Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There was a slight tingle that crept up the dark-haired man’s neck as his partner combed his hair in the mirror for him. The two of them looked at one another through the reflective glass, one with a cheesy grin on his face, the other with warm, content eyes. Their tuxedos were custom tailored to their fit bodies, and there was just enough stubble on either of their faces to not look unkempt. Separately, they were Oliver Queen and Tommy Merlyn, two of Star City’s most handsome devils, but together, they were one of the highest-profile couples in the city, and with good reason.

“God, we’re handsome,” Tommy said with an arbitrary shake of his head, his eyes transfixed on Oliver’s reflection. His man chuckled, but didn’t argue. Instead, he placed a hand on Tommy’s shoulder, giving it a good squeeze and a smile.

Straightening his tie, Tommy asked, “I guess we should head out, huh?”

Oliver nodded as he turned away from the mirror. “Seems like it. Wouldn’t want to be late.”

Tommy reached over to Oliver and took him by the tie, pulling himself up close to the dirty blonde’s face, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. “We could always skip,” he whispered through his grin. “Your tux is just begging for me to rip it off of you.”

“My tux cost you over four hundred dollars,” Oliver reminded him with a calm demeanor, pulling his tie slowly out of the other’s grip. “And we can’t cancel - this is Dinah’s big night. I can’t miss it.”

With a heavy sigh and a roll of his eyes, Tommy agreed as he followed Oliver across the room to the door. “If people were smart, they’d be celebrating you tonight.”

“You know I’m not the Green Arrow for the accolades,” Oliver said, ushering his partner out of the room. “No matter how much you want me to be some big publicity figure, I can’t be. It’s just...not me anymore.”

A chuckle escaped Tommy’s lips as they descended to the first floor of the Queen mansion together. “I remember when it was all you were.”

“I’d rather not talk about the person I used to be.”

“I know.” They reached the bottom of the steps. Tommy turned to his friend and confidant, a warm smile on his face. “You’ve grown up into a much different, much better, person.”

Oliver didn’t know about all that, but he smiled just the same. “John should be here soon to pick us up. Let’s get outside.” He looked around in search of something. “William? William, we’re heading out!”

There was shuffling from the sitting room and William poked his head out into the foyer, eyebrows arched. “Okay.”

Tommy grinned. “Keep the couch warm for when I get back.”

“ After you’ve finished working on your project for the day,” Oliver ordered, giving a non-threatening point.

William rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

“Uh-uh. Nope.” Tommy pointed this time. “No project, no Smash . That’s my Switch.”

At least a little cowed, William nodded. “Okay. I promise. Have fun.” And his head disappeared again.

Oliver led Tommy over to the front door, a proud smirk on his face. Tommy caught wind of it and smiled. “What?”

“Look at you, being a responsible dad.”

“You told me I spoil him,” Tommy said flatly.

“You do.”

“Can’t be the cool dad without a little spoiling here and there,” Tommy countered. Laughing, the two made their way outside.

The drive under the front balcony was occupied by a large, fancy-looking black car with dark-tinted windows. Beside it stood one John Diggle, his burly figure squeezed into a dark suit, although the chauffeur hat on his head seemed strangely out of place.

Oliver raised an eyebrow at him as they approached the vehicle. “What is that , John? A little past trying to keep up appearances, aren’t we?”

Diggle shrugged. “You’re going to a big shindig just like the old days. Thought I’d play the part.”

Shaking his head, Tommy sighed. “You’re not going to drive us, are you, Dig? You’re not employed by my family, and you definitely don’t owe us anything.”

“I appreciate that,” Diggle replied with a smirk. “But no. The driver’s waiting. I just stole his hat.”

The three men piled into the luxurious back seat of the vehicle, Tommy and Oliver seated opposite Lyla and Diggle. The four exchanged hellos and the small talk began as the car vacated the Queen estate.

“What’s it like sleeping in your old house again, Oliver?” Diggle asked.

“It’s been so long. Years . It felt amazing.” Tommy put his hand on Oliver’s and squeezed. “I still can’t believe Tommy bought the estate just so I would have a home to go back to.”

Tommy cleared his throat. “So that we would have a home to go back to.”

“Your father’s inheritance was substantial,” Lyla noted, “but is it enough, Tommy? What are you doing with your time?”

The smile on his face dimmed a little. “I still manage the clubs that Thea and I started up, but other than that, I’ve been keeping busy cleaning up my dad’s mess. A lot of his inheritance has been invested in reconstruction projects and bonds. I have a whole team of lawyers and accountants managing it for me. I know Dad would have hated me for it. Same with the donations to the Foundation.” He lapsed into silence, and Oliver squeezed his hand in support. “I’m just glad Ollie’s back home. I could barely concentrate the clubs, let alone my personal goals with the Glades.”

“Yeah, you bit off quite a bit there,” Diggle agreed. He looked Oliver in the eye, deadpan. “I found him passed out on the couch one night in his formal suit, and he didn’t even need his night cap.”

Tommy’s eyes widened and his lips pressed together, shaking his head subtly at Diggle. When Oliver leaned forward into his field of view, he sighed and closed his eyes. “Yes, I started drinking a little while you were in prison. But it’s under control, I promise. A single drink at night for nerves, nothing else. And I haven’t had a drink since you came home.”

There was another squeeze of his hand, this one lasting longer. “I trust you. Tell me what you need from me, and I’ll do it.” Although Tommy found he couldn’t look him in the eye, Oliver’s voice was soft and even, causing his friend’s heart to beat itself straight up into his ears, burning his face red in the process.

The remainder of the trip to City Hall was uneventful, with Tommy finally finding the confidence to give Oliver a shaky smile, which was returned in spades. As they pulled up to the building, Oliver raised Tommy’s hand and kissed his knuckle. “It’s okay. Let’s go be with our friends.”

The four of them approached City Hall with purpose, guided in toward the visitor halls of the lower floors by ushers. As they appeared in the main hall where the celebration was taking place, there was a round of applause. Although the timing was suspect, no one was paying attention to the people entering the room; instead, all eyes were focused on a tall, confident woman with long auburn hair as she approached the podium set up at the far end of the room, a throng of people in suits, tuxes, and dresses of all sorts in the space leading up to her. She was introduced by a small woman with sharp features. Oliver and his friends joined the applause as they approached the crowd.

“Thank you all,” the woman said with a smile visible from the far side of the room. “This award is an honor, but the true honor is being able to work for this city. Star City has come a long way since the times of the Undertaking. We’ve suffered greatly, but Star City has bounced back again and again because of its amazing, dedicated people. It is my greatest joy and honor to serve you and this marvelous city as its Chief of Police. But I fear I cannot take all the credit for this award,” she added. She indicated a few uniformed policemen and women around the stage. “I am but one of many who serve you faithfully and dutifully, and with the help of men and women like these, and other dear friends,” she locked eyes with Oliver at the back of the crowd and smiled even larger, “we will continue to put forth our best efforts to protect and enhance the livelihood of every citizen in Star City. Thank you.”

Thunderous applause illuminated the hall as the woman stepped down and made her way around the crowd to be in front of her friends. Dinah Drake, the Star City Chief of Police, smiled warmly at Oliver while she hugged Tommy, Lyla, and Diggle in turn.

“I’m so glad you could make it,” Dinah said. “I was worried when I heard that Oliver was going to be wearing a tux. When was the last time you had to put one of those on?”

“Oh, did I put the cumberbund on backwards again?” Oliver asked, jokingly looking down at his perfectly arranged tuxedo. Laughter circulated through the group.

“Oliver, would you go get me a drink?” Dinah asked, batting her eyelashes for effect. “I’m parched.”

Not even remotely convinced she wasn’t up to something, Oliver raised a suspicious eyebrow in her direction before leaning over and kissing Tommy on the cheek. “For you, Captain, anything,” he said, looking around for a waiter before moving away from the group.

After watching Oliver stalk away, Tommy moved over next to Dinah and leaned in a little. “Now that you have me all to yourself, what shall we do, Miss Drake?” He wiggled his eyebrows and grinned at her.

A roll of her eyes led to a small chuckle. “I’d like to keep living past tonight, thanks, Merlyn.” But Dinah’s smile turned genuine and she put a hand on Tommy’s shoulder. “But in all seriousness, thank you, Tommy.”

Concerned, Tommy shook his head. “Thank you? For what, exactly?”

“Oliver’s a different man around you,” Diggle said. Dinah nodded in agreement.

Concern melted into confusion. “He is? He’s just Oliver . How is he different?”

“Well, for one thing, I haven’t heard him make a joke in ages,” Lyla said with a laugh. “It would seem that you bring out the best in him.”

“When he and Felicity broke up last year over her refusal to get married, I was afraid he’d go to someplace dark,” Dinah sighed. “And then he did all those things to me and the others-”

“Oh. The spying,” Tommy realized. “But things are good between you now, right?”

“Mostly, I think,” Dinah said, her smile returning. “But I didn’t expect to come back into the fold with Oliver smiling again. What did you do, anyway?”

Tommy shrugged. “I was just myself around him, same as ever. We’ve been friends for ages, but neither of us had ever thought to ask the other out. We fought over girls all the time, back in the day. But after I helped him with the break up, I guess something just finally clicked between us.”

“Your anniversary is coming up soon, right?” Diggle asked.

“It’s next week.” Smiles broke out between them. Suddenly concerned, Tommy looked around at his friends. “What? Did I miss something?”

“No,” Lyla said, taking Diggle’s hand and smiling up at him. “No, it’s nothing. We’re just really happy you two found each other.”

“It was a pretty tough few years for everyone,” Tommy admitted, looking down at his cider. “Trying to fix my dad’s mistakes, Thea being my sister, and then Laurel-”

“Hey, everybody.”

Tommy’s blood froze in his veins. He turned to face an imposter, a murderer wearing Laurel’s face. He forced a smile. “Laurel,” he managed, trying very hard not to let her see his left eye twitch. “So nice to see the DA taking it easy to celebrate the city’s finest.”

Laurel and Dinah gave each other a mutually polite smile, then Laurel looked back at Tommy, the snide look returning to her face. It soiled what Tommy remembered of Laurel’s beauty. “Of course. I wouldn’t dare tread on Captain Drake’s big day. I’m very proud of everything the SCPD have done since she took the office.”

He knew she wasn’t lying, but Tommy couldn’t ignore the pit in his stomach. Three years later, every time he looked at her, the old Laurel - his Laurel - was all he saw, but every time she opened her mouth, it destroyed the illusion that she was still among them. He’d been told multiple times by Oliver, Dinah, and even Felicity that this Laurel was trying to be a better person, and exposing who she really was would compromise their movements in the government and as vigilantes both. So he swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded as politely to Fake Laurel as he could.

“Dinah, here you go.” Oliver handed the Chief a flute of champagne, nodded curtly to Laurel before finding his place next to Tommy once more. “So, I suppose you’ll be schmoozing a bit?”

Dinah rolled her eyes, resigned to her fate. “We’re going out for beers later, right?” she asked, radiating an impatient hope.

Oliver gave Tommy an inquisitive look, who shifted his weight nervously. “I think you’ll have to party without us tonight,” Oliver said, handing Tommy a flute of sparkling cider. “But for now,” he said, toasting with his own, “to the Chief, and the peace she has brought to Star City.”

“And may I not fail this city,” Dinah piped in, and everyone laughed.

“Mister Queen, may I have a statement?”

Tommy turned to look at a mousy young woman with a media pendant around her neck, her cell phone in her hand. He gave Oliver an uneasy look, but the man just gave him a comforting squeeze of his hand before he turned to the reporter. “Go ahead, but keep in mind that I’m here celebrating my good friend’s achievements.”

“Of course, and I intend on grilling Captain Drake later, believe me.” The reporter grinned and Dinah chuckled. “Just one quick question, and I’ll be out of your hair.” She glanced at her phone long enough to start recording. “Mister Queen, as the Green Arrow, you’ve recently been helping the SCPD with its business in Star City, particularly when it comes to the Glades. Is there a particular reason you’ve been focusing on that area of the city?”

Oliver’s face flickered for a moment, casting a quick glance at Tommy before nodding. “The Glades have been an area of unfortunate discrimination and turning of a blind eye by the authorities for several years following the Undertaking. Many people think they can hide there now, out of sight from the SCPD. I’ve been working with Captain Drake and her task force to ensure that the Glades aren’t left out in the cold, and has the resources available to it that the rest of the city has.” He squeezed Tommy’s hand again. “It also falls in line with the charitable actions of the citizens of Star City, organized by this man, Tommy Merlyn, in an attempt to level the playing field across the city, making sure no one feels forgotten ever again.”

“Thank you, Mister Queen,” the reporter said with a large grin. “And for the record, I’m a big fan of the Green Arrow’s contributions to the city.” She looked at Tommy, her grin persisting. “May I ask you a quick question about the Restore the Glades Foundation, Mister Merlyn?”

“I would love to,” Tommy said with a frown, “but I’m afraid all questions concerning the Foundation can only be answered during Foundation events and campaigns. This is an event for the SCPD, so I can’t answer anything publicly.”

The reporter pouted. “It’s been so hard on us to help get the word out about the Foundation because of that stupid rule,” she said. “Who came up with it, anyway?”

Tommy averted his eyes for a moment, not ready to answer a question that directly led to his father’s involvement in anything in his life. “Sorry, Miss. Those are the rules.” He smiled. “But I’m going to be at the presentation of a new group home in the Glades this Thursday, and I’ll be happy to answer as many questions as the media has for me at the ribbon cutting ceremony.”

The reporter nodded and said her goodbyes before making her way to a gaggle of well-dressed women who probably had their hands in all sorts of things in the upper echelons of the city. Tommy watched her go, his smile fading. He felt Oliver’s hand on his, and the blonde gave him a reassuring squeeze.

“Are you okay?” His eyes were kind, his lips curled into the slightest of smiles that made Tommy’s heart flutter.

“Yeah, I’m alright,” Tommy replied, his heart heavy. “Is it okay if I sit down for a minute?”

Oliver walked with him over to a table surrounded with seats, the others watching with a wide range of expressions across their face, from indifference in Laurel’s case to concern and confusion on pretty much everyone else’s.

“Everything okay with Tommy?” Dinah asked, looking back at Diggle.

Diggle shrugged. “I think the stress of being the lone heir to Malcolm’s legacy is finally getting to him, and right when he’s been able to get something good going with the family name. Oliver being in prison didn’t help.”

A beeping noise interrupted everyone’s stares, drawing attention to Lyla. She pulled out a receiver from her purse and held it up to John. “Curtis,” she said flatly, handing him the device.

“Go ahead, Curtis,” Diggle said, holding it up to his ear.

“Weird looking phone,” Laurel whispered, leaning in to Dinah.

“It’s a special ARGUS phone. Can’t be tracked or hacked,” Dinah replied. “And no, you can’t have one.”

“Ah, you know me so well.”

“Unfortunately.”

Diggle handed the receiver back to Lyla, his eyes serious. “There’s been a little hitch in one of my personal acquisitions. I’ll see you guys later.” He turned to leave.

“A hitch?” Lyla asked. “Should I come with you?”

“No,” Diggle replied as he stepped away from the group. “It’s not serious, I just need to talk to Curtis. Meeting for beers later, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Dinah called after him, but he was already out the door. “Wonder what that was about.”

“John doesn’t just run out of a room unless someone’s firing at him,” Lyla said, tracking the exit with concern in her eyes.

“If he said it wasn’t a big deal, I believe him,” Laurel said with a shrug. “I know you people love lying to each other, but it’d be super hard to hide it from Lyla, his boss-wife.” She gave Lyla a playful grin. “Unless you’re holding out, too.”

“You’d like that,” Lyla replied with an aggravated sigh.

“It beats standing around here all afternoon,” Laurel snapped, looking around. “I’m ready for the beers. Bring ‘em on.”

“You’re officially uninvited to drinks,” Dinah said, her head held high. “But I’ll throw one back for you.”

Laurel’s face revealed its snide smirk once more. “Great. Thanks.”

“I suppose I should go schmooze some,” Dinah said, resigned to her fate. “I’ll see you all later.” She turned and walked away, leaving Lyla and Laurel standing alone in the middle of the room.

“Separate ways?” Lyla asked.

Laurel nodded. “Already gone.”

The two split, the party officially having moved on.

The Queen mansion’s front doors were still as heavy as Oliver remembered them as he closed them behind him. Tommy stood in the foyer and took in a deep breath, a smile on his face. The late evening sun shone down on the centerpiece of the entrance, a large, decorative bouquet of fake foliage atop a circular table. It was a most welcoming sight.

“William? Raisa? We’re back,” Oliver called, stepping up past the display and into the house proper.

“In the seating room,” William called back. His father led the way to his son, who was sitting across from the large flat-screen TV playing video games. His keeper, Raisa, was nowhere to be seen.

“I think Raisa’s getting a list of groceries together for tomorrow,” William said, not even bothering to look at Oliver or Tommy as they entered the room.

“Not even a hi? Really?” Oliver opened his arms at his son in futility, but the game paused and William looked over his shoulder at them.

“Hi, Dad. Hi, Tommy. How was the big award party?”

“Stuffy, crowded, and my cumberbun is starting to squeeze the life out of me,” Tommy moaned. William grinned. “Hey, I see that smile. No laughing at my misfortune, young man.” Tommy grinned himself. “I get enough of that from your dad and all his friends.”

“I’m sure,” William agreed. “I bet Felicity-” He cut himself off, looking down at the controller in his hands. There was an uncomfortable pause, Tommy looking over at Oliver sadly.

Oliver rolled his eyes. “Come on , guys. It’s okay. I work with her, it’s not like we can’t talk about her. She’s still a dear friend. And your tutor. Did she come by today?” he asked as he took off his jacket. Tommy followed suit.

William had unpaused the game. “We got through most of my big scientific theory project today,” he informed them. “Tommy’s not allowed in the study until it’s done. Felicity’s orders.”

“Pfft. Like anyone’s orders have ever stopped me before,” Tommy laughed.

“Oh, and Mister Spartan called,” William said.

“William.” Oliver’s tone was more dangerous now. “What did I say about calling us by our code names?”

“No one else is here, Dad.”

“It’s not a habit you should be getting into. I don’t want you to slip up at school or something, or for someone to hear you say it in public by accident.”

“Sorry.”

The vigilante’s cumberbund came off. “What did John want?”

“He told me to write this down and give it to you when you got home.” He tossed a folded up piece of paper over his shoulder at his father, who caught it without a problem.

“What is it?” Tommy asked, undoing the top few buttons of his shirt.

Oliver unfolded the note and read it, his brow creasing in concern. “John told you this, William?” he asked.

“Yep. Swore me to secrecy and everything.”

“Good.”

“What is it?” Tommy asked again, but Oliver folded up the paper and turned to leave the room.

“I’ll be back in a little while,” Oliver said. “Do you mind looking after William?”

Tommy looked back at the child hunched over on the couch, eyes glued to the flashy video game on the screen in front of him. “Sure, but-”

“Thanks.” Oliver moved in and gave Tommy a quick kiss. “Be back soon, promise.” He looked over at William. “And William-”

“I know. Secrecy.”

“Right.” Oliver gave Tommy a comforting smile before disappearing out of the room.

Tommy watched Oliver leave, concerned over the spontaneity of the whole situation. Was it Green Arrow Time? It always made him nervous watching Ollie be all heroic, but he couldn’t be prouder of him, either. It had taken him a while to get accustomed to the idea, but over the past seven years, he’d learned to embrace that side of Oliver, too - the side that aimed to protect as many people as he could. He turned to look back at William, watching him play his game for a moment. Oliver’s son was one of those people, and Tommy wasn’t about to let the boy go unprotected.

After a minute, a victory screen popped up on the television and William turned to look at Tommy. “You want in?”

Tommy grinned. “Hell yeah, I do, but I call Olimar.”

“Olimar sucks,” William laughed, tossing Tommy the second controller as the man rounded the couch to sit next to him. “You should learn someone good, like Cloud.”

“Ah, you just don’t appreciate the classics,” Tommy retorted. “Let’s go, kid.”

ARGUS headquarters was much the same, and Oliver was starting to become a little too familiar with the layout of the building. He didn’t even have to try to remember which direction Curtis’s lab was, and soon found himself standing in front of both Curtis and Diggle, neither of them particularly pleased.

“The message you gave William said there was a problem with the equipment,” Oliver said, his voice urgent and his brow creased in frustration. “Can it be fixed?”

Curtis gave him an amused smirk. “You know, only you could use the term ‘equipment’ to describe-”

“My specialist says it’s possible, but they have to move fast,” Diggle replied, cutting Curtis off entirely. “It’ll take a few days longer than they thought, though.”

“Do it,” Oliver said with a nod.

Curtis closed his eyes and shook his head. “Hold up, guys. Isn’t this all a bit too, I dunno, military for what we’re dealing with here?”

“I’ll get my people on it,” Diggle said, not even acknowledging Curtis’s question. He pushed past Oliver, out of the room.

After a stagnant moment of Oliver and Curtis just looking at each other, Curtis sighed. “You should go with him,” he muttered, pointing over Oliver’s shoulder. “Wouldn’t want anything to go wrong.”

“Right.” Oliver turned away from the inventor, briskly making his way out of the room.

Curtis stood all alone at his station and shook his head: “Men.”

It was well past sundown by the time Oliver returned to the mansion after managing his business with Diggle. As he approached, he noted William’s room was dimly illuminated by a reading light. He unconsciously smiled, silently proud that his son was a better student than he’d been. With any luck, he wouldn’t be anything like Oliver.

As Oliver made his way to his own bedroom, he heard the shower running in the master bathroom. He entered his bedroom, slipping his shoes off and struggling with his tuxedo pants - he’d forgotten to finish changing out of his tux before rushing off to ARGUS, it would seem - and shirking the undershirt as he stepped into the steamy bathroom with a sneaky smirk on his face.

The shower stall was thoroughly steamed up as Oliver approached, who was barely able to make out the form of his friend and lover. The vigilante crept up to the stall in the buff, his footsteps masked by the sound of the running water slamming into the tile floor, as well as Tommy’s intermittent humming. Oliver had to smile; he’d learned early on that Tommy was a shower singer, but it was the more humble, simple humming that really flipped his heart around.

As delicately as he could, Oliver slipped into the stall and wrapped his arms around Tommy’s form, kissing his neck up and down.

“Ah, help! Help! There’s an invader! A nasty pervert!” Tommy mock-cried in a high pitched voice. “Oh, deary me! Someone call the Green Arrow!”

Oliver snorted out a laugh into Tommy’s shoulder, hugging him tighter. He felt Tommy’s soap-slicked hand on his wrist, and the dark haired man leaned back into him, letting the water run over both of them.

“Oh, there he is,” Tommy said quietly, a demure smile on his face. He gazed into Oliver’s eyes and leaned in for a lingering kiss, the sound of the water around them blocking out all potential distractions. When they broke apart, Tommy turned to face the other, his soapy hands running up and down the muscles along Oliver’s front. “You seem to be missing your hood,” he whispered.

“Is that your way of telling me you like me in the hood?” Oliver asked with a playful smirk of his own.

“Maybe. Or maybe I just prefer you in face grease and leather,” Tommy replied. He picked up the soap from nearby and showed it to Oliver. “Need some help?”

Oliver planted another firm kiss on Tommy’s lips, the two of them momentarily forgetting about the shower. “I guess I could use a hand,” he whispered.

Eyes deadlocked on Oliver’s, Tommy raised the soap and let it go, dropping it to the floor with a clatter. One side of his mouth curved up in a smirk. “Oops.” Oliver leaned his head forward and put his forehead on Tommy’s shoulder, quiet laughter shaking his body. Tommy’s face fell into seeming anger. “What? I dropped the-”

“I know you did.”

Tommy’s eyes widened. “Oh. Prison joke. Too soon?”

Oliver just continued to laugh into his shoulder, any remaining tension in his body disappearing. Only Tommy could get him to laugh like that anymore, a fact of which he was very aware. He felt his cheeks burning from the grin on his face, and when he looked back up at his friend, the sensation had spread to his eyes, his vision blurring slightly.

“Ollie?” Tommy’s expression fell into concern, noting the tears lining Oliver’s eyes. “Ollie, everything okay?”

Oliver’s grin softened into a content smile. “I love you, Tommy Merlyn.”

“Aw, buddy.” He pulled Oliver into a tight hug - or as tight as he could manage in the shower. “I love you, too. You know I was kidding about the soap thing. I’m sorry.”

