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Ready, Aim, Fire!	By : Dhvana Category: DC Verse Comics > Green Arrow Views: 2878 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own The Green Arrow, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Epilogue: The Wrath of Ollie

Connor takes one look at me sprawled naked on the floor, the fear of god in my eyes, and shaking his head, starts to laugh.

My boyfriend, folks, I think with a glare. At least he knows how to laugh in the face of danger. Let’s see if he’s still laughing when he gets to be the one to tell Oliver Queen his two sons are fucking. That’ll scare the laughter right out of him. It sure as hell did me.

I shift on the floor and pain shoots through my body. “OW.”

Still chuckling, he raises himself up on one arm and grins at me. “That’s what happens when you fall out of bed. You want to tell me what you’re doing down there, Roy?”

“What I’m doing?! Fuck, Connor! What do you think I’m doing? I’m in shock! What the hell are we going to tell Ollie? He’s going to skin me alive for corrupting his beautiful baby boy.”

Connor sighs, rolling his eyes. “First off, you didn’t corrupt me. Technically, Nightwing did. Second, I’m an adult. Third, once he sees how much we love each other, he’ll be happy for us both.”

“Yeah, on the same day Batman starts wandering around in a pink kilt,” I grumble, climbing to my feet while keeping clear of the bed. Connor’s eyes narrow as he notices my reluctance to return to his side.

“If the kilt’s pink, I think it would technically qualify as a skirt, and would you get over here?”

“No way. I’ve done enough damage.”

“Roy. . .”

“NO.” I can almost hear him grinding his teeth, except Connor would never do that. There are times when I wish he would.

“Ollie loves us both. He’s not going to care.”

“His sons are carrying on an incestuous relationship and you think—”

“We’re not his real sons. Well, you’re not,” he amended, “at least not by blood, though you’re still the son of his heart.”

“And you think that’s going to make a difference to him?” My knees go weak and I find myself needing to sit down, but the only place to sit is the bed, so that’s out of the question, and I am not sitting back down on that floor.

“Look. . .” I say, grabbing a blanket and heading for the door, “you can have the bed. Get some sleep, I know you’ve got to be exhausted. I’m going to go sleep on the sofa, and we can talk about it tomorrow.”

“Roy,” he says without the slightest hint of irritation in his voice--how does he do that? “Would you please be reasonable?”

“I am being reasonable. I’m just trying to—”

“Roy William Harper, Jr.”

I stop dead in my tracks. That’s a tone I’ve never heard Connor use before. This doesn’t bode well.

“I love you. You know I do, just as I know you love me, but if your solution to any problem in our relationship--even imaginary problems--is to run, then I’d might as well leave now and take Dick up on his offer. At least I know what to expect from him.”

Oh, that’s low. Effective, but low.

“You are not going anywhere near Dick,” I growl, turning to face him. “And I am not running. You’re right. I love you. I don’t want to give you up. All I’m saying is that we should perhaps slow down a bit and tell Ollie before we do anything else.”

He quirks an eyebrow at me. “And just what more do we have left to do? You’ve already had your cock up my ass, Roy. Like you said, the damage has been done.”

Damnit, he’s doing it again. There are few things that can get me harder, faster, than Connor Hawke talking dirty--and I bet my bow he knows it. It may not be pay-by-the-minute phone sex kind of dirty, but hearing my innocent Connor say something simple like caucus or assumption is enough to give me a woody.

To sum up, any time Connor is around, my mind resides in the gutter.

And hearing him talk about having my cock up his ass. . . would it be wrong of me to jump him when we’re in the middle of a serious conversation?

Carefully arranging the blanket in front of me, I swallow hard and try to appear calm. “Connor, I’m thinking of you when I say this. You and Ollie have only just found each other. You’re developing the kind of father/son relationship with him that I never had. I don’t want you to lose that.”

“If he loves me, he won’t care who I love.”

I just sigh, shaking my head. “Wanna bet?”

Connor’s able to talk me back into bed--let's face it, I’m not all that hard of a sell--but I can’t talk him into keeping our relationship a secret. I’m able to distract him for about three weeks with sex before he announces that if I ever want to see him naked again, I’ll agree that it’s time to tell Ollie the truth.

I’d forgotten that Queens fight dirty when they have to.

So I try only a little bit to hide my smugness as Connor paces the apartment while waiting for his father to arrive. For all his grand protestations, he is as nervous about telling Ollie as I am.

