:: You are doing something together that you have done a thousand times, but something is different. It's the oh moment. Now what?
(Tea Room Friends to Lovers prompt) | @storyofwhoiam
They’d fallen into easy rhythms when Nyssa had returned to Star City this time around. Milkshakes and fries, movies, sparring, even Nyssa assisting the Black Canary on patrol. Nyssa still insisted on her own hideout, Laurel half-convinced the place didn’t actually have a bed. She always suggested Nyssa stay at hers, she had the space and it was a little quieter without Thea anyway. Each time her friend would politely refuse. It almost felt a dance they did out of habit more than anything else. The movie had ended and Nyssa was saying something about not understanding how a couple would leave so much to fate, a human construct at best, when they could have acted on things sooner. It was something about the serious expression on the other woman’s face or perhaps the investment in the romantic comedy which was mostly for Laurel’s sake that struck Laurel differently. She knew how Nyssa made her feel, how each of them wouldn’t hesitate to defend one another no matter the circumstance, how danger seemed less with Nyssa at her side. She loved Nyssa and had said as much before. Only right then Laurel was struck with the realization that she was in love with her too. How could she let Nyssa go?
“Stay.” And before the dance could start again, before Laurel heard that familiar decline she took Nyssa by the hand and shook her head. “No, I mean stay. With me,” her expression was earnest despite Nyssa’s still seeming confused. She almost repeated herself but instead she cupped the back of Nyssa’s head and kissed her softly, as if that was all the explanation she had.
Nyssa felt terribly uncomfortable inside of the police station. Laurel, however, was insistent that they come here after dinner. Nyssa had kept her head out of trouble while helping Laurel, so there was no real reason for Nyssa to tell Laurel no. However, that didn't mean Nyssa was suspicious of Laurel's excitement.
"Laurel, I feel like they're staring," Nyssa whispered through grit teeth. Laurel just shrugged their looks off. She knew better than most that cops were gossips. They were probably trying to figure out whether or not Nyssa and Laurel were a thing.
"Don't worry about them," Laurel reassured Nyssa. She opted for keeping a little distance between them as she approached Ash's desk. The last thing that Laurel wanted was for Ash to think that Nyssa was Laurel's girlfriend. If Laurel's plan was going to work, Ash had to know for sure that Nyssa was also very single. "Detective Lovett, do you have a moment?"
"For the captain's daughter? I have a few," Ash said with a smile. Nyssa seemed to stiffen a little behind Laurel, which Laurel took as a bad sign. If Nyssa thought Ash liked Laurel, she'd never make a move.
"Do you have more time if I tell you that there's a sandwich from Creek's in it for you?" Laurel asked. Ash seemed to really perk up at that. She hadn't eaten all day, and even just the thought of food made Ash's mouth water. "Attagirl. This is Nyssa. She needs your help with something, and my father can't know about any of it."
"It's one of those things, got it." Ash tapped the side of her head as she put her city issued gun in her desk drawer. "Let's head upstairs. I could use a breather."
"Good idea," Laurel said. Nyssa followed the two women up to the roof of the police station. It was a place that Nyssa had been before, not that she'd admit it with the police officer standing right there.
"Alright, what do you need from me?" Ash asked. She was one of the few people who had never waivered in her support of the Arrow. It had been the cause of a lot of arguments between Ash and Quentin, but Laurel thought that it was noble for Ash to stick to her guns. There were rumors about Ash having done some vigilante work before joining the force, but if those reports ever existed, they had been sealed shut.
Laurel looked over towards Nyssa, and it was then that Nyssa realized that Laurel expected her to do the talking. "I believe that there is a great threat lurking in your city. A few old associates of mine are out for revenge."
"There's nothing I can really do about that, not now at least. I don't know what you want from me," Ash said.
"Come on, I've heard the rumors. Ash, please," Laurel begged. Ash clenched her jaw as she tried to think of an excuse that wouldn't give her past away. The misspent years of her youth running around the Glades had been constantly following her around. Everybody whispered about the things that she had done. The speculation about why Captain Lance had helped her out and continued to do so.
