Yes, this will feel more based in Season 3 but that's because if the undertaking never happened, things would likely have ended the same happy, everyone safe way season 2 did. With sameish results. And yes, the arrowhead is the one from the logo of season 3.

Thank you merrinpippy for Betaing :D

Set five months after the Glades were almost leveled, where by the police force joined with the Hood, the Queen and Yao family, and a former marine, by the name of Slade Wilson. Moira Queen is facing trail as an accomplice for the terrorism attack. With Malcolm dead, Tommy has also been given the blame for his father's acts. Not only that but then S.T.A.R. Labs in Central City underwent an experiment that caused the particle accelerator to explode. Creating some interesting after marks.

Slade and Oliver planned to get married, they even found an new apartment, both to live in a nicer area and so that Thea could stay, who still refuses to return home. So, Slade has a new job in the Starling S.W.A.T unit, a new apartment, visits his mother in law in prison and drinks with his new cop buddies, but the one thing he never expected, was for someone he believed deceased to show up, very much alive, and to pretty much demand he and Oliver look after a child... And that's not even the crazy part.

It was seven in the morning, and being mid December, the sun was only just starting to rise, giving the sky a pink and orange glow, between the cracks of the multitude of high buildings. The clouds were red, it would likely rain today. From only the second floor, the view was pretty bleak, although from a skyscraper, it must have been fantastic. The mixture of warm colours made slightly unclear but visible through many glass walls of other companies, like autumn leaves under the soft ripples of a slow running river.

Slade Wilson, former marine commander and ASIS agent, found himself sitting at Lance's new desk, in his new office right at the end of the floor, filling out the last of his employment forms. As a newly appointed member of S.W.A.T, Slade did not really need a desk. Like the fire department, he spent most of his time training and waiting around for what he might have to do. He had his own unit, own place to hang around but that was just down the hall and more often than not, he found himself chatting with Lance. Being part of law enforcement meant that he could hear about cases to a point and his ability to speak and read many languages -including lips- was something useful that some had requested him for.

Over the past five months, Slade had become a permanent fixture in the department and was pretty much a cop that just did not close cases but then again he also did not have to suffer the paperwork, although he had good inputs on what to write -seeing as he had spent a lot of his life working around the law- so he often helped the officers out with their own work. No one aside from Lance, even Slade's new cop buddies, knew what work he had done after the navy or the darker stuff during his years in the navy. All that time, which also covered what happened on the island, was hidden with classifications, strictly "need to know". People had long since stopped asking, thankfully, but they all knew that Slade was nowhere near close to regular military.

Slade glanced up when he heard part of the news report from yesterday being played from the TV held up by metal bars, in the corner of the office. His thick calloused fingertips brushing the grey hair that ran up along his temple. It was funny that, after years of living such a stressful and physically exhausting life, now, at the age of forty-one, his hair was turning grey. Be it only those areas, he would start to worry when it affected his body hair. Oliver did not mind, in fact, like Slade's tattoo, it was a change Oliver was fascinated by and loved. He said that Slade seemed to get better looking with age, which the Australian knew to be true. He was not an attractive teenage or young adult. Oliver had laughed when Thea tried to convince Slade to let her dye his hair.

The report showed Lance in his Captain uniform, a rank he had been awarded since he and Slade took the task of disarming the Markov devices.

For keeping the department calm and in control, Lieutenant Pike was now a Major, which had him working in city hall. Lance took control of the police department. He no longer needed to work the streets but he still did, and he had a new office all to himself, which, like now, Slade offended crashed in.

Quentin stood before a podium with a microphone stood on top. He spoke about how the police force had come together with the Hood and his brother and sister in arms, to save the city. The clip was of him saying that the squad to find the Hood had been disbanded, that although the archer and his fellow fighter were not immune to the law, he would be allowed to act without facing charges. The recording cut to the part that always made Slade smile.

"When the Hood was asked for a name; he said nothing but this," Lance took out a bundle of wrapping paper, undoing it to show the item inside. It was an arrow-head. It was wider than what was useful, about the size of a police badge and it was flat. It was one of Oliver's diamond arrowheads, like he had back on the island. The sides were softened, and it did not end there. Around it, made of the same piece of metal, was a three-point arrow, the sides curved in, and it had a sharpened wide diamond at the bottom. The larger arrow was carved with little markings and the bottom two ends had three little lines cut out of their outer sides.

