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“If you had just actually told me the damn passcode, I would’ve been able to get in.” Nora huffed indignantly and stormed onto the bridge with the rest of the Legends.“We did!” Sara replied.“Not the most recent one apparently!”“It changes every night!”“Yeah and you didn’t tell me that or the new word!”Ray held up both arms to keep the women from attacking the other. “Guys… it was just a miscommunication, we’re all alive, and history is fixed let’s just move on okay?”Nora sighed and put her arms across her chest. “Fine.” Nora turned around and walked down the hallway towards her and Ray’s room.Ray didn’t join her right away which gave Nora time to change into leggings and pulled on Ray’s Time Bureau softball team sweatshirt. It always made her laugh when she looked at him, gave them something light to talk about, and it about near swallowed her. She loved it.She sat on the bed and pulled her legs underneath her. She knew exactly why the mission went wrong. It wasn’t because of a miscommunication, it was because of an omission of communication. Nora was purposefully left out a mission briefing and she knew it. She couldn’t exactly prove it but this was now the fifth time this had happened. She was almost costing them the mission because of something they neglected to tell her. Nora sighed and rubbed her face with her hands.She watched as the door opened and Ray stepped inside, still dressed in his tux from the casino. He looked damn good. It was hard to compartmentalize her thoughts about how good he looked when she was completely and utterly still pissed at his teammates.“Hey…”“Hi…” She smiled sadly at him.“I’m sorry about the team.” Ray started changing into his own pajamas and Nora turned to give him his privacy. He settled onto the bed next to her and he touched her arm gently. “They have reservations…”“About trusting me, I am more than aware.” Nora sighed.“Just give them time, I’m sure they’ll come around.”Nora rolled her eyes. “Yeah and pigs fly.” She chuckled. “Let’s just go to bed, okay?”“Nora… do you want me to talk to them?”She shook her head. “No, don’t worry about it.” She waved him off.“Okay… if you say so…”xxxxThe next morning Ray walked onto the bridge and suddenly it went quiet. His brow furrowed and he made a full stop, Nora nearly crashing completely into his backside. She looked around at the Legends and crossed her arms over he chest.“Did we miss something?”Sara shrugged. “Nope we were just going over all the ways the mission could’ve ran smoother. If you, you know, hadn’t messed it up.”“You didn’t give me the new passcode.”“You didn’t ask for it,” Zari chimed in.Nora shrugged. “I didn’t know to ask for it.”“Well you should’ve,” Sara replied.Nora rolled her eyes. “If you guys are done blaming me for everything that went wrong with the mission last night we should see if there are any fresh anachronisms.”“We’ve already located it and made a plan.” Sara moved towards Nora.Nora raised an eyebrow. “Okay, what’s the plan?”“You’re staying behind as QB, you don’t need to know the full extent of the plan.”Ray sighed. “Guys, come on, just tell her, what’s the big deal?”“The big deal is that if she knows she could turn around and sabotage the missions, like really sabotage them. She already has no problem mucking them up when she only knew the little information she did know.”Ray pinched the bridge of his nose. “Maybe she's been ‘mucking them up’ because you guys are only giving her bits of information.”“Well we can’t trust her with the rest.”“Well I trust her!” Ray closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. He never got this riled up, at anyone, ever, but the team was treating Nora like she barely existed and he was not going to stand for that. He was tired of feeling like he was the only person in her corner. He was happy to be there, encouraging her, wanting her to do better, be better, but it pissed him off that the people he had considered family for the last three years was doing everything in their power to make sure she had setback after setback.Sara took a step back at Ray raising his voice. It wasn’t threatening or angry but it was just louder than any of them had been since the conversation started.“You guys need to give her a chance!”“We give her chances every time we risk our lives by letting her off this ship with us and she blows almost every one of them.” Sara rubbed her temples.“Sara, you know for a fact that that’s not the…” Ray tried to cut her off but she just cut him off instead.“Listen, Ray, I don’t know what all you have going on but it’s only a matter of time before she betrays each and every last one of us. Including you.”