deercountry | You live your life like a canary in a coalmine

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laurel lance: mary

You live your life like a canary in a coalmine

Who: Laurel Lance, Booker and Sara Lance
What: Booker volunteers to take Laurel to see Sara.
When: Shortly after Laurel's arrival.
Where: At Sara's place.

Content Warnings: None anticipated, but will update if necessary!

Laurel was no stranger to weird occurences. She had seen plenty of them back home as a vigilante and when she was pre-law, joining in on any number of frat parties (those days were behind her now).

Today was one of those weird occurences. Being pulled into another world via an ocean and ending up on a strange beach was only the beginning of that weirdness. There was a familiarity about this place, like she had been here before or maybe it was in a dream; it being a dream could explain the whole turning into a squid then back again thing because there was no chance that Laurel would come up with that in real life.

She had spent some time wandering around and exploring this place to see what she could find out about it. if there was a way for her to get back home. People were counting on Laurel back home, a whole city was. She needed to be there.

Laurel had found herself sitting on a bench near the boardwalk when Booker found her. Like before, there was a familiarity there, or maybe she dreamed him up as well. They had got to talking for a bit and he knew things about her, things that Laurel had apparently said to him. He also revealed that he knew Sara which came as a surprise to her because Laurel was adamant that her sister was off travelling through space and time.

So when he offered to take her to see Sara, Laurel didn't hesitate in saying yes.

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There's something familiar about her beyond the way he recognizes her face from the photo on Sara's wall - some sort of shared sense of trauma, an experience that had disappeared from the mind but not the body.

Things that came back, as they talk, and when he feels beyond a shred of a doubt that this is Laurel, he messages Sara: meet me at the house.

He's not sure if she's there or not, not sure where she is; he's fixed the door with a lock, and she has a key. Hell, most of the stuff there was hers, by simple virtue of Booker's utter lack of stuff.

It won't take too long to get there, but they have a block or two to go still. "Found a place yet?"

She's fresh from a long run, ducking straight into the shower before she gets the message. It's not until she's toweled off that she checks her texts, frowning and shooting back a message before heading to the bedroom to get dressed.

i'm here. everything ok?

Laurel had been so focused on wanting to see Sara that she blinks when he asks her a question. "Huh? Sorry. Got lost in my thoughts there." There's an apologetic smile. "No, I haven't found a place yet."

She had noticed houses dotted along the streets as they walked by them. Some of them looked occupied and others not so much. Laurel had figured there was a hotel or something around that she could check into. Choosing a place to stay in hadn't crossed her mind.

"Do you just pick an empty one and move in?"

"Pretty much." No one's given him grief over it yet, and he knows that some of the places bear more than a passing similarity to what some people had in Deerington. "We'll help you find one."

The message comes through but they're almost there anyway. Sara's there - that's good. That means they won't have to wait for too much longer. "There's a few different areas around town that have places." Dealers choice, really.

"This is us." He heads up the stairs, the dirty stain-glass window that decorates the alcove of the entrance to the townhouse still snaked with cracks.

She's not quite sure when the place went from being Booker's to theirs, but it's not like she's chosen anywhere else to lay her head at night and it's an odd comfort they've fallen back into together.

Still, the message itches at her, the ever-present danger she'd suspected from this place tickling at her senses. She tosses on a pair of sweatpants and a tanktop, grabbing her bo staff from the bedroom when she hears the jingle of the doorknob and voices ascending the stairs.

Hair still wet, barefoot from the shower, she peeks her head out from inside the bedroom, hand gripping the weapon tightly. When her eyes settle on the familiar face in the hall, though, she straightens.

"Laurel?"

"Thanks, I'd appreciate the help." For both the house searching and for taking her to see Sara.

Laurel doesn't know why she felt nervous about seeing her sister again, but maybe it's because she ended up somewhere she didn't expect her to be. She's lived a whole other life in this place away from home, and all Laurel wants for her sister is to be happy and safe.

She follows after Booker, waiting until he opens the door for them and steps inside, not sure what to expect when she enters. The house is old, not like Laurel's apartment back home where everything was modern.

Before asking where Sara was, she hears her voice and Laurel feels a lump forming in her throat. She looks at her sister with a smile, noting the damp hair and the bo staff in her hand. It doesn't surprise Laurel at all to see her looking so prepared for anything, even after coming out from a shower.

