s contact information.  She knew it was almost 2am back home, but the bartender was most likely still up.  Dailing Sara’s number it barely rang once when the shorter blonde picked up.  “Hey, Sara.”   “Hey, Aves.  How was your flight?”  Reaching above her head Ava grabbed the pillow and tucked it under her head.   “It was good.  No turbulence.”  She stretched and stifled a yawn.  “Mom, Dad, Danny, and Ashley hung out at the airport terminal and met me there.”   “That’s great.”  Sara’s voice was airy and light.  “You guys really killed it at the game, too.”   “Well, it’s not Sacramento I’m worried about.  It’s Stanford on Sunday.”  Closing her eyes Ava just listened to Sara’s steady breathing on the other end of the line.  “How was your day?”   “Eh.  It was fine.”  Sara’s tone was dismissive.  “Work was okay.  I did talk to Laurel.”   “Yeah?”  Ava kicked her shoes off.  “How’d that go?”   Sara hummed and Ava knew she was trying to figure out how to respond.  “Well, she didn’t seem super keen on working out with me until I suggested we go boxing.”  There was a light chuckle.  “So, I guess it could have gone better, but it also could have gone much worse.”   “Boxing?”  Ava pulled the ponytail holder out of her hair.  “Is that a good idea?”   “Well, if she gets some good hits in, it’s not like I don’t have it coming.”  And that was the moment Zari through the door open and barged in.   “AVA!”  Her team mate flopped on the bed side her and glanced over.  “OH!  Who are you talking to?!”   Ava quickly rolled away from Zari and off the bed as the dark-haired woman reached for her phone.  “Are you drunk?  I left you alone for like half an hour.”   Zari rolled over onto her stomach.  “No, I’m not drunk.”  She laid there, pressing her forehead on the bed.   “Yeah, I’m going to have to go.”  Sitting on the bed that she had thought was going to be Zari’s Ava heard Sara groan.   “Just roll her onto her side and tuck her in, Aves.”  There was a little bit of a whine in her tone.   “Good Night, Sara.”  Ava heard a heavy sigh.   “Fine, call me tomorrow if you get a chance.”   “Remember to keep your guard up tomorrow.”  Hearing Sara’s light laughter Ava finally hung up the phone.  Looking over at the supposedly now passed out Zari Ava shook her head.  Standing up again she plugged her phone into the charger on the dresser and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge.  She elbowed Zari away and held out the bottle.  “Drink this.”   Looking around the room Zari shook her head.  “No, I just want to sleep.”   “Drink it, Tomas and then I’ll let you sleep.”  Ava held out the bottle and waved it at her team mate who eventually conceded and took it from the tall blonde.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sara was awoken by the sound of pounding on her door.  Groaning she rolled over and attempted to pull her blanket over her face.  “Time to get up, Sara.”  The sound of a key in the lock let the bartender know that her time for sleeping had expired.  She sat up just as Laurel pushed the door open.  The brunette held up a coffee cup.  “Come on, rise and shine.”   Closing her eyes for a brief moment Sara took a deep breath.  “What time is it?”  When she opened her eyes again the blonde attempted to rub the sleep out of them.   Laurel sat on the edge of the bed and held out the coffee cup.  “I already told you.  Time to get up.”  Her chipper tone was almost enough for Sara to want to make her leave.  The brunette raised both of her brows until they almost hit her hairline.  “Drink the coffee and get up so I can kick your ass.”  Her tone moved from perky to stern as she spoke.   Sara reluctantly accepted the cup from her sister and took a tentative first sip, not wanting to burn her tongue.  “Did you confirm?  I didn’t get a message.”  Sara looked her sister over and noticed for the first time that she was in fact wearing her work out gear.   Laurel playfully smacked Sara’s leg.  “I’m confirming right now, little sister.  Is that a problem?”  The brunette got up and walked over to Sara’s dresser and started digging out some clothes for her to work out in.  Sara watched as Laurel paused and she fished out a tee shirt, spinning on her heel she faced the blonde holding up the shirt.   “Um, Sara?”  Laurel looked down at the tee shirt she was holding up.  “So, this is a basketball tee shirt and a size too big for you.”   Sitting the coffee on her nightstand Sara climbed out of bed and snatched the shirt away from her sister.  “So.  Maybe I wanted something comfortable to sleep in.”  Bumping her shoulder against Laurel’s Sara replaced the shirt in the drawer and grabbed something else to change into.  “Give me a minute?”   Laurel nodded and moved to sit on Sara’s couch as Sara disappeared into the bathroom to grab a quick shower in an attempt to wake up. ~~~   Woken up by her alarm Ava quickly turned it off hoping it hadn’t bothered Zari.  As she rolled over to see her team mate, Ava noted that she was still fast asleep.  She smiled to herself as she heard Zari softly snoring.  Grabbing a change of clothes, the tall blonde ducked into the bathroom and quickly changed, brushed her teeth, and ran through the rest of her morning routine.   When she poked her head out of the bathroom, Ava noted that Zari was still out like a light.  She slid her folded dirty clothes into a plastic bag and sat it next to her luggage.  Quickly and almost silently she made her bed, not wanting to leave the room unkempt.  Next, she pocketed her phone, wallet, and keys she looked over the room.  Grabbing another bottle of water, she sat it on the nightstand next to Zari’s bed.  Finally, satisfied that everything was in order Ava slipped out of the room making sure the door didn’t slam shut behind her.   Pulling out her phone as she arrived at the stairs.  She sent a good morning message off to Sara and then jogged down the stairs to the lobby.  Ava knew that she would be much earlier than the time the Sharpe’s had all agreed to meet.  However, due to the Sharpe’s normal penchant for promptness, there was a good chance that they would all actually arrive early anyway.  As she looked around the lobby, Ava didn’t notice that anyone else had actually arrived yet.  She grabbed a seat on one of the large plush chairs in the lobby and dug her phone out of her pocket to see if she had gotten a response from Sara yet.     Just as she started to get comfortable, Ava noticed movement out of the corner of her eye as a bearded man moved into her space.  Slowly lowering her phone, Ava looked up at her brothers grinning face.  “Good morning, Aves.”   “Good Morning.”  She leaned forward and gave him a quick hug.  “Is everyone else here?”  Ava looked around trying to spot her parents.   Danny shook his head as he dropped into a chair next to her.  “Nah, I wanted to get here early so I could talk to you.”   She sat the phone on the arm of the chair slightly suspicious of his motives.  “Yeah?  What’s going on?  Are you ready for tonight?”   He nodded.  “Yeah, of course.  Tonight, is going to be great.”  Ava held his eyes as he tried to dodge her gaze.  “First off let me apologize for saying anything to mom and dad about Leah.”   Groaning Ava closed her eyes and pinched her nose.  “Danny, there is only one reason I can think of for you to bring that up right now.”   “Yeah.”  He ran a hand through his beard absently.  “I mean, you remember Kevin, right?  Mom said you guys hung out a lot in High School.”  Danny screwed his face up and shook his head.  “He really is a nice enough guy.”   “Fuck, Danny, really?”  She clasped her hands on the top of her head.  “What is she even thinking?”   He shrugged and forced an awkward smile.  “She means well.”   Ava rolled her eyes taking in his grin.  “If she really meant well, she wouldn’t try to interfere and if she felt the need to do so she’d actually listen to me and invite a woman.”  Ava leaned her head back onto the back of the overstuffed chair and looked up at the ceiling.  “Is she making him come to brunch, dinner or both?”   He cleared his throat.  “Brunch for sure, but... I think she’s hoping brunch will go well enough this morning that he’ll stay for dinner.”   She shook her head in disbelief.  “I shouldn’t be surprised.”  She tipped her head forward, catching Danny’s expression.   She saw something spark in his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back.  “Ava, you aren’t as mad as I thought you would be.”   She nodded in agreement.  “Well, it’s mostly because you’re right Kevin is a great guy.”  She quirked her eyebrow at her brother.  “We were in the GSA together in High School.”  She could tell he was still confused.  “We actually petitioned the school and formed the Gay-Straight-Alliance at our high school.  Danny, Kevin’s gay.  He probably just knew what mom was up to and didn’t want me to get stuck with an annoying asshole.”   “Oh my God, Aves, are you serious?”  She could see a look of relief spreading across his features.   Ava shifted uncomfortably in the chair.  “I just feel bad he got pulled all the way up here for the weekend.”   Danny shot her a half smile and shrugged his shoulders.  “Well, I guess the good news is he’s going to Stanford so, he’s not that far away.”   She heard her phone buzz and automatically she turned her head to see who was messaging her.  Reaching over she quickly unlocked her phone and pulled up the notification that Sara had sent her a message.  Opening the notification Ava had been expecting a message, but instead was assaulted by a picture of Sara clad in black tights and sports bra flexing her bicep.  She was clearly at the gym, boxing gloves slung over her shoulder.  Somehow Ava managed to choke on air causing Danny to lean forward to sneak a look at the image on her phone.   “Holy shit, Aves.  Who is that?”  She took a deep breath trying to compose herself again.   She quickly closed the chat window and returned her phone to the lock screen.   Ava then met her brothers' eyes, knowing full well that her cheeks were flushed.  “Um, that’s Sara.”   A knowing grin slowly appeared on his face.  “Okay, now pretend like I have no idea who Sara is.”   “She’s a girl I met in Star City.”  She tapered off and stared at her hands in her lap.   “And...”  He probed.   She rolled her eyes and sighed, looking up at him.  “And I really like her, but everything is new and we’re still figuring things out.”   He laughed and nodded towards her phone.  “Well, if you are getting gym selfies that look like that, then I’d say things are going pretty well.”   She shot him a look, narrowing her eyes.  “Look, I’m trying not to jinx it.  We’ve already had a few bumps in the road.  So, if you can manage to keep your mouth shut and not air out my news for me, I’d really appreciate it.”   He grabbed her chest.  “Ava, you wound me with your distrust.”   She held up a finger in his face and shook her head.  “You earned this distrust, Danny.  You’re just lucky it’s Kevin or I would have had to take immediate and drastic actions against you.”   He dropped his hand back onto the arm of the chair.  “No, you’re right.  I absolutely deserve that.” ~~~   Sara climbed into the ring closely followed by Laurel.  Sara bounced on the balls of her feet taking a couple of practice swings.  She turned and looked at her sister.  “How long has it been since you fought?”  Laurel looked at her gloved hands and threw a couple of sluggish strikes into the air.  Sara nodded.  “Okay, how about you just come at me and I’ll block your blows for now.”   Laurel nodded and dropped back into a fighting stance.  Sara worried her lower lip for a moment.  She nodded to Laurel’s feet.  “Can I?”  Laurel nodded again, and Sara approached moving beside her sister.  Taking a perfect stance, Sara kept her eyes on Laurel’s form.  “Mirror me.”  Sara watched as Laurel adjusted her stance.  The blonde tapped her sisters' knee.  “Keep your knees soft.  It’ll give you more power through your strike.  It’ll also keep you mobile for defense.”   Once she was satisfied with Laurels stance Sara moved in front of her again.  “Okay, how about a jab?”  Laurel threw the punch and Sara blocked it easily.  “Good, again?”  Punch – Block.  “Again, step into it for more power.” Punch – Block.  Sara dropped her hands briefly.  “Want to try a 1,2?”  Laurel just nodded.  “Okay.”  Sara raised her hands again. “Jab with your left and then come in with your right.”  Left – Block, Right – Block.  “When you come across with your right make sure you twist your hips.  Get all your power into it.”   After about an hour had passed both Lances were covered in sweat as they exited the ring.  Swiping her hand across her brow Laurel looked over at the blonde.  “Well, at least dad would be proud of one of us.”  Sara took note that this was the first full sentence Laurel had really said since they started training at the gym.   Sara shot her sister a scrutinizing look.  “Maybe he’d be proud of my technique, but he’ll always be proud of you, Laurel.”  Sara pulled off her gloves keeping her focus on Laurel.  “Laurel, are you okay?  I haven’t seen you this shook up since high school.”   Laurels’ eyes flashed with anger.  “No, Sara, I’m not okay.  I’m trying very hard to be okay and work through this, but it’s still pretty fucking raw.”   “Shit.”  Sara stepped close enough to help Laurel take her gloves off.  “I know, I don’t mean to push.”  As she spoke Sara unwound the hand wraps from the brunette hands.   Once her hands were freed, Laurel clenched her jaw as she ran her hands through her hair taking a deep breath.  “I didn’t mean to snap.”  Her voice was calm and controlled, but Sara knew she was on the edge of breaking again.  Laurel slowly looked up at Sara.  “I really just wanted to kick your ass this morning, but I haven’t practiced or sparred in years.”  She seemed to be lost in a memory.  “Since I started Law School, really.”     Sara pushed her shoulder lightly.  “It’s not like riding a bike, Laurel.  It’s not going to come back instantly.”  Sara shifted her weight from one foot to the other.  “If you want, we can alternate between training and workouts?  I’d be happy to help you properly kick my ass.”  A small laugh escaped from Laurel.  “No, really.  I’d hate it if you didn’t use proper technique to punch me in the face and broke a knuckle or something.”  Sara smirked back at her.   Shaking her head Laurel followed Sara towards the back of the building.  “You might regret that offer.”   As they walked into the locker room Sara dropped their gloves on the bench.  “Oh, I know I will.”   Laurel dropped onto the bench next to the gloves resting her elbows on her knees and holding her head.  “I don’t know if I can do it, Sara.”   Her sisters sudden change in demeanor threw Sara for a moment.  Once she regained her bearings, she ran her hands down her tights, and sat next to Laurel wrapping an arm around her shoulders.  “You know, you don’t have to.”   The brunette looked up turning her head far enough to make eye contact with Sara.  “Did he call you?”   Involuntarily Sara felt her spine straighten.  “Yeah.”  She dropped her eyes to look at the floor.   Laurel dipped her chin to catch Sara’s eyes again.  “What did he say?”  The blonde shook her head.  Laurel tilted her head and pressed her lips together.  “What did Oliver say to you?”   Sara dropped her arm from Laurel’s shoulders.  “He was upset that I told you without him.  He asked me if I was trying to stop the wedding.”   “Fuck.”  Laurel ran her hands through her hair.  “I have no idea what I’m going to do.” ~~~   Ava had been chatting with Danny when she spotted Alex walking through the lobby, her arms were crossed in front of her.  “Excuse me a second.”  Hopping to her feet Ava moved quickly in order to catch up to the brunette.  “Alex!”   Alex stopped and turned towards Ava.  “Hey.”  The blonde noted the crease in Alex’s brow.  “Have you seen either of the Coaches yet this morning?”   Ava shook her head.  “Not yet.  Is everything okay?”   Shaking her head, the point guard dropped her arms to her sides.  “No, have you even bothered to look into the allegations from last night?”  Alex started to pace and fidget with her necklace.  “People are saying the university paid off the Refs, Ava.  What are we going to do?”   “Nothing.”  Ava watched as Alex just started to pace.  “Danvers, Alex...ALEX!”  Ava stepped in front of her co-captain and grabbed her shoulders.  “Listen, Alex, there’s nothing we can do.  If it happened, we had nothing to do with it.  The NCAA will investigate and either we’ll be cleared or...”   “Or what Ava, this is my Senior year.  This is it for me.”  Alex tried to shake out of Ava’s grip.   “Stop.”  Ava raised her eye brows.  “The only reason that reporter said anything, specifically called you and I out for that question was to get us rattled.”  Ava’s mind flashed to last night and the fact that the normally devoted Zari sure had appeared to be drunk.  “Think.”   Alex seemed to settle down a little bit as some of the tension left her shoulders.  “Ava, they could take away our win, our season, everything.”   The tall blonde nodded in agreement.  “Yeah.  That could happen, but like I said before it’s just as likely that nothing will happen and this is an empty accusation.”  Ava released an exasperated breath.  “Look, we weren’t supposed to win that game, but we did and people are upset.”  Ava let go of Alex’s shoulders.  “If we let this get to us now Stanford will kill us tomorrow and it won’t matter if there’s any truth to the accusations.”   Alex rubbed her temples.  “You’re right.  I spent too much time watching SportsCenter this morning.  It seems like it’s all they’re talking about.”   The blonde started to get the sense Alex was starting to work herself up again.  “Are your mom and sister planning on coming to the game tomorrow?”  Alex nodded.  “Go, call Kara.”  Ava slowly exhaled looking around the lobby.  “Maybe we should have a team meeting.  If you are this upset, and I’m sure you aren’t the only one.  The whole team should talk it out with Hunter and Gideon.”   “That’s not a bad idea.”  Alex ran her hands through her hair.  “How are you so calm about this?”   Ava smiled.  “Well first and foremost I didn’t spend the morning watching the news.”  She then nodded towards the front door where her parents were walking through in.  “Second, I have lots of distractions that are here now.”  Ava gestured towards the point guards' phone.  “Call Kara, then if it’s not too much trouble see about getting the team together this afternoon.  Let’s be the leaders they need us to be right now.”  Ava gave Alex’s shoulder a squeeze then headed towards the gathering Sharpe’s.   “Good Morning, Sport!”  Randy greeted her with a hug.   Ava hugged Pam next.  “Good Morning, Mom.”   “Oh, Ava, you’ll never guess who we ran into on the way over.”  Pam seemed excited as Kevin waved at her.  “You remember Kevin, right?”   Ava shot a quick look over to Danny before turning her attention to Kevin.  She felt unexpectedly happy knowing she had an ally at the table whether her mom knew it or not.  “Hey, Kev.  It’s been, what two, two and a half years?”   He shot her a warm smile.  “My graduation party, yeah.”   The blonde looked to her dad, who gave her an apologetic look.  He cleared his throat.  “Carly, Ted, and the kids aren’t flying in until later.  We might as well grab a table.”   They were seated fairly quickly and Ava sat across from Kevin.  “How have you been?  Danny said you’re at Stanford now?”   Kevin nodded.  “I sure am.  I transferred to be closer to home.”   Pam cleared her throat.  “Oh, that must be nice.”   Spreading his napkin across his lap Kevin shrugged.  “Sometimes.  Mom can be a little overbearing at times.”  He winked at Ava.  “So, you’re still at Star City?”   “Absolutely.”  Ava took a sip from the glass of water in front of her.  “It’s going really well.”  Idle chit chat took over the table as everyone started to get caught up.  The smell of coffee mingled with bacon and cinnamon.  Ava knew that it would be from the cinnamon rolls that were baking in the kitchen, but her thoughts drifted to a certain smirking bartender.  She wasn’t even aware of how far her thoughts had drifted until she felt Danny’s elbow dig into her side.  She hummed a question, not knowing what was being asked of her.   Danny blinked at her and shook his head.  “I was asking where your head was at?  You seemed far away and had this dumb grin on your face.”   Their server brought out their food and started presenting the various dishes to the family members.  Ava watched her mom trying to decide if it was time to let her mom know that not only was she onto her attempt to set her up, but that her interference was also completely unnecessary.  Making up her mind she turned her attention to her High School friend.  “So, Kevin, are you seeing anyone?”   He looked over his plate before looking up at her, as if trying to gage how he was supposed to answer.  “Not currently, but I do have a couple of prospects.”  Out of the corner of her eye she noticed her mom’s expression brighten.  “How about you?”   She could feel all of the eyes at the table focused on her.  She could see Danny to her left chewing on a piece of bacon anticipating her answer.  “Hopefully.  We’ve been talking for a while, but our first date isn’t officially until Monday.”   Pam choked on her mimosa.  “What?”  She looked at Danny who simply shrugged as if he knew nothing.  “Well, that’s great honey.”  The older woman spoke as she regained her composure.  “You didn’t mention that you were seeing anyone when we spoke last.”   “No, we were still figuring things out.”  Ava pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.   Turning towards her daughter Pam leaned closer.  “Well, tell us about...him?”  Her voice tapered off at the end, but Ava heard her clearly.   Ava noticed that Kevin flinched slightly, but she refused to react.  “Well, her name is Sara.”  Ava licked her lips before continuing.  “She’s pre-med at Star City, but she’s working as a bartender at the moment.”  The tall blonde knew her voice got lighter as she spoke.  Out of the corner of her eye Ava noticed her mom sitting up a little bit straighter.   Swallowing the mouthful of bacon, Danny had been chewing he cleared his throat.  “That’s great, Aves.”  She knew he was studying her expression.  “I mean, I know you said it’s all new, but I don’t think I’ve seen you happier.”  His eyes drifted over to their mother.  “Don’t you think, Ma?  I’m not sure when that last time was the I saw her smile like that.”   When the matriarch of the family remained quiet, Kevin took it upon himself to break the tension that was clearly building and raised his eyebrows.  “Pre-med?  Damn, Ava, and here I always thought you would be the most successful person in your relationship.”  He chuckled lightly as he stabbed a strawberry.  “Seriously though, that’s great.”  He shot her a mischievous look.  “You have a picture?  I’m curious to see if you ‘type’ has changed since High School.”   Ava thought about the 2 pictures she currently had in her phone.  One being the gym selfie and the other being the selfie Sara had taken the morning after the Halloween party.  “Ah, no actually I don’t.”  Beside her Danny snorted.     Randy looked at his son.  “What’s so funny?”   Danny’s eyes went slightly wide and he looked at Ava who just subtly shook her head at him.  “I mean, you’re following her on twitter or whatever, right?”  He shrugged a shoulder.  “I’m sure she has a picture or two on there, yeah?”  He shot her a lop-sided grin and Ava was genuinely impressed that he managed to come up with that on the fly.   ~~~   After talking with Laurel for quite a while Sara found herself back at her apartment collapsing onto her couch after showering.  Stretching out she looked at her phone checking the time.  She knew she’d want to sneak in a nap before she had to go to work since Laurel had gotten her up so early.

Laurel’s Ladies

Thea
Cliché or not there’s always something to do and it’s unlikely that we’ll run into anyone we might know.  Which is a bonus.
Joanna
That's fair.
Felicity
VEGAS!
Well, that seems to settle that then.

Tucking her arm under her head the bartender closed the chat knowing that at least one more thing was done.  Even though at this point she wasn’t sure that there’s actually going to be a wedding at this point.  Laurel was pretty upset, and rightfully so.  The thing that floored her the most was that her sister was still talking to her as much as she was.  As Sara sat her phone on the arm of the couch above her head, she heard it ping with a notification.  Automatically she unlocked her phone an opened the message.

Director Ava

So...my brother saw your selfie.
Oh yeah?  What’d he think? 
I didn’t ask...
More importantly, what’d you think? 
How was your workout?  Did Laurel kick your ass?
Subtle, Aves.  No, we really just trained. Laurel apparently hasn’t sparred in a while so, she needed a refresher.  How was the game?  I missed most of it, work was busy last night.
The game was fine, but after at the press conference a reporter asked about some tampering accusations. It has the team pretty shook up.
That sounds really bad.  Did you want to call, talk about it?
Maybe tonight?  I have to go meet the team.  What time do you get off work?
11p here so 9p there?  Maybe Facetime?
Sure, call me when you get home and settled.

Sara stared at her phone as a thought entered her mind.  She quickly dialed a familiar number and after two rings Amaya accepted her call. ~~~   Ava had said her goodbyes to her family and Kevin.  It had been determined that he would not be able to make it to dinner due to other obligations.  As she made her way back up to her room Ava knew that without the buffer of a ‘guest’ her mother would push for more information about her personal life.  Her only hope was that Danny planned on popping the question early on she they would have something else to talk about instead.   Clutching the bag of pastries in one hand and a paper cup of coffee in the other, that she had ordered before heading back to the room, Ava ran up the stairs as quickly as possible.  Unlocking the door to her shared room she poked her head in and noticed that Zari was awake and sitting on the edge of the bed looking at her phone.  As the door swung open the dark-haired woman looked up.  “Morning.”  Ava held up the bag.  “If there’s donuts in there, then I revise my statement to Good morning.”   Stepping into the room the tall blonde handed the bag over.  “Cronut was as close as I could get.”  As Zari dug the pastry out and took a bite Ava moved to sit on her bed across from Zari.  “How’d you sleep?”   Zari shook her head.  “Nope.”  She tossed the offending pastry back into the bag.  “West Coast cronuts aren’t good.”  Ava rolled her eyes and shook her head.  “New York invented the cronut, Director.  Y’all should leave it to the experts.”  Standing up Zari stretched and looked around the room.  “Coffee?”  Ava held up the paper cup.  Taking a deep drink from the cup Zari let out a sigh of relief.  “Yes, this is perfect.  Once you stopped shoving water down my throat I passed out.  It was a long day, exhausted...not drunk.”   “And most likely dehydrated from the game.”  Ava nodded.   Zari took another long drink of coffee.  “That’s probably fair.”   Standing up Ava rolled her shoulders trying to shake some of the tension that had begun to gather.  “I’m going to meet up with Alex and the coaches.  We’re going to have a team meeting to discuss the investigation.”   Zari wrinkled her nose.  “Fuck.  No, I don’t want to know anything about that bullshit.”   Ava just looked at her friend.  “It’s not optional.  Alex is a mess and I’m sure some others are too.”   Zari groaned.  “Ugh, then I’m going to find some damn donuts.”   “You do that, just be back and in conference room number four in about an hour.”  Ava pointed at Zari as she backed out of their room. ~~~   Ava looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror after she wiped away the condensation from her shower.  The team meeting had gone well and she was right when she thought that the team was a little rattled by the news.  The coaches did most of the talking, at least until they opened up for the group to voice their opinions and ask questions.   On the other side of the door she could hear Zari talking on the phone.  Judging by her tone, Ava was fairly sure that it was either Amaya or her little brother.  Pulling her loose hair over her right shoulder, Ava paused as she started to consider the consequences of the referee tampering accusations.  She really wasn’t kidding Alex when she said she was distracted enough not to worry, but now that things were quiet and she had heard the rest of the teams concerns she had time to digest what was really at stake.   It wasn’t until she felt a familiar tightening in her chest that she realized she was doing exactly what she told Alex NOT to do that morning.  Taking a deep breath, she dropped her head and closed her eyes seeking out her center again.  After a few minutes she felt calm again and adjusted the collar of her white button up.  She practiced a smile in the mirror, knowing that tonight was going to be about Danny and Ashley.  Ava needed to be sure she would be able to throw a convincing fake smile around.  Before she got the opportunity to start overthinking again, she opened the bathroom door.  As Ava stepped out Zari turned her head and shot her a thumbs up.   Judging by her reactions Ava determined that it was Behrad, her brother, on the other end of the call.  The blonde simply nodded and walked to the door tossing a wave to her friend over her shoulder.  Opting for the elevator this time Ava opened the app to call an Uber to take her to the restaurant her brother had selected.  She had checked the reviews and knew he had made a fine selection.  As the elevator doors opened Ava stepped out and walked towards the front of the hotel to wait for “Mark” and his Nissan Pathfinder.   The ride was fairly pleasant and fortunately short.  As Ava walked into the restaurant, she immediately spotted Ashley’s parents in the bar area waiting to be seated.  Well, he’s at least putting some effort in.  Nice restaurant, Ashley’s parents, and a beautiful ring.  Ava made her way over to the older couple.  They had met several times at various cookouts, joint holidays, and other random family events.  “Frank, Lauren so great to see you again.”  She greeted the older couple with a smile and held out her hand.    Frank gave her a hardy handshake returning her smile.  “Ava!  So good to see you.”  He looked around at the décor.  “I know Danny told us it was casual, but I’m glad I dressed a little nicer than my normal jeans and pocket tee.  I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t have let me in.”   Lauren wrapped her in a hug as soon as she broke away from Frank’s hand shake.  As the older woman held her in the hug she whispered in Ava’s ear.  “Danny told us what happened with that girl you were seeing.”  Lauren pulled back out of the embrace and put her hands on either side of Ava’s face so she could look her straight in the eyes.  “It’s completely her loss.  You’ll find someone even better.”  The older woman smiled so wide it caused her eyes to scrunch up in the corners.   “Lauren!”  Frank shook his head.  “We weren’t supposed to say anything, that’s why he told us!”   She waved a dismissive hand at her husband.  “Why?  Look at this girl, she’s perfectly capable of seeing anyone she wants.  If some dumbass wants to throw her away then that’s on Leah, not this beautiful girl.”   Ava couldn’t help, but to genuinely smile.  Ashley’s parents had always been so kind to her.  Even while her mom struggled to come to terms with Ava’s sexual orientation, Lauren practically volunteered to go to PFLAG meetings.  Shaking her head Ava looked to Frank.  “It’s fine, Frank.  I actually have a date on Monday already.”   Lauren raised an eyebrow and shot her husband an I-told-you-so look.  “I’m not surprised at all.”   Frank rolled his eyes and threw his arms in the air dramatically.  “I’m just telling you what the boy said.”   They idly chatted as they waited for either the rest of the group to arrive or for their table to be ready.  As the trio stood talking Ava heard a high-pitched voice yell her name.  She turned just in time to catch her 4-year-old niece.  Scooping her up Ava smiled.  “You’re almost too big for this, Hailey.”  The little girl simply grinned and wrapped her small arms around Avas’ neck.  Looking in the direction the little girl had run from Ava saw her sister, brother-in-law, and nephew approaching.   Carly’s eyes were wide as she held onto Bailey’s hand to prevent him from attacking Ava as well.  “Sorry, Ava.”  They exchanged a one-armed hug as they each had a twin in tow.  “As soon as she saw you there was no way I could keep a handle on both of them.”   Ava straightened her niece's dress.  “She’s fine.  It’s good to see you all.”  Hailey’s face was still buried in her neck when Ava heard her mumble something.  “What’s that sweetie?”   The little girl looked at her mom.  “Can I show her?”  Hailey was practically bouncing in her arms.   Carly gave her sister a mischievous look.  “You sure can.”   The little girl turned to face her aunt and grinned.  She started singing ‘Ava Sharpe’ to the tune of Baby Shark.  The last time she had seen the kids they had already started swapping out the ‘Shark’ for ‘Sharpe’ when singing to their grandparents, but they hadn’t figured out their aunt and uncle yet.  Based upon the look she was getting Ava was fairly certain Carly had something to do with the conversion.   Beside her, Ava heard Lauren ‘awwwww’.  “That is the cutest thing I’ve heard in a long time.”   The little girl’s face beamed as she looked at her aunt for approval.  “I love it, Hailey-Bug.”   “We saw you on the tv last night!”  Starting to calm down the little girl rested her head on Ava’s shoulder.  “Daddy, called the man that asked you the dumb question a bad word.”   “Yeah?”  Ava looked over at Ted and nodded.  They never really had a lot of interaction, but he had always seemed like a nice enough guy.  “Well, he was asking us about things he wasn’t supposed to, but we shouldn’t call people bad words.”   It wasn’t much longer that the hostess came over and took them to their table, it was located in a backroom where it was apparent that they kept large parties.  Hailey of course demanding to sit next to Ava.  It wasn’t that much longer before the rest of the Sharpe’s arrived.  Pam and Randy of course doting over their grandbabies and getting a round or two of ‘Grandpa Sharpe’, ‘Grandma Sharpe’, and the newly introduced ‘Ava Sharpe’.   Dinner went great and with the addition of Carly’s family as well as Ashley’s parent’s Ava was able to avoid the inevitable conversation with her mother.  As dessert was being discussed Ava shot Danny a look wondering if he had gotten cold feet.  However, as soon as she made eye contact, Ava noticed the spark of confidence in his eyes as he stood up from his seat.   As soon as he was on his feet the random conversations around the table tapered off.  “I just wanted to take a moment and thank you all for coming out this evening.  I know schedules can be difficult, but it’s always nice when family can come together.”  Ava noticed he fidgeted with something in his pocket.  “A couple weeks ago I called and talked to my younger sister about something I wanted to do this weekend.”  He was looking directly at her.  “When I told her what I wanted to do she strongly suggested that I rethink my strategy.”  He laughed at the memory.  “And I’m so glad she did.  After I got off the phone with her, I called Frank.”  His attention turned to Ashley’s father.  The older man simply leaned back in his chair and smiled at his daughter knowing exactly what was coming.   Beside Danny, Ashley looked across the table to her parents, starting to figure out what was happening.  “When I asked him if I could ask Ashley to marry me, he honest to god pretended like we had a bad connection and made me call back.”   Frank grunted in protest.  “If you think for a second, I was answering that without talking to you-know-who.”  He thrust his thumb over his shoulder at Lauren.  “You’re crazy.”   Turning her attention to Ashley Ava saw her hand come up to cover her mouth as Danny dropped on one knee in front of her.  “I know we’ve had our ups and downs, and I drug you to Texas, where everything really is bigger, including my love for you.”  He pulled a box out of his jacket pocket and opened it.  “You would make me the happiest man in the world if you say yes.”   Ava could tell that Ashley was beyond words as she rapidly nodded and simply held out her hand for him to place the ring on her finger.  Danny let out a small whoop as he placed the ring on her finger and held her close. ~~~   It was starting to get late as everyone stood up and started to walk towards the door.  Ava stifled a yawn as she somehow wound up with a sleeping Bailey in her arms.  The blonde followed her sister to her mini-van and gently sat her nephew in his car seat and strapped him in.  Carly easily handled the barely awake Hailey and got her strapped in as well.   Ted gave Ava another nod and sat in the driver’s seat.  The blonde turned to face her sister.  “Are you guys headed home tonight?   Carly gave her sister a small smile.  “Yeah, we wanted to come to the game tomorrow, but between the kids and work it just didn’t make sense.  We’ll see you in a couple of days anyway, right?  Thanksgiving.”   Ava nodded.  “I was going to try to stay in Star City with finals coming up, but I don’t think mom is going to let that happen.”   Carly laughed and shook her head.  “Yeah, that’s definitely not going to happen.”  Carly gave Ava a hug.  “I’ll see you soon.”   Ava watched as Carly climbed into the vehicle before turned to see how was still around.  Danny and Ashley were off somewhere still inside talking.  Lauren shot her a smile.  “How are you getting back to your hotel?”   Gesturing to her phone Ava smiled, “I’m just going to call a car.”   “Non-sense!  Frank and I are headed towards that side of town anyway.  We’ll drive you!”  She elbowed her husband.  “Right?”   He nodded in agreement as if he actually had a choice in the matter.  “Of course!”   Ava looked over her shoulder as her mom and dad walked out of the restaurant.  Her mom walked right over to her and gently pulled her aside as her dad started talking to Ashley’s parents.  “We booked your flight to come back home for Thanksgiving.  I’ll e-mail you everything tonight.”  The older woman paused before continuing.  “The flight leaves Star City at 6:30a Wednesday morning and heading back 9a on Saturday.  You have a game Sunday, right?”   Ava nodded.  “Yeah, Central City.”   Her mother sighed.  “I wish you could stay through Monday.  We could celebrate your birthday too.”   Ava laughed.  “We can still celebrate, it’ll just have to be Friday or something like that.”   “Are you sure you can’t skip?”  Pam placed her hands on her hips.   Shaking her head Ava licked her lips.  “No, finals are the following week.”   Pam frowned, but conceded on Ava skipping class.  “So, do we get to meet this Sara?”   Ava shook her head.  “Nope, it’s way too early on for that.” ~~~   Walking into the hotel lobby Ava saw half the team downstairs in the restaurant having dinner.  Spotting Zari among the group Ava just continued to their room knowing she would have a bit of privacy for a little bit at least.  Glancing at the time she noted that it was 9:43p.  Sara would be calling any time now.  Taking the elevator once again felt a little like cheating, but it had been a long and full day so she didn’t feel bad about it.   As she used the keycard to enter the room her phone started to ring.  Moving over to the bed she just dropped straight down on it as she answered already knowing who was calling.  “Hey.”  She managed a tired smile.   “Hey, yourself.”  Sara looked fresh from the shower and as far as Ava could tell the bartender was sitting on the couch in her living room.  Sara squinted at her.  “Is that chocolate on your shirt?”   Ava glanced down at herself and groaned, she was a mess.  “Yeah, it sure is.  Courtesy of a 4-year-old.”   There was a glint in Sara’s icy blues as she smiled.  “Come on, that’s a little harsh.  I know Zari can be a handful, but calling her a 4-year-old is a bit much.”   Shaking her head Ava laughed.  “No, my niece and nephew.”   “Little Sharpes’?”  Sara leaned into the cushions.  “Too cute.”   “They really are.”  Ava reached up and grabbed a pillow tucking it under her head.   “How are you holding up?”  Sara’s expression turned serious.  “You seem, a little off.”   “I’m okay. I’m just tired.”  Ava tried to play it off.   Sara shot her a suspicious look.  “Come on, love.  I know you have a lot going on talk to me.”   The term of endearment caught her a little off guard.  “I’m worried.  What if someone at the university did pay off the refs?  There are four Seniors on the team that won’t get another chance.”   “Then, whomever caused the problem will be punished accordingly and it won’t happen again.  I’m not going to pretend that I completely understand how basketball playoffs work, but if it’s anything like soccer losing one game sucks, but it shouldn’t kill your whole season.  You guys look great.”  With every word Sara spoke, Ava could feel the tension slowly leaving her body.  Sara tilted her head to the side.  “What else?  I feel like there’s more.”   “Mom brought me a date to brunch.”  Ava shared on an exhaled breath.   Sara hummed in response.  “Should I be jealous?”   “Absolutely not.  I’m not interested in him at all.”  Ava rolled on her side so she could prop her phone up on the spare pillow.   Sara’s brow furrowed.  “Does your mom not know that you’re a lesbian?”  Sara said lesbian in a mocking hushed tone.   “Of course, she knows.  I keep telling her.”  Sara gave her an endearing look and Ava felt her heart start to pound a little harder in her chest.  She really wished the bartender wasn’t halfway across the country right now.  “Tell me about your day?”   “My day?”  Sara seemed to be lost in thought for a moment.  “It was pretty average.”  As if catching her meaning anyway Sara continued to talk about her coworkers, customers, and inventory as Ava’s eyes felt heavier until she started to drift off to sleep and she swore the last thing Ava heard Sara say was ‘Good night.’

