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Laurel ran her eyes over the stack of books on the side table in the living room, and cursed quietly. Crossing the room, she checked the bookshelf. But no, her history textbook was nowhere to be found.
The house was quiet, her father was still at work and her sister was holed up in her room, as usual. Yet light from the fall sun filtered through the windows so the living room was bright and cozy. If not for her fevered search and a senior-year homework load assigned for that evening, she would enjoy the peaceful mood.
Feet padding on the soft carpet, Laurel made her way down the hall, to the door at the very end. Her fist rapped twice against the door, but there was no response. She sighed, and wished for the millionth time that Sara didn’t always have headphones on.
She turned the knob and the door opened silently. “Have you seen my-” then her voice broke off.
Sara was in bed laying on top of the covers. This was not unusual. What shocked Laurel was the dark-haired girl who was straddling her younger sister’s hips and was kissing her passionately.
They both looked up when Laurel came in. The strange girl smirked for a moment at her stunned expression, but when she saw the look of outrage on Sara’s face, she let her’s become neutral and shifted to be sitting beside the blonde.
Sara sat up, glaring at her sister, “Laurel, what the hell? Don’t you knock? And I thought you were at Ollie’s.”
“I did knock! What is this? Who the hell is she?” Laurel adopted the anger from Sara’s voice into her own.
The stranger looked between the sisters, then rose, “‘She’ is right here.” The girl spoke with an accent that danced in the air. Then she turned to address Sara, “I will leave you to talk with your sister, Habibti. Until next time,” She kissed the other girl softly, then grabbed a leather jacket off the chair and made her way out of the room. As she passed Laurel in the doorway, she smiled, “Lovely to finally meet you, Laurel.”
Then she was gone.
“What the hell? ” Laurel demanded.
Her little sister’s glare intensified. “What? You’ve kissed people before.”
“I don’t kiss strangers in my bed!”
“She’s not a stranger. That’s my girlfriend!”
Laurel’s eyes narrowed, “And were you planning on telling me, or dad, anytime soon, that you have a secret girlfriend?”
“She’s not a secret, Sin knows. You would know too if you actually paid any attention to my life.”
“Don’t. Don’t pin this on me. Why didn’t you tell us? I’m upset that I just walked in on my little sister kissing a stranger horizontally, not that she’s a girl. And Dad will feel the same.”
“You can’t tell Dad.” Sara stood, crossing her arms.
“Why the hell not?” Laurel took a step forward, so she was face to face with her sister, but this didn’t stop her from yelling.
“Just don’t.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Because she’s Nyssa al Ghul! ” Sara bit her lip like she hadn’t meant to say it.
“Christ, Sara.” Laurel took a step back.
For weeks, their father had told them about the trouble the al Ghuls had been giving the SCPD. Ra’s al Ghul was the suspected leader of a criminal organization responsible for several robberies, shootings, and even some assassinations. Yet there was not enough incriminating evidence. al Ghul had been dancing circles around the police for months. And it drove their father mad.
“Christ,” Laurel repeated, “Sara, what did you get yourself into? I thought you were done with the self destruction. These people are dangerous. You could get killed.”
“I was never into ‘self destruction.’ I may not be as perfect as you, but I’m not suicidal. And Nyssa’s not dangerous.” Sara insisted.
“She’s been raised by her father, a killer, all her life. She has a black belt in karate. She’s a genius, in a criminal mastermind way. She is my age, two years older than you! ” The older girl had read the police file on Nyssa, among others. Laurel could not deny she was intrigued by police cases, that she wanted to see justice done. That was part of the reason she was planning on becoming a lawyer.
“That’s not who she is, you’re just reciting a profile. And Felicity is my age, yet she’s with Ollie.”
“That’s different. Felicity skipped two grades, she’s more mature than any of us. And Felicity is not a murderess.”
Sara bit back anger, rage on Nyssa’s behalf. “Neither is Nyssa.” Laurel crossed her arms, and the two glared at eachother for a moment. Finally, Sara said, “You can’t talk me out of this.”
“Then you can’t talk me out of telling Dad. He would want to know.” Laurel turned on her heel, storming out of the room then into her own, search for history textbook forgotten.
---
As she pondered the discovery, Laurel had to admit it made sense. She and her father had put Sara spending more and more time away from the house to her being rebellious, or hanging out with her friend Sin. But the past few months, there had been a noticeable increase in nights out, and, the obvious, texting.
Damn, Laurel ran a hand through her hair, I should have seen this.
And as much as she hated to admit it, she regretted yelling.