Except, I’m not all that nervous, not really. Watching him, the slight crease on his forehead, his unconscious gnawing on his lower lip, just makes me wonder how much time we’ve got before Ollie shows up. After all, there’s nothing like a little sex to help eliminate stress.

“No, Roy,” he says without breaking his stride.

“No what?” I ask innocently.

“Don’t try that tone with me. You know what.”

Why doesn’t anyone ever believe me when I sound innocent?

“I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about. Perhaps you should explain it to me in explicit detail.”

He just glares at me. “Behave.”

There is a knock on the door and we both freeze. Time to face the music.

Connor opens the door and welcomes in a puzzled but chipper Ollie.

“Hey, kiddo,” Ollie says, giving first Connor and then myself a giant bear hug. “I have to say, this is an occasion for us. I can’t remember the last time we sat down together and shared a meal. Where’s my little munchkin?” he asks, looking around for Lian.

“She’s at a sleepover,” I answer, not adding that I wanted her safe and out of the line of fire.

“That’s a shame. I was looking forward to seeing my granddaughter.”

“She’ll be sorry she missed you,” I nod, and it’s true. Ollie and Lian dote on each other. Hopefully, after all this, she’ll still have her grandfather around.

“So, boys, what’s with the family dinner? Got some bad news?”

“Not. . . bad, no,” Connor says and Ollie pauses, quick eyes glancing between us.

“But you’ve got something to say.”

“Want a drink, Ollie?” I ask, heading towards the fridge.

“I’ve got a feeling I’m going to need one,” he nods.

I grab him and myself a beer and hand Connor a bottle of water. “So, Ollie, how are things at the Center? How’s Mia?”

“Fine, the both of them,” he says, green eyes watching us with suspicion. “But enough with the bullshit. You want to get this over with now so we can continue with our lives, or do you want to drag it out and have a long, uncomfortable dinner first?”

“I’m for getting it over with. Connor?” I grin, gesturing towards my lover with my bottle. “He’s all yours.”

“Thanks,” he mutters, and taking a deep breath, looks at Ollie. “Dad, I love you.”

“And I love you,” Ollie says, his face growing concerned. “Connor, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. It’s just. . . I’ve met someone.”

Oliver’s lungs let out a whoosh of air as he starts to laugh. “Is that all? Connor, you’re a grown boy. It’s about damn time you met someone! So, tell me about her.”

“Him.”

That gives Ollie a bit of a start. “Him?”

“Him,” Connor repeats in a steady voice.

“Okay.” He’s silent for a moment, then gives a sharp nod. “Well, all right, I guess. That’s a bit of a surprise, but at the same time, it isn’t. You know what I mean, Roy?”

“I have an idea,” I manage to say with a straight face, knowing that Ollie’s putting on a brave front for his son. It’ll take a little more than a single evening before Oliver will be able to wrap his brain around this, but he’s not about to do anything to alienate his son. In spite of all his bluster, he’s one of the most accepting people I know, and once it sinks in, I know he won’t give a damn about Connor being gay.

As for the rest of it. . . well, that I’m not so sure of.

“All right, then,” Oliver nodded, “you’ve found a him. What’s he like?”

“He’s the most amazing man I’ve ever met,” Connor says, his entire face softening as his green eyes start to glow. “Noble, kind, generous, his sense of humor could use a little work--” Brat. Just when I’m starting to fall in love with him all over again, he can’t resist. “--but a great man. I think you’ll like him.”

“Well, if he’s everything you say, I’m sure I will. How long have you known him?”

“Oh, years now, though we’ve only been together for a little over a month.”

“Then you’ve. . . you’re. . . romantically involved with him?”

“Do you really want to know the details?” Connor asks, arching an eyebrow, and Ollie shakes his head.

“No, not particularly,” he says, swallowing the rest of his beer. “Just. . . checking. Wanting to make sure you’re serious about this. . . thing. So, when do I get to meet him?”

“Well, you see, that’s the thing. You already have.”

“Really?” I can see Ollie going over a list of all the gay men he knows who’ve had contact with his son, unable to settle on any of them. Boy, is he in for a shock. “I’ve met him? Do I like him?”

“You do.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” he says, though he doesn’t look relieved. Constipated would be a better description. “So, when?”

“How about now? Dad, meet my boyfriend, Roy.”

I give Ollie a shaky smile as he stares at me, aghast. Then he lunges.

“DAD!” Connor shouts as the two of us are knocked to the floor, Ollie’s hands around my throat. If I could speak, I’d be yelling at Connor, “I told you so!” but I’m a little too busy trying to break Oliver’s grip so I can breathe.

