"Roy," she gasped softly, her cheek hot against his.

His mouth stretched into a sultry grin, full of himself as he said, "Yes, Ms. Queen?"

"Faster," she demanded, and he leaned back to let his fiery gaze meet hers. Brushing her hair away from her forehead, he wound a curvy strand around his index finger and moved his hips faster, thrusting almost involuntarily. His body longed to be with hers; it was biology, their chemistry, the feel of the air tonight.

Placing an elbow on either side of her, he let his mouth trail down her neck, leaving sloppy kisses in its wake. She moved with him, all her veins singing with an adrenaline rush as she dug her fingernails into his shoulders. Letting out a few short moans as he went deeper, she bucked her hips up towards him, her wound-up replies to his thrusts making her push herself harder against him, matching his pace and making him speed up even more.

Fisting her fingers in his cropped brown hair, she tugged him down and crushed her lips against his, feeling one of his hands come to rest on her collar bone. The whole bed was shaking, so much that it felt like the picture frame hanging on the opposite end of the wall was going to fall off from the vibrations. Damn, Roy was strong.

This thought made her smile as she kissed him again, letting her other hand trail from his shoulder down to grab his ass and push him harder inside of her. He hissed out a response and warned, "Thea."

"What, you don't like me taking control?" she teased, nipping at his lower lip, then flicking it with her tongue when he didn't say anything. His usual coy, barely-there smile took over, even though his eyebrows were twisted up because he was nearing orgasm.

Shaking his head quickly, he ignored the gorgeous feeling of a sweat droplet rolling down his spine and growled, "Be careful, sweetheart, because I can be rough."

"Only losers listen to 'careful,' Roy," Thea shot back, and pushed Roy away from her. Raising his eyebrows, he said, "You wanna stop?" but then she had him on his back, trailing her fingernails from his bare chest down towards his groin as she mounted him, letting herself sink onto him slowly before diving down the rest of the way.

His hands found their way to her hips and she sucked in a sharp breath, riding him faster. "I think maybe you don't want to admit that you like the idea of a girl on top," she said, feeling like her entire body was on fire.

Feverish, Roy jerked himself up into her. "No, Princess, I just get off more when I get you off first."

She chuckled. "So many nicknames," she sing-songed as she leaned down to tongue a wet ring around his nipple. "I bet you'd cut my fucking tongue out if I called you Lover Boy."

Thea found herself whipped down and back onto her back so fast that she almost got whiplash. Now I know the meaning of that word, she thought. Roy was furiously pounding into her, and she felt herself reaching her climax. "Roy," she gasped again, clutching at his shoulders until she got her arms around his neck and pulled him down, so that their chests were touching. Clawing at his back because she knew he liked it, she felt her arms go goosebumpy even if the rest of her was in a hot, hot flush.

"I know," he told her, and it seemed to comfort her like no other. Her back was arched and she writhed against him, fingers kneading into his shoulders. Faster and harder and deeper he went until something clicked inside of her, and she hissed and then cried out as she orgasmed around his own ticking member. He followed shortly after, giving a gruff moan as he choked in a breath of air, before collapsing against her.

Lifting a hand up to once again brush her hair away from her face, his knuckles dragged against the side of her breast and her whole body reacted to him. "God," she said after a moment, liking the way his abdomen felt against hers as he panted. "Roy."

"You keep saying my name," he laughed against the crook of her neck. "Are you trying to remember who I am, or?"

"I'm not a whore," she snapped. "In fact, I'd expect you to be the prostitute. Poor, bitter, and a good…"

"A good fuck?" he finished for her, grinning a Cheshire grin. She slapped his arm. "Fuck you, Roy Harper," she said saucily. His smirk deepened. "You already did that," he whispered.

"God," she said again, sitting up. "Get away from me, you're mean." She pushed him by the shoulder so he rolled onto his back, bedsprings sounding and crunching underneath them. They were in his shabby little room, and there was barely enough space for the bed to fit inside.

He mocked her pout. "And here I'd thought you were the type to cuddle," he said, jutting out his lower lip so obnoxiously that she pushed him again. He went tumbling off the edge of the full-size bed, but not before he'd shoved her off the other end.

Both naked bodies hit the carpeted floor with a muted thud. "Roy!" groaned Thea. "I'm gonna bruise!"