"I am already on probation Laurel. I can't even begin to think about doing what you've asked of me," Ash sighed. "I'm sorry, but I can't give up everything."
"I won't ask you to do that then, but please for the love of god, spend some time with Nyssa. Let her show you how to protect yourself. These people, they've got body counts bigger than anyone else." Laurel grabbed onto Ash's hands. It wasn't fair, but Laurel rarely ever played it fair with Ash. They were more like sisters than either woman was willing to admit, and Ash had promised Quentin that she'd be there for Laurel if he couldn't.
"Alright, and I'll find other ways to help you. I promise," Ash said.
Laurel seemed content with that. She let Ash get back to work. Star City was a restless city, which meant a lot of late night calls. Ash was lucky enough not to be on patrols anymore, so she only had to answer specialized calls. Generally, she had worked homicide, but Quentin had moved her around to the vigilante task force once that was off the ground. As the police department's relationship with the vigilantes changed, Ash's job description had as well.
She had several quiet nights in a row, which opened up her days to meeting Laurel's friend at a gym downtown. Nyssa's training exceeded Ash's weekend MMA league by far. Ash was a quick study, especially whenever Laurel joined them. Ash knew that Laurel was out helping the city as Black Canary, and it made Ash feel a bit better about allowing that to happen knowing that Laurel could really protect herself.
"There was a body found the other night," Ash said casually as she helped Nyssa put the mats up one night. Nyssa's warning had stuck with Ash for the weeks after that night on the rooftop. The supposed big bad hadn't reared their heads, but there were subtle signs. Bodies that were dropping in ways that didn't add up to anything someone already in the city could do.
"That isn't uncommon for this city," Nyssa pointed out.
"True enough, but a clean decapitation is. Your old associates, did they do things like this?" Ash asked. Nyssa didn't like talking about her old life. Star City was supposed to be her second chance. She had lost a lot, but loss was something that Star City knew better than any other place in the world. Sometimes it felt like nobody got a happy ending.
"One them, yes. Who was killed?" Nyssa asked. Ash could hear the little spike in her voice. Whoever these people were, they made Nyssa nervous. Ash didn't like the idea of someone who could make a former assassin nervous.
"This gang leader. It's not exactly a huge loss, but this is the fourth person I knew who has been targeted. It's just a little bit of an odd coincidence, that's all," Ash said. Nyssa's eyes narrowed and she dropped the matt down a little harder than she meant to. "What?"
"You knew the other murder victims?"
"Of course, they were all from my old neighborhood. One way or another, back when I was hellbent on screwing up my future, I wanted to take them down. This last one got me arrested," Ash laughed.
"Come on, I'm taking you home tonight," Nyssa said quickly. Ash wasn't a fan of being rushed out, but she welcomed the extra bit of time with Nyssa. Ash wouldn't admit it, especially not to Laurel, but she was starting to develop feelings for Nyssa. The woman was awkward in an endearing way. Ash wanted to spend as much time with Nyssa as she could teaching her the ways of normal life.
Ash stayed silent on the walk to her apartment. Nyssa kept her head on a swivel. Nothing seemed to be up, not until they entered Ash's apartment building. They had barely gotten a few feet into the building when the first arrow whizzed through the air and nearly cut through Ash's neck.
"Fuck!" Ash shouted as she ducked down. Nyssa's eyes followed the trajectory back and she rushed outside. Ash watched several bodies drop down. Nyssa was good, but the numbers were against her. Ash knew that it was stupid, so she didn't just rush out there. She watched Nyssa from afar.
Not a single one of Nyssa's adversaries turned their attention towards Ash. They had all seen Ash drop after the arrow had been fired. Nyssa ran out in such a rush that they took it for anger. Ash crawled over towards the still open door and lined up to take her shots. Marksmanship had always been one of Ash's strong suits, so she had no issues firing.