“Dad! Cut it out!” Connor yells, attempting to pry Ollie’s fingers off my throat.

I have to say, the last time I saw Ollie this angry was when he found out I’d been doing heroin. As his fingers tighten, I start to miss those days.

“How could you?” he snarls. “You son of a bitch! How could you?!”

“DAD!”

Finally Connor wrenches him off of me and throws him to the side, holding him down as I crawl as far away from them as I can, coughing as I enjoy the return of air to my lungs.

“Dad, what is the matter with you?” Connor demands, looking absolutely furious, which takes us both by surprise. Connor never gets furious, and even though I’m gasping for breath, I feel an incredible warmth rush through me. He really does love me.

But Ollie just ignores him, turning his rage-filled eyes on me. “You stay the hell away from my son! I will not have you wrecking his life!”

“I have no intention of wrecking his life! Damnit, Ollie, I love him!” I gasp, my voice raspy from my throat being crushed.

“So what? I’ve seen you screw up too many times, *Speedy*, to trust you with him!”

“I am not ‘Speedy’, and I haven’t been for years. I’ve come a long way, Ollie. Can’t you see that? I’m a responsible, mature adult, not the messed-up kid you helped turn me into. I’m a father, for chrissakes!”

“And you have no idea how many times that thought has kept me up at night!”

Okay, that does it. I can forgive him for being a father and worrying about Connor, but the second he impugns my parental abilities, the gloves come off. If he wants to fight, then we’re gonna fight!

“You son of a bitch!” I growl. “You know damn well I would die before I let anything happen to Lian!”

“You don’t have to die, Roy. You only have to slip, just once, and what happens to her then?”

I throw myself at Ollie, nailing him in the eye with my fist and the next thing I know, the two of us are rolling around on the floor of the apartment trying to beat the living shit out of each other.

“You miserable old bastard! I’m a better father than you ever were and you know it!”

“You’re better at pretending, I’ll give you that much!”

“You just can’t accept the fact that my life is going a helluva lot smoother without you than it ever did with you!”

“You just can’t let go of the past! And when it finally nails you in the ass, I am not going to let you drag Connor down with you!”

“Connor has nothing to do with this! You’re the problem! You never trusted me! That’s why you never let me in!”

“I never let you in? I NEVER LET YOU IN? Hell, kid, you were the first person I let in! And what a mistake that was!”

“That’s what you call letting someone in?! You were never fucking there, not for you, not for me!”

“Well, what did you expect?! I wasn’t supposed to be a father! I didn’t know what to do! Why the fuck do you think I turned tail and ran when Connor was born?! You’re proof that if I’d stuck around, I would have fucked up his life also!”

WHOA.

I quickly push Ollie away from me and back up. His face is stricken with the truth he’s just revealed and his eyes scan the room to make sure his son didn’t hear his admission, but Connor is nowhere to be seen. He must have given up on us and left at some point, but I was too busy trying to hold my own against the geezer to notice.

And I hope this is the first and last time I wish my lover to be a thousand miles away from me.

“You. . . you knew about Connor?” I can feel the room around me starting to spin, and it isn’t from the pounding Ollie’d given me. I simply never knew he was capable of something like this. “All those years. . . you just abandoned him?”

“Christ, Roy,” he sighs, running his hands over his face and through his blond hair--hair inherited by Connor, just like the green eyes. It seems only physical features were passed on in Ollie’s genes, because there’s no other way in hell those two could be related. “You know who I was back then. Do you really think I could have handled a son?”

“Don’t you think you might have turned out better if you tried? Fuck, Ollie! Do you know how many opportunities you’ve missed? You missed his first step, his first word, his first laugh. You missed watching him grow up!”

“He was better off without me.”

“How the fuck do you know?!” I yell. “You’re his father! Every kid needs their father! Instead of getting to live with his family, he was dumped at a monastery. He didn’t have anyone! He was alone! You left him alone!”

My poor Connor. It pains me to think that when I was orphaned, I got the father he should have had. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for a child to grow up believing he had nobody. Even I had Ollie, whatever use he was, and even through the times of neglect, when he was around, I was happy to be with him.

“His mother left him alone, not me,” Oliver says with a hint of resentment in his voice. “Besides, the monks were a better family to him than I could ever be.”

“How can you say that?! You’re his flesh and blood!”

“Flesh and blood doesn’t guarantee good parenting skills. Hell, look at the disaster I made of your childhood!”

“No shit. And let me tell you, I’m sure not thrilled about that!”

