Moving Forward
By angellwings
"What are you still doing here?" Dinah asked as Oliver entered Watchtower and started studying the monitors.
"We're searching for The Dark Archer so I thought—"
"Ollie, we're scanning satellite images with facial recognition software. It's all automated. One person over seeing it is enough," She told him with a small smile. "Last I checked you had somewhere to be, remember? Given the numerous times you've come in here bragging about Johnny's first archery tournament I'd hope you'd remember."
"I remember," He said with a small grin.
"And I believe it starts in the Met High gym in about," she paused to check her watch and then gave him an expectant look. "Fifteen minutes."
"It does," he confirmed with a sigh.
"Then go," Dinah told him as she playfully nudged his shoulder. "You can't miss it. We'll be fine here and if anything even potentially apocalyptic happens I will call you. Promise. So, go watch your impossibly cute kid narrowly hit a couple of targets."
"You sure you don't—"
"I've got this, Green Bean," Dinah assured him. She then gave him a knowing stern gaze and crossed her arms over her chest. "Don't let a little awkwardness with Chloe and her new boyfriend keep you from seeing Johnny take his first turn as an archer."
"Her new boyfriend is an old classmate of mine. It's more than 'a little' awkward, Fishnets," Oliver said as he cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck.
"You haven't seen or spoken to Ray Palmer in years. I really doubt that his presence as Chloe's Man Candy bothers you as much as you say," Dinah told him. "I think it's more the reminder that things with Chloe are over that you don't like."
He sighed and shook his head at her. "How do you do that?"
"Do what?" She asked with a small smile.
"Know what I'm thinking before I do."
She shrugged. "Despite our minor differences, Green Bean. You and I are very similar creatures. We don't like failure and I've got a failure in the back of my closet of skeletons too. I avoid him when possible."
"Hold the phone," Oliver said with a teasing grin. "You mean there was once a Mr. Black Canary? When was this?"
"Before we met, before I donned the fishnets, before I was The Voice of Justice…a long time ago," she said honestly. "But it wasn't going to work. We didn't quite know what to do with each other's baggage. I tried, I really did, but I can't help but wonder sometimes if I tried hard enough. Which is why I avoid him if I can. The reminder of how I failed him hurts too much. But the difference is, we didn't have a kid. Thank God, I would have screwed that kid up so much by now. You can't cut and run and, if I know you like I think do, you wouldn't want to anyway. You're a good dad, Ollie. Despite any issues you and Chloe had, she's never doubted that. Don't give her a reason to start now."
Oliver gave Dinah a measuring stare and then slowly smiled at her. "We don't often get real with each other, Dinah, but when we do you always knock me on my ass."
She laughed and then nudged his shoulder again. "Someone has to. You need someone to rein you in or you tend to drift away, Boss Man. Go," she said as she pointed to the door. "I'm monitoring the search and Watchtower. I promise we'll call if we need you."
"Thanks, Dinah," Oliver said with a small smile and nod as she headed out the door.
She shook her head with a chuckle as she watched him go. She'd never known any other man with such a tendency for self-loathing as Oliver Queen. He had the worst luck of any one around too. Since things fell apart with Chloe she'd been keeping an eye on him. She knew he had a tendency to spiral and she refused to let him. Which is why she chose to share that particular secret from her own past. She didn't often share that much of herself, but he needed to know he wasn't alone.
He and Chloe had been good for each other once upon a time. Though, she never would have thought they'd end up married with a kid. Or that they'd manage to stay married for 5 full years. She'd never really thought they were quite right for each other, but who was she to play killjoy to their romance? She wasn't exactly good at it herself, back then or in the present.
In the last 11 years she'd spent a lot of time with Oliver. She'd seen him before, during, and after Chloe. There were positive parts to who he was now that he wouldn't have were it not for her. She'd shaped part of who Green Arrow had become by the time Boy Scout stepped out into the light that day Darkseid almost won. Not only that, but the two of them had created Jonathan. The cutest combination of The Hacker and The Archer that could possibly be. Jonathan gave Oliver an entirely new reason to fight. Jonathan also gave Oliver a moral sense he'd never had before. He had a son that needed a role model and she could see Oliver wanted nothing more than to be that role model.
So, even though she'd known back then that Chloe and Oliver wouldn't work, in the end, she couldn't deny that the relationship had improved both of her friends for the better. Chloe wasn't as impulsive now that she had someone to take care of and her relationship with Oliver helped her find her true calling.
And, Dinah couldn't help but think, her true soul mate. She'd seen Chloe with Jimmy and she'd seen Chloe with Oliver. It was a struggle to let either one of those men into her life. Ray seemed to walk right in with no resistance. It was the strangest thing. Not only that, but he and Chloe were their own super-team. He was a physicist and a genius with tech and Chloe was a hacker extraordinaire. Thanks to the two of them, Watchtower had never been more secure. Ray had a tendency to get lost in his own thoughts and Chloe had a unique way of grounding him and keeping him focused. She envied it, in a way. She'd never had that strong of a connection with anyone. At this point in her life, she'd given up on finding it.