---
When their father announced that dinner was ready, Sara reluctantly trudged out of her room. She shot Laurel a warning glare as she sat down.
Detective Lance looked between the his daughters, “Did something happen.”
“No,” Sara assured him, at the same time Laurel said, “Well…”
“Well what?”
Sara was staring at her plate. Laurel took a bite of spaghetti before saying, “I think Sara had something to tell us.”
Slowly, Sara said, “I, um, I’m seeing someone. You know, romantically.”
Her father’s eyebrows shot up, and he looked expectantly at her, “Well, who is it? Should I be worried about him?”
Laurel met Sara’s eyes, and nodded. The younger girl turned to look right at her father, her blue eyes shining with a mix of emotions, defiance, worry, even a bit of anger. “It’s Nyssa al Ghul.”
---
“So Sara is gay?” Tommy cocked his head to the side, “She dated that guy from Central City.”
“She's something I guess. I'm just upset she didn't tell me she had a girlfriend.” Laurel sighed loudly, and glanced at where Sara and her friend were.
“Yeah, I'm only upset about that too. She just never struck me as gay.”
Felicity cut in, talking quickly as always, “That doesn't matter. How long has this been going on? Is it really serious? Who else knows?” She looked around, squinting a bit in the bright sunlight.
“I'm not sure, I don't know. She announced at dinner and Dad got upset she didn't tell him and she stormed off.”
Oliver shook his head, “And it's Nyssa al Ghul. Damn.”
Laurel nodded slowly, and Tommy put his arms around her and then suggested, “Let's just go. And talk about something else. Felicity…” He looked at the other girl hopefully.
“Umm, Oliver, Tommy, how's the football season going?”
Laurel shot her and Tommy an appreciative smile as they walked off.
---
“So what you're telling me is your father wants you to invite your girlfriend over for dinner?” Sin asked, shaking her head incredulously. They were sitting in their usual little grassy patch under the bleachers after school. Despite the various teams practicing on the fields it was surprisingly quiet.
“That's what he said after he flipped out,” Sara confirmed.
“Well shit.” Sin straightened her leather jacket, “brighten up, it can't be that bad. Nyssa’s great, even your dad will like her, at least once he sees how happy she makes you.”
“You're incredibly wise for someone so small,” The blonde sighed, ignoring the other girls huff. “Speaking of disasters,” she nodded to a group across the quad. Laurel was talking animatedly with Ollie, Tommy, and Felicity as they headed out from their various extracurriculars. Every few seconds, one of them would glance over at them.
“Is this the part where we kill them before they out you the whole school, cause I'd be in except I really value my friendship with Thea. Also I'm only a year younger than you, I'm not small,” Sin frowned at the clear anger on Sara’s face, “Chill. I was kidding. It’ll be fine.”
Sara ducked out from under the bleachers and headed towards the parking lot. “I'll hold you to that. Let's go get some Big Belly Burger, I'm starving.”
---
Sara (Text Sent Fri. 11:52 pm): hey
Nyssa (Fri. 11:53): Hello Love.
Nyssa (Fri. 11:53): How did last evening go, with your sister?
Sara (Fri. 11:53): bad bad bad
Sara (Fri. 11:53): she made me tell my dad
Sara (Fri. 11:54): he wants to meet u
Nyssa (Fri. 11:54): And that is a bad thing?
Sara (Fri. 11:54): dont do that
Sara (Fri. 11:54): he hates ur dad and hates u and now thats added to the fact ur dating his daughter
Nyssa (Fri. 11:55): Oh.
Sara (Fri. 11:55): dont worry im not gonna dump u cause my dad hates you
Nyssa (Fri. 11:55): It's not that.
Nyssa (Fri. 11:56): I'd just hate for him to dislike me and be another thing getting in the way of our relationship.
Sara (Fri. 11:56): ur dad hates me, and he still isn't trying to get in the way
Sara (Fri. 11:56): sin thinks he'll just be happy im happy
Sara (Fri. 11:56): plus nothing can get in our way as much as ur busy schedule
Nyssa (Fri. 11:56): I feel attacked.
Nyssa (Fri. 11:57): I always make time for you, Habibti.
Sara (Fri. 11:57): then will u come for dinner tomorrow night, with my family
Nyssa (Fri. 11:58): Of course.
Sara (Fri. 11:58): 7:00? we can hang out after if u want
Nyssa (Fri. 11:58): I'd love that.
Nyssa (Fri. 11:59): Oh, and Sara?
Sara (Fri. 11:59): yea?
Nyssa (Fri. 11:59): Get some sleep, Love.