Again, Oliver just laughed. “I know.”

Chapter Text

Two days following Dinah’s award ceremony at City Hall, Tommy had begun to suspect that Oliver was hiding something from him. That wasn’t particularly surprising - the man was the Green Arrow; being secretive was his M.O. - but some of Oliver’s friends had started to act the same way. They’d started to make excuses in order to step out of conversations randomly, but wouldn’t answer simple questions about what they were doing with that alone time. And Curtis refused to even look Tommy in the eye.

He knew their lives were stressful, balancing saving the city on top of their day jobs, or whatever, but he was starting to feel frozen out from part of Oliver’s life, one that tended to invade his personal life. Tommy didn’t take kindly to that idea.

William wasn’t much help, either. Whenever Tommy would ask him about his dad, he clammed up almost as hard as Curtis. As the weekend approached, all Tommy had been able to wrangle out of the kid was that Oliver was meeting up with people a lot, even when Tommy wasn’t around, but he never told him where he was going. At least William could relate a little to his dad’s secretive nature.

Saturday finally rolled around, but it was hardly a day for relaxation. Tommy had a full schedule for the day, most of which involved Oliver and William. He was up early for a Saturday, showered and dressed by 8am. He knew Oliver would be down for probably another hour after being out all night as the Green Arrow, and William would require assistance to even consider getting out of bed on the weekend. As he appeared in the kitchen, he saw Raisa working on meal prep for that evening.

“Good morning, Raisa,” Tommy called, approaching the stove. “You look lovely, as usual.”

“Good morning to you, as well, Mr. Tommy. Can I help you with breakfast?” She smiled up at him from her cutting board.

“No, not today. I’m going to do my best and give Ollie and William my own take on breakfast, if that’s okay,” Tommy said, his eyes hopeful. He grinned at her, his hands pressed together as he silently pleaded. This was Raisa’s kitchen, and no one cooked in it without her permission.

Raisa cocked a scrupulous eyebrow at him, looking him up and down in consideration. “I suppose,” she muttered, giving him a warm smile. “If you need help with anything, I’ll be right here.”

“Yes! Thank you, Raisa!” Tommy did a little celebratory wiggle and headed to the fridge for supplies. His fellow chef laughed, bumping his hip with hers as he shuffled past. It was a morning of smiles, and there was little Oliver could do to ruin it - of that, Tommy was sure.

Eggs. Cheese. Bacon. Bell peppers for some flavor. Some sliced ham. Warmed tortillas. It was a simple breakfast, making burritos, but with Raisa offering some advice here and there, Tommy knew it would be perfect. Since returning from his five-year journey, Oliver hadn’t been one for pomp and circumstance, and William grew up in a much simpler household than either of them, so there was an air of confidence about the cook that his efforts would be received well.

And then, Raisa offered to help for real . Suddenly the breakfast involved hand-pressed coffee for the adults, freshly squeezed orange juice for William, expertly made crepes made with fruit, and risotto. By the time Tommy heard the little pitter patter of pre-teen feet on the linoleum, the table was full of delicious look - and smelling - foods. As William marveled at the spread, Tommy and Raisa exchanged a content look and a high five.

“Raisa, this looks so good,” William said, his eyes wide.

“Mr. Tommy helped,” Raisa said, giving her fellow cook a pat on the arm.

“Oh.” William looked at each dish in turn. “Is it safe?”

“Oh, it’s on , little man,” Tommy growled through his grin, rushing over and grabbing William from behind, wrapping his arms around him and placing a few strategic tickles here and there. The two struggled and laughed while Raisa watched with an endearing gaze until a low, somewhat husky voice called out.

“You two are up early,” Oliver said from the entryway to the dining room. He approached the table, taking note of the burritos in particular. “Wow. This looks amazing, babe. How much of this did you do?”

He let go of William, who ran off to wash his hands at Raisa’s request. “I made the burritos. Raisa’s the sous chef behind everything else.”

Oliver looked over at him, something subtle and kind in his expression that made Tommy smile back. He moved over and put his hand on the back of Tommy’s neck, looking into his steel grey eyes before leaning in for a soft kiss. When he pulled back, there was a soft smile between them. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” Oliver whispered.

Tommy looked down at his hands, awkwardly placed between the two men, his smile fading. “You didn’t need to do anything to deserve me, Ollie. You’re a better man than you give yourself credit for.” He looked up, into Oliver’s own clear, light blue eyes, a lump in his throat threatening to choke him on the spot. “I’m just glad you wanted me.”

Oliver’s gaze fell to the hands wringing between them. He placed them, restless and stiff, between his own hands, then looked back up at Tommy. “I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything more.”

“Are we going to eat breakfast, or are you two going to stare at each other all morning?” William asked, seating himself at the setting with orange juice. “You love each other. We get it.”

Oliver chuckled to himself, but Tommy’s mouth fell open, aghast. “Are you gonna let him talk to us like that, Ollie?” They both smiled.

“Let’s eat, and we’ll talk about my son’s insubordination ,” Oliver replied with a wink to William. His son grinned.

After breakfast, Tommy ushered William to clean up so they could head into town together. While William showered, Oliver sat with Tommy on the couch in the sitting room, the former at the end with his arm cradled around the latter’s shoulders. Tommy leaned in to Oliver’s chest, and the two simply relaxed until William appeared, ready to go. Oliver followed his son’s example, and soon they were off on a family outing.

“So, explain this project of yours again,” Oliver said, looking across at William in the back seat of their car.

“We’re talking about the scientific theory,” William explained. “It’s pretty basic stuff, but we have to come up with our own hypothesis and perform experiments to reach a conclusion.”

“And Felicity helped you with this?” Tommy confirmed. “What can we help you with?”

“The experiment part,” William said with a grin. Suddenly, the grin disappeared in an instant. “You didn’t go in the study, did you?”

Confused, Tommy shook his head. “Felicity’s orders, right?”

“Right. Don’t go in the study.”

Oliver raised a questioning eyebrow, but said nothing.

They arrived at the Star City Science Museum, a publicly funded, interactive display of many of the world’s natural forces at work, from biodomes showcasing different environmental factors’ influences on plant and animal evolution, to visual and audio illusions on display in gallery-style exhibits. It was a family environment, aimed at children and young teens, and Oliver couldn’t help but notice William watching both him and Tommy throughout their tour of the exhibits.

But William wasn’t the only one staring. When they had approached the admissions booth, the worker behind the register had almost fallen out of their chair when they saw Oliver’s face. As they explored the facility, as well, Oliver could feel eyes on him everywhere. It didn’t bother him per se, but he wondered if it impacted William’s experience at all.

About an hour into their visit, William pointed across a room to a family examining a water tornado in a test tube. “I see someone from my school. Can I run over and say hi?” William asked.

“Sure. We’ll be right here,” Oliver said, right as Tommy pressed the button to start up some kind of weird, glowing orb display. He was entranced as the orb slowly changed from one color to another.

William dashed off toward the other family, waving his hand over his head. “Madison! Hey!” Oliver watched him with a content smirk on his face. Over on the other side of the room, William and who his father assumed was Madison began talking excitedly, eventually turning to look back at Oliver and Tommy. Oliver tried to look preoccupied with the display with Tommy, but he knew he’d failed. When he turned to look back at William, Madison was laughing, but her parents were staring at him shamelessly. For the first time since coming out as the Green Arrow, Oliver felt like a painting on display, the judgment of the masses ready to bear down on him. He lowered his head a little and focused more diligently on making sure Tommy wasn’t hypnotizing himself.

A few minutes later, William reappeared at their side. “Madison’s here with her family for the experiment part of our project, too,” he informed them. “Her project is a little more hands-on than mine, though.” It was then that Oliver noticed William had a notebook in his hands, filled with various scribblings. William quickly hid the notebook from sight.

Oliver’s crossed his arms. “Are you observing people , William?” Tommy stood up straight in a flash, his eyebrows threatening to meet his hairline at such a statement.

William shifted his weight nervously. “Yeah, I am. I’m watching for social interactions for supporting evidence to my hypothesis.”

Oliver chuckled. “You’re doing a social science experiment.”

William nodded.

“ Wow .” Tommy laughed. “Whose kid are you, again?” Oliver shot him a dirty look and he shook his head in bewilderment. “Are you kidding me, Ollie? Do you remember how bad you were at this kind of stuff?”

“Pretty terrible,” Oliver muttered. He looked back at William. “Okay. I wish you would have told us you’d be staring at people in the name of science, but, as long as you’re not being obvious, I think we can get away with it.” They grinned at each other, having reached an understanding.

“Just act like nothing’s going on,” William ordered. “It could mess up the experiment if people catch on.”

“Right, right.” Oliver nodded, but his body tensed on instinct as Tommy shot out from behind him, sheer joy etched across his face. He reached a large glass ball placed on a lonely pedestal with an electrode in the center. He reached out and palmed the glass and giggled as lightning lit up between the electrode and the various parts of his hand.

“I love these things,” Tommy hissed back to Oliver and William with a giddy grin, his hair standing on end. The look was a statement, and Oliver just shook his head as if he were going to discipline his boyfriend, but anyone could see the smile shining in his eyes. Tommy winked at him.

William, still laughing, was scribbling notes into the notebook. Intrigued, Oliver looked around, noting several people had stopped to stare in their direction, initially at Tommy’s childlike energy, then to Oliver once the realization hit them. Some people whispered to each other, while others simply stared or smiled in his direction. That feeling of being on display hit Oliver in the gut again, this time stronger, and he found himself absently flexing his shoulders to relieve some tension.

“How much more evidence do you need?” Oliver asked William.

William examined his notes - how had Oliver not noticed him taking pages of notes on people? - and nodded. “I think I have enough from the museum. This is all one big project, and I have to do at least two more experiments before it’s is done.”

Tommy removed himself from the electrode podium and put his hand on William’s shoulder. “Oh, so we’re headed out?”

Still feeling the eyes on him, Oliver nodded. “That’s probably for the best.”

Putting his hand at William’s back, Oliver led their little band back toward admissions, feeling every eye in the room on him the entire time.

Next on the docket was going to see a movie, which went off without a hitch. Oliver appreciated the dark because people wouldn’t be staring at him in his seat (although, again, the ticket booth attendant was pretty unnerved at seeing the Green Arrow walking around), while Tommy appreciated the dark because he could physically flirt Oliver throughout the whole film without much consequence.

William liked the dark for a different reason entirely. His dad sat with William on one side and Tommy on the other, his boyfriend’s arm wrapped around his shoulders. Thanks to the low lighting, William could observe the people around him with impunity, although he had to be careful that Oliver didn’t catch him. He had to run over his observations several times in his head right when he noticed them, because he couldn’t write in his project notebook in the movie theater. That was okay, though - there wasn’t too much to remember, because everyone seemed pretty intent on watching the film.

At some point, Tommy’s thumb decided it was content on Oliver’s shoulder, as it started slowly rubbing back and forth, and didn’t stop for half the movie. At first, the sensation gave Oliver some tingles along the back of his neck, but soon he couldn’t really feel the movement anymore as his body acclimated to it. He slightly resented his own nervous system for that. But he did return the notion by moving his hand over onto Tommy’s thigh partway through the movie, and didn’t move it until the credits started rolling.

As the crowds poured out of the theater, no one seemed to notice Oliver or his family moving with them, as they were too busy reliving their favorite parts of the film. As soon as the three of them hit the sidewalk outside, they excused themselves from the crowds, finding solace in a nearby coffee shop. Oliver asked Tommy take William to find a seat.

“I have to make a phone call,” he told them. “I’ll do that here while I wait for our drinks.”

“Sure. Where you wanna sit?” Tommy asked. William looked around, finding a corner booth near the front of the store. He led Tommy over and plopped down into the seat. As Tommy sat, he asked, “So, how did you like the movie?”

“I don’t remember much of it,” William replied with a shrug.

There was a rude noise from across the table. “What do you mean? Didn’t you watch it?”

William shrugged again. “Yeah, I guess.”

Tommy scrutinized William’s expression, then made an exaggerated gasp. “You didn’t watch it. You were doing research!”

“Maybe,” William replied with a grin. “I saw your arm around Dad, you know.”

“Well, yeah. I love your dad, you know that.”

“But the thumb thing-”

“Wow. You’re observant,” Tommy muttered, clearly impressed and a little annoyed. “You should probably chill out with the people watching. I know about control groups in science experiments, but it’s not a good idea to observe people too closely without their knowledge or permission.”

William nodded. “I think I have enough for my hypothesis, anyway,” he said. “From now on, it’s just us.”

“Good.” Tommy grinned. “Your dad is going to have his hands full with you being so book smart, you know.”

“I know.”

Oliver approached the booth, drinks in hand and a smile on his face. He handed William his hot chocolate and sat next to Tommy, placing their coffees in front of them. “What’d I miss?” he asked, arching his eyebrows at William. The other two just shrugged.

True to his word, William paid more attention to their conversation from that point forward, and their afternoon continued on without incident. Tommy silently thanked whatever god he could think of for the ability to just have a moment to sit and talk with his new family. He watched their expressions, their movements, their emotions, smiling in spite of himself at the great fortune he’d found. It almost took away the pain of everything he’d been through - the pain they had all been through - over the past six years. Content to live in the moment, he took a sip of coffee and sighed to himself.

“Everything okay?” Tommy jerked back to the world of the living and shook his head. Oliver and William were both staring at him.

“No, I’m fine,” he insisted. “Just enjoying the here and now.”

William raised an inquisitive eyebrow, but Oliver smiled, taking Tommy’s hand in his. “Take all the time you need. We can wait.”

Tommy wanted to thank him for saying something like that. But instead-

“Pfft. Are you sure that’s coffee? That was so cheesy.”

And the coffee shop filled with their laughter as the afternoon continued.

“Absolutely not .”

It was after dark later that day, and Oliver was gathering a small bag to take with him to the Bunker for a routine patrol. Tommy chased after him through the house, mildly flailing as they moved from one room to another.

“He really wants to see Felicity,” Tommy countered.

“Then she can come see him tomorrow,” Oliver replied, not looking back at him. “I don’t want William at the Bunker.”

“Is there something bad going on that you don’t want him to worry about?”

“Not particularly.” He grabbed an extra pair of socks from a dresser and shoved it into his bag. “I’d just rather he didn’t spend any time down there. It’s a bad idea.”

“It’s just patrol tonight, right? Felicity won’t even be that busy with you, unless something comes up.”

“You two will just be a distraction for her, and the way we work nowadays, I can’t afford that.”

Tommy sighed, throwing his hands down to his sides. “Come on, Ollie. This is your son, asking to see a friend. He’ll be perfectly safe, and you said it yourself that you don’t expect anything to emotionally scar him at the potential of losing his dad.”

Oliver stopped dead in his tracks and rounded on Tommy. “Just because I don’t expect trouble doesn’t mean I won’t get trouble,” he said. “This isn’t like him asking for a pet, Tommy.”

“Aw, but I thought ‘Quiver’ was a cute name for a hedgehog,” Tommy whined.

“You know the rules about the night job, and you knew them when you-” He cut himself off, before he said anything he would regret. He took a deep breath, centering himself. “I think it’s in William’s best interest to stay as far away from that side of his father as he can, and that means no field trips to the Bunker, least of all when I’m on the street. So, no. He’s not coming with me tonight, and neither are you.”

Tommy shifted, annoyance piercing his expression. “What? Why not me?”

“If something happens to me in the field, I don’t want you to hear or see it,” Oliver muttered, looking away.

“I’ve been there plenty of nights where you saw action,” Tommy argued, his arms crossing his chest in defiance.

“Not since I’ve been back.”

Tommy narrowed his eyes. “What’s this really about, Ollie?”

“I just don’t want you to see me get hurt,” Oliver replied, turning to grab the last bit of supplies for his patrol. “That’s all.”

“I’m a grown man, Oliver. You don’t have to protect me from ‘what ifs’ and ‘possibilities.’ I promise, I can handle it.”

Oliver didn’t look up. “Like you handled Laurel?”

The room fell silent, only sound of the central heat circulating breaking the peace. Tommy just stared at Oliver, his brow furrowed and his eyes filled with hurt. He absently shook his head, trying to register if Oliver had really just uttered those words.

When Oliver looked back up at Tommy, his expression was dark, his eyes dangerous. “You were admitted to rehab three times, Tommy. Captain Lance was in better shape than you.”

Tommy’s voice was barely above a whisper. “That’s not fair. We were engaged. I lost the person I was going to spend the rest of my life with.”

“And can you promise me that you won’t do the same thing if I get hurt again?” Oliver’s voice was thick, like he was holding something back. Whether it was shouting or tears, Tommy didn’t know.

Unfortunately, Tommy couldn’t promise him that, and Oliver knew it. He’d gone back to the bottle while Oliver was in prison, and every AA sponsor makes sure you know it’s a slippery slope. Tommy knew this was simply an attempt to keep him out of a situation that might lead him to drink, but these emotional jabs were being intentionally aimed at him. He didn’t like it at all.

Oliver sighed, running his hands over his face. When he looked back at Tommy, his expression wasn’t angry. It wasn’t sad. He looked almost fearful. “Do you want to see me get hurt? Do you want William to?”

“Of course not, but-”

“Then please, Tommy, stay away from the Bunker ,” Oliver whispered. He turned on the spot and left the room, leaving a solitary Tommy staring after him.

Later that night, Felicity sat at her station in the Bunker, monitoring the camera feeds in the area as Oliver proceeded with his patrols.

“So how are things going?” Felicity asked into the comms. “It’s been almost a week since we did any patrols. Anything interesting?”

“Not yet,” Oliver voice sounded through the Bunker’s speakers. “Is there something you’re waiting on?”

Felicity gave a single, great HA. “Are you kidding me? Of course there is.”

“You just want to tell me you told me so.”

“You’re not wrong.” Felicity laughed again, this time much softer. “But you know, you are a lot easier to deal with on the job. Even the Green Arrow is mellowing out a bit.”

“I’m done with this conversation,” Oliver growled. On the screen, he fired an arrow up, out of the frame, and swung on a tether off screen.

“You’re entering a blind zone,” Felicity warned him. “I won’t have visuals until you clear the construction site.”

“Roger that. Maybe I’ll take a nap.”

Felicity cocked her head. “Was...Was that a joke? Did you just make a joke at me, Oliver Queen?”

There was a light chuckle from the other end of the conversation.

The elevator’s doors slid open, surprising Felicity. She swiveled in her chair, eyes wide, hand on the taser she kept at her station, but she let out a deep sigh when Tommy stepped out of the elevator and grinned at her, hands up and peaceful. “Don’t shoot, it’s just me,” he called.

Felicity turned off her microphone quickly, before Tommy could say anything else. “What are you doing here?” she hissed. “Oliver told me you were grounded from the Bunker!”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Grounded? Really?”

She shrugged. “My words, not his.”

“Yeah, well, like I told Oliver, I’m a grown man. I can make my own decisions,” Tommy replied. “Speaking of which,” he added, tapping against something standing behind him. William poked out from behind his back, grinning up at Felicity.

Her heart sank into her feet. “Oh, no. Tommy, no. Why would you - hey, William!” William walked up and gave Felicity a hug, which she returned in spades. “Tommy Merlyn, you are so dead. Or worse, sleeping on the couch.”

“You let me worry about that,” Tommy said, his arms crossed. “William wanted to see you, and I’m not about to deny the kid simple pleasures.”

Felicity and William sat at her computer station, both of them all smiles. It warmed Tommy’s heart - William had really become attached to Felicity before she’d ended things with Oliver, and, despite whatever Oliver said, their relationship had been strained over the past year. Things had been better since she had helped accrue the evidence needed to get Oliver out of prison, but Tommy knew it would never be the same between them. That was particularly hard on William.

“Overwatch?”

Felicity held a finger up to her mouth to quiet everyone before tapping the key to turn on her microphone. “Yeah, I’m here.”

“Are you seeing this?”

Felicity used the tracking system to find a nearby camera, struck a couple of keys, and the screen switched over to an old warehouse, lit up like Christmas, with large trucks getting loaded onto by a lot of burly men in heavy jackets. There were four semi-trailers being loaded, with close to two dozen men scurrying to and from the warehouse.

“Awful late for a rush shipment,” Felicity muttered.

“I’m going to get a little closer, see what they’re shipping.”

“Be careful.” She knew she didn’t need to say it, but it made her feel better. Plus, with Tommy and William there, more reassurance was going to come into play than usual. She could practically feel Tommy’s staring at the computer monitor.

At the warehouse, Oliver snuck his way across a nearby rooftop and dropped to ground, aiming to find a way onto the warehouse floor without being detected.

“Pulling up schematics on the warehouse now,” Felicity informed him. He dodged forward and up against a smaller, vacant vehicle, a rust red coup of some kind. He peered through the cabin to the guarded door in the side of the building, taking note of the three armed thugs surrounding it. There were no windows or other visible entrances from here.

“I’d love a T-Sphere about now,” Oliver muttered.

“Oh! One sec.”

Confused, Oliver hunkered down to wait. A silver ball emerged from a pocket on his suit and hovered in front of him.

“Really?” he hissed. “When were you going to tell me that was in there?”

“Oh, don’t give me that, you check your suit ritualistically. But here. Curtis made one out of a lighter weight material specifically for scouting. It has no weapons and can’t take a hit, but I can do a quick run-around of the warehouse for you.”

“You didn’t think to mention this before I move out of cover?”

“I forgot.”

Oliver sighed. “Fine. Do you mind?”

“Sure. One sec.” The T-Sphere rolled itself on the ground, along a deep shadow leading up to the warehouse. Once at its foundation, it raised up near the ceiling and buzzed its way around the far corner, away from the armed entrance. Oliver kneeled next to his makeshift cover, his heart racing, but his body under control. He watched both edges of the building, as well as the open space behind him. Felicity hummed in his ear as she scouted around the area, even issuing an, “Ooh, interesting.” After about a minute, the sphere came rolling up next to him.

“I flew the sphere behind one of the trucks on the far side of the warehouse,” Felicity informed him. “It looks like a typical weapons smuggling operation, just one a much bigger scale than the back of someone’s Cadillac.”

“Who could be moving that many weapons?” Oliver asked, stowing the sphere in his suit. “It must be like an armory in there.”

“Then we probably shouldn’t let them get away with the goods.” The grin on Felicity’s face managed to make it through Oliver’s earpiece. He rolled his eyes.

Oliver drew an arrow and aimed over the trunk of his cover, aiming at the guards.

“Do you want me to keep a headcount?” Felicity asked.

“No, I’ve got this,” Oliver whispered, and he let his arrow fly.

Felicity turned off the microphone and lowered the volume on the speakers just as one of the guards cried out in pain. She turned away from her computer, her eyebrows high and her eyes wide. “So. What are you guys doing here?”

“Well, I wanted to see you, and I had some thoughts on my project, too,” William said.

“I’m with him,” Tommy said, jerking his head in William’s direction.

“Ah. Well,” Felicity said, turning her head for dramatic effect, “here I am. Bask in my glory. Bask, I say!” William chuckled. “But seriously, if we’re talking your project, Tommy has to go stand by the suit racks.”

Tommy raised an eyebrow. “I have to do what now?”

His gaze was met with indifferent staring from the hacker. “No going in the study? Same thing.” She made a shooing motion with her hand. Tommy rolled his eyes and made his way down off the central station, sitting down at the strategy table across the room.

Felicity and William fell into whispers, effectively isolating Tommy as he surveyed the room. He’d been here a million times before, and he’d even been there by himself, but it never failed to impress him just how prepared Team Arrow tended to be. He noticed the suit racks were closed, as if to hide their contents, and wondered if any of the others were out on the streets tonight, too.

Honestly, the thought of Oliver running around that warehouse, fighting two dozen or more gang members or mobsters or whatever they were, terrified Tommy, but he knew any fuss he made about it would only drive a wedge between them. He’d watched it happen with Laurel and with Felicity, and he wasn’t going to put himself through that hurt. Oliver was an adult, who made adult choices. If this is how he wanted to spend his nights away from home, who was Tommy to stop him?

A particularly loud gasp from Felicity caught Tommy’s attention. What were they whispering so feverishly about over there, anyway? It was a science project . How exciting could it be? Tommy thought back to William’s research: the movie theater, the science museum - where else had he been stalking people just for the sake of science? It wasn’t safe, especially given who his father was.