"This was discovered just this morning," He held the arrowhead out for all to see. The stainless steel metal shined in the sun, flashing the reflections of the paparazzi's cameras. "I would like to formally welcome the Arrow to Starling city."

Slade looked out the window to the rising sun. It was quite early; Slade was one of the few people here, and the only other person than Lance who was not part of the night shift. So, the offices were near empty, were void of ringing phones -at the moment- and large amounts of chatter, but it was damn cold. The cold was one of the few things Slade hated about Starling, if 'a few' meant the people, view, light pollution, noise, traffic, the ease of which you could get lost and the sheer mentality of it all.

With all that was happening, moving into a new apartment, Slade starting a new job, Oliver having to take control of Queen Consolidated and spending his nights as the Arrow, and of course, Moira's triall, Oliver had really needed that announcement.

Speaking of Oliver, he should be waking up by now. He would make himself some coffee, ignore the importance of food and paperwork, his excuse being that he could do either first thing in the morning. After a quick warm up and his stretches, he would have breakfast, ignore his paperwork again and head over to his club for any Arrow business. At some point, Felicity would force him to show up to his normal job and get some work done, where he would stay till the afternoon, which, as sunset was currently at about half four, meant that Oliver would jump into his other job, working until the night, as long as he was not busy.

Even Thea was juggling working as an intern for Laurel and running the club with Tommy at night. Her newly found brother. She had been shocked at first, horrified really but she had to be told. Now, the two were okay with the whole thing, but for Thea, no one else who did not already know, was told. Minus Laurel for Tommy's sake.

All in all, they were all busy these days, and the final week of the trial had everyone on edge. And not just because of what it meant for Moira, after, regardless of what the verdict was, Slade and Oliver would be announcing their engagement, but before that happened, Slade wanted everything to be done right this time. Before, he had more asked Oliver if he liked the idea of marrying him- that's what it felt to Slade anyway. Oliver was his world, and he deserved all that Slade could give him and more.

"Good morning," Lance yawned, sitting down on his guest chair. He sat his jaw on his hand, elbow on his desk. His eyes were still drooping and he looked more weary than he had last night, for a man who had been asleep since then. "It's far too early. How are you coping?"

"I got up at six."

Lance would have made a seriously flabbergasted expression had he been more awake. The most he could spare at this point was a twitch of his brow. "What's wrong with you?"

Slade chuckled. "I'm a morning person. Mornings are quiet."

"Nothing is quiet in a city."

"Don't remind me."

Lance smirked at that. "How did it go with the shrink yesterday?" It should have been a one time trip but since the Captain had let slip in the wrong company about Slade's plan to effectively blow himself up, and due to the records about his loss of family and his years of what were classed as "high risk" missions, suicidal tendencies were something that had been brought up and needed to be faced. Although Slade did not mind, he was however irritated that reporters had found out what he had nearly done.

"She can't take a joke."

"What did you say?"

"She told me that it was recommended that I come see someone if I ever kill anyone on the job."

"And you asked if off the job counted?"

Slade smiled. "No, I asked if I had to every time."

Lance let out a laugh at that, sounding more like a hiss as it came out so suddenly. "It's hard to tell when you're being serious. To be honest, I'm still not sure if you meant that as a joke."

Slade shrugged.

"Either way, I just saw your report, you're all clear. Although if you keep coming down and helping with the paperwork, I'm pretty sure Paker will buy you a bottle of brandy."

Slade pressed his lips together in a thoughtful frown, nodding to himself. "I do like it in coffee."

Lance made a face at that. It sounded gross, worse when you knew Slade liked his coffee black. "What's in the bag?" he asked, spotting the paper bag sat on his deck, looking puffed out and weighed down.

Slade took hold of the opening with his finger and thumb, holding it out so Lance could see what was inside. "Jewellery. Moira's. I'm going to see her again today, figure out what she wants for the trial."

"Oh," Lance nodded. The two had really bonded since her imprisonment, at first because Slade was the only person who came to visit her but after coming to see her pretty much everyday; doing everything from working on her case to playing monopoly on Slade's phone, it had become the highlight of her week. His visits also put her in a good light in the eyes of the public since neither of her children had yet to pay her a visit.