---
At 7 o’ on the dot, the doorbell rang. If Nyssa was one thing, it was punctual. Sara had been lingering by the door, and pulled it open immediately.
“Hey,” she greeted, leaning forward to kiss her girlfriend quickly. When she pulled back, Nyssa looked over her shoulder.
“You must be Detective Lance. Hello, I'm Nyssa, I've heard a lot about you.” She held out a hand, which her father shook almost reluctantly. Sara took it back, if Nyssa was one thing, it was polite.
“Hello, I've heard almost nothing about you.” Sara’s father smiled, but the jab heavily hung in the air.
“Ah, well, let's hope we can change that.”
“Yeah well Dad made chicken cacciatore. We can all bond ,” Sara joked, taking Nyssa's hand and heading into the dining room. She could hear her father's footsteps following them.
Laurel was already seated at the table when they entered, and she sent Nyssa a pointed look when they walked in, “Nice to see you again.”
The other girl smirked a little, “You too.” Then she was smiling graciously again for their father, “This looks delicious. Mr. Lance, I can't remember the last time I've had cacciatore.”
“Well Dad’s a great cook, you'll love it,” Sara assured her, taking a seat.
---
“So, Nyssa,” Detective Lance began. Sara groaned quietly, the small talk of dinner was over. Now it was time for the standard partner interrogation, “Tell us about yourself.”
“There's not much to tell. I go to Nanda Parbat Private school across the city. I teach a kids after school karate program. I’m majoring in political sciences.” Nyssa shrugged, then met Sara’s eyes and a small smile touched her lips. “And I am a very fond of your daughter.”
Detective Lance seemed to consider this, then Laurel asked, “Where do you teach karate?”
“The Starling Gym. There’s a juniors program, for kids 12 and under. It’s actually a lot of fun.” Sare could see her girlfriend’s eyes shining the way they always did when they talked about the kids program. Once, she had tagged along and met all the kids, and it stuck in her mind how Nyssa acted with them, friendly and helpful and so much happier than usual.
“That’s great,” Laurel agreed, picking up on the glow on her face.
“What about you,” Nyssa asked,”I’ve heard the bare minimum from Sara. You’re interested in a law career, right.”
“Well raised by a cop. I’m very interested in seeing justice done, and carried out fairly.”
“Noble cause.”
Sara snuck a glance at her father while they talked. The tenseness had gone from his shoulders, but the intensity in his eyes was still obvious.
“Well,” Sara cut in, wrapping her hand around Nyssa’s under the table, “This was great. But I do recall that I was gonna make you watch Pacific Rim.”
“Indeed you were, Habibti. Though I still don’t quite get what it’s about.”
“You will, come on.” Sara got up, grabbing her plate and tugging her girlfriend’s arm. “Thanks Dad.”
“Yes, thank you Detective Lance, dinner was very good.”
He nodded slowly and watched as Sara took their plates into the kitchen before leading them down the hall. “If you’re going to be in your room, leave the door open,” he called after them.
Laurel smiled, grabbing her plate and smiling, “That went well Dad, and Nyssa’s not that bad.”
He crossed his arms in a way that meant he still wasn’t completely on board, a movement Laurel got a lot of since she started seeing Tommy Merlyn, and grunted. “Not that bad. Still don’t trust her, and still going to convict her father, and her, if she’s involved.”
Laurel patted his shoulder, “Let’s worry about that later.”
---
Detective Lance made his way down the hall, stopping outside of Sara’s bedroom. The door was open, as he instructed, and the inside was barely illuminated by the light of a laptop, still playing a movie. His daughter and her girlfriend were curled up on the bed. Sara’s eyes were shut; she was asleep with her head on Nyssa’s shoulder.
As if she could sense his presence, the dark haired girl looked up. “I should get going.” announced quietly, as not to wake the other girl.
The cop inside him persuaded him to say, “It’s late, are you going to be okay driving?”
With practised ease, she detangled herself from the sleeping girl without waking her. “I do not tire easily,” Nyssa promised, grabbing a throw blanket to cover Sara with.
The detective stayed by the door as Nyssa kissed his daughter on the forehead and moved the laptop onto the desk. He only shuffled to the side as she approached to leave.
“I do care about your daughter,” She said, almost a whisper in the night air, “Whatever you may think of me, I really do care. I promise you.”
And then she walked past him to the main rooms and outside into the night like nothing happened. Like this was all normal.
Detective Lance closed the bedroom door quietly, determined not to wake Sara. It had been a while since he had seen her smiling in her sleep. He had to admit, Nyssa al Ghul made his daughter happy.
And he was okay with her being happy.