#feat. ray being a nerd rkorya being next level done and sara and jax being Siblings

[rorykillmore]

fires off a few ideas bc I love everything you write and am always indecisive so! some best au thing that features, as a requirement, cat grant roasting sasuke. rkorya and arrowverse/legends in some capacity. a lionclan or tigerclan fic that's just like their atmosphere or dynamics as a whole? I just want to think about either of them Existing honestly

surprise this one’s with its original ask because i did the first draft of it... well, first, before i decided to post all these separately. rkorya/legends interaction is something i’ve wanted to write for awhile and there were a couple different approaches i considered, but the idea of a first meeting (disastrous as it might inevitably be) won out. i’m sure one or both of us will get an opportunity to expand on the individual relationships in the future, so...

storm, i always almost find myself at a loss when it comes time to talk about our friendship because... idk we’ve endured a lot together and it’s really important to me. you’re someone i feel i can turn to when shit gets really rough and i have trouble admitting my vulnerabilities and i just wouldn’t be the person i am today, and denny wouldn’t be the site that it is, without you. i know you’ve had to put up with a lot of pain and doubt this past year but i’m so so proud of you for pushing through and being back in school for as long as you have been and. well. hopefully you enjoy this fic bc sara and rkorya’s dynamic is one of the many things we’ve built together that i’m really proud of. merry christmas!!!

“But, guys – we’re skipping right over the best part of a generally sucky situation,” Ray chirps excitedly. “There’s a Star Wars universe. Like – an entire dimension where Star Wars is real.”

It’s just bad luck that it happens the way it does.

Could’ve been a lot worse, Sara reflects later – there could’ve been any number of people on board, Newt, Maive, Gardner, Ratchet.  Instead, it’s just her and Rkorya in the midst of a sparring match when the rifts take the entire thing back home. 

They both tense at the sensation – Sara has an immediate, sneaking suspicion of what might’ve happened, and she wonders if Rkorya might even be able to sense it. To put both of their doubts to rest, she asks at once, “Gideon?”

Uncharacteristically, there comes a pause before she answers.  “Well, Captain Lance. It appears we’re home.”

Home. It hits Sara more strangely than she’s ever imagined, especially with Rkorya standing only meters away. Sara looks over to meet her gaze and finds a mirrored whirlwind of emotion there.

“As always, the rifts have a laughable idea of timing,” Rkorya says finally, tersely.

“Don’t panic,” Sara tells her levelly, although the more likely scenario is Rkorya taking it out on whoever’s unlucky enough to get in their way first (this is her dimension, after all, it’s only a matter of time). “– Technically, this is a good thing. We actually have dimension-jumping technology here.”

Rkorya’s eyes widen just slightly, but before she can respond, there’s a voice from somewhere outside in the bridge. 

 “Sara?”

Sara’s heart leaps in her chest, and she thinks the sudden surge of disbelief and warmth and familiarity she feels must be what keeps Rkorya from reacting too visibly. Jax.  “Looks like my crew’s found us already,” she murmurs a not-entirely-necessary warning.

“I’ll brace myself,” Rkorya responds dryly, still tense (though Sara can’t really blame her, all of this hitting her at once), eyes on the door.

“In the Cargo Bay,” Sara calls, and it’s only another moment before some of them start to file in.

“What happened?” Jax asks as he appears, oblivious to the way Sara stares at him almost disbelievingly. “We thought you left us, for a minute there –”

He cuts off as he sees Rkorya, stunned.

“Who’s this?” Amaya is quicker to demand, coming up behind him with Ray in tow. Sara thinks she ought to be grateful that it’s just the three of them, for the moment, but she’s still sort of reeling from seeing them all again. Has it really been a whole year?

Ray doesn’t manage to be quite so diplomatic, peering around Jax excitedly. “Holy smokes, is that – is that an alien?”

“Greetings,” Rkorya replies dryly, now that she can finally get a word in – though she seems to be leaving the explanation to Sara.

“Slow down, guys,” she cuts in, composing herself. “This is going to take a little bit of explaining.” 

“You think?” Jax sounds vaguely amused.

“Sara – she has a lightsaber.” Ray can’t contain himself, and Amaya furrows her brow.

“What’s a lightsaber?”

Sara thinks she might feel a migraine coming on – it’s difficult to grapple some control, when she’s fighting off so many emotions. She thinks Rkorya must feel it, because she’s been uncharacteristically understated in her reaction to all this. “I’m sure Rkorya would be happy to explain that to you,” she tells Amaya, a little wryly.

