So this'll be a three parter. Hopefully everyone enjoys.

Characters: Roy Harper, Wally West, Jade Nguyen, Bruce Wayne

Pairing: Roy/Jade

Rating: high T

Summary: Every story has a beginning, middle, and an end. So does theirs.


The Beginning (of the Beginning)

i. she's chaos in human form.

If Roy could describe himself in one word, it'd be stubborn.

It's not really a surprise, or hard to figure out. He's a stubborn prick. Always has been, always will be. So when they tell him, Don't play nice with the bad guys, and he does anyway, he's got the stubbornness to blame.

"Quick on your feet," Roy grins, mouth curling up into a smirk, showing his teeth. "I like that."

"You would," Cheshire drawls, and they don't attack. They just move.

It gets irritating after a while. Roy loses his patience, Cheshire cackles, they both lunge. Her sai grazes his left bicep, leaving a light trail of blood, and he groans. It doesn't make him pause, though. He lands a hit to her stomach, causing her to backpedal.

"Hurt?" He smirks, grips his bow tighter, and leans down to stare at her mask. "I'll try and go easy on you."

They never do go easy on one another. Maybe that's the best part.

.x.

It's a reoccurring thing. She causes trouble somewhere; anywhere. He follows.

They don't have a thing. Having a thing would involve knowing each other's names. He supposes he does know a few things about her. She's got black hair, long, long legs, and gorgeous, mind-fucking eyes.

"Get off me," she says, but it's not a demand, it seems like a challenge. Her arms tied tight behind her back, mask torn off, thrown somewhere across the room. Clothes dishevelled, ripped, showing bare skin. He smiles. "Uncomfortable?"

"Aren't good guys supposed to be good?" She murmurs; her hot, sweet breath on his lower lip. It makes him dizzy, but in a good way. "This doesn't seem very heroic. Not that I mind." Those eyes.

He could end it right now. Knock her out and call the police. But that…that would be…

Jade licks her lips, tongue just barely touching his bottom lip. It makes his stomach coil, makes his dick twitch and his pants tighten. God Harper, he thinks, berating himself at the thought. You don't get any in a few months and suddenly you're all hot over this chick?

He presses the thoughts down; won't let them take control. 9-1-1 is quickly called.

He watches them haul her away. Ignores her smirk.


The Middle (of the Beginning)

ii. build a bridge

Months later, he's being summoned by GA and Bats. Yay.

"We need you to go undercover," Batman tells him, and images of Cheshire pop up on the screen of Bat's supercomputer. "Her name is Jade Nguyen, and she's incredibly dangerous. We need someone to go in, find out anything and everything they can."

Roy knows what they want. He understands what they need. Doesn't mean he'll do it, though. "Why would I-,"

"Roy," Ollie says, and…ah fuck.

.x.

He grows his hair out, doesn't shave for a month except for maybe a trim or two, and then he meets her.

She's out of costume, but he's sure she's still packing weapons. It doesn't matter though, because she's dancing and fuck this girl can move. Roy starts toward her, pushing through people, intent on getting to her side. When he gets close enough, she looks up, grins, and wiggles her fingers at him.

"Hey," she laughs as his hand cups her hip, pulls her toward him. She's soft, he thinks. Of course she would be.

"Hey yourself," he leans down, blue eyes meeting brown, and those eyes…

They grind and move and dance, her hands on his hips, nails leaving sharp marks in the pale skin of his stomach, while his leave light bruises. She's gorgeous. This doesn't seem like a mission, either.

Roy's just about to finish dancing and pull her off to the side of dance floor, when she smiles at him. And it's probably that smile that makes him do it. One second, he's trying to get them to leave, the next, he's kissing her.

And kissing Cheshire—Jade—is even better than he thought it would be.

.x.

"Do you—," pant, breathe, "Have protection?" She's a lot less composed now, and she's never like this when they fight. But he supposes she doesn't know it's him. Or maybe she does. Whatever.

"Yeah, yeah," Roy answers, fingers already dragging her shirt up. Over her breasts, head and arms through the proper holes, "God," he breathes, mouth attacking her chest, biting, tugging, tasting, "You're fucking gorgeous."

His mouth touches her nipples, and he feels her gasp, feels her heart pound. She's amazing.

"I know," she laughs, tugging his mouth up by his hair, teeth biting down on his lip. "Believe me, I know."

He's sure she does.

.x.