"You're still gonna be a drama queen either way," he muttered back, rubbing his forehead. "Want breakfast?"

"It's one in the morning. I haven't had dinner." Rolling over onto her stomach, she got on all fours and started crawling around, looking for her clothes, which had been strewn everywhere. "Who else lives here?" she asked, hoping Roy wouldn't freeze up on her. He was never open to talking about his family; probably because they were just as fucked up as the Queens.

She almost heard him shrug on the other side of the bed. "My mom, sometimes," he told Thea. "She comes and goes, like Monarch butterflies migrating across North America."

Thea snorted. "That's almost poetic. How do you feel about her?"

"What are you, my shrink?"

"Hey, I'm just asking," she said. "Everybody has mommy and daddy issues nowadays. Soon it won't even feel personal." She swallowed, locating the stained and ripped white v-neck that Roy had been wearing hours earlier. Wondering vaguely if he'd bitch about her wearing it after sex, she ducked her head inside and pulled her arms through. "Where the hell is my underwear?" she asked, frustrated.

A pair of lacy purple underwear came flying directly into her face. She muttered her thanks and slipped them on. There was the sound of a struggle, and then Roy's head appeared above the mattress; he was apparently pulling his pants back up as he said, "So, dinner. Do you want it."

"Yeah," she said after a moment, as her stomach growled. "Do you wanna go out to eat? In public? With people? And fresh air?"

"What, like a date?" he snorted. "I prefer staying in here, thanks."

She was actually pouting this time. "But Roy, we never go out. All we do is stay holed up in here and you're always cursing the Glades left and right but you never get out of them."

Roy put his hands up in the air, saying, "Fine, we'll go out. Where do you wanna go? You're paying, you know."

"Are you always gonna be bitter about me having money?" Thea rolled her eyes, standing up and following him out the door. In the hallway, she picked up her bra, her skirt, and the loose fitting top she'd worn the previous night. "Um, Roy, we might need to go to my place first. These aren't day clothes."

He glanced over his shoulder as they entered the kitchen. "They're fine," he told her sarcastically. "But if you're too worried about it, we can totally just stay here." He opened a cupboard and got out a pot, then a wooden spoon.

"Are you agoraphobic?" she asked, squinting at him and shaking her head. "Why are you getting cooking utensils out? We're not staying."

Roy ignored her, walking over to another cupboard and pulling out a box of noodles. "Well, I was going to play with you for a little while longer until you got it, but since you obviously don't, I'll remind you that it's one in the morning and there are little to no restaurants open right now. And I'm not going to a nightclub for dinner."

She huffed a sigh. "Fine," she said, glaring at him and crossing her arms. "We can stay." Looking at the things he was holding, she leaned against the wall and said, "Do you actually know how to cook or are you just trying to impress me?"

"I'm trying to impress you," he said sweetly, batting his eyelashes at her from across the room. She groaned, and his face fell into his usual grimace. "I can cook, Thea. I've been living on my own for years. But forgive me if it's not five-star restaurant material."

"Eternally bitter," she said, nodding to herself. Then, louder, "Okay, show me something, then." Putting her hands up, she walked past the kitchen into the small sitting area by the front door and plopped down on the couch, searching for the TV remote.

Roy snorted and said, "It's on the coffee table." He pounded a fist against the stove before turning it on high, then turned to fill the pot with water. Going through the motions, he continued, "It's cable – you know what cable is, right? – so there aren't many channels. I think it's just ABC, porn, and some reality show about models that'll be good today."

Thea smirked. "I bet you watch porn in your free time, instead of going out into the cold harsh world."

"At least I don't look like I'd be in a porno," he remarked, stirring the noodles in the now-boiling water. "You've got that covered."

She turned around, blushing, and said, "I don't know, Lover Boy, you look like a serious twink. I wouldn't speak too soon if I were you. The gay men might be calling when you're in need of some extra money…"

"Remember how you thought I'd cut your tongue out if you called me Lover Boy?" he asked. "I'm thinking I just might."

Thea scoffed. "I'm so scared," she teased, channel surfing. Curling her legs up on the couch, she said, "Do you have a blanket in here? It's freezing." Looking at Roy, she waited expectantly for a reply.

He raised his eyebrows, looking her over as he said, "You'll have to get it from my room. And no, I'm not going to be a gentleman and get it for you. I'm already making you food."