“The moment I’m allowed enough breathing room to do so,” Rkorya adds.

“Sorry.” Jax nods to her directly, though his gaze keeps flickering over to Sara. “You’re right. But we should probably call the whole team together for this.” 

The entire team occupying the same space doesn’t general equate to breathing room, Sara thinks, but she can’t deny that she’s already longing to see them all again. “Right,” she agrees finally.  “We’ve got some serious catching up to do.”

“So you were stuck in a different world,” Jax reiterates in disbelief once they’ve all assembled at the bridge. “For a year.”

“And yet, to us – it felt like mere moments!”  Stein, unsurprisingly, has been engrossed from the start of their explanation.  “Not that time discrepancies would be, theoretically, uncommon between dimensions – especially distant ones. Still… astonishing.”

Sara’s on the edge of a fond smile, in spite of herself, as Rkorya nods to him curtly. “Fortunate for all of us that was the case. I can’t imagine the chaos that would’ve unfolded otherwise.”

“But, guys – we’re skipping right over the best part of a generally sucky situation,” Ray chirps excitedly. “There’s a Star Wars universe. Like – an entire dimension where Star Wars is real.”

“Come on, man, get your priorities straight,” Nate reprimands him, which Sara is pretty sure absolutely no one is convinced by. Sure enough, he turns to Rkorya, eyes shining.  “Have you ever met anyone by the name of Indiana Jones?”

“No,” she tells him flatly, briefly glancing at Sara.  “Although I’ve already been informed of the fictional… similarities you’re apparently familiar with.”

“Multiple times, actually,” Sara adds. She hates to stamp on their excitement, but she’s also vaguely fearing for their future safety. “Seriously, guys, it’s kind of old by now.”

“Can I just hold it?” Nate eyes Rkorya’s lightsaber, ignoring the veiled warning. “Just once? Can I touch your spiky horn things?”

“Nate,” Sara snaps, annoyed now. He pauses, eyeing her sheepishly – and then falters in earnest when he sees the level, intent way Rkorya is regarding him.

“I might allow it,” she begins, tone deceptively cordial in a way Sara recognizes instantly.  “Provided you find the risk agreeable.”

“Risk?”

“You may not get your hand back afterwards.”

Mick, who up until now hasn’t contributed much to the conversation from where he’s leaning up against a wall, grins slightly.

There are situations where Sara would take a threat to one of her crew with some concern, but she registers this as casual Sith banter, by now. Nate obviously doesn’t have that background knowledge – he takes a slight step back, but Sara figures it’s good for him to learn some boundaries from the get-go.

“I think… that brings to light a more objective concern about all of this,” Stein takes the opportunity to intervene. 

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mick growls. “She’s speaking my language.”

“She is a Sith.” Stein ignores him, appealing to Sara directly. “Correct me if my limited knowledge of the canon is incorrect - or if it doesn’t apply to its real life equivalent - but doesn’t that mean she serves a fascist empire? That she abides by their code?”

Sara feels as much as watches the energy in the room tighten as both Rkorya and Amaya go tense. “What do you mean fascist empire –?” Amaya starts. Even Nate and Ray are starting to look uncomfortable.

“Well, actually the code of the Sith and the ideals of the Empire aren’t – mutually inclusive, necessarily –”  Ray begins to ramble, but Rkorya cuts him off heatedly.

“I can speak for myself. Do not presume to know better than someone who’s lived this, no matter how many movies you’ve watched.” She fixes him with a fierce glare for a moment longer, and then turns to address Stein.  “And I’ll remind you that I did not come to this dimension of my own accord, let alone to defend my ideals to a stranger.”

“Your ideals inherently need defending!” Amaya flares up in Stein’s defense. “Some of us have fought wars to keep people like you our of power! Or ancestors who have been persecuted and killed simply for being who they are!”

Tension bleeds through the whole room now.  Stein, Amaya, and Rkorya face off, bristling, while Jax has moved warily to Stein’s other side.  Ray and Nate seem to be trying to hold off escalating the situation, glancing nervously at Sara, but even Mick’s fingers are twitching towards his gun. Sara knows he might not have as many moral hangups here as the rest of them, but he’ll protect his teammates on principle, even if he pretends otherwise.

It’s well past time to step in. Sara - partly out of duty and partly out of a chronic disregard for self-preservation - steps between them.

“Everyone cool off.” The brunt of the order is directed towards the crew she actually leads. “We’re not wrecking the Waverider unless you want to sit around and fix it up afterwards.”