No, her life was better spent kicking super-villain ass with her friends and training their youngest recruits. She'd made her peace with it several years ago.
"Do you often spend your Saturdays alone in the Watchtower?" A voice asked as they materialized next to her.
She turned and shook her head at her visitor. He rarely surprised her after all these years. "No, J'onn, I don't. The Dark Archer is at it again. The Satellites are searching for him. Every one else is out fighting crime or having a life." She wordlessly lifted the plate of cookies off of the counter next to her and handed them to J'onn. "We restocked."
"I always knew you were my favorite," J'onn said jokingly as he took the plate from her. "Milk?"
She chuckled at him. "In the fridge. Did you bring yourself all the way down here to keep me company?"
"While I didn't read your thoughts, I did sense that you were pensive. Pensive doesn't sit well on you," he said with a teasing smirk. "So I thought I'd come and see if you needed a friend."
"Just making peace with my life, that's all," she told him with a shrug. "Everyone else has these connections and lives. Even Bart, strangely enough. But with every year, I seem to give more and more of myself to this place. Well, and Gotham. But only on a part time basis. This work has become my life and these people mean everything to me, even if the connection is only one sided. With Tess…gone and Chloe making a life with Ray, I guess I'm feeling like I need to compensate for the lack of a caretaker. We're all misfit toys around here, broken but still useful. I feel like we need someone to be our counselor and confidant, you know? Who's just here when you need somewhere to go."
"And you believe that should be you?" J'onn asked her thoughtfully.
"Why not?" She asked him with a warm smile. "It took me a while to warm up to some of the League but they're part of my family now. If not me then who?"
"Who's going to counsel you?" He asked her. "Surely, you know you can't shoulder all of their problems on your own."
"Well, you seem to be doing a pretty good job counseling me now, don't you?" She asked him with a soft smile.
"I suppose I am," he said with a chuckle. "So, this means what? That Dinah Lance has a career but no life?"
"Dinah Lance still has her career as the Voice of Justice, but other than that her life is here. In Watchtower. We've tried everything to make this place feel like a home and nothing has stuck, but I have a distinct advantage over the others who have tried."
"What's that?" J'onn asked.
"I remember the JSA. Thanks to my mother, I remember those Thanksgiving Dinners at the Brownstone, at least until Carter deemed it was too dangerous to keep meeting. Until Checkmate almost arrested the group a second time. Out of all of the members of our League, I'm the only one who witnessed how tight knit the JSA was. If any of us has a shot at turning this house into home, it's me," she told him with a determined nod.
"Then I'll help you," J'onn stated. "I lost my family and I've long since adopted this one. I want to see them fulfilled and happy as much as you do. Let me help."
Dinah beamed at him and then turned to shake his hand. "Deal, Martian. We work together."
The changes were small at first. People were noticing that the kitchen was better stocked and that warm, comfortable furniture was brought in. One piece being a large wooden round dining table. Dinah had set up a small office for herself with an open door policy for their teenage recruits. They came in more often to talk with her. They sat at that very table and studied or talked. They took that opportunity to spend time with people their own age that they could relate to. That drew in the other, more experienced, members.
She let Bart pick out top of the line electronics and set up an entertainment system in one corner of the Watchtower. Oliver had suspicions that every move was calculated and purposeful and that Dinah was trying to finally create the home they all hoped the Watchtower would be.
His suspicions were confirmed when an email went out to every member of the League inviting them to dinner at the Watchtower in a week's time. He was glad for it. Dinah had been pulling away from everyone and everything except her duties as Canary for years. This told him she was willing to reconnect with a life in the real world. But it still worried him that her attempts to build a life were limited to members of the League. Everything he'd seen so far had been about her taking care of other people. He had questions and concerns, even though he knew what she was doing would be good for the League.
He decided it was time he took advantage of her open door policy himself.
Courtney was in her office at the moment. Oliver waited just outside.
"He totally doesn't get it!" Courtney exclaimed angrily. "And given who he is you'd think he would! Wouldn't you? He's been exactly where I am. It's just so unfair."
He couldn't see Courtney's expression and he didn't know who she was ranting about, but Dinah smiled at her gently and chuckled.
"What's so funny?" Courtney asked with a scoff.
"Nothing," Dinah assured her. "It's just…I've been where you are, Whitmore. Only, I bet you my mother was way worse than your step-dad."
"Your mother? The original Canary?" Courtney asked in awe. "She didn't want you taking up the fishnets?"