"Hi, Sara." Her voice is soft, matching her expression. "It's me."

In retrospect, maybe he should have sent her a message to let her know that everything was okay and fine - she doesn't look rattled, just cautious, and his face falls into sheepish contrition. Oops.

"Found her on a bench." Safe and sound. No need to worry, no need to fret.

He steps out from in between them, so they can see each other properly, so he's not in the way.

"She knows a future you, but it's her." Not some game this place is playing, not something that'll pull the rug out from under her feet; at least not right away. He made sure Laurel was real, before he opened Sara up to the kind of heart break that might come from the fallout of a connection like this.

There's a flicker of excitement in her eyes that turns quickly into skepticism, her gaze shifting from her sister's face to Booker's. They're new to this place and the horrors that likely come with it, and if it's some kind of trick, she's not sure what signs to look out for.

Still, there are plenty of people from plenty of different worlds dropping into this place every day. John made it, Wrench made it, plenty of other people she'd known from before. Why not Laurel, too?

She takes a hesitant step down the stairs, scanning the woman up and down a moment. She knows a future you. The one who'd gone and joined the Legends, the one who'd gone bouncing around time and space.

A grin spreads on her lips and she drops her bo staff, rushing down the stairs to throw her arms over her sister.

"It's really you?" she chokes out, squeezing Laurel tightly.

Having Booker around to confirm who she was did help. Laurel will thank him later (again) for reuniting her with sister. Right now, she just wants to focus on seeing someone that she loved, thinking about how far they've come in their relationship.

She waits for Sara to say something after she comes down the stairs, holding in a breath. The nerves flutter in her stomach once more and she wonders if she should walk over to her instead.

But when Laurel sees that grin, how she drops the staff and practically runs over to her, she knows that everything is going to be okay. Laurel wraps her arms around Sara in return, not minding at all how tightly she was being squeezed by her.

"Yeah. It's me." She replies softly, reluctant to let go of her. "I can't believe you're here."

There's an ache, in his heart, both at the pleasure and content of seeing them back together - Laurel and Sara have history, he's well aware of that, but history doesn't mean as much in the face of a reunion like this.

It reminds him of countless other reunions he's had; most recently with Sara, the release of all that uncertainty and nervousness, how good it feels to fit into someone's arms and reconnect.

To be together, again.

"I'll go get you some drinks," he says, excusing himself so they can have a moment together. It's a familiar routine he defaults to, one that he doesn't really think about at all, and he presses a hand into the small of Sara's back as he passes by them, briefly.

Tempestuous as their relationship might be, or have been, he's happy for Sara, grateful that Laurel's here.

Most days, it feels so distant - home, her family, the person she was before the Gambit went down. Another lifetime, a dream she can't quite seem to hold onto. But Laurel's here, she's real, warm and strong in her arms and she clutches her tight, breathing in the familiar scent of her. For a moment, she's transported back to Starling, to movie nights and blanket forts and help with homework late into the night.

She swallows, straightening a bit to collect herself, glancing over to give Booker a smile as he passes by towards the kitchen. He'd brought her big sister to her, brought them together again, and all she can choke out is a small 'thanks' to him before he disappears. Turning her attention back to Laurel, her lips spread into another grin.

"I... I can't believe it's you. What... when are you from?"

Booker is someone that Laurel is going to ask Sara about when the time was right. He seemed like a good guy, and if he's been here for her sister when she couldn't be, that only makes her more interested to learn about him.

There's a swell of emotion that she can feel in her chest while they're hugging and part of Laurel wants to release that emotion through tears of joy. But she holds back, just focusing on this moment with Sara until she lets go.

The grin is easily matched by Laurel as she takes a step back to look at her.

"From 2015. Not long after we got you back to your old self." She replies softly, not wanting to dredge up any bad memories for Sara. "You were about to leave to join the Legends after I told you to go."

'Good guy' probably isn't the first way Booker would describe himself, but guilt and self-doubt are honestly part of what brought them together, she thinks.

Sara straightens a bit, keeping both hands anchored on Laurel's arms as if she'll somehow slip away.