And that realization put a knot in Tommy’s stomach, too. William never talked about his schoolmates or how his day went. What if he was being bullied because his dad was a convicted - albeit released - felon? It had been Tommy’s idea to allow William to stay in Star City while his father was in prison, although he’d used a special hiding place for him. It was the least Tommy could do to keep him safe while his father was away. Felicity, Dinah, and - as much as he was loath to admit it - Fake Laurel had all stepped in to protect William over those several months. It wasn’t easy, but they made it through together.

Tommy stood and made his way back to the center console. “Hey, William,” he called, “would you like to stay with Felicity tonight?”

Felicity’s eyes widened and William turned to Tommy with a wide grin. “Really?”

“Yeah, sure, why not?” Tommy asked, shoving his hands in his pockets and smiling. “She’s kinda like your second mom - she almost was your second mom. You miss her. Whaddaya say, Felicity?”

Felicity smiled, but she shook her head. “Tonight isn’t a good night for visitors, William.” She winked. “I think you understand.”

William nodded, issuing a small head tilt of confusion from Tommy. “Yeah, I guess not. Maybe next weekend?”

“You bet,” she replied, patting him on the knee.

“How’s Ollie doing?” Tommy asked, pointing at the monitor.

Looking at her monitor, Felicity grinned. “Looks like he cleaned house. That was pretty fast for taking down that many guys that quick.”

“He’s still at the warehouse, though, right?” Tommy asked.

Felicity confirmed his location with the tracker. “Yep. Still there.”

Tommy pulled a chair up to sit next to the two of them. “Are you guys done with your science talk?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Felicity said with a sly smirk, mirrored by William.

“Good.” Tommy looked down at his hands. “William, can I talk with Felicity alone for a sec?”

“Uh oh. I don’t like that tone,” she muttered. “William, there’s a small fridge in the room past that table over there. Can you go get me a bottled water, please?”

“Sure.” William stood and vacated the room, leaving Felicity looking very nervous in Tommy’s direction.

Tommy looked up and met Felicity’s eyes, bright and energetic behind her glasses. “We’re cool, right?”

An eyebrow lifted past the frame of her glasses. “Uh, yes?” She narrowed her eyes. “We’re cool. Why do you ask?”

“We don’t know each other that well, and with Oliver being the common denominator between us,” Tommy started, but Felicity raised a hand to silence him.

“Nope. Stop.” She lowered her hand onto his knee and looked him dead in the eye. “Tommy, I want you to listen to me. Are you listening?”

“I’m listening.”

“Good.” She smiled, and suddenly Tommy understood why Oliver had been so taken with her. “Oliver is a thorn in my side, and I will be one in his until we’re both either dead from this line of work, or too old to do it anymore. But we still love each other as friends, and seeing him with you has made him so happy, Tommy. I don’t think you understand.”

Tommy smiled, wringing his hands a little.

“The Oliver you knew from your childhood didn’t come back from Lian Yu,” she continued. “I got to know the Oliver that did. I fell in love with him. You had to adjust to the change, and you were preoccupied with your own interests. You were in and out of the city for years , trying to clean up your dad’s mess.” Tommy shifted uncomfortably at the mention of Malcolm, but he kept eye contact as best he could. “But when you came back to the city permanently, I noticed the changes. When Oliver is around you, he’s a different person than the one I fell in love with. He’s kind, and laughs, and worries. And he talks to you , Tommy. Do you have any idea how staggering that fact is?”

Tommy chuckled. “So you’re saying I’m in love with someone you aren’t.”

She shrugged. “I’m not going to lie, I’d still go to bed with the man if he asked, and I am admittedly jealous of how open Oliver is with you. But, as much as I wanted the Oliver you have now, I was never able to bring it out of him. You did, and you deserve to reap the rewards. That man is clearly head over heels for you. You have nothing to worry about.”

Tommy took a deep breath. “Oliver was right about you: you’re beautiful and a genius.”

Felicity made a show of pushing up her glasses with a wink just as William approached tentatively with a bottled water in his hand. “Don’t tell anyone.”

Tommy turned to William. “You about ready to head home?” he asked.

“I guess so,” the boy replied. “Wouldn’t want Dad to catch us here.”

“Oh, no, definitely not,” Felicity agreed. “I’ll even wipe the security footage, just in case he gets curious.”

“You were definitely the right person to come to,” Tommy laughed. “And I’m really glad we were able to talk.”

Her response came in the form of a smile, but Tommy noticed a certain twinge of something - he didn’t know what, exactly - that ruined the authenticity of the expression. He filed that information away for now, as he was sure he would be reviewing it over and over again while trying to get to sleep tonight.

“Good night, Felicity,” William said, giving her a hug.

“Good night, William. And you, too, Tommy.”

“Good night, Felicity.”

About two hours later, there was a shift in the bed as Oliver snaked his way in under the covers as delicately as he could. Tommy nuzzled into his pillow and hiked a leg up a little higher, but he didn’t turn over. Oliver slid up behind him and wrapped his arm around Tommy, putting his nose down on the nape of Tommy’s neck and kissing just below it. The two were still for a pleasant eternity, simply enjoying the contact.

Finally, the silence was broken. “I took William to the Bunker,” Tommy whispered, not budging an inch.

There was a short pause before Oliver replied. “I know. Felicity told me.”

“That snitch.”

Oliver snorted out a laugh. “No. She talked me down, as she does. I’m sorry.”

Tommy turned his head to look over at Oliver in the still darkness of their bedroom. “For what? Trying to protect me?”

“For not trusting you to know your own limits,” Oliver answered. “I thought avoiding the possibility was the better decision. And I still do,” he added, “but you should be allowed to deal with the consequences if you choose the other option.”

“What if you’re right, though?” Tommy asked quietly, turning back to face away from Oliver. “What if something happens, and I lose it?”

“We have some of the most supportive friends in the multiverse,” Oliver replied, kissing Tommy’s neck and sending a chill down his spine. “If anything happens to me, they will make sure you’re taken care of.”

Tommy smiled into his pillow, nuzzling it close. “You promise?”

“I promise.”

There was another still silence, this one practically humming with Tommy’s uplifted spirit. “Hey, babe?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

Oliver chuckled. “I love you, too. Now, get some sleep; we have a big day tomorrow.”

Tommy raised an eyebrow he knew Oliver couldn’t see. “We do?” As far as he could recall, their day was clear.

“We do.”

Tommy shrugged and leaned into Oliver’s torso a little more. “Okay, then. Good night.”

“Good night, Tommy.”

Chapter Text

“Okay. Come at me.”

Tommy watched from the sidelines as William dodged in and jabbed at his father, who avoided the attack easily. Oliver reached out and pushed William back with a well-placed palm to the chest, not forcefully, but enough to wind him. His son returned to the start position.

“Keep coming, and see if you can read my movements for a follow up,” Oliver instructed, readying himself again.

William moved again, issuing two quick jabs near Oliver’s torso, one of which actually managed to tag him, albeit barely. Tommy grinned - William had been taking self-defense lessons by Tommy’s request while Oliver was in prison, and he’d reached quite a few benchmarks pretty quickly. Now, with his dad back home, Tommy had suggested he continue his training with his father, instead. After all, Tommy had been taking lessons from Oliver for years now, but had never had a need to keep up his skills. He could only teach William so much.

“You’re sure he’s only been doing this for three months?” Oliver asked as they reset their positions. Tommy laughed. “Okay. One more, and see if you can mix it up.”

One last volley of jabs found nothing but air, but a well-placed sweep from William’s opposite leg tagged Oliver’s ankle, causing him to stagger a little. Oliver used the momentum from the stagger to round on his son and grabbed him into a throw onto the mat on his back. William cried out, but he was laughing at the same time.

“That kick was good,” Oliver noted, helping his son to his feet. “Against someone less experienced, you would have been able to take them down.”

William grinned.

“You’re still pretty heavy on your tells, but you’re learning.” He put a hand on William’s shoulder and smiled down at him. “I can’t believe I said no to this.”

“It is one of your favorite pastimes,” Tommy offered, his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall. “Only makes sense to share it with your son, even if he was against learning it at first.”

“You were?”

There was a shrug from William. “It reminded me of the stuff that killed my mom,” Oliver averted his eyes, but William continued, “but Tommy told me it was important to be able to protect myself, considering who my dad is. Plus, after I started, I realized it’s kinda fun.”

Oliver chuckled. “It can be, yeah.” He patted William on the back. “I think it’s lunchtime. Tommy, would you mind checking on Raisa?”

“Sure. You two get cleaned up.” Tommy pushed himself off the wall and left the two of them alone to towel themselves off.

“Heads up.” Oliver tossed William a water bottle, which he managed to catch with a little struggle. “So, we’re cool with the plan this afternoon?”

William bit his lip in thought, then took a drag from the water bottle. “I guess.”

“If you think it’s too soon-”

“No.” William’s voice was firm, but he didn’t look at his father. “It’s not that. It’s fine.” He fidgeted with the bottle for a moment. “It’s just...it’s new, you know?”

Oliver chuckled. “It’s not so different.”

William smiled. That was true.

“And Felicity won’t stop texting me about it,” Oliver muttered, looking at his phone, appropriately blown up with messages, not just from Felicity, but Curtis, John, and even Dinah. “At this point, I’m just looking forward to having it done with so people will stop bothering me about it.” He looked over at his son. “So, when are you planning on doing the big reveal for your project?”

William grinned over his shoulder. “I’m keeping it for a rainy day.”.

“Well, okay, then.” Oliver shrugged and made his way out of the room.

“You look nice,” Tommy noted as he brushed some wrinkles out of the front of his own shirt in the mirror. Oliver had appeared from the closet in a full suit and tie, something Tommy wouldn’t have expected for a simple dinner out with the team. “I thought this was just a simple dinner. Why the monkey suit?”

“I felt like dressing up,” Oliver smiled. “I typically only dress up in leather. It’s nice to go the other direction sometimes.”

Tommy made his way over to Oliver and gave him a quick kiss. “Well, you’re beautiful.”

Oliver laughed. “Beautiful, huh?”

“What? Men can be beautiful.”

“Mm-hm.” Oliver just smirked at him, shaking his head in amusement.

“So where are we going, anyway?” Tommy asked, moving to grab a jacket from the closet.

“Antonio’s.”

Tommy peeked his head back out into the bedroom, his eyebrows a confused squiggle across his face. “Wait. Really?”

“Yep.”

He narrowed his eyes at Oliver. “What are you up to, Queen?”

Oliver’s face showed only surprise at Tommy’s reaction, and nothing else. “What? I love Antonio’s.”

“I know. But it’s super popular, and you hate crowds now, with your secret out.”

“I’m willing to risk it for a nice night out with my family,” Oliver argued, tugging on his lapels.

Tommy disappeared back into the closet for his jacket. “Antonio’s was the first restaurant we went to after you first started dating Laurel, do you remember?”

“Can’t say I do. That was a long time ago.”

“Well, it was. And you wound up throwing a glob of pasta on the floor for the waiter to trip on because she’d made some kind of remark about you being in the papers.” Tommy reappeared in a dinner jacket, a grin on his face. “Yes? No? Too much?”

Oliver raised an eyebrow, surveying his boyfriend. “I’m in a full suit, Tommy. I think a jacket is fine. And you look good in it.”

Tommy looked down at himself, unimpressed. “I feel like I should be getting more dressed up. Antonio’s. Jeez.”

In two steps, Oliver was inches away from Tommy. They could feel each other’s breathing. “You look perfect, Tommy Merlyn.”

A hesitant smile flitted across Tommy’s face, but it disappeared as he looked away, his face turning red. “I, uh, thanks.”

“What is this? Flustered Merlyn?” Oliver chuckled, kissing Tommy on the cheek and moving away.

“I don’t know how to take compliments like that from you,” Tommy muttered, slightly annoyed at the laughing.

“You should probably get used to it,” Oliver called back as he led the way out. Tommy couldn’t argue with that.

The two appeared in the foyer, where they were met by Raisa standing behind William, who wore an outfit similar to that of Tommy’s. He whistled when he saw Oliver’s suit.

“Fancy,” he said with a smile. Oliver smiled back.

“Have a nice time,” Raisa said. “I don’t want to hear about waitresses slipping on pasta.”

Oliver huffed at her, then chuckled. “You mean Tommy didn’t make that up?”

“Laurel didn’t talk to you until you apologized to the waiter,” Tommy pointed out. “You really did it.”

“Okay. I promise. Best behavior,” Oliver said, raising an open palm to face Raisa. She smiled and nodded. “But we should definitely be going, or we’re going to miss our reservation.”

The three of them said their goodbyes to Raisa and piled into the back of the limousine waiting for them out front. As Tommy sat down, he looked around, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“What is it?” Oliver asked from beside him. William sat opposite them, watching them.

“This is the full limo,” Tommy observed. “Why are we taking the full limo?” He looked over at Oliver. “What are you up to?”

“I promise, I’m not up to anything,” Oliver said with a cheeky grin. “We’re going to pick up Felicity, John, and Lyla on the way in. I figured we could use the extra space.”

“Something is up, and you’re not telling me what it is,” Tommy accused. “What’s going on? William, do you know?”

William opened his mouth, but Oliver’s wide eyes were a cue to keep quiet. He shrugged. “Isn’t it like your anniversary or something?” he asked.

Tommy’s heart sank into his stomach. Was it? Fuck. It was. It was their anniversary. He covered his face in embarrassment. “ I completely forgot ,” He whined through his fingers. Oliver and William broke out into belly laughs. “Oh my God, I forgot our anniversary, and it was our first one. Ollie, I’m so sorry-”

Oliver put a calming hand on Tommy’s leg and gave him a slow nod, his smile persistent. “I know. Don’t worry about it, Tommy. It isn’t a big deal. I didn’t forget, and that’s what this dinner is.”

Tommy sighed, dropping his arms to the seat. “I can’t believe I forgot.”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it,” Oliver said, taking Tommy’s hand in his. “You’ve only ever had one other one year anniversary before.”

Tommy looked down at their intertwined fingers and sadness pulled at his smile. “You’re right. And I think I forgot that one, too.”

“Oh, you definitely did,” Oliver chuckled. “Laurel was so pissed.”

“Why am I so bad at relationships,” Tommy droned, leaning his head back.

He felt a squeeze as Oliver tightened his grip. “If you ask me, you’re doing great.”

Tommy sighed and closed his eyes, relishing the hand on his and trying to push out the embarrassment.

Dinner went off without a hitch. The limo stopped to pick up Felicity, then moved on to collect John and Lyla, then the six of them proceeded to Antonio’s, where Oliver managed to not trip any waiters with pasta. Throughout dinner, Tommy noticed Oliver giving him several strange looks, almost as if he was watching for a reaction of some kind. Shrugging it off, Tommy assumed Oliver had some kind of surprise for their anniversary. He planned to conveniently forget about the sidelong looks and random fidgeting he’d noticed during dinner, just so Oliver didn’t feel like the surprise was wasted.

As the group walked out of Antonio’s, Felicity put a hand on Oliver’s arm. He smiled over at her, placing a hand on hers, then moving to stand next to Tommy, who was waiting on the chauffeur. William stood on Tommy’s other side.

“Tonight was great,” John said with a grin. “We should do this more often.”

“Johnny, our bank accounts can’t handle that place more than once every ‘often,’” Lyla replied with a chuckle.

Tommy nodded at them, smiling. “I’m really glad you could make it, though. It was a great anniversary dinner, spending it with such good friends.”

“Oh, that reminds me,” Felicity said suddenly. She grinned over at Oliver, who nodded. “Say, Oliver, what do you say about me taking William for tonight? Let you two have the night to yourselves.”

Tommy hitched an eyebrow at that. Was she suggesting giving them privacy ? It was one of the things about being a bachelor he missed the most.

“Of course. If William wants to go,” Oliver said, giving a sly wink at William.

“Yeah! Oh. Is that okay, Tommy?” William looked up at Tommy, his eyes twinkling in some newfound innocence Tommy wasn’t sure actually existed.

Tommy shrugged. “Like I have the right to veto an okay by your dad,” he said with a laugh.

Oliver tilted his head in amusement. “Really? Aren’t you the ‘cool dad?’ I’d say that gives you veto powers.”

Tommy’s cheeks had never felt warmer. He cleared his throat and addressed William, instead of responding to Oliver’s outrageous claim. “Do we need to take you home to get some stuff?”

Felicity shook her head. “Nope. We have a small stash of William’s clothes at my place for emergency sleepovers.” Tommy didn’t question what would warrant “emergency sleepovers,” given Oliver’s night job.

The six of them piled into the limousine when it pulled up, and soon they were on their way. They dropped William off with Felicity, then deposited John and Lyla at their home. Tommy was sad to see them go, because each of them brought something unique to the conversation, and to Oliver’s life. They’d all come to be Tommy’s friends, as well, which brought a smile to his face. It was nice having stable friends again, after traveling for months on end in the name of fixing his father’s muck ups.

Tommy leaned over a little and put a hand on Oliver’s, which turned palm up and wove their fingers together. It was mild contact, nothing like the comfort of a hug or the passion of a kiss. They sat in silence, neither of them wished to interrupt such a peaceful, content moment.

Unfortunately, Tommy hated the quiet. “That was fun, huh?” he asked with a grin. Oliver nodded with a pleased smirk on his face, but said nothing. Tommy peered over at him and squeezed Oliver’s hand. “Hey. You’ve been pretty quiet all night. Everything alright?”

“Mm-hm.” Oliver avoided eye contact, his lips pursed together. He was nervous. And was his hand sweating?

“Ollie.”

“Hm?”

“Oliver, look at me.”

It took a moment, but Oliver’s busy eyes finally came to rest on Tommy’s. They looked almost panicked.

Concerned, Tommy shook his head. “Hey. What’s wrong? You’re not acting like yourself.”

Oliver’s lips cracked into a toothy grin. “What do you mean?”

Tommy raised an eyebrow. “Okay, now you’re pulling the pre- Gambit schtick, which means you’re not telling me something. Spill it, Queen.”

“There’s nothing to tell,” Oliver lied.

Tommy looked out the window and saw a somewhat less familiar part of the city whizzing by. “Why aren’t we heading back to the mansion?” He rounded on Oliver, a smile pulling at one side of his face. “Where are you taking me, young man?”

Oliver closed his eyes. “Please, Tommy. Just relax. It’s a surprise.”

“You hate surprises.”

“I hate getting surprises. This is your surprise.”

Tommy narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Romantic dinner with friends. No William for the night. Not going back home. Are we about to rent a room?”

Oliver choked out a laugh. “What? Why, would that make you happy, Tommy?”

Tommy gave a sly grin. “Maybe.”

With that (sort of) settled, the two sat in relative silence until the limo came to a stop near the waterfront. Oliver got out of the car first, then helped Tommy up and out, leading him over to a walkway overlooking the pier. The sun had almost completely set, casting the bay into a dark, fiery glow.

“What are we doing at the docks?” Tommy asked, intrigued.

“Do you remember what we put up right there?” Oliver asked, pulling Tommy close and pointing to a spot on the boardwalk.

Tommy thought about that spot. There had been a large gathering, he was sure of it. What was it-

Oh.

“Laurel’s memorial,” Tommy whispered. Why would Oliver-

Oliver nodded. “Come with me.” Taking Tommy by the hand, Oliver led him down to the boardwalk, where the unveiling of the Black Canary memorial had been three years ago. As they stood near that spot, Tommy felt a constriction in his throat.

“Ollie, what-”

“Wait. Just wait.”

Almost as if on cue, there was a flash of light above the bay, and a large shimmering object came rushing down at the dock, pulling up and reverting to a slow descent before hovering near the pier. The water reverberated the sound of churning engines as it splashed underneath the vertical propulsion keeping the object in place. A rectangle of light appeared in midair as the Waverider’s cargo door opened, revealing a stunning blonde in a leather jacket. She waved at the two of them before jumping down to their level. As she approached, the shimmering object moved away, to lower the noise and give them privacy.

“Good to see you, Merlyn,” she said with a grin. She reached up and gave Tommy a tight hug around his neck.

“Sara? What are you doing here?” Tommy pulled away, grinning ear to ear. The last time he’d seen Sara, it was under terrible circumstances, when Quentin-

No. Better not dwell on it.

“Ollie called me in for a favor,” Sara replied, putting a hand on her hip. “He said he felt like he could use some backup.” She gave him a lazy look, and they shared a smile. Tommy just felt more confused. When she looked back to Tommy, she said, “You know, Laurel told me once that you two would have made a cute couple. This was back before everything happened, of course, but she liked the idea.” Tommy laughed and Oliver nervously scratched the back of his neck.

Oliver took Tommy’s hand and motioned to the Memorial’s previous locale. “This is going to be hard, Tommy, I’m sorry. I’m...I’m terrible with being romantic, but I know how to make people feel . Just...just hear me out, okay?”

Suddenly nervous, Tommy nodded. Sara took his other hand.

“You and Laurel were meant to be, Tommy,” Oliver said, averting his gaze, instead opting to look out to sea. “It was obvious when I came back to Star City, and it was obvious for the next four years, all the way up until-”

“Until she was killed,” Tommy finished.

“You were almost my brother-in-law,” Sara said with a sad smile. She squeezed his hand, but he wasn’t sure if she was trying to give support or ask for it. He squeezed her hand back. “I was looking forward to having a brother.”

“The circumstances that brought us together weren’t good ones,” Oliver said, looking back at Tommy. Sara let go of his hand. “You were forced to give up your future, and my future gave up on me. But somehow, despite everything, we found each other.”

Tommy had never seen Oliver’s eyes so conflicted before. Tears lined his eyelids, but he refused to let them fall. His brow was creased like he was angry and sad at the same time, while the light in his eyes were nothing short of ecstatic. It didn’t register to Tommy. Oliver was...what was Oliver thinking right now?

“When I came back from my time away, you were there for me, and so was Laurel,” Oliver said quietly, blinking back the tears. “You have been a stalwart part of my life for the past seven years, Tommy. You stood up to your father with the Undertaking. You started the Glades Restoration Project while the city was under siege by Deathstroke. You survived being kidnapped by the League of Assassins. You found John Constantine for me in the heart of South America. You stood here, on this wharf, and honored Laurel’s memory. You believed me over Adrian Chase. You helped me save my son on Lian Yu. And you watched over him when Diaz attacked the city.”

Tommy’s face burned, and his vision blurred a bit. He blinked back the tears himself, and chuckled. “You make me sound like some kind of superhero, Ollie.”

“You are a superhero, Tommy,” Oliver said.

Tommy looked over at Sara, who just shrugged with a big, warm smile.

Oliver knelt down on the pier, his eyes locked onto Tommy’s face, which suddenly turned pale.

“I might be a hero to Star City, but you’re my hero, Tommy Merlyn,” Oliver continued. “You’ve been my everything for forever, and I didn’t even know it. And I know I’m not Laurel. I’m not the one you were destined to be with, but, as I learned recently, destinies can change.” He pulled out a small black box from his pocket and opened it, revealing a golden band shimmering in the low light. “And I would be honored to change mine if you would let me be part of yours.”

Tommy stared down at the ring, speechless.

“Tommy Merlyn, will you marry me?”

The world fell out from underneath Tommy’s feet. Sara melted away, the pier disappeared, and the dark-lit skyline evaporated. The only thing Tommy could see was Oliver and the ring. His heart was beating in his ears faster than Barry could run, louder than Dinah could scream. The blood in his veins was colder than any ice bath conceived. Adrenaline had pumped into his system. Time slowed.

Tommy looked over to the spot where Laurel’s memorial had been placed, and subsequently destroyed. Would she have approved? It all happened three years ago. Did it really matter what Laurel thought anymore? Part of Tommy wanted to refuse, to honor the engagement he’d made to her , but another, larger part of him knew she wouldn’t want him to dwell on her.

It was time to move on, Tommy Merlyn.

Looking back at Oliver, who was now sweating for having to wait for an answer, Tommy smiled. It was a sad smile, expecting the worst.

“I blamed you for her death,” Tommy whispered. He kneeled down in front of Oliver, looking him straight in the eye. “I hated you, Oliver. For a little while, there, you were everything wrong with the world. But something happened. I don’t know if it was going to AA with Quentin, Sara helping me grieve, Thea being there for me, or all of it, but I started coming around. I realized you’d helped her survive as long as she did. You helped her become a hero. And I started looking at you in a different light.” Tommy took the ring box out of Oliver’s hand and looked at the band inside. “And even though Laurel’s gone, and I know she’d want me to move on, this isn’t about Laurel.” He looked back up at Oliver, tears in his eyes once again. “You’re my hero, too, Ollie.”