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ava woke up to the sound of her alarm, her phone was still propped up on the pillow beside her.  Reaching to turn it off Ava looked over at the other bed and saw Zari with a pillow pulled tightly over her head.  “Turn it off.”  Zari’s words were muffled by the pillow, but the message was clear.   Half smiling Ava turned the alarm off and sat up feeling sluggish and a little off at still being completely dressed in the clothes she had brought for the family dinner last night.  Standing up Ava stretched her arms and shoulders.  “Come on, Z.  It’s game day.”   Zari threw the extra pillow at Ava.  “No, it’s too early.”  The dark-haired woman pulled the blankets tighter around herself.   Ava rubbed the back of her neck and grabbed some work out gear.  Once she changed the blonde packed up most of her gear knowing that when they left for the arena in a couple hours the team would be checking out of the hotel.  “I hope your alarm is set.”  Ava tossed over her shoulder to Zari as she walked out of the room.   Once she got outside Ava stretched and pulled her ear buds out of her pocket, ready to fall back into her gameday routine.  Once her ear buds were in place Ava unlocked her phone and a grin instantly lit up her face at the message from Sara wishing her a good morning.  She quickly fired off a good morning response before pulling up her music app and started the gameday mix.  Turning to the left she started at a comfortable pace to try to wake up her muscles.   On her way back to the hotel Ava stopped off at a nearby coffee shop and grabbed a couple of actual donuts and coffee for her current roommate.  She knew that even if Zari wasn’t awake yet the food and coffee would ideally snap her awake.  As she entered the hotel lobby Ava noticed a mother and daughter waiting to talk to the front desk attendant who seemed to be more interested in something happening in the back office.  “Mom, we can just call Alex.”  The younger girl pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and looked around the lobby.   The older woman turned away from the desk clearly starting to get a little agitated.  “Kara, that really defeats the idea of surprising her.”  The woman tapped the counter lightly, still waiting.   Putting two and two together Ava looked from the women to the elevator and back again.  She took half a step towards the women.  “Mrs. Danvers?”   They both turned and looked at the taller blonde.  “Yes?”  There was a slight wrinkle between the older woman’s brows as she spoke.   Ava noticed the younger woman’s features brighten as she smiled.  “You’re Ava Sharpe...you’re a captain with Alex!  I’m Kara.”  She held her hand out towards Ava a little awkwardly.  Ava nodded and then held up her hands, one holding coffee and the other the bag of donuts.  Immediately the younger girl dropped her hand.  “Right!  Sorry.”    Ava nodded towards the elevator.  “I can take you to Alex's room or I can make something up and call her down here if you’d like.”  She offered them a genuine smile.  “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I’m happy to help.”   Kara was practically bouncing as she looked at her mother.  “Let’s go up?”   The older woman nodded.  “Eliza, by the way.”   Ava moved to the elevator bumping the up button with her elbow.  “It’s nice to finally meet you both.  Alex talks about you all the time.  She’s on the 5th floor.”  As the elevator doors opened the 3 blondes boarded.   Kara quickly pushed the 5 and then looked over to Ava.  “Are you on 5 also?”   “Yeah.  They try to keep us all together.”  She tried to stay on the opposite side of the elevator knowing she had overdressed and worked up a bit more of a sweat during her run than she had intended to.  It was quiet for a few minutes and Ava debated about mentioning Alex’s being worked up about the investigation.  Ultimately, she decided it would be best for Alex to let her talk to her mom and sister if she needed to.   “You’re from California, too.”  Kara spoke up after a few seconds.   “Fresno, yeah.”  Ava nodded as the doors opened.  “She’s in 508.”   “Thank you so much for this.”  Eliza stepped out of the elevator first.  “Would you want to join us for breakfast as a thank you?”   Ava rapidly shook her head.  “No, thank you.  Enjoy some family time with her.”  She quickly added.  “The on-site restaurant here is actually really good if you don’t already have a plan.”   “That sounds great.  Thank you again.”  Kara gave her beaming smile and followed her mom down the hallway looking at the room numbers as they went.   Turning to head in the opposite direction Ava pulled out her card key and entered her room noting the human shaped lump still covered in blankets.  Shaking her head Ava opened the bag of donuts and set it on the night stand between the two beds.  Placing the coffee next to it she grabbed the change of clothes she had left out and headed for the shower.  As the door closed behind her Ava heard the crinkling of the bag. ~~~   Running a little early Sara stood outside of her parents, front door looking at the text from Ava.  She fired back a good luck before returning her attention on the door in front of her.  As she raised her hand to knock the door swung open and Quentin pulled her into a hug.  “Good morning, baby girl.”   A little caught off guard Sara hesitated before returning his embrace.  “Hey, dad.”  As he pulled back, she noticed a clouded look in his eyes.  “Is everything okay?”   He nodded and ran a hand through his hair.  “Yeah, yeah.  Just working a tough case this week.  Just makes you appreciate what you have.”  She knew he was trying to give her a reassuring smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes.   Pretending everything was okay she nodded followed him into the house.  “What can I help with?”  Knowing she was early for once, Sara fully expected there to be something for would be able to assist with.  As they walked into the living room, she froze at the sight of a familiar man sitting on the couch in the position closest to her father's chair.   When she stopped the man stood up.  “Good morning, Sara.”   “Good morning, Ollie.  I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to make it this morning.”  Sara continued towards the kitchen.   Quentin dropped into his chair.  “I’m pretty sure we’re on table duty again.  Those two just fall into a rhythm once they get going.”  Oliver sat back down avoiding her eyes.   She just continued to the kitchen.  As she moved through the doorway, Sara saw Laurel sitting at the small table in kitchen.  Dinah was kneeling in front of her and as soon as Sara walked in the older woman turned to look up at her.  The look of disapproval on her mother’s face told Sara that Laurel had talked to their mother.  Sara’s stomach twisted into a knot as Dinah stood up and took a step towards Sara opening her mouth to say something.   Laurel’s hand caught their mothers’ wrist stopping her approach.  “Mom, no.  It’s not her fault.”  Dinah just continued to stare Sara down.  “She was the one that told me the truth.”  Laurel looked up finally, tears streaking her face.   Dinah eventually closed her mouth, her jaw set clearly agitated.  She looked back to Laurel.  “Honey, why don’t you go get yourself together.”  She looked back to Sara.  “We can finish up in here.”  Laurel paused clearly unsure if it was a good idea to leave the two of them alone.  When the brunette released her wrist Dinah moved towards Sara, but yelled out to the living room.  “Quentin, honey can you set the table?  Sara is going to help us in here for a bit.”   Before Quentin could respond Dinah was back at the stove and Laurel was up and walking towards Sara.  Laurel briefly squeezed her shoulder as she walked past to go to the hall bathroom.  Now alone in the kitchen with her mother Sara looked around for something to busy herself with.  “What can I do?”   “I think you’ve done enough.”  Once Laurel was out of earshot Dinah spun on her daughter.  “What were you thinking, Sara?  You’ve always been a little reckless, but this-” Dinah shook her head.   Sara rolled her eyes and looked at the ceiling.  “They weren’t together when it happened!  It didn’t seem like they would ever get back together.”  Sara threw her hands in the air.  “How was I supposed to know they’d get back together, much less engaged?”   Returning to the sausage cooking in the skillet the older woman continued to berate Sara.  “How about you just don’t?”  Dinah shook her head.  “How about you just stop sleeping around?  Then you wouldn’t be in this predicament.”  Dinah paused and rubbed her forehead.  “What if this is it?  What you cause them to call it off?  Hmm?  Do you want to tell your father?  Let him know you fucked your sister's fiancée?”   “Uh-” Sara turned to see Oliver standing in the dining room behind her.  The wide look in his eyes let her know he had heard everything.  “I wanted to see if you needed me to carry anyway to the table.”  He gestured over his shoulder to the dining room avoiding eye contact with both of them.   Dinah took a deep breath regaining her composure, she managed a smile.  “No, we’re still wrapping things up in here.”  He nodded then retreated to the living room.  Once he was gone Sara moved into the kitchen and silently started to cut up a pineapple that looked like Laurel had been working on at some point.  This was going to be a fun one.  Her mom was pissed, her dad was struggling, Laurel was upset, and Oliver was just there. ~~~   Ava threw her overnight bag into the cargo compartment of the bus outside of the arena.  They had played terribly and Ava knew that the investigation had been looming over their heads.  “Sharpe!”  She looked over her shoulder to see who had yelled her name.  Seeing her brother standing in his fatigues at attention.  She paused not really in the mood to play his games, but she knew getting any kind of time to see him was precious.   Ignoring the fact that her teammates were loading onto the bus and most likely watching, she mimicked his position.  “Sir.”  She didn’t bark it out like she might have if they were away from a large crowd.   Danny approached her rapidly, acting like a stern drill sergeant.  “What’s that soldier?  I don’t think I heard you properly?”   Onto his shenanigans she fought back a smile.  “Yes, sir!”  She was a little louder this time and he backed off just slightly.   Breaking his persona he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close and dropped his voice so only she could hear him.  “It’s okay, baby Sharpe.”  His tone was encouraging.  “You played well.  You just need to bring the team with you.”  He managed to sneak a kiss onto the top of her head.  “Thank you for not letting me propose to her here tonight.”   “Are you going to be at Thanksgiving?”  She asked already knowing the answer.   “No, someone has to hold down the fort.”   He waggled his eyebrows.  “Literally.”   She playfully hit him on the side.  “That was terrible.”   He laughed as he backed away making room for their parents to say their good byes.  After giving out hugs to everyone, including her future sister-in-law, Ava headed towards the bus and noticed Alex going through the same thing she just did with her sister and mother.   Alex fell into step behind her as they climbed on the bus to head to the airport.  “I swear you’d think we weren’t going to see them again in like 3 days.”  Alex was mumbling, but it was clear she was talking to Ava and not just to herself.   “Right?!”  Ava grabbed a seat towards the middle of the bus and Alex sat in front of her.  “Did they try to talk you into skipping a couple days of class?”   Alex shook her head and laughed.  “No.  Your family must like you more.”   “OR yours just has different priorities for you.”  Nodding her head in agreement Alex managed a weak smile as she settled into her seat.   The rest of the ride to the airport was silent.  When they arrived Coach Hunter stood at the front of the bus.  “Ladies, I know this loss is a bad one, but we need to bounce back.  This investigation is happening no matter how we play, but we need to bounce back.  We need to show that we don’t NEED to tamper with the referees to win these big games.”  His tone was laced with frustration.  “I want to see 100% in the morning, so get it together tonight.” ~~~   Moving to the baggage claim Ava hung close to Zari and Alex.  It was nearly midnight Star City time and all Ava wanted to do was get home and sleep.  They still had a bus ride to campus then there was the walk to the apartment.  Fortunately, Zari had already offered to give her a ride since she would most likely be crashing at the apartment anyway.   With her carry on over her shoulder Ava grabbed her suit case as it started to roll past on the conveyor belt.  Having all of her luggage she turned and started to back away so someone else could step up to claim their items.  When she turned around, Ava was greeted with a familiar smirk.  “So, it’s late.”  Sara shrugged nonchalantly.  “And I didn’t think you’d want to bus around campus when I could just give you a ride home.”  Sara was leaning against a column looking cool and confident.  “Unless you’d prefer to add another 45 minutes or so to get home.”   As crappy as the day had been Ava couldn’t stop a smile from escaping as she looked at the floor and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.  “That sounds amazing.”  Turning on her heel she spotted Alex who just waved for her to go.  “Yeah, let’s get out of here.”   Standing up Sara walked over and took Ava’s small suitcase from her.  “I’m parked over here.”  The bartender led her away from the baggage claim and towards the short-term parking garage.  Ava fought the urge to grab Sara’s free hand as they walked through the airport.   “You came to pick me up.”  Ava felt a warm sensation knowing that Sara had taken the time to come and get her.   “Absolutely.”  Sara shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal.  “After all the traveling, the jet lag, and the loss-” The shorter blonde cut herself off and winced.  “Sorry, you probably don’t want to talk about that.”   Unable to hold back any longer Ava grabbed Saras’ hand.  “No, I don’t.”  She gave Saras’ hand a gentle squeeze of encouragement.  “It’s okay.  We weren’t in the game at all.  It was ugly.”   Sara nodded as the approached her car.  As she popped the trunk Ava released Saras’ hand so they could load up Ava’s luggage.  Now that they were outside Ava wrapped her arms around herself as she decided it was about 30 degrees colder in Star City and she hadn’t planned accordingly.  “Cold?”  Sara nodded to the car.  “Get in, it might still be a little warm.  At least it’ll cut the wind.”   As Ava sat in the car, she rubbed her hands together trying to get warm again.  “I guess I got used to the weather back home.”   Sara started the car and paused looking at the steering wheel.  “Well, I’m glad you’re back.”   Ava looked over at Sara as she buckled her seatbelt.  “Yeah, me too.”  As the heat started to come out of the vent the taller blonde sank into the seat.  Sara shifted the car into drive and guided them out of the parking garage.  Sara opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off when Ava’s stomach rumbled.  Ava flinched as her ears turned red.  “Oh my god.  I’m sorry.”   Laughing Sara turned her head briefly to look at the athlete.  “Hungry?”   “Apparently.”  Ava ran a hand over her face trying to hide her embarrassment.   “You know I could stop and get something, but that really destroys my ulterior motive for picking you up from the airport.”  Sara remained focused on the road ahead.   Ava sat up a little straighter.  “You have an ulterior motive?”   Sara shot her that smirk again.  “Of course.”  There was a pause and Ava assumed it was for dramatic affect.  “The sooner you get home, the quicker you get to bed.  The more sleep you get, and the more rested you are means I can keep you out later tomorrow night.”   Smiling Ava held up a finger.  “Okay, hear me out.  I told everyone that our first date was on Monday.”  She held up her phone.  “It’s Monday, and I need to eat.”  Tilting her head, Ava tried to conjure the cutest puppy dog eyes she could manage.  “Take me to get something to eat?”   Grinning to herself Sara nodded.  “Okay, but on two conditions.”   Ava nodded in agreement. “Name them.”   “First, we’re still going out later.  I have plans for you.”  Rolling her eyes slightly Ava nodded agreeing to that.  “Second, you need to tell me who exactly is everyone?”   The taller blonde rubbed the back of her neck as she realized what she had said.  “That’s fair, but I’ll only tell you once I have a waffle in front of me, deal?”   Ava watched as Sara looked overly-thoughtful for a moment, and shook her head.  “I don’t know.  you better go ahead and give me one name now so I know your serious.”   “Fine.”  Ava ran a hand through her hair.  “My brother, Danny.”   Sara raised her eyebrows.  “Oh, the brother, eh?  That’s kind of serious.”   Ava groaned at her.  “You left me no choice with the gym selfie.  I had to tell him something, goofball.”   “Well, I’d consider that a lesson learned for you.”  Ava stared at the side of the bartenders’ face narrowing her eyes.  “Never open pictures from me when there are others around.  You never know if they’re going to be NSFW.”   “OR!”  Ava shifted so she was looking directly at Sara.  “You could, NOT send unsolicited NSFW pictures.  Just a thought.”   Laughing the shorter blonde shook her head.  “Where’s the adventure in that?”   Shaking her head Ava just smiled and studied Saras’ profile.  “You are Peter Pan, aren’t you?”   “Does that make you Wendy?”  Sara quipped back as she turned her car into the diner parking lot.  As she turned off the car Sara unbuckled her seat belt.  “Look, this isn’t ideal for a first date, but after midnight on a Sunday we aren’t going to have a lot of options.”   Reaching over Ava brushed her fingertips across Sara’s cheek.  “As long as I get a waffle, it’s perfect.”  Then she quickly left the car and ran into the diner.  Behind her Ava heard Sara huff then follow her after locking the car.   The waitress nodded her a greeting as Ava slid into a booth furthest away from the door to avoid getting hit by a polar vortex every time the door opened.  Sara was right behind her and sat across from Ava as the waitress dropped off menus.  “Waffles, huh?”   Ava nodded.  “I need to carb load.”   Sara shot her a questioning look.  “Really?”   “Hell no, I just really want to eat like shit after this weekend.”  Ava pushed the menu away, already knowing what she was going to order.   Nodding Sara pushed her menu away also.  “If waffles are the cure for shitty weekends, count me in.”   Avas’ brows knitted together.  “What happened?”   Shaking her head Sara took a drink from the water glass the waitress brought.  “First things first.  Whose everyone?”   Leaning back in the booth Ava stretched her arms.  “My family at bunch.  Danny, his now Fiancée Ashley, Mom, Dad, and my date Kevin.”   “Kevin, huh?”  Sara leaned forward conspiratorially.  “Is he cute?”   “Let’s just say when I tell you that my mom’s gaydar doesn’t work...it’s REALLY malfunctioning.”  Their conversation paused as the waitress took their order.   Sara laughed once the waitress was gone.  “So, let me see if I got this right.  Your mom set you, lesbian, up with a gay man?  Not Bi, but actually gay?”  Ava tapped her nose signifying that Sara was correct.  “And at this family gathering you decide to reinforce the fact that you are a member of the muff diving team by announcing that you have a date with me?”   Ava was barely able to prevent herself from bursting out into laughter, instead covering her mouth to tone it down a little.  “Sara Lance, you are a true wordsmith.”   “Ah, what can I say.  It’s one of my many skills.”  The shorter blonde bowed her head slightly.  “Your mother is going to absolutely love me.”  Saras’ tone was full of sarcasm.   The waitress delivered their food and hurried away.  “It’s not really my mothers’ opinion that matters anyway.”  Ava avoided making eye contact as she spoke by smothering her waffle in syrup.   “True.”  Ava could feel Sara’s eyes on her.  “It’s the twins, isn’t it?  They’re the ones that run the show.”   Ava honest-to-god snorted when she laughed.  “You’re not wrong, truthfully.”  Taking the first bite Ava sat back into the booth grinning like an idiot.  “So, good.”  Ava paused for a minute, but grabbed her phone and dug through her pictures.  Finding a picture of her sister with the twins she flipped it around to show the shorter blonde.  That’s my sister Carly, Hailey, and Bailey.”   Sara tried to fight back her laughter.  “Hailey and Bailey?”   Ava shot her a slightly dejected look.  “It’s cute, Sara.”   Nodding Sara agreed.  “Right now, because their four.  Kids are mean Ava.  I’m going to pray for you niece and nephew to be the cool kids cause otherwise high school is going to be rough.  You know what I mean.”   Turning her phone back around Ava looked at their smiling faces.  “I’m not worried.”  She looked up at Sara.  “They’ll be the coolest.”  Putting her phone away again Ava took another bite of waffle.  “Your turn.  How was your weekend?”   Sara pushed her food around the plate.  “Oliver came to brunch this morning.”  Ava swallowed the bite of waffle and let out a small “oh” sound.  “And Laurel told mom.  Inadvertently reinforcing my reputation of fuck-up-ery.”   “Oh Sara, I can’t even imagine how that went.”  Ava reached across the table placing her hand over Sara’s.   “Poorly.”  Sara chuckled, but laced her fingers with Ava’s.  “Oliver overheard mom letting me have it so, the only one in the house this morning that didn’t know was my dad.  Apparently, we aren’t telling him so that Oliver can live.”  Ava let the silence linger for a bit.  “The good news is my night got better.  I picked up this beautiful woman at the airport and she decided to take me out for waffles at midnight.”     Ava watched as Sara stand her free hand on the table and started to spin her coffee cup.  It made her think about the night at The Olive Branch, the night Sara had told her about the Oliver situation.  Ava squeezed her hand and offered her a smile.  “You’ll be okay, Sara.  They’ll be alright too.”  Once it was clear that they were done at the restaurant Ava slide out of the booth and took care of the check.  Walking back to the table Ava held out her hand help Sara out of the booth.  “Take me home?”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sara allowed Ava to pull her up and out of the booth.  “Of course, we need to get you tucked in for the night, Director.”  Sara followed Ava out of the diner, reflecting on the past couple of months.  Unlocking her car Sara strolled to the passenger side and opened the door for the tall blonde.  “I mean, if we’re calling this the first date...” Sara shrugged a shoulder and gestured for Ava to climb in.   Sara took in Ava’s smile and all the stress of the weekend seemed to melt away.  Was it possible for this woman to be her happy place?  They barely knew each other, but at the same time they knew so much.  As soon as Ava was in the car Sara closed the door and jogged to the drivers’ side of the car.  As she started the car, Sara turned up the heater remembering that Ava had been cold earlier.  Sara really wished she had worn an extra layer so she had something more to offer.   Shifting the car into reverse Sara backed out of the parking spot, and turned onto the main road to begin the short drive from Bennett’s Diner to Ava’s apartment. Sara reached over without thinking to find Avas’ waiting hand and laced their fingers together.  “So, you have conditioning in the morning, a morning class and an afternoon class...then practice in the evening?”  Sara remained focused on the road ahead, the street lights reflecting on the surface of the wet road.   “Yeah.”  Ava angled her body towards Sara.  “Same for Tuesday.  Then my flight leaves at 6:30 in the morning on Wednesday.”   Sara’s head snapped to the side looking over at Ava briefly before returning to the road ahead.  “Flight?”   The athlete nodded.  “Back to California for the holiday.”  Out of the corner of her eye Sara saw Ava lean her head against the head rest.  “I fly back on Saturday.”   Sara forced her eyes to stay focused on the road ahead.  “Right, Thanksgiving.”  Sara’s mind drifted to her own family's festivities.  The possibility of more Oliver drama made her stomach churn.   “Hey.”  Avas’ soft tone pulled her out of the spiral Sara started to slip down.  “Where did you go?  You kind of checked out on me for a minute there.”   “I just-” Sara blew a strand of hair out of her face.  “I just feel like I picked a terrible time of year to tell Laurel the truth.”  Sara’s grip on the steering wheel tightened.  “I’m going to have to spend so much time with them.”   “Babe, there was never going to be a good time.  The important thing to keep in mind is that you did nothing wrong...for the thousandth time.”  Ava reached over with her free hand and tucked the rogue hair behind Sara’s ear.  “Oliver was there too.  So, you shouldn’t be facing the consequences alone.”  There was a pause and Sara processed Ava’s words.  “Laurel is still talking to you, right?”   Sara nodded.  “Yeah, Laurel and I are working through it in our own way.  My mom on the other hand is being really...irrational?”  Sara turned the car into the familiar lot and parked in front of Ava and Amaya’s apartment.  After she shifted the car into park, the shorter blonde turned to face Ava.   “Irrational?”  Sara couldn’t help, but smile at the uncertain tone to Ava’s voice.  “Irrational, how?”   Sara considered sharing what her mother had said, but thought better of it knowing Dinah had spoken out of anger.  There was a still good chance that she would try to walk back her words.  It wouldn’t have been the first time that happened, and Sara didn’t want Ava to have that be her first impression of her mom.  “It’s not important.  Come on, let’s grab your suit case and get you inside before you start to freeze to death.”  Sara reluctantly released Avas’ hand as she unbuckled her seat belt.   Hopping out of the car Sara trotted to the trunk and unlocked it.  When Ava appeared beside her, Sara set her the carry-on bag on top of the trunk after she slammed it shut.  Sara kept the suitcase for herself.  “I can carry my bags, Sara.”  Ava rolled her eyes and leaned against the passenger side of the car.   “Well, I know you can, but then what excuse do I have to walk you to the door?  I’m pretty sure I was instructed to save it for the first date and here we are.”  Walking towards the other woman, Sara grabbed her hands.  “Geez, you are freezing.”   “Yeah, I wasn’t kidding.”  Ava dropped one of Sara’s hands and grabbed her carry on.  “Grab the suit case?”  Sara was just able to grip the handle as Ava pulled her towards the apartment door.   When they got close Ava sat the bag down so she could pull her keys out of her pocket and moved to unlock the door.   Sara smirked at Ava, noting that she opted to put her bag down rather than let go of her hand.  “You know the best part about all this?”  Ava quirked an eyebrow at Sara over her shoulder.  “Guaranteed second date.”   Ava inclined her head.  “If it’s the same day, is it really a second date though?”   Sara nodded as Ava pushed the door open and followed her inside.  “If you are going to sleep?  Yes, absolutely.”  Sara sat the suit case on the floor just inside the door.  “Alright, so, I’ll pick you up at the gym around 6:30?”  The shorter blonde shuffled her feet as she turned towards the door.   Sara felt Avas’ grip tighten on her hand preventing her from leaving.  Taking the hint Sara bumped the door closed with her hip.  “So, what should I wear for this date?”  Ava reach over and turned on the light, dropping her carry on next to the suit case.   Sara narrowed her eyes and looked around the room blinking against the harsh light.  “Honestly, just keep it casual.  It’ll be fun, trust me?”   “Of course, I do.”  The bartender noticed Ava closing the gap between them, and her eyes darted from Sara’s eyes down to her lips.   Sara felt a little breathless as she leaned in having to stretch up onto her toes, pressing a gentle and chaste kiss to Ava’s cheek.  She made a mental note that kissing on the couch was easier even though the height deference between them seemed minimal.  Sara could feel warmth blooming in her chest as Avas’ free hand landed on her waist and pulled her closer.  Pulling back Sara smiled gazing into the taller blondes' steel blue eyes.  “I think, I better go.”  Sara swallowed as she reluctantly stepped back, but didn’t release Avas’ hand, not wanting to lose contact yet.   Sighing the athlete nodded in agreement.  “Yeah, okay.”   Sara lead Ava back to the door with her.  “I’ll see you tonight.”  Memories from Halloween trickled back and Sara really just wanted to push Ava back into the apartment and make some new ones, but she knew if they were going to do this right then she would need to be patient.  As she opened the door, Sara thought about how easy it would be to brush her lips against Ava’s.  But the bartender was afraid her resolve might break.  “Good night.”  Finally releasing Ava’s hand Sara opened the door.   “Good night, Sara.”  As Sara backed through the door Ava wrapped her arms around herself and leaned on the frame to watch her leave. ~~~   Ava’s alarm went off far too early for her liking.  She hit the snooze button and made a futile attempt to roll over and get a few more minutes of sleep.  After a minute passed it was obviously too late because she was too awake at that point.  Getting out of bed she glanced at the still packed suitcases and bypassed them entirely.  Grabbing her gym bag, she quickly stuffed a change of clothes for after practice into it.   Moving towards the bathroom Ava saw Zari standing at the end of the hallway smirking at her.  “So, I somehow managed to get here before you last night.”   “You must drive like a maniac, Z.”  Ava started to move towards the bathroom, but stopped and took 3 steps backwards so she was directly facing Zari.  “Wait, did you move in when I wasn’t paying attention?”  There was a touch of sarcasm in her tone.   “And here I was going to offer you a ride to conditioning this morning.”  Zari moved back into the living room.  “And I already talked to the captain, director.  I’m happy for you both.”   Shaking her head Ava moved into the bathroom to finish getting ready for the day.  Once Ava completed her morning routine she walked into the living room.  “Alright, are you ready to go, Z?”  The blonde stifled a yawn as she walked towards the door.   The dark-haired girl snagged her keys off the counter and followed Ava to the door.  “As I’m going to be.  I can’t believe Hunter is actually making us to go to conditioning this morning.”   Grabbing both of her gym bag and backpack, Ava followed Zari out the front door.  “We lost yesterday Z, we have work to do if we’re going to bounce back.  Plus, it’s a short week already.”   They made quick work of loading their gear into Zari’s car before climbing in.  “Are you seriously going to go to class all day and then still go out with Sara tonight?”  Zari shook her head.  “I couldn’t do it.  I already need a nap as it is.”   “I’ll be fine.  It’s not that much different from pulling an all-nighter for finals.  I might as well get used to that.”  As Zari drove them across town Ava pulled her hair up, thankful that she wouldn’t have to run in the cold this morning   “If you say so.”  Zari sent her a skeptical look. ~~~   Sitting in the Student Union Ava was tucked away in a corner with a couple of her books open and a sandwich in her hand.    Yawning she wished she had taken the extra time to stop by an actual coffee shop as opposed to settling for what they served in the dining hall.  She decided she would make an effort to swing through the Olive Branch between the end of her afternoon lecture and practice.     Leaning back in the hard-plastic chair she rubbed her eyes as her phone vibrated on the table.  Looking at the lock screen she unlocked it immediately and took the call.  “Hey, Nor.”   “Aves, I figured we were overdue for a call.”  They were both quiet for a minute.  “So, what kind of bro did Pam bring for you?”   Leaning back Ava rubbed the bridge of her nose.  “I’m not sure you are going to believe me.”   “That bad?”  Nora chuckled.   Ava hummed.  “Not exactly.  She brought Kevin.”  The other end of the line was so quiet Ava thought that maybe they had gotten disconnected.  “Nor, are you there?”   “Kevin, like High School Kevin?”  Nora’s tone was skeptical.   Ava pushed her chair away from the table stretching her neck from side to side.  “Yep.”   Nora laughed out loud.  “Pam is oblivious.”   “Yeah well, I might have thrown a wrench in her plans anyway.”  Rubbing the back of her neck she felt the muscle finally loosen up a bit.  “I told her I have a date tonight.”  As she waited for Nora’s reaction the athlete watched as couple of freshmen ran through the center of the Union towards the exit.   “So, do you have a date, or were you just trying to get Pam to back off?”  The level of curiosity in Nora’s tone made Ava grin and sink a little lower in the chair trying to get comfortable.   “Well...”  Ava drug the word out.   “So, you and Lance finally got your shit together?”  Ava laughed quietly.  “Well, good.  Where are you going anyway?”   “No idea.”  Ava flipped a page of the book in front of her absently.  “Are you going home for Thanksgiving?”   There was a long sigh at the other end of the line.  “No.  Ray’s family invited me to dinner so I’m just going to stay here.  Star City already feels more like home anyway.”  A small group of students sat a couple tables away, and Ava assumed they were discussing the class they had just left.  “What about you?  Did you tell Pam you weren’t coming home?”  Nora’s voice had a skeptical lilt to it.   “She sent me the boarding passes before I had a chance to even say anything at all.”  Ava leaned her head back and closed her eyes for a moment.  “Not that I’m surprised.”   “When are you coming back?”   “Saturday.  We play Central City Sunday.”  The blonde’s voice involuntarily dropped.   “That’s right.”  Ava opened her eyes again as she started to gather her books up.  “We’re at least going to dinner on Monday, right?”   “For sure.”  Ava smiled to herself and put her books away.  Throwing away what remained of her lunch she walked out the door.  “We need to invite Lilly and Gary.”   “The group is getting bigger.  You know Gary will want to bring John-”   “And you are bringing Ray.”  Ava added quickly.   “Sure, have you invited Sara?”   Stepping out into the brisk November air Ava pulled her coat around herself a little tighter.  “No yet.  We’ll see how tonight goes.” ~~~   Ava walked out of practice and saw Sara across the parking lot leaning against her car.  “Hey.”  The shorter blonde stood up and smiled at the athlete.   “Are you ready?”   “Yes, but I’m very curious about where we are going.”  She was still concerned about being under-dressed.  As she tossed her bag into the backseat Ava offered a little spin to Sara showing off her typical jeans, but combined with a sleeveless mock neck tank top and a zip up Star City hoodie under her heavy coat.  Her still slightly damp hair was pulled back into a loose braid.  “Is this appropriate?”   Ava practically felt Sara sizing her up.  “Perfect.  Come on, let’s go.”  Sara jumped into the driver’s seat and waited for Ava to buckle up.  As soon as they were on the road Sara couldn’t wipe the smile from her face.  “Do you need to grab eat something first?”   Ava studied Sara’s expression noting that she was clearly excited for what was to come.  “No, I’m good.  I ate a protein bar after practice since I have no idea what you are up to.”  She looked out the window as the street lights began to light up.  “So, where are we going again?”   “Just, wait.”  Sara laughed at her impatience.  “We’ll be there in like 15 minutes.”   Ava groaned and leaned back resting her elbow against the door.  Resigned to the fact that Sara wasn’t going to give her any additional information.  “So, what did you get into today?”   Sara glanced over at Ava and the tall blonde could tell she was fighting a smile that was trying to form on her face.  “Well, I slept until about noon.”   Ava rolled her eyes.  “Ugh, rude!”   The bartender suppressed a laugh at Ava’s protest.  “Hey, you asked.  It’s not my fault you’re an overachiever.  Although I did make a run to the library to get some study materials today and I talked to a couple classmates to get recommendations on what they struggled with.”   Ava hummed.  “And you’re calling me an overachiever?  I’m impressed.”  She detected just a hint of pink appear on Sara’s face.   Sara pulled into a public parking area downtown.  Parking the car, she leaned back and unbuckled her seat belt.  “Ready?”   Ava looked around, but couldn’t see anything that seemed significant.  “Yes?”  Stepping out of the car she walked over to Sara’s side.   “Great!”  Sara hooked her arm around Ava’s waist and led her down the street.  “We’re just going to head this way. And we’re here!”   Ava looked over at Sara as they stopped in front of a non-descript office building.  “Okay, so...where are we and what are we doing here?”   That oh so familiar smirk graced Sara’s face.  “Come on.”  The bartender led Ava up to the door and pulled it open, gesturing for her to walk in.   As Ava walked through the door, she saw a uniformed police officer sitting behind a desk.  He smiled instantly when he saw Sara.  “Hey, Sara.  I haven’t seen you for a while.”   “Hey, Officer Leese.  I didn’t know they put you on Range Duty.”  Sara approached the desk throwing him her sweetest smile.  “Dad is usually pretty good about keeping me updated.”   He nodded towards the floor and frowned.  “Bum knee has been acting up.”  He attempted to flex it and winced.  “Detective Lance is back there.  He know you’re coming tonight?”   Sara shook her head and Ava noticed her posture stiffen.  “No.”  Ava watched Sara carefully, recognizing the look that crossed her face.  It seemed to appear whenever she was trying to figure something out.  “I wanted to surprise him.”   The officer nodded and picked up the phone in front of him.  “Hey, let Detective Lance know Sara’s here.”  After he hung up the handset, the officer nodded to Ava.  “Evening, ma’am.”   Sara seemed to come back to herself.  “This is my friend, Ava.  Since its family night I thought we would swing by and see if dad was here and maybe if it wasn’t too busy fire a couple of rounds.”  Sara turned on her heel and walked over to Ava.  Dropping her voice Sara spoke to Ava alone.  “So, this is the Star City Police Department firing range.  I thought since you were looking into Homeland Security this would be something fun and different.  Although, I honestly had no idea my dad was going to be here tonight.”   Ava couldn’t stop the coy smile that graced her lips if she tried.  “This is actually awesome.”  Ava felt her heart rate pick up as an almost smile split Sara’s face and her posture relaxed.   “Okay, so you’re definitely cool with this?  Even meeting my dad?”  Ava was about to respond when a door behind the counter opened and a man in a sport jacket and tie strode through the door walking straight towards Sara.   “Hey, baby girl!”  He walked around the counter and wrapped her in a hug.  “I didn’t know you were coming tonight.”   Sara turned to face the tall blonde as he released her from the embrace.  “Hey, Dad.  This is Ava.”   Looking over in Ava’s direction Quentin shot her a beaming smile.  “I’ve been asking Sara when she’d start bringing you around.”  He extended his hand to her.   Ava took his hand when he offered it to her.  Her stance shifted slightly as she stood a little taller as a sign of respect for the man in front of her.  “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”   He laughed.  “Quentin, please.  Nice grip.”   He pointed a thumb over his shoulder.  “Are you guys coming back?”   Sara looked to Ava and tilted her head.  “What do you say, Aves?”   Nodding Ava followed the Lances to the weapon check.  When Quentin disappeared around the corner Ava stepped closer to Sara and whispered in her ear.  “So, do your first dates typically consist of meeting your father?”   Sara rolled her eyes.  “It’s been a while since I’ve actually dated.  You mean this isn’t normal?”  Sara shot her a playful grin.  “I really just thought this might be something unique that you wouldn’t forget.  Better than a movie.”  Sara’s eyes flashed with confidence.  “I wasn’t sure how often you practiced, but I know it’s important to keep your skills sharp.”  Quentin reappeared with glasses and ear protection for both of the women.  Sara nodded towards the detective.  “He taught me that much.”   Quentin handed over the protective equipment.  “I know Sara is familiar with the range, but how about you, Ava?  Have you ever shot a pistol before?”   The taller blonde nodded.  “It’s been a while, but yeah I’ve been on a range before. My Dad and brother are both in the Army.”  Sliding on the glasses and ear protection, Ava followed Quentin through the door.   Quentin nodded.  “Okay, head on back.  I’ve got you all set up on the end.”   Ava followed Sara to the last lane taking in all of the officers on already firing on their targets.  Sara pointed at her.  “You want to go first?”   “Sure.”  Ava picked up and examined the weapon Quentin had checked out for them to use.  She wasn’t surprised to see the Glock 22 since it was a standard issue police pistol.  Easily shifting into the firing stance her dad taught her, Ava pulled the slide to chamber the first round.  Ava was careful to keep the weapon pointed downrange.  Lining up her shot she flipped the safety off and squeeze the trigger.  Adjusting slightly, she fired another round, and repeated this action until the magazine was empty.  Flipping the safety back on she lowered the pistol and looked downrange.   Behind her she barely heard Quentin make a surprised noise.  “Well, damn.  You’ve got competition, baby girl.”  He pushed a button drawing the target to them.   “Not bad at all.  I think you would actually qualify.”  He then nodded to Sara.  “You’re up, sweetheart.”   Sara raised her brows and nodded.  “This is going to be fun.”   Ava picked up on Sara’s competitive undertone causing her to narrow her eyes at the shorter blonde.  “I think you’re right.” ~~~   Ava and Sara went back and forth, both holding tight groups on their targets.  Quentin finally held up his hands.  “Okay, girls.  That’s it.  Time to call it a night so they can shut the range down.  Did you want to go get something to eat, maybe?”  Sara turned and shot her dad a look that she hoped Ava wouldn’t see.  “Oh.”  He looked from Sara to Ava and back again.  Sara saw a flash of realization cross his features.  “OH!  You know actually, I just remembered that I should get home after I finish up here.  Just leave the glasses and earmuffs with Officer Leese on your way out.”   “Thanks, dad.”  Sara hung back as Ava walked ahead of her.  Once she was out of earshot, the shorter blonde looked at her father.  “Hey, I just wanted to let you know.  I’m not going to make it to brunch next week.”   “Is everything okay?”  His brows knitted together in concern.  “Things seemed kind of tense yesterday.”   “Yeah, I just-” Sara looked at the door Ava had walked through.  “I really want to go to Central City and support her.”  His expression relaxed.  Sara scratched her head absently.  “I just think that maybe it would be nice.  I don’t have work and Central City isn’t THAT far.”  A proud smile crossed his face.  “I think it’ll be fun to surprise her.  I’m going to talk to a couple of her friends about carpooling.”   “Then that’s where you should be.”  He nodded.  “We’ll see you Thursday though, right?”   “Absolutely.”  She leaned in and gave him another hug.  “I’ll call you later, okay?”  He nodded and waved at Ava as they walked up back to the front of the building.  “Well-” Sara turned to look at the taller blonde as they dropped their protective gear on the desk with Officer Leese.  “I know it wasn’t a normal date, but did you have fun?”   Taking a deep breath, the athlete seemed lost in thought for a moment.  “Well, I’m heading home from a date smelling of gun oil and black powder.  I can honestly say that’s a first.”   “A good first?”  Sara asked hopefully.   Smiling Ava nodded.  “Definitely a good first.  Besides, who needs normal?”   “Great!”  As they walked out of the building Sara grabbed Ava’s hand.  “Okay, so for dinner.  We’re close to Cait’s and I considered dragging you back there, but since it’s one of Dad’s favorites I don’t want to risk running into him again.  So, there’s this dive bar nearby.  It kind of looks like a dump, but the food is great and they could care less if we reek of black powder.”  Sara glanced over a Ava and raised her brows.  “So, what do you think, are you in?”   “Hey, I’m with you.  This is your date.”  The first part of her statement stood out in Sara’s mind a little more than the second.   As they walked Sara looked over at Ava just smiled.  “So, are you going to plan the next date?”   Thinking for a minute Ava nodded.  “For sure, I can do that, but I don’t know when that would actually be.”  Sara nodded knowing it was going to be difficult for their schedules to coincide.  “I mean, we should still get together and hang out, but I have finals after the holidays.”   Sara shrugged nonchalantly.  “I completely understand.  We’ll figure it out.”  She gestured to a door that looked like it belonged to a rundown apartment as opposed to a place of business.  “We’re here.”  Ava paused at the door and gave Sara a hesitant gaze.  “You did say you trusted me.”   Ava blew out a breath Sara knew she was holding.  “Yeah, I did.”  After a minute she nodded and gestured for Sara to lead the way.   When the door opened loud music poured out into the street.  Sara grabbed Ava’s hand and pulled her into the poorly lit space.  She leaned close so the tall blonde could hear her.  “This is ‘Rory’s Place’.  It’s actually Mick’s grandfathers bar.  His grandma actually created the menu and everything they make here are her recipes.”   Sara lead the tall blonde to a corner of the bar where she knew the acoustics of the bar created a dead spot.  Well, not completely silent, but tolerable enough for conversation.  Sara noticed Ava was still looking around the bar taking everything in.  “So, this might be Mick’s someday?”   “Yep.”  The short blonde took a menu from the waitress that sauntered by.  Sara twisted in the booth so she could see the bar.  “He actually bartends here, but it looks like he’s off tonight.”   Their conversation for the evening stayed light and it wasn’t until Sara noticed Ava fight back a yawn as she pushed her plate away.  “I’m sorry.  I really didn’t mean to keep you out so late.”   Ava waved the apology away.  “It’s fine, but we really should go.”   On their way out the door Sara walked up to the bar and took care of the bill, she quickly slipped the receipt into her pocket and caught up with Ava.  Back out on the street the shorter blonde pulled her coat closer around her body and tugged Ava towards the public parking.  “I think the temperature dropped like 10 degrees.”   Ava tucked her hands deep into her pockets after zipping up her coat.  “Let’s just get to the car.”  They jogged to the vehicle and Sara quickly unlocked it so they could climb inside.  “So, you were right.  The food was really great.”   After she started the car Sara nodded and rubbed her hands together trying to warm them.  “See, I wouldn’t steer you astray.  Now, I just have to get this car warmed up.”  Sara saw Ava blowing into her hands.  She took the athlete’s hands into hers.  “Your hands are like ice.”   Ava chuckled lightly.  “Mmm...how are your hands so warm?  This is my third fall here, you’d think I’d acclimate at some point.”  Sara unzipped her jacket.  Ava tilted her head.  “What are you doing?”   “Come here.”  Sara slid closer and pulled Ava’s arms around her, tucking them under her coat.  “Just trying to warm you up.”  Sara couldn’t help the smug grin that crossed her lips.  The angle she was sitting was a little awkward, but Sara could care less as she felt Ava’s hands gripping her shirt.  The bartender took note of the way the athlete’s lips parted just slightly.  “Aves?”  It was barely a whisper.  Icy blue locked onto steel grey locked and Sara ran her hands up Avas’ arms, then across her shoulders, and eventually they landed on her cheeks and pulled her closer so their lips barely brushed against each other.  Sara felt Ava’s shortening breaths against her mouth as they stayed in close proximity.   Ava was the one who finally pushed forward crashing their lips together.  Sara was very aware that this wasn’t just a small chaste kiss.  But it wasn’t the like the desperate, wanting kisses they had exchanged before either.  It was so much more, and she already felt so much closer to Ava.  Sara started to shift in her seat to move closer.  Ava broke the kiss and whispered.  “Wait.”  The taller blonde rested her forehead against Sara’s.  “I don’t...”   Shooting her a reassuring smile Sara nodded.  “First date.  I totally get it.”  She couldn’t help, but follow it up with a wink.  Making sure that any teasing was out of her tone the bartender dropped her hands to Ava’s shoulders.  “I can respect that.”  Ava opened her mouth to say something, but immediately closed it again.  “Let’s get you home.”   Heat had started to escape from the car vents and Sara felt the tall blonde slowly release Sara’s shirt as she sat back on the passengers’ side.  “Thank you.”   The shorter blonde was reaching in the back seat.  “For what?”  She was still trying to get the pounding in her chest under control.  She finally found what she was reaching for and pulled a blanket from the back seat.  Smiling she handed it to Ava.  “I came prepared for my West Coast hottie this time.”   Ava took the blanket from Sara and gave her a smile in return.  “For the date, dinner, the blanket...just being you and giving this a chance.”  Sara had just started to level out her heart rate, but that smile threatened to get her going all over again.  She watched as Ava spread the blanket across her knees.  “Besides, who knew Captain Lance could be so soft?”   Sara lifted an eyebrow at Ava.  “You can’t tell anyone.  That has to be our secret.”  She held up her pinkie finger.  “Pinkie Swear?”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The shrill whistle blast bounced around the fitness center.  “Gather up, Ladies!”  Coach Hunter walked through the main entrance with Gideon in tow.  Ava glanced at the clock on the wall.  It was a little early to call the team meeting before everyone broke off to shower and head to their morning classes.  Moving to meet the coaches she looked around as the rest of the team grouped up.  “I have a couple of announcements to make.”  He glanced down at his clipboard.  “We won’t be having practice this evening.  I will encourage all of you to do SOMETHING other than consume turkey while we are on Thanksgiving break.”  He shot them all a pointed look.  “The bus will leave for Central City at 8am on Sunday be here or we will leave you and there will be consequences.”  He took a deep breath.  “Lastly, I had a meeting with the University Administrators, the referee tampering allegations were just that, allegations.  As of right now there isn’t an open investigation, because a formal complaint hasn’t been filed.”   He took a deep breath and shook his head.  “For all intents and purposes, it appears that the gentleman that addressed your team captains on Friday night heard a rumor and presented it as a fact.  Once the information was released multiple media outlets ran with it creating the frenzy we had to contend with this past weekend.”  He cleared his throat as a murmur ran through the team.  “That’s not to say that there won’t be a formal complaint filed, but as of now we need to put this behind us.”  Ava watched as his eyes traveled across the gathered team.  “Understood?”  Once he saw enough heads nodding to be satisfied that his team was with him, he started to walk towards the door.  “Sharpe, I need a moment of your time.”   The tall blonde glanced over at Alex, who just shrugged her shoulders in response.  “Yes, sir.”  Leaving the rest of the team behind she caught up with the two coaches curious as to what they had to say.  As soon as the trio stepped outside of the doors coach Hunter turned to face Ava, an apologetic smile on his face.   “Ava, I just wanted to let you know that I received a call from the Bureau.”  Seeing his expression caused her stomach to twist up.  “They asked about the investigation.  I told them everything I know, but I’m not sure how this may affect your chances.”   “Right.”  Ava ran her hand over her face and she felt tension gathering in her back as the muscles tightened up.   Hunter clasped a hand on her shoulder.  “I really hope everything still works out, but I thought you should know, just in case.”  He released her shoulder with an encouraging squeeze.  “If you need anything, you know how to reach me.”   As he walked away from where she stood, Ava leaned backwards until her back hit the wall behind her.  She clenched her jaw fighting back as much emotion as she could.  To have worked so hard to get that internship, only to have the opportunity possibly taken by someone’s indiscretion was devastating.  The investigation/not investigation, internship, her mother, Danny getting deployed, finals, basketball, going back to Central City, general classwork, in addition to what was happening with Sara, it was just a lot all at once.  Slowly Ava leaned forward and braced her hands on her knees trying to pull herself back together.   “Hey.”  She felt a hand on her back.  “Ava, are you okay?”  Gideon’s familiar voice rang in her ears, but she couldn’t find words to respond.  “Just breathe, you’re going to be okay.”   Something inside her snapped and she straightened up her expression shifting to ‘agent mode’.  It had been a while since she had to fall back onto this tactic, but she quickly wiped away the stray tear that had escaped with the back of her hand and quickly nodded.  “Yeah, I’m good.”  The tightness in her chest didn’t let up, but she managed to push a full-blown panic attack from hitting.  As the assistant coach tried to reach out again, Ava involuntarily recoiled and repeated.  “I’m good.”  The second time her words sounded stronger in her own ears which was encouraging.   Gideon backed off.  “You have my number.  Use it if you need to.”   Ava nodded and walked back into the fitness center.  Moving towards the locker room she managed to avoid making eye contact with anyone on her way.  She could hear her teammates chatting cheerfully as they finished up their workouts.  The overall feeling in the fitness center was positive and she tried to tap into the energy, but the tightness in her chest wouldn’t release.   Stripping down she moved into the nearest shower stall and turned the hot water on, allowing it to run down her face she closed her eyes and took measured breaths.  Everything is fine.  Shower, get dressed, and get to your morning lecture.  Lunch, afternoon lecture, and then practice.  She turned so the water was cascading down her back.  Wait, no practice.  Get home and finish laundry.  Pack and schedule a ride to the airport for the morning.  Affect what you can control.  She could feel some of the tension release from her shoulders as she allowed herself to accept the fact that whatever was going to happen was already in place.  There was no way for her to change it now. ~~~   Sara woke up and stretched an impossibly large smile fell across her expression.  Last night’s date still fresh in her mind.  Her dad’s presence had been an unexpected hiccup, but he had actually been great and it only added to the confidence she already felt.  Grabbing her phone, the bartender checked for messages before sending a good morning message to Ava.   Making note of the time Sara got out of bed and made her way to the shower.  She just had a short afternoon shift today and she didn’t want to be late.  After getting ready she grabbed her phone, wallet and keys.  Sitting in her car and waiting for it to warm up Sara scrolled through her e-mails when she got a response from Ava, and her brow creased with concern.  Call me.   Without hesitating Sara called Ava and waited as the phone rang.  She heard the call connect, but there was no response.  “Ava?”  Sara started to worry that maybe she had done something wrong.   “Hey.  I just wanted to see if you wanted to get together tonight.”  Sara noted that her tone seemed a little distant, but nothing really alarming.  “We don’t have practice tonight so I’ll be free any time after 3:30.”   “That sounds great, actually.”  She didn’t bother to hide the excitement from her voice.  “I’m on my way to work for a short afternoon shift.  I can stop by after that, if that works?”   “Yeah.  That should be fine.”  That time she was sure something was off.   “Aves, what’s wrong?”  She glanced at the time on her phone.  “Are you okay?  You seem off.”  When she was greeted by silence, she spoke up again.  “Aves, where are you?  I have a little time before-”   “No, you go.  I’ll see you later.”   Sighing Sara paused.  “As long as you promise to talk to me later.”   After a brief moment of silence Ava spoke up again.  ”Of course.  I promise.”  Neither of them said anything for a while.  “I’m going to get to class.” ~~~   Ava sat at the small table in the kitchen looking over her notes from the morning lecture.  Pushing her reading glasses up she rubbed the bridge of her nose trying to ease some of the pressure that had begun to build behind her eyes.  The time on her phone read 4:14 when she heard a knock on the front door.  Allowing the glasses to fall back onto the bridge of her nose she opened the door to a smiling Sara Lance.  The smile faltered for a moment and Ava noticed a flash of something she couldn’t quite place in those icy blues.  “I...uh...didn’t know you wore glasses.”   She stepped back so Sara could come inside.  “It’s not a normal thing.  Just when I read too much or start to get tired.”   The shorter blonde stepped in and looked around the apartment as she kicked off her shoes.  “So, which is it today?  I can go if you’re tired.”  Ava simply nodded to the table covered in notes and books.  “Ah, I see.”  Walking into the kitchen Sara grabbed one of the books off the table and hopped onto the kitchen counter thumbing through the book.  Ava cringed a little as Sara opened the book and rolled the cover back over the spine so she could hold the book open with one hand.  “The dynamic duo here?”   “No.  I think they are both headed home at some point tomorrow so, I’m pretty sure they are staying at Zari’s tonight.”  Ava noticed Sara nod then look around, avoiding eye contact.  The taller blonde fought the urge to explain to Sara that counters were for food while couches were for butts.  Deciding that wasn’t a battle she was even remotely inclined to fight today.   Sara held up the page she had flipped Ava’s book open to.  “This is pretty heavy.”   Ava peered at the page in question.  The introduction at the top of the page was about responding to an active shooter in a school or other public setting.  She hummed in response.  “Unfortunately, that’s not an uncommon occurrence anymore.  I’m sure your dad has gone over this with you, multiple times.”   Sara let out an adorable grunt in response, and set the book aside.  “Of course.”  The short blonde started to absently kick her legs.  From her seated position on the counter Sara’s legs were nowhere near the floor and Ava found it unbelievably endearing.  “Sooooo...”  Sara drug out the word as she turned to establish eye contact with Ava.  “What’s going on?”   Leaning against the back of the couch across from the bartender, Ava sighed.  “Well, apparently there wasn’t a complaint filed against the university.”   Sara’s brow furrowed and she narrowed her eyes at the athlete.  “But that’s good?”   Nodding Ava crossed her arms in front of her. “It is but it may have still cost me my internship.”   “What?”  Sara shook her head in confusion.  “How?  That doesn’t make any sense.”   “I interviewed to intern for the FBI this summer.  When they called Coach Hunter, they asked him what he knew about the investigation.”  She shrugged her shoulders.  “Even if there isn’t an actual investigation yet, it could work against me.”   Sara hummed an acknowledgement.  “Shit.”  The bartender stopped kicking her legs and Ava could feel Sara studying her face.  “When do you find out?”   Ava shook her head.  “I don’t know.”  She could feel tightening in her chest.   “Okay, that settles it.”  Sara dropped off the counter landing with a thud.  “You need to blow off some steam.  Grab some work out gear and let’s hit the gym, I’ll show you where I go to practice.”  She nodded towards the book sitting on the counter.  “I can show you some skills that will be more useful than that book.  Sometimes you just have to fight back and I did promise to help you with fighting if you helped me study.”   Ava shook her head.  “I can’t.  I need to finish up laundry before tomorrow.  I haven’t had a chance to do anything since I got back.”   Sara stood a little straighter.  “Right, I’ve been taking up a lot of your time, huh?  Okay, I got it.”  The bartender walked into the living room and pushed the coffee table and love seat off to the side, creating an open space in the center if the room.   “What are you doing?”  Ava watched as Sara stood in the middle of the open space and looked around, obviously pleased with herself.   “Let me see what you can do?  You said you had some training.”  Sara took a step towards the coffee table she moved opening up the room for Ava to join her.   Taking a deep breath Ava moved to the cleared space and started stretching out her arms.  “Are you sure about this?”   “Absolutely.”  Sara stood a little taller and put her hands on her hips watching the athlete carefully.  “Hang on a second.”  Sara walked over to Ava, once she was standing in front of the taller blonde she paused before slowly removing the glassed from the bridge of Ava’s nose.  Just before dropping into a defensive stance Ava rolled her head from side to side trying to get the tense muscles of her neck to loosen up.  As Ava hit her stance, she heard Sara make a small noise of approval.  “Damn, Sharpe.  I think you’re trying to undersell yourself.”  Sara sat the glasses next to the television before returning to the other woman.   Exhaling slowly the tall blonde attempted to let go of any stress that was still clinging to her.  “Let’s see what you’ve got, Lance.”  As Sara nodded to Ava to indicate she was ready.  The tall blonde didn’t hesitate, immediately stepping forward to strike with her left.  Sara blocked it easily, but Ava had anticipated that and was already following through with a right cross.  Stepping into the strike Sara dodged the attack and wrapped her left arm across Ava’s body grabbing her left shoulder.  In the same motion she took a step behind the athlete attempting to plant her left leg against Ava’s right so she could drop her to the ground.   Feeling Sara’s leg behind her Ava quickly spun them both so Sara wasn’t able to properly get her footing.  Now in control of the situation Ava brought up her knee and hit Sara’s abdomen.  Not hard, just enough to let the bartender know she’d been caught.  Taking half a step back she intended to follow up with a right cross, but Sara caught her wrist and spun her arm overhead.  Pushing the taller blonde down at the shoulder Sara succeeded in doubling Ava over at the waist capturing Ava’s left wrist with her left hand and landing a soft strike with her right hand.  Sara moved to step behind Ava’s left side to gather her in a hold and halt this round.   Ava had other ideas as she spun to her right, leading with her right elbow to knock Sara off of her.  Before the blow could connect Sara raised her right forearm effectively blocking the blow.  She then caught Ava’s right wrist and tucked Ava’s arms securely behind her back.  Ava huffed and shook off the bartender conceding defeat.  “Fuck.”   “Don’t be mad, that was impressive.”  Sara took a step back as she released Ava.  “I train a couple times a week, I hold the advantage here.  Just focus.”   Ava watched carefully as Sara made the first move this time.  The slightly shorter blonde came at her in an attempt to wrap her up in a hold again.  This time Ava grabbed Sara’s left elbow, lifted it up, and spun to her right under the held limb.  She immediately released Sara so she could tuck her body to block most of the blow that came from Sara’s right fist.  Then she dropped lower as Sara followed up with her left, ducking under the swing.  Not letting up the bartender came back at Ava with her right, Ava turned to her left into the blow bringing up her forearms.  Catching Sara’s wrist with her left, Ava moved to strike the side of Sara’s head with her right.   As if she knew the strike was coming already, Sara caught Ava’s arm just below the wrist.  Sara allowed   quick smirk to cross her lips before tossing Ava’s arm aside.  And that was the moment she knew, she fucked up.  Coming back immediately Ava landed a soft open hand strike with her right on Sara’s cheek pushing her to the left.  Ava immediately followed up with a soft left strike to Sara’s shoulder while she was caught off guard.  She then came across with her right and grabbed the fabric of Sara’s shirt at the shoulder.  Pushing her head down and away Ava captured Sara’s right arm and planted her feet.  She had hoped the bartender would concede from this position, Ava standing tall with her arm and shoulder under her control.  As soon as the shorter blonde even started to move Ava turned and hooked her right foot around Sara’s ankle and pushed her forward by the arm and shoulder.  Releasing Sara, Ava allowed her to fall to the ground as she finished her spin and mimed drawing a pistol and aimed her finger gun at Sara who was now prone on the floor.   A small chuckle escaped Ava’s throat as she held her hand out to help Sara off the ground.  “Come on.”   Shaking her head Sara accepted the help up.  “You are vicious.”  Neither of them even remotely winded they agreed to go a couple more rounds.  It went back and forth on who was successful as they were fairly evenly matched.  “Impressive, Sharpe.”   They were both breathing heavier at this point, but Ava was well aware that most of the stress she had been carrying had all but melted away.  No sooner than she had taken her stance Sara came at her, fast.  Sara lead with a shove against Ava’s chest getting her off balance.  Completely out of character from the rest of the session, she lead with her right cross.  Ava was just barely able to dodge left to avoid the hit.  Dropping low Ava started to rise planning on hitting Sara with a left, but instead wound up stepping back to avoid Sara’s left leg from kicking her right out from underneath her.  Still backpedaling Ava had to raise both of her forearms to block the turning kick Sara attempted to deliver with her right.  Standing up Ava was JUST able to deflect the blow with her left, then capture Sara’s wrist with her right hand.  Before the bartender had a chance to react Ava’s right hand came up to push Sara’s right fist away from her face.  Dropping the hold on Sara’s wrist Ava immediately stepped to the bartenders right, continuing to push her right arm down.  Ava then mimed a strike with her left near Sara’s face and turned her body so the shorter blonde’s right arm was completely in her control.   Out of the corner of her eye she could see Sara’s left fist coming up as she turned to get a hit on the athlete.  Dropping to her knee Ava pressed her hip into Sara’s knee causing her to fall backwards.  As soon as Sara’s back hit the ground Ava quickly scrambled up her body and captured her left arm pinning both of Sara’s arms over her head as Ava straddled her waist.  Ava felt her mouth go dry as she realized the position she was in.  Being stretched out her face was only a few inches from Sara’s.  Completely distracted, she barely registers Sara planting her feet on either side of her own.  By the time she recognizes the movement Sara thrusts her right hip up full force, and using the momentum to shift their positions.   Grinning like the Cheshire cat Sara leans down and captures Ava’s lips in a hard kiss.  Ava felt Sara’s tongue brush against her lower lip and she parts her lips right away allowing the shorter blonde entrance.  Sara’s hands abandon Ava’s wrists and cup her face, keeping her in place as the kiss deepens.  Ava’s hands move to Sara’s waist and she unexpectantly comes into contact with bare skin as Sara’s shirt has ridden up slightly.  Sara pulls back from the kiss at the contact.  “What are the chances that Amaya comes back tonight?”   Ava studies Sara’s blown pupils and knows exactly why she’s asking.  “Don’t care.”  Ava grabs the hem of Sara’s shirt and yanks it off over her head.  With the shirt gone Ava runs her hands over Sara’s exposed ab muscles.  Sitting up Ava moves her hands around Sara’s waist and up her back until she hits the bottom of Sara’s bra.  Sara’s hands are wrapped in Ava’s hair after removing the hair tie that had been holding her hair back.  Ava captures Sara’s mouth with hers and takes a hold of the bra band and unfastens it.  Feeling the bare skin underneath Ava sighs into Saras’ mouth savoring how soft she feels.   Ava can feel Sara grinding down against her.  With the band now released Ava breaks away from Sara’s mouth and presses open mouth kisses to her neck.  Ava’s right hand shifts around the shorter blondes ribs and under the now loose band.  A small noise comes from the woman in her lap as Ava comes into contact with peak of her breast.   Sara leans back far enough to pull her bra completely off as well as remove Ava’s shirt.  As soon as her shirt was gone Ava leaned forward, capturing one of Sara’s pert nipples in her mouth.  Her wrapped her arms around Sara’s back to keep her close.  She can feel the nub start to harden under her tongue.  She kisses her way to the opposite side and repeats her ministrations.  Ava notices Sara’s hair brushing against Ava’s face as Sara leans forward.   Ava slides her hand under the waistband at the back of Sara’s jeans, just wanting to feel more of the bartender under her touch.  When the band of her own bra loosens Ava realizes why Sara had been leaning forward.  As Sara continues to grind down Ava rolls her hips up, meeting the other woman part of the way at least.  At first brush a lewd noise leaves the bartender, and Ava can feel her heartbeat quickening in her chest.   Sara leaned forward pushing on Ava’s shoulders encouraging her to lay back down on the floor.  Once her back hit the carpet the bartender pulls off her bra.  Ava’s hands grip Sara’s hips as she rolls her own hips up again, straining for contact.  Releasing Sara, the athlete grabbed a hold of the button of Sara’s pants and quickly unfastens it.  Tugging the zipper down Ava looks up at Sara and is confronted by a look that is so full of need it catches her off guard.  Ava pulls her down into a passionate kiss, while Sara pushes her pants and underwear down.  Sara takes Avas’ hand and guides her to where she needs her the most.   Ava groans into Sara’s mouth as she parts the bartenders’ folds and slides her middle finger through the slickness gathered there.  Ava felt her skin start to tingle as she sunk deep into Sara’s entrance.  She feels Sara’s breath hitch above her.  As she starts to pump her digit in Sara’s core, the bartender braces her elbows on either side of Ava’s head.   Sara situates herself over Ava so that their breasts brush against each other as she rocks back into Ava’s hand.  “Fuck.”  The bartender drops her eyes and starts to brush kisses along Avas’ neck.  As Sara continues to move, Ava adds her ring finger and meets the rhythm Sara sets.  After a few minutes all of the sensations are becoming too much and Ava feels like she could hit her climax from just feeling the blonde riding her hand.  Ava shifts her position so her palm brushes Sara’s clit as she moves.  The sudden intake of breath tells the taller blonde that she was successful.  “Aves...”   As the bartenders’ movements start to slow Ava doubles her efforts feeling like Sara was close, which is confirmed by her inner walls clamping down on Avas’ fingers.  Biting her bottom lip Ava decides to try something and curls her fingers thrusting a little harder.  The moan that escapes Sara’s throat shoots straight to her core.  Making a mental note Ava repeats the movement until Sara actually screams her name before her elbows gave out and Sara collapses on top of her.  Wrapping her free arm around the bartenders’ shoulders Ava kept her fingers still as Sara’s walls pulse with her climax.  “Are you okay?”  Ava pressed a kiss to her forehead.   Still catching her breath Sara looks up catching Ava’s eyes.  “Damn, I don’t think I’ve ...it’s been a while.”    Ava just takes in the expression of the icy blue eyes that seemed to be boring into her soul.  “What were you so worried about?”   Ava had suspected that Sara noticed her hesitation when they were together after the Halloween Party, but Sara all but confirmed it with that statement. Ava kept maintaining eye contact, but shrugs and shakes her head.  “I’ve only ever been with my Ex and if she... had to seek satisfaction elsewhere.  I guess I was afraid I wasn’t good enough.”  As the tension eases up, Ava carefully withdraws from Sara.   Finally, able to sit up on her elbows again Sara looked at the athlete with conviction in her eyes.  “I think it goes without saying, your ex is a fucking idiot.”  The bartender gave Ava a searing kiss.  “If only I had met you first...”  She runs her nose across Ava’s kissing her again.  “I never want you to feel inadequate to anyone.”  A comfortable silence settled in the room for a moment.  “What do you think about a shower?”  Ava watched as the smug smirk made its inevitable appearance. ~~~   Sara followed Ava into the shower.  Allowing the warm water to flow over them, Sara closed her eyes letting the water ease her muscles that had started to tighten up after the impromptu sparring match.  When she opened them again so was facing Ava’s back.  Grinning to herself she wrapped her arms around the athlete Sara nipped Ava’s shoulder blade as she dropped her right hand to the apex of Ava’s thighs.  The taller blonde leaned against Sara as she started to circle Ava’s sensitive bud.  Ava leaned forward bracing herself against the wall for extra support.   Sara listened as Ava breathing picked up and grew heavier.  Needing to see the affect she was having on the taller woman Sara turned Ava around and pressed her up against the shower wall.  Sara licked across Ava’s breast, running her tongue over the peak causing it to harden.  Ava was slightly salty from the sweat that resulted from the earlier tryst as well as the sparing.   Sara peppered kisses across Ava’s chest as she lifted her right leg allowing her better access to Ava’s core.  Running her fingers through Ava’s center Sara gathered some of Ava’s arousal using it to help lubricate as she circled the athlete’s clit again.  Leaning close Sara whispered in Ava’s ear.  “I want to feel you come for me, Director Sharpe.”  The hitch in Ava’s breath told Sara that she liked it.  “Can you do that for me?”  The acoustics of the bathroom allow Sara to hear all the sounds Ava was making as she fucked her.  It’s not long before the athlete hits her high and leans her head back, letting the water from the shower head wash over her.   Straightening up again Ava looks the bartender up and down.  “How is it you can almost make me come with just your voice?”   “I don’t think that’s true.”  Sara grabbed the shampoo and squeezed a generous portion into her hand.  Standing as tall as she can Sara runs her hands through Ava’s hair creating a good lather as she massages Ava’s scalp.   Conversation tapered off as they finished showering and exited the bathroom wrapped in the biggest, fluffiest towels Ava could find.  While they were in Ava’s room digging for clothes to wear Sara heard the front door open and her eyes grew wider as she pulled on the tee shirt and shorts Ava had offered her.  “Uh, Aves.”   As Ava pulled on her own shirt, she looked over to see what Sara needed.  Before she could say anything, she heard Zari’s voice coming from the living room.  “RESPECT PUBLIC SPACES!”   Ava’s face blanched, but Sara just shrugged her shoulders and pressed a quick kiss to Ava’s shoulder.  “I got it.”  Walking out towards the living room Sara grabbed any random article of clothing she came across along the way.  “Good Evening.”  Sara kept most of the smugness she felt out of her tone.  “We thought you guys were out for the evening.”   “Mmhmm.”  Amaya just shook her head.  “I can see that.”   Sara finished gathering up the random articles of clothing and dropped them by the washer.  “We were doing laundry.”  Amaya nodded to the displaced furniture.  “And sparring.”  Sara smirked and crossed her arms over her chest.   Zari snorted and shook her head.  “Sparring.”   Sara shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose.  “Honestly.  She’s actually a really strong fighter.  Did you know that?”  As she finished speaking Sara moved the coffee table back in place, followed by the love seat with Amaya’s assistance.   “I didn’t know, but I’m not surprised.  Is my roommate actually here?”  Amaya looked down the hallway.   “Yeah, she’s just getting dressed... changing.  Whatever, you get the idea.”  Almost as if on cue the bedroom door swung open and Ava approached the trio.  “So, anyway we were about to order some delivery.  Are you guys staying or going?  Have you eaten?”  She noted the flush on Ava’s face, clearly embarrassed at having been caught.   “Delivery, laundry, and maybe some tv?”  Ava asked hopefully.   Amaya shook her head.  “I actually just stopped in to grab my suitcase.” ~~~   It was getting late by the time Ava had finished laundry and packing her suitcase for the airport in the morning.  As she zipped it closed, she remembered she hadn’t booked her car for the morning.  “Shit.”   Sara looked up from the couch where she had stretched out.  “What’s wrong?”   Ava ran her hand through her hair and shook her head.  “I was supposed to schedule a car to the airport in the morning, but I got distracted.”   “I got you, Aves.”   “We’ll have to leave here at 4 in the morning.”  Ava quirked an eyebrow, curious to see how Sara would react.  “Of course, it might not be too bad.  You are staying tonight?”   Rolling off the couch Sara hopped to her feet and approached the tall blonde with a little sway to her hips.  “If you’ll have me, but I do believe we should call it a night.”   As she questioned the wisdom of this decision Ava nodded in agreement and turned off the television and grabbed Sara’s hand walking her back to her bedroom.  Peeling back the comforter Ava invited Sara to climb in, while she plugged her phone to charge.  By the time she turned back around Sara was already waiting for Ava to join her.  They lay on their sides facing each other.  “Thank you for taking me in the morning.”   “You’re welcome.”  Sara smiled as she brushed a stray hair out of Ava’s eyes.   “Before I forget, a bunch of my friends are getting together on Monday.  I was hoping you would be able to join us.”  Ava’s heart rate picked up in anticipation of Sara’s answer.   “I’d love to, but I have to work.”  Ava did her best to hide her disappointment.  “Rain check?”   Nodding Ava waved it away like it wasn’t a big deal.  “Yeah, sure.  Next time.” ~~~   Sara followed Ava to the gate fighting back a yawn.  “Alright, so you’ll need to find someone to pick you up when you get back.  I’ll be at work.”   “No problem.  It won’t be such a weird hour when I get back.  I can always Uber if I need to.”   Sara looked at the gate and then back to Ava.  “You should probably go, or maybe stay?”   Leaning forward Ava collected Sara into a chaste kiss.  “I would love to stay, but I’ll be back soon.”   Sara nodded.  “Good bye, Aves.”   A small grin crossed Ava’s expression.  “Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting.”   Sara laughed out loud.  “Did you just quote Peter Pan?”   “I absolutely did.”   Ava's smile grew when she heard Sara laugh.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sara sat in her car yawning as she looked at the clock on her car radio.  6:31a.  By now Ava’s flight would be gone.  Rubbing her eyes Sara needed to decide if she was going to get coffee or head back to her apartment for a nap.  Grabbing her phone off the passenger seat she sank a little deeper into the driver side.