Nyssa's head whipped over to where Ash was laying on the ground after the first body dropped. The remaining two tried to scatter, but Ash managed to incapacitate them. Nyssa ran over to Ash, who began to push herself up off of the ground.
"How did you know that you wouldn't shoot me?" Nyssa asked. Ash brushed the dirt off of her jacket as she shrugged.
"I don't miss." Ash smirked. Nyssa punched Ash's shoulder, but all Ash cared about was the relieved look on Nyssa's face. "Are you okay?"
"You're the one who was just almost killed. Shouldn't I be asking you that question?"
"It's not the first time I've been shot at," Ash said. Nyssa could tell that she was being overly casual to lighten the mood. Nyssa hesitantly reached towards Ash, who sort of leaned into the touch. Nyssa wasn't great with comforting people, but she knew that tonight Ash needed her.
"Come on, it should be safe now." Nyssa led Ash inside without letting her look back on the mess on the street. They had the morning to worry about that, and if things didn't go their way, Nyssa knew she could get Ash out of the city quietly.
“Stop staring at that Nike kid,” Harley hissed, and Leo winced when he was elbowed in the stomach by the younger boy. He drew his attention away from where said Nike kid was talking to Drew at the fire burning in the middle of the pavilion. They each scraped a bit of their dinner into the fire, which burned a bit brighter, and split, going to their own table as they laughed at each other over their shoulders.
Jake slurped up a spoonful of chocolate flavored cereal, and grinned at Leo like he knew something Leo didn’t. “Is that the one you pissed off?”
“Leo’s totally into them, you could see him drooling a mile away,” Nyssa muttered, taking a slice of cheese and some of the sourdough on the plate in front of them, making a sandwich out of it.
He felt his heartbeat skip when the very subject of their conversation looked over at him, a hair tie in their mouth as they plaited Holly’s hair into twin braids. They did that upward nod thing that the cool kids seemed to communicate in. Leo just tried to hold back his blush, and ate a strawberry.
“He’s obsessed.”
Leo looked up from the marble table he had been training his eyes on and wrinkled his nose at her, popping another strawberry in his mouth. He turned back to the conversation once again with narrowed eyes, hoping the red of his cheeks would fade before his apparently observant half sibling noticed. “Nuh uh!”
“Uh yeah,” She scoffed, like it was obvious, “you like their nose ring.”
“It’s an eyebrow piercing, actually.” Leo sulked.
Nyssa pushed her orange bandana back out of her face, the one that held back the dark curls all children of Hephestus seemed to have. “Gotcha.”
“What about Nyssa’s thing for-” Jake started, but stopped talking quickly, his face paling as Nyssa grabbed his wrist, scarred fingers digging into the cast dotted with stickers and signatures on his arm.
Her lip curled, and Harley sunk down in his seat. “I will nail your ears to this table if you finish that sentence.”
Leo stole another glance behind him as his attention shifted from his bickering sibling, and once again made eye contact. Shit. Instead of crawling under the table like he wanted to, he just ate a strawberry and tried for a casual smile.
Their eyes narrowed at him, and then they plucked a strawberry from Laurel's plate, who now also had a plait, and shoved it in their mouth. Before Leo knew what was happening or how exactly it had happened, they were both racing to find the most of the sweet red berries and see how many they could fit in their mouth, from opposite sides of the pavilion.
Once he had six in his mouth, he could feel his jaw straining. There was nothing he could do about it now though, so he just squished another in and hoped that would be the end of it.
Then Jake turned to the Nike table, following his gaze, only to see what was happening. He rolled his eyes with a smirk. “You know, people’ll think what you're doing is a metaphor for something else.”
Nyssa rolled her eyes. “That’s not what a metaphor means.”
Leo choked at that, spraying soggy strawberries and pieces of leaf he probably should’ve cut off the berries onto Nyssa. She brushed a splattered strawberry off her shoulder. “I think you lost.”