She laughed, stretching her arms above her head before she bounced to her feet and said, "Oh, Roy. Everything's such a hardship for you, isn't it?" He glared at her over his shoulder as she walked past him and down the hall. Walking into his room, she placed a hand on her hip and yanked the thin blue comforter off of his bed, which was really just a dingy cot that somehow had been mis-produced so that it was the size of two cots instead of one.

"You know, you really should have a nicer bed. That thing kills my back," she told him. "Maybe that's why you're so touchy about everything. You don't sleep well. I can feel it when I touch you, you know. Your shoulders are all stiff, and not in a tense way even though you're usually tense," she added, walking out of his room while wrapping the blanket around herself. Looking at her toes as she made her way down the hall, she barely noticed him standing in front of her before she ran into him, bonking her head against his chest.

Roy remained eerily silent, then put his arms on either side of her, turning her and backing her up until she was pressed against the wall. His body was flush against hers, and his hands found her ass, pulling her closer if at all possible. One of his thumbs slid under the fabric of her underwear against her butt and he leaned his head closer, tracing the tip of his nose along her cheek and then down towards her jaw, firmly kissing the hollow of her throat before rubbing his nose back along hers, eskimo kisses, until her eyelids drooped.

He smiled at her being focused solely on him, pushed their hips closer together, and kissed her mouth not-so-chastely. Flicking his tongue against her upper lip, he pulled away before she could kiss him back, dipping his head down again. Brushing his eyelashes up and down against her cheek for a few moments, he gave her little butterfly kisses before letting go of her completely and stepping away.

Sagging against the wall, Thea let a small sigh escape her. She'd never experienced Roy being sweet or gentle, but even when he was, it was still maddening. "Alfredo or tomato sauce?" he asked as if nothing had happened; as if he wasn't affected. She managed not to groan in annoyance.

"Tomato," she told him, stomping past him and sitting on his couch once more. Mean. She began flipping through the channels again as he brought two dishes over, sitting next to her and handing Thea her plate. "Thanks," she murmured, not wanting to meet his eyes.

Roy sat forward, placing his own dish on the coffee table and cutting into it with his fork, then shoving it into his mouth and chewing vigorously. One of Thea's eyebrows quirked up at his restless behavior, but she said nothing. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and she wondered if she should offer part of the blanket to him, but she was still irked by his whole I'll-be-cute-then-not-acknowledge-it performance, so she only wrapped it tighter around herself.

"Is this America's Next Top Model?" Roy asked a few minutes later, having wolfed down his entire serving in about three gulps. "Tyra Banks is hilarious."

Thea smiled to herself, and then shut the TV off. "I didn't know you watched," she said imploringly, looking sideways at him. "But then again, it's hot girls who are usually wearing skimpy clothing…"

"You think that's all I care about just because I know there's a porn channel on here," he told her, giving her a warning glance.

She smirked, munching on a noodle. "What do you care about?"

The air in the room seemed to shift, and gravity seemed to pull her down, just a little more snug than she had previously been. Roy's eyes glazed over and he traced his thumb over his lip in thought; leaning back against the couch, his chest rose and fell in relaxed breaths. Thea stared at the back of his hand, noticing little scars here and there, from over-scratched mosquito bites, getting knifed in fights, scrapes from falling down and breaking his bones.

"I like science," Roy said after a moment. "I like poker. I like fast cars and basketball and weapons. I like Jack Daniels and crack, sometimes, and I like Dog the Bounty Hunter. I, uh, I like money. I like clubs. I like good people – not 'good' in the sense of goody-two-shoes, but…interesting people. Someone I want to consume, you know? Like you."

"Like me?" Thea repeated, raising her eyebrows. She'd turned on the couch and placed her head in her hand, leaning into the back of the couch as she listened to him. "Well, you're interesting, too."

He scoffed. "I wasn't done. I like sturdy shoes and the smell of wet asphalt and the smell of chlorine – I like swimming – and Twizzlers. I like bikes and girls and good mattresses and soft pillows. I like warmth and feeling secure. I like the President."

Thea moved and his voice cut off as she slid against him, resting her head on his shoulder and throwing half the blanket over him as well. "Warmth," she said, shrugging when he just looked at her. One corner of his mouth quirked up in a smile and his arm came up around her, resting lightly on her hip but firmly enough to hold her in place.