Laurel
Today 6:32 AM
Good morning.  Coffee?  My treat?
Who is this?
Funny
It’s before noon.  You can’t be my sister.
Did you take her hostage?
Laurel...coffee?
Sure.  Meet me at the place near my office?
See you soon.

Sitting up straight Sara started the car and kicked off the blanket.  She took and extra minute to quickly fold and toss the blanket haphazardly into the backseat.  As she pulled out of the parking garage Sara began to question her decision to drive downtown during the morning rush hour.  Fortunately, as she got closer, she remembered that it was Thanksgiving we actually tomorrow so a lot of the normal commuters had taken the day off.  This made traffic significantly lighter and definitely more manageable.   She actually didn’t even have much trouble finding a parking spot downtown, which was normally unheard of.  Getting out of the car Sara paused to stretch, her muscles felt stiff from both sitting in the car too long as well as the sparring match from the previous day.  As she made her way to the coffee shop, Sara determined that going with something small would be wise.  That way she could get home safely, but still might be able to get a nap in.   As she approached the shop Sara spotted her sister approaching from the oppose direction.  The brunette gave her a small wave as she approached.  “Hey, Sara.”  Laurel gave her a quick hug as they walked into the coffee shop.  “No, seriously, why are you awake at this hour?”   Approaching the counter Sara fought back yet another yawn.  “I took Ava to the airport.”  She rubbed her eyes and squinted at the menu.  “Dropped her off at like five this morning.”   “Okay, but why are you still up?  You certainly could have gone home and gone back to sleep by now.”  Sara could feel Laurel watching her.   Sara shrugged her shoulders.  “I waited at the airport until her flight left.  You know, in case the flight got cancelled.  I wouldn’t want to be stranded at the airport.”  As the bartender moved towards the counter, she made it a point not to look at her sister.  At least until she felt Laurel push her.  “What?”  As she finally relented and made eye contact, Sara saw the grin on her sister’s face.   “Oh my god.  Sara, you love her.”   “What?”  The blonde shook her head and wrinkled her nose as she got to the counter.  Focusing her attention on the Barista first, she ordered her small coffee.  Looking back to Laurel Sara waited for her sister to order.   “Large Caramel Macchiato, please.”  Laurel turned back towards Sara.  “You do.  Look at you.”   Sara pulled out a twenty and paid for their drinks.  “Shut up, Laurel.”  The blonde seemed resistant to the idea, but the flush on her cheeks told another story entirely.   “Mmhmm.”  Laurel followed Sara to the end of the counter to wait for their drinks to be prepared.  “You voluntarily got up before ten in the morning.”  The brunette narrowed her eyes.  “Did you sit in your car all morning?”   Collecting her coffee Sara shrugged her shoulders.  “So, what if I did?”   A knowing expression crossed the lawyer’s features.  “You don’t want her to know you waited.”   Clearing her throat Sara gestured to an unoccupied table in the corner.  “I’m going to grab that one. Before someone else does.”  Escaping for the moment Sara sat down and really thought about what Laurel was saying, but of course she was wrong.  It was too early in this relationship for those kinds of feelings.  As soon as the brunette sat down across from her, Sara took control of the conversation.  “I wanted to check on you.  Last weekend was pretty intense.”   Laurel nodded and sipped her drink, then looked up meeting Sara’s eyes.  “Have you talked to mom?”   Sara laughed and shook her head, breaking the eye contact with Laurel.  “No.  I don’t intend to put myself through that again any sooner than I have to.”  Taking a deep breathe the bartender tried to focus on the smell of the coffee beans.     Laurel hummed as she took another drink.  “Well, then I guess I get to be the one to tell you.”  Sara looked up to meet her sister’s eyes.  “The Queen’s invited us to their house for Thanksgiving.”   Sara felt her stomach knot up and she tapped her coffee cup.  “Yeah?”   “Yeah.”  Laurel reached out and grabbed Sara’s hands to still them.  “So, you don’t have to come.  We can make up an excuse if you want.”   “Dad said yes?”  Laurel nodded, indicating the Quentin had accepted the invitation.  “Okay.  Okay, I’ll be there.  Just let me know what time.”  Sara pulled her hands back so she could spin her cup, but maintained eye contact with Laurel.  “Are you okay?”   Laurel gave her half a nod.  “Ollie and I are going away this weekend.”  The brunette broke their eye contact for a moment.  “He booked a trip for us so we can get away and really talk everything out.  No distractions.”   Sara gave her sister a smile.  “I think that’s probably what you need.”   The brunette nodded in agreement.  “I think one way or another we should know exactly where we stand after the trip.”   Shifting in her seat Sara nodded.  “What are you hoping for?”   “I love him.”  Laurel smiled at the thought.  “I just wish he would have told me a long time ago.”  The brunette ran her hand absently through her hair.  “It makes me wonder what else he could be hiding from me.”   “Do you think if you ask him, he’ll tell you?”  Sara watched her sister as she shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.  “All you can do is try, I suppose.”   Laurel nodded.  “So, not to change the subject too quickly, but-” The brunette paused as a cheeky grin crossed her face.  “Dad is completely enamored.”   Thinking for a moment Sara tried to figure out what Laurel was talking about.  “What?”   “Ava.”  Laurel raised her eyebrows.  “I had dinner with mom and dad last night.  He kept talking about her.  It was cute.”   Sara groaned and leaned back in her chair, away from the table.  “Oh man, how’d mom take it?”   Laurel rolled her eyes and shook her head.  “Well, she didn’t say much, but she seemed...okay?”  The brunette glanced up at the clock.  “I wouldn’t worry too much.  Once she meets Ava, she’ll shut up.”  Laurel gave her sister an approving nod.  “She’s a good one, Sara.  She’ll win mom over.” ~~~   Ava stepped off the plane in Fresno Yosemite International Airport, stretching her arms as she walked through the main terminal to get to the arrival gate.  The forty-eight-minute layover in Phoenix caused the travel time to exceed six and a half hours, and all she wanted to do was get home and curl up in her bed.  Hiking her carry-on higher up her shoulder she spotted Captain Sharpe approaching.  “Cap.”   He shot her a warm smile.  “Director.”     She rolled her eyes and shifted her bag as she hugged him.  “Picked up on that, did you?”   He wrapped an arm around her shoulders.  “You look exhausted, kid.”   “I had a short night.”  She follows the Randy’s lead as they head towards the exit.  “I thought I might catch a nap on the flight, but there was a kid kicking the back of my seat all the way to Phoenix.”   “Yeah?”  His tone had a touch of concern in it.  “What kept you up?”   Looking over she could see his brows knitted together.  “There’s just a lot going on.”  He gave her shoulder a squeeze.  “The Bureau called Coach Hunter, and questioned him about the situation with the Referees.”   As they walked out of the terminal and carefully crossed the road, headed towards short term parking.  “I wouldn’t worry about that too much.”  As they reached the garage, he released her shoulders.  He pulled out his keys and popped the trunk open.   Dropping her bag into the trunk Ava watched him carefully.  “Why?”  She saw a knowing smile lit up his face, but he didn’t say anything.  “What do you know?”  He just shook his head indicating that he wasn’t saying anything.  She narrowed her eyes at him.  “Tell me what you know.”   “Come on.”  He closed the trunk and made his way to the drivers’ side.  As soon as Ava joined him in the cab and closed the door the older man turned the car on turning to look at her.  “Ava, have you turned your phone off airplane mode yet?”   Her sleep deprived brain hadn’t even thought about it when she had the layover.  Instead of messing with her phone she had spent the time going over lecture notes instead.  “No.”  Pulling her cell phone out of her pocket she set it back into standard mode.  She took a second to send a message to a group chat that included Nora, Gary, and Lily letting them know she had safely landed.    She was about to send the same thing to Sara when a voicemail popped up.  It was from a California exchange.  She looked up from the phone to her dad.  “What-”   It didn’t seem possible, but his smile grew.  “Just listen to it.”   Pressing the speaker button first Ava held up the phone and pressed play.  ‘Ava, this is Agent Wells.  Can you please give me a call back at your earliest convenience.’  As the message played Ava’s eyes grew wider.  She just stared at the phone without moving.   Randy’s voice broke through the quiet after a few minutes.  “Call him back, sport.”   “Isn’t it too early for callbacks?”  She swallowed hoping to hide her nerves.   He shrugged his shoulders.  “Maybe.  Maybe not?”  He just sat for an extra minute as she processed.  “Ava.  Either way you’ll be fine.  Even if you don’t get the internship, that doesn’t mean you’re out of the Bureau.  Regardless you’ll need on the job experience before you join the Bureau.”  He nudged her arm.  “Get out of your head.  You can always wait till we get home so you can keep it to yourself.”   She licked her lips still looking at the screen as if it would dial by itself.  “No, it’s okay.”  Taking a deep breathe she punched in the number and hit send, leaving it on speaker phone.   After two rings a man answers the call.  “Special Agent Thomas Wells.” It took her half a second to find her voice as her heart-rate skyrocketed.  “Agent Wells, this is Ava Sharpe returning your call.”  She was relieved that her nerves hadn’t found their way into her voice.   “Ava.  Thank you for returning my call.”  She could faintly hear the shuffling of some papers on the other end of the line.  “So, I wanted to reach out and let you know that you are moving forward to the next step in the vetting process.  The main reason for the contact is not let you know that due to the potential of an investigation in Star City we are going to place you in the San Francisco office.”   “That’s great.  Thank you, Agent Wells.”  Ava stole a glance up at her dad grinning widely.   “Keep in mind there’s no guarantee that the complete background work-up will be done so, be wary of signing any leases.  Congratulations, Sharpe, we’ll be in touch.”   Once the call disconnected, Ava practically dropped her phone.  “Holy shit!”   As Ava threw her arms around his neck, Randy laughed.  “Did you seriously think you wouldn’t get it?”   “There’s always a chance.”  Her heart was racing in her chest as she buckled her seat-belt.  “I... this is really happening.”   He shifted the car into drive and pulled out of the parking space.  “You earned it.”  He looked both ways before merging with the airport traffic.  “Let’s get home and see if you can’t get a nap in.  Carly and the kids are staying over tonight to help your mom cook.”  He looked at her and smiled briefly.  “As soon as the twins arrive there won’t be any rest for you.”   Still a little shocked Ava shook her head and sank a little deeper into the seat.  “I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep anyway.” ~~~   As Ava and her dad pulled into the driveway Ava saw the screen door open slightly followed by a flash of orange and white.  Grinning like an idiot Ava opened the door and immediately knelt down as the orange and white blur collided with her shins.  “Take it easy, Waffles, I missed you too!”  The short-legged dog continued to try to jump up, his tongue hanging off to the side.   “I think he knew you were coming home.  He was pacing in front of your door the last 3 days.”  As he spoke, Randy retrieved her bag from the trunk.   The small corgi gave up on jumping and just leaned against her legs until he fell over on his side and exposed his belly.  “Oh yeah?”  Obliging the request, Ava scratched his stomach.  “Poor guy probably hasn’t gotten any pets since I left.”  She rolled her eyes as she spoke and looked up at Randy.   He shook his head and deadpanned.  “Nope, none at all.”   After sharing her news with her mom Ava made her way to her childhood room and dropped her bag on the floor.  She dropped face first into the mattress and laid there for a minute or two before rolling over and tucking her pillow under her head.  As soon as she was on her back, she felt something bounce onto the mattress and a fuzzy head landed on her shoulder.  Scratching the dogs head she retrieved her phone and sent a message to Sara, finally letting her know she made it home okay.  Almost immediately the phone started to ring.  Answering the FaceTime call Ava smiled at the girl on the screen.  “Hey!”   “I was about to leave for work and thought I’d give you a call while I had the chance.”  The bartender quirked an eyebrow and tilted her head slightly.  “Um, there’s something on you there...”   Laughing the athlete looked over at the dog’s head resting on her shoulder.  “Sara, this is Waffles.”  The corgi raised his head at the mention of his name before flopping back down and tucking his nose under her shoulder.  Ava turned back towards the screen.  “Apparently he’s going to be shy today.”   “A dog, huh?”  Ava nodded as she scratched his ear absently.  “For some reason you always struck me as a cat person.”   “Really?” Beside her the dog grunted and tried to dig his face deeper under her shoulder.   Sara inclined her head.  “And I really didn’t expect you to allow a dog in your bed.”   Ava glanced over at the half-buried face nosing under her shoulder.  “Well, to be fair, this isn’t any dog.  This is Waffles the Magnificent.”  His head reappeared as he let out a light woof before burrowing again.   “Tell me you are bringing him back with you.”   Ava turned her attention back to the bartender.  “Sadly, no.  He needs entirely too much attention.”  The athlete relaxed into the mattress.  “How was your morning?”   “It was interesting.  I met Laurel for coffee.”  Sara looked up from the screen.  “Apparently, we’re having dinner with the Queen’s tomorrow.”   “Shit.”  Ava felt stressed for Sara.  “Are you going to go?”   Sara absently ran a hand through her hair.  “I don’t see where I have much of a choice.”  It was as if the bartender could sense the tension Ava felt for her.  “Don’t worry so much.  I can handle the Queens.”   Ava opened her mouth to say something, but as she did Waffles head popped up pushing her shoulder to the side.  Before she was able to react to the corgi Ava heard the squeal before a small body flopped onto the bed next to her.  Little arms wrapped around her neck.  “Auntie Ava!”   By some small miracle the athlete managed to keep ahold of the phone through the entire event.  “Hey, Hailey.”   The little girl turned to see what her aunt had been looking at.  Staring at the phone Hailey smiled.  “Are you my Aunts’ girlfriend?”   Ava felt her eyes go wide.  “Hailey, I never said...”   “I’d like to be.”  Sara voice came through the phone without missing a beat.   The little girl beamed.  “What’s your name?”  Ava heard Sara answer, but she was in a cloud trying to process.  “Do you want to hear my song?”  Still a little caught off guard by Sara’s answer Ava, didn’t have time to respond before her niece was already belting out her ‘Ava Sharpe’ tune.  Even though Ava knew the damage was already done she quickly covered Hailey’s mouth.   “Hey, hey... why don’t you head downstairs to see grandma and grandpa?  I’ll be down in a little bit.”  The 4-year-old squinted her eyes, but finally nodded and took off.  Ava avoided looking at the screen for a minute.  “So, what were we talking about?”   Sara chuckled before lilting.  “Ava Sharpe... do do…"   “No.  Please don’t.”  Sitting up Ava licked her lips and finally looked at the screen again.  “Girlfriend?”   Ava got caught up in icy blue.  “If you’ll have me?”   Feeling a flash of heat across her cheeks Ava nodded.  “Of course.”    Sara’s eyes drifted away from the phone for a moment.  “I have to go.” “I’ll text you later?”  Sara nodded and Ava could tell she was walking across her living room.  “Have a great night, Sara.”   “You too, Aves.”   As soon as the call disconnected Ava realized she forgot to tell Sara about the Bureau, but of course before she had a chance to do anything about it, she heard Hailey in the hallway telling her sister about Sara. ~~~   Behind the bar Sara moved effortlessly serving the crowd that was getting well lubricated before dealing with their family the following day.  The blonde bartender hadn’t been able to stop smiling all day and into the night.   Even the prospect of having to deal with Oliver and her mother the next day wasn’t enough to break her mood.   She noticed Nora, Ray, and Nate walking in around ten o’clock.  John and Gary were already at the end of the bar chatting away.  Moving towards the two men Sara whistled and waved the other three over to where they were gathered.  Once they were all within earshot Sara placed her hands on her hips and grinned.  “Alright team, we have a mission.”   Nora looked to Ray.  “Mission?”   Then Sara turned to Ray as well.  “Ray, we’re going to need the Waverider Sunday.”   Ray rolled his eyes.  “Sara, I told you not to call it that.”   Nora looked between the blonde and her boyfriend.  “Waverider?”   Ray shook his head.  “My dad’s party van.”  He then looked back to Sara.  “There was an incident with Mick, too much beer, and the beach.”   “We need the WAVERIDER because we’re going to Central City on Sunday.”  Sara smiled, somewhat proud of herself.  “And don’t worry, we won’t let Mick drive this time.”   Nora shot an approving grin at the bartender.  “Ava’s game.”  Sara nodded.  “Good call, Lance.”   “Oh man!  That’s a great idea.”  Ray’s eyes grew wide with excitement.  “I’ll drive the bus.”   “Oh my Beebo!  That’s great.”  Gary was practically jumping up and down.  “If you’re planning this for a game, I can’t wait to see what you have planned for Monday!”   “Yeah!”  Sara’s smile slowly faltered.  “Monday...?”   All eyes landed on her, but Nora was the one to speak up.  “Ava’s birthday.”  Sara winced and dropped her head pinching the bridge of her nose.  “Ava’s 21st birthday.”   Nate’s mouth formed an o and he shook his head.  “You didn’t know?”   Sara ran her hand through her hair.  “Worse, I forgot AND I have to work.”   He clapped her on the back.  “Ouch.  Bright side?  Black Friday sales.  You have time to figure out how to make up for it!”   “Right.”  Sara blew out a slow breath trying to figure out what she could possibly do.  For now, she shook off that thought.  “I’ll send a message to Amaya to see if she’s in.”  She pointed at Gary.  “You get a hold of Lily and we’ll try to get as big of a group as we can.”   Sara noticed Nora glancing down at her phone then looking back up at her pointedly.  At the same time Gary looked up from his phone a grinning widely.  “SARA!  It’s official?!”  If possible, he seemed to be even more enthusiastic.   The bartender knew Ava had been texting her friends.  “That I forgot my girlfriends’ birthday?  Yeah, it’s very official.” ~~~   Sara took a deep breath as she parked her car and walked up to the Queen Mansion.  As she approached the door Laurel pulled it open meeting Sara at the threshold.  “Happy Thanksgiving, Laurel.”  She held out a bottle of wine towards Laurel, she had a second that she carried herself.  These were more expensive than she usually brought home on Sundays.    The brunette accepted the bottle and glanced at the label.  “Happy Thanksgiving, Sara.  You look great.”  She gestured over her shoulder.  “Mom and Dad are already here.”   Sara hummed.  “I’m the last to arrive?”   Laurel gave her a one-armed shrug.  “Not a big deal.  I don’t think dinner is ready anyway.”  Stepping to the side Laurel invited her sister in.  Sara followed Laurel into the formal living room where it seemed everyone was gathered.  “Sara, you remember Moira and Robert.”   Sara greeted Oliver’s parents before turning her attention to Oliver and his sister Thea.  “Happy Thanksgiving.”   Laurel held up the bottle Sara had brought.  “Sara brought wine.”   Robert glanced at the label.  “Great year.”  He regarded the blonde.  “Nice choice, Sara.”  He moved to the bar and started grabbing glasses.  “No since in wasting any time.”  He looked across the gathered group.  “Who all would like a glass?”  Sara set the second bottle on the bar top as Robert popped the first cork and started serving.  He had to get into the second bottle to serve everyone making Sara glad she had decided to opt to bring two bottles instead of just the one.   Robert nodded approvingly.  “Laurel tells us that you are returning to school next semester.”   Sara looked to her sister, who was gave her an approving look.  “Absolutely.  I figured I took enough time off already.”  The blonde had always been able to blend in with any crowd and the Queens were no different.   Dinner had gone off without any issues, and Sara was able to avoid any conflicts with both her mother and Oliver by making sure Robert, Moira, Thea, or Quentin were nearby at all times.  As she was preparing to leave Sara caught Oliver’s attention pulling him aside.  “Ollie.”  He crossed his arms over his chest and gave her a tight-lipped smile.  “Look, you and I both know it wasn’t me you wanted to be with that night.”  Sara avoided making eye contact with him.  “Make sure she knows, too.”  As she finished her statement the bartender moved back into the living room where the families had reconvened after dinner. ~~~   Ava had just finished loading the dishwasher after dinner when her mom walked into the kitchen.  For the first time since Ava had gotten back, they were alone.  “So, what’s your plan?  San Francisco is 3 hours away.”   Ava leaned against the counter as she dried her hands.  “Well, I’m thinking I’ll start by looking for a sublet.  If I can find something between June and August that will be ideal.  If that doesn’t work out, I’ll see if I can find someone looking for a short-term roommate.”   “What about your girlfriend?”  The older woman shifted uncomfortably as she spoke.”   “We’ll need to talk of course, but she has a job and family in Star City.  I figure we’ll do the long-distance thing for a little bit.  It’s just a couple of months.”  Ava added soap to the dishwasher and closed the door.   Her mom fiddled with her earring.  “Do you think she would come here for a visit?”   “Mom.”  Ava started the dishwasher and looked back to the older woman.  “I don’t know.”  The tall blonde held her arms out.  “Why are you so set on meeting her?”   “I guess I just want to make sure you won’t get hurt again.”  Ava could feel the tension rising between them.   “I think I can handle myself.”  Tossing the towel over her shoulder Ava fought the urge to cross her arms.  She wanted to keep her body language open even with the rising tension.   Pam blew out her breath.  “I’m sorry Ava, but she sounds too good to be true.  Not to mention you’ve been out on one date and you’re already calling her your girlfriend?”   Ava rubbed her eyes.  “It’s complicated, but I can tell you we’ve been talking a lot longer.”   “What can’t you tell me?”  Ava could feel the older woman’s eyes burning into her.   Shaking her head Ava fought the urge to straight up tell her mom about their extracurricular activities in great detail, just to shut her up.  “Look, I really like her, her family seems really great, and I’m happy.”  Ava bit her lip nervously.  “What more could you possibly want for me?”   The older woman’s head dropped and Ava could hear what she swore was a sniffle.  “You’re right...”  Moving quickly the tall blonde pulled the sobbing woman into an embrace.  “That’s all I ever wanted for you.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ava carefully walked up the stairs cradling the little girl close to her chest.  As she pushed the guest room door open with her foot, she could feel her cell phone vibrating in her pocket.  Ignoring the phone, she remained focused on getting the little girl tucked under the comforter.  Quietly she stepped aside to let Ted land Bailey next to Hailey.   Turning back towards the door she saw the short dog drop his butt onto the floor with a huff and a yawn.  Stretching out his front paws his gaze drifted from Ava to her bedroom door.  As soon as she stepped out of the guest room, Waffles was back on his feet and walked over to her bedroom door bumping it with his nose.  “Subtle.”  She bent over and scratched the top of his head before facing her brother in law as he pulled the door closed behind him.   He nodded towards the closed door.  “Thanks for the help.”   The tall blonde smiled as she opened her bedroom door and the corgi darted inside before she even had an opportunity to even attempt to stop him.  “Happy to help.  I’ll see you in the morning?”   He nodded again, before disappearing into Carly's room down the hall.   Walking into her room Ava made sure to leave the door cracked in case Waffles decided to leave at any point during the night.    At the moment however he was pushing her comforter around the bed.  “Here.”  She picked up a corner of the blanket and he darted under.  “You’re ridiculous.”  Moving to her dresser she retrieved her pajamas and changed quickly making sure there wasn’t line of sight from the slightly open door.   She grabbed her phone off the top of the dresser and noted that the missed call had been from Sara.  Walking back to her bed she sat on the edge and listened to the small dog grunting under the blankets behind her.  Shaking her head, Ava dialed the bartender’s number before carefully laying back in bed.   Her cell phone barely rang once before Sara picked up.  “Hey, I was afraid you already went to bed.”   “Not yet.”  Ava pushed the lump under the comforter so the dog moved from the middle of the bed.  “I was helping Ted get the kids down for the night when you called.”   “I was right, the four-year-old Sharpe’s do run the show.”  Ava heard Sara’s light laugh and couldn’t help, but smile herself.   “Yeah.  They really do.”  She tucked her pillow under her head.   “So, how was dinner on the West Coast?”   Ava hummed for a minute as she thought before answering.  “Pretty average.  I think Mom might actually be coming around, finally.”   “That’s great.  Maybe your mom can talk to mine now and we can get the mama drama over with.”   Ava smiled at the thought.  “Nope.  I feel like yours might have the opposite affect and drag mine back with her.”   “Eh, you know, that’s fair.”   Closing her eyes Ava licked her lips.  “I do have news.”   “What kind of news?  Good news?”  Sara’s tone seemed hopeful   “Yeah, it’s good.  I got the internship this summer.”   “Ava!  That’s great.”  Sara seemed genuinely excited for her.   Ava opened her eyes and thought about everything she would need to do to prepare.  “Yeah, I guess it is.”   She could her Sara sigh on the other end of the line.  “So, what’s bothering you?  You don’t seem as excited as you should be.”   Ava debated tell Sara everything, but ultimately this was a conversation she thought would be better in person.  “It’s a lot and I think I’m really just tired.”   “I can let you go.”  Ava could hear the disappointment in Sara’s voice.   Ava didn’t even hesitate.  “No.  Tell me about your day.  How did it go with the Queens’?”   “Are you going to fall asleep on me again?”   Laughing Ava shook her head even though she knew Sara couldn’t see it.  “No.  Tell me.”   Ava could tell the bartender was moving around her apartment.  “Here’s the only thing you need to know about the Queens’, a couple bottles of good wine and you’re in.  Couple the wine I brought with avoiding mom and Ollie, and it was a pretty damn good day.”   “You can’t avoid them forever.”  Ava challenged.   “I know, but I can put it off as long as possible.” ~~~   Dressed in her cold weather gear Ava stepped out onto the front porch stretching her arms out.  Glancing over her shoulder she held the door open and let out a short quick whistle.  It was only seconds before the tapping of nails on the floor rang in her ears as Waffles tore around the corner and joined her on the porch.  As soon as he was outside, she slid his leash into her pocket in case they came across any issues.   “Alright, buddy.”  After a quick quad stretch, she jogged down the stairs.  As soon as she got to the sidewalk, Ava turned and looked at Waffles still standing on the porch his little nub of a tail wagging.  “With me.”  As soon as she spoke the command, he was at her side.  She started a light jog down the familiar street and he matched her pace.  “Have they been running you?”   He looked up, his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth.  She hummed and picked up the pace to see if he’d match it.  When he did, she maintained the quickened paced as they turned down a route that she used to run every morning.   Her muscles were on autopilot and she was fifteen minutes into her quick jog with Waffles right at her side before he started to pant.  Noting his reaction, she turned the corner to head back to the house.  “Oh buddy, they’ve spoiled you.  We’re going to have to work on your stamina.”  She slowed their pace just slightly.  “What do you think?  Want to summer in San Francisco with me?”  He didn’t react staying focused forward.   “Ava!”  The tall blonde felt her blood run cold when she heard the voice, and realized where she wound up when she altered her route.   Slowing to a stop she shot the dog an unreadable look.  “Heel.”  At her cue he immediately circled around her left leg and sat down between her feet.  As he looked up at her his tongue hung off to the side of his mouth and his nub of a tail wagged uncontrollably.   Ava looked towards a familiar house as a woman approached her.  “Hey.”  Leah had her arms wrapped around herself as if to ward off the cool morning air.  “It’s been a while.”   “Three, four months?”  The brunette nodded as Ava spoke.  Ava felt a wave of nausea run through her, she really hadn’t prepared to run into her ex during this short trip home.  As her eyes drifted down Ava couldn’t help, but notice the lack of a baby bump.  “You seem well.”  Ava felt her muscles tense as she stood a little straighter.   “Uh, yeah.”  The other woman scratched her head absently.  “I lost the baby.”   Ava could feel several emotions battling inside her.  “I’m so sorry for your loss.”   Leah nodded and Ava noted that her arms tighten around herself slightly.  “So, Aaron proposed, but I turned him down.”   Taking a deep breathe the tall blonde slowly exhaled.  “I’m not sure what you want me to say here.”   The brunette sighed and shook her head.  “I’m not either.  I just miss you.  You know, four years is a long time to just throw away.”   Ava turned her gaze down the road towards her house.  “It was, but you did it anyway.”   The other woman’s shoulders sagged in defeat. “Yeah, I did.”  Leah paused.  “How are you?”   “This-” Ava gestured between herself and the other woman.  “Isn’t happening.”   “Aves...”   “Leah, no.  I’m seeing someone.”  Ava studied the expression on the other woman’s face.   The brunette suddenly seemed very interested in the ground at her feet.  “Is it serious?”   For the first time during the tense conversation Ava allowed herself to smile as she thought about the bartender smirking at her that first night.  “Yeah, it is.”  She tapped her leg and the dog got up and walked to her side again.  “I need to go.”  Ava met Leah’s eyes and tried to project as much sincerity as she could muster.  “I really hope you can find your happiness.”   “Good bye, Aves.”   Without saying another word, the tall blonde started jogging again and Waffles fell into an easy stride with her.  As the distance between them grew Ava felt increasingly lighter, knowing that part of her life was behind her now.  Climbing the stairs of the porch she paused at the door waiting as Waffles hopped up the steps.   As she followed the dog in the house, Ava heard someone coming down the stairs.  “You’re up early.”     The tall athlete pulled the beanie off and tucked it into her jacket pocket.  “I wanted to get a run in this morning.”  She looked up at her older sister still in her pajamas.  “I think this guy is getting lazy.”   The brunette looked from Ava to the dog that waddled off to the kitchen to get a drink.  “Ava, he’s ten years old.”   Taking off her jacket she hung it in the closet.  “Yeah, so that’s why he needs to stay active.”  She inclined her chin towards the kitchen.  “Let’s go see if mom has the kitchen stocked for breakfast.  It’s been a while since we made breakfast for everyone.”   Carly laughed and stepped off the last step.  “Speak for yourself, I feel like I cook for a small army every day.”  She yawned, but walked into the kitchen.  “I forgot you were such a morning person.”   “There should be coffee, I started the pot right before I stepped out.”  Ava kicked off her shoes and hung up her jacket in the closet before following Carly into the kitchen.   “Now that is the best thing I’ve heard so far today.”  The brunette grabbed a mug out of the cabinet and turned to hold a second mug towards Ava.  “You in?”   Shaking her head Ava grabbed a water out of the fridge instead, pausing she sat the bottle on the countertop.  “No, but let’s see what I can find in here.”  She pulled out eggs, milk, and bacon.  “Grab the vanilla and cinnamon?”   Carly pulled the requested items from the cabinet nearby.  “How was your run?”   Ava grabbed a bowl to mix everything together.  “Not bad.  I did run into Leah.”   Carly made a small noise as her face scrunched up slightly.  “How’d that go?”  While she waited for a response, she grabbed a loaf of bread out of the pantry.   As she added the ingredients eyeballing the measurements, Ava took a deep breath and just grinned back at her sister.  “Fine, actually.  I feel strangely better, if that makes any sense.”  The athlete seemed lost in thought for a minute.  “Like that door is finally, truly closed.” ~~~   Sara moved behind the bar quickly pulling a couple of fresh pint glasses of a local craft beer for two guys at the far side of the bar.  Setting the glasses down in front of them she shot them a quick smile.  “Enjoy guys.”  She then moved to her workstation glancing down at the study guide she had propped open as she washed a couple of glasses.   A shadow was cast of the book and Sara looked up to find Lily Stein.  “Hey, Sara!”   “Hey!”  She finished drying the glass in her hands.  “Are you riding with us tomorrow?”   “Wouldn’t miss it.”  The brunette leaned on the bar top.  “So, about Monday.”  Sara looked up giving Lily her full attention.  “I’ve been thinking about it and I really don’t think we’d have any problem getting Ava here.  Is there any chance you could at least get off work early?  Switch a shift or something?”   Sara nodded towards the man working at the other end of the bar.  “I’ve been working on that.  Joe said he’d switch shifts with me so, my shift would end at ten.”   Lily looked up at the ceiling as though she was thinking through something.  “Okay so, dinner at 7 we’ll probably get here around nine-thirty?”  Sara nodded.  “So, we’ll start to drag her out of here around ten and then you just join us when we head to Inferno.  You can surprise her.”   “That could work.”  Sara sat a drink on the counter, remembering Lily’s order.   Taking the drink Lily shook her head.  “You are good, Sara.  If you weren’t dating my friend and if I were into women...”   Sara took the bills Lily sat on the counter shooting her a trademarked smirk.  “That’s a lot of ifs.”   “Aaaaanyway...”  Lily looked around the bar assessing the crowd of mixed in out of towners and college football fans.  “I’ll see you in the morning?”   “The Waverider leaves promptly at ten in the morning.  Of course, by promptly I mean somewhere between ten and ten-thirty.”  The bartender smiled as she acknowledged a patron that was trying to get her attention.  “Duty calls, I’ll see you tomorrow.”   The evening stayed busy keeping Sara distracted from anything happening beyond the bar.  Moving between patrons she managed to keep serving everyone at a consistent pace.  As she looked up from the register Sara took note that it was pushing eleven o’ clock.  Handing change back to the gentleman that she had served Sara looked to her left and immediately took note of the tall blonde standing there, watching her intently.  “Hey!”  Sara could feel her heart start to pound in her chest as a smile spread across her face.  “I didn’t think I’d get to see you tonight.”   Ava looked away briefly as she shrugged.  “I missed you.”   The bartender grabbed a glass and filled it with ice water and set it in front of the taller blonde.  “I missed you too.”  Her eyes darted from Ava’s eyes to her lips and back again.  “And of course, I’m stuck here.”  Ava rubbed the back of her neck.  “I can’t stay long anyway.  I just really wanted to see you.”  Sara took note of how she angled in closer when the bartender sat the water glass down.   Sara looked across the bar noting that everyone had a drink in front of them.  She then looked over at Joe.  “Hey, you got this for a minute?”   He looked across the room and nodded.  “Absolutely.”   “Great.”  Without hesitating Sara ducked under the end of the bar and walked around to where Ava stood.  A she walked past Sara grabbed the taller blonde’s hand and pulled her along until they were outside.  As soon as the door closed Sara spun on her heel and placed her hands on either side of Ava’s face and pulled her in for a searing kiss.   Sara felt Ava wrap her arms around her waist and pull their bodies flush against each other.  The tall blonde tilted her head slightly, deepening the kiss.  Sara felt the tall blonde pull back just slightly before resting her forehead against Sara’s.  “So, I just kissed my girlfriend.”   Sara grinned.  “Actually, I’m pretty sure your girlfriend kissed you.”  She heard Ava laugh lightly before Sara brushed their lips together again.  “I don’t think I could ever get tired of kissing you.”   The taller blonde studied her face.  “Can’t I just take you home with me?”   Sara sighed.  “Unfortunately, no.  I’m going to need to pay for my apartment, among other things.  Books, classes, tests-”   She was cut off when Ava pulled her back into another kiss.  “It was a rhetorical question, babe.  When can I see you?”   Running her hands down Ava’s arms, Sara maintained eye contact with the athlete.  “Well, you have a game tomorrow, then classes on Monday and I have to work.  Tuesday?”   “3 days?”  Ava sighed as she spoke.   Sara fought the urge to confess her plans for the next couple of days.  “I guess so.”  She looked at the door and shivered slightly since she hadn’t bothered to try and grab her jacket as she bolted out the door.  “I should get back in there.”  Sara stole one last, chaste kiss before taking Avas hand and tugging her back into the crowded bar.  “How are you getting back to your apartment?”   Ava gestured over her shoulder towards the door.  “I borrowed Zari’s car.”   Looking towards the bar Sara noted patrons were starting to line up to refresh their drinks.  “Okay.”  Sara gave her hand a gentle squeeze before releasing it.  “Be safe and call me tomorrow after the game?” ~~~   Sara clutched her coffee like a lifeline as she climbed into the back of the party van.  She knew it would comfortably seat 14, but todays group was 9 so they would have extra room.  Looking around the van she determined that they were ready to head out at this point after taking a quick head count.  Ray and Nora were at the front of the bus.  Nate, Amaya, John, Gary, and Lily were already claiming their seats.  Sara dropped into the seat closest to the door.  “Has anyone heard from Maggie?  I invited her to tag along with us to surprise Alex.”  When no one said anything, Sara yawned as she pulled out her phone to call Maggie.   “Here!  I’m here.”  The woman in question climbed into the van and paused for a moment taking everything in.  “Is that a stripper pole?”   As she tucked her phone away Sara laughed.  “Yeah.  Never a dull moment with this group.”  Sara looked around the bus one more time.  “I think everyone knows each other.  If not, honestly, I don’t have the energy to do introductions.”   Nate plopped down next to her.  “Come on, Captain.  Get pumped up for Mrs. Captain.”  He bumped his shoulder into hers.   Ray started the van.  “No worries, guys.  I made a road trip playlist.”   His voice was entirely too cheery as he spoke.  Sara turned to Maggie and mouthed ‘I’m sorry.’.   As Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer started playing through the speakers Nate jumped to his feet.  “BRO!”   Ray’s grinning face was reflected in the rearview mirror.  “I know!  Just wait!”   Nora’s head turned to look at the bartender.  “I sure hope that bar back there is stocked.”   As she watched Ray shift the van into drive Sara took a deep breath starting to question this plan.  “There better not be any show tunes on this playlist of yours.”   His eyes met hers in the mirror.  “I mean, we can always skip over those?”  She nodded to signify that they would in fact be skipping those.   “Bloody hell.”  John slid on his sunglasses.  “More sports?  Early Mornings?”  He paused and listened as Nate and Ray belted out the song as loud as they could.  “Why am I here exactly?”  Sara quirked an eyebrow and nodded to the smiling man leaning into John’s side.  “Right.”  John sighed and wrapped an arm around Gary’s shoulders pulling him closer. ~~~   Sara practically ran off the bus to put some distance between her and the men that seemed to have an endless supply of energy.  “Hey, Sara?”  The blonde turned to face Maggie as she exited the bus.  “Do me a favor and next time you offer to ride as a group... remind me about this trip.”   The group started to gather up before moving into the arena.  “Son of a bitch.”  Sara looked over at Nora.  “She’s got some fucking nerve.”   The bartender followed her gaze to a couple walking across the parking lot towards the arena.  “Who?”   As if she was snapped back into reality the dark-haired woman looked over at Amaya.  “You see her?”   Amaya nodded, a disapproving look crossing her face.  “Yeah, and I’m fairly sure that’s him.”   It was Gary’s turn to pipe up.  “Oh, that’s him.  I stalked the shit out of her social media.”   “Oh, hell no-” Lily was about to say something when a shrill whistle cut her off.   “Listen up!  Someone here needs to fill me in.”  Sara stood with her arms crossed across her chest and her jaw set.   Nora nodded in acknowledgement.  “Leah.”   Sara’s eyes darted to the door of the arena.  “ The  Ex?”  Shaking her head Sara tried to think through a plan of some sort.   Lily cleared her throat.  “Guys, she didn’t look pregnant.”   Nora blinked and looked at Amaya.  “No, she didn’t.”   Sara saw a couple of students walking across the parking lot carrying signs.  She smirked as a plan began to come together.  She ran over to the students and started to pull some money out of her wallet. ~~~   Ava rolled her neck to stretch out her tense muscles as she ran out onto the court.  She hoped they had practiced enough for this game.  It wasn’t that Central City was a great team so much as they were a big rival and those games had a tendency to go either way.  Trotting over to the sideline she took off her warm up jacket and draped it across the back of one of the chairs.   “Son of a bitch.”  She heard Alex’s voice and then felt her shoulder bump into hers.  “Would you look at that?”   Ava followed Alex’s eyes to see what she was looking at.  A few rows up Ava saw Sara and her friends all sitting in a row holding up signs for her, Alex and Zari.  “Did you know they were coming?”   Alex shook her head.  “No, did you?”   Ava chuckled and looked to Zari who just shrugged her shoulders.  “No one said a word to me, Director.” ~~~   Sara smiled as she made eye contact with Ava.  She couldn’t help the pride she felt welling up in her chest as the game started and Ava tipped the ball to Alex.  She had begun to zone out on the game when she felt someone tapping on her shoulder.  “Excuse me.  Can you put your sign down so we can see?”   Sara clenched her jaw and slowly turned so she could face the woman that had broken Ava’s heart.  “Actually, no.  You see this is a sporting event where you come to support the people you love.  So, I’m going to continue to stand here and do just that.”  The bartender was only vaguely aware of what exactly she had just said.  Her only focus was really on preventing the brunette in the seat behind her from creating any kind of distraction for her girlfriend on the court.  As Sara spoke, she turned the sign with her so Leah would be able to read it.   Nora, Lily, and Gary also turned around to face the brunette.  A flash of realization seemed to flash in her eyes as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.  “Well, I’m here to support someone too.”   Sara shook her head.  “No, Leah, you aren’t.”  Sara made sure to use the other woman’s name to show that she knew exactly who she was and what she was trying to do.  “You should probably go.”  Sara stood as straight and tall as she could.   The brunette touched the man’s arm sitting next to her.  “Come on.  Let’s go.”   Once the couple was gone Sara looked at the group.  “We’ll tell her after her Monday about this.  That bitch doesn’t get to hold any power of her anymore.”  She looked to Nora who knew Ava better than anyone.  “Unless you think she needs to know sooner.  I don’t want to hide anything, but I don’t know what good it would do to tell her either.”   Nora nodded in agreement.  “No, I think Tuesday is fine.” ~~~   Ava met her team mid court once the last seconds ticked away.  They had soundly defeated Central City 86-51.  It felt great to start a winning streak again.  Looking into the stands again her eyes met icy blue and she couldn’t stop smiling as she picked Sara’s voice out of the screaming crowd.   Zari threw her arm around Ava’s shoulders.  “These Legends will surprise you.  We’re pretty damn great, Sharpe.”  The dark-haired woman shot a look to Alex.  “And it looks like they managed to drag your lady along as well.  Although, looking at the group that’s gathered... get ready for some stories because that had to be a crazy road trip.”   They went through the normal line up greeting their opponents then Ava and Alex dashed off to the press conference.  There fortunately wasn’t anything out of the ordinary during the conference so the captains were able to get away fairly quickly to head to the locker room.  As they walked through the hallway, they discussed next week's game against Cincinnati.   Ava heard someone clearing their throat nearby and she paused to follow the sound.  Leaning against the wall with one leg propped up Sara was watching her.  “What took you so long?”   Rolling her eyes Ava approached the bartender.  “Well, I did have a press conference.  And now I need to shower.”   A lop-sided smile crossed Sara’s face and she raised her eyebrows.  “I appreciate the invite, but the security guy was  VERY  clear about who can and can’t go in the locker room.”   “Aaaand that’s my que to keep going.”  Alex walked past them and waved over her shoulder.  “See you on the bus Ava.”   “So, you don’t have to work tonight?”  Sara shook her head.  Ava began to wonder how Sara could handle a little teasing.  “Good.”  She leaned in and pressed a kiss to Sara’s lips and smiled as she pulled away just slightly.  “I was hoping maybe I could come over.”  She dropped her voice an octave and leaned closer to her ear.  “I want to taste you.”  She could practically feel Sara tense up even though there was still space between them.   A small sound escaped Sara’s mouth before she seemed to regain her composure.  “Uh - yeah.  That sounds great.”   Taking a step back Ava smiled at Sara sweetly.  “I’ll see you later?”  As she walked away, she could clearly see how rattled the normally cool bartender really was.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sara made her way back to the Waverider, still a little shaken up by the conversation she just had with Ava.  Most of the group was already gathered around the bus waiting.  With a quick count the bartender was able to determine that Amaya and Maggie were the only ones they were waiting for at this point.  Without saying a word to anyone she climbed into the bus and opened the fridge grabbing a beer.  Dropping onto the seat she cracked the bottle open and took a long pull.   Nora appeared and sat next to her.  “A little early to start drinking isn’t it?”   The bartender took another drink.  “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere.”  She then shifted on the seat trying to focus her thoughts.   The dark-haired woman leaned back into the seat.  “So, you’re here supporting people you love?”   Sara looked over at Nora and took another drink, trying to buy some time to come up with something to say that wouldn’t be a confession.  “Well yeah, who doesn’t love Zari?”   “Cut the shit, Lance.  We both know exactly what you meant.”  Nora narrowed her eyes at the blonde.  “Have you told her?”   “No.”  Sara ran a hand through her hair and shook her head.  “That’s not something I wanted to tell her over the phone.”   Nora watched as she finished off the beer she had been drinking.  “Are you okay?”   “Yeah.  I’m just really anxious to get back on the road.”  The memory of Ava’s breath against her ear had her shifting in her seat again. ~~~   Ava took her seat on the bus in front of Zari.  Almost instantly Zari’s head popped over the back of her seat.  “So, should we get dinner when we get back to Star City?”   “I think I’m just going to spend some time with Sara.  We’re all going out tomorrow and she has to work so, I think I want to spend time with her while I can.”  Ava pulled out her phone and opened the messenger app.