He whipped back around, wiping seeds off his chin to see that stupidly hot smirk again. Holly and Laurel cheering on the other side of the table. Leo stuck his tongue out at the trio.
“You did that on purpose,” he hissed to Jake, who just shrugged innocently.
Harley took one of the last strawberries left on the plate, “what was it a metaphor for that’s not a metaphor?”
┈┈┈┈┈◦•✩•◦┈┈┈┈┈
Drew unscrewed the lid on her bottle of clear lipgloss and swiped it across her bottom lip, raising an eyebrow. “So like, why do we have a crush on him?”
You sighed, shoving your hands in the pockets of your black tracksuit pants and followed the daughter of Aphrodite out of the pavilion and across the green grass that was becoming harder to see as the sun set.
“This is not a ‘we’ situation, okay? And no one ever said I had a crush on him, he’s just kinda cute and literally useless in a fight and likes strawberries.”
“Sounds like you type,” Drew shot back with a shiny smirk, to which you shoved her shoulder lightly, not wanting to get the strawberry juice still staining your palms on her white hoodie. “And it is a ‘we’ situation, you don’t drool like that over boys very often. He needs my approval.”
“As if.”
Drew stepped over one of the logs around the campfire. “Maybe I should find my old shotgun.”
“Please don’t, you’re really being unnecessarily dramatic about this, Drew.” You grumble, not liking the direction this conversation was going in. It wasn’t your fault Leo had these tiny freckles on his cheeks that you couldn’t see until you were holding a spear to his chest.
“I’m being just the right amount of dramatic about this actually, my baby’s finally getting a boyfriend!” Drew smirked back at you, with exaggerated jazz hands. Then she narrowed her dark eyes. “I’m choosing your outfit at the wedding though, I don't trust your taste.”
“We aren’t getting married, we’re just fighting to the death in Bunker 9 tomorrow.” You muttered back, fiddling with the bracelets lining your wrists.
“Oh, sorry, was there supposed to be a difference there?”
“Shut up.”
Drew grinned over her shoulder as she stopped outside the Aphrodite cabin. “I’m making you two friendship bracelets!”
okay so this is gonna be fun especially as i'm not sure what counts as a rarepair
ARROW
lauricity (laurel x felicity) <- the first words she said to laurel was 'gorgeous laurel' ok she was crushing hard
shasladiver?!?! (shado x oliver x slade + please tell me if they have another name) <- domestic. cute. island. trio. before. the. incident. "what's the worst way your ship has ever died" "oh so slade fake-died and then oliver accidentally murdered shado and then he appeared just as she died and she never knew he was alive so he held her dead body in his arms as oliver was forever shrouded in guilt then slade became corrupted from a drug and oliver had to kill him too but he wasn't really dead and came back for revenge"
smoaksiren (siren x felicity) <- i already ranted about this one i LOVE THEM.
terrificdog (rene x curtis) <- they're so gay and chaotic x nerdy duos are the best even dinah agrees
constanqueen (oliver x constantine) <- why was constantine so flirty to him in that one episode they probably hooked up let's be honest
smoakingcanary (felicity x sara) <- 'YOU'RE STILL CUTE'
alicity (felicity x alena) <- they were actually adorable oh my god
lauryssa (laurel x nyssa) <- supposed to be canon you can't convince me otherwise
(gotta love how much felicity ships are in there girlie has chemistry with everyone)
FLASH
coldflash (snart x barry) <- does this even count as a rarepair they're so popular i mean thematic parallels, red x blue, enemies to lovers, homo-erotic flirting
snowwest (iris x caitlin) <- lauricity coded also the entirety of 4x05
balph?!?! (barry x ralph) <- the entirety of s4. that's all.
blackfrost (frost x siren) <- they're each other in a different font just IMAGINE THE FUCKING POWER.