"That's not long after me. Last I remember, I'd left home after you brought me back." She smiles a little, hesitating as the realization sinks in. "Wait - you tell me to join the Legends?"

Had she said too much? Maybe telling Sara a little about her future wasn't what she was supposed to do, but it had been a nice memory. Wanting the best for her sister had always been a priority for Laurel, even when they were going through a rough patch.

"Well, I encouraged you to go. I thought the opportunity might be good for you after everything that happened."

Laurel gives her another smile, wanting to reassure her.

"I hope it was okay to tell you that."

He hovers, at the edge of the kitchen, hidden by the wall, listening but doing his best not to eavesdrop; his concern isn't their reunion or what they have to say, it's making sure that he doesn't interrupt something that spills over into something more private.

He doesn't exactly have anywhere to go, if it does, but he's stayed in much worse places for much longer.

But there's no tears, no stony silence, no shouts or screams, just a happy back and forth. There's three empty glasses and a decent bottle of whiskey in his hands when he comes back out, approaching cautiously, in case he needs to duck back out.

The other Legends tended to be fairly cagey about what the future held for Sara, except maybe for Mick who wasn't all that talkative anyway. Still, for as rocky as her and Laurel's relationship had been, she's glad they'd managed to get things back on track eventually.

"You mean the whole death and resurrection thing," she smirks, shrugging her shoulders. They hadn't talked about it much before Sara'd stolen away to figure things out on her own. It was easier that way. Processing everything that'd happened.

"It's not quite as shocking as learning I'm a captain of a time ship in the future, I guess." She chuckles, glancing over as the door cracks open a bit. "You want to sit? The couch is a little dated, but it's cozy."

"Yeah. That's what I meant." She nods, giving Sara a smile. Laurel was glad that things worked out the way they did in the end, knowing it was a risk to even try and bring Sara back in the first place. Team Arrow weren't exactly happy with her decision at the start, but eventually, they came around to it.

"Sure. I'd like to sit." Laurel says, taking a spot on the couch and makes herself comfortable. "From a Legend to a captain. Pretty cool."

Her gaze falls on the bottle of whiskey and the glasses for a moment before she glances at Booker, looking apologetic. "Sorry, Booker. I hate to ask you to go back to the kitchen, but do you have any soda or juice? I don't drink alcohol."

The reasoning for that is something Laurel isn't willing to share right now.

Booker, for one, wasn't shocked at all to hear Sara had become the captain of that team of misfits. She had a level-headedness about her, and an assertion under pressure that lent itself very well to telling people what to do, and to get those people to listen.

And she cared, about each of them. Even without having that bed of memories to fall back on, she still cared.

Given how much he and Sara can manage to put away on a daily basis, he's a little surprised by Laurel's admission - but he honestly don't really care that much. "Yeah, sure," it's an easy nod, and he sets the bottle and glasses by Sara before heading back to find something for Laurel to drink.

There's no soda or juice, but he squeezes some lemon into water, slices in a cross section. It's about as fancy as he has the means for, but he puts in a bit of sugar too - soda and juice were sweet enough he figures she'll like it.

He comes back out, watching Sara closely - trying to gauge if she's okay, if he should leave them be and find something else to do.

"I think it was more like assassin, then vigilante, then dead, then Legend." She smirks at Laurel, curling up on the couch next to her sister and crossing her legs underneath herself.

When Booker returns with the drinks, she winces a little at the realization that Laurel's sober. Shooting Booker an apologetic smile, she watches him head back into the kitchen before turning her attention back to Laurel.

"So how long have you been here?" If she arrived at the same time as the rest of them, she'll kick herself for not knowing her own sister was here sooner.

When Booker returns, she murmurs a quick 'thanks' before patting the open seat next to her.

"I only arrived earlier today. Spent an hour or so in a daze while I tried to get myself feeling back to normal. The arrival part was uh...weird."

An understatement in her opinion, but there isn't much that Laurel can do about it now. She arrived and now she had to figure this place out.

"Thanks, Booker." Laurel gives him a grateful smile when he returns with an alternative drink for her, taking it from him. Her attention switches back to Sara, taking a sip from her glass. It's got a refreshing taste and just the right amount of sweetness to keep her happy.