"Where ya from?" He asks her one night, while he's brushing hair from her face. Her lips twitch down, eyebrows draw together, and for a second, he thinks maybe she'll tell the truth. But then her grin lights up her face, and she's happy again.

"I've been everywhere," she pulls him after her.

He follows, stepping carefully over the fallen branches. "What? You brought me out here to kill me, didn't you?" Roy knows it's possible. She wouldn't hesitate to if she knew. Her black hair slips over her shoulder, and she smirks. "You bet."

They stop a few more feet ahead, and she stands tall, back to him. Roy's got a feeling in his stomach this won't turn out good. Just give it a few more minutes, Harper.

When she begins to turn, he lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. And then…well then its back.

She's got her sai to his throat, snarl on her face. "Red Arrow, right?"

I'm stuck, I'm fucked, and Ollie this is all your motherfuckin' fault goddammit!

"Jade-,"

"Save it," she hisses, blade pressing harder against his skin. Roy feels sweat against his hairline. "What the fuck do you want?"

"If you knew it was me the whole time, why did-,"

"Answer my question."

Roy swallows thickly. He didn't bring any weapons with him. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

"I'm supposed to bring you in." He answers finally, glaring into her brown eyes. "Obviously, it hasn't worked out."

This seems to make her pause. She frowns, mouth turned down, eyes narrowed. "Then why didn't you get me the night at the bar…?"

"Didn't want to be too obvious. Why didn't you figure out it was me until now?" He smirks at her angry face, crosses his arms, pretends that he doesn't have a knife to his throat.

"How do you know I didn't?" She leans forward, bravado back, and mouth inches from his. He could kiss her right now and try to get away later. He could he could he could…

He does.

She tries to pull away, tries to slice his neck, but he's stronger than her, pulling her wrists from his neck. "Just give in," he murmurs, doesn't close his eyes. Neither does she.

The sai drops, and she presses into him. "Won't you get in a lot of trouble for this?" She doesn't seem like she's laughing anymore. She's serious.

"Probably," he nods, working his way down her neck.

"And you don't care?"

"Not a bit," he answers, pushing her against a tree. "Now shut up."

.x.

"So I suppose now you have to bring me in?" Jade's pulling on her clothes, and Roy watches. He rubs at his goatee, exhaling carefully.

"I…I don't want to," he answers truthfully, not meeting her eyes. He cracks his knuckles, and smacks the log he's sitting on. "But. But I think I have to."

She leans against a tree, eyeing him. Her arms are crossed, foot against a tree trunk. "And if I ran away through the night?"

His eyes rise to meet hers, and he smirks. "That…that just might work."


The End (of the Beginning)

iii. stay gone

"You lost her?" To anyone else, Batman would seem livid. But Roy's seen livid, and this is not it. This is disappointment, which, Roy supposes, is worse.

"She's a trained assassin," Roy counters, scuffing a boot against the ground. He's sure the others are listening in on the conversation, and he's sure Wally's gonna be asking him about it later. Whatever. "I'm sure she figured out who I was the moment I got there.

"Probably not," Batman replies, turning his back to Roy. The redhead merely scoffs, turning on his heel. "Next time you need someone to go undercover, don't ask me."

"Rest assured, Roy," Batman uses his real name, the smug prick, "I won't."

.x.

"I want to hit you," Roy says into his phone. "Actually, I want to shove your face into my toilet and hold it there."

"Dude," Wally complains, voice static-y. "Who just got his tonsils out?" He coughs, or does something like that, and Roy might feel bad. Just a little. "That's right. Me. Now, I need me some ice cream, and you're conveniently in Central while everyone is working. See how these things work out?"

"Fuck you," Roy laughs, eyeing the different brands. "What do you like?"

"The sexy ginger kind."

"Ha-ha," Roy opens the glass door, holding the phone to his ear with his shoulder. "Chocolate it is."

After hanging up with Wally and paying for the ice cream, Roy leaves the store, grocery bag in hand. "Stupid, tonsillitis. Stupid Wally."

"Hey," a voice calls. Roy turns sharply, recognizing the voice and-

.x.

-He wakes up with a blinding headache, killer dehydration, and a note.

She's yours. Her name is Lian. Do what you want.

It's cold, he thinks, rubbing his eyes. "Lian? What the fuck-,"

A loud, shrill screaming erupts from next to him, and Roy finally notices the basket. He tries not to believe what's in the basket. But fuck it's so obvious.

His fingers reach out, pull back the white, dirty sheet and—

God…she looks just like her mom.