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As he watches from the shadows, identity hidden under a black hood, a beard and wig, he smiles. It was good to see them working like a well-oiled machine still.
He observes as Oliver, wearing a new, much tougher-looking green uniform, flies out from the top of one of tanker trucks to land on the group of Triad members unloading the crates from a trailer truck. Digg, finally wearing some identity concealment in the form of an all grey and leather suit and helmet, joins the fight, battling Triad members in hand-to-hand combat. Laurel was in the fray as well, using some kind of baton to incapacitate their enemies. And finally, Thea, in a familiar but feminised red suit that causes a pang in his heart, picking off those that tried to run from the fight with well-aimed trick arrows that tied around the criminals’ legs, making them ready for Oliver, Laurel or Digg to knock unconscious.
It takes the team less than fifteen minutes to capture all of the Triad members present and secure the crates.
“Hey,” he could hear Oliver talk on the comms. He knew who was at the other end – Felicity, the final member of the team, their tech support, the Green Arrow’s heart, and the one who called him back to Starling – Star City. He heard Oliver continue with a voice he has never heard the man use before, “No one’s hurt. We’re all OK. Call Lance, we’ve got them. Yeah, we’re taking pictures of the crates. Of course. Military grade weapons. Someone seems to have been upgrading the Triad’s funds. We’ll figure it out when we get back to HQ. OK. I’ll see you soon.”
As they wait for the SCPD to arrive, the team takes their individual places to keep an eye on the unconscious criminals and their illegal cargo. They all fade into the shadows without a sound.
As he hears the sound of the sirens, signaling that the SCPD was close, he could sense the team leaving the scene – as silently as they showed up. He stays for a few more minutes, seeing Captain Lance lead the charge and find the Triad members and their loot, and what seems to be a note left on top of one of the crates.
He hears Lance mutter, “These damned vigilantes!” before commanding his police force to take the criminals and the crates back to SCPD.
He smiles with pride. Mission accomplished.
—————
Everyone is accounted for, and winding down from another successful mission, when the doors leading to the old subway tracks open with a beep. Immediately, the team is on high alert.
Oliver, who had been leaning against Felicity’s computer table, dressed in regular clothes, tenses as he reaches for one of the several knives he always has on person, ready to deal with the intruder and protect Felicity.
Digg, who had been cleaning his Glocks by the circular table, raises two of his guns towards the doors.
Thea and Laurel, who had been getting one last round of sparring before the night was over, rush from the training section, Thea with an arrow nocked on her bow, and Laurel with her baton held aloft.
“Way to make a man feel welcome,” the man, dressed in a black hoodie and black jeans, who had just walked so casually into the bunker, chides as he holds his arms up high in an unmistakable sign of surrender.
“Roy!” Felicity cries, jumping from her seat and running towards him to give him a big hug.
“Roy?” Oliver and Digg look to each other for confirmation before lowering their weapons and walking towards Felicity and Roy.
“Hey, Blondie,” Roy greets the big ball of blonde in his arms warmly, “I got your message.”
“Roy…?” Thea says in wonder, tentatively approaching where he stood.
“Hey, Thea,” Roy responds with a blush and a smile, “You looked good out there.”
Thea smiles and then jumps into his arms in happiness, “Roy!”
“What’s going on?” Laurel asks, looking at the rest of her teammates.
“I sent Roy our coordinates, remember?” Felicity answers, watching Thea and Roy with a teary-smile on her face, her arms around Oliver’s torso. “All team members should have access to our base.”
“Yes, but that was over a month ago,” Laurel says.
“It took me a while to get here,” Roy explains, as he pulls away from Thea’s hug hesitantly, “I was on the other side of the country.”
Roy keeps an arm around Thea as he receives a brotherly hug and a slap on the shoulder from Digg, “Hey, John.”
“Glad to have you back, Roy,” John smiles.
“You two together?” Roy turns his attention to Oliver and Felicity, at their nods, he says, “Finally. I thought you were both too boneheaded to figure it out.”