“Captain –” Stein begins crossly, but Sara holds up a hand.

“I understand,” she tells him more softly, and she does.  For all that Rkorya has become a friend - a close one - Sara has never pretended to agree with what her Empire stands for. And she knows that Stein with all his ties to his Jewish heritage, and Amaya, a veteran of World War II, have more reason to speak out than anyone. She doesn’t want to stifle them, but she also doesn’t want them to misinterpret the situation.  “I also spent years training with the League of Assassins.”

“She has a point,” Mick concedes prematurely. “She’s killed a hell of a lot of people.”

Sara shoots him a look, and he shrugs. “Not judging. I have too.”

“That’s not what I was getting at, but thanks.” She rolls her eyes and continues. “I spent years training with the League, and yeah, a lot of what I learned there was less than savory. But I also learned that when the people at the head of an organization are shit, sometimes you have to count on the people underneath them to make a difference. Rkorya’s smart. She’s competent. She cares. She spent her time in that other world making it more organized and more safe for everyone, and she managed to do that without overthrowing democracy as we know it.”

Silence greets her obvious vote of good faith, but her team is at least looking more wary now and less… stunned and mutinous.  She continues,  “Rkorya’s world needs her.  Without her, the Empire’s not going to just disappear – but believe it or not, a lot more lives will be at stake.” Here she finally turns to meet Rkorya’s gaze, and a heartbeat of grim understanding passes between them. Neither of them will ever forget what the viewer showed them on Rime (speaking of, she probably owes Rip a serious talk – but that’s an issue for another time).

At any rate, her intervention seems to be enough to convince Rkorya to lay down her metaphorical arms for the time being. When she steps up to Sara’s side, the aggression has seeped out of her stance, and the chill in the air has lightened.

“I have no desire to threaten you or your world. I merely wish to return to mine” she tells them stiffly. She tilts her head and regards Amaya more carefully. “What you spoke of – persecution, discrimination based on race, or species, or religion – if nothing else we can agree that it is both ineffective and vile. That I will fight against even within the bounds of my own Empire.”

“I’m sure that makes her feel a whole lot better,” Mick quips sarcastically, but Amaya is regarding Rkorya with a kind of somber weightedness now. Finally, she gives a curt nod – and then glances at Stein.

“Well – not all of us may be… happy about it,”  he murmurs, half-relenting. “But if the extent of our involvement is returning her to where she belongs –”

“That might be easier said than done.” Jax both looks and sounds awkward about it. “I mean, the tech we need to cross dimensions is in Central City, and we still kinda have our hands full…”

“With what?” Rkorya turns her attention on him, frowning.  

Where to even begin, Sara realizes – here she is, reunited not only with her friends (her family) but with the opportunity for revenge that she’s never quite managed to pry herself away from longing. She thinks of Damien Darhk, imagines choking the smirk off his face and the life from his lungs slowly and painfully – and has to clamp down on a fresh surge of rage before it draws attention to her.

“Right. Before I left, we were dealing with… a problem.”  She chews the inside of her cheek, remembering the speedster.  “Several problems, actually.”

She feels the carefulness with which Rkorya watches her. Maybe she’s remembering the other part of what they saw in the Rime viewer, now.  “Then, if your team would allow my assistance… I’d be all too glad to lend it.”  She glances over to the rest of them.  “It would solve all our problems that much more quickly.”

Sara stays silent, because while she appreciates Rkorya’s loyalty - and while she is the captain - she won’t force her team into an alliance they’re not comfortable with.

“Weeell, I’m all for it,” Ray speaks first, if more slowly than is typical for him. “I mean, let’s face it. With all of time and thus… reality potentially at stake, we could use all the extra firepower we can get.”

“She seems badass.” Nate sounds more comfortable voicing his support in Ray’s wake. “I’m just hoping I come out of this with all my limbs intact.”

Mick grunts noncommittally, only deciding to expound when Sara shoots him a questioning glance. “Whatever. If we’re doing this, we’re doing it. I don’t care who we drag along as long as I get to burn something.”

While not exactly reassuring, it’s about what Sara expected from him. She nods, and turns to the remaining three – whose opinions she’s also the most uncertain of.

Jax, for his part, looks slowly from her to Rkorya, and then back.  He’s practically her second in command, and more than that, his voice is one she’s come to depend on for its compassion and objectivity (sometimes she lacks both). “If Sara trusts her,” he says finally, simply. “Then so do I.”