Sara

Today 16:39 PM
Zari wants to know if we want to grab dinner when we get back.
You’re serious?
I told her we have plans.  I hope that's okay.
I mean, we do.  Have plans.

Ava smiled at her phone before responding and putting it away.  “What the hell was that?  You know what... never mind, I don’t want to know.”  Zari sat back down as she mumbled something about shared public spaces.   “Relax, Z.  I’m going to Sara’s tonight.”  Ava leaned her head against the seat of the bus and looked out the window.  The energy on the bus was electric after their victory, but Ava felt her attention drawn elsewhere. ~~~   As Ava exited the bus, slinging her bag over her shoulder, she looked around the parking lot.  It didn’t take her long to spot Sara sitting on the hood of her car nearby.  Turned to face the rest of the team as they were exiting the bus or grabbing their gear. She walked backwards towards Sara as she addressed the team.  “I’ll see you all in the morning.”  There were various farewells shouted back to her as she turned to face the bartender who was watching Ava as she approached.  “Hi.”  Ava dropped her eyes then looked back up again meeting Sara’s.   Sliding off the hood of the car Sara quickly closed the distance between them.  Not saying a word Sara brought her right hand up and touched Ava’s cheek encouraging her to drop her head as the shorter blonde tilted her head slightly.  Ava felt her heart pounding in her chest as their lips met and her eyes fluttered closed so she could just be in the moment.  Allowing her gear bag to drop to the ground Ava rested her hands on Sara’s hips.   Ava felt Sara start to move to deepen the kiss, but before she was able to move too much there was a loud whistle from behind them.  Ava felt Sara pull back, causing her to open her eyes.  The bartender leaned to the left so she was able see past Ava.  The athlete noticed how Sara’s eyes narrowed.  “Shut up, Z!”  Her focus then returned to Ava.  “We should probably go.”   Picking her gear off the ground Ava walked around to the passenger side of the car.  “Sounds like a plan.”  Tossing the bag in the backseat Ava closed the back door and took a deep breath before sliding into the passenger seat next to Sara.  Her heart was still pounding in her chest as she watched her girlfriend start the car and shift it into drive.  Ava bit her lower lip.  “Are you okay to drive?  I’m pretty sure you might have had a beer.”   A small laugh escaped Sara’s throat.  “I had  a  beer right before we left Central City.  Trust me, I’m fine.”   The drive from the arena to Sara’s place felt like the longest 10-minute drive Ava had ever taken.  Once they arrived at Sara’s apartment the athlete couldn’t get out of the car fast enough.  As she climbed the stairs, she glanced over her shoulder to make sure the bartender was still behind her.  As she got to the landing Ava felt hands on her hips and she leaned back into Sara, pressing into her warmth.  “Keys?”  Her breathe caught in her throat as Sara pressed a kiss to the back of her neck.   She was barely aware that one of Sara’s hands had left her hip to slide a key into the lock and push the door open.  As soon as the door was opened Ava spun on Sara and pressed their lips together in a heated kiss.  She felt herself being pushed backwards into the apartment.  As soon as they crossed the threshold Sara kicked the door closed and dropped her coat to the floor, not breaking the kiss for a second.  Ava felt Sara’s hand reach around and grab her ass.  “I can’t believe you said that and left mehanging.” Sara’s voice was a little breathless and Ava took note of her blown pupils as Sara kicked off her shoes.   The tall blonde followed as the bartender stepped past her and pulled Ava towards her bed.  “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were coming to the game.”  Sara pushed some clothes off her bed and pulled Ava against her roughly.  Reaching down Ava grabbed the hem of Sara’s shirt and quickly pulled the garment off.  Once Sara’s shirt had been dealt with the tall blonde pulled her own over her head as well.  Once the cloth was over her head briefly blocking her view, she could feel Sara pressing kisses onto her torso.  Ava was unable to suppress the low moan that escaped her at the feeling.  When the shirt had been tossed aside, she grabbed either side of the shorter blondes face and pulling her up into another kiss this time nipping lightly at Sara’s lower lip.  Dropping one hand she made quick work of releasing Sara’s bra band and started kissing down the column of her neck.   Sara’s head tilted back and her eyes closed just taking in the feeling of Ava’s mouth on her neck then her collarbone.  The tall blonde continued down then ran her tongue over Sara’s left breast coming into contact with her erect nipple.  Closing her lips around the nipple Ava pulled it into her mouth and moved her left hand to massage Sara’s right breast.  As her palm brushed against the nipple Sara let out a small whimper.  The tall blonde’s left hand moved to unzip the bartenders’ jeans while she continued her ministrations on Sara’s breasts.  With the zipper down her moved her hand back up and popped the button open.  Pulling her mouth away from Sara’s left nipple she worked her way to the right to make sure that both of her breasts got equal attention.  Before she moved her hand to begin to massage Sara’sleft breast Ava pushed Sara’s jeans and underwear in a single motion.  As Ava’s hand moved to her left breast the short blonde shifted kicking her jeans and underwear aside.   Ava felt Sara’s hands tangle into her hair pulling at her scalp.  Finally satisfied that she had given equal attention to both of the shorter blondes’ breasts Ava worked her way down Sara’s torso past her taut abs until she had to drop to her knees in front of the bartender.  Looking up at the Sara, Ava watched as her head dropped forward.  When Sara’s eyes opened Ava saw her darkened expression and couldn’t help, but smile a little as she placed a kiss to Sara’s pubic bone causing her to shudder slightly.  Ava lifted Sara’s left leg over her shoulder allowing her better access to Sara’s center.  Leaning forward she ran her tongue flat through Sara’s folds.  The bartender moaned loudly and through her head back as Ava repeated the motion allowing herself to fully taste the woman standing over her.   Sara’s grip tightened on her hair and Ava ran her tongue over Sara’s clit feeling it harden under her ministrations.  “Fuck, Ava.”  As she wrapped her lips on Sara’s clit Ava hummed at the sound of her name causing the shorter blonde to buck her hips into Ava’s face.  Continuing to lick and suck on the shorter blonde's clit, Ava moved her hand up Sara’s thigh and slid one of her fingers into her core.  Sara moaned again and tightened her grip on Ava.  The tall blonde slid a second digit into the bartender and began to push and withdraw with a slow and steady pace at first.  When she could feel Sara clenching around her fingers Ava picked up the pace.  “Ava, more...”  Without hesitation Ava slid a third digit in when she thrust forward.  Sara was so tight around her at that point she wasn’t sure how much movement she would be able get, but she kept pushing forward knowing the short blonde was close.  As she pushed in, Ava managed to curl her fingers hoping it would be enough to hit the right spot.  Judging by the sounds that came from above her it wouldn’t be long.  Feeling that she would need the additional support Ava wrapped her free hand around the bartenders’ waist keeping her steady.  Two more pushes hitting Sara’s soft front wall and the shorter blonde cried out and Ava felt her clenching as the bartender came.   When Sara finally released her hair, Ava moved Sara’s foot back onto the floor and leaned back wiping away the access arousal from her chin with the back of her free hand.  Standing up she reluctantly removed her fingers. “Damn, you are so fucking amazing.”  There was only a brief moment before Sara’s mouth found Ava’s, Sara’s tongue pressing against the seam of Ava’s lips seeking access.  Ava felt herself being pulled forward towards the bed as she opened her mouth allowing the shorter blonde in.  She moved with Sara as she sat on the edge of her bed and pushed backwards.  Ava found herself hovering over Sara.  When Sara pulled her down to deepen their passionate kiss, Ava moved her hand back down to Sara’s core and pressed two fingers back into Sara’s tight entrance.  The bartenders back arched into Ava’s touch and Ava felt her groan lightly into the kiss.  Sara’s walls were still clenching around her fingers as Ava started moving again thinking she was going to help Sara make her orgasm last as long as possible.  What caught her off guard was when Sara tensed up her fingers digging into Ava’s back, before moaning loudly.  Sara pressed down against Ava’s hand, and she could feel Sara’s arousal releasing again.  Letting a small noise leave her throat at the action Ava broke the kiss wanting to check on the bartender.   Before Ava could even react however, Sara had somehow managed to switch their positions.  Ava didn’t even have a chance to move before Sara had the front of her bra pushed up, exposing her breasts.  The next thing she knew the short blonde had one of her harden peaks sucked into her mouth and was moving to remove her pants.  Sara’s movements were fast and a little rougher than they had been when they had been together before.   More desperate?   The bartender released her nipple with a pop, “Please tell me this is okay, I really need you right now, Aves.”  Her hands were poised on the unbuttoned and unzipped jeans, not moving further without permission.  Sara’s breath was ragged and she panted now kneeling over Ava.   “Yes.”  Sitting up to meet Sara’s mouth the taller blonde grabbed the bartenders’ ass and raised herself off the bed enough for Sara to tug her jeans and underwear down.  As soon as Ava felt the cool air hit her naked ass, she dropped back down to let the bartender pull the garments the rest of the way off, along with her shoes and socks.  Sara finally took the time to unfasten and remove the constricting bra and toss it aside with the rest of her cloths.  Even though consent had already been given Ava spoke up again.  “Yes, Sara.”  She just felt like she needed to say her girlfriends name in that moment.  Ava looked up at Sara as the bartender pushed herself up then sat back just looking at Ava naked and exposed.   “God, you are just so beautiful.”  Ava just watched as Sara bit her lip as though she was trying to decide what she wanted to do.  Starting to feel a little insecure she started to wrap her arms around her chest.  “No.”  Sara leaned forward capturing Ava’s hands and leaned forward pressing them into the mattress above Ava’s head.  She continued to move forward and crashed her mouth against Ava’s nipping at her lower lip.  “I want to see all of you.”  The bartender slipped her leg between Ava’s and moved her thigh to press on the tall blondes’ core.   A hiss escaped Ava’s throat as she pressed forward into the contact.  Ava clasped her hands around Sara’s as they pressed deeper into her mattress.  Focusing on the contact at her center the tall blonde leaned her head back into the pillow reveling in the skin to skin contact.  Ava felt Sara’s lips pressed against her collarbone before Sara moved her leg so she was straddling Ava.  Sara’s right hand released Ava’s as Sara ghosted her hand down Ava’s arm.  Moving across her torso and down her abdomen to the circling bundle of nerves at the apex of her thighs.   Ava’s breath stuttered at the contact causing Sara to pause.  “Too much?”   “No, don’t stop.”  Ava tilted her head back and pressed her eyes closed as Sara resumed her movement.   Ava felt Sara squeeze the hand she was still pressing into the mattress.  Sensing movement Ava opened her eyes to find herself assaulted by Sara’s icy blues.  “I’ve got you, Aves.”  The athlete felt a familiar tension gathering as she got lost in her girlfriend's eyes.  She dropped her free hand to her side and fisted the sheet with the rising tension.  Ava felt Sara’s forehead press against hers.  “I’ve got you.” ~~~   Ava’s eyes fluttered open and she could feel arms wrapped around her waist and Sara’s warm breath against her neck.  Slowly she started to reach for her phone to check the time when she felt Sara’s arms tighten.  “Leave it, it’s not time to get up yet.  You set your alarm.”  Sara’s voice was still heavy with sleep.   “I just want to check-” Ava didn’t feel her girlfriend’s grip relax at all.   “No, leave it.”  Sara cut Ava off.  “Just stay.  Let’s go back to sleep.”   Ava grabbed Sara’s wrists encouraging her to loosen her grip enough so she could turn around to face the smaller blonde.  Once they were face to face Ava smiled as she ran her hand across Sara’s cheek.  “Are you awake?”   Sara’s eyes remained closed.  “No, I’m fast asleep.”  Sighing Sara obviously surrendered and opened her eyes so Ava’s eyes were met with sleepy blue.  “Happy Birthday, Aves.”   Ava’s smile widened and she pressed a slow kiss to Sara’s lips.  As Ava pulled back, she studied Sara’s face.  In this moment she wanted to stay right here forever.  The warmth spreading through her chest faltered as Ava realized she wanted to wake up in Sara’s arms every day.   Sara shifted slightly as if sensing Ava’s concern.  “What’s wrong?”   Sighing Ava tucked an arm under her head.  “I need to talk to you about my internship.”   Stretching slightly Sara propped herself up on her elbow and Ava felt her eyes studying her face an unasked question behind her eyes.  “Is everything okay?  I’m pretty sure you already told me you got it.”   Nodding slightly Ava quickly sorted her thoughts.  “I did.  What I didn’t mention over the phone is that I’ll be assigned to the field office in San Francisco.”   As she spoke Ava scrunched up her face slightly.  “I didn’t want to tell you over the phone.”  She raised her eyebrows as she waited for Sara’s reaction.   “Oh.”  The taller blonde watched as Sara turned to look away from her for a moment.  “So, you’ll go back to California for the summer?”   “Yes.”  Ava grabbed Sara’s hand and pressed a kiss to her palm.  “Hey, talk to me.  What are you thinking?”   Sara turned back to Ava and smiled softly before lacing their fingers together.  “When do you have to go?”   “It’s a ten-week program.  I report on June 10th and it goes through August 16th.”  Ava pushed herself farther up the bed so she could lean against the headboard as she waited to see how Sara would react.   Sara hummed as she turned back towards Ava moving her leg over the taller womans’ lap so she was straddling her hips.  “Well, then I guess we have to make the most of the time we do have together don’t you think?”   “Yeah.”  Ava smiled as she released Saras’ hand so she could run her hands along the bartenders’ cheeks and pull her down meeting her halfway so Ava could kiss her properly.   Sara pulled back and tilted her head.  “Besides you’ll be back in time.”   Ava ran her thumbs over Sara’s cheeks studying the icy blues that seemed to hold her in place.  “In time for what?”   “The wedding.”  Smiling Sara pressed her forehead against Avas’.  “Would you, Ava Sharpe, be my date to my sisters’ wedding?”   “Isn’t that like 8 months from now?  How do you know you’ll still want to take me?”  Ava laughed lightly so Sara would know she was joking.   “9 months.”  Ava watched as the smile slowed faded from Sara’s face.  “I know it doesn’t seem like we’ve been seeing each other for every long, but I’m crazy about you.”   “Come ‘ere.”  Ava pulled the shorter blonde back into her space pressing their lips together.  Ava felt Sara’s hands run up her back, holding Ava close.  After a few minutes her alarm went off and Ava broke their contact as she reached over to grab her phone.  “I need to get up.”   Groaning Sara released the athlete.  “Fine.  Let’s get some breakfast in you.”  As she spoke Sara dropped off the closest side of the bed and walked towards the kitchen.   Smiling Ava’s eyes followed Sara who was just wearing her underwear and a long tee shirt.  “I don’t know if I have time.  I have to go to the apartment to get clean clothes for the day.”   Sara halfway turned and pointed at Ava.  “Oh no, you’re staying put.  We’re going to have breakfast, I’ll drive you to the apartment, and then to conditioning.”   As the shorter woman started gathering what she needed from the cabinets, Ava climbed out of bed and stepped behind Sara wrapping her arms around Sara.  Sighing Ava pressed a kiss to the back of Sara’s neck.  “Whatever you say, captain.”   Sara leaned back into the contact, but shook her head.  “You keep that up and you won’t get to conditioning.  Why don’t you hop into the shower while I finish up in here?”   Walking towards the bathroom Ava turned her head so she could steal once more look.  “Yes, by the way.”  Sara paused what she was doing and turned to face Ava with a questioning look.  “I’ll go to the wedding with you.” ~~~   Laughing Ava passed a dish of pasta across the table to Gary.  “No, you always tell the story wrong.”  The blonde pointed at Nora sitting across from her.  “I didn’t use you as a shield.  You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”   Noras’ eyes narrowed as she shook her head.  “Hell no, Sharpe.  The only reason I was-” She used air-quotes.  “The wrong place is because you pulled my shirt.”   Ray cleared his throat.  “I’ve heard the story a couple of times and based upon where Nora was hit, it sure seems like she was pulled.”   “Mmmm.”  Ava sat the glass she had been drinking from down.  “Ray, you’re already engaged.  You don’t always have to defend her.”   Nora pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.  “Don’t listen to her, Rage.  She just hates to be called out.”   Ava snickered at the nickname Nora had given him.  “You two are ridiculous.”   John gestured to the restaurant.  “How did you guys come across this place?”   Lily sat her fork down and looked to the blonde man.  “Ray actually.  Last year we needed to figure out where to eat as our group was growing and he suggested this place.  I mean, you can’t go wrong with family-style Italian.”   Gary smiled.  “So, now we have all our major gatherings here.”   After about an hour Ava looked over at Lily who stood up.  “Alright, let’s move this party along.”   Finishing the drink in front of her Ava smiled at her friend and shaking her head.  “I think I should probably call it a night.”  Ava’s head was spinning with a small buzz.  She looked over at Zari.  “We do have conditioning in the morning.”   “Think again, Aves.  The night is young AND it’s your twenty-first.  You are going out.”  Lily slung her arm over the blonde's shoulders easily tugging her out of the restaurant.  Behind her Ava heard the rest of the group gathering to follow them.   “Lily, I should-” Ava felt herself being pushed forward.   “Get into the big party bus right there?”  Lily injected still pushing Ava forward.   Pausing in front of the large vehicle Ava took a deep breath as Ray opened the door.  “Let’s go birthday girl.”  He clapped her on the back and shot her a warm smile.   “GET IN THE BUS!”  Lily pressed her forward until the tall blonde finally conceded.   As soon as she was on the bus Ava felt another drink being pressed in her hand and she knew it was going to be a long night. ~~~   Looking up at the clock Sara noted that it was pushing nine thirty, which meant Ava should be arriving before too long.  She did a quick check on the patrons sitting at the bar.  When she got to the dark-haired woman at the end of the bar she was about to ask if she wanted another drink, but paused when she noticed who it was.  “Oh hey, Christina, the usual?”  The woman was coming around more and more often lately, but she always tipped fairly well so Sara just took it in stride.   “Not tonight.”  Sara looked down as she felt the other woman’s hands on hers.  “Come on, Sara.  You know we had fun.  We could again?”   “No.”  Sara shook her head.  “We had fun, but I’m done with that.”  Sara raised her eyebrows as she pulled her hands away.  “Are you going to order a drink?  If not, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”   The woman rolled her eyes and huffed.  “Beer.”   Nodding Sara grabbed a glass and pulled a domestic from the tap.  As she set the glass down in front of Christina and started to pull back Sara felt the other woman catch her hand.  “Seriously?  Look, enough is enough.  I am seeing someone so, you need to back off.”  Sara completely missed the rising voices from the front door.  At least until there was a blur of movement as a figure stepped up a caught Christina’s free wrist causing her to release Sara’s hand.   “The lady asked you to back off.”  Sara could detect a slight slur in the tall blonde’s speech as she forced herself between Sara and Christina.   At the sudden appearance in front of her Christina took a step back.  “Who the fuck are you?”   Caught off guard Sara could only watch in stunned surprise.   “That doesn’t really matter since, as I previously stated, she clearly told you to back off.”  The tall blonde stood straighter so she was at her full height as she dropped Christinas’ wrist.   Christina crossed her arms over her chest and looked Ava up and down.  “Are you going to make me, bitch?”   Sara opened her mouth to step in noting the increasing tension, but before she could say anything Sara saw Ava’s right hand drawing back.    “Whoa there!”  Ray showed up in time to catch Ava around the middle picking her up off the ground slightly and turning her away from Christina.  He struggled slightly as the tall blonde fought him to get free.   “Who are you calling bitch, bitch?”  Ava stretched on her tip toes yelling over Rays’ shoulder.   Sara’s eye grew wide as she looked between the two women.  “Christina, this is my girlfriend.”  She looked over towards the door where the rest of the group were trickling in.  “So, you should really go.”  The dark-hair woman shrugged her shoulders and walked towards the door without even tossing a second glance in Sara’s direction.   Sara heard Ray grunt in effort.  “Sara, she’s really strong.”   Refocusing Sara turned her attention back to what was important.  “Aves, babe.”  She walked over and took Ava’s cheeks into her hands tilting the taller woman’s face so she could initiate eye contact.  Once Sara was able to establish the contact, she could see Ava calm down slightly.  “Hey, calm down.  I’m okay, you’re okay.”  Sara took note of the slightly glassy look to her eyes.   Ray tentatively let go of Ava, but Sara could tell he was ready to grab her again if needed.  “She... she was being aggressive.”  Sara watched as the stress line faded from Ava’s forehead and her expression was replaced with a dopey grin.  “You are gorgeous.”   Sara shot a tight smile at the rest of the group as the filtered in and sat around the bar.  “And you are very drunk.”   The tall blonde giggled as she sat on a barstool nearby.  “Yeah.  We had some drinks.”   Ray shrugged one shoulder and gestured towards the door.  “Waverider.”   John was smiling a little too big.  “Lookit your girl, Sara.  Finally loosening up a bit.”  He grabbed Ava’s shoulder.  “Told ya that a drink would help you relax.”   Ava nodded, still grinning.  “You were right!  The first one helped, but the second and third really hit the spot.”   Taking a deep breath, the bartender shook her head.  “John, I’m not sure if you were here a little bit ago, but she almost punched someone.”   “Oh, I’m aware.  I tried to tell the boy scout to butt out.”  He gestured to the door.  “That woman has it coming.  How many times can you turn her down before she gets the hint?”   In her peripheral vision Sara could see Ava look from her to the door and back again.  “How long has she been harassing you?”  The stress line was slowly creeping back.   Focusing on her girlfriend again Sara gave her a warm smile.  “I’m fine.  Don’t worry about her.”  Turning back to John Sara shook her head.  “Well, I hope you all had fun.  I think I should probably take her home.”  It was then that Sara felt someone tapping on her shoulder.   Turning to look Sara saw Ava grinning at her widely.  “You can leave?  I thought you had to work.”   “I switched my schedule around.”   Ava’s face contorted in the most adorable way and she just grinned at Sara.  “You changed your schedule so you could surprise me?”  Sara felt her heart pounding in her chest barely able to believe just how soft and adorable drunk Ava was.  Especially after she was just about to fight Christina.   Sara was also noticing how Ava’s speech was getting increasingly more impaired.  “Are you ready to go?”   Ava leaned in closer.  “Are we going back to your place?  It’s my birthday.”  The tall blonde bit her lower lip and raised her eyebrows.   Sara shook her head, and looked at the other bartender.  “Joe, you got this?”  The man simply waved her off as he set back to work.  Sara’s focus returned to the athlete.  “Come on.  Let’s get you tucked in.” ~~~   It didn’t take too much effort for Sara to get Ava to her apartment and sitting on the edge of her bed.  Kneeling down Sara pulled off Ava’s shoes as she fell backwards onto the bed.  Sara could hear the taller woman start giggling to herself.  Kicking off her own shoes Sara watched the grinning woman and her frustration slowly melted.  “Are you doing okay?”   “Mhmmm.”  Ava stopped giggling and rolled onto her side. Just watching Sara for a minute.  “I can’t feel my face.”   Kicking off her jeans Sara nodded before peeling back a blanket on the opposite side of the bed.  She gestured to Ava’s jeans.  “Do you want those off?”   “No.”  Ava followed Sara’s movements with her head.  Once Sara climbed into bed, she felt Ava turn onto her side so Ava was facing Sara.  “Can you keep a secret?”   Sara just turned her head so she could see Ava’s face.  “Not very well, apparently.”   Ava hummed and dropped her head onto the pillow.  “It’s okay, this is a dream anyway.  I’m pretty sure I already passed out.”   Sara shook her head, but didn't correct her.  Sara tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.  “What’s on your mind?”   “I just... I love you so much.  It’s crazy, right?  I don’t think I should feel so strongly so soon, but I do!”  Sara swallowed knowing that this was most likely something Ava wouldn’t remember very well when she got up.  “You know the best part?”   Sara licked her lips, trying to find her voice.  “What’s that?”   “Even though this is a dream.  When I wake up, it’ll still feel like I’m dreaming because I’ll have you.  Except the real you... not this dream you.”  The athlete’s voice tapered off as she spoke.   Her heart still pounding in her chest Sara tried to stop her hands from shaking as she pressed a small kiss to Ava’s lips to stop her rambling.   “Close your eyes.  Try to rest, okay?”  She could hear the slight quiver in her own voice.   Ava loves me?

