Disclaimer: I own nothing.

~Episode 1: Green Arrow~

Episode Summary: A year after the events caused by Ra's al Ghul, Oliver Queen has returned to Starling City and resumed his role as a hero. In a one year flashback, we see the beginning of Oliver and Felicity's life together in their new home. In a five year flashback, we see Oliver return to Lian Yu after the death of Akio.

Two masked figures battled on a rooftop, sparing as if their lives depended on it. One was obviously a woman, with long blonde hair and a tight leather outfit. What looked like a choker necklace was around her neck, marking her to anyone overseeing the fight as the Black Canary. The other figure was a man, tall with broad shoulders, but fluid movements. The same person who would recognize the woman as a familiar vigilante, would instead recognize the man to be a hooded member of the League of Shadows.

The man held his hands down in front of his waist to block the kicks the Black Canary tried to give him. He grabbed her ankle in attempt to knock her off-balance, but she used the force to bend backwards, hands on the ground and shooting her other leg up to contact her foot with the man's jaw. He was sent spiraling back, and the Black Canary fell over so her feet returned to the ground and she was able to stand again. She turned around to face the man, her fists up, ready to continue. He regained his composure, spitting blood from his mouth, and for a second the Black Canary wavered. But –and only someone as close as her would be able to see through the shadow his hood created over his face– when she saw his toothy grin, she only had a second to step back before the man swiped forward at her.

He used his weight to tackle her to the ground, pinning her arms behind her back. He leaned his lips to whisper by her ear. "You've gotten soft, Laurel," he murmured, moving her hair out of her face. She smiled back at him, looking less like the Black Canary and more like the cat that ate the black canary.

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing about you, Oliver." When his hand moved close enough to her mouth, she bit down on his skin, and he let out a surprised yelp. Her elbow smashed into his nose, and suddenly the tides were turned, with the Black Canary pinning the man's arms behind his back.

One Year Ago

"Oliver, isn't it beautiful?" Felicity asked as she held the blonde man's hand. They both stared up at the small house before them. It was a quaint little two-story place, with blue shutters and a cream-coloured door.

"It's perfect," he commented, smiling down at her. Of course, on their first night in their new home, they learned it wasn't exactly perfect. The house had a leaky roof, which Oliver promised he'd try and fix as soon as he could. There was no use in worrying or getting upset about it; their lives would be perfect soon enough.

The couple cuddled by the fire, watched movies together on the couch, shared their food, and were happy. Their existence was perfect. Well, almost perfect. There was still that leaky roof that Oliver hadn't gotten to yet. They had been too busy going out to dinner, spending time trying to get to know their neighbours, and visiting the small town that was 45 minutes away. But they had each other. It wasn't a problem.

Until that night. The night it poured with unrelenting rain.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Water leaked through the roof, dropping into several different pots and pans that Oliver and Felicity had placed all over the house to collect the rain. They had counted eleven leaks in all. The sound of water dripping onto metal began to be a sort of lullaby to the two of them. It was soothing; gentle. Until the twelfth leak formed, in the most unfortunate place. The leak formed right above Oliver's head where he slept, collecting until it began its drip, drip, drip onto his forehead. It would not stop any time soon.

There was a name for the sort of feeling Oliver was beginning to get as the drip, drip, drip continued throughout the night. It was called Chinese Water Torture, and it had been used against Oliver before.

He woke up screaming.

Present Day

"Alright, I give!" Oliver shouted, although you could hear the laughter in his voice. The Black Canary released her hold and stood up, holding out her hand to help him up.

Finally back on his feet, Oliver wiped his nose with the back of his hand, ran his fingers over his lip, then cradled his bitten thumb. "Isn't that cheating?" he asked, pushing down his hood to reveal his face. He looked very different than he did a year ago. Oliver had let his hair grow back, wilder and blonder than before. He had also began to grow a goatee, which none of his friends approved of and begged him to get rid of it.

Laurel scoffed. "Says the guy who used to get tortured and tortured others for a living," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Isn't biting pretty low on the pain scale?"

"Yeah," he started, "but I didn't really think you were the type to, well, bite your opponents. Besides, even as a guy with fifty plus scars, I still need my hands to shoot a bow."

She laughed. "Now who's soft? I'm sure you'll manage just fine with your bow, Ollie."

"Hey!" he retaliated, "I told you to stop calling me that! It doesn't sound badass enough."

"The day you shave that stupid goatee is the day I stop calling you Ollie, Oll–" Laurel stopped talking when Diggle's voice came into the coms in their ears.

"911, guys. Armed robbery on 2nd. Bring that Canary Cry, Laurel, we're going to need it."

"Oh! And bring Ollie's goatee," Thea's voice commented, "I'm sure it'll scare away any robbers there."

Oliver sighed. "Really?"

Laurel grinned at him before running off down the fire escape. Oliver stayed behind for a moment, putting his hood back over his head. No longer was his hero costume a dark, gritty green, but rather a brighter version of the colour, with a less threatening design.

"Are you coming, Oliver?" Diggle asked, "'cause this problem's gonna need the Arrow."

"I told you, Digg," he responded, picking up his bow from the side of the rooftop. He shot an arrow with a string attached to the other building and tied it the pole next to him. He then used his bow to slide down the rope and land on the ground. "It's Green Arrow now."

Five Years Ago

It was just as he remembered it. An island in the middle of nowhere, Lian Yu most definitely held up to its English translation: purgatory. Oliver wanted to go back to Starling City, he wanted to go back to his mother and his sister and tell them that he was alive, tell them that he was okay. But he couldn't, he knew he couldn't. Not after he had tortured Shrieve so brutally that Maseo had to put him down.

And so Oliver returned to the island he promised he would never have to go back to. The island he was ship-wrecked (or rather raft-wrecked) on after his father had killed himself. The island where Shado died. The island where his friend tried to kill him.

It was hard to go back. Even just stepping on the beach brought back a haze of painful memories. Oliver had never experienced PTSD before, but he imagined what he was experiencing in that moment was probably it. Paranoia was a big thing; everywhere he turned it was like someone was watching him. It reminded him of when he first arrived on the island and had met Yao Fei, who had spent a few days stalking him before finally approaching Oliver.

Looking over Lian Yu was like looking through a sea of green. There were so many trees, packed so tightly together. He wondered if he would remember his way around the island. Then he wondered if he would ever forget; it was integrated into his memory and he began to think that maybe it would never go away. Oliver walked forward, bow in hand, his feet taking him where he wanted to go. And for the first time in a long time –he was afraid.

He wondered if he would ever get off of this island a second time.

A/N: Sorry for how short this is, I just wanted to get out the first chapter ASAP, so I could get some feedback on it. What do you guys think? Should I write a whole season of chapters for Arrow?