As Slade was seen as a hero, not only for going to disarm the devices but for nearly killing himself to do so, him showing up at court on Moira's behalf, both to explain what had happened down in the subway and that the events of the island were classified, the fact that he also came for Moira's moral support did her appearance wonders. But, this did mean he had to be the one to speak the hard truths.

"Did you kill on the island?"

"Yes."

"Did Oliver?"

"No," Slade had lied. "He defended himself by causing injury but never death."

He was amazed that Moira had kept such a still face but the pain for her son was clear in her eyes. She did not believe him.

Oliver had told Slade long ago that he did not want anyone to know what he had done. He was proud of his survival and of the skills he had learned, but for those who were not part of this kind of life, killing was a lot to take in. The blonde would have never told Thea, had she not made him, nor would he have shown himself to Tommy, but their acceptance, as little or as long as it took, was worth it.

"But the real reason I'm taking all this," he said, shaking the bag while his other hand fished his coat pocket. "Is so I can hide this."

Lance was about to ask how he was suppose to hide a saw blade when he saw Slade take out a small white box. The size and the stamp of an expensive jeweller's on the top told him all he needed to know.

"The engagement ring?" Lance had to ask. He was still surprised Oliver had said yes to the idea. Gay and getting married was one thing but saying yes to having a ring was still the most unexpected of the bunch.

Slade grinned. "Wanna see?"

Lance nodded, taking the box when it was offered to him. It opened with a creak. There, sat between a white lace covered foam cushion, was what looked to be a white gold ring. It was as thick as a wedding band and large considering the size of Oliver's fingers. In the centre sat a large emerald, framed with metal, with a slightly smaller diamond on each side.

"That looks expensive," Was all Lance could think to say.

"It was. I had to have it made but it was worth it."

"Definitely." Lance handed the box back, watching as Slade admired the ring with a soft smile. "Have you shown Thea?"

"She helped me find the right design," Slade smirked. "She wasn't going to let me off for not telling her about me and Oliver for nothing."

Lance smiled. He stood, grunting as one of his knees clicked. "Coffee?"

"Thank you," Slade said, slipping the box back into his pocket.

"It's beautiful," Moira gasped, smiling so hard that you could almost forget she was wearing orange overalls.

The two of them were sitting in a private room. The walls were made of stone painted grey, the floor was tiled grey too, while the table, chairs and everything else were metal. A guard also stood at the other side of door, watching.

"I feel like you already know what I'm going to ask but may I have your permission to marry your son?"

Moira's shoulders shook with a laugh, green eyes still on the ring between her fingers. "I could be cruel and say no but we both know I would not. I did not think you would ask, especially when you already asked Oliver."

"That was more me wondering if he would want to," he explained. "I want everything to be perfect."

Moira looked up. "I am glad to hear that, and yes, you have my blessing," she handed the ring back to him. "I want to thank you, Slade."

The Aussie blinked.

"You are all I could have asked for my son and more."

"Thank you."

The conversation quickly slipped into recent events, starting with how Thea was coping with the self-defence Slade had been teaching her, and it flowed from there.

In a dark and dingy alleyway, the sun long since set, a man stood, his bow drawn, greyish blue eyes keen and waiting to lock on and strike. There was a left turn at the end of the alleyway, and that's where his targets would come from.

As he heard the familiar whistle, he focused, like a snake that had heard its prey.

A disk whizzed up the wall. The archer shot an arrow but missed, the metal clanging against brick. He scowled but drew another arrow for his next target, as his first was already falling to the floor.

He should have been able to hit it anyway, he should have hit the second one better than just the side, the angle was so off that the plastic toy was not even pinned to the wall. He missed the next three but got the last one nailed to the brickwork. His aim should have been better.

"That was good," Oliver said, coming around the corner in a pair of jeans and a blue long-sleeved shirt. "Stop judging yourself."

Roy pulled back his hood. "I'm not-"

"You are," Oliver pointed at the wall. "You're trying too hard. You're going too fast, speedy."

"I'm going at your speed," Roy said with a frown, shifting like he wanted to cross his arms.

"I did not tell you to," Ollie made his way over. "This is about finding your own pace, so you can relax, let your body do what it's suppose to do." He smiled. "I've been trained for five years and I still have a lot to learn. No one can become a master of any level at five months. You will fail and you will definitely makes mistakes but now I know where you are lacking and we will change that."