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ava opened her eyes and the pounding in her heading drawing her even further out of her slumber.  Her face was buried in a pillow and she could feel a slight dampness against her cheek as she moved, realizing she had in fact been drooling.  Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and was struck by the scent of cinnamon.   Sara.   Opening her eyes again she managed to lift her head to confirm she was at Saras’ studio apartment.   A wave of nausea swept over her and she rolled onto her side knowing she would need to make her way to the bathroom very soon.  In the dimly lit space Ava was able to make out Sara’s sleeping form and could hear her snoring softly.  She wanted to stay and just go back to sleep, but the pounding in her head and the twist of her gut demanded her attention.   As she carefully attempted to untangle her legs from the sheets Ava sat up and immediately regretted it.  Moving a little quicker she managed to get her legs over the edge of the bed and make her way slowly to Saras’ bathroom.  She pulled the door shut before turning the light on, and then regretted that also as she squinted against the harsh light.   Grabbing the glass that sat on the edge of the sink the athlete filled it with tap water and quickly downed it.  Filling the glass again she opened the medicine cabinet hoping for something to ease the pain of the headache.  Finding nothing she turned the light off and sat on the floor next to the toilet still holding the filled glass of water.   Facing the bathroom door Ava sat with her back against the wall.  the toilet to her right and the vanity to her left.  Sitting the glass down she pulled her knees into her chest and rested her forehead on her knees trying to piece together the events of the evening.  She remembered dinner, and boarding the Waverider.   How the hell did I end up here?      She remembered having a drink with John Constantine, then another with Gary, and a shot with Nora?  Turning her head slightly she looked at the shower through squinted eyes.  She felt sticky and gross, like she was sweating alcohol.  She took a breath in through her nose and blew it out her mouth, she repeated the action trying to ward off the pain by sheer mental fortitude.  Ava drank the second glass of water, using left hand she sat the empty glass on the vanity top.   The memory of arriving at Time Masters finally hit her.  The effect of her alcohol consumption was in full swing as she had followed John and Gary into the bar.  She had spotted Sara behind the bar immediately.  A small smile tugged the corners of her mouth at the memory, even though the pounding in her head was still hammering away.  The smile dropped as she remembered seeing a woman obliviously, overly flirting with Sara.   The bartender had obviously rejected the womans’ advances, but the woman seemed to be pressing on anyway.  Ava remembered pushing John aside as she moved on the woman.  Someone had tried to catch her to halt her progress, Nora or Ray maybe.  Ava felt her heartrate climbing as she remembered the woman grabbing Sara’s hand.  Then she remembered grabbing the woman wrist and getting between her and Sara.   The woman had said something to her called her a name?  Something that set her off because Ava remembered nearly punching the woman, but someone pulled her away.  Ray, that had definitely been Ray.  Ava remembered struggling against him, trying to get at the woman.  Ava felt a tightness in her chest as she realized she had made an ass of herself.   “Hey.”  Snapped from the fuzzy memory Ava looked up still squinting against the bright light at Sara stood in the doorway.  “What are you doing in here?”  The shorter womans’ voice was huskier than normal, heavy from just waking up.   Dropping her head back onto her knees Ava managed to shake her head.  “Didn’t feel good.”   Sara knelt down in front of her brushing Ava’s hair back out of her face.  “Did you throw up?”  Ava managed a small shake of her head.  “Too bad, you might feel better if you do.”  Ava just managed to grunt a little.  “Just a tip, don’t try to out drink John.”   “I’m so sorry.”  Ava pulled her legs in a little tighter and turned her head to the side opening her eyes.   Ava saw a confused look cross Sara’s features.  “For what?”   “I tried to fight that woman.”  Ava ran a hand over her face.  “I embarrassed you at work.”   “No, no.  Babe, look at me.”  Ava looked up to meet Sara’s eyes and saw a smile on her face.  “Listen, I don’t know how you remember it, but you asked her to back off twice before you even tried anything.  She was pushing you.”  Sara stood up.  “Come back to bed?”   Ava looked at the hand Sara held out to her.  “I feel gross.  Like I’m sweating alcohol.”   Sara dropped her hand back to her side.  “Do you want to take a shower first?”   “I think so.”  Ava took in a breath and leaned the back of her head against the wall behind her.  “Do you have anything for my head?”   Ava heard Sara swear under her breath.  “Of course.  You’re so much better at taking care of me.  I’ll get you something to change into and something for your headache.  You go ahead and take a shower.  I’ll be right back.”   When Sara held her hand out this time Ava accepted it and used the extra leverage to pull herself to her feet.  Instead of just releasing Saras’ hand to allow her to go about her business Ava pulled the bartender closer and wrapped her arms around the shorter woman and rested her head on Saras’ shoulder.  “You’re wonderful.”   Ava felt Saras’ lips briefly brush her temple.  “Come on, into the shower.”   Ava watched Sara walk out of the room before setting the water temperature in the shower and getting undressed.  Climbing into the shower she braced her arms on the tile wall in front of her and leaned forward allowing the water to cascade down her back.  Closing her eyes against the too bright light of the bathroom.  She knew the alcohol was still strong in here system, probably causing her to feel more than she normally would.   Trying to travel down her previous thoughts again Ava ran it over again.  Dinner, Waverider, and Time Masters.  Maybe Sara had just brought her home after?  Ava wracking her brain trying to remember if anything else happened at Time Masters or even when they got back to Sara’s apartment.  Giving up for the moment Ava finished showering and as soon as she stepped out of the shower, she found a towel waiting for her along with a change of clothes and a bottle of aspirin as well as a bottle of water.  After dressing Ava took the pills along with the bottle of water and walked out into the living space.   Ava saw Sara walking over to meet her with something in her hands.  “Here, drink this.”   Looking at the bottle Sara handed her Ava shot her a questioning look.  “Pedialyte?”   Smiling the shorter blonde nodded as she took the water from Ava and handed her the Pedialyte.  “As both a bartender and a hopeful future doctor I ask you to trust me on this.”   “Do you normally keep Pedialyte on hand?”  Sara noted Ava’s questioning look.   Sara nodded as she laughed.  “Look, it won’t stop the hangover you’re experiencing, but believe me when I say it will help ease it.  So, drink as much of that as you can and come back to bed.”  Sara kissed Ava sweetly, but was struck by the taste of stale alcohol on her lips.  “Maybe brush your teeth?”   Groaning Ava set to drinking as much of the beverage a she could.~~~   At some point during the early morning Ava must have woken up again because when her alarm went off, Ava found herself wrapped around Sara, her left arm around the bartenders’ torso holding her close.  Ava’s right arm ran beneath the pillow under Saras’ head, their hands clasped together.  Ava’s head was resting between Sara’s shoulder blades.  This was a first and Ava couldn’t help, but notice how well Sara just seemed to fit.   While her head still hurt, it seemed much clearer as she let go of Sara’s hand to reach for phone on the nightstand and turned off the alarm.  Once the alarm was off Sara caught Ava’s hand again, pulling her into Sara’s chest.  “It’s early.”  Sara groaned as she pushed back against Ava’s front.   Burying her head against Sara’s back Ava grunted.  “Conditioning.”  Her mouth felt so dry and the bed was so warm.   “You’re sick.  Just go back to sleep.”   Tempted Ava closed her eyes as her stomach twisted, the nausea taking hold again.  “I can’t.  I have a responsibility to the team.”  The athlete felt Sara’s free hand run through her hair, massaging her scalp.  “You aren’t going to make this easy on me, are you?”   “Never.”  Ava could hear the smirk in her tone.  They stayed like that for a few minutes before Sara relented releasing Ava’s hand.  “Go on.  I can’t help but feel like you will be completely insufferable if you don’t go.”   Grunting Ava rolled onto her back, away from the shorter blonde.  “Maybe.”   Sara turned so they were both looking up at the ceiling.  “How do you feel?”   Ava shrugged a shoulder.  “Like shit.”  Sara got out of bed first and Ava was reminded of the ease of the previous morning.  “I’m still trying to work through last night.  How bad was I after Time Masters?”   Sara turned her head a little, but didn’t fully face her.  “Not too bad really.  I could tell you were pretty much done for the night so I brought you here.”  Ava made note that it felt like Sara was avoiding eye contact with her.  “I had plans for you.”   Sara’s tone was suggestive and it caused a knot to form in Ava’s chest.  “I’m so sorry.”   Turning to face Ava, Sara leaned against the countertop and crossed her arms over her chest.  “I guess you’ll just have to make it up to me tonight.”  Ava smiled as she sat up.  “Come on, get up and let’s get you to your apartment to get your gear.  We’ll stop and grab something to eat on the way.” ~~~   As they pulled in front of the gym Ava reached into the back seat to grab her gear.  Her head was still throbbing and she felt a bit nauseous still but overall, she knew she should feel a LOT worse.  As the car stopped the tall blonde leaned over and kissed Sara gently.  “I’ll see you tonight?”   Sara nodded, but as Ava started to pull away to exit the car, she felt one of Sara’s hands on her cheek.  “Wait.”  Ava paused and hummed at the bartender.  “I-” Ava saw her take a deep breath.  “There’s something I need to tell you before you go.”   Ava’s stomach fell thinking through what sort of stupidity she has gotten herself into the previous night.  “What’s wrong?”   “Nothing.”  Ava heard Sara chuckle nervously.  “Nothing is wrong.  I just want to tell you that, I love you.”   Ava’s eyes grew wide and she chewed her lower lip.  “Oh.”   Say it back.  Say it back.  Brain...WORK.    Sara nodded and looked away.  “You should go.  You’re going to be late.”   “Sara, I-”   “Go on, we can talk tonight.  I’ll pick you up after practice tonight?”  Ava watched as Sara shot her an easy smile before looking forward again.   Ava nodded then slowly she retreated from the car, still unable to find words.  As soon as the car was out of sight she looked up at the sky.  “FUCK!” ~~~   “Pick it up, Conners!”  Ava shouted across the court at her teammate.  She knew she was pushing them hard, but she was pushing herself just as hard and  needed  them to match her pace so she didn’t have time to think.  She had no idea how it was affecting the team dynamic because Ava was too busy in her own head.  At least she was until she heard a shout from across the court.   “Sharpe!  A moment if I may?”  Looking to her team for a second, she wiped her brow then hustled towards Coach Hunter.  Once she was close, he gestured for her to follow him to the sideline.  He studied her face for a moment, but she was able to dodge any eye contact.  “What’s going on?”  She noted that his voice was surprisingly soft, but she didn’t want his sympathy.   “Sir?”  She wondered exactly where his inquiry was coming from.   He tipped his head towards the court, “You are all over the place out there, it almost feels like you are trying to out coach me.”  She could feel unnecessary anger starting to rise in her chest.  Ava’s head pounded and she still felt a little nauseous so her patience was running thin.  “We’re running drills not playing the championship game.”   “What is it that you want from me, Rip?”  Her tone was harsh as Ava stepped forward straightening her back so she was standing taller.  “First, I’m not doing enough and now I’m pushing too hard?”  She knew she was crossing lines, especially by using his first name, but Ava couldn’t bring herself to care in that moment.  She needed to lash out at something.  “When is it just ENOUGH...will it ever be ENOUGH?  Can I ever just be enough for you?"   He set his jaw.  “Excuse me?”  She noted the way he crossed his arms across his chest when he spoke.  His soft tone gone and she noticed the team had stopped practicing to observe their exchange.   As Ava started to get her senses back, she bit her tongue taking a deep breath before speaking again.   Ava was hopeful that she could still salvage the rest of practice.  “Nothing, Coach.”  She hesitated and looked at the floor.  “I’m sorry.”   He remained stiff and his tone was hard.  “Hit the showers, Sharpe.”  He paused.  “I don’t want to see you until tomorrow morning and we’ll discuss your status for the game on Sunday.”  Her eyes shot up to meet his, but she as much as she wanted to protest, she remained silent.  “Anything else to say?”  There was an edge in his voice.   Her mind was on fire with every sarcastic retort she could throw at him.  She looked at her team over his shoulder, they were all watching and waiting.  “No, sir.”  She clenched her jaw.  Grabbing her water bottle from the bench she then headed towards the locker room.  Walking into the room and away from everything she finally lost it and slammed her palm into her locker.  Leaning forward she pressed her forehead to the cool metal and just stood there for a moment trying to get herself together.   You are not going to cry here.  Get your shit together before you ruin absolutely everything.    Opening her messages Ava noticed a new message from Sara, but she bypassed it fearing what it might say.  Instead she opened the window with Nora first.

Nora
I know you are working, but I need to talk when you are available.  I’ll be at the library so I can meet you pretty much anywhere, just let me know when you can.

She paused as her finger hovered over Sara’s message.  Her mind ran with all the possibilities of what it could say.  She feared that she had screwed up the budding relationship beyond repair.  She sat on the bench in front of her locker as she opened the message.  ‘Aves, please don’t feel any pressure.  I just really needed you to know.’  Closing the App Ava made the decision to take some time to compose her thoughts before responding.   Ava set the phone on the bottom her locker before slamming it closed.  She swallowed and grabbed her towel heading to the showers.  After a quick shower Ava left the gym out the back so she could slip away without anyone questioning her about the situation with Coach Hunter.   It only took her a minute to decide to head to the library to get some studying in since she had some extra time before her morning lecture.  Ava made her way across south campus towards the library.  She now had more extra time on her hands that she really didn’t want, too much time to think wasn’t going to help her at all.  As she walked through doors of the library, Ava already felt slightly comforted by the quiet familiarity of all the books around her.  Sliding into her usual out of the way desk in the corner she first grabbed her ear buds out of her backpack before reaching for her phone, ready to respond to Sara and lose herself in some music for a while.  Digging in her coat pockets she couldn’t find it.   After searching her pants pockets as well as her backpack Ava determined she must have left it lying in the bottom of her locker back at the gym.  Swearing under her breath she looked up at the clock on the wall and noted that practice would still be going on.  Not wanting to cause any more of a scene that she already had, Ava decided to retrieve it after practice ended.   Ava pulled her earbuds out knowing that they were useless without her phone.  As she put them away Ava heard what sounded like firecrackers going off in the distance.  Not thinking much of it she pulled out a couple of books from her backpack and sat them on the desk.   Ava’s head jerked up as she clearly heard screaming coming from the next building over.  Her brows furrowed she looked in the direction of the commotion.  She noticed that several of her fellow students in the library were getting up and moving towards the doors.  When there was more popping and yelling her stomach fell to her feet as she began to piece together what that sound actually was and what was happening.   “Get away from the doors.”  Surprisingly composed, Ava stayed low as she jolted into action making her way quickly to the door.  She poked her head out of the door and saw a gunman approaching in the distance.  After she waved a few nearby students inside, Ava quickly closed the library door.  As she felt adrenaline starting to course through her veins Ava realized she had already moved into agent mode knowing she need to take control of the situation if they were going to survive.  Behind her there were several students that had taken refuge in the library gathered in the center of the room.  Thinking as quickly and clearly as she could, knowing the shooter wouldn’t be too far behind them Ava turned to the gathered group.  “Silence or turn off your phones.”  Her voice was a harsh whisper as she locked the door and then started to block it with several items that were nearby gesturing for one of the guys to help her with a heavier table.  “Spread out.  If he gets in here, we can’t be grouped up like this.”   We’ll be easy targets.   Ava mentally ran through the procedure when there was an active shooter.   As some of the people started to move deeper into the library Ava instructed them to stay low.  She swallowed the lump in her throat and moved to the check-out counter grabbing a marker and paper, writing several quick notes.  Ava grabbed the tape and moved away from the doors to post the paper on the window hoping the police would be able to read them as they approached.   As she hung the paper, she heard a loud thump on the door followed by another as she took cover behind the counter again.  Her back was against the desk and she closed her eyes praying the shooter would just move on.   Why didn’t I tell her?   Grabbing the marker again she started writing on her forearm.  Shots rang out and she instinctively ducked down lower.   He’s shooting the door open.   She stayed down, moving to the end of the counter so she could see where her classmates were hidden.  She spotted two of them easily.  It appeared the girl, Jada, was trying not to cry out  while a man held her close trying to soothe her .   Just hold it together.  The police have to know where he is  by  now.   We just have to stay safe until they arrive .   She just wished she could convey that message to the other people hidden in this room.   The gun fire stopped and the door was kicked open.  Ava pressed her back against the desk even harder and licked her dry lips praying that he would just leave for them easier targets.  It felt like slow motion when Ava heard the woman start crying as the stress of the situation finally got the best of her.   Fuck .  Moving quickly  Ava knew the gunman would be moving on her classmates, she stayed low behind the counter to remain concealed.   The blonde grabbed the first thing she saw that appeared to even remotely be a weapon, a pair of scissors.  Listening carefully Ava tracked his movements as he closed on her classmates.  Holding her position at the edge of the counter she waited until the barrel of the rifle came into view.  Taking a deep breathe Ava made her move pushing the heated barrel into the gunman with her left hand, down and away from her classmates.  Striking with the scissors in her right hand she heard the gunman cry out as she felt the scissors sinking into the man’s side.   She felt his hand close on her right wrist as he fell backwards, dragging her with him.  She knew the rifle was trapped between them and that she had injured him.  However, she also knew she made a mistake by losing track of the hand that wasn’t holding her wrist.  One would assume that it was still holding the rifle, but as she felt the pressure of a muzzle against her left-side Ava knew she was very wrong.  She pushed the scissors deeper just as she felt the searing pain ripping through her left side at the same time she heard a shot fired.   Somehow in that moment she found the strength to pull the scissors out and strike him again.   Pure adrenaline.   Hearing him cry out again and moved to try to stab him again, but felt something hard hit the left side of her head.  It hit so hard she was thrown off of him and onto the Library floor.  Laying on her back she was vaguely aware of the growing commotion going on around her.  Her vision was starting to fade as she clasped her hand against her throbbing left side.  The last thing Ava was aware of was a man standing over her and she was sure that it was the shooter and she was done.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sara blinked awake and rolled over to check on her girlfriend, but she found the bed empty, although still warm.  Rubbing the sleep from her eyes Sara sat up and looked around the room.  It wasn’t until she saw the light shining under the bathroom door that she realized where Ava had gone.  Laying there she watched as the light turned off, but the door didn’t open.   Getting up she stretched as she walked over to the bathroom door and pushed it open gently to reveal Ava sitting on the floor with her forehead pressed against her knees.  Sara managed to suppress a smile as she stepped into the room.  “Hey, what are you doing in here?”  Sara turned the light on in the bedroom so that the light would filter in as opposed to turning the bathroom light back on.   Ava had looked up briefly then dropped her head again squinting against the light.  “Didn’t feel good.”   Kneeling down Sara tried to get a good look into Ava’s eyes.  She brushed Ava’s hair back.  “Did you throw up?”  The shorter blonde was able to just barely see the shake of Ava’s head.  “Too bad, you might feel better if you do.”  Sara smiled as she heard a barely audible grunt from her girlfriend.  “Just a tip, don’t try to out drink John.”   “I’m so sorry.”  Sara watched as Ava pulled herself in tighter, making her look smaller.  She did however turn her head and Sara could see a pained look in her eyes.   “For what?”  Completely confused as to what Ava could possibly sorry for Sara pressed for more information.   “I tried to fight that woman.”  Sara could hear the shame in Ava’s tone.  “I embarrassed you at work.”   Reacting immediately Sara shook her head.  “No, no.  Babe, look at me.”  When Ava’s eyes finally met hers, Sara shot her a smile.  “Listen, I don’t know how you remember it, but you asked her to back off twice before you even tried anything.  She was pushing you.”  Standing up Sara decided it was time get Ava off the floor.  “Come back to bed?”   Sara held out her hand to help Ava to her feet.  “I feel gross.  Like I’m sweating alcohol.”   “Do you want to take a shower first?”  Sara dropped her hand and gestured to the shower.   “I think so.”  The bartender watched as Ava seemed to relax a little bit.  “Do you have anything for my head?”   Sara let a swear drop as she remembered when she had crashed at Ava’s, she had left out water and aspirin AFTER forcing her to drink water before going to sleep.  “Of course.  You’re so much better at taking care of me.  I’ll get you something to change into and something for your headache.  You go ahead and take a shower.  I’ll be right back.”   Sara held her hand out again and Ava took it, pulling herself up.  Sara expected her to let go and then head for the shower.  Instead the tall blonde pulled her in close wrapping her arms around Sara and Ava rested her head on Sara’s shoulder.  “You’re wonderful.”   Sara ghosted a small kiss on Ava’s temple.  “Come on, into the shower.”   Leaving Ava to it Sara retrieved a clean towel from the closet along with a change of clothes she felt would be suitable for the tall blonde.  Jogging to the kitchen she grabbed her aspirin and a bottle of water from the fridge.   As she crossed the threshold of the bathroom Sara glanced over to check on Ava and nearly dropped everything as her eyes ran down the athlete’s naked form.   Get a grip, Lance.   Setting the gathered items onto the vanity, Sara quickly slipped back out trying to shake the image of Ava braced against the shower wall.  Moving back into the kitchen Sara opened the fridge and allowed the cool air to sweep over her face.   Looking at the contents of her fridge she smiled as she spotted a bottle of Pedialyte she forgot she still had.  Smiling she grabbed it walked back into her bedroom area and sat on the edge of her bed until she heard the water turn off.  As soon as Ava stepped out of the bathroom Sara held out the bottle to her.  “Here, drink this.”   Sara watched as Ava’s brows knitted together.  “Pedialyte?”   Smiling widely Sara nodded.  “As both a bartender and a hopeful future doctor I ask you to trust me on this.”   As Sara took the bottle of water from Ava, she handed her the Pedialyte. “Do you normally keep Pedialyte on hand?”   Laughing Sara nodded.  “Look, it won’t stop the hangover you’re experiencing, but believe me when I say it will help ease it.  So, drink as much of that as you can and come back to bed.”  Sara gave her a sweet kiss, and then raised an eyebrow at her.  “Maybe brush your teeth?”     Sara heard Ava groan as she twisted the top off the drink. ~~~   Sara was woken from her sleep as she felt Ava slide in behind her.  Not accustomed to being the ‘little spoon’ she was about to protest when she felt one of Ava’s arms wrap around her waist, gently tugging her into place.  Ava’s right arm slid underneath the pillow under Sara’s head.  Moving on instinct Sara reached up with her right hand and laced their fingers together.  Sara felt Ava’s head settle in near the back of her neck.   She looked at their clasped hands and sighed knowing she was absolutely done.  She had fallen fast and hard for the athlete.  Surrounded by the taller woman’s warmth Sara knew she needed to confess her feelings for Ava.   No more wasted time.   The distance they were going to have to deal with was going to be bad enough as they moved forward in their careers.  Listening to Ava’s light breathing behind her, Sara smiled as she drifted back to sleep.  She wondered at what point she allowed Ava fully past her walls. ~~~   Sara pulled the car in front of the gym and slid it into park as Ava leaned over the backseat to grab her gear.  The bartender could tell that Ava was still feeling the effects of her evening of drinking.  The tall blonde leaned over and captured her lips in a gentle kiss.  “I’ll see you tonight?”   The short blonde nodded and was going to let Ava go, but grabbed her cheek just before Ava pulled completely away.  “Wait.”  Sara heard Ava hummed a question at her.  “I-” Sara took a deep breath gathering as much courage as possible.  “There’s something I need to tell you before you go.”   Sara saw a flash of panic in Ava’s steel blue eyes.  “What’s wrong?”   “Nothing.”  Sara chuckled, trying to alleviate the tension.   You already know she loves you.  Just tell her and she’ll say it back and then we’ve crossed a major hurdle.   “Nothing is wrong.  I just want to tell you that, I love you.”   Sara saw Ava’s eyes grow wider as she chewed the inside of her lower lip.  “Oh.”    The bartender saw how nervous Ava got and quickly turned her head.   Shit, too soon.  She’s not ready to admit it sober.  Give her an out.   “So, you should probably go.  You’re going to be late.”   “Sara, I-”   Sara cut her off and kept looking forward hoping not to pressure Ava in any way.  “Go on, we can talk tonight.  I’ll pick you up after practice tonight?”  Sara made sure to smile for the taller blonde, making sure Ava knew she wasn’t upset with her.  After Ava nodded, Sara watched as she exited the car.  As soon as Ava was out of her car Sara shifted it into drive and headed down the road.  Sara pulled into a nearby parking lot and tugged her phone out of her pocket and fired a message off to her sister.

Laurel

Coffee?  My treat.
You’re awake again?
Obviously.  Coffee?
Sure, but my place this time?  I just got up.
On my way.

As Sara parked the car she thought about Ava’s reaction and felt a little bad.  She quickly sent her a message just to make sure Ava know that there wasn’t any pressure to reciprocate.  Sara already knew how Ava felt so, she could take as much time as she needed.   As soon as Laurel opened the door Sara knew something was wrong.  “Laurel?”   “Hey.”  The older woman’s voice was a little broken and her eyes were dark from lack of sleep.  The brunette stepped to one side inviting her sister in.   Sara embraced Laurel immediately.  “What’s going on?”   Laurel closed the door and shot Sara a serious look.  “I broke it off.”  Sara watched as Laurel threw her hands in the air.  “I, uh couldn’t listen to his excuses anymore.”  The brunette paused.  “And before you say anything, this is NOT your fault.”  Sara followed her sister into the small kitchen.  “When you told me, it actually made me realize that we were already broken in a way.”   “Doesn’t make it easier.”  Sara took the mug Laurel offered her.   “No, it doesn’t.”  The brunette set the creamer in for of her.  “As much as I believe he’s my soul mate, I need him to know it too and act like it.”   Sara sipped her coffee.  “You believe in soul mates?”   A cheeky smile played on Laurel’s lips.  “You don’t?”   Sara stared intently as her mug and shrugged her shoulders.  “I don’t know, maybe?”  She quickly recovered.  “Okay, so now I think  you  have 2 choices.  I may have already started to plan out a trip to Vegas.  So, you can sit around here and mope OR we can take the girls and go to Vegas in a couple weeks.”  Sara studied her sister’s face.  “We don’t have to go right away, but at least think about it?” ~~~   Sara listened intently as Laurel recapped the events of the weekend in detail when her phone rang.  She ignored it, focusing on the brunette.  It cycled through and went to voicemail.  “Okay, so you-” The phone immediately started ringing again.  “What the hell?”   Laurel shook her head.  “Take it, Sara.  It might be important.”   Turning the phone face up she saw the name and looked up at her sister in confusion.  “It’s Dad.”  Laurel quickly waved her hand encouraging Sara to take the call.  Tapping the speakerphone icon Sara took the call.  “Dad?”   In the background Sara could hear sirens.  “Sara!”  She heard his breath release with a sigh of relief.  “Where are you, baby girl?”   She frowned at the stress she could hear in his voice.  “I’m at Laurel’s.  Are you okay?  What’s going on?”   She heard him talking to someone else for a moment then he returned his attention to her.  “Look, stay put.  Turn on the news and stay safe.”  There was a pause.  “Honey, I love you so much.  I’ll be in touch as soon as I can, okay?”   “Dad, you're freaking me out.”  She tried to keep him on the phone as she looked up at Laurel who was already moving to the living room to turn on the television.   Sara followed her and stood in front of the couch.  “Watch the news... I can’t tell you anything officially.  Just... again, be careful.”   With that he hung up the phone just as she heard a car door slam and screeching tires in the background.   As Sara sat her phone down on the coffee table, she turned to see her sister with the tv remote in hand.  Laurel flipped the channel to a local station.  Sara immediately noticed the breaking news banners scrolling across the bottom and the top of the screen.  Her heart began to pound in her ears as she dropped onto the couch unable to remain standing.   This just in.  There are reports of an active shooter on the South campus of Star City University.    “Shit.”  The single word escaped her lips as her grabbed at her phone with trembling hands.  Trying to focus she began firing off text messages.