“Exactly!” he shouts, his hands clenching into fists. “Would you have wanted me to do that to Connor?”

Fuck no. I would find a way to turn back time if it meant my Connor being raised by Ollie. It scares the living daylights out of me to think of what would have happened to him, of how he might have turned out.

But on the other hand. . .

“Even you would have been a better alternative than nothing. If he’d been a constant presence in your life since birth then maybe you’d have become the father to him he needed you to be. Maybe you’d have become the father we both needed.”

Ollie sighs, resting with his back to the wall and lightly banging his head against the plaster. “I don’t need you to tell me it was a mistake, Roy. I know it was, and you’re right, you probably both would have been better off. But I can’t change it. I made my decision years ago, and yes, you both have suffered for it since, but I’m trying my damnedest to make up for it now.”

“By turning into a homicidal psychopath?” I ask as I rub my throat. He looks up at me, startled, and chuckles at seeing the hint of humor in my eyes.

“Yeah, something like that.”

“I can’t believe you knew.”

He nods. “I was there on the day he was born.”

“And that was it?”

“That was it.”

“You fucking asshole.” I scoot over next to him against the wall, gingerly leaning my head back along with his. “Are you going to tell him?”

“No.”

“You sure that’s the right thing to do?”

“No. But what the hell, why start doing the right thing now?”

“And you’re not going to believe this, but for once, I agree with you. Not about doing the right thing--that you should definitely do more often, but about not telling him. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, and I think this would hurt him.”

“I know it would, and things are going so good between us right now, I don’t want to ruin that. Well, things were going good,” he amends, shooting me a quick grin, “until I attacked his boyfriend.”

“Yeah, that one’s gonna cost you,” I say, becoming aware of my latest batch of injuries. My split lip is throbbing and my side is aching from various punches. My entire body is going to be a mass of pain by morning. “Fuck, Ollie, what the hell were you thinking?”

He sighs, shaking his head. “I wasn’t. I just don’t want to see him hurt.”

“Neither do I.”

“I know you don’t,” he says, reaching over to pat my knee. “If you only knew how much time I spend worrying about you, about Lian, about Connor. . . I don’t want to see any of you hurt, but there’s so much that can go wrong with our lives.”

“Which is why we have each other, and if any of us fall, there are at least a dozen people ready to jump in and do what they can. I know that if anything should happen to me, you and Connor will be there to take care of Lian. If anything should happen to the two of you, I know that the Outsiders, the Titans, the JLA, they’ll do everything in their power to see to it that Lian wants for nothing.”

“And what of Connor if something should happen to you?” he asks softly, and I bite my lip, then grimace as pain shoots through my nerves. Not my smoothest move. “He secluded himself in that monastery after I died. I don’t want him doing that again.”

“He was actually with us for quite a while before he returned to the monastery, and when he went back, it was because he thought of it as home. He went to the only place that brought him comfort and peace, the only place he felt he belonged. It was also the only home the two of you ever truly shared. Where else would he go?”

“If you’re trying to make me feel even more guilty, you’re doing a damn fine job of it,” Ollie growls, narrowing his eyes, and I grin.

“Good.”

“Sadist.”

“Acknowledged.”

“So what are you going to do in order to keep my son from getting hurt?”

“Everything within my power and then some. What are you going to do?”

He sighs, shaking his head. “Everything within my power and then some, including supporting the two of you.”

“You mean that?” I ask, trying not to look too skeptical.

“It won’t be easy, but yeah, I mean it.”

“Thanks, Ollie.”

“Any time, kid,” he says, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and giving me a hug. I am suddenly overwhelmed with the need to hug him, and I do, my entire body shaking. Now that the hard part is over and I’ve managed to convince Oliver to let us be together, I have to find a way to convince myself. I mean it when I say I’ll do anything for Connor, but what if it isn’t enough?

“It’ll be all right,” he says softly as he holds me, kissing the top of my head. “It’ll be all right, son. Everything’s going to work out just fine.”

“I’m scared, Ollie,” I whisper, and his arms tighten.

“I know, but you don’t have a thing to worry about. Connor loves you. Lian loves you. I love you. Whatever happens, you’ll be able to work through it. I know my actions today may make this a little hard to believe, but I have faith in you.”

“Liar,” I say, taking a deep breath.

“I do. I may not always show it, but I’ve seen you go through hell and bounce back almost as good as new, and a little bit wiser to boot. You’ll be fine.”

“I believe you,” I say, offering a tentative smile, and he grins.