He took the band out of the box and held it up between them, clearing his throat as he did so. “This isn’t an engagement ring. It’s a promise that we will make better heroes of each other.” He took Oliver’s hand and placed the ring in his palm. “I believe the honor goes to you, good sir. Yes. Yes, Oliver Queen, I will marry you.”

The pain in Oliver’s eyes dissipated immediately as he lurched forward and threw his arms around Tommy’s shoulders, throwing both of them off-balance. Laughter rang up into the darkening sky. After a moment, Oliver pulled off of Tommy and slipped the engagement band onto the appropriate finger. He followed up with a long, excited kiss, his hands on Tommy’s cheeks. He stood up, grinning at Sara, who tearfully clapped with a smile on her own face.

Tommy was grinning from ear to ear, and his legs felt wobbly as they stood. He wasn’t quite sure how he was supposed to react, but when he looked at the tears in Oliver’s eyes and the smile on his face, he knew he’d done the right thing.

Later that evening, the celebrations had mostly ended as Tommy curled up beside Oliver in their bed, both of them unreasonably happy as their legs mingled under the sheets. Tommy couldn’t help but run his finger over the addition to his left hand, relishing in its smooth surface and how it glinted in the dark. The smile just wouldn’t leave his face.

“So how was our first anniversary together?” Oliver asked teasingly, kissing the nape of Tommy’s neck and sending those familiar chills down his spine.

“Some people would say a year is too soon, you know,” Tommy replied with a laugh.

“We’ve known each other for years.”

“Which is why I don’t agree with ‘some people’ here.”

There was a pause. “Did I do okay? I wanted to honor Laurel.”

Tommy moved a hand down to rest on the arm Oliver had wrapped around his torso. “When you started talking about her, you looked like you were about to tell me you had some kind of terminal illness.”

Oliver chuckled. “That’s my line, remember?”

“I think she would have been proud.”

There was a flex of Oliver’s arm around Tommy, and he felt himself being pulled closer. “I’m glad.”

“Something’s been bothering me, though,” Tommy admitted. He turned his head to be heard more clearly. “Why did you bring Sara along?”

“When I mentioned wanting to honor Laurel’s memory, she insisted on being there. She said she knew if Laurel would approve or not, and stop us if she didn’t.”

“Huh. What does that even mean?”

Oliver chuckled into the dark. “I’ve learned to not ask questions regarding anything involving the Legends. They’ve seen things that would make your head spin.”

“Our friends are weird,” Tommy agreed. He relaxed and sighed, feeling the comforting embrace around his midsection.

They continued to lie in silence, Tommy almost drifting off to sleep, until there was a buzzing noise from Oliver’s side of the bed. Tommy felt the embrace slip away from him as Oliver turned over to grab the phone on his night stand. He rolled over as well, watching Oliver inspect the text he’d received. In the stark light of the phone screen, Tommy saw Oliver’s face harden, his features tightening into frustration.

“Ollie?”

“There’s a situation. I need to go.” The screen blinked off as Oliver turned on a nearby lamp and slid his way off of the bed. Tommy sat up as well, watching as he dressed. “Don’t wait up for me,” Oliver told him. “This sounds big.”

Tommy let out a sad laugh. “How could I have ever thought our engagement night would be all smiles and sleeping in?” he asked no one in particular.

Oliver rounded the bed and sat next to Tommy. In the low lamplight, he could see Oliver’s smile. “I’m sorry,” he said, putting his hand on Tommy’s. He leaned in and gave Tommy a lingering kiss, squeezing his hand all the while.

“I love you,” Tommy whispered, pressing his forehead against Oliver’s. “Be careful out there.”

“I will.”

“What do I do if I can’t get back to sleep?”

Oliver put a hand against Tommy’s face and rubbed his thumb along the man’s cheekbone. “You can come to the Bunker. Just don’t wake up William.”

Tommy smiled wistfully into Oliver’s hand. “Deal.”

Oliver stood to his feet and gave his fiancé a lingering gaze before turning to dart out the door. Tommy sat perfectly still, the sudden silence pressing in on him from every direction. The bed lost its comfort, and the air chilled on his skin. He hated being at the house while Oliver was on a mission, and it had been some time since Oliver had used to the term “sounds big.” Despite all that, Tommy wasn’t nervous. His heart rate seemed normal, and he was thinking clearly. He trusted Oliver to come back to him, and he needed Oliver to be able to trust him not to freak out when he was in the field.

Tommy turned off the light before lying back down in bed. As he closed his eyes to sleep, the thought of his engagement band weighed on his mind. He was engaged. Again. To another hero. For a moment, he thought he heard a familiar, lighthearted voice in the dark.

You really know how to pick ‘em, Tommy Merlyn.

Chapter Text

It was about five in the morning when Tommy was startled by the emergency notification on his phone, stirring him from his slumber. He sat up and lazily turned on a light before reaching for his cell, irritated but curious at what could be so important at this time of night. Was it a weather warning? Some jack off’s idea of a joke test?

Tommy unlocked his phone and pulled up the notice. At first glance, it was not an official warning - someone had hacked his phone instead, using the emergency frequency to get his attention. As Tommy read the notice on the screen in his hand, his heart fell into his stomach.

“It’s Felicity. There’s been an accident. Bring William.”

The bedsheets were ripped away, and Tommy became a whirlwind, grabbing the first clothes he knew would fit, not even caring if they were clean. The entire time, he felt nothing but a cold chill running up and down his spine. The only thing he heard was his own, singular thought: Please, God, no. Please, God, no. Please, God, no. He hobbled to put his shoes on and threw on a jacket before launching himself down the hall.

“William! William, get up! We gotta go!” His voice carried through the hallways far ahead of his feet, until he less than gracefully wrenched open William’s bedroom door. The child had sat upright, his eyes wide and his hair a mess. He stared at Tommy for a moment, but the look on his face spoke more than anything he could have said out loud. William bolted from the bed, tears already in his eyes, and frantically searched for some pants and his shoes.

Raisa, in a nightgown, stood at the front door, holding William’s jacket as the two men approached her. “I will be praying,” she said heavily as she handed the boy his coat.

“Thank you, Raisa,” Tommy replied, giving her a quick hug. “I’ll bring him home, I promise.”

Raisa nodded after them as they swooped out the front door, into the early dawn.

Tommy had expected the team to drop Oliver off at the Bunker, but when Felicity texted him saying he had been taken to Starling General, he felt physically ill. Whatever had happened, they couldn’t fix it without a doctor. Without surgery, maybe.

What had happened?

The cab ride to the hospital was quiet, and Tommy couldn’t help but watch William staring out the window, not moving an inch. His eyes were glistening, but he wouldn’t let the tears fall. He sat in total silence, searching desperately for the right building in the distance, and Tommy knew he was wishing and hoping all the same things Tommy himself was.

When they finally reached the hospital, there was almost a race to the front desk. The receptionist at the front saw William first, then Tommy. “You’re Mister Queen’s son, William, aren’t you?” she asked.

William faltered for a moment, then nodded. “Is he okay?”

“I don’t know, hon,” she said delicately, “but he has a lot of friends here with him. Your father is very blessed. He’s in room 143, in the ICU. Right down that hall,” she added, pointing. “God bless you and your family, young man.”

William was halfway to the double doors leading into the ICU before Tommy could finish saying the words “thank you.” Once they stepped through those doors, Tommy took William by the shoulders and led him carefully down the hall. He couldn’t risk their urgency impairing the staff in the ICU.

As they rounded the corner of the hallway containing the 130s and 140s, William stopped dead in his tracks, Tommy almost bowling him over. Halfway down the hall was a large cluster of people of a variety of shapes and sizes, some of them in ridiculous getups. Tommy recognized Sara standing away from the group, but intently staring in the same direction they all were. Tommy approached her with William in his grasp, alerting her to his presence with his heavy footfalls.

“Tommy,” Sara said with a hesitant smile. “You’re here. Good.” She reached up and gave him a tight hug around the neck before leaning down to face William. “Your dad’s tough, believe me. He’ll be okay.”

“Who are all these people?” William asked. “I want to see Dad.”

“These are some of your dad’s friends,” Tommy replied, patting him on the shoulder. “Do you remember him ever talking about the Legends?” William nodded. “Sara here is their Captain.” He looked around the crowd. “I don’t see any doctors. Can we go in and see him?”

“Only family members are allowed into ICU units,” Sara replied with her arms crossed. “William could get in, but I don’t think he’s old enough to go in without an adult.”

“Sara.”

A dark haired young woman with wide, dark eyes had approached them while they chatted. She placed a hand on Sara’s back. “The hallway’s getting a little crowded. Ray suggests doing a sweep of the hospital grounds, just to make sure we weren’t followed.”

“Good idea, Zari,” Sara agreed. “You, Mick, and Ray should go. You know what we’re up against.”

Zari nodded and signalled to the others. A tall man in glowing red and blue armor stepped aside, along with a gruff looking man with burns on his neck in a long jacket that smelled of smoke. The three of them left the hallway, leaving a noticeably diminished, but still considerable, crowd. As they left, Felicity looked around, her already red eyes locking onto William’s diminutive stature. She launched herself through the crowd and collapsed to her knees, throwing her arms around William.

“I’m sorry, William. I’m so sorry. I couldn’t help. I just watched,” she whispered through staggered sobs. “Please, forgive me. I couldn’t protect your dad.”

“It’s okay, Felicity,” William said, hugging her back. “I know you did your best.”

Felicity pulled back, her makeup running down her face for what Tommy guessed wasn’t the first time that night. “You are way too collected about this. You’re your father’s kid, for sure.” She stood to her feet and put her hand on William’s shoulder as they continued their discussion with Sara.

“What happened out there?” Tommy demanded, suddenly quite angry that he was standing in the hospital outside his fiancé’s ICU unit. “He told me it sounded big, but it sounded like he could handle it.”

Sara shook her head and tapped a blonde man in a long trench coat. “John, wanna field this one?”

The man turned around to reveal a snarky smirk and an unlit cigarette hanging out of his mouth, his hands in his pockets.

“Constantine,” Tommy sighed. “Of course you’re involved.”

John hung his head for a moment, looking down at William in particular. “Sorry for what happened, mates.”

“What happened to my dad?” William asked harshly, issuing surprised glances from Sara and Tommy.

Constantine scratched the back of his head, almost like he was embarrassed. “See, that’s hard to answer. We told Ollie we needed his people’s help to secure a special kind of bad guy.”

“A metahuman?” William asked.

“Not quite, lad. We specialize in taking out magical meanies, and your dear ol’ dad got caught up in it this time. This baddie was a kind of living ink that took the form of a mastermind from a comic book.”

Tommy raised an eyebrow. “A what now?”

“You know, a comic book. Pictures with words that people of all ages can enjoy?”

“I know what a comic book is,” he replied through gritted teeth. “What did you say about a mastermind?”

“Ah, right. Y’see, the beastie found a comic book collection while it was still...uh...inky. Read through it via osmosis, then became it.”

“That sounds insane,” Tommy muttered, but he realized he was talking to a warlock of all people.

“Aye, but it’s the truth.”

“So how did Oliver get hurt?” Tommy dared to ask, gripping William’s shoulders in support.

Sara answered this one. “We swarmed the lair it had made for itself based on the comic books it absorbed. Thanks to Nate and Curtis being actual nerds, we were able to get into the compound safely, but the comics didn’t have maps or anything like that for us to use, so we got a little lost once we were inside. Things got a little hairy once we found the master control room, where Inky was waiting for us. Your dad was the first one into the room after Nate, and the first one who could be hurt.”

William reached up without looking and put his hand on Tommy’s.

“Inky took the shape of your dad in order to fight him,” Sara continued. “No one expected it, and Inky’s arrows were alive. He could control how they flew through the air, nailing one right through your dad.”

“Ow. Tommy. Let go,” William pleaded. Tommy released the small shoulders in front of him, realizing he’d been squeezing too hard.

“Sorry, bud.” He looked up and noticed a doctor walk out of the room and take stock of the people around him. “Hey, there’s a doctor. Let’s see if we can get you to see your dad.”

Tommy and William maneuvered their way through the crowd to stand in front of the doctor. “Hi. We’re Oliver’s son and fiancé. Can we see him?”

The doctor looked at the file in his hands and sighed. “I’ll allow it, Mr. Merlyn, but make it fast. Your fiancé has been through a lot tonight. And I’m afraid he’s on morphine, so he may not be the most clear-headed.” The doctor looked around at the gaggle of heroes before him. “And I sure do appreciate how popular the Green Arrow is with all you masked hoodlums, but this is a hospital. If you’re not family, get out.”

As the group started to disperse, Tommy pointed at Felicity and Diggle. “Can those two stay, just out here? Please?”

The doctor rolled his eyes. “Fine. No one else.” He turned and nearly jogged down the hallway, toward his next patient.

Felicity gently touched Tommy on the arm. “Thank you,” she whispered, her eyes threatening her makeup once more.

“We’ll be right here,” Diggle added, crossing his arms defensively.

Tommy led William into the room, immediately assaulted by the sound of a heart monitor. As they passed into the main room, William gasped at the sight of his dad lying in the hospital bed with an IV, heart monitor, and a few electrical nodes attached to his body. Tommy’s breath caught in his chest and his vision clouded with tears, but the image was perfectly burned into his memory, likely forever. His chest felt tight. He was nauseous. His fingers were going numb. But standing there, he knew he couldn’t succumb to whatever despair his body wanted to see. He shook it off, blinking away the tears and clearing his throat. William turned and hugged Tommy tightly, but Tommy tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to look back at his father.

Oliver was looking straight at William, a sad smile on his face. His face was a little swollen and bruised, but the look in his eye was one of joy, despite the circumstances.

“Dad,” William whispered, tears in his voice. He almost crept over to the bed and put a hand on his dad’s arm. Oliver responded by placing a hand on his son’s and sighing.

“You shouldn’t have brought him,” Oliver whispered, looking up at Tommy. “You know I never wanted him to see me like this.”

“Felicity told me to,” Tommy replied, his voice weak. “I think he needed to see it. I think I needed to see it.”

“A reminder of how dangerous this is,” Oliver agreed. He coughed, causing William to yelp.

“Take it easy, you knucklehead,” Tommy insisted, putting his own hand on Oliver’s knee. “You nearly died tonight.”

“I nearly die most nights,” Oliver countered. “But I’m glad you’re both here.”

“Are you gonna be okay?” William asked, squeezing his father’s hand.

“I’ll be just fine,” Oliver replied quietly. “Some physical therapy and I’ll be back on my feet in no time.”

“What about your night job?” Tommy asked, almost not wanting to hear the answer.

“Constantine can help me get to that level again.”

Tommy grimaced. “Why would you-”

“I can’t give this up if I have a choice, Tommy. You need to know that.”

Tommy sighed, rubbing Oliver’s leg absentmindedly. “I do. I do know that. It’s…”

“It’s tough seeing you like this,” William supplied. “It’s scary.”

“I know, pal. But this was a big one. I promise I’ll be more careful, okay?”

Tommy smirked. “I thought they said you were on morphine.”

Oliver chuckled, which seemed a bit difficult to do at the moment. “I am. I have a high resistance to a lot of chemicals. But it’s helping.” He squeezed William’s hand, but Tommy saw how weak the gesture was. “I need to rest. William, can you be strong for me?”

William looked at his father, confused. “Strong?”

“Yeah. Can you take care of Raisa and Tommy for a few days, while I heal up?” Oliver smiled.

William nodded, and Tommy put a hand on his shoulder.

“Good. I don’t want you worrying about me. I’ll be home in a few days, and we’ll sit around playing video games and watching documentaries while I finish healing. Sound good?”

William nodded again, a tear falling down his cheek.

“And William,” Oliver whispered, his eyelids falling as the morphine started affecting him more strongly, “it’s okay to cry. But don’t give up hope.”

“I won’t. The city needs the Green Arrow.”

“And we need Oliver Queen,” Tommy said, his voice thick.

Oliver’s hand relaxed in William’s grasp as he drifted off to sleep. Content, William placed Oliver’s hand on his chest and turned away, giving one long, last look over his shoulder before walking out into the hallway. Tommy looked down at his partner’s sleeping form, battered and beaten, with tubes and wires stuck into and onto him, and only one thing crossed his mind:

This man is a hero.

Tommy approached the head of the bed and lightly kissed Oliver’s forehead before turning and leaving the room, his heart heavy with a combination of worry and pride.

Tommy made sure William got to see his father at the hospital every day after school until he was released to home recovery. It helped that he needed to see Oliver’s strength gradually returning, as well. By the end of the first full day in the ICU, he was moved out and into the regular care facilities, and by day four, he was ready to be released.

Getting around the mansion proved to be a chore for Ollie, and Tommy found himself helping his fiancé around with a walker. He joked it made him feel like an old man, but Tommy would just smile and say he was the handsomest old man in the world. As per his promise to William, many video games were played in the den, although Oliver was notoriously bad at them. Despite that, William’s smiles were authentic, and Tommy couldn’t deny the rush of emotion he felt whenever Oliver would get excited about doing well every few rounds.

Life with Oliver staying at home at all hours was interesting, too. When he left for work most days, Tommy would kiss him goodbye in the den, but Oliver would slip something into his hand with strict instructions to only read it at lunch. It became habit - Tommy would place the slip of paper into his pocket and only pull it out during a long break, flipping it open at the office and reading about how much Oliver loved him, or how William talked about him while he was at work, or what Oliver’s friends would tell him about Tommy. It brought a smile to Tommy’s face every day it happened.

Oliver was impatient to get on his feet, however, which did cause some issues. Diggle showed up to assist with his physical therapy, which often left Oliver on the ground in pain. Tommy didn’t really approve, but he wasn’t about to step between Spartan and the Green Arrow.

Several other friends of Ollie’s would stop by at various points, as well - Dinah and Laurel would show up unannounced and regale him of the goings on at the SCPD, Sara showed up a few times with some weird herbs Tommy didn’t recognize, saying they would help the healing process, and Barry Allen would also stop by with a friend Tommy only knew as Caitlin, who was a doctor of some kind, to check on Oliver physically.

It was all very sweet, and despite how they tended to interrupt the rest of the household, it was apparent that Oliver appreciated their visits. It annoyed Tommy that the mansion had turned into a revolving door of sorts, but if it helped Oliver’s recovery, he could certainly deal with a little inconvenience.

Oliver had been at home for a total of three days when there was a loud knock on the front door. Tommy opened it, wondering who to expect this time, only to be assaulted by an enormous bouquet of flowers. Shocked, Tommy stepped back, allowing the delivery man into the foyer. He was followed by a delivery woman with four more, smaller bouquets, and a third delivery man with a large box. This one had Tommy sign for the delivery, and the three delicately placed their items at the front display table before nodding to Tommy and leaving him stupefied.

“Who was at the door?” Oliver called from the den.

“Flowers,” Tommy called back, still staring at the gigantic array of plants before him. “Who the hell?” He leaned in close and saw a tag attached to the largest bouquet. He examined it closely, not sure what to expect.

“Get well soon, Mr. Queen/Green Arrow

Love, the People of Star City”

Tears clouded Tommy’s vision as he scooped the flowers up and paraded them into the den.

“Holy cow, Tommy. What’s all that?” Oliver’s voice was light with laughter.

“These are yours,” he replied, dropping them onto the couch next to Oliver. “They, uh, they’re from some fans.”

He watched Oliver read the tag on the largest bouquet, his hand covering his mouth. His forehead crinkled as his eyebrows knitted together, his face turning pink at first, then red as he held back tears.

Tommy left Oliver to quietly focus on the flowers in his arms and returned to the foyer, turning his attention to the large box that had arrived alongside the flowers. He opened the box with a couple of deft strokes of his keys on the box tape, opening what appeared to be a large stock of…

“Chocolate. They sent him chocolate,” Tommy whispered, shaking his head in amusement. “And cards?” He picked up a small, bound stack of get well soon cards. He returned to Oliver’s side, handing him the stack with a smile. “Here. I think you’ll appreciate this, too.”

Oliver, still red in the face, removed the binding from the stack and shuffled through no less than three dozen individual cards, some store bought, others homemade, and each one signed by a child and their family.

“‘Get well soon, Mr. Queen,’” Oliver read through histears. “This one says ‘Get better. We need you.’ And this one, ‘Arrowhead Forever.’ Arrowhead?” He looked up at Tommy in confusion, but all either of them could do was shrug.

“It’s what people call fans of the Green Arrow,” William said as he appeared from the hallway. “I thought it was stupid when I heard it at school, but I guess it got around.” He stopped next to Tommy, appreciating the bouquets. “Is all this stuff for Dad? Who sent it?”

“Everyone did,” Oliver whispered. “I’ve never-” He fumbled, trying to compose himself. “I’ve never even considered that people supported my actions like this.”

William shrugged. “I could have told you that. The kids at school are really nice to me because you’re my dad.”

Oliver looked up at William like he’d seen a ghost. “I was afraid you’d get bullied. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You never asked. Besides, they’re just a bunch of kids. What does it matter what they think?” William sat down on the couch next to Oliver and looked through a couple of cards. “It looks like you really are a hero, Dad.”

“You say that like you’re surprised,” Tommy laughed.

“I’m not, but I guess I didn’t expect so many kids to love you like this.” William showed one handmade card to his father. “This one has to be really young. Look at that handwriting.”

“This one’s signed by the parents of a three year old,” Oliver offered, showing William. “They say they feel safer for their daughter’s sake because of me.” He sniffled, and Tommy noticed tears lining his eyes again. “Dammit. I wasn’t prepared for this.”

“They sent you chocolates, too,” Tommy said with a shrug.

William’s eyes lit up. “Really? How much?”

“William.” Oliver laughed, but his voice was stern. “No chocolate right now.”

“But it’s the People’s chocolate, Dad!”

“Uh huh. But have you eaten lunch yet?”

“...No.”

Oliver raised his eyebrows at William knowingly, who just grunted. “Fiiiiine.” He got up and made his way to the kitchen.

“At least one whole sandwich, young man,” Oliver called after him. His response was a tired moan from the hallway. Tommy just smiled.

“You seem to be getting the hang of this whole ‘dad’ thing,” Tommy observed as he replaced William on the couch. “It’s quite attractive, actually.”

Oliver looked down at the cards in his hands, his expression softening. “I had no idea people saw me this way.”

“It really shouldn’t surprise you, Oliver.” Tommy kissed his temple. “You’re a hero.”

“This must be what Barry feels like all the time,” Oliver chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye.

Tommy took a card from Oliver and read it to himself before he gave a shrug. “You know what this means, right?”

Oliver nodded, the smile on his face growing stronger. “I need to get back into fighting shape as quickly as I can.”

Tommy couldn’t agree more.

Four weeks of strenuous physical therapy and added training from Diggle and Sara had passed, and Oliver was almost back to his old self. There was still a little discomfort from his side with certain movements, which he was told was caused by internal scar tissue. There wasn’t much anyone could do about it except limit Oliver’s physical exertion in ways that aggravated it.

The therapists knew who he was, of course, and promised him they were doing everything they could to allow him to get back to his old habits as quickly as they could, but he was only human, and humans have recovery periods following physical trauma - in Oliver’s case, some rather considerable muscle damage in his abdomen and potential nerve issues from the healing process. It wasn’t the greatest news, but to Oliver, it was the best news he could hope for.

Moving into week five was going to be a crucible of sorts. Oliver knew his injury could mean the end of his time as the Green Arrow, which was a fate he could avoid. He sat down in the den one afternoon, his eyes bright and hopeful, but his lips forming a thin line and his jaw set tight.

“Everything okay?” Tommy asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Oliver replied with a huff. “But.”

Tommy’s chin tilted down, his eyes serious and locked with Oliver’s. “What do you need me to do?”

Oliver smiled and let himself laugh a little. “You know I’m doing well in PT, but it won’t be enough to get back on the street.”

“Right. Healing naturally could take months,” Tommy nodded. “Why?”

“There’s a way for me to get back out there faster.”

Tommy blinked in surprise. “How fast?”

Oliver shrugged. “Two, maybe three days?”

He couldn’t have heard that right. “Wait. What? Two or three days? How’s that possible?”