“Tell me about it,” John rolls his eyes.
“Hey! Watch who you’re calling boneheaded! That’s my girlfriend!” Oliver complains, slapping Roy’s back teasingly before pulling the younger man into a bear hug. “You’ve been missed, Arsenal,” Oliver says in a low and earnest voice.
Roy nods in acceptance, no words necessary. He had missed his family.
————
“How did you guys find me?” Roy asks as he sits with Thea and John around the big, round table, waiting for their dinner.
Felicity and Oliver had offered to pick up some food for Roy’s impromptu ‘Welcome Back’ dinner, while Laurel excused herself to take a shower and wash of the grime of a night of crime-fighting.
“Did you really think Felicity would have let you out of her sight completely?,” John says by way of explanation.
“Of course,” Roy smiles, shaking his head. “So, Felicity and Oliver, huh?”
“Yes,” Thea says excitedly, “She’s been so good for him.”
“And I’m sure he’s been good to her,” Roy chuckles, “The boy has been smitten for such a long time.”
John chuckles and shakes his head, “For far longer than he could ever admit to.”
“Really?” Thea asks, “I thought it was only in the last year.”
“Oh no, definitely for much longer than that,” Roy says, “I knew it the first time I was introduced to the team. She was babbling about Team Arrow and Oliver was like, 'Stop” and she went on and on as if she knew he wasn’t going to do anything about it. Like she owned him and he knew it.“
"You weren’t there for the crap excuses, Roy. Vertigo in syringes because he ran out of sports bottles …” John shakes his head, “Or for the repeated visits to Felicity to get her to help with the ‘science stuff’. It was like seeing the Vigilante turn into a school boy with a crush. She was no better.”
“What? Even as far back as that?” Thea asks.
John nods in response, “Or the first time he saw her glammed up. I thought the boy was going to swallow his tongue and forget his own name. I think he did.”
“Or what about the long, longing glances?” Roy adds, chuckling, “Those were the worst!”
“I think it’s sweet,” Thea says with a smile, “It would have been nice to see that.”
“You can still see it, Thea,” John reminds her, “They’re no different now – might actually be worse.
“So, they’re making sex eyes at each other, huh,” Roy confirms.
“Always,” Thea answers, rolling her eyes, “It’s uncomfortable sometimes. Because – brother!”
John and Roy laugh out loud at Thea’s words, enjoying the moment of levity at Oliver and Felicity’s expense.
“But really, I have just one question,” Roy says after they have some reprieve from laughing.
“What?” John and Thea ask in unison.
“Has anyone walked in on them doing the nasty?” Roy asks with his eyebrows wagging.
“Roy!” Thea exclaims, hitting him on the arm.
“No, thank god,” John says with relief, “They’ve wired this bunker tight. Felicity’s got monitors and sensors a block away, so she can tell when someone’s near.”
“Speaking of … Wow, this place is pretty sweet,” Roy says, looking all around the new base.
“It is,” John admits seriously, looking away.
“What’s up with you and Oliver?” Roy frowns, “I could sense a disturbance in the bromance.”
Thea bites her lips, looking at John tentatively.
“He had to pretend to be brainwashed by Ra’s Al Ghul,” John says in a low voice, “He worked with Merlyn instead of trusting us with that plan. And he took Lyla as one of the ways to prove it.”
“Shit, is Lyla OK?” Roy asks urgently.
“She is. He didn’t harm her,” John answers, “But–”
“But he crossed a line,” Roy finishes for him. At John’s nod, Roy rests a comforting hand on the older man’s shoulder, “That’s tough, man.”
“We’re working fine,” John says.
“You are,” Roy agrees, “I saw the team at the docks tonight. You’re all working like a really well-oiled machine. Pretty impressive.”
“Do you miss it?” Laurel asks tentatively from behind him, “Being part of the team?”
“I would be lying, if I said that I don’t,” Roy admits, “It’s good to have a purpose, you know. And I miss my family.”