"Absolutely not," Dinah told her with a shake of her head. "She thought the world was much too dangerous and things had escalated too much for me to follow in her footsteps. Plus, Checkmate had left her wary of the government's acceptance of us. My Cry made her nervous."
"She didn't want to lose you," Courtney said with an understanding nod.
"Exactly, nor does your step-dad want to lose you," Dinah told her with a gentle smile. "Cut the guy some slack. He worries because he cares. Take it from someone who knows."
"I guess, but he's being a bit overbearing," Courtney said thoughtfully.
"He's a parent," Dinah said with smirk. "He's supposed to be. Go home, kid. Spend some quality time with your step-dad. Trust me."
"Fine, I will," Courtney told her. "But if he tries to talk me out of this again I reserve the right to ignore him."
Dinah rolled her eyes playfully and chuckled. "Sounds like an appropriate father-daughter argument response."
"Thanks, Dinah," Courtney said as she hugged her quickly. "You're the best."
"Anytime, kid," Dinah said as she watched Courtney walk out the door.
"Hi, Ollie," Courtney said quickly as she passed him. "Bye, Ollie."
"Uh, bye," he said as he watched her sprint out the door.
"And what can I do for you, Richie?" Dinah asked as her attention turned to him.
"It's more like, what can I do for you, Pretty Bird," Oliver said as he leaned against her doorway and grinned at her. "Seems you've been helping everyone else and I'm worried you've been neglecting yourself."
"How cute," Dinah said with a chuckle. "I'm fine, Queenie."
"Then why are you suddenly making all these changes? Not that I'm not glad to see you actually living a life outside of the fishnets, but why dedicate all your time to the League?" He asked.
"The JSA was a family, Ollie. We need that. We need to be more than just a tag team of vigilantes. When there's distance it hurts morale," she told him as she turned off her computer and started to get her things together. "Besides, no one out there in the civilian world can deal with me. Too much risk, not enough reward."
"I like a little risk," Oliver said with a smirk.
She smiled flirtatiously and then rolled her eyes. "I'm aware, Rich Boy."
"Closing up?" Oliver asked her as she shoved notebooks into her designer tote bag.
"No one else is waiting outside my door so I'm seizing the moment," Dinah answered with a nod.
"Good, then how about dinner?" Oliver asked as he took her tote bag from her. She gave him a strange look as he took the bag and then furrowed her brow at him suspiciously.
"Why?"
"Weren't you the one just talking about how we need to more than a 'tag team of vigilantes'? A family is what I believe you meant, right?" Oliver asked. "Well, families have dinner. So?"
She gave him a crooked grin and then nodded after a long moment of silence. "Yeah, sure. Why not?"
"I don't think I've ever had such a lukewarm response to a dinner invitation," Oliver said with a laugh.
"That's because other girls care that you're a rich pretty boy," Dinah said dismissively. "I do not."
"Touché," he told her with a grin.
"Of all the places in the city, you choose Rudy's?" Oliver asked with an amused grin as they sat down in a corner booth.
"Lobster and caviar may be fine for you, Green Bean, but I prefer a good burger and onion rings," Dinah told him.
"If it isn't Dinah Lance," a portly man in a messy apron said as he approached their table.
"Rudy," Dinah said with a smile as she stood and hugged the man. "How's it been?"
"Busy. The closer the holidays get the less time people have to cook for themselves," Rudy told her with a smirk as she sat back down. "You want your usual?"
She nodded. "Bring two. It's on him," Dinah said as she motioned to Oliver.
"You got it," Rudy said with a nod. "Good to meet you, Mr. Queen," he said as he nodded at him in acknowledgement.
"Yeah, you too," Oliver said with a bewildered face as the man walked away. "Has my face been in the tabloids so much that people know me without me having to say my name?"
Dinah laughed and nodded. "Yep."
"I'm having a horrible moment of self realization," Oliver said in a flat tone.
She chuckled and nudged his hand from across the table. "You're an idiot."
He smirked at her and shrugged. "What else is new? So, what's your usual?"
"Double patty three cheese bacon burger with extra crispy onion rings and a chocolate milkshake," Dinah answered.
His eyes widened. "You eat all of that at once?"
"Today I will," Dinah said with a grin. "I accidentally skipped lunch."
"Uh huh, I thought so," Oliver said with an accusing stare. "Neglecting yourself like I said."
She rolled her eyes at him. "I've successfully taken care of myself this long, Queenie, I don't need anyone to do it for me."
"We all need someone, Dinah," Oliver told her with a small encouraging smile. "It doesn't make you weak."
"I don't want to need someone who's only going to leave," Dinah admitted. "So, there's no point until I figure out who's going to stick around and who isn't."
"Which one of those am I?" Oliver asked. "We've known each other long enough that I have to be in one category or the other."
"As much I wish I could say otherwise, you seem to be sticking around," Dinah said with a teasing grin.