Oliver smiled as confidently as he could muster, which wasn’t particularly strong. Tommy couldn’t possibly miss how sheepish he felt. There was a light that went off in Tommy’s eyes, and Oliver could practically feel the man’s heart sink.

“Constantine,” Tommy sighed, closing his eyes. “You want to use magic to heal.”

Okay, not an immediate no. “I talked to Sara and the Legends, and they said Gideon can’t help me past what I’ve already healed naturally, which means medicine and science have failed me. And where they fail-”

“Magic can succeed, I take it?” Tommy droned. “I’m not comfortable with you putting your life in his hands, you know.”

Oliver nodded in agreement, but he still felt uncomfortable. He knew how little Tommy thought of magic in general. “I’ve already talked to John about it. He knows a way to help me in a way that’s more like turning back the clock than healing me outright.”

“I’m not going to pretend to understand what you mean by that. What’s the plan?” Tommy asked, unimpressed. Oliver knew that Constantine was a time bomb, as far as Tommy was concerned. Death and misfortune followed that man everywhere, and Tommy wanted it nowhere near Oliver, after everything he’d been through recently.

“John said there’s a spell that takes my body and compares it to someone else’s, kind of. It transforms part of my body to a state very close to the other person’s. So, for example, it could rearrange the nerves in my body to be more in line with what someone who hadn’t had an arrow shot through their torso would be. And it would only take a few days, total, to work.” Throughout the explanation, Tommy’s expression didn’t change. It was steadily unsure, but he listened attentively, which, to Oliver, was a good sign. He could even agree to this.

Oliver’s heart was pounding harder in his chest as he took a deep breath to ask the big question. “Will you-”

“Yes.”

The den fell into silence, with Oliver staring wide-eyed at his fiancé. He’d just agreed to something, but he hadn’t even been given the prompt! “Tommy, this isn’t-”

“You were about to ask me to be the second person,” Tommy interjected. “You want to use my body as the template to rewrite yours, as far as I understand it. Of course I’ll help.”

“This is still dangerous,” Oliver warned. “I don’t want you to agree to this without fully understanding that.”

Tommy shrugged. “I’m engaged to the Green Arrow. My father was a tyrannical madman out for power with the deadliest group of assassins in the world. I traveled to the heart of South America, braving wilderness and illness, to find the man you want to perform a magic spell on you. There’s not a lot in our time together that I would exactly call ‘safe,’ Ollie.”

“Be that as it may-”

“Stop talking and accept the yes,” Tommy urged. “I don’t like that man, and I don’t want to change my mind by thinking about it. This is for you, both physically and mentally.” He leaned forward and kissed Oliver, running a hand along his jawline as he pulled away. “I would do anything for you. I’m almost insulted you would think I’d say no to this.”

Oliver sat quietly for a moment, staring Tommy down in amazement. This man was unaware of the dangers of the spell, and would still throw himself headlong into danger for him. It was foolish, reckless, and irresponsible, but the clenching in Oliver’s chest told him how driven by love the act was. He finally smiled, accepting the unconditional support.

“You know how much I hate it when you interrupt me like that,” Oliver chuckled.

Tommy laughed, as well. “Yep, I sure do.”

“Seriously. Do you have him on speed dial or something?” Tommy demanded. He was lying on his back on the floor in the Bunker, inches from Oliver, while Constantine prepared the ingredients for his spell at the computer station nearby. Felicity stood watch from the briefing station, standing by in case someone needed, well, anything.

“Eh. Cell phone,” Oliver replied with a shrug.

“I assume you’ve got vanilla extract down here?” Constantine addressed Oliver while holding a foul-looking liquid in a small vial.

Tommy lifted his head to glare at Constantine. “Vanilla extract? Are we gonna bake the spell?”

“Nah, mate. This shit’s gonna taste vile. I was hoping to down some afterwards to get the taste out of my mouth.”

“Oh.” Felicity popped up onto the deck with a roll of mints. “Here.” She slapped it on the computer desk and whisked herself off the platform.

“Thanks, luv.” He moved over to stand near the heads of his charges. “I told Ollie most of this,” he started, but Oliver looked up at him.

“Don’t call me Ollie.”

“Right. I told Ollie most of this already, but this spell links your souls together while one person mimics the other. It’ll be right weird for the first few days, because you’ll basically be one person in two bodies. You’re gonna see things. Have memories of each other’s life. Sorry ‘bout that, Tommy.” Tommy swallowed hard. “The effect will wear off after about three days or so, or however long it takes for the transmogrification to work.”

“I’ve never heard you use a word that big,” Tommy muttered. Constantine toed his head.

“Tommy, you’re gonna be sore, because you’re gonna feel what Ollie feels until he’s healed up.”

“John, if you call me that one more time-”

Constantine clapped his hands together, a grin on his face. “Let’s get started, shall we?”

Constantine picked up the vial of liquid from the computer desk and downed it, his face contorting into sheer pain. He coughed a few times, then popped a mint into his mouth. “Bloody useless, these things are,” he muttered, popping three or four more and crunching through all of them. He raised his hands over Oliver and Tommy’s bodies and took a deep breath.

“May wanna close your eyes, gents.”

For a moment, Tommy wondered if he should, but decided it was probably a good idea. He squeezed his eyes shut just as Constantine began his chant. It sounded almost Arabic in nature, but halfway through, he swapped to what sounded like Japanese, then to Israeli. With a bit of a snicker, Tommy wondered if the words were even necessary.

Through his eyelids, Tommy saw a bright light, followed by the warmth of...something...on his skin. His side began to ache a little, and he had to remind himself it was a phantom pain from Oliver he was feeling, not a real injury. It was a dull ache, not unbearable at all. But then his wrists, elbows, ankles, shoulders, neck, and knees all became very heavy. Confused, Tommy blinked his eyes open, letting in a bright light directly in front of his face.

“Close your eyes, Tommy,” Oliver growled.

Wrenching his eyes closed, they both wondered if the link was working. Well, since he hadn’t thought that, it probably had. This...this was going to be confusing. Which thoughts were his? Did it really matter? Probably not.

“Okay, gents, all done.”

Oliver and Tommy opened their eyes simultaneously, taking in a brand new sensation of being able to see two focal points at the same time.

“Woah,” they both moaned. “Trippy.”

“Haven’t done it myself, but you should be able to kind of force your consciousness into a single body,” Constantine said as he popped more mints. “No heroics until you can sleep without seeing each other’s dreams, alright?”

“Let’s try that,” they said. Closing their eyes, they concentrated on feeling like themselves. Slowly, Tommy emerged from the singular consciousness, again taking hold of his body. He opened his eyes and sat up, looking down at Oliver’s still-prone form.

“Tommy?” Felicity asked, her eyes worried.

“Yeah, I’m me,” Tommy affirmed. “Ollie?”

“I’m here,” Oliver sighed, opening his eyes. He raised himself onto his elbows and looked over at Tommy. “You okay?”

Tommy placed a hand on the tender side of his abdomen. “Yeah, except maybe don’t lean like that. It hurts.”

“Sorry. High pain tolerance. I’ll be more careful.” Oliver straightened out and helped himself up to his feet. Tommy did much of the same.

“Give it three, maybe four days,” Constantine reminded them. He looked at Tommy, a sad smirk on his face. “And I really am sorry, lad. I wish I could block Oliver’s memories for you.”

Tommy shrugged and shook his head. “I don’t see any of Oliver’s-”

It was cold. Damp. There were inmates on my left and right. One looked like he was praying. There was standing water all over the floor, but was I-

Was I on a ship?

Dahrk had William. Dahrk had William. The fire in my chest wouldn’t go out. Everyone was an enemy. There was no way I would let that sleazebag take my-

“I don’t want to marry you, Oliver.”

The world split in half, there in Jitters. I stared at the woman I loved, but the gaze that returned to me was hurt, reproachful. She’d meant those words.

How could I have ever believed someone like her-

“Right my wrongs.”

Tommy’s eyes widened and his legs gave out. He fell to his knees, his hands clasping the sides of his head. His breathing was shallow. Tears flowed freely from his eyes. He screamed at the floor.

Immediately, two arms surrounded him, a face pressed against his head.

“Shh. Tommy. Tommy, I’m here.” Oliver pulled Tommy’s hands away from his head and turned him to face him. “Tommy, look at me. Focus on my voice. Hey. I’m right here. Look at me, Tommy.”

Tommy’s screaming died away as his eyes found Oliver’s somehow in the maelstrom of his mind.

“Listen to me,” Oliver ordered, his hands firmly placed on either side of Tommy’s head. Tommy scratched feebly at Oliver’s forearms, but he didn’t flinch. “There’s a lot of messed up shit in there. But there’s so much good, Tommy. Think of Tommy Merlyn. Or Laurel Lance. Or John Diggle. Felicity Smoak. Ray Palmer. Think of your friends. William. Think of William.”

As Oliver said name after name, images of them flashed through Tommy’s mind, and with them, a weight lifted from his chest. Finally, William’s face pushed through the storm, bringing Tommy’s mind to a calm from which he could practically watch the hurricane rage on all sides. But there, next to him, were the faces of the ones he held dear, both as Oliver Queen and Tommy Merlyn.

Constantine stood away from the two men cowering on the floor in front of him, his arms crossed and his gaze intently fixated on them. Felicity’s hands were covering her mouth, tears streaming down her face.

“What’s happening?” she choked out.

“I’d say he’s sharing in Oliver’s PTSD, but it’s different from that,” Constantine replied, not taking his eyes off of Tommy’s whimpering form. “It’s like he’s experiencing it for the first time, because he is. His mind doesn’t know how to process, what, twelve years of trauma and heartache, all at once.”

Felicity glared at Constantine. “What? Wouldn’t something like that cause serious damage? How could you let them go through with this?”

“All magic has its downside, luv.” He sighed. “Besides, Oliver is seeing those memories right now, too, and he’s directing some of the pain back to himself. Look at his face.”

Felicity looked over and noted how red Oliver’s face was. Tears were streaming down his cheeks. He wasn’t just trying to calm Tommy, he was keeping himself in check.

“The only real benefit to their link right now is that Oliver can act as a backup server to Tommy’s hardware,” Constantine said. “He’s storing unnecessary data while Tommy basically defrags his own memory.”

“I’m impressed you managed to make that understandable to me,” Felicity remarked with a small chuckle.

“I’m a warlock, luv, not stone age.”

“So all that unnecessary data-”

“Oliver is intentionally taking the brunt of the emotional trauma while Tommy plays out each memory. Tommy’s experiencing the events in his head, but it’s like watching a movie with the volume turned way down. One is essentially sitting in a movie theatre doing a sound test, while the other is watching the films play out on mute.”

“That can’t be good for Oliver, though.”

“If anyone can handle living through Oliver Queen’s memories a second time, it’s Oliver Queen.”

Their breathing synchronized by force, Tommy following Oliver’s rhythm. His heartbeat was still hammering away at a million miles an hour, but he was able to control the onslaught of thoughts now. He cleared his mind, focusing on Oliver’s clear, blue eyes, the whites stained red with tears.

“I’m going to back away so we can stand up,” Oliver warned him, his voice low and steady. “I’m right here. Take my hand.” He offered a hand to Tommy, who took it with some minor hesitation. Oliver leaned back, the thoughts in his head still mashing up against his self-control. Together, the two of them shakily made it to their feet, Tommy never taking his eyes off of Oliver. Oliver smiled weakly, but the tears continued to fall.

“I hope you plan on taking responsibility for this,” Felicity growled, not looking at Constantine.

Constantine held the memory device from the Waverider in his hand and sighed. “I will. I’m already a damned man, anyway.”

“Will that thing work?”

“Not unless we wait until their link is severed. If we use it while they can still see each other’s memories, it’ll just happen again. But we can only wipe the memories themselves; it won’t get rid of the feelings they caused. Those are ingrained on the soul, not the mind. We’ll never be able to fully rid Tommy of what just happened.” Constantine started walking toward the elevator.

Felicity started after him. “What? Where are you going?”

“To smoke a bloody cigarette,” he snapped. “Stay with them until I get back.”

Felicity stopped her pursuit, looking back at the two men standing in a tight embrace on the main platform. Neither of them moved or made a sound, but just continued to be as close together as possible.

What were they going to tell William?

Chapter Text

The twenty-four hours following Constantine’s spell proved to be difficult for all parties involved. Felicity helped Oliver and Tommy back to the mansion, where she updated Raisa and William on the situation. William was confused at first - understandably so, by Felicity’s account - but Raisa was quick on the uptake.

The three of them set out to make the other two as comfortable as possible, which was proving more difficult than anticipated. Oliver insisted on being close to Tommy at all times, and Tommy was unnervingly quiet. He would often stare off at whatever was in front of him, his eyes glassy. Every now and then he would whimper, causing Oliver to reach for his hand and give it a gentle squeeze. Tommy’s lip would pull into a small smile, but his eyes would remain blank. Felicity set up a pair of reclining lawn chairs in the sitting room for them. This worked at first, but they quickly found Tommy was prone to getting up and wandering off, which meant Oliver, too, was up and wandering.

Neither of them spoke much, particularly Tommy. Oliver seemed lucid, but was silent unless directly spoken to. When Felicity brought William into the sitting room to see them, Oliver looked at his son and gave a sad smile, but said nothing until William asked if he was okay. His response was simply, “I’m fine, buddy.” William then gave him a hug, which was only halfheartedly returned.

William did his homework in the sitting room that day, attempting to not interact with his father or Tommy at all. He didn’t really understand the situation, but knew they were hurt. He would notice movement out of the corner of his eye and look up to see Oliver stroking Tommy’s arm or patting his knee, but neither man spoke. A cold hand gripped William’s heart every time Tommy jerked or shouted. He cursed his own inability to help.

Constantine did what he could. He attempted a sleep spell on Tommy, but he jolted awake in a matter of moments. Oliver was at his side immediately, coddling him with their foreheads pressed together until he calmed enough to relax. Neither of them slept until close to the twenty-four hour mark, when Raisa found them both asleep in the lawn chairs with Tommy’s hand in Oliver’s. The respite was short-lived, as Tommy awoke with a shout only a few hours later.

The second day proved a little easier. William sat with the two of them after school and, by Felicity’s suggestion, helped them focus by reading them his history lesson from that day. Halfway through the reading, Tommy’s eyes had focused on William - or rather, the History book - with a somewhat pained expression. When William asked what was wrong, Oliver said, “He hates History.”

Raisa had difficulty getting them to eat, but she was successful with a little help from Caitlin, who had arrived earlier that day as a live-in doctor to monitor their condition until the spell wore off. She was unable to perform certain tests on Tommy, who screamed at the syringes she used for blood collection, but her cursory examination showed him in good health. Aside from this she claimed both of the men were perfectly healthy, despite their somewhat broken psyches.

By midnight the second night, the mansion had finally relaxed into a tolerable state. Tommy had fallen asleep without Oliver, although the latter still insisted on being nearby. William appeared in the doorway from the foyer and called quietly to his father. “Can I come sit with you?”

“Come sit.” Oliver patted the arm of the couch next to him. William sat and put his hand on his father’s knee, lapsing into silence.

After a moment, Tommy stirred. He looked over at William with a sleepy smile. “William. What are you still doing up?” His voice was low and strained.

“Tommy! Are you okay?” William asked. He smiled, his vision blurring a little with tears he wiped away before Oliver saw.

Tommy shuddered and squeezed Oliver’s hand. “I’ll be fine, kiddo. Just a couple of days, right?”

William fidgeted, his gaze low. “It’s really scary watching you like this,” he said.

Oliver reached over with his free hand and patted William on the back in comfort as Tommy said, “We know. Sorry.”

“Everyone’s helping out, though.” William sat up straighter than before as he looked over each of their faces. “Dr. Snow came to stay with us, remember? She’s right down the hall.”

Tommy nodded, adjusting his position in the chair to sit up a little straighter. “I remember.”

William looked down at his father’s hand clasping Tommy’s. “Did I wake you up? I’m sorry.”

“He was having a good dream,” Oliver said, his eyes unfocused. “I took the bad ones away so he could sleep.”

Oliver wavered in his chair, his face flushed. Tommy looked over at Oliver with a concerned glint in his eye. “Ollie. It’s okay. You can let me have some of the memories back. I can take it.”

Staring at nothing in particular, Oliver shook his head. “Sleep. I’ll keep watch.” He squeezed Tommy’s hand, his gaze unchanging. “If I hold them, you can sleep. They’re mine, anyway.”

“That’s not fair,” Tommy replied with a small shake of his head. “You can’t take it all at once.”

“That’s exactly what I’m doing.” Oliver’s voice was stern, but low. He was struggling to speak like this. William felt his heart picking up tempo. What was happening?

“No, Ollie. I can’t let you do this.” Tommy’s gaze intensified as he looked at William’s father. After a moment, Tommy’s eyebrow started to twitch. His eyes closed.

Oliver snapped his eyes to Tommy, his breathing picking up speed. “Tommy, what are you-”

“These aren’t just your memories anymore, Ollie. I won’t let you protect me at the cost of your own sanity.”

“Tommy-”

Their voices were getting louder. Both men looked angry. William looked between the two of them with concern. “Dad? What’s going on?”

“It’s okay, William,” Tommy said, but Oliver cut him off at a yell.

“Like hell, it is! Let me do this, Tommy!”

This time, Tommy’s voice was just as loud. “Stop it, Oliver! For once in your life, let someone help! We’re in this together!”

Oliver faltered, his face stiff and his body rigid. He jerked his gaze away from Tommy, finding a spot on the floor to burn a hole through, instead. His breathing was shallow and quick, his brow beaded in sweat. William stared on, fear and uncertainty silencing him.

The lights to the sitting room clicked on. William turned in his seat to see Caitlin standing in the doorway. “Oliver? I heard shouting.”

He shook his head. “It’s…” He trailed off, leaving the statement unfulfilled.

“They were fighting over memories,” William explained.

With a sigh, Caitlin approached the duo and put a comforting hand on Tommy, who had returned to twitching erratically with the short bursts of memories. “Tommy? Can you hear me?”

There was no response. Tommy continued to sit in silence, his face or shoulders jerking every now and again.

“He wanted them back,” Oliver said, his voice low. Defeated. “He took them from me. I couldn’t stop him.”

Caitlin leaned down and looked him in the eye, but he wouldn’t look straight at her. “I’m sorry, Oliver.”

“I can’t even protect him,” he said, even quieter. “I’m supposed to be the strong one. The one without fear. But he…”

“Did you maybe consider that he wants to protect you, too?”

The question seemed to bother Oliver, who shifted in his seat. He didn’t say anything. He closed his eyes and put his head back, his hand squeezing Tommy’s tightly.

Caitlin stood back up and put a hand on William’s shoulder. Her shoulders were slanted in a way that made her look very tired. “I think we should leave them be,” she said. “We’ll see how they are in the morning.”

William nodded and gingerly put his hand on his father’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Dad. Let Tommy help. He loves you.”

There was a slight flutter from Oliver’s eyelids, but no other visible response. William allowed Caitlin to lead him out of the sitting room, both of them casting worried glances back at the two men joined at the palms as they suffered in joined isolation.

Day three was more difficult. Oliver and Tommy argued loudly throughout most of the day, causing a sense of unrest with everyone else. By the time William came home from school, they’d moved to opposite sides of the room, although Oliver still wouldn’t be forced further from Tommy. They soon ran out of comments to throw at each other, turning to silent glares at each other under heavy brows.

“Are you two okay?” William asked as he stepped into the sitting room, glancing hesitantly between them.

“We’re fine,” they both replied, their voices tired but curt. William jumped at the sharp response.

“They’re having some issues today,” Caitlin said, her voice low as she appeared behind William. “They’re having problems feeling separate, and it’s caused some privacy concerns.”

William didn’t really understand, but that sounded rough. He put his hand on his father’s shoulder and rubbed it lightly. “It’s okay, Dad. Not much longer, right?”

“Tommy did say the dreams they were seeing were a lot quieter,” Caitlin said with a hitch of her shoulder. “I think that means the spell is starting to wear off.”

William smiled at his father, his heart picking up the pace. “That’s great! You’ll be back to normal in no time!”

“Not fast enough, if you ask me.” Tommy’s voice was deadly sharp, an arrow aimed at Oliver.

“The feeling is mutual,” Oliver said. His own voice dripped with the sarcastic patience William had heard him use with the team time and again.

Dinner approached far too quickly. Because both of them were lucid, Raisa forced them to sit at the dinner table. She handled their circumstances masterfully, taking Tommy to the table without worrying that Oliver would follow - he did. William was impressed she was able to control the situation, given how unusual it was, as easily as she did. William sat as a buffer between them at the table, with Caitlin across from him to observe.

Their motor skills were clumsy still, but better than the day before. Tommy became frustrated at dropping his fork multiple times, but he decline any help. Oliver said it was because they were still trying to move both bodies at once, causing some unintentional movement. The idea was over William’s head, but he knew the gist of the situation. He simply offered assistance when he thought it would be helpful, which brought smiles to both his father’s and Tommy’s faces.

That evening, everyone gathered in the sitting room to watch a movie together. William sat between the two of them on the couch, pleased with their behavior. At one point, he felt shuffling from behind him as two arms reached across the back of the sofa and onto one another’s shoulder, bringing William into a sort of three-person cuddle. Silent, the boy smiled. It was the closest to a family they had felt all week.

As Caitlin helped Oliver and Tommy settle down for the night, William appeared in the doorway. He watched quietly as she set the lawn chairs back for them to sleep and distributed blankets as needed. She turned off the lights and met William in the hallway, a vague smile on her face.

They moved out of earshot of the sitting room before Caitlin said, “I think tonight is the last night we have to worry.”

“Really?”

“They’ve adjusted. Even if the spell lasts longer than we expected, they should be able to return to almost normal lives until it finally wears off.” She put a comforting hand on William’s back as she spoke. “I know this has been, well, strange, but it should be over soon.”

“They fought a lot today,” William said. “Will they be okay?”

“Oh, I’m sure they’ll be fine,” Caitlin replied. “They really love each other. But even people who love each other as much as they do need alone time, and they haven’t had that luxury the past few days.”

That made sense. William loved both of them, but he needed his time away from his dads, too. “I’m gonna get up early and make sure they’re okay before I go to school tomorrow,” he said.

Caitlin smiled. “I think they’d appreciate that.”

After school the next day, William entered the sitting room and nearly laughed himself onto the floor. Oliver and Tommy were sitting on the couch, their hands poking and prodding each other in the face; Tommy’s fingers had managed to find their way into Oliver’s mouth, poking him in the gums, while Oliver’s thumb was shoved up Tommy’s nose. They were giggling and making silly noises as they moved their fingers.

“What did I just walk in on?” William asked as he approached the sofa.

“Hey, Will!” Tommy said, his grin interrupted by Oliver moving his other hand up to poke him in the bottom lip. “Your dad and I were just checking-” He spit out Oliver’s fingers, issuing a chuckle from their owner. “We were just checking to make sure we couldn’t feel each other anymore. Checking to see if the spell’s gone.”

“I take it you feel pretty good now?”

“Ow.” Oliver laughed as Tommy poked him in the eyelid. “It sure looks that way, at least with my still-good eye. I think we’re back to normal.”

“How’s your side, Ollie?” Tommy asked.

Oliver stood to his feet and bent this way and that, stretching in every conceivable manner for his torso. When he finished, he shrugged with a big grin. “I feel fine. Great, actually.” He lifted his shirt to reveal a slight discoloration to his abdomen, where Tommy’s skin showed through. “That’s...odd.”

“Is it supposed to do that?” William asked.

Tommy shrugged. “Well, the spell fashioned the repair after my body, so I guess so.”

“That’s going to take some getting used to in the mirror,” Oliver said, attention taken by the only slightly different skin tone.

“I’m just glad I kept in shape, or you’d have a blob sticking out,” Tommy pointed out, making sucking noises and gesturing at his own side. Oliver gave him a sharp glare, then they laughed.

“Oh, good, William’s home,” Caitlin said as she appeared in the doorway with a tray of sandwiches. She placed them on the small table in the center of the room. “I brought a snack. You two look like you’re in fighting shape. Figuratively speaking,” she added with a point at Oliver. “No heroics tonight. Just to be safe.”

“Doctor’s orders,” Tommy said, pulling Oliver down onto him. He wrapped his arms around Oliver from behind, nuzzling his chin into his neck. Oliver laughed, a pleasant surprise considering he was being hugged so tightly. “You’re on bed rest. With me.”