"Then Booker found me sitting on a bench and we got to talking." She pauses, thinking of how to put the next part. "This might sound even weirder, but I got the feeling that I was here before? Like in a dream or something. In that dream, I think I might've talked to Booker. I don't know. It's so hard to explain."

It's as clear a signal as any that he should stay, and he settles on the couch next to Sara, keenly aware that while he hasn't heard a lot about Laurel, he's well aware of Sara, and the impact Laurel's had on Sara's life - for the better, overall.

Being on the outside of a reunion like this is odd, though there's an ease in the history they share, the way they sit across from each other, that familiarity.

There's something reassuring about it, even sitting on the peripheral.

For all intents and purposes, he's ready to be a silent presence, sit until someone (or something) indicates he should leave; he's pouring out drinks for Sara and him, and his lips pressing together at that... memory.

"Like we'd been out in some indefinite in-between space."

"It's not weird. Hell, we've been through a lot weirder, really." She glances over at Book, glad that he'd managed to recognize her sister and help bring her here. While he's not exactly a chatty man, his presence is steady. Grounding. And with all they'd been through in Deerington, they'd managed to build something together that just... worked.

"The place we were before this, everything kind of felt like a dream. Nightmare, actually, with all the shit it threw at us, so it makes sense that this place would bring some of that with it."

She listens to Sara, nodding in response to her words. Laurel understands that there's probably a lot for the other two to explain about the place before - it's where they found each other and she still really wants to know that story, especially when she catches her sister looking over at Booker.

If the topic comes up of course.

"A nightmare place. Kinda glad I missed out on that if I'm being honest. How long were you - the both of you I guess - in that weird dream place?"

Fuck, the shit they've gone through - he reaches out for her as he leans back against the couch without really thinking about it, hand grazing her hip briefly ( reassuring himself, that she is here ) before he draws it back, to cup around the glass in his hand.

Sara's here, and he's here, and as awful as that is, at least they're together and it's awful. And now Laurel's here, too. Booker's willing to allow that things are a little bit better, when you weren't alone. No matter how much you deserved to be alone.

"I wasn't there that long at all." Granted, his perspective of 8 months is a bit more skewed than most.

She knows that look of curiosity in her sister's eyes. Knows that flicker that passes between herself and Booker means she's trying to suss out just what they are to each other, and Christ if she asks them point blank she's not even sure what either of them would say.

But the two of them, they've been through hell together. And whatever it is that's between them, it's stronger than they're both likely to admit.

She sets the glass in her hand down on the couch cushion to rest her knuckles against Booker's wrist, shrugging at her sister's question.

"I was there about a year. Booker came along a few months later." To be fair, a year was chump change when you'd lived a couple of centuries. But that wasn't exactly her secret to tell.

The way they were so comfortable with each other and those light touches makes Laurel think it was deeper and something real. She's just relieved that her sister wasn't alone.

"A year?" She repeats, mostly to herself. Laurel can't believe it at first, but then again, she has also found herself in this place. "This whole time, I figured you were on the Waverider. Which is why I knew I wouldn't hear from you for a while." Laurel trusted that Rip would keep Sara and the others safe until she was able to pay home a visit.

Her gaze moves between the two of them again as she thinks of a follow up question.

"Is there anyone else here from back home, Sara?"

Booker's well out of practice, both with this socializing thing, and with being in an intimate space with Sara where it wasn't just the two of them, in their own little bubble. Sure, there had been the bar, in the last place, but no one paid much attention there, and those that did weren't all too important.

Laurel though - Laurel was important.

There's a bit of a smile, part regret at the circumstances, but mostly reassured. For all their shared issues and dark pasts, it was good to hear that Sara was cared for. That here was proof, that she was loved and cared for.

It's taken them both long enough to admit that it's not just a stupid fling, much less to admit to anyone but themselves that it's real. Laurel knows better than anyone that 'real' hasn't exactly been part of Sara's track record. Fun, sure. Trouble, certainly. But real?

"Maybe your version of me still is," she offers, shrugging a shoulder. "Truth is, we don't really know how any of it works. We heard of people going back home without any memory of this place. Right back to the moment they were taken from. It's hard to wrap your head around, but... at some point you just learn to roll with it, I guess."

She spares Booker a glance and a small smile. Rolling with it had become a bit of a specialty for them, all things considered.