bulian?!? (barry x julian) <- enemies to lovers and just very sus moments in s3 that made me say 'hold up fruity'
killersnow (caitlin x frost) <- new ship but oh my god its growing on me they're smoaksiren in a different font
(gotta love how barry is half of them he's so shippable)
SUPERGIRL
superwire (leslie x kara) <- dude they're so coldflash coded
agentreign (alex x sam) <- i still can't believe they're not canon
psiwire (psi x leslie) <- that one episode in s3. got me thinking thoughts.
superlane (kara x lucy) <- i shipped them so much in s1 oh my god
monwinn (mon-el x winn) <- bro has a thing for aliens
scholson (james x winn) <- nah bc this could lowkey work
superbat (kara x kate + is there another name?) <- kate was 1000% flirting with kara in the elseworlds crossover
LEGENDS OF TOMORROW
coldatom (ray x snart) <- snart has a type and it's self-righteous red coded dark haired boys
lovebirds (kendra x sara) <- this was so unexpected but like hello they trained together and she got sara back from the league
timehex (jonah x rip) <- actually no way u can convince me they aren't exes
whiteatom (sara x ray) <- they're so sweet and they're the time parents and so underrated
steelatom (nate x ray) <- bromance.
hellcanary (sara x constantine) <- hhhh i could rant so much bro but they get each other and they are friends with benefits and both have ties to demons and can understand each other's hurt and are chaotic bisexuals and-
atomhawkcanary (sara x ray x kendra) <- they lived together for like a year ok things probably happened.
Some will be platonic, but sometimes I can make them not platonic. You can make couples, then I will maybe write a poly fic, or one where the couple are the parents of the reader.
Not that I don't love Nyssara (in fact, it's the one that's currently canon in the Arrowverse Polycule AU), but I lloooveee Lauryssa. Nyssara did so much for Arrowverse queers, I just really enjoyed watching Lauryssa's relationship unfold onscreen in real time- we didn't get that for Nyssara. The idea of dating your sister's ex (who she's still kinda in love with, canon as of Crisis on Earth-X), Nyssa mentoring Laurel and teaching her how to fight, helping her blossom into a better field hero, and Laurel teaching Nyssa the beauty in the mundane like dipping your fries into milkshakes... It's rich, it's adorable, I wuv them.
In true Nyssa fashion she didn't ask of things, simply declared. Not that Laurel could argue. She scooted over on the couch, tucking herself against Nyssa's side and laying against her body. "This how you wanted to warm me up?" Laurel said looking up and eyes twinkling with mischief. It was perhaps mean to meet Nyssa's sweetness with a potential innuendo, but as their relationship developed, Laurel was continually enthralled with how Nyssa continued to surprise her. She slipped her cold fingers under the hem of Nyssa's top, putting her hand flush against warm skin. For all the partners she had done this type of thing too, Nyssa almost seemed the one to like when Laurel put her cold feet or hands on her in bed. Maybe it was her natual stoicism that made her immune to the more dramatic response, but Laurel suspected that the once assassin had actually been asking to do just what Laurel had. "You are always very warm."
Title: The Wrong Thing
Pairing: Laurel Lance x Reader
Prompt: 2. "Nobody will even know about this if you're quiet."
Minors DNI, 18+
Warnings: smut, top reader bottom Laurel, vaginal fingering
R
WC: 905
"You're late."
"Do you know how hard it is to sneak away like this?" Laurel asked as she climbed up onto the roof you had been waiting on for at least an hour. "Between Oliver being an asshole and Nyssa trying to keep an eye on me, it's almost impossible."
"Tell them, we are not doing anything wrong," you pointed out. Laurel scoffed at your suggestion, just like she had the other ten times you had told her it was an option. You didn't mind Oliver Queen knowing about your relations with Laurel Lance, even if he would have made some stupid comment about having her first. Nyssa would be a problem, especially since you knew that she had developed feelings for the older Lance sister since Sara's passing. Star City most likely would have been able to contain the destruction Nyssa would have tried to unleash on you, not without casualties.