“I’m RIGHT here,” Nora said completely frustrated. “I don’t need Ray to defend me. You guys make it harder on yourselves because you consistently leave me out of mission briefings. I don’t care if you want me to QB, that’s not the problem, the problem is that you guys have conveniently arrived to this conclusion after I made a mistake that you caused.”“Any and all mistakes you make you bring on yourself, take some personal responsibility,” Sara replied.“Oh bullshit! She took responsibility! She went to jail! She did her time! She’s here actually trying to help and trying to make amends for what she did, but she’s just pointing out that you’re making it really hard for her. I know you don’t need me to defend you, Nora, I know but this… guys… this has gotta stop… you guys have done a lot worse than she has.”“She broke time, she was a demon vessel, Ray, and we only broke time for a good reason. Not to release a time demon.”“She was manipulated her whole life and under the influence of a demon, it’s not all her fault and besides she did her time in prison, and now she’s out trying to continue her path to redemption. Almost every last one of you has been on a path of redemption since I met you, why doesn’t Nora get the chance to follow hers?”“Because she’s not one of us, Ray. She never has been, and never will be.”“That’s because you won’t let her!” He was raising his voice now. “Nora is an asset to this team, she has been trying so hard to make a better life for herself. Name one thing she’s done that hasn’t been a direct result of a ‘miscommunication’ or her just being a bitch back to you, Sara.”Nora stood there, speechless. She did not ask for any of this. Ray did not need to pick between her and his teammates. She wouldn’t let him. She was just as equally speechless at hearing him say the word “bitch” because she was so sure she had never heard him say anything worse than “dammit” or “hell”.Sara took in a deep breath to keep her own cool. “She is a risk. Bottom line. She can’t be trusted.”“Well, I trust her with my life, I think that should have some weight given that I’ve been on this team from the beginning.”“Ray, don’t let your personal feelings for her cloud your judgement for what’s best for the team.”“What are you talking about, Sara?”“You guys share a room, you’re almost always going off together on the missions, so don’t let the giant schoolboy crush you have on her be the reason this team is put at risk.”“I’d fight for her whether or not I was in love with her.”Nora swallowed hard. Did that mean he was in love with her?“I don’t believe you,” Sara said.“Well believe me cause I know she doesn’t feel the same so me standing here in love with her, doesn't mean anything, so why would I still be defending her? That’s right because she is an amazing person that none of you guys have bothered to get to know. You ignore her when she’s not on the mission and you treat her like crap on the off chance you do talk to her. I’m sick of it. Sara, I’ve known you for a long time, maybe the longest, I’m disappointed in all of you guys but you, Sara, especially, I thought we were family and I thought that meant you could trust my judgement. You guys will not treat her like this anymore. Is that clear?” Ray’s hands were now balled into fists, knuckles white.Nora had never seen him this angry. And there was the small fact that he was in fact in love with her… he had admitted it right in the middle of defending her.Sara stepped away, unclear if angering Ray further was a wise decision. “Let’s all cool off, we’ll talk about this later.”“No, we’re not leaving this bridge until you guys promise to treat Nora with more respect.”“I’m not going to give your girlfriend something she doesn’t deserve,” Sara argued.Ray ran a frustrated hand over his face. “She’s not my girlfriend but if she was we’d both already be out of her, I’d take her somewhere tropical, disappear for a while, because you guys all really suck right now. So either you start treating her better or I walk.”“Ray… come on, you seriously wouldn’t…” Zari stammered.“For her? I would, watch me,” Ray replied and stormed off the bridge.Nora’s heart was beating faster than it had in any life or death situation she’d been through. Ray had defended her. Ray was in love with her. Ray would literally walk away from this team for her.Sara looked over at Nora, guilty and slightly scared probably because of Ray’s outburst. “We’re doing a mission briefing in six hours, be there or you’re staying behind as QB, Darhk.” Sara walked down another hallway to her room.The team dispersed, leaving Nora by herself on the bridge. She knew what she needed to do now.xxxxNora quietly opened the door to their room and saw that Ray was on the bed, facing away from her. Nora walked towards, unsure of everything now. Their balance had been upset, not just because he had lashed out at his teammates but because she now knew how he felt.“Are you getting your stuff?” He asked. His voice was thick with pain, she wondered if she got to look him in the face if she would be able to tell if he’d been crying or not.