“You’d better. You lose confidence now, you’ll screw things up with my boy, and you know I’m not about to let that happen. God, you and Connor,” he says, closing his eyes and again banging his head against the wall. “Who’d have thought?”

“Not me, that’s for damn sure.”

“You’re one lucky bastard.”

“Tell me about it.”

“How’d you ever manage to catch him, anyway?”

“Actually, he came after me.”

The banging stops and he opens one eye to look at me. “You’re joking.”

“For once in my life, I’m not,” I grin. “He’s the one who came and asked me out on a date, and things just escalated from there.”

“I’ll be damned,” he says in a slightly awed voice. “I never would have thought he’d have it in him.”

“You didn’t! Hell, after he asked, I was practically catatonic for several hours. I just couldn’t believe it.”

“Especially since he’d never gone on a date before.”

“Well,” I say, avoiding his gaze, “that’s not necessarily true.”

He arches an eyebrow at me. “It isn’t?”

“I wasn’t his first. There was another.”

Green eyes immediately narrow. “Who?”

“If you want to know, you’ll have to ask Connor,” I answer, trying not to laugh. This is almost too much fun.

“Is he someone I know?”

“I told you--ask Connor.”

“It’s that Bat brat, isn’t it? I saw the way they were the other night. Damnit!” he swears, slamming his fists against the floor. “That freak should keep his twisted family away from decent people.”

“You mean decent people like us, the deadbeat dad and the former heroin addict?”

Ollie gives me a dirty look. “That mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble some day.”

“Probably,” I shrug, then smile, nudging his shoulder with mine. “Come on, let’s get out of here, grab some pizza and a couple pitchers of beer. We can play a couple rounds of darts and try to get rid of all this negative energy.”

“You’re already starting to sound like him,” he grumbles as he stands up, then helps me to my feet. “Soon you’ll be a vegetarian and babble endlessly about centering yourself.”

We’re both limping slightly as we head towards the door, keeping our movements down to a minimum.

“Well, there are worse people I could sound like. Speaking of, should we call him?” I ask, and he shakes his head.

“Nah. He’ll only end up giving us a lecture on how violence is no way to solve anything.”

“He just doesn’t understand the Western barroom brawl mentality of problem solving.”

“Living with you, he’ll learn that soon enough,” Ollie says snidely and I grunt in response as we stumble down the stairs.

“Yeah, it’s a real joy practicing my brawling on the bad guys with Connor’s disapproving eyes watching over me. I’d try and teach him the benefits, but Connor can kick my ass blindfolded with one hand tied behind his back, so I have no misconceptions about who would win a full-out physical fight between us.”

“Good, I’m glad you know it. Not that he’ll ever have to defend himself in a physical fight against you,” Oliver says, a warning in his voice.

I can’t decide whether to be annoyed by his comment, or accept it as the fatherly concern it is, so I decide to just tease him instead. “If we get physical, trust me, we won’t be fighting.”

He lightly smacks me upside the head. “Watch it, Speedy. That’s your brother you’re talking about.”

My stomach does a cruel little twist and I glare at him. “Now that was unnecessary.”

“You need to learn to toughen up, son,” he grins. “Once the word gets out, you’re going to have to sit through a lot worse. Your friends will never let you hear the end of it, especially considering your reputation with the ladies.”

I groan, thinking of all the ribbing I’m in for. “I think I’m going to spend the rest of my days hiding in my apartment.”

“Why? Are you ashamed of being with Connor?”

“No. I will gladly admit that, next to Lian, he’s the best thing to happen to me. And damnit, Ollie,” I say, giving him an evil glare, “will you stop playing Devil’s Advocate?”

“Not a chance. If you want to be with my son, I’m going to make you earn it.”

“You’re a cruel bastard, Oliver Queen,” I say, clapping him on the back while trying not to grin too widely, “but you’re turning out to be a pretty decent father. Not to mention, father-in-law.”

“Father-in-law. Just for that,” he snarls as we walk into the pizza joint, “the first two rounds are on you.”

I grin, loving that I have a whole new spectrum of ways to tease Ollie. I knew this relationship with Connor was the best thing to ever happen to me, and I’m glad I don’t have to fight with Ollie in order to keep it. I would have won, but the damage would have been severe. Instead, I get the guy, get his dad’s approval, get to spend an evening drinking beer and eating pizza with one of my best friends, and then get to go home to the man I love. Life just doesn’t get any better than this.

[Completed May 11, 2004]
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Ready, Aim, Fire!