"What do you like?" he asked, looking down at her and tracing circles on her side. Thea noted the genuine interest in his eyes and wondered if he'd make fun of her if she told him. Rolling her eyes at herself, she promised that she wouldn't get into the weepy stuff. Here goes.

"Uh, I like sour Skittles. I like chunky bracelets and expensive dresses and convertibles. I like trains and Saturdays and ghost stories and blankets. I like pasta. I like painting although I suck at it. I like champagne and whiskey and Corgis. I like hula hoops. I like having my brother back home. I like opals. I like working for Dinah Lance, even though it's annoying at times. I like boys a lot. I like clubs a lot. I like high heels and scary movies and Christian Bale. I like skipping school. And I like you," she told him, smiling a little. He smiled back.

Later that morning, around eleven o'clock, she had to leave and go pretend to give a shit about school. Roy frowned and groaned and was his usual self, and knowing that he had been gentle and caring, if even for a few minutes, made her more comfortable in his house. Smiling, she waved, and shut the door behind her, idly wondering if Roy had dropped out or graduated from school. He was eighteen, so the notion was up in the air.

School passed in a blur – probably because she was only there for an hour before deciding to call it a day and go shopping. Halfway through her walk in a convenience store, she noticed a bag of Twizzlers and remembered her and Roy's conversation from the previous night, and picked it up. Looking over her shoulder for a clerk and up at the ceiling for cameras, she closed her eyes in gratitude for there being neither as of this moment, and found her way to the liquor section, where she grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniels and hid it in her bag. Grabbing a pack of cards on her way out, she walked out of the store like she owned the place.

Three hours later, it was around five o'clock that she returned to his house in the glades, knocking on his door only once before it flew open, and Roy was standing there in a freshly-showered glaze. "Hi," he said breathily, since he'd seen her through the front window and rushed to grab the door. "Come in, I'll get dressed."

"You can stay that way," Thea said equally as breathlessly, staring at him. "I've seen you naked; it's okay with me."

"Well, I don't want to freeze to death just to please you," he said, rolling his eyes. She raised an eyebrow and held up her goodies.

Eyes appraising the Jack Daniels, Twizzlers, and cards, Roy smiled, then hid it by rubbing at his mouth. "I, uh…I got you something, too? I don't know if you'll like it, and I can always send it back, but…" He turned, trotting down the hall and into his bedroom. Thea stared curiously after him, setting down the bottle and the package of jumbo Twizzlers before crossing her arms. After a few seconds, Roy appeared again, carrying a medium-size box. "Sit down," he ordered, and Thea sat on the couch, accepting the box being thrust into her hands.

"What is this?" she asked, slightly nervous. "If this is clothes, I'm gonna punch you in the nose, because you have terrible fashion sense—" He shook his head, so she tried again: "What, is it roadkill? Is it roadkill?"

"No!" he groaned, exasperated. "Just open the fucking box!"

"Okay. God." Thea muttered, fumbling with the flaps. Finally, she got the box open, and out sprung a very small, very alive animal. "What the—" she stammered, trying to grab hold of it.

"It's a Corgi," Roy told her, smiling openly now. He grabbed the little dog before it could run off and handed it to Thea, who took it gently and held it to her chest.

"God, it's tiny," Thea murmured. "Shit, Roy, you didn't steal it from its mom, did you? Shit, did you steal it at all?" His face fell flat and deadly, and she shrugged. "Why did you put it in a box?" she went on, just to spite him. "It could've suffocated! Little baby," she said, babying the Corgi. Roy rolled his eyes. "It's a boy," he said, sitting down next to her and pulling her leg onto his lap. "He doesn't have a name."

"I should name him a rich girl name," Thea said, smirking devilishly. "Like Prince or something. Or something hardcore, like Killer."

"Thea, I will confiscate your new dog if you abuse it like that," Roy said in an authoritative tone, pressing a finger against his temple as if he were losing his patience. Thea grinned, leaning over to plant a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you, Roy Harper," she murmured against his ear, nibbling on his earlobe just a little before returning to her new dog. Cuddling him, she smiled brightly and said, "I'm going to name you Robin."

"Robin?" Roy repeated, tilting his head and staring at the small dog. "I guess that's okay."