Legends

Today 8:22 AM
Check in guys!  I saw the news.

Sara shifted to a second window to send a second message to Ava, since she still hadn’t responded to the first.

Ava

Today 8:22 AM
I know you are upset, but I REALLY need to know you are safe.

Her phone started sending alerts as she was getting responses from her friends.

Legends

Today 8:25 AM
Ray
I’m good.  What’s going on?
Mick
Shooter on campus. I’m not on campus.
Zari
We’re locked down in the gym.

Sara released the breath she had been holding.  Of course, Ava was at conditioning.  She would be safe with Zari.  Opening a window with Zari, Sara just needed to confirm that Ava was okay.

Z

Today 8:26 AM
Ava’s with you?
No, she was off this morning.  She yelled at Coach Hunter so he sent her home.
Fuck, she’s not answering my messages.  Can you text her? 
Of course.
Have you heard from Amaya?
I haven’t heard from her yet.  Amaya doesn’t have class this morning.  I can drive over there.  Maybe Ava is there too.
Be careful, Lance.  Keep me posted.
I promise.  Let me know if you hear anything in the meantime.

Sara grabbed her jacket and moved towards the door, but Laurel stepped in front of her.  “Where do you think you’re going?  Dad said to stay put.”   “I can’t get a hold of Ava or Amaya.  I have to go.”  Sara attempted to side step the brunette as a knot settled in the pit of stomach.   Laurel matched her movement.  “Sara, you’re shaking.  Let me get my keys and I’ll drive you, okay?”   Reluctantly Sara nodded.  “Yeah, but we need to go, now.  I have a bad feeling.”  While she waited Sara looked at the Legends chat again.