“No, why?”“I figured you wouldn’t want to share a bed with someone that thinks of you as something more than a friend.”Nora circled the bed and sat down next to him. She took her hand in his, intertwining their fingers. “Why would that make me want to leave? You do it every night.” She felt tears prick at the back of her eyes and hoped he would understand what she meant.Ray looked up at her and her suspicions were confirmed. He had been crying. “What?”“You share a bed with someone that thinks of you as something more than a friend. You haven’t left yet, so why would it be different for me?’Ray let out a choked sob. “You… you feel the same?”Nora smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I am totally and completely in love with you, Ray Palmer.”“You are?”“Yes… now are you going to kiss me or are you going to keep asking me questions?” She smirked.Ray leaned in and tentatively pressed their lips together. Nora could feel his hesitance and simply used her arms to pull him in closer. She pulled away for a short breath and then kissed him once again, this time it was languid, open mouth kisses that Nora was sure never wanted to stop doing.They finally pulled away some minutes later and pressed their foreheads together.“I have one more thing to say then I promise I will shut up and you can have your way with me.” Ray chuckled.Nora, intrigued, pulled away and raised an eyebrow. “Yes?” She asked and absently played with the hair at the nape of his neck.“I love you, too, Nora Darhk.” He smiled and pulled her in for a deep kiss.After all of that, the yelling at his team, crying over Nora not loving him back, finding out she did. Ray was exhausted. That was how he found them both napping in the middle of the day. Nora was curled up next to him, back against his front and his arm was wrapped around her waist. Nora was already asleep, happy to be held in his arms but ray, no matter how exhausted, couldn’t sleep. He stared down at Nora, so incredibly giddy that she returned his feelings. He wanted nothing more than to tuck her in his arms and never let anyone harm her ever again. Ray pulled the covers over them and kissed the back of Nora’s head. She muttered ‘I love you’ in her sleep and snuggled back into him.Ray placed his arm over Nora again and pulled her close, he buried his nose in her neck, breathing in her scent. It was like a sedative for his anxious brain and he was finally able to lull himself to sleep, holding the love of his life in his arms.Nora woke sometime later, perfectly curled into Ray’s arms. She felt safe and loved and protected. She also felt incredibly hungry. Nora chuckled as her stomach gently rumbled. She looked back at Ray who was still sound asleep. She hated the thought of waking him. She gently rubbed the arm that was securely around her waist, unsure it would soothe him into a deeper sleep or wake him up.It seemed to be the latter because she felt him shift behind her. Nora moved onto her back and looked up at him.“Did you have a good nap?” She asked and passed a hand through his hair.“Amazing.” He leaned in and kissed her softly. “Especially knowing when I woke up I got to do that.”Nora smiled. “I don’t think I’m going to let you go a day without kissing me now that we know how each other feels.”“Well I’m glad to hear that because I don’t want to go a day without kissing you.” He kissed the top of her head. “I love you.”“I love you too.” She stroked his cheek. “I want to thank you for what you said back there. To your team. You don’t need to walk for me. But I am overwhelmed and grateful that you love me enough that you would if it came down to it.”“We could get away from here, go to my beach house for a few days, I meant that.” He smiled.“That sounds lovely but I think you need to face your team. If you still want to after that then we’ll talk about it.”“Afraid of what might happen if it’s just the two of us?”Nora purred, “mmm it’s you who should be afraid. If I have you all to myself there might not be a lot of Ray Palmer left to do the Legends much good.” She grinned and pulled him in for a kiss.“Well that’s good to know.” He smiled. “I wouldn’t mind that. I’ve been doing this for a long time and now that I have you… it all seems not as important.”“Ray I’m not going to be the reason you stop being a Legend. You love it.”“No I’d be the reason. I’ve tried so many times to start my happily ever after and each time it’s failed. I threw myself into the Legends because it was easier than dealing with that pain of never finding love and I still somehow almost found it but then lost it.” He stroked her hair and thought of Kendra. “I don’t want to let life slip through my fingers again.”“What are you saying?”