Chapter Text
[JUNE 28 – 2019]
[EARTH-01]
“God help me.”
Oliver Queen muttered the words under his breath as he stared down the enormous stack of papers on his desk. Having given Quentin the day off, Oliver was now truly appreciating how much the man helped him as his deputy mayor. In the age of technological advancement, the majority of bill documents and files were all digital and could be found in an instant with a search button. But every now and then, when there was a particular file needed that did not have a digital copy, it was Quentin who usually sifted through the mess to find it. Today, it was Oliver’s turn to do the dirty work.
Is this what my life has come to?
Oliver asked himself this question as he began to peruse each page of every file. Five years in hell and five more as a vigilante, ten years of living almost every day of your life with an adrenaline rush so intense that it was perceivable through all five of your senses. And now, he was sitting in a mayoral office, sifting through paperwork.
Despite having not experienced that unforgettable rush in a year and a half, Oliver didn’t crave it or miss it. Not one bit. Or at least that’s what he told himself. The last time he had a green hood over his head was when he had to save his planet and Kara Danvers from their evil Nazi doppelgangers. Had the Earth-X inhabitants not showed up, his time without the hood would be over two years now.
The hood didn’t matter to him anymore. He knew that even if he wanted to, he couldn’t bring himself to don it again. Not after what had happened to his team.
Plus, the man in the hood wasn’t needed anymore. Rather, a man in a suit was. With the Green Arrow gone, Oliver devoted all of his time into being the mayor when he wasn’t being a father to William. Oliver and Quentin’s dedication and stubbornness were reaping the rewards as they were now starting to show real progress. Crime was slowly declining, and the corrupt were starting to pack their bags and run away with their tails between their legs. With Thea and Walter Steele at the helm of Queen Industries’, they also provided a lot of support, using their resources wisely to help clean up the city.
It had taken a while for the rewards to start showing, for a number of reasons. There was an immediate crime spike with the absence of vigilantes in the city, and ridding a place like Star City of corruption and indecency, issues which had presided for years, could not be done quickly. But the snowball had just begun rolling. Oliver’s department was making an impact, and the more they continued to work, the closer and closer they were getting to making Star City a better place. The biggest hurdle in front of him right now was finding an SCPD Captain willing to take on the issues plaguing the force. The previous Captain had just resigned, citing burnout. A driven Captain with immense fortitude was going to be needed, and Oliver had yet to find a suitable candidate.
30 minutes later, Oliver finally found the document he was looking for. He began reading through it before his concentration was interrupted by a strong gust of wind, causing the stack in front of him to fly up into all directions and scatter around his office. Luckily, Oliver’s firm grip kept the file in his hand.
He slowly raised his eyes towards the man standing a few feet away from his desk. He could not stop his stoic expression from turning into a smile when he saw the apologetic look on Barry Allen’s face.
“Can’t you just come in like a normal person?” joked Oliver.
“Sorry,” replied Barry sheepishly, running his hand through his hair while noting the hundreds of pages that had just scattered around the office.
“Good to see you, Barry,” said Oliver, as he placed the paper back on the desk while rising from the chair.
“Good to see you too,” replied Barry, smiling as he shook hands with his mentor and one of his closest friends.
“To what do I owe this visit?” asked Oliver.
“I just came by to remind you. You know, about the birthday party tonight?” replied Barry.
“Right, of course,” replied Oliver, having not forgotten that Iris turned 30 on Monday and that the party was today. With Barry having been tied up with Cicada and Thawne, he hadn’t had the chance to properly celebrate his birthday a couple of months earlier, so tonight was going to be a double celebration in a way. “I’m sure a phone call would’ve sufficed.”
“Yeah, but I’ve been trying to hit you up for the past hour. Thought I’d just pop by and see if everything was alright.”
Oliver pulled out his phone, seeing the four missed calls from Barry.
“Sorry, it was on silent,” said Oliver, “You could’ve just phoned my office.”
“I… did not think of that,” replied Barry, causing Oliver to chuckle, before returning to his desk, “Is Thea coming?”
“Probably not. She’s tied up with a lot of work, CEO of Queen Industries and all.”
“Oh, okay, sure. The invitation is still ‘plus one’ though, so… is there someone else you’d like to bring? Anyone?” asked Barry. Oliver met Barry’s gaze and studied his expression, immediately understanding what he was really asking.
“No. No one,” he replied bleakly, immediately dulling Barry’s hope.
“Absolutely no one?”
“Absolutely no one,” repeated Oliver.
“It would be pretty cool though, you know… if you did have someone…”
“Well, I don’t Barry, so it’ll just be me,” replied Oliver bluntly.
“Alright then. I guess I’ll see you tonight.”