Caitlin’s face reddened and William couldn’t help but laugh. “A-Anyway,” she said, “I’m going to book my ticket back to Central City. If anything happens after I’m gone, William, call Barry. He can get me back out here in about half an hour.”

She started to head out of the room, but she stopped. “Oh. Almost forgot.” She unlocked a drawer near the doorway and pulled out the Legends’ memory device. Turning it over in her hands, her face fell. William heard her give a heavy sigh. She turned back to the couch, the device held up for them to see. “Okay. One last instruction from John.”

Oliver nodded, but Tommy shook his head. “No.”

Everyone’s eyes snapped to Tommy. Oliver, in particular, looked worried. “No?”

He seemed resolute. “No. Don’t erase my memory.”

Caitlin sat on the armchair at the end of the couch. She looked him in the eye as she spoke. “Oliver’s memories aren’t going to go away. They could really give you problems without Oliver to help.”

Tommy hugged Oliver tighter, hiding most of his face behind the man’s shoulder. He was quiet for a moment, then nodded. “I don’t need Oliver in my head. I have him here. I don’t want to forget all the things he’s gone through.”

“Tommy.” Oliver pulled away, turning back to face him with his eyebrows knit closely together. “Are you sure about this?”

Tommy took Oliver’s hand in his and bent his head down to look at him from under his brow. His serious face. “I know you better than anyone possibly could. I’ve seen the things you’ve been through. Felt them. Lived them, even if I didn’t. I will never give that up.” He looked over at William and smiled. “Besides, not everything was bad. I know what it feels like to have a son - a child that shares my blood - even though I’ve never had one. I don’t want to lose that feeling, either.”

William struggled to hold back a tear as he grinned. “You’re definitely back to normal,” he said. “You’re so sappy.”

“Like a maple,” Tommy joked. He brought his gaze back to meet Oliver’s. “I’m not you, Ollie. I can’t save the city by fighting crime. But now, I can really relate to what it’s like. I know what it’s like to be you. Who else can say that?”

“Barry,” Oliver said, deadpan. Everyone laughed.

Tommy pulled Oliver into a long, gentle kiss. When they parted, they were both smiling. “But does Barry do that?”

“No, he does not.”

“God, I hope not,” Tommy said, falling back onto the couch. “That would be weird. We’d have to have talks.”

Oliver looked down at their intertwined fingers, then up at Caitlin. His eyes practically glistened in an emotion William wasn’t used to seeing there. “I don’t want to wipe my memory, either. Tommy isn’t without his own traumas, and I want to make sure I can always appreciate that.”

There was a long pause as everyone came to an agreement. Caitlin took a long look at the device in her hand, then smiled. “Good. I didn’t want to use this thing, anyway.”

William grinned at his family. The tears wouldn’t stop welling up, despite how happy he was. Or maybe it was because he was happy, that the tears kept coming. Either way, he was just glad things were going back to what passed as “normal” in the Queen house.

Later that evening, the three of them settled down for another movie night, William in the armchair to the side while Tommy leaned in under Oliver’s arm on the couch. They’d decided on a recent Marvel film - one with lots of action, where you didn’t have to think hard to enjoy the production.

William was more interested in watching his dad and Tommy, waiting for signs that they weren’t okay. They never came. Every now and then there would be an explosion on the TV, and Tommy would flinch or his face would twitch. Without even looking, Oliver knew when these little reactions occurred, responding by a gentle rub to his shoulder or leaning his head against Tommy’s. To William, it looked like they were still partially in sync, although they both denied it.

When the film ended, William stood to head to his room. “I’m going to bed,” he announced, looking at the two still seated close together on the couch. “Are you two going to be okay tonight?”

Tommy sat up and made a spot on the couch between them. “C’mere.” He reached out with a warm look in his eye William hadn’t seen before. William moved to sit between them, his emotions ranging from confused to nervous. Tommy waited until the boy was settled between them, then kissed him on the top of the head. His free arm hugged his shoulders. “I know it’s kinda weird,” Tommy said, his voice low, “but I want you to know I love you, William. Almost as much as your dad. I’m sorry you had to go through all this.”

He was right: it was weird. Tommy wasn’t usually this sentimental, even if he was more emotive than Oliver.

William shook his head. “It’s okay. I’m just glad you’re both okay.”

After a moment of silence, Tommy clapped his hand on William’s shoulder. “We’re so lucky to have you.”

“Tommy.” Oliver shook his head. “You need to get some sleep. You’re being overly huggy.”

“Let me praise the little man,” Tommy said with a laugh. “He deserves to know how much we love and appreciate him.”

William rolled his eyes. “I know. Can I go to bed now?”

Oliver leaned in and gave him a kiss on the top of the head, as well. “Sure. See you tomorrow.”

William stood to his feet and gave each of them a quick glance before leaving the room. He reached his room, but stopped and sighed, finally releasing the breath he’d taken four days ago. He heard chatter from the sitting room, followed by Tommy’s laughter. William’s heart fluttered at the sound and his lips pulled into a smile he wasn’t expecting. Content, he opened his bedroom door and stepped through.

Chapter Text

The halls of Merlyn Global were as sterile and empty as usual, but as Tommy walked them, the shadows seemed deeper. He approached his office on the top floor, his heart hammering in his chest. He’d been out of the office for quite some time, what with Oliver getting injured and the whole Constantine situation. He’d left the company in the capable hands of his senior staff, a move made in full confidence. Publicly they supported his time off to be with his family, but he was nervous there would be some ill will about throwing the company at them with such little warning.

As Tommy entered his office, three people stood to their feet: his CFO Mark, his chief personnel officer Alicia, and his direct subordinate, the Vice President of the company Isaac. They watched him with unhindered stares as he rounded his desk and nodded to them. All four seated themselves, Tommy leaning on his desk. He took a deep breath.

“How is Mr. Queen, sir?” Alicia asked. Tommy’s lip twitched. Alicia had always been on Oliver’s side, even before his identity had been publicly known. It was one of the reasons he’d kept her around - he needed people he knew would support his family.

“He’s doing fine now, thank you. I’m sorry I had to extend my leave. Some things happened, and I-”

“There’s no need to explain, Tommy,” Isaac interjected. “We understand. I just hope we handled things in your absence well enough.”

Tommy chuckled. “You have decades of experience in this over me, Isaac. You practically run the company even with me here. I had no doubts you’d take good care of things.”

Isaac smiled. Tommy liked Isaac. He had worked under Malcolm’s ownership of the company, and had openly refused to be involved in the Undertaking. When Tommy had taken over, Isaac was one of the first people to congratulate him in helping turn the company’s reputation on its head. Tommy had kept him close ever since, as his experience was invaluable to someone with such little business experience.

“Is there anything pressing I need to know about?” Tommy asked of Mark, who nodded.

“Since the Green Arrow’s unmasking last year as your significant other, we’ve been expecting some backlash from our sponsors and business partners,” Mark began, “but we weren’t expecting this much backlash. Fourth quarter reports and first quarter projections show us solidly in the red when compared to last year, and every year since you took over the company.”

Tommy sighed, steepling his fingers in thought. Mark’s projections had been accurate every quarter for the past four years. There was no reason to doubt him now. “Trajectory?”

“With our current projects in the Glades and without pink slipping any employees, we’ll be bankrupt in less than three years.”

Oof. That was much faster than Tommy had expected. “How many backers do we still have with the Glades Restoration Project?”

“We currently have three large-scale donors and close to sixteen thousand personal and small business donors. Even if the company goes under, the Project can continue for several years.”

“Good.” Tommy met each of his colleague’s eyes in turn from underneath his furrowed brow. “I know the goal is to keep MG running, but my first priority is helping the Glades. I don’t mean to hide that intent.”

“We’re with you, sir,” Alicia replied. “The Project is important to the Board, and we won’t give up on it, even if Merlyn Global has to.”

Isaac and Mark nodded their agreement.

“So, we need more investors in the company.” Tommy collapsed into thought. “Mark, reach out to Barry Allen in Central City. STAR Labs has some geniuses we’ve been sleeping on, and I’m good friends with the proprietor. They’ll be able to offer something, even if it isn’t much. They’ll probably ignore the request unless you drop my name.”

Mark nodded, scribbling the instructions down.

“Alicia, please talk with the heads of each department. We need ideas to reduce our overhead without firing people. Safety and headcount are the two most important things.”

Alicia smiled, jotting down her own notes.

Tommy’s eyes fell on Isaac. “I need to take a trip. Can you handle a few more days of monotony?”

“Of course. May I ask what your plan is?”

“I have a friend who owes us a favor. I was hoping not to ever ask her for it, but this might be our best option.”

“A favor? What is it, a buyout?”

“Not a buyout,” Tommy replied, shaking his head. “And, to be honest, she could say no, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all. But hopefully she wants to undo my father’s legacy as much as I do.”

His chiefs of staff sat in silence, awaiting his next order.

Tommy grinned. “Let’s bounce out of this hole. We’re passionate and skilled individuals. We’ve got this.”

With that, the meeting was adjourned. The others left Tommy alone to stew over these new developments. He turned his chair to stare out the wall-sized window. He’d had his office moved to this room specifically for the view: the large expanse of construction and remaining rubble that was the Glades. It was his daily reminder why he agreed to take control of his father’s company six years ago. His life had a singular focus until he started seeing Oliver: restoring the Glades to something better than before.

He sighed. With the decision to keep Oliver’s memories from Constantine’s spell, there was a small shock of how in-depth the goings on around Malcolm’s Undertaking truly were. Tommy’s involvement back then had been minimal, but Oliver had dipped his hands into things the moment he returned from Lian Yu, most of which he could now recall. If Tommy had been determined to make up for the damage the Undertaking had caused before the spell, it had become do or die now.

The phone on his desk buzzed, drawing his attention away from the construction zones below.

“Mr. Merlyn, the Green Arrow is on Line One.”

Tommy laughed. “Esther, you know you can call him Oliver. Or my fiancé.”

“I know. I just like being able to say the Green Arrow is calling you.”

“Fair enough. Thanks.”

What could Oliver need in the middle of the day? Tommy picked up the phone. “Hey. Everything okay?”

Oliver’s voice portrayed his smile. “Everything’s great. Didn’t have my phone on me so I couldn’t text.”

“Sure, sure. What’s up?”

There was a pause from the other end of the line. “Sorry. Not used to this. I, uh, was just calling to tell you I love you.”

Something warm gripped Tommy’s heart and he smiled. “Really? No ulterior motive?”

“We were one person for three days, Tommy. I know what you want from me, and what I could be doing to make you happier.”

Tommy scowled at this, not that Oliver could see. “I appreciate that, Ollie, but I don’t want you to try to change yourself for me. The call was sweet, but don’t put yourself out just trying to say hi or tell me that you love me.”

Oliver hesitated. “Okay. I’ll still put forth an effort, though.”

“I would expect no less from you.”

There was an audible chuckle from the other end.

“I’ll talk to you later, okay, Ollie?”

“...Okay.”

“Bye.” Tommy hung up and sighed, a warm smile on his face.

He moved to get up from his desk, but his phone buzzed again.

Esther was giggling. “It’s Oliver again.”

Tommy arched an eyebrow at his phone as he picked it up. “...Did you forget something?”

Silence.

“Ollie?”

“...You didn’t say it back.”

Tommy cleared his throat in an attempt to suppress a laugh. “I, uh, I guess I didn't. Sorry. I love you too, Ollie.”

That evening, William helped Tommy pack while Oliver made a special phone call elsewhere in the house. Tommy’s contact was a mutual friend, even without shared experiences. Despite their history, nerves were shaky as Tommy shoved an extra few pairs of socks into his suitcase. William was sifting through shirts in the closet. Tommy had told him he could help pack for the trip.

“How long are you going to be gone?” William asked.

“Not sure. We don’t even know where I’m going yet.” Tommy checked his toiletries bag to make sure the essentials were there.

“I hope it’s somewhere tropical. You can take pictures of the ocean and go for a swim!”

Tommy chuckled and shook his head. Kids. “It’s a business trip, William, not a vacation.”

“You’ll show her pictures of me, right?”

“You know I will.”

“And see when they’re coming home.”

“I doubt they know, pal. Their mission is pretty important.”

“How are you going to meet up with them, anyway?”

“That’s what your dad is finding out right now.”

William poked his head out of the closet, a frown on his face. “I miss Auntie Thea.”

Tommy smiled sadly. “I know, bud. We all do.”

William appeared with a few shirts to be placed in the luggage pile just as Oliver entered the room, a grin on his face.

“That’s a good sign,” Tommy said, cocking his head at Oliver. “Did you find them?”

“They’re in Markovia,” Oliver replied, tossing a small SAT phone to Tommy. “Evidently the Markovian royal family has heard of Star City’s vigilantes, because they extended every hospitality to Thea and Roy.”

Tommy crossed his arms and grinned. “So you’re telling me that they’re ‘roughing it’ in the lap of luxury?”

“They’ve found four Lazarus pits in Europe,” Oliver said. “Three of them were pretty close to the Markovian border. They’ve used that as an excuse to use the capital as a base of operations for practically six months.”

“Those dirty sneaks,” Tommy laughed. “I guess I’m headed to Markovia, then.”

“I wish I could go,” William pouted, but Oliver gave him a stern look. “I know. Too many tests next week.”

Tommy pulled William into a hug. “Who knows? Maybe someone will come back with me.”

Oliver arched an eyebrow. “That someone probably wouldn’t be Thea or Roy.”

“Well, no, but-”

William looked up at Tommy, deadpan. “Don’t get my hopes up and kill them like that, Tommy.”

Oliver just chuckled as Tommy sighed and hugged William tighter.

The flight to Markovia took just over twelve hours from tarmac to tarmac, eventually depositing passengers at the international airport without complication. Tommy was relieved that nothing had gone wrong - he hadn’t been overseas in some time and always got nervous on long flights. That discomfort seemed to have compounded now that he could vividly remember the capsizing of the Queen’s Gambit.

He was greeted by a valet that took him to a limousine decorated with the crest of the Markov family. With the door propped open for him, Tommy sat, his eyes and ears open. If sharing Oliver’s memories had taught him anything, it was that foreign nations weren’t to be trusted outright when you were visiting practically unannounced.

As the cityscape of the capital whizzed by, Tommy began to relax. “How long until we reach my friends?” he asked the driver.

His voice was thick with an accent not too far off from German. “We’ll be approaching the palace soon, Sir.”

“A palace, huh? Are we talking Buckingham or Taj Mahal?” His driver chuckled in response.

The limo began to slow as it pulled into what could have been the longest driveway in history. At the far end, Tommy saw…

Wait.

No.

Really?

Tommy snorted through his nose at the blatantly copied White House design of the Markovian palace. It was a brick red, not white, and had a series of long spires across the largest dome, like an aggressive crown. Tommy was reminded of the ‘copy your homework’ meme William had shown him not too long ago. The limousine pulled directly to the front circle, where an attendant waited to help Tommy disembark. He then led Tommy up the front steps and through the door, where the similarities stopped.

Instead of a high-ceiling office like structure, the front foyer was a grand staircase leading up to an open antechamber with a high, arched ceiling somewhere between the second and third floors. The hallways to the left and right were still there, but their doors were replaced with tall, elaborate openings. Red and gold drapery hung from everything it could be attached them to. A crystal chandelier sparkled overhead, beginning a line of expensive decorations hanging from the ceiling that led up to what Tommy could only call the throne room.

He ascended the staircase, taking in the flagrant splendor around him. As the throne area came into view, his eyes were drawn to a gaggle of people standing in the middle of the room. When his eyes adjusted to the somewhat brighter lighting of this new platform, he grinned.

“Speedy? Is that you?”

A young woman with jaw-length hair and large, intelligent eyes grinned back at him from across the chamber. “You made it.” They approached one another and hugged. It felt good to feel Thea in his arms again. She’d been his little sister since she was a kid, regardless of their circumstances.

“I’m so glad to see you,” Thea muttered into Tommy’s shoulder. He laughed and hugged her tighter.

“Hey, Tommy.” A short young man in a red, sleeveless vest with close-trimmed hair approached them. He was physically fit and bore a somewhat stoic expression akin to one Oliver Queen.

Tommy released Thea and shook the man’s hand. “Roy. Good to see you.”

“So this is the head of Merlyn Global Group?” This new voice was proud. Clear. Strong. It came from a man in exquisite robes with a circular band around his head. He was easily recognizable from the pictures a simple Google search would locate. Tommy bowed his head in reverence to Gregor, King of Markovia.

“Your Highness, it’s an honor,” Tommy said with a smile. “I’m Tommy Merlyn.”

“It is my pleasure to meet the heir to the Merlyn misfortune,” Gregor replied. “This is my sister, Terra.” A young blonde woman in similar robes bowed her head. “I was informed of your arrival by Thea. I must say, I am interested in your predicament. But I understand it is not I you came to see.”

“That’s right.” Tommy looked around, but he didn’t see his contact anywhere. He looked over at Thea, who had moved to stand near Roy in the presence of the royal family. “Where’s Nyssa?”

Roy crossed his arms and shifted his weight uncomfortably. “She’s scouting a market in a nearby town. Turns out there’s a small cell of the Thanatos Guild that chased us to Markovia. She’s been looking for them while we took out the Pits.”

“She went out this morning,” Thea added. “She should be back soon.”

“In that case,” Gregor said, “why don’t we sit down and talk, Mr. Merlyn?”

Tommy let his surprise show. “Is that okay? Don’t you have more ‘king-y’ business to deal with?”

Gregor laughed, but it was a dry, heavy laugh. Joyless. “I wish to discuss my family’s participation in the event that brought shame upon your own. Like you, I am looking for closure by rectifying what I can. This is ‘king-y’ business.”

The weight of the words the King spoke did not fall on deaf ears. Tommy made sure to clarify that he had heard correctly. “Your family?”

The King’s face was sullen. “The device your father used in Starling City was created by a cousin of mine. His name was Brion Markov, part of a branch family of the royal line who moved to America two generations ago. I am surprised no one has made a public connection between him and myself in a way that the public took notice. Now. Shall we talk?”

Tommy wasn’t aware of the name, but something in his - Oliver’s - memories spoke to him. The earthquake machine had been called the Markov Device by Malcolm. Brion Markov created it, and was one of the scientists killed by Tommy’s father after its completion. There was blood to be found on both sides of this discussion.

He nodded. “Please.” He followed King Gregor to a room off to the side, where they could talk privately. Terra stayed in the main chamber with Thea and Roy, who were content to sit with her.

About an hour later, Tommy returned with the King to the others in the main room. As he approached the group, his phone buzzed in his pocket. When he saw Felicity’s name on the screen, he immediately answered, a hot coal in his stomach.

“Felicity? If you tell me he’s been hurt again-”

“Then I won’t tell you that. But he has. Not bad this time, just a bullet grazing the shoulder. No big deal.”

Tommy scowled as Thea approached, interest darting across her face. “Okay, so why call me?”

“He said you’d want to know.”

“Ah.” He sighed. “Thanks. He thinks he knows everything I want since we shared consciousnesses.”

Thea raised an eyebrow at that, but Tommy just held up a finger.

“I appreciate the call. I should be on my way back tomorrow, maybe the next day.”

“I’ll let Oliver and William know.”

And like that, the call ended. Tommy stowed away his phone and gave a tentative smile to his sister. She crossed her arms and looked her half-brother in the eye. “Alright, Merlyn. Spill it.”

“Oliver got grazed by a bullet. He’ll be fine.”

“Not that. What’s this about ‘sharing consciousnesses?’ Dish.”

“Do I have to?”

Thea just cocked her head, waiting. They grinned at one another and made their way to a padded area in a corner of the room, where Tommy regaled her with the story of Oliver’s injury and Constantine’s spell. She listened with rapt attention, her eyes widened in horror at appropriate places and smiling at others. In particular, she enjoyed hearing about the gift baskets.

When Tommy finished his retelling, Thea quietly took a breath, her eyes falling to the floor for a moment. “When I saw the reports online that Ollie had turned himself in, I was worried,” she said. “Nyssa was positive he would be fine, and she was so focused on the Lazarus Pits that we couldn’t find the time to go home for the hearings or to see him in prison.”

“Slabside only allowed a limited list of people to see him anyway,” Tommy replied. “Felicity, Laurel, and I were the only ones allowed in. Not even William could see his dad.”

“So Felicity really came through for you, then. I’m glad to hear that.”

Tommy smiled. “We’re lucky to have a friend like her. And, loath as I am to admit it, Laurel was our secret weapon. She’s...she’s growing on me. Slowly.”

Thea nodded. “I can see how that would be difficult. But everything sounds like it’s working out, right?”

“Well, it would be, if Oliver’s identity didn’t scare off half our sponsors for the Glades Restoration. That’s why I’m here.”

“That’s what he told me, and I heard what the King said. What did he want to talk about?”

Tommy grinned. This had been the best part of his trip thus far. “The Markovian royal family is officially supporting Merlyn Global Group in its Restoration project with an annual contribution. They want to try to ease the suffering their family’s name caused with the Markov Device.”

Thea’s smile made the chandeliers overhead appear dim. “That’s great!”

“I had come to ask Nyssa about helping us with her inheritance from the League, but this is just as good.”

Footfalls announced someone’s approach, garnering their attention. Approaching them were Roy and the intimidating form of Nyssa al Ghul. She stopped near their little corner and placed her hands defiantly on her hips. She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at Tommy, but her expression softened into a small smile. “Mr. Merlyn. We meet again.”

Tommy nodded to her. “Ms. al Ghul.”

“Please. Just Nyssa. The title of Ra’s al Ghul is no more, and with it, my title.”

Nyssa joined them on the floor, as did Roy. “I understand you had questions about my inheritance,” she said, her eyes narrowed once more. “I do not take such a statement lightly, Mr. Merlyn. When I disbanded the League, I also halted all lucrative operations therein. My funds are limited.”

That news was disheartening, but Tommy understood. He, himself had been forced to cash out his entire trust fund to keep Merlyn Global from being auctioned off following the Undertaking. “Then perhaps we can agree to something more mutually beneficial than a simple sponsorship.”

Nyssa raised a questioning eyebrow. “Go on.”

Roy looked across the group to Thea, who shrugged. As long as Tommy didn’t say anything, they were allowed to stay.

“We can give you a place in Star City.”

All eyes were on Tommy now. Nyssa seemed unimpressed. “What good does it do me to have a place to reside in Star City, when I live as the wind takes me? After we destroy the final Lazarus Pit, I intend to return to Nanda Parbat and restart the League of Assassins as a new, more compassionate Ra’s al Ghul.” A sad smile graced her lips. “As nice as it would be to have a stable place to return to - I can assuredly see the attraction - Star City is not where the wind will leave me.”

“Is there anything you’d want from Tommy, or even Oliver?” Thea asked. Her foot twitched impatiently. This was important to Tommy, which meant it was important to Oliver, and she wasn’t about to let it slip through their fingers so easily.

Nyssa considered this for a moment, but slowly shook her head. “I don’t believe there is anything of value that my formerly betrothed could offer me, let alone Mr. Merlyn.”

Tommy wracked his brain, thinking back to what he knew about the League, or Nyssa. He blinked in surprise as more than he expected came rushing back to him. He chuckled to himself as Oliver’s memories saved the day. He looked up from his hands to see the others staring at him in confusion.

“Oh. Uh.” Tommy cleared his throat. How would Oliver approach this?

“Did you think of something?” Roy asked.

Nyssa gave a concerned shrug. “I can offer a small donation, as you and Oliver are dear friends, far closer than most to me, but without something in return-”

“Talia.”

Nyssa’s mouth twitched and her spine straightened almost instantly. “What did you say?”

Tommy focused on Nyssa’s face. It was beautiful, but he knew not to confuse her beauty with helplessness from first (second) hand experience. “Your sister is alive.”

Nyssa shook her head, her brow pulling together in anger. “How? Did she not perish on Lian Yu?”

“Oliver met her in Slabside. She’d been arrested for something, but he helped her break out.”

Thea arched an eyebrow at this. “He did what? He knows how dangerous she is!”

“Better than most,” Nyssa agreed. “It is troubling to hear my sister is alive, especially with the Thanatos Guild still active.”

“What do you want to do?” Thea asked her.

“Talia escaped months ago,” Tommy said. “She could be anywhere by now.”

“I know where she would go,” Nyssa replied, her voice low. She looked at Thea, her gaze hardened. “I must seek out the Guild and end it, before she takes control.”