Thea sniffs as she lays her head on Roy’s shoulder.
Laurel swallows visibly before saying, “Roy, I want to say – I’m sorry. My actions and my dad’s reaction to what I’ve done forced you to give this all up.”
Roy looks down on the table with a sad smile, “I’d do it all over again, if that’s the only way to save Oliver.”
“I’m sorry,” Laurel whispers.
Roy nods before lifting his head, “It’s in the past.”
————-
“So, Vice Mayor, huh?” Roy says as he and Oliver lay the food out on the table.
Oliver and Felicity went all out for dinner tonight. No Big Belly Burger for Roy’s return. No, such an occasion warranted a call to an Italian bistro and dropping names like “Vice Mayor candidate Oliver Queen” and “Palmer Tech CEO Felicity Smoak” to get an extra special take out meal.
“Yeah,” Oliver nods, “We thought I could be of help to the city in more ways than putting on the hood and arrowing people into behaving.”
“We?”
“Felicity and I,” Oliver responds, “And the rest of the team.”
Roy nods and pats Oliver’s back in agreement. He’s glad that they get to live full lives now – and getting be heroes in and out of the their masks.
“Are you staying for good?” Thea asks hopefully as they finish up with dinner. It was the question on everyone’s minds, but no one had the heart to utter.
Roy sighs. He could sense the rest of the team waiting for his response with baited breaths. This is where things get tough.
“I don’t think I can,” he finally says, “It’s too risky for anyone of you to be associated with me. And I know you’ve created a solid identity for me, Felicity. And thank you for that. Being Todd Grayson is a good person to be.”
“But?” Thea asks.
“But Todd Grayson belongs in New York, not in Star City,” Roy continues, “Here, I would never be able to show my face again. Not even if you removed all photos of me admitting to be the Arrow online, Blondie. I know you can do that. But someone will always remember. And I can’t risk that. I can’t risk any of you being implicated in that.”
“Roy, you know we’re willing to take the risk, right?” John says.
“We can also remove all records and proof from SCPD and the D.A.’s office,” Laurel offers.
Roy looks at Thea with sad eyes, as he responds, “I know you all would be willing to take that risk – for me to be cause of all of this coming down – but I don’t want to you to take that risk. I can’t ask you to take that risk.”
“You won’t have to ask,” Felicity says, “We’ll do it.”
Roy smiles at her and shakes his head, “I’ll always be available, if you need me. You know how to reach me – and I will always be there. And I will always miss you all. You have no idea.”
He turns his gaze back to Thea, “But I can’t live half a life. I don’t want to. Being Todd Grayson in New York allows me to walk in the sunlight. To be myself. To have a future beyond this work. I can only be Roy Harper here in this bunker, in this team. But beyond that? I would have to hide – live in the shadows. Worse, to drag parts of you in the shadows with me. I don’t want that. I want more.”
Oliver looks at Roy for a few seconds before nodding, “I understand.”
Roy turns to his mentor, his hero, and smiles sadly, “I thought you might.”
Oliver looks over at Felicity who had been leaning against his shoulder throughout the conversation, and nods as he smiles, “I do,” before reaching a hand to clutch Roy’s shoulders in understanding.
John takes the other shoulder and squeezes it, “You always have a home here, Roy. Or Todd. Or Arsenal. And you will call, if you need us. For anything.”
Roy nods, his throat clogged.
Thea sighs and wraps her arms around Roy’s waist as the rest of the team look on in empathy.
“You’ll be fine, Thea,” Roy whispers, clutching her to him.
“I know,” Thea smiles at him with tears in her eyes, “So will you.”
They stay in their embrace for a while, seeking the kind of comfort they can only find in each other.
She pulls away from his arms as she wipes her tears away, before saying with an accepting smile, “Also, wearing a wig is not a good look for you.”
“Ugh,” Roy agrees with a teasing smile, “You have no idea how horrible it is to wear what feels like a dead skunk.”
And right on cue, the team laughs.
/end