“Woah, woah, wait!” exclaimed Oliver just before Barry was about zip away, “You can’t leave my office like this,” said Oliver, as he raised his hands towards the scattered carnage of papers.
“Oh, right.” After another gust of wind, Oliver’s office was spick and span, with the documents now back on his desk in a neat pile.
“Thank you,” said Oliver politely, receiving a smile from Barry, who then sped away.
As Oliver started to wonder about why Barry would ask him that question, he immediately found himself having received his answer. Barry was of course asking Oliver about his love life. One would think that there wasn’t much to ask about it, since it didn’t exist, but that’s precisely what Barry was referring to.
Oliver hasn’t been in a truly committed relationship in three years now, not since Felicity. Susan Williams was short-lived, and then just when he and Felicity seemed to have figured it out… Adrian Chase happened. The island happened. In the two years since that day, he hasn’t even entertained the thought of being with someone else. In the past, he believed he couldn’t be the Green Arrow and be with someone at the same time, and he was right. The two women in his life who he had loved the most had died because of his failures, and even though he wasn’t the Green Arrow anymore, he couldn’t rid himself of that dreadful thought…
Bad things happen to the people I love.
He reminded himself of this over and over again. Perhaps one day, he would finally drop the weight of this guilt, and learn to love again. But that day, it wasn’t going to come anytime soon.
[EARTH-38]
“Pumpkin spice latte for me, please. Thanks.” Kara handed her menu back to the waitress before turning her attention back to Alex, who was seated opposite her in Noonan’s. Looking at her sister, Kara recognised the all too familiar look of exhaustion she wore, that same look being the one that Kara also often saw in the mirror as of late. It was far less a physical exhaustion and more a mental and emotional one. To say the past few months had been hectic would be a massive understatement.
Dealing with everything surrounding the Children of Liberty, Lockwood and Lex, the past year had easily been the most stressful and overwhelming of both of the Danvers sister’s lives. Since their victory over Lex a month ago, things had eased for them, but they were still busy dealing with the fallout of Lex and Lockwood’s actions. With Kara living her dual life and Alex being the director of the DEO, they both rarely got off-days, so whenever they did, they tried to make the most of them. Right now, having brunch with each other was their way of doing that.
“You look tired,” noted Alex, as she met her sister’s gaze.
“You too,” replied Kara.
“I think we could both use a long vacation,” said Alex, shifting upright in her chair.
“Oh I wish,” replied Kara, “Hey, how are things between you and Kelly?”
“They’re great. In fact, she might even be moving here permanently soon.”
“Really? That’s amazing!”
“Yeah. She’s hoping to get a job with Obsidian North, so… Fingers-crossed.”
“I’m really happy for you, Alex.”
“Thanks. I’m still your plus-one for tonight, right?”
“Yeah. I mean, who else would I be taking?”
“I don’t know. Maybe that new guy at CatCo.”
“Why would I take him?” asked Kara, taking another moment to realise what Alex was really saying. “Alex, you’re really trying to set me up with one of my co-workers?”
“No, of course not. But he is pretty cute though.”
“He is, but not for me.”
“Why not?”
“Alex, you know how many things I need to take into account when considering someone. I can’t just date anyone, I literally need to find the perfect person,” replied Kara, subtlely referring to the issues of her dual identity as well as her Kryptonian physiology.
“But you’re not going to find them unless you start looking for them, Kara. You haven’t been on a date in two years.”
“Alex, single life isn’t just the best life, it’s also the most practical for me. Getting through this past year was hard enough, imagine if I still had to juggle a relationship in between all of that. Now is just not the right time.”
“With our lives, Kara, there’s never going to be a right time. You just have to take a leap of faith and try make it work.”
“I’m more than happy to do that if it’s the right person. And I don’t mean to be pessimistic, but I don’t think they’re showing up anytime soon.”
“You never know,” said Alex optimistically.
They dug into the dozen sticky buns while conversing a bit more, and despite Kara’s best efforts, she couldn’t stop herself from pondering on Alex’s words.
She was right. Kara hadn’t been on a date in two years. Then again, she had good reasons why. As if finding time for a relationship while trying to be Supergirl and a reporter wasn’t hard enough, she didn’t have the luxury of being able to date anyone. Not only would that person have to be aware of her dual identity, but also someone compatible with her physiologically. She is Kryptonian, which almost rules out the possibility of a human partner. She’d already broken four guys’ noses in the past just from kissing, Rao forbid she hurt someone even worse in the event that things go further than kissing.
She couldn’t lie to herself and say that she doesn’t want someone. She does want happiness. She truly wants to find a life partner and maybe raise a family one day, but in her eyes, that day isn’t in the foreseeable future. And above all of that, what has the universe kept reminding her time and time again? Having a lover and being a hero are two vital ingredients for disaster.