“What should we do?” Thea asked. There was a determination in her expression Tommy was unfamiliar with - spending time with Nyssa had affected her, to be sure.

Nyssa’s smile was genuine, but sad. “Thank you, dear Thea, but I must confront my elder sister myself. You should continue searching for Lazarus Pits.” She gave Tommy a wary look out of the corner of her eye. “I think you should return to the United States with Mr. Merlyn.”

Roy and Thea rocked back in shock. “Why?” Thea asked. She sounded almost hurt.

“Lazarus Pits persist in North America,” Nyssa replied with a meaningful gaze to her friend. “When we began our journey, we aimed to destroy known Lazarus Pits. I do not know the location of the Pits in North America. It will require legwork and investigation.”

“I think we know someone who can help with that,” Roy said with an amused smirk.

Nyssa turned her gaze back to Tommy. “Regarding your request, I will be in contact shortly. I cannot hand you any large amount from my current holdings until I have dealt with my sister, but I wish to stress that I sympathize with your plight. Your home is important to many people who are important to me, and I wish to see it restored as much as an outsider can.”

Tommy nodded his acknowledgement. This news was bittersweet. With King Gregor’s assistance, the trip hadn’t been a complete waste of time, but this was not the outcome he’d hoped for in the least bit. He looked to Thea, who was watching Nyssa intently. His heart swelled with pride. Nyssa’s influence was obvious now: Thea was focused. Determined. Despite being thrown off-balance by Nyssa’s request, she was stalwart and confident. Even Roy seemed more sure of himself.

Perhaps having them back home, even temporarily, would do well to lift everyone’s spirits. Tommy smiled, the thought of Oliver’s face when he sees Thea flashing through his mind. William would be excited, too. The mansion would be alive with the sounds of people again. That image warmed Tommy’s chest.

“So, what’s the plan, Tommy?” Roy asked, drawing him back to the present.

Plan? There was no plan. There was barely a plan regarding Tommy’s arrival, let alone his departure. “I have a few things to wrap up with King Gregor’s people.”

Terra Markov, who had been sitting silently near the ground through Tommy’s stories of home, spoke up. “You are free to stay the night here, Mr. Merlyn. We have already taken your suitcase to a spare room next to Thea’s. We will arrange for a morning meeting with my brother and his financial staff. We can book your tickets back to America for the afternoon.”

“Thank you,” Tommy said with a polite nod. “Everyone catch that?”

Everyone offered their silent acknowledgement. It was decided: the three Americans would return to the United States while Nyssa began a wild hunt for her sister.

House staff showed Tommy to his room, which was lavishly decorated with a large, four-post bed and silky drapes over an enormous window. He found his things on a nearby desk, unopened. He changed into something more fitting to sleep in, then sat on the edge of the bed, thinking.

This trip had almost been a waste of time and money, both of which were in short supply for Merlyn Global. The King’s generosity was what had saved the day, although coming home with Thea and Roy was a bit of a win, as well. Hopefully, they would be able to stay in Star City for a while before rushing off to slay more Lazarus Pits.

Tommy looked at the time. It was nearly eleven in the evening now. He blinked the thought of sleep out of his head and dialed a number on his phone. Lying back in the bed, he listened to the phone ringing with steady breath. When the other end picked up, he couldn’t help but grin.

“Hey, Tommy.” Oliver’s voice lit a spark in Tommy’s chest. It was silly how much it meant to hear his voice when he knew the physical distance between them.

“Hey, Ollie. How’s your day going?”

“Not that bad, actually. Dinah has me processing some things about the drug bust from last night.”

Oh, that’s right. “How’s your arm?”

“It’s fine.”

They lapsed into a comfortable silence as Oliver continued to work. Then, “Everything okay, Tommy?”

“Yeah. I guess I just wanted to hear your voice.”

“Did you find Nyssa?”

“I did. She, uh. She can’t really help.”

“Oh, Tommy, I’m sorry.” Oliver’s voice was heavy. Tommy imagined him stopping what he was doing to look up at nothing when he said it.

Tommy chuckled.

“It’s not funny,” Oliver said. “That’s your company. You can’t let it go.”

“I’m not. I had a talk with the King.”

“King Gregor?” He didn’t sound particularly impressed.

“That’s the one. He’s willing to help. Turns out the device was created by a cousin of his, and he wants to make sure his name isn’t associated with its destruction anymore.”

“Huh. I remembered the name. Thought it was a coincidence. That’s good, though, right?”

“Yep. We’re settling things in the morning and I’ll be on a plane headed back to the US by midday.”

“William will be glad to hear that. He’s been strangely protective of us since the spell ended.”

Tommy smiled. Now that he heard it out loud, he realized how attached to the hip William had been recently. “How’s he doing?”

Oliver chuckled, a sound that sent Tommy’s stomach fluttering. “He’s great.”

“Well, I’ve got a surprise for him when I get back,” Tommy said.

“Sounds like fun.” Oliver said a few words to someone nearby. “I have to go. I’m glad you called. I’ll see you at home tomorrow evening?”

“It’ll be pretty late, but yeah. Tomorrow.”

“Okay then.” Oliver paused. Then, “I love you.”

“I know. I love you, too.”

With the call ended, Tommy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The bed was comfy, that was a definite plus of his trip. He’d have to talk to some of the house staff about these mattresses...

Preparations took no time at all - after all, Tommy hadn’t packed much, and Thea and Roy were both traveling almost empty-handed. Once his meeting with the King’s financial staff concluded, Tommy made sure traveling arrangements were made properly, and he, Thea, and Roy headed for the airport.

The flight back, primarily traveling with Thea and Roy, was a special kind of fun. Roy was not experienced with air travel, so watching him tense up during take off was entertaining to say the least. Thea just kept running her thumb over his hand to try to keep him calm, but it didn’t seem to work. The rest of the trip was without incident - Thea had a lot of questions about the goings on back in Star City over the past year, most of which Tommy could answer. However, he purposely avoided any discussion about his engagement to her brother - he wanted it to be a surprise with Oliver present. He’d even removed his engagement band upon arriving in Markovia.

Roy mostly just watched out the window and answered questions whenever Thea tried to bring him (unsuccessfully) into a conversation.

Around twelve hours later, the trio disembarked and found Diggle waiting to take them to the Bunker. Hugs and handshakes were distributed before they clambered into a vehicle and drove away, each of them excited to see their friends and family once more.

Chapter Text

“Stop with the pacing, dude. You’re making me dizzy.” René rubbed his eyes while he lounged in the armchair in the corner of their makeshift office at the SCPD. Oliver paced up and down the room, his arms crossed in front of him and his brow creased in thought. When he didn’t get an answer, René tried again. “For real, man, you gotta calm down.”

Only when the door opened and Felicity stepped in did Oliver stop moving, looking at her with expectant eyes. Her rigid halt and wide eyes told him the whole story. “You forgot to look.”

She sighed. “I forgot to look.”

“Why do you need your phone so bad, Hoss?” René asked, leaning into one hand and pointing at the nearby desk with the other. “There’s a phone right there; just call his office.”

Felicity held up an indignant finger. “No, no, I get where he’s coming from. Tommy’s been back at work for two hours and interruptions are probably a bad idea. Just leaving him a text to find is definitely preferable.”

Oliver nodded. She was right on the money, but then again, Felicity did tend to understand things that can cause anxiety. The tight feeling in his chest told him that was exactly what he was experiencing. It was a sensation he was hardly foreign to, but this kind felt different - it was a need, a nagging that he wasn’t doing something he should be doing, maybe something left over in his psyche from his shared experience with Tommy.

Finally, he sighed. It was executive decision time.

“I’m calling his office.”

René pitched his head back and raised his hands. “Finally.”

Oliver dialed out of the office and calmly put the receiver up to his ear. His heart hammered in his chest - why was he so nervous about this? It wasn’t like anything he was about to do was new.

The familiar, friendly voice of Esther at the front desk piped up on the other end of the line. “Merlyn Global Group, Star City main branch, how may I direct your call?” Oliver liked Esther. She was easy to get along with, and fully supported both his relationship with Tommy and the fact that he was the Green Arrow.

“Hi, Esther, it’s Oliver. Is Tommy in a meeting?”

“Oh! Mr. Queen! What a lovely surprise.” A keyboard tap was heard. “He’s currently in a meeting with his chiefs of staff, but they’ve been in there a while, and-” She cut off as Oliver heard another voice in the background. “Uh-huh. Of course, sir.” A slight pause, then, “Mr. Queen? They just let out. Would you like me to patch you through?”

Oliver smiled. “If you would, Esther, that would be great.”

“Hold on then, hun. One sec.” The line went silent.

The next time Oliver heard anything, his heart skipped a beat at Tommy’s voice. “Hey. Everything okay?”

Oliver’s smile widened in spite of his desperate attempt to control himself. “Everything’s great. Didn’t have my phone on me, so I couldn’t text.”

“Sure, sure. What’s up?”

Oliver opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He glanced over at Felicity, who held two thumbs up and grinned from ear to ear. René was still watching with mild interest from his seat. Oliver shook himself back to the call. “Sorry. Not used to this. I, uh, was just calling to tell you I love you.”

Felicity pumped her arms in success and René let his head fall back against the chair. Oliver heard him mumble, “Seriously? That’s what this is about?”

Tommy’s voice was one of surprise. “Really? No ulterior motive?”

Oliver glanced down at the floor, phone at his ear, taking a breath before replying. “We were one person for three days, Tommy. I know what you want from me, and what I could be doing to make you happier.”

“I appreciate that, Ollie, but I don’t want you to try to change yourself for me. The call was sweet, but don’t put yourself out just trying to say hi or tell me that you love me.”

Oliver looked over at Felicity, who shrugged. He shrugged back. “Okay. I’ll still put forth an effort, though.”

“I would expect no less from you.”

Felicity looked on in anticipation. When Oliver gave her a thumbs up, she silently cheered, issuing a chuckle from him.

Tommy was smiling, Oliver could hear. “I’ll talk to you later, okay, Ollie?”

Oliver nodded, unsure if he’d necessarily performed his duty correctly. But something was missing. “...Okay.”

“Bye.” There was a click as Tommy hung up, leaving Oliver... wanting. Something had gone just slightly wrong, if this unresolved feeling in his chest was to be believed. What was-

Oh.

Oh.

That’s just silly. But important.

Oliver redialed the office, leaving Felicity with an arched eyebrow in confusion.

“Merlyn Global Group, Star City main branch, how may I direct your call?”

“Esther, sorry, can you patch me back through to Tommy again?”

“Of course, Mr. Queen.” Another click.

Tommy picked up the phone much faster this time. “...Did you forget something?”

He didn’t realize what had happened. Oliver forced himself not to smile.

“Ollie?”

“...You didn’t say it back.”

There was a stifled laugh from both Felicity and a cleared throat from Tommy at this. “I, uh, I guess I didn’t. Sorry. I love you too, Ollie.”

They said their goodbyes and Oliver hung up the phone. Felicity did a little squeal and hugged him around the arms, throwing him slightly off-balance.

René, however, just seemed annoyed. “All that over an ‘I love you? ‘ Really, dawg?”

Felicity shushed him, a dangerous finger lifted in the air. “Quiet, you.”

His response was a shrug. “I’m not knocking the call. I’m just confused why Oliver, of all people, was falling apart over it.”

“If I’m being honest, I don’t much understand it, myself,” Oliver replied. He sighed, looking out of the office, not committing to looking at anyone. “Since our minds separated again, I’ve felt these urges, little nagging sensations that I could be doing more for Tommy. Sometimes, they’re really strong urges - strong enough to make me nervous about how I approach them.”

René made it to his feet, then put a reassuring hand on Oliver’s shoulder. “Nah, man, I get it. Things change when you share your life with someone. And you got it worse than any marriage ever did.”

Oliver let himself chuckle at that. “Thanks, René.”

“No prob. Now. Dinah said she’s got an assignment for us?”

Felicity perked up. “Oh, that’s right! She handed me this as I came in.” She whipped out a manila folder from somewhere Oliver didn’t quite register, handing it to him. “They’re planning a bust over in Pennytown and would appreciate the support.”

Oliver looked over the file in question. “Tonight, huh?” He flexed his firing hand. “I’ll go scout the area a bit. I need to burn off these nerves.”

“I got your back,” René said, picking his mask up off the table.

“Stay safe,” Felicity called, which was met with a casual wave from the two as they left.

Oliver’s alarm buzzed him awake later that evening. He delicately slipped out of bed, trying not to wake Tommy, but as he reached for a shirt, a lamp clicked on. Tommy sat up, concern on his face. Oliver had told him about the sting operation, which only provided his fiancé with reasons not to go to Markovia. Some encouraging words and a massage later, Tommy was determined to go on his trip (the packed suitcase was waiting next to the door, after all), and they fully well knew Oliver was capable of assisting the police without incident.

“Is it time?” Tommy asked. It was rhetorical - there would be no other reason for a midnight alarm.

Oliver nodded. “The operation begins in an hour.”

“Huh. Heading out early?”

Oliver slipped an undershirt on over his head. “I was going to meet up with René and John first.”

Tommy reached out from his place in bed and tugged lightly at the hem of Oliver’s shirt. Oliver slid back onto the bed, led by this gesture, the two moving into a long kiss. When they parted, Tommy’s face had split into a mischievous grin.

“Want me to help you loosen up first?”

Even with the importance of a mission looming over him, Oliver couldn’t help but laugh. “Tommy…”

“Oh, come on,” Tommy cooed, running a hand up under Oliver’s shirt and tracing his fingers in places he knew could help his case. “You know you want to.”

“Didn’t you just wake up?” This wasn’t fair - because of the spell, Tommy had learned all sorts of things about Oliver (in particular, Oliver’s body) he had used a few times since their separation already.

“I couldn’t sleep.” Tommy’s hands were finding the exact places they needed to. Tingles were shooting up and down Oliver’s spine as they sat there, gazing at each other with a little more than love in their eyes.

“You should try to go to back to sleep. You’ve got a red-eye in two hours.” This was a lie. At this point, Oliver didn’t want Tommy to even try.

Tommy leaned forward and kissed Oliver along the neck. “I’ll sleep on the flight.”

Oliver grunted at first under Tommy’s touch, but then sighed and took him by the shoulders, pulling them apart. “Tommy. I can’t.”

Tommy looked down, then back up at his face with a grin. “I’m getting mixed signals here.”

“You know what I mean.”

The only response was a sad nod. Tommy rolled away from Oliver and stood up, donning a robe and moving to help Oliver collect his things, instead. Once he was ready to go, Oliver pulled Tommy into a long hug, then kissed him on the forehead.

“I love you, Tommy.”

Tommy smiled. “Love you, too. Stay safe.”

“Can’t promise that, but I’ll try my best.”

Tommy rested his head on Oliver’s shoulder for just a moment. “I know you will.”

Oliver pulled away and headed out the door, leaving Tommy to watch him leave in solitude.

Between the briefing for the bust and sudden additional information coming in through their sources, the SCPD had Team Arrow waiting at the precinct for hours before any word to move out came. By that point, the sun was starting to peek over the horizon.

Soon, Oliver found himself darting across rooftops and ladders in an attempt to catch any leftover runners following the busted drug deal. Gunfire had ensued, a well-placed (or rather, mistakenly placed) bullet actually knocking the bow straight from Oliver’s hand before the thugs even knew he was there. It had clattered to the ground two stories below the archer, alerting every goon in the area. Before he could make a move to retrieve it, the runner had already bolted from the scene, and Dinah was calling for an assist.

So, the bow would have to wait.

As Oliver continued to parkour across the upper levels of the street, a thought dashed through his mind: Say what you will about these drug peddlers, this one’s in great shape. Indeed, he was having difficulty catching up to him well enough to get a clear shot at the man’s legs. One flechette and the chase would be over - if Oliver could get a clean line of sight.

The crook dashed hard around a corner one alley down, finally giving Oliver a means to an end. He turned on his heel and reached the end of the rooftop early enough to aim into the alley below as the runner came into view. Wind whistled through the fins of the flechette as it sailed through the night air, sticking straight into the man’s thigh. There was a sharp cry as he fell, his leg numbed from the anesthetic in the dart’s chamber. He couldn’t move his foot for traction, stumbling straight to the ground.

Oliver dropped down to street level, his boots echoing on the tight walls on either side of them. As he approached, he cried out, “You’re under arrest!”

“Fuck you, man!” The thug reached into his jacket, signaling Oliver to dodge down to the side, but he was too slow - one gun had already been drawn partway through the chase, hidden at street level by the man’s jacket. It was a wild shot, but surprisingly true: the bullet grazed through part of Oliver’s left shoulder and harmlessly behind him. Oliver grunted as the nerves at the site woke up after the fact, a harsh stinging emanating from the impact. The wound did not, however, stop Oliver from reaching cover, a dumpster protecting him from the remaining hail of bullets from the downed peddler.

“Hands up!”

The voice was deep and strong - John had appeared behind their target, gun at the ready. There was a moment of silence, then a double clatter as the guns hit the pavement.

Oliver breathed a sigh of relief, then steeled himself. He rolled out from cover and revealed a pair of handcuffs from of his leg compartments. “You’re under arrest for...well, I think we know what for,” he said, pulling the thug to his feet - one of which still lazily tried to support his weight.

John helped Oliver cuff him, then they returned where the main fight had gone down, just a few blocks away.

“Nice catch,” Dinah said with a smirk as she took the perp from the duo. She cocked her head in a direction. “Wild Dog has your bow.”

Oliver and John rejoined their comrade to the side of the scene, watching in amusement from underneath his mask as the SCPD rounded up close to thirty gang members and a few higher profile drug lords. It was a good, successful operation.

As they approached him, Wild Dog held out the discarded bow. “Here you go, Boss.”

“Thank you, René,” Oliver said, taking the bow in gratitude. “Did you get enough action?”

René shifted his weight as he crossed his arms. “Psh. Yeah. I even got to pistol whip someone. Good stuff.” He looked down at Oliver’s shoulder. “You okay?”

Oliver bristled at the concern. “Yep. I’m fine. Nothing a little embroidery can’t fix.”

“Fair enough. Ready to go?”

“Let’s.”

The three cleared themselves to leave with Dinah before vanishing into the early hours of the city.

A little later, the Bunker was unusually busy, with John patching Oliver up, René taking stock of ammunition, and Felicity in communication with the SCPD. They weren’t technically supposed to be using the Bunker for any operations, but the operation had ended, and Oliver needed medical attention, so they regrouped there.

“It’s almost like you love having my things covered in your blood.” Felicity was in worrywort mode after he’d appeared in the elevator with a bloody shoulder. She’d assisted in moving him to the surgical table in the back, but in doing so resulted in his blood all over her blouse.

“You didn’t have to help me walk, you know,” Oliver replied with a wince as John’s needle penetrated his shoulder once more. “John was fine on his own.”

“I appreciate it, though,” John called without looking up. His voice fell to address Oliver more directly. “You’re pretty heavy, man.”

Oliver laughed and Felicity smiled across the room at them.

“Yo, we need a restock on rubber tips,” René called from the armory. “Haven’t had much opportunity to get more since we started working with the SCPD.”

“I’ll talk to Dinah about it later,” Felicity replied, swerving in her chair and adding the memo to her list of things to discuss.

Everything was proceeding as normal for post-operation, but something was nagging Oliver in the back of his mind. His chest tightened as he recognized the feeling of anxiety creeping up on him, similar to that morning. “Felicity.”

Her ponytail whipped around as she looked up from her screen. “Yes?”

“Can you call Tommy and let him know what happened?”

She winced. “You want me to call him up and tell him you got injured again? After what happened with the Legends?”

That was a fair point. Tommy would likely panic if she led with “Oliver got hurt again,” but Oliver knew he’d want to know. “He’d want me to tell him if something happened. Can you please just leave him a message or something? Let him know everything is fine.”

“Okay, but if he crucifies the messenger, it’s on your head.” She picked up her phone and dialed.

Good. The tightness in his chest was relaxing a little. Tommy worried a lot about his job as the Green Arrow. This wasn’t new, but now that he’s been Tommy, he knew just how much Oliver’s night job distressed him.

“You okay, man?” John asked. Oliver noticed him staring directly at his face.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just worried about Tommy.”

“Right. Like he’s the one to be worried about.” Another pinprick from the suturing.

“He worries about me, why shouldn’t I worry about him?”

His friend chuckled. “Because he works a desk job and the most dangerous thing he does is drive a car.” He considered.

“He’s in Markovia. There’s no telling what’ll happen to him there, and I won’t be there to-”

“He went to meet up with Thea and Roy, didn’t he?”

That’s right. If everything was going well, Tommy was in perfectly capable hands. “I...forgot about that.”

John laughed to himself as he finished tying off the suture. “You two were old souls together before being the same person. I can’t imagine what it’d be like knowing everything that Lyla ever worried about over me.”

“It’d be anxiety-inducing and make you think about what you put your loved one through on the regular,” Oliver muttered, rubbing his face with his free hand.

“Oliver.” Felicity was standing at her terminal, looking over at them.

He took a deep breath, readying himself. “Yeah?”

“He handled the news like a trooper. He said he’d be back tomorrow or the day after.”

The sigh Oliver breathed was much deeper than he expected. Had he been holding his breath? “Good. Thank you.”

She gave a slow nod and a smile. “Anytime.” And with that, she went back about her own business.

John watched him lean back a little and take a deep breath. “Okay, man, what’s up? This is really wearing on you.”

“Imagine being the cause of the anxiety you feel,” Oliver muttered, “and the anxiety isn’t necessarily yours. It’s weird.”

“Sounds complicated. And trippy.”

Oliver closed his eyes. “Vertigo’s got nothing on how I feel right now.”

“Well, maybe it’s time to rethink things.”

This warranted a cautious side-eye. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve got more than your own perspective now. A whole second life’s worth of experiences and reasoning.” John shifted in his seat. He almost looked nervous. “Maybe it’s time to consider giving it up. For Tommy.”

The words slammed a rock into Oliver’s stomach. Give up the bow? Would that make Tommy happy? The idea mulled itself over in the front and back of Oliver’s mind, but soon he found himself shaking his head.

“Tommy feels safer because I’m the Green Arrow, and he understands how important our work is to Star City.” He chuckled in spite of himself. “And if he didn’t before, all the gifts I received from everyone while I was out of commission probably convinced him.”

“It was just something to think about. Not suggesting anything,” John said.

“No, it’s a smart idea, under normal circumstances. But nothing we do is normal, and it shouldn’t be. Tommy knows that. He’d eventually forgive me for being so selfish as to put our relationship before the city, but he’d hate me for making that decision for a while, and I don’t think we would ever be the same afterwards.”

A sad smile met his gaze before John patted him on the good shoulder. “You know what you need more than anyone. I respect that.”

Oliver gave him a suspicious smirk. “Was this all just a ploy for you to be the new Green Arrow?”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about, man.” John’s smile livened up as he moved away from his patient.

Oliver called after him. “You know you can take the hood whenever-”

He didn’t even turn to look back. “You’re just talking out your ass, now.”

The Bunker filled with their laughter as their “normal” settled down for the morning.

Because of the delay in the drug bust and the resulting cleanup operation, there had only been time for a long nap before Oliver found himself tethered to his desk at SCPD by piles of paperwork at midday. Besides filing for the arrests, he also had to put in notices of his injury and any munitions they’d used during the fight. It all felt very unnecessary, but he knew there wasn’t any point in complaining. Their deal with the SCPD was fragile, and everything needed to be done by the books if they wanted to continue operating independently at night.

It didn’t make the paperwork any less dull, or the heaviness of Oliver’s eyelids from the nonstop night any more bearable.

As he scribbled a description of one of the gangsters apprehended earlier that morning, a vibration along the desk nearly forced him to drop his pen. He looked at his phone, smiling at the displayed name. His chest felt light and his face warmed. It was nice to see Tommy’s name.

He hit the Answer button. “Hey, Tommy.”

“Hey, Ollie. How’s your day going?” Tommy’s smile was evident through his voice, which only made Oliver’s own that much larger.

“Not that bad, actually. Dinah has me processing some things about the drug bust from last night.”

“How’s your arm?”

Right to the point, but it felt nice to be doted on. “It’s fine.”

Oliver finished the sentence he’d been writing on his report. When nothing else was said, Oliver asked, “Everything okay, Tommy?”

“Yeah. I guess I just wanted to hear your voice.”