At Laurel's next question, she chews on her lip a moment. "John's here. Constantine. He owns a shop in town."

Okay. No memories and the possibility of different versions of people. Laurel could handle that knowledge, weird as it was. In general, it's been a very weird day for her so maybe it will take her a lot longer to adjust.

"Learn to roll with it," she echoes, nodding her head before taking a sip from her drink. "I can do that."

She will have to.

"I remember John, even if we didn't have a long conversation." They had more pressing matters like restoring Sara's soul to her body - something that Laurel doesn't need to mention because her sister knows that already. Booker might be aware of it too, but it all depended on what Sara decided to share with him about her life back home.

"So, Booker. Where are you from?"

No harsh grilling from her tonight.

Booker's mid-sip when the question comes, and he's been expecting it. Well, maybe not that question particularly, but it was inevitable that the questions would eventually turn to ones about him - his story, his person, his history. Natural curiosity, for someone who even at a surface level must seem somewhat connected to her sister.

It doesn't surprise him that John got around Sara's world either, the way they know each other.

The answer comes to him easily; a story he's told countless times. "France. Small village outside of Paris. Mostly travel these days." Offer up a little information - not too much - and some questions are easier to dodge later on.

For all the insanity Laurel’s just been dropped into, she’s taking it pretty well. Then again, even before all this, they’d both been dropped into all sorts of crazy anyway. Still, this place was a hell of a lot to take in, and Sara had a sneaking suspicion it was only getting started.

“I’ll have to bring you over to his place at some point.” Even if John and Laurel had only really met in passing, she found it could only help having allies in a place like this. For all the drama they’d been through together, how far back they went, what he’d done for her bringing her back from the dead… bonds like those weren’t forged easily.

As far as Booker went, she was used to the comfortable quiet they tended to fall into so easily. He’s not exactly an easy man to get to know, but she can imagine Laurel’s more than curious about the man.

“Little hard to travel in a place like this, though,” she smirks, shooting him a small smile. “Deerington, too. We met when I was bartending at the last place.”

It's her first day in this place so Laurel has only caught a glimpse of how weird it can be. She is determined to try and handle whatever this world is going to throw at her, just like she did back home. Having people from home will definitely help with that, but Laurel isn't going to put the burden entirely on her sister's shoulders. What they can do is support each other.

"You can show me his place in a few days. I don't think there's any rush since it looks like I'm gonna be here for the foreseeable." Laurel keeps her tone light, but she knows that being in a place away from home isn't going to be easy.

Her attention shifts to Booker when he answers his question. "France? Oh, wow. I haven't been." She replies with a smile, clearly interested in that. Laurel kind of envies him for having the chance to travel around and see the world.

"Bartending huh?" Laurel grins, glancing over at Sara. "You do know your way around a cocktail shaker." It's a compliment. "And thanks for telling me how you two met. I was dying to know."

She laughs.

There'd likely be a lot less envy going on if Laurel knew the full context - but it's too much to get into right now, and his default is to avoid providing that context anyway. It usually didn't bode well for anyone.

It hasn't been as tragic, around here but... the habit is deeply ingrained.

He gives a nod, avoiding the natural space to share about France in favor of,

"Can find you a place too but --" his eyes shift to Sara, a tilt of his head that stands in for a shrug. "Welcome to stay here until you do."

She glances back at Booker, offering him a small smile and giving his knee a squeeze.

"We've got plenty of room. Stay until you get settled. This place is... kind of a lot to take in."

That, and she can keep an eye out for her sister if and when things went sideways in this place. Which, more often than not, they usual did.

Looking between the two of them, Laurel smiles gratefully. "Thanks. I'll find a way to earn my keep while I stay here. "Cook- "A pause- "wait, maybe not that. I can clean, do laundry and things like it."

She finishes off the rest of her drink, placing it down on the coffee table in front of her before getting to her feet.

"I'll get out of your hair and we can talk tomorrow. Booker, it was great to meet you. Thanks for taking me to Sara." Her expression grows soft as she comes over to give her sister a quick embrace. "I'll see you tomorrow, Sara."

Then she pauses again. "Uh. I guess a tour would be great."

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You live your life like a canary in a coalmine

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wraps this up (we can handwave the tour c: )