Legends

Today 8:28 AM
Nate
In Class, Locked Down.
I’m heading to Amaya’s 
John
Be safe, Love

~~~    Sara tried calling Ava again as they approached her and Amaya’s apartment, “Come on Aves.  Answer the damn phone.”  On the drive to Ava and Amaya’s apartment Sara’s leg started bouncing with nervous energy.  When they finally arrived the bartender was out of the car before it even came to a complete stop.  As she got to the door her pounded on it hoping for the best as she pulled her jacket a little tighter around herself.     Sara held the phone to her ear as she waited for someone to answer the door.   “You’ve reached Ava Sharpe, but I’m not available.  Leave a message and I’ll call you back as soon as possible. ”  Swearing Sara pounded on the door again.   When it swung open Amaya looked at her friend in surprise.  “What the hell Sara?”   The blonde pushed past her friend.  “Where’s Ava?”   Noting the panic in Saras’ tone Amaya closed the door once Laurel was inside.  “What’s wrong?”   “Amaya, listen to me... I need to find Ava.  Is she here?”  Sara could see Amaya starting to get really concerned.  “And you need to message Zari back.”   “No, she has basketball practice in the morning.  I’m assuming she’s there.”  Sara swore and moved deeper into the apartment, beginning to pace.  “What’s going on?  You’re seriously scaring me.”   Sara ran her hands through her hair trying to ground herself.  “Do you have your phone?  Did you get the alert?”   “What alert?  No, I was studying...”   Sara took a deep breath trying to even out her heart rate.  “There’s an active shooter on campus.”  Amaya’s eye grew wide.  “The news is reporting that the shooting was near the south campus.”  Sara paused as her brain tried to catch up with all the information she had been presented with.  “Coach Hunter kicked Ava out of practice.”   Amaya swallowed before she spoke.  “I’m sure she’s fine.  Let’s just call her.”   Sara shook her head, “I’ve tried like 8 times.”  She continued pacing.  “I said some stuff this morning... I can’t... she just has to be okay.”  Sara’s mind was racing as several scenarios played out in her head.   “Let’s try to stay calm.”  Laurel wrapped a supportive arm around her sister’s shoulders to stop her from pacing a hole in the floor.   Grabbing her phone Amaya saw several alerts from campus security.  Scrolling through she saw the message from Zari, but nothing from Ava.  Responding to Zari’s message to let her know she was safe in the apartment.  She then fired off a second message to Zari asking about Ava as well as a message to the tall blonde herself.  “Okay, I sent a message to Zari and the other Legends as well as Ava.  We can’t go on campus right now.”   “Damn it.  Zari has been trying.”  Sara grabbed the remote and turned the television on as she dialed Ava’s number again.  “Pick up...”  As the voicemail kicked on again Sara disconnected the call.  “Fuck.”   With her friends’ distress clear Amaya grabbed Saras’ hands trying to calm her down.  “Tell me what happened, Sara.”   Sara flopped onto the couch and turned the television to a local station, but muted it.  “I told her I loved her.”   Laurel dropped on the couch next to her sister.  “You didn’t say anything to me about that.”   Sara shrugged.  “Yeah, well I was trying to help you through your stuff.  I didn’t think throwing that in your face would be particularly helpful.”   Amaya sat next to Sara, opposite Laurel.  Amaya tried to reassure her friend.  “That’s not a bad thing.”   Sara nodded in the affirmative.  “I know.”  She rubbed her hands over her face before continuing.  “I just need her to be safe.”  Sara looked up as tears began to blur her vision.   “Sara, I’m sure she is.”  Amaya kept an encouraging tone in her voice.   Holding her head in her hands Sara nodded, “We’re just getting started, I can’t lose her now.”  She leaned back onto the couch and stared at the ceiling.  “After I took her home last night, she told me she loved me.”  The blonde turned to look at her sister still fighting her tears back.  “But she was drunk and I didn’t believe it until I looked into her eyes, Laurel.”   Already knowing the answer, Laurel prompted Sara to continue, “What did you see?”   “Love, she really loves me and I love her.”  She stood up again, but didn’t start pacing right away.   On the tv screen there was a flurry of activity that drew the trios’ attention to it.  Sara turned up the volume to listen to the reporter.  “We received several reports that the shooter had fired multiple rounds before moving to the library .   There more shots were reported being fired .  If reports are to be believed the shooter is  still  in the Star City  South Campus  University Library.”      At the same time, Sara and Amaya both checked their phones for any updates.  “All of the Legends are accounted for including John and Gary.”  Amaya looked up at Sara apologetically.  “Nothing from Ava.”   The blonde shook her head again.  “I didn’t get anything either.”  Swiping her hand across her face, she moved to the door.  “I have to go.  I can’t just sit here and wait.”   Amaya blocked the blonde’s path.  “No, Sara there’s nothing you can do out there.”  She put her hands on Saras’ shoulders holding her in place.   Laurel stood up and walked over to the friends.  “Let’s calm down.  Get a plan... maybe call or text dad.  See if he knows anything new.”  She gave Sara’s hand a supportive squeeze.  “Okay?”   “Yeah, yeah.  Okay.”  Sara swallowed and grabbed her phone sending another message to Ava and one to her dad.  She stared at the TV screen as she felt something settling in her chest, fear.  “I’m going to have Ray text Nora.”   “ Breaking News.  What the police believe to be the shooter at SCU has been detained.  The scene is still being cleared.  At this time, we know EMS is on scene, but it is unclear on the number of injuries that we are looking at this point.  According to earlier reports there are at least 5 dead and numerous injuries.  We’ll keep you updated as we learn more.   “   Laurel stood next to Sara.  “I’m sure she’s fine.”   Sara shook her head and looked from her phone to the television.  “She needs to message one of us!  I tried Gary, Lily, and even Nora.  No one has heard from her at all.”  As she spoke Sara’s phone went off, Nora as finally responded.

Nora Darhk

Today 9:38 AM
She was in the library... she sent me a message before the shooting started.

“Fuck.”  Sara started towards the door again.  “They have the shooter now, I need to go.”   It was Laurel’s turn to block Sara’s exit.  “The scene isn’t secure.  You know better than anyone they won’t you anywhere near that library right now.”   “Laurel, move.”  Sara’s voice was firm, but the brunette just shook her head.  “Laurel, please.  Nora finally responded... she was at the library.”  Sara didn’t care as the first tear finally fell.   Laurel exhaled slowly and pressed her forehead against Sara’s.  “Okay, okay.  Let’s go.”   “I’m coming with you.”  Amaya turned off the tv and grabbed her keys before following them to Laurel’s car. ~~~   As they got close to the south campus the police presence became more and more overwhelming.  Sara had called her dad on her way over and confirmed that they had the shooter, but he couldn’t confirm the identities of anyone involved.  He did however tell Sara to ask for him when they arrived at the South Campus barricade near the library.  There was something in his voice that had her on edge.   Approaching the taped off crime scene Sara identified herself to one of the officers and asked for Quentin Lance.  She listened as her dad was called.  Still listening to everything around her she craned her neck to try and see the paramedics who were actively working on someone.   There were 2 detectives talking to a small group of students.  Judging by the body language Sara assumed that the detectives were taking their statements.  One of the students, a red-haired woman still had tears staining her cheeks.  “...she jumped him from behind the counter and knocked him down.  I was so scared...I was crying and he heard me.  He was coming for us.”  She gestured towards the man that was sitting next to her.     The man spoke up and Sara struggled to hear him as he spoke.  “He heard Jada.”  The man swallowed and shook his head.  “He was coming to kill us.  I don’t know what she was thinking, but Ava saved us.”  She noted the blood on the man’s clothes and felt like she was going to throw up.   Sara didn’t hear anything that was said after that as her blood froze in her veins.  “Ava...”  The name escaped her mouth before she knew what was happening.  Then everything kicked into autopilot and she tried to push past the uniformed officers towards the library.  Instead of breaking free and making progress she was caught by familiar arms.   “Sara, no.”  Her fathers’ voice broke through the haze as he held her in place.  “You can’t go down there.  It’s a crime scene, we are still collecting evidence.”   “Ava... dad... where is she?”  He just nodded towards the library.  She started to fight to break free from her dad’s grip, but he only tightened it to keep her under control.   “Sara, stop.”  He sighed.  “You can’t go down there, baby girl, we have to wait.”  Unable to find words she just nodded acknowledging him.  “I can’t say much, but if you really want to do something.”  He took a deep breath and put his hands on her cheeks and encouraged her to meet his eyes.  “Go to the hospital.  She’s not going to be here long. Okay?”  She tipped her head up to acknowledge that she understood.  He wrapped her in a tight hug.  He then looked to his eldest and gestured for her to come closer.  “Can you take her to Star City University Hospital?”  Laurel nodded as he gave her a tight hug like he just released Sara from.   As she anxiously waited, Sara saw someone being loaded into an ambulance.  Taking in the scene she noticed one of the detectives that was taking statements had an evidence bag in his hand.  She could barely make out the writing from this distance, but it was Ava’s handwriting.  ‘1 Shooter Heavily Armed 6’ 3”; Caucasian; Male; Black hair; Mustache; Sunglasses; Black Hoodie and Jeans’   Sara shifted uncomfortably.  Her dad wasn’t telling her everything.  Ava was headed to the hospital.  Her head began to hurt as she thought about all of the possibilities.  “Can we just go?”  The news casters voice from earlier rang in her head.  ‘...  at least 5 dead...’  ~~~   Sara practically sprinted into the hospital emergency room looking around for a familiar face.  On the way to the hospital she had let Nora know where they were headed, thinking she would be able to reach out to the Sharpe’s.  Even though Sara knew that the police were probably already going to do that.  An angry voice she recognized was arguing with someone nearby.  Following the sound, she saw Nora yelling at a nurse.   “I just told you, her whole family is on the other side of the damn country!”  Ray tried to place a supportive hand on her shoulder, but she shook it off.   The exasperated nurse held her hands up.  “I’m sorry Ms Darhk, but hospital policy is only family can see her while she is in ICU.  Especially with the nature of her injuries.  That said, I’m going to need you to either calm down and take a seat or I’ll have you removed.”    Nora started to push forward, but Ray caught her again and pulled her close.  Sara could see that he was whispering something in her ear as he started to rock her gently, and Nora Darhk broke.  Even with the distance between them Sara could see her shoulders start to tremble slightly.   Sara approached the group thinking as quickly as her aching brain would allow.  “Nora!  Thank God I missed my flight, where’s my cousin?“   The nurse turned her attention to Sara.  “Who are you?”   This suddenly felt like a terrible idea, but Sara decided to fully commit.  “I’m Sara, Ava Sharpe’s cousin.  I was in town for her birthday last night, but my flight got delayed.  Nora called to let me know that she was brought here.”  Sara swallowed praying that the woman was buying it.  “Can I see her?”   The nurse narrowed her eyes at the blonde for a minute seeming to consider her story.  “Unfortunately, no.  They are working to make sure she is stabilized.  I can’t tell you any more than that because you aren’t immediate family, but I’ll send someone for you once she’s stable.”  With that the nurse took one last look at the small group and went back to the emergency department.   Swallowing Sara watched the nurse disappear around the corner before she turned and nodded a greeting to Ray.  A wave of exhaustion hit her and Sara sat down before her legs gave out on her.   She’s in the hospital.  She’s getting help.  She hasn’t been stabilized yet.   Her thoughts began to scatter as more potential scenarios played out in her mind.   “That was quick thinking, Lance.”  Looking up, Sara saw Nora give her an approving nod as she wiped her eyes with a handkerchief Ray had given her, because of course Ray had a handkerchief.   Sara pinched the bridge of her nose fighting against the tightness gathered in her chest.  “Did you talk to her parents?  Are they coming?  I’m not going to get much information as a cousin.”   Nora nodded again as she fought the waver out of her voice.  “Yeah.  I talked to Captain Sharpe.  They are booking the next flight out.  He said he would call and let us know what’s going on as he finds out.”  Nora’s voice increased in volume as she continued to speak.  “Which is ridiculous because we are RIGHT HERE.  WHY DO WE HAVE TO GET INFORMATION FROM A MAN ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COUNTRY?!”   Ray turned her so he could press his forehead to hers.  “Nore, you need to stop.”  He ran his hands down her arms trying to calm her down.  “If we get kicked out there’s really nothing we can do for her.”  He raised his eyebrows as he held her hands.  “So, why don’t we sit down with …”  He glanced at Sara briefly.  “Cousin Sara, and wait for a while.” ~~~   Sara was sitting in the emergency department with her head resting in Laurel’s shoulder.  Several hours had lapsed, but no one left. Finally a nurse came over to address her.  “With Sharpe?”  Sara nodded and sat up as the tension that was gathered in her shoulders intensified.  “Come on back with me.”  The blonde quickly got up and looked back at the small group gathered there.  Laurel waved her on.   As she followed the nurse out of the emergency department Sara kept wondering what she was going to find.  The nurse stopped and turned to face her.  “You’re going to take the elevator to the fourth floor, our ICU Trauma Unit is there.  Someone will meet you at the elevator to take you back.”   “Okay.”  Sara pushed the button for the elevator as the nurse walked away.  She couldn’t help but fidget a little as she waited.  Sara never really minded hospitals, this was a place of healing, a safe place.  Entering the elevator Sara pressed the button for the fourth floor.  As the elevator car ascended the floors the blonde started to wonder what she would find waiting for her.   She’s stable.   Would she be conscious though?   When the door of the elevator opened Sara was greeted immediately by a short red-haired woman with a warm smile.  “Sara?”  The bartender nodded.  “I’m Ali.  I’ll be looking in on Ava for the evening.  Follow me.”  Sara fell into step behind the nurse.  “We haven’t had a chance to get her completely cleaned up yet, and she’s unconscious.  I can’t say a whole lot unfortunately, but we did an MRI and are keeping a close eye on her.”   Sara’s mind started to race.  “MRI, what were you looking for?”   The nurse stopped and turned on her heel.  “Unfortunately, I can’t say.  The Doctor should be talking to her parents now.”   Sara shook her head.  “Sorry, I’m just worried.  We’re really close.”   The nurse hummed as she resumed walking.  “Room 412.”  Ali walked into the room with Sara in tow.  The red-haired woman walked to the left side of the bed, but Sara hesitated at the door.  Looking up the nurse noticed Sara pause at the threshold.  “Come on in.  It’s okay.”   Sara walked in and her stomach dropped as she saw all the monitors and the IV Ava was hooked up too.  It wasn’t just that she was hooked up to the machines as much as it was Ava.  As Sara made her way to the edge of the bed, she saw a massive pad of gauze above her left eye.  “Fuck.”  Leaning over the side of the hospital bed and ran her hand across the un-bandaged side of Ava’s face.  “What did that bastard do to you?”   The nurse cleared her throat pulling Sara’s attention.  “So, cousin?”   The blonde quickly straightened up, but her eyes never left Ava.  “Yes, we’re cousins.”   “Hmmmm.”  The nurse leaned over and turned Ava’s arm so the inside of her forearm was exposed.   Sara felt immediately felt her throat constrict as it became harder to breathe.  Written on Ava’s forearm, in her handwriting was ‘Tell Sara I love her.’  Her eyes snapped up to the nurse ready to defend herself.  “I-”   Ali shook her head stopping Sara from saying anything else.  “I’m going to leave you  cousins  alone for a little bit, but I’ll need to chase you out of here in about 10 minutes so I can finish getting her cleaned up, okay?”   Sara nodded and took Ava’s hand gently into hers  as the nurse walked out of the room.  Taking a deep breath Sara pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat down.  “What the hell were you thinking?” ~~~   As Sara walked off the elevator she was met by Laurel, Amaya, Ray, and Nora.  Nora was talking on the phone with her back to the elevator.  Laurel met her halfway as Sara walked towards them.  “I think they are keeping her sedated, but they won’t tell me anything.”  The blonde huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.  “Has dad called?”   Laurel shook her head.  “No, but you know he can’t tell us anything either.”  Her frustration growing, Sara walked past the group and out the door.  “Sara, wait.  Where are you going?”   As soon as she got past the doors Sara bent over and rested her hands on her knees.  “I need air.”  Sara could feel her sister’s presence standing in front of her.  “I can’t breathe.”   Laurel knelt down next to her.  “Nice and slow, deep breaths.”  After a few minutes Sara had started to calm down.  “Are you okay now?”   Sara shook her head.  “No.”  She looked up and met Laurel’s eyes.  “I might have to admit mom, was right.”  When the brunette’s brow furrowed Sara continued.  “About getting involved with cops.”   The brunette pulled her sister in for a hug as she stood up.  “Stop.”   “Hey.”  The sisters turned around as Nora joined them outside.  “That was Carly, Ava’s sister.  Her mom and dad are already on a plane.  Their flight should be landing in the next 30 minutes.”  Nora took a deep breath before continuing.  “They want to keep her under sedation for the time being the MRI did show some swelling and they want to be sure that goes down without any complications.”   Sara nodded.  “Right, they had above her left eye bandaged up.”  Finally getting some information Sara felt the pressure in her chest start to release a little.   Nora shifted her weight as she ran her hand through her hair.  “Fortunately, the bullet went all the way through-”   “What?”  Sara felt her hands start to shake.  “I didn’t see... she was shot?”  The blonde ran both her hands through her hair.  “Fuck.”  Sara felt Laurel’s hand wrap around her wrist, grounding her.   Nora continued after a few seconds to let Sara collect herself.  “The bullet didn’t hit any major organs or arteries.”  The brunette focused her attention on Sara.  “How did she look?”   “Pale, but okay, I think.”  Sara looked around the parking lot as Laurel released her wrist.  “I don’t know if they’ll let me back up there.  The nurse called me out.”  As everything started to really catch up to her Sara leaned against the wall and slid down until she was sitting on the ground.  “How the hell did this happen?”   “I don’t know, baby girl.”  Quentin came around the corner and sat down beside her.  He was quiet as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders pulling her into him.  Relenting she laid her head on his shoulder.  “Sometimes people do stupid things to hurt other people.  But she was doing what she thought was right.”  Sara didn’t see it, but he motioned for the others to go back inside to give them a moment.   Sara sighed and looked over at him.  “Did you see her arm?”   He took a deep breath and met her eyes.  “Did you?”  She nodded.  “First thing, I don’t want to know how you got into her room.”  A small flash of pride lit up his eyes.  “Second, do you want to talk about it?”   “I don’t know.  I just don’t understand why she would put herself in this position.”  She felt comforted by his presence.   Sighing Quentin looked away from her.  “I would have done the same.”   “What?”  Sitting up Sara looked at her father surprised by his response.   He gave her arm a squeeze.  “Risk Management.”  He scratched the back of his head.  “Our average response time is between five to ten minutes.  They’re guessing that about 2 minutes elapsed by the time he got to the library.”  Quentin looked back to his daughter.  “Three to eight minutes, Sara.  Three to eight minutes before we could have intervened.”  He looked at the back of his free hand.  “I would never encourage anyone to take action, but I’m not going to fault them for it either.   When  she wakes up, I want to thank her.”  He turned back to Sara again.  “And then I’m going to threaten her for scaring you.”  He gave her a small grin.  “This is what she wants to do.  It’s a calling for some.  I don’t know her story, but kiddo you need to decide if you can live with the daily questions.”   Quentin’s head dropped a little.  “I know you and your mom don’t get along, but she can tell you more about the stress every morning when I walk out that door.”  He paused seeming to consider his next words carefully.  “You’ll need to know if you can handle it and be happy.” ~~~   Sara sat holding Ava’s hand listening to the monitors beeping while keeping a close eye on all of the read outs for anything out of the ordinary.  She looked up as her dad walked in followed by a man and woman she recognized from pictures in Ava’s room.  She quickly stood up releasing Ava’s hand in the same motion, ready to leave.  Neither of them paid any attention to her as they entered the room, completely focused on the woman lying in the bed.   They were both clearly upset as Sara took a step back trying to stay out of the way.  The man looked to Quentin.  “Detective, what the hell happened?”  Quentin paused and looked over to Sara.  Randy followed his eyes and noticed Sara for the first time.  “Who are you?”   Sara opened and closed her mouth, trying to find words.  “Wait, Sara?”  Sara followed the sound of the voice and found herself face to face with Ava’s mother.  “You’re Sara.”  The older woman looked from Sara back to her daughter.  “You stayed with her?”   The blonde nodded.  “Yeah, I didn’t want her to be alone.  You know, just in case.”   Pam gave her a tearful smile.  “Thank you.”   Quentin cleared his throat.  “We’re still reviewing the recording from the library, but from what we can tell from eye witness accounts Ava saw the shooter going after her classmates and acted.”  He took a moment for that to sink in.  “It appears that she got control of the rifle, but he had a sidearm she was unaware of.”   Randy nodded.  “And the shooter?”   Sara noticed that her father tensed up a little.  “He’s in critical condition as well.  Out of respect for the victims he isn’t here.”  Quentin looked at the unconscious athlete.  “She did a number on him, that’s for sure.”   The red-haired nurse popped her head in.  “Folks, I hate to be the one to break the news, but we need to keep visitors down to two at a time.”   Sara nodded.  “I’ll go.”  Moving back to the bed she pressed a quick kiss to Ava’s forehead and whispered.  “I got your six, Aves.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sara sat in the main lobby of the hospital watching people come and go.  At one point during the afternoon Pam sent Randy down so they could smuggle Nora upstairs for a few minutes.  Before Nora and Ray left for the evening, they offered Amaya a ride home which she had accepted.  Quentin had to get back to the station to report in, which left Laurel and Sara still lingering around the hospital lobby.   Laurel bumped Sara’s knee with hers to draw her sisters attention.  “Hey, do you want to go home?  You look tired.”   Sara shook her head, the actual thought of going back to her empty apartment, where she had slept wrapped up in Ava’s arms the night before made her feel sick to her stomach.  “No.  I really don’t want to go back there right now.”   Laurel nodded in understanding.  “Okay.  Do you want to come back to my place?  The guest room is always open to you.”   Sara looked towards the elevators.  “I...”  Sara’s voice trailed off as she turned back towards her sister.   “I get it.”  Laurel leaned back into the almost comfortable chair.   Swallowing Sara looked at the floor and considered walking around the gift shop again to stretch her legs.  “You can go.  I’ll be okay.”  She couldn’t quite muster her trademark smirk, but she did manage to give her sister an encouraging smile.   Laurel sighed and looked at her phone.  “My battery is going fast.  Look, I’ll run and get us something to eat.  Once I know you’ve eaten, I’ll be willing to leave you here. And, only if you promise to call so I can come get you.”   “I promise.”  Sara turned her body so she could prop her legs up on the arm of the chair.   Laurel stood up and stretched before heading towards the door.  “I’m getting pizza, the Lance sisters have earned some greasy comfort food.”   As she watched Laurel go Sara leaned her head against the back of the chair and closed her eyes as the exhaustion of the day began settling in.  Her mind had just begun to quiet down when she could sense someone approaching.  When Sara opened her eyes, she saw Ava’s mom approaching.  Quickly she dropped her legs to the floor again sitting upright.   “May I?”  The older woman gestured to the chair next where Sara was sitting.   Sara made sure there wasn’t anything sitting on the cushion.  “Of course.”  The older woman sat down and stared forward without saying anything.  “I... uh... never thought we’d meet like this.”  Sara winced wrinkling her nose.  “I figured it’d be awkward, but...”  She pinched the bridge of her nose trying not to sound like an idiot.   “Sara, it’s okay.”  The older woman gave her arm a gentle squeeze.  “This morning I never would have thought I would have to leave work and catch a flight to Star City, but here we are.”  Pam sighed and ran her hands through her hair.  “I’m glad you were here for her.”   Sara looked at the floor.  “I asked her not to go to practice this morning.”  Sara swallowed as she refused to look up at the older woman.  “Maybe if I pushed harder-”   Sara felt Pams’ hand cover hers.  “Listen, you stop that right now.  I don’t know you that well, but I do know Ava.”  Sara could hear the smile that was hiding in the older woman’s tone.  “You had zero chance once her mind was made up.”  Sara could hear her sigh softly.  “And as much as I hate to admit it.  If you had stopped her then as tragic as this already is.  It very well could have been much worse.”   It felt more than a little odd to be comforted by her girlfriends’ mother, that she just met, and that she was reasonably sure wouldn’t have given her a second glance even two weeks ago.  “Um, my sister went to get pizza.  I’m sure she’ll order too much, if you and Mr. Sharpe wanted to join us?”   The older woman released Sara’s hand and sat back into the chair.  “I was actually going to ask what your plan was for the evening.”   The blonde just shrugged her shoulders.  “I have no idea.  I just know that I’m not ready to go home yet.”   “Well, Randy is trying to get us a room nearby.  I’m planning on staying here tonight while he tries to get some rest.”  Sara finally looked over to the older woman who gestured to the elevator.  “Did you want to come up and sit with me tonight?” ~~~   Slowly Ava started to become more aware of the unfamiliar sounds around her.  A feeling of panic at a memory she couldn’t quite place caused her eyes to snap open as she struggled to sit up.  Panting slightly, she tried to look around the unfamiliar room.  There was a tightness settling in her chest as she tried to focus on anything other than the pounding pain and the swirling that had begun behind her eyes.   Where am I?  What happened?   She knew something happened.  Something bad, but she struggled to remember what it was.  There was a high-pitched beeping noise and a blurry figure stood up.  As the figure approached her, she pushed herself backwards trying to keep it at a distance until she could figure out what was happening.  Her limbs felt heavy, but she still managed to move.   She pushed until her back hit a wall.  No, not a wall.  A headboard?  She was on a bed.  The figure reached out to her and she flinched away.  “Aves, you need to take a breath.”  She recoiled further as the hand continued to reach out.  Not able to avoid it the hand closed on hers lacing their fingers together.  “You’re okay, you’re safe.”  The voice was calm, soothing, and familiar.  “Baby, you need to breathe.”   “I can’t.”  Closing her eyes she tried to pull air into her lungs like the voice asked, but the pressure in her chest wouldn’t allow her to breathe too deeply.  “It hurts.”  She felt something touch her forehead as she curled her fingers into the hand that was holding hers.  Ava could feel the figures breath on her face as it pressed its forehead against hers.  What was that smell, her brain felt sluggish as it tried to process everything that was happening, cinnamon?   “Look at me.”  Looking forward Ava focused on the figure in front of her.  She kept blinking her eyes trying to clear her vision.  Slowly the face in front of her came into focus.  The first thing she saw were familiar icy blue eyes.  A small smile tugged the corner of her mouth.  “That’s right, now breathe.”   Tears started to collect in her eyes.  Causing her vision to blur again, but for a completely different reason this time.  “Sara?”  Reaching up with her free hand she touched the woman’s cheek in front of her, Ava needed to know that she was real.  “You’re okay.”  The tall blonde started to relax as she studied Sara’s face.  By the expression on the bartenders face she could tell that something was wrong.  She looked tense and a little afraid.  Ava licked her lips.  “You’re scared, what’s wrong?”  Then her memory started to return even through the pounding pain.  “There was a shooting.”  She tried to stand up, but Sara pushed her back down onto the bed.  “Is everyone okay?!”   Sara nodded. “Yeah, babe.  Everyone is okay now.”  Some of the pressure in her chest started to dissipate.   Ava just refocused on Sara as she spoke.  “I’m in the hospital?”  Sara nodded slowly and Ava could tell she was being extra gentle with her.  Blinking in confusion Ava tried to do a quick assessment and other than the pounding headache and an odd pinch on her left side she seemed to be alright.  “Am I okay?”   The smaller blonde smiled at the question.  “You’re going to be fine, sweetheart.”  Her eyes shifted to the doorway and Sara reluctantly moved her forehead away from Ava’s.  The taller woman was barely able to stifle the whimper in her throat at the loss.  As if sensing how she was feeling Sara squeezed the hand she was holding to reassure Ava that she was still there.  “I’m not going anywhere.”    Two people walked into the room, and Ava stared at them as if they weren’t real.  “Mom, Dad?  What are you doing here, how?”  Randy and Pam Sharpe walked over by the bed and she could see in their eyes just how concerned they were for her.   Randy smiled at her warmly.  “We needed to keep an eye on you, Sport.”  He took the hand Sara wasn’t holding.   Pam rested her hand on the rail of Ava’s bed standing next to her husband.  “I’m so glad you’re awake.”   Ava looked around the group and started to feel anxious again.  “I don’t understand.  What happened?”   Her father shifted to fill her vision.  “You took a pretty hard hit to the head.  The doctors had to sedate you.”   She watched his face closely.  “How long?”  She didn’t like how soft his eyes got when she asked.  “How long?”  She pressed needing to know.   “Two days.”  Sara spoke up sensing that the ‘adults’ in the room were going to continue to dance around the subject.  The shorter blonde knew Ava needed to know even though the information was bound to hurt her.   Ava’s shoulders sagged and she released both her fathers and Sara’s hands.  She leaned forward cradling her head in her hands.  “Two days?”  Ava’s voice was barely audible.  “Two days.”  This time it was louder and more a statement than a question, and then everything started to make sense.  How the Sharpe’s had gotten there so quickly, her fuzzy memory, and it most likely was the only reason Sara stayed.   Knowing it had to be a lot for Ava to take in Sara spoke up.  “There was swelling on your brain.  The doctors tried steroids to try to get it down first, but it wasn’t helping.”  When the bartender reached out to the athlete, Ava recoiled.   “Don’t.”  Ava saw a flash of hurt in Sara’s eyes as she froze in place.   A woman in a white jacket stepped into the room and addressed the athlete.  “I’m Dr. Ashley Webb.”  She then addressed everyone in the room.  “I need to ask her a few questions to assess her recovery.”  Taking a step back Pam nodded as she made room for the doctor to approach.  The doctor returned her attention to Ava.  “Can you tell me your name?”   “Ava Sharpe.”  She squinted through the pain, fighting the urge to close her eyes completely.   The doctor types some notes into the iPad she was holding.  “When is your birthday?”   “November 26th.”  Ava just watched her take more notes.  She did notice that Sara had squeezed her hand a little tighter for a moment when she answered.   “Okay, so todays date is?”  The doctor indicated for Ava to follow the tip of her stylus as she moved it side to side.   “I’m not... sure.”  A flash of a memory pulled at the back of her mind.  She was hiding behind a desk.  A woman was crying nearby where she was hidden.   The doctor focused her attention on Ava as if sensing something had changed.  “How are you feeling?”   Ava leaned her head back for a moment for the first time taking a minute to really think about how she was feeling.  “My head is pounding.”  Mentally she ran through a checklist thinking about all of the sensations she had experienced in a short amount of time.  “My whole body feels stiff.  My left side stings.”   The doctor nodded and typed something into her iPad.  “I’ll order you some pain medication.”  The doctor nodded to her patient.  “Ava, I’m going to go update your chart and get the orders together for the pain medicine.  At this point everything looks pretty good.  There’s a detective here to talk to you about what happened.  I’ll have a nurse come in and check on you shortly as well.”  She turned to the older Sharpes.  “I’ll come and find you later to give you a full update.”   Still feeling a little overwhelmed Ava sank into the pillow behind her.  She fought the pounding in her head to try to remember what had happened.  Squeezing her eyes closed she grasped at the fractured memory that had been tugging at the corner of her mind.  A small knock on the door drug her out of her head.   Opening her eyes Ava turned her head to the doorway and spotted a dark-haired man as he stepped into the room.  “Hey Ava, I don’t know if you remember me, but I’m Quentin Lance.”  He nodded to Sara.  “Sara’s dad.”  He paused as Ava nodded knowing exactly who he was.  “I just need to ask you a few questions, if you are feeling up for it?”   Ava looked from her parents to Sara trying to fight through a lingering fog.  The tall blonde felt her face flush involuntarily at the fondness in Sara’s expression.  She looked back to the detective and nodded her head.  “I think so, but everything is still pretty fuzzy.”   As she studied him Ava began to see the similarities between Sara and Quentin.  The first time they met Ava had been too focused on Sara to take the time to see it.  They had the same expressive eyes and that smile was familiar.  “Can you tell me what you remember?”   She took a moment trying to gather her thoughts, but everything was still a jumble and she wasn’t sure where to even begin.  “Um... I...”  She looked at him, her brow furrowed as she tried to pull information from her throbbing head.  Sara reached down and laced her fingers with Avas’.   As if sensing her struggle the detective spoke again.  “Why don’t you start in the morning, when you got up?”  He was encouraging as he pulled out his notebook.   Ava felt Sara’s hand squeeze hers when the athlete sucked in an unsteady breath.  “I um... woke up at Sara’s in the morning.”  She looked to the blonde, gauging her reaction.  “I might have overdone it a little bit the night before and she took care of me.”  Her eyes fell to their clasped hands.  “Then we went to my apartment to get my gear for conditioning.”  She swallowed as her parents looked over at Sara.   Quentin cleared his throat.  “Where did you go from there?”   “Sara drove me to the gym.”  Sara’s words echoed in her memory and something else pulled at her mind causing her to look at her forearm.  The words were gone, or maybe they were never really there.  It started to get easier to recall her day as she went along.  “When I got to conditioning, I needed to focus so, I was pushing the team, hard.”  She sighed remembering what had happened at practice.  “Coach Hunter and I had words.”  Looking up to her dad she hoped he wouldn’t be disappointed in her.  “I think he might bench me Sundays’ game.”  He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it again when the detective shook his head.   “You’re doing great.”  Quentin shot her a smile as he took some notes.  “Do you know about what time that was?”   She struggled with the time a little, but was thankful for the distraction.  She wasn’t sure what her father would have said.  “Around 7:30 in the morning.  I think, I left the gym and went directly to the library to study.  I’m pretty sure I sent Nora a text message I could check my phone and see when the message was sent.”  A thought passed through her mind.  “Is Nora okay?”   “Nora Darhk?”  Ava nodded.  “She’s fine.  She has been here and gone a couple of times.  She may still be downstairs, actually.”  Ava’s mind started to race as she furrowed her brows trying to piece together her thoughts.  “Tell me about the library.”  The detective paused to study her for a moment.  “Take your time.”   Ava pressed her free palm to her temple and leaned forward again.  Her head had been hurting since she came to, but it seemed to intensify the more she recounted her day.  Her hand brushed against a piece of gauze over her left eye.  She ran her hand over the bandage trying to remember how she got the injury that she was just now becoming aware of.  When she moved her hand away from her face.  “I heard gunshots and screaming.”  She felt a hand on her back and looked over to her dad who gave her a small, but supportive smile.  “People were running towards the library and the shots were getting closer.  I-” Her thoughts started to drift.  “I looked out the door and saw a man with a rifle.”  She stopped as tension started to settle in her chest again.   “I can only imagine how hard this is, but I need you to keep going.”  Quentin wrote a couple notes. “You saw the shooter and then what happened?”   Ava felt tears begin to sting her eyes as she thought about the shots that had been fired.  She tried to inject some strength in her tone.  “I locked and blocked the door, one of the guys that came in helped.  The rest of the students in the library were all gathered in the center of the room.  I told them to turn off their phones and scatter.  I wanted to make sure that if he managed to get into the building that motherfucker wouldn’t get all of us.”  She looked directly at the detective rather than anyone else in the room because she knew what she was about to say was going to hurt.  Ava chewed her lip trying to think of the least hurtful way to phrase her statement.  “I didn’t know if I’d make it out alive so, I wrote a quick description of the shooter and taped it to the window.  I knew from the direction he was coming from he wouldn’t see it, but when you were investigating...”   Quentin looked up from his notepad when her voice trailed off.  “We found it.  That was smart.”  He gave her an encouraging smile.  “What happened after that?”   “I hid behind the counter and hoped he would pass us by.”  She wiped her free hand down her thigh when she noticed how sweaty it had become.  She looked at her forearm again and up to meet Sara’s eyes as she remembered why that was important to her earlier, what she had written there.   Tell Sara that I love her.   The bartender gave her a small nod and Ava realized that Sara knew too.  Ava then turned her attention back to the detective.  “He tried to come in, but when he couldn’t open the door... he shot the lock and forced his way in.”  Her memories started to get fuzzy again.  “When he got in, I heard someone crying and I knew he had to have heard her.”  She licked her lips that had suddenly felt extremely dried out.   “I saw a pair of scissors and I knew if he went for her, I could get the drop on him before he hurt anyone else.  So, I listened.  He wasn’t trying to be quiet which made it easy to keep track of him.”  The memory came into focus again.  “As soon as he was close enough, I jumped him.  I remember forcing the rifle down and into him.  He was fighting me so, I hit him with the scissors hoping he would give up.  He yelled out and grabbed my hand, pulling me down with him as he fell backwards.   I lost track of his left hand.”  Ava touched her left side and winced.  “That’s when I felt the muzzle-” As her thoughts grew clouded, she rubbed the bridge of her nose, frustrated.   Shaking her head, she stopped.  “I can’t.”   Quentin closed the notebook.  “That’s okay.  That should be enough.  I have a lot of eye witness statements as well.”   Ava watched as the detective nodded in her direction.  “Before I blacked out, there was a man...”   “One of the students.  He put pressure on your wounds until the paramedics came.”  Quentin ran a hand down his tie, straightening it out.   The tall blonde pressed her hand to her forehead again.  “How many?”   Quentin paused and looked at Ava’s parents before turning back to Ava.  “None, everyone in the library is safe.”  He studied her face.  “You stopped him before he could hurt anyone else.”   Ava could feel her father’s hand on her back start to rub small comforting circles.  As she started to feel some of the pressure releasing from her chest until she stopped and really thought about what he had said.  “Anyone else?”  She asked the question even though she probably really didn’t want the answer.   The detective paused.  “Before he got to the library.”   Ava nodded knowingly.  “I understand.”  It was then that everything hit her all at once and Ava let go of Sara’s hand.  “I just need a minute.  Please.”   Quentin nodded and looked to Sara.  “Come on, Baby Girl.”  He held out his hand gesturing towards the door.  Reluctantly Sara took the hint and followed him into the hallway.   Once they were gone Ava felt Randy’s hand move from her back to her shoulder.  “You’re okay now, kid.”  He pressed a kiss to her forehead.  “Yell as soon as you are ready to talk.”  He paused at the door.  “She’s been here the entire time.”  It was almost as if he could sense how tentative she had been with Sara.  “Waiting for you to wake up.”   Ava looked at him through her tear-filled eyes.  “She told me she loved me and I didn’t say it back.”   He took a deep breath and sighed as he began to understand why.  He looked at her and forced a smile.  “Just because you didn’t say it, doesn’t mean she doesn’t know.”   Finally speaking up Pam looked at Ava.  “She knows. Trust me, she knows.  And we’re proud of you.”  Pam gave her arm a gentle squeeze before following Randy out of the room.   Once they were gone Ava buried her head in her hands trying to prevent her tears from falling.  Everything was just felt so overwhelming.  She wasn’t stupid, she could read between the lines.  People died two days ago.  Normal college kids just like her, and yet she didn’t, she walked away.   Survivors Guilt .  She knew exactly what it was and that she didn’t need to feel it.  She  knew  she did what she did as much as she could.  She also knew there would be consequences for her actions.  The first of which was the nearly constant pounding in her head, she could deal with that.  She assumed she was falling behind in her classes, also manageable.  Then there was Sara, she seemed to be okay, but this had to be too much for their new relationship especially when Ava didn’t tell her she loved her.  The bartender could leave and that was potentially devastating.   Then there was the Sharpe’s, they were there, in Star City.  She had further disrupted their lives by dragging them half-way across the country.  They had certainly missed work at this point.  She brushed her hands across her face trying to focus.   Swearing internally, she saw the IV in her arm.  She just wanted to leave, she needed to go on a run.  She needed to clear her head of all the chaos.  Of the fractured memories.  Clenching her jaw, she closed her eyes.  Fisting the blanket that had dropped to her waist trying to will the thoughts from her mind.  When that didn’t work, she swung her legs off the side of the bed and started to drop to the floor.  Her right knee buckled, but she caught herself on the bed before she hit the ground.  “Whoa... no you don’t.”  A nurse ran into the room helping her back into the bed.  Ava fought to catch her breath, she felt so weak.  The red-haired woman looked at her.  “And where do you think you are going?”  She fussed with the IV making sure it hadn’t gotten messed up in the almost fall.   Taking a deep breath, the blonde closed her eyes tightly.  “I don’t know.”  She tried once again to focus her out of control thoughts.  “Hon, you have been out for almost three days.”  Her voice was soft, but not condescending.  “You took a blow to your head and a bullet to your side.  You are going to need to take some time to recover.”  After helping Ava with the blankets, the nurse kept a wary eye on her.  “How are you feeling?”   “My head is killing me.”  Ava settled back to the bed with assistance.   “The doctor sent orders for some pain medicine if you are ready for it.”  After adjusting the blankets, the nurse continued to speak.  “I’m Ali by the way.  I’ll be your nurse for the next...” She glanced at her watch.  “6 hours.”  She took a step back and looked around the room.  “Where’s your Dr-in-training?”   Ava’s brow furrowed.  “Who?”   “Sara, I think this is the first time I haven’t seen her in here.”  The womans’ eyes scanned across the monitors while she spoke making sure everything looked normal.  When her patient didn’t respond she continued.  “Your vitals look good.”  The nurse paused from her work and looked at her patient.  “Okay well, I’m going to give you this and it will probably make you drowsy.  I’ll be back in about half an hour to re-check your vitals, but in the meantime if you need anything press the call button and stay in bed.”  The red-haired woman pressed the medicine into the IV line and took a step away from Ava making a note of the dosage given.   The tall blonde could feel the medicine starting to kick in.  She just watched as the nurse walked out of the room as the pain seemed to dull slightly.  Once she was alone her head hit the pillow and she huffed at being told what to do.  She knew she needed to stop thinking, to shut her brain down for a minute.  Thinking about what she remembered, she ran her hand down her left side and winced slightly as she brushed against the gauze there.   He shot me.   Closing her eyes Ava took a deep breath and after a few minutes her mind started to clear.   Stupid, you lost track of his hands.  Rookie mistake.   She felt like she started to drift off to sleep, but that’s when she swore, she could feel eyes on her.  When she opened her eyes, she expected to see the nurse or the doctor.  Instead she saw the short blonde leaning on the doorframe and she looked angry.  “What the hell is wrong with you?”  Ava opened her mouth to answer before, but before she could Sara continued.  “Ali said you tried to get out of bed.”   “I needed-” The tall blonde attempted to explain herself.   “Nothing.  You need to rest and heal.” Sara didn’t bother to temper the anger in her tone.  She was pissed.   For the first time the athlete took time to actually, truly look at the bartender.  “You look tired.” Turning her eyes away from the shorter blonde Ava messed with the hem of the blanket.   Stepping away from the doorframe, Sara moved cautiously into the room half ready to be sent away again.  “Thanks a lot, jerk.”   Ava couldn’t help, but smile as she looked back up at Sara through her lashes.  This was familiar to her.  It was comfortable.  The teasing was definitely something she could handle right, now.  “Well… I didn’t…I mean you always look good.”   When the tall blonde didn’t stop her Sara pulled a chair to the side of the bed and sat down.  “I’m still mad at you.”   “Mad at me?” Ava shot Sara a skeptical look.  “What did I do?”   The shorter blonde gestured animatedly at the hospital bed.  “Seriously?  You almost died you, brave idiot.”  Sitting close Sara leaned in and brushed a strand of hair behind Ava’s ear.  Her hand lingered on the athlete’s cheek.   Sighing Ava leaned forward and pressed her forehead against Sara’s.  She closed her eyes just taking in the warmth radiating off the shorter blonde.  Taking a deep breath Ava came to a decision, no more wasted time. “Sara, I’m so far gone.  I’m over the moon in love with you.”  She opened her eyes allowing eye contact to be established.   As their eyes met Sara bit her bottom lip before speaking.  “I love you too, Ava Sharpe.”  When the tall blonde started to pull away Sara quickly wrapped her hand around the back of the taller woman’s neck, effectively halting her retreat.  “Don’t pull away from me now.”   The tears began to fall then because Ava just couldn’t hold back anymore.  “Even after this?”  She sniffed and dropped her eyes so she didn’t feel like she was staring into the sun.   “Of course.”  Sara dropped her head forcing Ava to look into her eyes again.  She needed Ava to see everything she was feeling.  “I know that you want to protect people.  What you are going to need to do in the future when you are doing your ‘Risk Assessment’ is to consider the fact that  I  want you to come home safe.”  Sara studied the athletes face before continuing.  “You scared the hell out of me.”  The shorter blonde took a breath trying to steady her voice.  “I almost lost you.”  She gently touched the bandage over Ava’s eye.  “I saw them loading you into the ambulance.”  Her voice got soft and trailed off.  She gave Ava a moment to process.  “What you don’t know is that I’ve told you every day, since I told you the first time that I love you.  This is just the first time you’ve been awake to hear it.  Now, I really just need to kiss you.”  Sara’s hand drifted down Ava’s face and her thumb stroked the Athlete’s cheek.   Ava’s breath caught in her throat.  “I’d love it if you would.”   Without any further hesitation Sara pressed her lips against Ava’s.  The kiss felt like it was their first kiss all over again.  It started sweet and chaste, but as Ava’s hands ran through Sara’s hair, pulling her closer the bartender knew she would need to pull back before it got too heated.  As she broke the kiss Sara allowed a small sigh to escape her lips.  “Promise me...”   “Anything.”  Ava spoke before hearing what Sara would ask knowing she would give her anything she wanted.   Sara tapped Ava’s forearm which she had written the message.  “Don’t you ever give up on me again.”   “I didn’t-” Ava started to protest.   “You did.”  Sara cut her off.  “If you didn’t you wouldn’t have taken the time to write that message.  Promise me?”   Ava nodded.  “I promise.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Standing near the arrivals gate at the San Francisco International Airport Ava shifted as she clasped her hands behind her back.  The last several months had gone by so quickly, but in contrast the last three weeks had passed excruciatingly slow.  She had driven to the airport directly after work and was standing in her neatly pressed suit waiting for a familiar blonde to appear.   After what felt like forever, she heard someone shout her name and Ava smiled.  It was the first time in three weeks that she had heard that voice not filtered through a receiver or speaker.  Dropping her hands back to her sides she approached the woman.  “You’re here.”   “I’m here.”  Sara smiled as she dropped her carry on so she could wrap her arms around Ava’s neck and pull her close.  “I missed you.”  As Ava’s hands fell to her waist Sara leaned back and raised an eyebrow.  “This look is really working for you, but...”  Dropping her arms from Ava’s neck Sara undid the top two buttons of her dress shirt.  “So much better.”  Sara then grabbed Ava’s cheeks and pulled her in pressing their lips together.   Sighing Ava closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to Sara’s as she broke their kiss.  “I didn’t have time to change.”     Sara shot Ava a cheeky grin.  “Well, I guess we better get you home and out of your work clothes.”   Laughing Ava shakes her head and drops her eyes before gripping Sara’s waist lightly.  “You-”   “Yeah, I know.”  Sara bit her bottom lip briefly.  “Your fault, Sharpe.”  Sara drops her hands to hold Ava’s in place on her waist.  “You do realize we are that really gross couple at the airport right now, don’t you?”   Looking around at the people walking past them Ava shrugs her shoulders.  “I could care less, but we really should get your bags and get going.”  Ava laced her fingers with Sara’s as she took a reluctant step back, pulling the shorter blonde with her.  “So, I do have to work tomorrow, but this weekend I have plans for us.”   “Hell, I have plans for us once we get back to your apartment.”  Scooping her carry on off the floor Sara followed Ava through the airport.  When Ava just laughed and shook her head Sara cleared her throat and shifted gears quickly.  “What kind of plans?”   Glancing over her shoulder Ava shook her head.  “It’s a surprise.”  At this point Ava was fairly familiar with the terminal and easily navigated them to the baggage claim.  “So, I have you till next Thursday, and then you are meeting Laurel in Vegas, right?”   “No, I won’t leave for Vegas until Friday afternoon.”  Sara couldn’t help, but laugh at Ava’s confused expression.  “You’re coming with me.”   Still moving through the terminal Ava shook her head.  “No.  Sara, that’s time for you and your sister.”   “Aves, Laurel wants you to come.  You’ll get to meet Thea and Felicity, it’ll be great!”  Continuing to press Sara gave Ava’s hand a squeeze.  “Besides, we can drive and get more time together that way.”   As they approached the baggage carousel the taller blonde stopped and turned to face Sara.  “I just don’t want to be hovering-”   “Stop, I told you Laurel wants you to come.  Besides, who wants to spend an entire weekend in Vegas with their little sister?”  Sara shot her a look that told Ava arguing was pointless.   Finally conceding Ava nodded.  “Okay.  I’m going to Vegas next weekend.”  Looking over Sara’s shoulder Ava gestured to the carousel.  “Let’s get your bag and get on the road.” ~~~   As they approached her car Ava dug her keys out of her pocket.  As she unlocked the car, she turned to look at Sara who had stopped walking and was just barely stifling a laugh.  “What?”  Unable to contain herself Sara started laughing out loud.  “Are you laughing at me?”   Sara pointed at the car that had just unlocked.  “Ava, come on?  You’re messing with me.  This isn’t your car.”   Ava turned and looked at her Forester then back at Sara shrugging her shoulders.  “What?  Why is my car so funny to you?”   Managing to stop laughing Sara shook her head.  “Oh, this really  is  your car.”  Ava nodded as she opened the hatch and reached out for Sara’s bag.  “So, you really find no humor in the fact that you drive a Subaru?  I mean come on, Aves.”   Ava tossed Sara’s checked bag into the back of the car and rolled her eyes.  “Oh, that’s right.  I forgot I’m dating a child.  It’s a very practical vehicle.”   Stepping beside Ava, Sara set her carry on next to the larger bag and closed the hatch.  “Child, really?”  Turning Sara stepped between Ava and the car grabbing the taller woman’s lapels and pulling her close as Sara leans back against the hatch of the car.    Catching herself, Ava braced her arms on either side of Sara’s head against the back of her car.  “Sara-”   There was a warning hidden in her tone even though her heart started pounding in her chest.  “We’re in the parking garage at the airport.”   “I haven’t seen you for three weeks.”  Releasing Ava’s lapels, Sara popped the single button on Ava’s suit jacket open.   Leaning forward Ava got within an inch of Sara’s face and lingered there for a moment before brushing her nose against Sara’s and standing upright again.  “Twenty more minutes.”  Walking around to the drivers’ side Ava send a look back to the shorter blonde who seemed to be gathering her composure, still leaning against the back of the car.  “Come on, into the car.”   Groaning Sara pushed off the hatch of the car.  “Twenty minutes?”  Ava nodded.  “Fine.”  As she spoke Sara drug out the *i*.   Ava sat in the driver seat and started the car as she waited for Sara to join her.  As Sara climbed into the car and buckled her seatbelt she looked over at the taller blonde and smiled.  Just taking in Sara’s smile Ava leaned her head against the headrest.  “This is going to be the shortest week ever, isn’t it?”   “Cut that out.  Don’t send me home before we even get to your place.”  Leaning across the center console Sara pressed a kiss to Ava’s cheek before taking her hand into her own.  “Take me home, babe.”    As she pulled the car out of the garage Ava turned to look at Sara.  With the California sunshine as a backdrop Ava made note of the freckles scattered across the bridge of Sara’s nose.  “You’re so beautiful and I’m just so damn happy you’re here.”  Moving her eyes forward again she pulled onto 101N trying to hide the flush of heat Ava knew played across her cheeks. ~~~   As they approached the door Ava paused and dug her keys out of her pocket.  She felt Sara press a kiss to the back of her neck.  Feeling a shiver run down her spine Ava sighed and leaned back into her girlfriend.  “Listen, my roommate might be home so... you may want to cool it.”   Sara was about to respond when the door flung open and a short smiling brunette greeted them.  “Oh, you must be Sara!”   Stepping forward Sara held out her hand.  “Yeah, Sara Lance.”   The brunette took Sara’s hand and shook it.  “Mona Wu!  It’s so nice to finally meet you.”  Taking a step back the brunette opened the door a little wider to let them in.  “Come on in!  How was your flight?  Are you tired?  I hear jet lag can be brutal, I don’t actually travel much so, I wouldn’t know.”   Ava cleared her throat.  “Mona, take a breath.”  As she spoke the tall blonde looked up as a familiar click-click sound rang out through the apartment.   Mona scrunched up her face.  “Yeah, sorry.  I can get a little chatty.”   Stepping into the apartment Ava turned to the right towards her bedroom.  As she moved to the bedroom, she heard Sara take a deep breath behind her as Waffles appeared from the far side of the living room were his bed was.  Smiling Ava turned as Sara walked in and knelt down onto the floor.   As soon as her knees hit the floor the short dog picked up his pace and ran over to the new arrival, his nub of a tail wagging rapidly back and forth.  As she ran her hand over his head, Sara looked over at Ava.  “How did you hide him from me for the last 3 weeks?”   Smiling Ava watched as Waffles flopped onto his side in front of Sara, practically demanding belly rubs.  “I just took your calls in the bedroom and closed the door.  I’m just glad Mona was okay with him being here.”  She kicked her shoes off.   Mona waved her hand nonchalantly.  “I love animals!  I’m actually studying to be a veterinarian.  My mom wanted me to study law, but I told her I wanted to be a doctor.”  The brunette winked at them.  “I just didn’t mention an animal doctor until MUCH later.”   Sara looked around the apartment taking it all in as she rubbed the dog’s exposed tummy.  “This place is really nice.”   Mona jerked a thumb over her shoulder.  “You should see the balcony!”  As Ava shifted in the hallway the brunette’s eyes got wider for a moment.  “Oh, I just remembered, I’m supposed to meet Konane.”  She shuffled towards the door and shot Ava a smile and a thumbs up.  “We should all get together for dinner before Sara leaves.”   Standing up Sara looked to Ava and tilted her head towards the bedroom.  “That sounds great, but I should probably get settled in.  You know... jet lag.”  As soon as Sara stood up Waffles rolled back onto his tummy and watched as the new person moved away.  Jumping to his feet he followed Sara towards where Ava stood.   Shaking her head Ava watched as Sara brushed past her into the bedroom.  “Have a great time, Mona.  We’ll make plans later.”  She then bent over and scratched behind Waffles’ ears.    “Right.”  The brunette winked at Ava as she walked out the front door.   Ava looked to the dog who was watching her closely.  “We’ll go for a walk later.”  Seeming satisfied with her response he stood and grabbed one of his toys retreating back to his bed in the corner.  Walking into the bedroom Ava was greeted with the sight of Sara standing in front of the sliding glass doors that led out to the balcony that stretched across the front of the entire apartment.  Ava sat Sara’s bag next to the dresser.  When the shorter blonde turned to see the source of the sound Ava approached her.  “Mona went out.”   “Yeah?”  Sara quirked an eyebrow as she watched Ava intently.   Nodding Ava emptied her pockets onto the top of the dresser.  “So, I figured we would probably just order in tonight.  Give you a chance to settle in.”   “Great plan.”  Sara’s voice was a lot closer than Ava had expected.  “You still need to get out of these work clothes though.”  Her tone dropped an octave.  “I can help with that if you want.”   Ava turned towards the sliding glass door and found Sara standing right behind her.  Smiling Ava enveloped Sara in her arms as she noted the shorter blondes darkened pupils.  “I’ll bet you can.”  Dropping her head Ava nipped at Sara’s pulse point.   A small hiss slipped out of Sara as her lips parted slightly.  “God, I missed you so much.”  Ava simply hummed as she continued to press kisses to the shorter blondes’ neck.  As Ava’s hand landed on Sara’s waist, Sara gently removed the hair tie from Ava’s hair allowing it to cascade down her shoulders.  Tilting her head back Sara ran her hand through Ava’s hair.  “You know this gives a whole new meaning to Director Sharpe.”   Stopping what she had been doing Ava looks up at Sara and shakes her head slightly.  “Are you going to keep talking or do something else with that mouth of yours?”   Smirking Sara pushed Ava’s jacket onto the floor.  “You are in so much trouble right now, Director Sharpe.”  Making quick work of the buttons on Ava’s shirt Sara pressed her lips to the freshly exposed skin.   Ava was snapped out of her revere as Sara started to push her shirt open.  Catching Sara’s hands to stop her, Ava swallowed.  “Wait.”  She looked at the light streaming in through the sliding glass door.   Sara stopped and looked up to meet Ava’s gaze.  She saw something there and she cupped Ava’s cheek.  “What is it?”  Sara knew that since Ava had healed, she had kept the lights out when they were intimate, but she didn’t really think too much of it until now.  Sighing Sara nodded.  “Babe, please.”   Relenting Ava moved her hands as Sara pressed a heated kiss to her lips.  Ava felt Sara’s hands move back to the unbuttoned shirt slowly pushing it off her shoulders.  As the white button up hit the floor Sara’s hands ran down Ava’s sides.  Ava grabbed the hem of Sara’s tee shirt and pulled it over her head and tossed it aside.   “You’re gorgeous and don’t you ever forget that.”  Sara dropped her eyes to the still angry red scar on Ava’s side.  “All of you.”  Pressing the taller woman back towards the bed.  Once the back of Ava’s knee hit the edge Sara encouraged her to sit on the edge.  Sara popped the button of Ava’s dress pants and eased the zipper down.   Ava leaned back on her elbows sighing as she looked up at the ceiling so many intense feelings running through her thoughts.  She felt Sara’s lips brush against the scar causing a shudder to run up her spine.  She had been nervous for Sara to see it, knowing that it was a reminder of that day.  “Sara-”   Sara looked up maintaining eye contact with Ava’s steel blues.  “I got you, Aves.”  Sara pulled the waistband of Ava’s dress pants and underwear off at the same time.   Ava fell onto her back as Sara’s head dropped down and Ava felt the flat of Sara’s tongue run from her entrance up to her clit.  “Fuck.”  The taller blonde tangled her hands in Sara’s hair guiding her exactly where she needed her.  As she felt the tension building Ava arched her back seeking more friction.   Sara could feel Ava’s grip tightening in her hair as she focused her attention on the swollen bud.  Sara drove her index and middle finger into Ava’s entrance causing the younger woman’s breath to catch.  Sara quickly set a steady rhythm driving in and out of Ava’s center.  It wasn’t until Sara heard Ava cry out her name and release her hair, that she slowed her thrusts and leaned back so she could see Ava’s flushed face as she took in deep breaths.  She didn’t completely stop her ministrations hoping to stretch out Ava’s climax as long as possible.  As soon as Ava’s walls clenching slowed Sara withdrew her hand.  “Babe, slide back.”   Sliding back further onto her bed Ava watched as Sara stripped off the rest of her clothes and climbed onto the bed straddling Ava’s waist.  Sitting up Ava wrapped her hands into the back of Sara’s head drawing her into a deep kiss.  She swiped her tongue across Sara’s lower lip causing her to part her lips allowing Ava entrance.  Ava could taste herself still on Sara’s lips.  Sliding her hands down Sara’s back Ava’s hands landed on Sara’s ass pulling her closer.  The older woman moaned in her mouth at the contact.  Breaking the kiss Ava kissed down Sara’s chest causing her to lean back slightly.   Ava eased Sara back further as she positioned her legs underneath herself until she had Sara laid back on the mattress underneath her.  Once Sara was on her back Ava continued to kiss down Sara’s chest moving to the left so she could take one of Sara’s harden peaks into her mouth.  She quickly released it and blew on the now wet tip.  Ava felt Sara tremble in anticipation beneath her.  Looking up Ava shot a smirk at Sara for once knowing exactly what she was doing to the smaller woman.  Ava met icy blues that seemed to be pleading with her as Sara ground against Ava’s thigh.   As she took Sara’s right nipple into her mouth Ava slid her hand between their bodies finding Sara’s soaked center.  Ava heard Sara moan above her as she started to press into the warm heat feeling Sara start to clench around her fingers.  Ava continued to work Sara over patiently waiting for her to come undone under her fingertips. ~~~   Ava jerked awake from the reoccurring dream, but this time she felt an arm tighten protectively around her waist.  “Hey, hey.”  A soothing voice whispered in her ear as Ava started to relax.  She felt a kiss pressed against her temple as she refused to open her eyes yet.  “How often?”   Ava pushed back against Sara’s front.  “What?”   “How often do you still have the nightmares?”  Ava felt Sara’s breath against the back of her neck.   She licked her lips before she answered.  “Definitely not as frequently since I’ve been here.”  She put her hand on Saras’ and laced their fingers together.  Clearing her throat, Ava glanced over her shoulder.  “Come on.  Let’s get ready.  I have a big day planned.”   Thursday and Friday had flown by since Ava had to work and Sara had been adjusting to the time change.  “We could just stay here.”  Sara leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the back of Ava’s neck.   “No, we can sleep in tomorrow.  I promise.”   Groaning Sara reluctantly released Ava so she could get up.  “I’m holding you to that.”   Sitting up Ava looked back at Sara who rolled over and pulled the sheet over her head.  “Come on, get up.”  Ava gave her calf a little shove with her foot.   “I’m on vacation.”  Sara grabbed Ava’s pillow and pulled it over her head.  “When I smell coffee, I’ll get up.”   Climbing out of bed Ava glanced at her phone to check the time.  Seven o’ clock in the morning was sleeping in for her at this point.  She took a moment to open the vertical shades covering the sliding door that lead out to the balcony allowing as much light in as possible.  As she stretched, she heard a small thump on the door.  Cracking the door open a familiar little nose poked in the door with a small whine.  Grabbing a hoodie Ava stepped out the door and grabbed her keys and the leash, but didn’t hook it to Waffles collar as they stepped out the front door.  Walking towards the elevator the little dog trotted closely beside her his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. ~~~   Sara heard the front door open and close.  Tossing Ava’s pillow to one side she stretched out on the bed and squinted at the sunlight flooding in the room.  Sighing she wondered if this was what every day would be like with a morning person like Ava.  The funny thing was that even though she was a night person, this didn’t seem so bad.   Finally sitting up she looked around the room before reluctantly getting up, knowing she was now on coffee duty until Ava got back with Waffles.  Making her way out to the kitchen she attempted to rub the sleep from her eyes.  She froze in the hall as she saw a man standing in the living room.  He stood in a similar stance just looking back at her.  Her offered her a wave.  “Aloha.”   “Konane?”  He nodded.   “Sara?”  She returned his nod.  “So, this is a little awkward, no?”   Shrugging Sara walked to the kitchen.  “Coffee?”   His smile widened.  “Please.”  He sat at the table while she started the coffee pot.  “Ava take Waffles out?”   “Yep.”  Sara leaned against the counter waiting for the coffee.  “Mona?”   He gestured over his shoulder.  “Shower.”  He scratched his head absently.  “Are you ready for today?”  Sara tilted her head and shrugged her shoulders.  “I mean, it’s not every day you go to Pride in San Franciso.”   Sara studied his expression.  “Wait... that’s this weekend?”   Konane nodded.  “Shit, she didn’t tell you?”  He looked up at the ceiling clearly regretting he said anything.   Shaking her head Sara laughed again.  “San Franciso Pride.  Honestly, that sounds like it’s going to be fun.”   “Just, act surprised?  Ava kind of scares me.”  He placed his hands on the table looking at the door as though waiting for the tall blonde to walk in and yell at him.   “Ava?  Scary?”  Sara retrieved a couple of mugs from the cabinet sounding skeptical.  “She’s a sweetheart.”   Just then the door swung open and Waffles ran into the room making a beeline for Sara who seemed to be his new favorite person over the course of the last couple of days.  Ava stepped in and shut the door smiling at Sara.  “Coffee.”  Walking over to the shorter blonde she pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.  “You are amazing.”  She then turned her attention to the man sitting at the table.  “Good morning.”   Sara watched as Ava started back towards the bedroom taking a moment to enjoy the view.  “Babe, what are we doing today?”   Ava paused then walked back into the kitchen.  “I was thinking we could spend some time downtown.”   “Downtown?  Why do we have to be up so early for that?”  Sara crossed her arms across her chest and quirked an eyebrow at her girlfriend.   Narrowing her eyes Ava looked to Konane who stood up and started towards the door of the Master Bedroom.  “I’m going to check on Mona.”   Ava’s shoulders dropped and she looked back to Sara.  “You know?”  Sara just smiled.  “Ugh, no one can keep a secret around here.”  Sighing she threw her hands in the air.  “Surprise.”   Closing the distance between them Sara pulled Ava into a hug.  “It’s a wonderful surprise.  So, what’s the plan?”   Slowly relaxing Ava rested her head against Sara’s.  “So, parade and then to the Civic Center for a little while.  Then I thought we could come back here for lunch and a nap then go out tonight.”   “That sounds perfect.”  Sara smiled tucking a strand of hair behind Ava’s ear. ~~~   Sara held Ava’s hand as they made their way back to the apartment.  Mona and Konane following at a distance behind them.  Sara smiled and looked at Ava’s profile as they walked.  She raised the hand she was holding and pressed a kiss to the back of Ava’s hand.  Looking over Ava shot the shorter blonde a smile.  “Aves, you seem really happy here.”   Nodding Ava looked ahead again.  “It’s been a different experience for sure.”   Taking a deep breath Sara prepared to brooch a difficult subject.  “You seem relaxed here.  More comfortable.”   Biting her lower lip Ava glanced at Sara.  “What are you getting at?”   Sara slowly blew out her breathe.  “Last semester at Star City, you just... you were so tense.  Would you consider transferring here?  You would be closer to your family, too.”   Ava stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Sara.  “What?”   “I just... it might be easier.”  Sara was surprised when Ava tugged her to the side and off the sidewalk.   “Look, I’m not going to lie.  It’s easier here.  People aren’t staring and talking all the time, but I still have a life in Star City.  Nora, Gary, the Legends, and most importantly you.  You’re my family too.  I know we’re going to have time apart when you head to school, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”  Sara felt her breath hitch in her throat.  “I love you, Sara and we’re going to find a way to make this work.”   Sara tried to look away feeling a little overcome with emotions.  Ava’s hand cupped her cheeks and steered Sara’s face back to look at her, then kissed her like tomorrow was never going to come.