"Just, come here," Laurel said as she ran towards you. You caught her in your arms and moved the two of you towards a wall. It was less likely for someone to see you if you were shielded, and since Laurel had banned you from stopping by her apartment, the two of you had to get your fill of each other out in the open.
Laurel kissed you with a ferocity that told you she had been thinking about this. You were flattered to know that your heart was not the only one that burned during the day for its lover. It would have been easy for you to get lost in your own thoughts, but the soft moan Laurel let out distracted you. Suddenly, your brain flipped a switch and tried to focus on every bit of Laurel that it could. You tried to memorize the way that her lips moved against yours and the taste of her tongue inside of your mouth. Her hands balling up by the hood of your jacket to pull you closer into the kiss. You felt her leg slip in between yours as she lowered herself slightly to grind against you.
"If we get found out, I am so fucked," Laurel muttered as she reached down to unzip her jacket. You noticed that she wasn't wearing her usual Black Canary attire, but instead a pair of leggings and a jacket like a jogger.
"Nobody will even know about this if you're quiet," you countered. Laurel knew that wouldn't be the case, the woman couldn't be quiet to save her life. You also knew this fact, but you doubted that there were that many people hanging out on rooftops in the neighborhood. Even if there were, you had picked a spot that completely hid you from prying eyes.
Laurel didn't try to counter with an argument, instead content to guide your hands on her body. You loved feeling the warmth of her skin against your fingers. Tonight had been a bit chilly, even in your armor. You were surprised that Laurel wasn't shivering a little, but even if she was, you knew that it wouldn't have completely been because of the cold. Laurel was very reactive to your touch, often shuddering whenever your fingers grazed certain spots on her body. The most sensitive was her hip, and if you were confident on the amount of time you had before Nyssa went out looking for you, you would have undressed Laurel completely and given proper attention to every inch of her body that she'd let you.
Instead, you were forced to rush the fun a little. Laurel didn't seem to mind as your head dipped down to kiss her neck and chest. You could leave a few bruises, just as long as it wasn't excessive or anywhere too suspicious. Laurel had mapped it out for you a few times, tracing over the spots with her own fingers before your mouth replaced them. Now, Laurel's hands were gripping your hips tightly as she leaned back against the wall. That would keep her from falling onto the ground when you made her knees get weak, but she needed to hold onto you in order to stay up on her feet for longer.
"I wish we had more time. I wanted to enjoy this," you told her as your hand slipped into her leggings. Laurel started to say something, but it was cut off by a string of curse words as your fingers entered her. Laurel was wet enough that you wondered if she had been late because she was touching herself. You shut your eyes as you buried your face into the crook of her neck to hide the blush on your cheeks from the thoughts of Laurel touching herself that were flooding your mind.
"Y/n." Laurel's nails dug into your hips as her back started to arch off of the wall. You lifted your head to watch the look of ecstasy on her face as she came. The two of you leaned against each other for a moment before one of your motion sensors went off.
"I'd hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it looks like we're about to have company," you warned. You moved over to the side of the roof where the motion had been detected as Laurel snuck off on the other side where it was clear. "Show yourself sister, heirs to the demon are not obligated to live in the shadows."
ok ok i need to map this out bc it’s actually kind of hilarious
sara and oliver slept together even though oliver was dating sara’s sister laurel
laurel and tommy bonded over the death of oliver, who was laurel’s boyfriend and tommy’s (metaphorical) brother, and slept together
nyssa and laurel bonded over the death of sara, who was nyssa’s ex and laurel’s sister, and didn’t sleep together except that they totally absolutely did
laurel x nyssa makes a lot of sense and is really really funny bc it 1. means that laurel is dating one of sara’s exes after sara slept with laurel’s boyfriend, and 2. echoes the pattern of laurel falling for someone who was close to someone she is currently grieving. but it also reverses laurel’s previous position, because when oliver & sara died laurel was sleeping with the (metaphorical) brother of her dead boyfriend, and when sara died again it was nyssa who would be sleeping with the sister of her dead (ex)girlfriend. so laurel will have been on both sides of that situation.