"Then maybe you can lean on me a little bit," Oliver offered. "It seems only fair since I've been leaning on you more and more lately."
"I've been leaning on J'onn. It's not like I don't have anyone to talk to," Dinah said dismissively.
"Okay, fine, how about someone you don't have to bribe with Oreo Cookies?"
He was persistent, she had to give him that. "Why are you so worried? Why act on this right now?"
"You were closed off for a while," he answered. "I knew it wouldn't be welcome but now you seem to be opening up. I thought you could use a friend. Matter of fact, I think I could use a friend too."
"You don't have any friends, Richie Rich?" Dinah asked teasingly.
"Not like you," he told her with a grin. "Brutally honest yet supportive is hard to find. You build me up and knock me down all at once," he said with a chuckle.
Dinah shrugged and chuckled with him. "It's a gift."
"It certainly is," he agreed. "And I think I need it."
"I can't say I disagree. And I guess I can admit that, at least lately, you've been a pretty supportive voice for me too," Dinah said honestly. "But this doesn't mean I'll be going easy on you."
"Of course not," Oliver said with a small smile. "I would never expect you to."
Their food was brought to their table and Dinah took a deep whiff of her plate. "God that smells so good. I'm starving."
The portions on the plates were huge. Oliver doubted he'd be able to eat all of his. The burger itself took up half the large serving platter that had been put in front of him. "Geez, how did they cook a burger that huge that quickly?"
"Talent," Dinah told him as she looked up and waved at Rudy, who returned her wave from the kitchen. "Rudy's the best."
Conversation halted from there as Dinah gleefully dug in. Oliver smiled fondly at her as he started on his plate. She certainly wasn't hiding anything from him. Even Chloe tended to eat smaller meals in front of him when they were married. He had noticed "eating pretty" was a habit among most of the women who ate meals with him. Dinah didn't bother with that.
They were mostly finished with their food when Dinah's phone began to beep persistently.
She wiped her hands of the grease from her onion rings and unlocked the screen. "We got trouble," she said simply. "Your best buddy is back at it again."
"Merlyn?"
"Who else? You up for a late night bust?"
"Always," Oliver answered with a smirk. He dropped cash on the table as Dinah stood and put her jacket back on. She slurped the last sip of her milkshake before throwing the strap of her purse over her shoulder, waving to Rudy, and heading for the door. Oliver waved to Rudy as well and threw a little extra cash on the table for a more than reasonable tip. Then he turned and followed Dinah back to Watchtower.
Once they were safely inside Dinah began to brief him as she opened her equipment locker. "He was spotted inspecting a shipment at the docks. Surveillance picked it up. Definitely looked shady in the satellite photos." She tossed Oliver her phone so he could review the photos their system had sent her automatically. She grabbed her costume out of the locker before ducking into the changing rooms.
"Those are some big crates," Oliver said with a narrowed thoughtful gaze. "What do you think, weapons?"
"Possibly, it's definitely contraband of some kind," she yelled through the changing room door. "Surveillance is following him. We'll stick to the shadows till we know more."
She walked back out in her leather and fishnets and then took off the long dark brown wig she'd been wearing on the street. He felt himself staring as she took off the net that held back her blonde hair and let it fall around her shoulders. He'd always known she was attractive but this was the first time he really noticed it for himself.
Unfortunately for him, she noticed him staring.
"What?" She asked.
He fought the panic and managed to say something that actually made sense. "Oh, um, no mask," he said as he motioned to her face.
She winced and nodded. "Yeah, it was too much work and a pain to wash off. The hair is enough of a disguise, I think. You'd better gear up, Greenie."
"Right! Yes, I should—I should do that," He said as he tried to pull himself together. He removed his gear from his locker and went to change.
What was that? He asked himself. He'd always liked Dinah, and he'd admit he'd always flirted with her a little. But that moment was new for him. He couldn't help but think that it had everything to do with her finally letting him in. He was seeing who she really was behind the fishnets. He had a feeling that would be happening to him a lot in the future. Dinah was impressive. She always had been. He was ashamed it took him this long to see it.
He stepped out in his Arrow gear and smirked at her. "Ready when you are, Pretty Bird."
She chuckled and spun one of her throwing knives in her hand before slipping it into the sheath that was strapped her thigh. "I'm always ready, Robin Hood."
Damn, if that wasn't the hottest thing he'd ever seen, he thought with a gulp before he gathered his wits and motioned for her to lead the way. "You know where we're going. I'll follow your lead."
"For once," Dinah said with a snide smirk.
"Had to happen eventually," he said with a chuckle.
He had a good feeling about this new partnership. It would never be boring. He knew that for sure. He felt like he'd been stuck in a rut for a long time now and tonight was the first night he felt life actually moving forward. Something about Dinah being the catalyst for that felt unbelievably right.