Who: Sara and Laurel Lance What: Sara comes home When: Mid-Julyish, before Sara posted on the Network Where: Laurel's house Rating/Warning: Low/none Status: Complete
Sara had been back in town for a couple days now, though so far she had avoided letting Laurel know that. She’d wanted to get her feet under her first, show Laurel that she had managed to get a job and an apartment all on her own, and she didn’t need to rely on her big sister when she blew back into town again.
But she finally felt a little settled - she’d managed to secure a couple jobs, one at a coffee shop and one at a bar - and had found herself a dingy little apartment that she would never let Laurel see - she had a feeling her sister wouldn’t really approve of the cockroaches, whom Sara had already given names - and now she was finally ready to see her sister and her niece.
She knocked on the door, and once it started to open, she plastered a big, fake smile on her face. “Hello, have you heard the good word?” she exclaimed in a false, bubbly voice.
Laurel was taken aback at Sara at the door, they hadn’t touched base in a few, but she figured she was still traveling. “SARA!” she tackled her little sister, giving her the biggest hug, “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming!” she pulled away, chuckling, “Seriously, the good word?”
Laughing she tugged her sister in the house, “How long are you here?” she asked not giving Sara a chance to answer anything, “Livvia going to be upset she missed you, she’s staying her summer vacation with Ollie!” Which one would tell with the wine bottle and the tv paused on Hell kitchen.
Sara laughed in delight when Laurel tackled her, wrapping her arms around her and squeezing. It felt good to be able to hug her sister again. It hadn’t been over a decade, like the last time she’d left home, but it had still been too long. It wasn’t like she and Laurel had left on bad terms this time.
“Well, we’ll just have to make sure to see her sometime later.” Maybe. It would have been better if she could do it without seeing Oliver. She had mostly managed to avoid seeing him the last time that she’d been in town, even as she dreamed about him. There was a lot there in the dreams too, and when she’d left, Oliver hadn’t been dreaming. “I’m planning on sticking around for a while this time,” she said. She spotted the wine glass, and headed into the kitchen to get her own. “I got an apartment and everything, so you won’t have to deal with my dirty socks again!” she called as she rummaged through the cupboard.
Laurel was going to protest that she should stay there, but Sara did this all on her own, maybe it was what's best for her. “Your socks weren’t that bad,” Laurel said warmly, but then she let the subject go. “I’m so glad you are back!,In the cabinet above the sink,” she called out as she moved to the couch to sit down, picking up her own glass and taking a sip and then added. “If you are looking for snacks, top shelf by the fridge,”
Leaning back, Laurel smiled to the noises from the kitchen “What made you come back home?” she called out.
Sara hadn’t been looking for snacks, but now that it was out there, she thought that wasn’t such a bad idea. She grabbed her wine glass, snagged some of the snacks from on top of the fridge, and then flopped down on the couch next to her sister.
“Oh, you know, I just got so tired with seeing everything the world had to offer that I decided to come back to my hometown to start serving the drunks again, and I just couldn’t resist the idea of more fun-filled dreams,” Sara snorted, nudging her sister with her foot, and then leaned forward to pour herself a nice, full glass of wine. “Or, you know, I missed my family. It’s one of the two. Talking with you guys on the phone every few weeks just wasn’t cutting it anymore.”
That, and Sara still worried about her sister. She still laid awake at night sometimes, thinking about her sister getting shot and how she hadn’t been able to protect her. Sara was pretty sure she could protect her now.
“I missed you too,” Laurel called out as she smiled up at the nudge of her food and leaned forward to see what snacks she got out of the cabinet. “Talking in person is better,” she agreed with a nod of her head, “plus it’s better to see you then squint at a screen” Laurel moved her glass to clink Sara’s “Welcome home, little sister,” she smiled before she took a long sip.
“How dare you get a job and a place to live before telling me you were even back,” she added, but she wasn’t mad, she was teasing.
“What can I say? I didn’t want my older sister thinking I was a vagabond ne’er-do-well,” Sara said, teasing. She knew Laurel would never think something like that about her - at least, not now. Maybe before they’d made up; Sara had spent a long time avoiding Laurel altogether, so it was hard to know what, exactly, Laurel had thought of her back then.
“So, tell me everything. What have I missed?”
“Not much,” she told her honestly, “Just work, Livvia, and now I’m boring,” she told her, “I have a week of no one to come home to and been eating a lot of take out,” She took a swig of her drink, “A rookie asked me out, but I said no cause he was too young and honestly, I’m just not looking to date anyone that’s a coworker..” However, maybe she will put herself out there more, her life is settling down now. “Maybe I’ll try a dating app or something?”
Sara curled her feet under her, smiling. "It's good that you're thinking of getting out there. I was half worried once Liv grew up, you'd just get a dozen cats," Sara teased. "Dating apps are okay if you're looking for a quick booty call, which, no judgment if you are." She took a sip of her wine, and then grinned wisely, her eyes widening as an idea came to her. "Why don't we get dressed up and go out on the town? They'll never know what hit them."
An arched brow met Sara words, “I’m two glasses in, not tonight. However, I’d like that” Laurel smiled at Sara. “I can’t even recall the last time I’ve been out, Hell the last booty call I had I ended up with a kid,” she started laughing, it was true, She sighed as she leaned into the cushion, “but you are right, I should get out, I should get a booty call….” looking at her sister, she started to laugh again. “I’m too old for this shit.”
Sara’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Not since Liv was born?” she asked, aghast. “Yeah, sis, we definitely need to get you laid.” But for tonight, she was completely content to just stay in for a quiet night with her sister, catching up. “So, what about you and Oliver. Have you… you know, since Liv came into the picture?”
“Guys don’t want a cranky new mother and a mother of toddler, she comes first, not like I can do random booty calls when she’s home!” Olivia was growing and learning, “feels wrong.” Her head swung to look at her sister when she mentioned Ollie, “Have we….No….” she shook her head, “I mean, I wouldn’t say no, but he hasn’t really seemed interested? But he was annoyed that the rookie cop asked me out.” She shrugs her shoulders, “We finally got the co-parenting down, it might mess that up and I don’t know if he even still finds me attractive.”
“Laurel, he has eyes. Of course he still finds you attractive.” Whether he was still attracted might have been a different story, though there was some part of Sara that hoped they would manage to fix things up. They’d been good together, at least until Sara had come along and screwed it all up.
Laughter met her sister's words, she shook her head no, “Right, okay,” she said jokingly, “but maybe Sara was right. “What am I going to do, ask him out on a date with me, not having a daughter there?” she shook her head, “be awkward. I don’t think we’ve been alone together in years.”
"I can watch her," Sara said. In fact, the idea of getting to spend some one-on-one time with her niece. "It might be awkward, but if you wanted to give it another shot, I think you should go for it."
Laurel took a sip of her wine, “I’ll think about it,” she told her and she would, maybe it was worth having another go at it. “Anyways, enough of him and me,” she smiled, “You’re home!”
“I’m home!” Sara repeated, and leaned forward to wrap her sister in a tight hug, being careful not to slosh wine on the couch. There were aspects of returning that Sara wasn’t especially excited about, but tonight wasn’t the night for thinking about them. “You need to tell me absolutely everything Liv has done since I left.”