“I’m saying that we should leave, get married, start our lives.”Nora’s eyes widened. “Ray we only just admitted how we felt. We don’t even know…”“We already live together, have a good routine. We’re just basically adding in kissing and saying I love you.”Nora thought about it, knowing he was right. “Okay.”“Okay what?”“Let’s get married.” She smiled. “We can get married and get a house and fill that house with tons of kids.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Because I don’t want to let life slip through my fingers either.” She kissed him deeply. “I love you.”“Really? You wanna do this?” He grinned. “I love you so much.” He kissed her deeply. “Let’s start our lives with that vacation. Maybe we can look at houses while we’re on vacation and come back house hunt.”Nora grinned. “That sounds perfect.”
Two years later
“Come on, Sydney, come on sweetie! You can do it! Crawl to daddy!” Nora grinned at her squirming baby boy. Tori, a year and a half toddled over to Nora and Tori caught her, settling her carefully in her lap. She had only found out she was expecting again and didn’t want to jostle herself too much, which proved difficult given how often Tori loved to jump on her.She watched her baby boy scoot with determination over to Ray who had his phone out, ready to record their son’s crawling. Sydney finally settled on all fours, looking determined and started crawling towards ray.“That’s it! Go baby go!” Nora cheered. “Go to daddy!”Sydney crawled with determination over to his father, dragging his blanket in tow until he finally reached his father and held out his arms to be picked up. Ray stopped recording and picked his son up, close to tears and peppered kisses all over his face which made the baby giggle.Nora observed father and son and kissed the top of her daughter’s head. “You used to be that little, Tori-Bear.” Nora pulled her daughter close, hoping their children would stay little forever. She couldn’t believe this was her life sometimes. After all of the years and pain she was sitting here with her daughter in her lap, her husband close by with their son in his arms on their living room floor of their home, with another one on the way. Thinking it all through left Nora breathless.Ray looked over at his wife, seeing her lost in thought. He noticed she’d let her hair grow back out, it was about as long as it had been in Berlin. That was really almost four years ago? He studied her and tried to overlay ever memory he had of her in Berlin. She had been determined, stubborn, angry even, wanting nothing more than to prove her dad right, to be his equal, for all the wrong reasons. By the time all was said and done he’d see her grow. He remembered how his throat had tightened at her “Torture isn’t the answer” statement to her father, echoing his words from hours before. He knew in that moment she could be more than just a pawn in her father’s game and a demon vessel for greater evil. She could be amazing. She was amazing. She was here playing with their children on their living room floor, being a phenomenal wife and mother. That wasn’t all she was, she had been an amazing Legend when they were full time, a great asset to their team. She had also picked up her art during her time as a stay at home mom. He’d seen her create the most beautiful images. Ray watched as she tickled Tori and the little girl squealed, secretly loving it. Finally, Nora caught onto Ray staring and smiled at him.“See something you like, Mr. Palmer?”“I see something I love, Mrs. Palmer.” Ray moved closer to her with Sydney in his arms and kissed her softly. “I see my two favorite girls.”Nora leaned her head on his shoulder and gently booped her son’s nose. “And I see my two favorite guys.”Ray kissed Nora’s forehead and wrapped an arm around her. “I never thought my life would be like this. I gave up thinking that it could be this good a long time ago.”“Me too,” Nora replied quietly. “I thought my fate was sealed when I became Mallus’s vessel and now here I am mom to not one, not two, but three babies, well… one is on the way but it still counts, and I have a husband that loves me, really loves me, and I’m safe and have a home. I never thought I’d have that kind of security after my parents died. And you gave that all to me.” Nora lifted up her head and looked into Ray’s eyes. “I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to repay you for that.” She kissed him, slowly, savoring their moment.Ray pulled away and pressed their foreheads together. “You’ve more than repaid me.” Ray gently took Tori and sat her and Sydney in his lap. “You repaid me by loving me, marrying me, giving me these beautiful children with more to come, you’ve made every single one of my dreams come true. You don’t owe me a thing, just allow me the privilege to continue loving you and being there for you till death do us part.”Nora blushed and kissed him again. “Well I think that can be arranged.”