That was nice, but Tommy also had a mission of his own. “Did you find Nyssa?”

“I did. She, uh. She can’t really help.”

Oliver frowned as he looked up from his report. “Oh, Tommy, I’m sorry.” Tommy’s chuckle lifted Oliver’s lips with the utmost of ease, but he held firm. “It’s not funny,” he said. “That’s your company. You can’t let it go.”

“I’m not. I had a talk with the King.”

Oliver returned to his report. “King Gregor?”

“That’s the one. He’s willing to help. Turns out the device was created by a cousin of his, and he wants to make sure his name isn’t associated with its destruction anymore.”

“Huh. I remembered the name. Thought it was a coincidence. That’s good, though, right?”

“Yep. We’re settling things in the morning and I’ll be on a plane headed back to the US by midday.”

“William will be glad to hear that. He’s been strangely protective of us since the spell ended.”

“How’s he doing?”

Oliver chuckled. Tommy had been gone less than a full day, and was worried about his soon-to-be stepson. “He’s great.”

“Well, I’ve got a surprise for him when I get back,” Tommy said. 

A surprise? From Markovia? “Sounds like fun,” Oliver replied, not giving away the suspicion in the back of his mind.

Just then, René popped his head into the office. “Yo, boss, got a sec?”

“Sure, René, one second.” Oliver raised the received to his mouth. “I have to go. I’m glad you called. I’ll see you at home tomorrow evening?”

“It’ll be pretty late, but yeah. Tomorrow.”

“Okay then. I love you.”

Tommy’s voice was soft. “I know. I love you, too.”

The call ended. Oliver sighed, imagining Tommy lying in a bed, staring up at the ceiling, separated from the world he knew. At least he had Nyssa - those two had some interesting history, given their shared involvement with Malcolm, but they always seemed to be on the same page about many things. As long as she was around, Oliver knew Tommy was in safe hands.

But for now, there were more immediate things with which to concern himself. “What’s up, René?”

“Dinah’s about to blow a gasket over a misfiled report from last night. Hoping you could come defuse the situation.”

Oliver chuckled to himself. “Sure. I’m just about done with my own report, so give me about three minutes and I’ll head that way.”

“You got it, boss.” René paused, clearly thinking. “Was that Tommy?”

“Yeah.”

“Glad he’s okay.”

“Me too.”

“Okay. Off to the Captain.” He shot Oliver a two-finger salute before hightailing it out of the office, leaving Oliver to finish his report in peace.

As Oliver scribbled down the last little bits of his report, he realized that the new normal was certainly different. Good, but different. He just really wanted Tommy home, a feeling he contributed to their sharing experience, but also...something unique to his own feelings.

He really did love that man.

Time was strange when air travel and long distances got involved.

Tommy’s flight was scheduled to deposit him in Star City around six in the evening, much different than the “pretty late” they’d expected. William watched the clock relentlessly in the den while trying to read a novel, rendering both efforts somewhat unsuccessful. Oliver had turned on an animal documentary on the television, its volume low, with subtitles on. He wanted to make sure he could hear any calls or texts that might make their way to his phone.

At almost exactly six-thirty, the front door opened with a click, drawing both of the Queens’ attention to the foyer. William was on his feet in the blink of an eye, although Oliver wasn’t far behind.

Tommy leaned in through the door, grin as wide as Oliver had ever seen it. “Guess who’s home!” He pushed into the room and wrapped his arms around William, who buried his face in his stepfather’s chest. “Oof! Jeez, Will, I’ve been gone for, what, two days?”

Oliver stood with a warm smile and his arms crossed loosely in front of him. “Welcome back. Thanks, John,” he added with a nod to Diggle, who stood in the doorway behind Tommy.

“I’m glad you’re back,” William said. “Dad’s no good at Smash.”

Oliver scoffed. “Rude.”

“Well, good thing I’m back, then,” Tommy laughed. “But hey, look who I found!”

Tommy turned to the side, revealing the petite form of Thea trying to sneak in past John. Behind her, Roy walked in with no apparent care for secrecy.

William’s eyes went wide. “Aunt Thea!” He tossed himself at her, and laughter rippled through the house.

His father approached Roy and took his hand, pulling him into a hug. “Roy. Glad you came back.”

“Glad to be here,” he said, patting Oliver on the back. “I go where Thea goes.”

“It’s like you people missed each other,” John said. More laughter.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Tommy said. “Thea. I left out a little something. I figured it wasn’t fair to just surprise Ollie and Will.”

Everyone looked at him in a mixture of confusion and expectation as he dug around in his pocket for a moment. He pulled out his engagement band and slipped it onto his finger, showing it to Thea with a shrug and a smirk.

Thea’s jaw dropped open. “What.” She launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders tight. “This is the best. Homecoming. Ever!”

Oliver moved up beside Tommy and took his hand as Thea detached herself. “I didn’t really know how to reach you to tell you,” Oliver said.

“It’s okay, I had a feeling it would happen eventually.” She put a cocky hand on her hip, but expression was soft. “I’m glad it did.”

Oliver pulled her into a hug with his free arm. “Well, welcome home, all of you.”

Thea looked up at him with suspicion in her eyes. “You okay, Ollie? You seem...well, ‘softer’ comes to mind.”

“A lot’s happened,” he replied. “I guess Tommy’s really helped me see things in a different way.”

“I bet,” she laughed. “He told me about the...the Sharing.”

“‘The Sharing,’” Oliver muttered with a shake of his head. “It has a name now.”

John started ushering them out of the foyer. “Well, let’s go sit. There’s a lot of stories to tell.”

That, there were.

Chapter Text

“Normal” didn’t really have much meaning in the Queen household, but as a unit the family managed to return to as close to it as possible. Over the next few weeks, Tommy returned to Merlyn Global and, utilizing the new support from Markovia, avoided the worst-case scenario. Benefits were planned. Reconstruction projects were initiated. Public opinion soared. There were jokes about Tommy running for mayor in the next election, an idea he simply laughed at.

Oliver and John hit the streets like usual, working alongside Dinah and the SCPD in full display, sometimes going off the books when some particularly red tape kept scum from being apprehended. Dinah didn’t appreciate that, but there was little she could say to get them to stop, at this point, especially with Arsenal and Speedy helping out. The sudden rise in number of vigilantes in town caused a drastic dip in easy targets for the police to hunt down. The streets began to feel safe for once.

Felicity and Thea spent most of their free time in the Bunker, hunting down clues involving the remaining Lazarus pits. Not too long into their research, a counter-hacking program threatened to fry one of their systems, and Felicity wound up throwing the tower across the room to disconnect it from the server to prevent an intrusion. Luckily their information was stored in a Cloud-esque data storage, so losing a tower didn’t matter - but the potential of someone walking into their entire store of information did.

Roy became Tommy’s Diggle, working at security and surveillance at Merlyn Global and being a primary contact of Tommy’s when things got out of hand on construction sites. Not many of his employees recognized the name Roy Harper, but they recognized the confidence with which he stood and Tommy’s confidence in him. Those that did recognize the name as Arsenal were more polite than usual when Roy was around. He was treated with respect by all contractors they dealt with. Tommy personally was happy to have a vigilante as a backup guard, since Oliver and John were always busy.

William appreciated having his Aunt Thea around, and with the Sharing over and done with, it really did feel like things were getting back to normal at home. His project was somehow still a secret, despite his dad and Tommy sharing memories, and that gave him something to focus on. With any luck, he’d have the project finished by the time talk about the wedding got serious. Felicity was certainly willing to help finish it up, which came as a big relief. Once it was over, William knew he could finally relax and really enjoy having Tommy around.

Yes, things were getting back to normal. Whatever “normal” was.

“Hey, Ollie?”

Tommy stood at the end of the couch in the den, eyes glued to an otherwise unmarked envelope with “CEO of Merlyn Global” typed across the front. He never got mail about the office at home. This wasn’t just unusual, it was unsafe. The Global Group still had many enemies after the Undertaking, although Tommy had stopped getting a lot of hate mail and death threats around the time Ra’s al Ghul invaded the city a few years back. But the envelope in his hands screamed hate mail, or worse, infectious. The Anthrax scare from the early 2000s came to mind.

“What’s wrong?” Oliver jogged into view, stopping beside his fiancé. He took one look at the envelope and clapped Tommy on the shoulder. “Wow. It’s been a while, huh? Hate mail?”

“Hopefully,” Tommy muttered, not looking away from the object in his hands. “But it’s...light. It almost feels empty.” He held it up to the light fixture and peered at it closely. “Is that a check?”

“Open it.”

Tommy ripped the corner of the envelope and turned it over, almost as if he expected white powder to come pouring out. When nothing happened, he shrugged and finished opening it. He pulled out a singular piece of paper: he was right - a check for thirty million dollars sat in his hand.

Tommy stared at it, confused. “What the hell is this?”

“That’s a lot of money,” Oliver mused. “Reminds me of the good ol’ days growing up.”

The check flipped over in Tommy’s fingers as he scanned both sides of it. “Who sent this thing?”

“Does it not say?”

“Nope.” He handed it to Oliver, who looked it over himself. They both shrugged.

“That’s too much money to just accept in the mail. I’ll have Felicity see if she can track down the source.”

Tommy gave him a kiss on the cheek. “You’re the best, babe.”

Oliver checked his watch. “Oh, how about we have her look into it now? I have to run by the Bunker anyway, and she’s there with Thea today.”

“Did I hear Aunt Thea’s name?” William asked, poking his head around the corner. His eyes shone with excitement, although he managed to keep his expression mostly neutral.

Oliver gave him a warm smile. “Sure. C’mon, pal.”

“We’ll make it a family outing,” Tommy said with a laugh. William rolled his eyes as he disappeared to find his shoes.

Half an hour later, Tommy sat at the large briefing table at the foot of the Bunker’s main stage, fingers interlocked in front of him and his thumbs twiddling idly as the click-clack of Felicity’s keyboard filled the majority silence. Thea had taken William to the firing range for some archery lessons, leaving Oliver, Tommy, and Felicity alone.

“I’ve been at this for ten minutes and I can’t figure out where this check was even made, let alone who sent it,” Felicity grumbled. Her brow furrowed in frustration as she continued to tippy type her way across cyberspace.

“Is there something special about the check?” Oliver asked from somewhere behind her. He’d taken his normal position of “arms crossed, brooding” elsewhere in the room.

“Well, the first thing I did when you got here was throw it through the spectrometer, hoping for any clues as to regional location to give me a head start. Found out that the check is made of a paper made of some weird composite of materials. It looks patented. Very nice. But unique - no company with patented paper matches what the spectrometer found.”

“Hmm.” From his seat at the table, Tommy could almost hear the gears turning in Oliver’s head.

“But the financial institution listed on the check is actually valid,” Felicity added. “The search goes fuzzy when I try to find any information on the person who wrote it.”

“The bank doesn’t have records?” Oliver asked.

“Some international banks don’t,” Tommy replied. “They keep their information on-hand, but off-site. Not electronically. It’s more secure that way. I should know,” he added, a little quieter, “I had to track down no less than eleven different banks when I took over for dear old Dad.”

“That sounds like a lead of sorts,” Oliver said. “Does the check look familiar to you? Or any of the methods used?”

“No. I didn’t deal with anything other than pulling the money out of my father’s accounts. There wasn’t much to get used to. Each bank was a little different from the last, and yet all too sketchily similar.” It had been almost seven years since the Undertaking, and Tommy was still trying to get some banks to give him his father’s accounts. Money grubbers loved grubbing their monies.

“Well, keep at it for as long as you want, and give me your opinion,” Oliver told Felicity.

“Well, then I’ll just give you my opinion now,” she said, whipping her chair around to face him. “I say take the money.”

“You’re joking,” Tommy said, his voice flat.

“I’m not, actually. It’s amazing that some people can’t tell when I am sometimes.” She shook her head, bringing her focus back to the task at hand. “The bank is valid. The money is present in the account listed. The only records of the money being moved will be with that bank and any bank you put it in. If a generous donor wants to remain anonymous, I say let them. MGG could use the infusion of funds, right?”

That was true. With Markovia’s support, the corporation had moved on to a wide variety of projects, but there was always room for expansion. Thirty million dollars could pave the way for a larger scaled reconstruction effort than anyone had hoped for in the next ten years.

But the money could be dirty. Felicity knew where the money was, but not where it had come from. There was no telling what kind of shady, bloody exchanges had led to such large amounts of movable cash. It was nerve wracking to think of accepting that much money from an unsolicited source.

And the taxes. Without a proven source, the money would surely be flagged and investigated.

“I think we should wait until we know where it came from,” Tommy said, his finger at his mouth in thought. “There’s too much risk with that much money involved.”

“Fair enough, but what do you want me to do? I’ve hit a wall.”

Tommy’s gaze reached up and took hold of Oliver’s. Not a word was exchanged before Oliver nodded and unfurled his arms. “I’ll handle it.”

The girl at the computer scoffed. “No offense, Oliver, but usually when you say ‘I’ll handle it,’ you really mean ‘hey, Felicity, handle it.’ What’s different this time?”

He simply smiled over at her, obviously trying not to take offense. “You don’t have my connections, I feel like that’s pretty well established by now.”

Tommy smiled in spite of his fiancé’s irritation. Or maybe a little because of. Whichever.

“Fine. Here you go.” Felicity held up the check, which was promptly snatched away. “Once you get me something to go on, I’ll give it another shot. Deal?”

“You’ll be the second person I talk to about it,” Oliver replied with a smirk over at Tommy, who returned it with a laugh.

The next day, Tommy returned from the office to a disgruntled Oliver waiting for him in the foyer. His square jaw was set forward, avoiding grinding his teeth, and his fingers twitched on his folded arms. In one hand was a blank envelope, torn at one end, and a small rectangular piece of paper-

Tommy recognized it immediately. “Is that-”

“Another check,” Oliver confirmed, slapping it down on the decorated table next to him. “Twenty million.”

With a nervous hand, Tommy picked up the check and looked it over. Same bank. Same account number. Twenty million dollars. “Ollie, what the hell?”

Oliver shifted his weight. His eyes were dangerous. He obviously suspected the worst. “I think this check is to try to get us to cash the first one.”

“‘Why didn’t you cash it yet?’ That it?”

“Yeah. They don’t want to risk giving away anything by talking to us, so they offered more money as a bribe.”

Tommy looked back down at the paper in his hands. So much anxiety over something so simple. “It was just in the mail?”

“I checked the security footage outside. There was a glitch after the postman arrived. Happened around three. Felicity said it was tampering, but she couldn’t restore the original footage.”

Tommy was impressed, although he felt he shouldn’t be surprised by Oliver’s actions. “So you’ve already started investigating.”

“Of course.”

“No extra clues?”

“Not a scrap. I even surveyed the yard. No footprints. No extra dirt. No sign anyone was on our property other than the postman.”

“Huh.” Tommy flipped the check over. Blank. It was exactly like the first, except for the amount. He had no idea what to do with it. “You don’t think they’ll send more, do you?”

“Not if I stake out the house tomorrow.”

That seemed a little extreme, but given the circumstances, Tommy didn’t find the need to argue. “But aren’t you supposed to be with Dinah tomorrow afternoon?”

Oliver shrugged. “Called her. Told her about the checks. She understands. Family first, after all.”

Tommy smiled, but he wasn’t happy. Oliver was being forced to protect his family again. It had happened years ago with Dahrk kidnapping William, and again later with Chase. Then Diaz. Then the Sharing. And now, some mysterious benefactor with unknown intentions. Oliver was constantly having to worry about the well-being of those he held dear, in ways no father or husband should have to. It just didn’t seem fair.

He took Oliver into a hug around his shoulders, firmly planting his chin into the crook of Oliver’s neck. He held him like this for quite some time - long enough for Oliver to return the hug and stand there, almost as one. Thanks to their shared experience, he had some idea of how much he meant to Tommy, but the feeling was heightened when potential danger was involved. This time, it was the unknown. Tommy was sure he’d never really understand the sheer gratitude he felt.

Tommy gave him a quick kiss as they separated. “You know I love you, right?”

Oliver just smiled. He did.

The office was its usual bustling self the next day, but Tommy had made sure to move any appointments that couldn’t be rescheduled on the spot. In anticipation of the stakeout, he cleared his afternoon and called in a favor to Felicity. By two o’clock, he sat at his desk without anything to do but stare at his computer monitor.

He’d made an argument that he should stay home, but Oliver was confident that their mysterious friend wouldn’t make a move on anyone outside of the Queen manor. When he was asked to explain him reasoning, he just said, “Call it a hunch.” To Tommy, that just meant Oliver had some kind of understanding of their methodology that he didn’t. So he and William went to work and school as normal, although Oliver told Raisa not to come in. He wanted the manor empty, in case something happened. But despite being looked after, Tommy was interested in knowing everything that happened.

That’s where Felicity came in.

She dropped by Merlyn Global earlier that day and installed a small receiver on Tommy’s computer. Although she muttered about it not being very secure, she did understand Tommy’s reasoning for wanting to be in on the action, and had finished her task without complaining. As soon as Oliver set himself up for the stakeout, Tommy’s computer would get a live feed from Felicity’s surveillance. 

Which began around two-thirty.

The computer screen lit up to reveal the green-and-black display of Felicity’s new experimental Archer surveillance cameras. In fact, there were four feeds displaying. Tommy could see the front landing from two angles, as well as the circular drive and the walkway along the eastern hedges, which Oliver had taken for his stakeout. He saw the hunkered down hero in his suit, bow in hand, crouched with a keen eye on the property. He himself was hidden amidst the hedges - the only way someone would see him was from a bird’s eye view, like from the surveillance system.

Tommy popped a communication device into his ear. “Testing,” he said.

Felicity sounded distracted. “Gotcha, Tommy.”

“Everything good, pal?” Tommy asked.

He saw Oliver nod. He obviously wanted to maintain some semblance of silence. It was probably a bad idea to talk to him, as well.

With everything set up and people in place (Thea, Roy, and Diggle had also taken up positions to monitor other entrances to the house), the waiting game began.

And it continued for hours.

Around four o’clock, Tommy was jerked awake by Oliver on the comms. “Calling it. They’re not showing.”

“The mail didn’t even show up. Is that weird? I feel like that’s weird.” Felicity said. “Who doesn’t get mail at all? Like, not even a pizza discount coupon pamphlet.”

There was a knock at Tommy’s door, directing his attention away from the now-disabled feeds. He turned off the mic on his comms and called out, “Yeah?”

The door crept open and Esther stuck her head in. “Sorry, sir, but someone dropped this off on the desk for you.”

What? “What is it?”

“Dunno.” She stepped into the office fully and Tommy’s heart sank into his stomach at the sight of the envelope in her hand. “It’s pretty light. Feels empty. Just has your name on it.”

Tommy nearly hopped his desk to get to her, causing a bit of surprise on Esther’s end. “Let me see that.” He took the envelope and ripped it open. He turned up one end and a slip of paper fell into his hand.

Another check - this one for ten million.

Tommy didn’t let Esther see the front of the check, but he knew she’d recognize what it was.

“Oh, from a donor? How nice. But such a weird way of getting it to you,” she said. “I didn’t see anyone drop it off. It was just left lying on my desk.”

Tommy’s eyes flitted up to meet hers. “Were you away from the desk or something?”

Esther shrugged. “Not that I remember. I turned around to file something behind me, and when I turned back, it was sitting on the desk. Not a soul in sight.”

“Thanks, Esther.” He paused. “Just to be sure, you saw no one. Right?”

She seemed confused by his insistence. “Nope. No one but me.”

“And...when did this happen?”

“About a minute before I opened the door.”

Tommy about-faced and slammed his hand on the speakerphone quick-dial. “Alec! It’s Tommy. Lock us down! I don’t want anyone getting out of this building!”

The front door guard sounded as confused as Esther looked. “Sir?”

“Just do it, Alec.”

“Yes, sir.”

Tommy reached up and hit his comms. “Ollie. We had a delivery here. At the office. Three minutes ago.”

“On my way.”

Esther stood near the exit, hands up in front of her in worry. “Mr. Merlyn, I don’t understand.”

“Don’t worry, Esther, I don’t think anyone is in danger, but we have to find out who is giving me this donation,” Tommy said, rushing to a vault near the window. He stuck the check inside and changed the code on the safe before heading for the hallway. “Oliver’s on his way, just in case security needs some help. Head to the break room and don’t come out until you hear from me, okay? Just to be safe.”

She shuffled along the hallway with him. “I’m scared.”

“I promise, no one’s going to get hurt. Especially not you. Just stay up here. Only ways out of the building are the helipad, which I could see from my office was empty, and the ground floor. We’ll get ‘em.” He helped her sit in the break room two halls down and handed her a drink from the vending machine. “I’ll be back.”

“Be careful, Mr. Merlyn.”

He just grinned at her as he backed toward the door. “Don’t worry, the Green Arrow will be here.”

She gave him a shaky smile in response.

While the ground floor was the focal point of their search, Tommy made a detour to the fifteenth floor first. He unlocked the security room door and stepped in to see a confused head of security sitting in front of his wall of monitors.

“Alec,” Tommy said with a curt nod. “Anyone get out of the building since I ordered the lock down?”

Alec shook his head. “No sir. Traffic’s been pretty light. Came up here as soon as you gave the order. Figured you’d want to find someone?”

“Smart man.” He scanned the monitors. “Which of these is looking at my office?”

One of the monitors was indicated with a point. “Number eight. This one.”

“Can you run me back five minutes?”

“Sure. What are we looking for?”

Tommy huffed as he stared at the monitor rewinding. “Anyone that isn’t me or Esther.”

Alec hit play. Esther was taking notes for a phone call at first. She hung up and looked around her desktop for something. She shimmied her shoulders in triumph as she picked up a folder from underneath a stack of papers and turned her back to the camera to file it. As soon as she started moving, Tommy’s mouth went dry.

Then, suddenly, she was staring at the little rectangular envelope on her desk that had appeared over the course of a single frame.

Tommy’s eyebrow twitched. “Wait. Go back. Like two seconds.”

Esther jumped to her filing, then straight to looking at the envelope.

“Again.”

Filing.

Envelope.

“Dammit.”

“Sir?”

“It’s fucked,” Tommy spat. “But how?”

Alec watched the footage again. “Oh, I see the skip. Our cameras aren’t the greatest, but that looks intentional.”

“It was.” Tommy reached up and hit his comms. “Overwatch?”

“What’s up?”

“Tech question. Does technology exist that would allow someone to fritz out nearby cameras just from seeing them? Whoever did this managed to skip being seen on live camera.”

“Oh wow. That’s pretty serious tech. This guy must have some connections. But to answer your question, yes. Some devices out there can emit specific light wavelengths that trigger feedback loops to visual recording equipment for a few seconds. Security cameras, phones, that kind of stuff. With security cameras, it basically deletes the footage in realtime, making any playback look like a time skip. It’s really nasty if a phone gets scrambled.”

“Sounds exactly like what I’m seeing here,” Tommy sighed. “They were here, but there’s no telling what they look like.”

“You could always ask the guards if anyone strange came through,” she suggested.

He sighed. Like that would get any results. “Yeah, I guess I haven’t done that yet.” He turned to Alec. “Hey, Alec. Has anyone unusual come through the front lobby today?”

Alec nodded.

Tommy rounded on him, no longer even remotely joking. “Why am I just hearing about it now, Alec?”

“Unusual, but not threatening,” Alec replied. “Not every day you see a guy with a fake hand come through the lobby.”

A what.

Tommy leaned forward, his stare boring into Alec. “I’m sorry,” he said, his words very specific and separated. “A what?”

“An older guy came through earlier today, had shades on and a big burly coat. When he signed in, he plopped his left hand up on top of the counter to steady the clipboard. It was gloved, while his right hand wasn’t, and when it hit the counter, it definitely sounded different than a regular hand. It also didn’t really grip the clipboard very well.”

Tommy gripped Alec by the shoulders, probably a little harder than he meant or needed to.

“One more time. You saw a man with a fake left hand in this building today.”

Alec nodded.

Tommy spun on his heel and hit his comms as he left the room. “Ollie. Code red. I think I know who’s been sending us these checks.”

“Yeah, I think I do, too.”

Tommy froze in place, right outside the elevator landing. “Wait, what?”

“I’m outside the building. I just saw someone fire a tether arrow from the sixth floor smoking deck and zipline his way to the next building over.”

Somewhere inside him, Tommy’s blood ran cold.

“Tommy, your dad is alive.”