She exhales quietly. She’d forgotten up until this moment, she realizes, how much his opinion means to her.

“Jefferson… makes a valid point,” Stein admits tersely. “That you are willing to vouch for her – I suppose I should have taken that into consideration from the beginning, Captain Lance.”  

He frowns at Rkorya directly in the next moment, none the less. “But that does not mean I agree with – with what you serve. Or that I ever will.”

Rkorya inclines her head, eyes narrowed slightly.  “Fortunately such matters are irrelevant to a temporary alliance,” she replies, just as terse.

Amaya seems resigned to being outvoted – she doesn’t voice her assent, but she unfolds her arms, frowning.  “I’ll be keeping an eye on you,” she tells Rkorya shortly – and leaving it there, stalks off to some other part of the ship, head held high.

Sara thinks she should make a point of going after her sooner rather than later. Amaya’s still one of their newer members, after all, and the last thing she wants is to make her feel more alienated than she already might. For the moment, though, the team takes that as their cue to disperse and tend to their usual pre-takeoff preparations. She leans back against the console, waiting for them to leave her alone with Rkorya for a moment – so she’s a little surprised when Jax pauses on his way out and pulls her into a careful hug.

She tenses briefly, and then leans into him, wrapping her arms loosely around his shoulders. “It’s only been like, five minutes for you, nerd.”

“Yeah,” he murmurs. “But for you it’s been a lot longer.”

After a year away, Sara hadn’t realized she needed this. Apparently, though, Jax has.

She finally pulls away, and he lets her, giving Rkorya a short nod before heading off himself. It’s Ray who stops next, grinning lopsidedly at Sara, but she can tell what he’s really there for. It’s an effort not to smirk a little as Rkorya begins to look dubious.

“Listen – I just wanted to say –” Ray fumbles a little, not uncharacteristically. “Well, I know they’re just movies to you, but to me – those stories were what gave me hope, as a kid. Hell, they’re what inspired a lot of my work.”

“Your work?” Rkorya looks him over skeptically.

“He’s our inventor,” Sara informs her, allowing herself a private (and a damn good one).

“I dunno, just… a world where people can cross the stars? With all this incredible technology at their fingertips, where you get to make these… big, defining choices about who and what you want to be…” Ray looks embarrassed for a moment as they watch him ramble on. “What I’m trying to say is, well – it means a lot. Getting to meet you.”

Sara knows Rkorya well enough to read the minute surprise in her expression, even as it flickers and is gone within the next second.  “Well, if you have been as inspired as you claim…  perhaps I’ll have a look at some of these inventions myself. Should we get the opportunity.”

“Really?” Ray’s whole face lights up.  “Because I would love your input on my suit’s weapons systems – oh, and I’ve been tinkering with this… lightsaber-esque design? I say ‘esque’ because I can’t exactly mimic –”

“Ray,”  Sara cuts in patiently, and he clears his throat.

“Right. Right! Later.” He actually fingerguns Rkorya as he starts to back away, and she has to repress another sigh. “I will see you both… later.”

The bridge finally empties out, and Sara and Rkorya are left to share a moment of silence alone.

“You certainly didn’t undersell them,” Rkorya finally breaks it, and Sara’s lips twitch.

“They’re… a handful.” She doesn’t even try to hide the statement’s affectionate edge.  “And for a team of superheroes, they don’t really tend to warm up to people quickly, so an initial disaster was probably inevitable. But! With that out of the way…” 

“We’ll be fast friends, I’m sure,” Rkorya finishes for her dryly, though she also sounds a little amused.

“Mostly, anyway.” There’s no promising that Stein and Amaya will come around, if Sara knows them, but you can’t win every battle. She pauses, bracing herself for more earnest sincerity. “…But, thank you. For saying you’ll help. I promise, we’ll get you home as soon as we can.”

“They’re your people,” Rkorya replies simply, turning to meet her gaze. “That alone is enough to make them worth prioritizing.”

It means more than Sara knows how to say – but the nice thing, at this point, is that she doesn’t really have to say it. If they’d been in Rkorya’s world, with Rkorya’s crew, she likes to think she’d feel the same way.

“Well,” she says finally, bracing herself for a ride (in more ways than one), “Let’s get this show on the road.”

#numinousbones #i was really tempted to try and fit in some arrow cast interactions but it didnt quite work out with the pacing #maybe next time.... #feat. ray being a nerd rkorya being next level done and sara and jax being Siblings #also this is probably my longest gift fic because i love throwing people at these assholes