Roy sighed. "I guess. I'm just tired of sucking."

Oliver smiled. "You should have seen me. I was awful, ask anyone, I really could not hit anything."

"Really?" Roy could not believe that.

"Aim is something you are great at. It takes a whole spectrum of skills to fight with a bow, and although we all have them, they have to be dug out and built up," Oliver said, "What you lack is control because you're forcing yourself to have control without learning what it's for. You need to relax and take the lessons as they come. Control is just homing what you are learning."

Roy nodded. "Sorry."

Oliver shrugged. "No reason to be. You've only just started hitting the streets. It's fast paced, I know, but you'll pick it up," He raised a brow at the way Roy's breath came out harder, his frown coming back. "What's wrong?"

"I'm your shadow."

Oliver blinked. Oh. "I see."

Roy sighed, pulling at his red and black laced up leather suit. He was geared up with a customised recurve bow, quiver, hunting arrows and flechettes, all in red. He also had throwing knives and a combat knife strapped to him, courtesy of Slade. His look was very distinctive, and even came with a maroon mask to hide who he was. He was entirely his own man, his own warrior and yet...

"Arsenal. That's what they're calling me. I'm not even your backup, I'm a damn pack mule."

"Do you know what Slade would say if he was here right now?"

Roy shook his head while letting out a heavy breath. He threw his arms into the air. "What?"

"Yes, you are."

Roy leered at the blonde.

"I know he would because that was the exact reply I got back in two-thousand and seven. You're still in training, you haven't even passed the first year but you will," He glanced down to the mahogany red leather. "Do you know why I said red?"

"After my hoodie."

Oliver nodded. "My suit is a reminder of the island. A colour I felt comfortable in. It's also the first thing I really saw after the boat went down, after dad died," he gulped. "After finding the list. It felt like it was meant to be, more so when Yao Fei gave his hood. Doing this, I never felt like I needed an image or a name, I still don't, because I made the image and the name what it was, not the other way around. These things won't make you memorable, you make them memorable," He looked deep into Roy's eyes as he spoke.

"Now," Oliver went about picking the Frisbees up from the floor. "Let's try that again."

Thea could not stop smiling as Diggle dropped herself, her brother and Slade at a small park on the outskirts of the city, only a mile from the Queen manor, but that was not why they were there. Oliver had no idea why they were there. Slade was wearing a black tailored suit with a white shirt. Which by itself was odd but, had he seen a tie around Slade's neck, he would have been worried.

Walking along path, the three of them walked side by side. The grass was wet from the day of a nearly constant downpour, the leaves a lime green from onset of morning frost, yet tonight almost felt warm, the night air still. The area was sparsely covered by trees and for the first time in a while, the sky was dark blue, not even close to black. Even the few thin puffs of clouds were a pale blue. The only lighter shades were circling the full moon, which was a brilliantly blinding bright white. A few white stars also dotted the sky, just the right amount to make the sky seem brighter yet dark in contrast, almost like the whole scene had been painted by an artist.

"Are either of you going to tell me what we're doing here?" Oliver asked. Slade gave him a completely still look and Thea could not meet his eyes, even when he tried to follow her vision, going so far as to walk around her, leading her to do a full spin to get away from him.

After Oliver went all the way around, Slade grabbed hold of his hand. "I just wanted to be peaceful for this."

"For what?"

Slade led him further into an open area, ushering him to sit down on a wooden bench.

"Alright," Oliver held up his hand upon sitting down. "What is going on here? You two are acting weird."

Thea took a few steps away, watching as Ollie looked to his boyfriend.

"Oliver Queen."

"Slade Wilson?" The blonde gave the older man a funny look but his eyes boggled as Slade got down onto one knee.

Thea rolled back and forth on to her toes, arms to her chest, fists clenched in excitement.

"Oliver," Slade smiled. It was so big, so warm, along with an expression that seemed at peace and yet his lips shifted occasionally, like if he had less control, he would be bobbing about like the youngest Queen. "You are the love of my life and I wish to spend every day for as long as I live, with you, as part of your family," he took the box from where it hid behind his back, opening it before presenting it to his boyfriend. "Will you marry me?"

Oliver smiled. He cupped Slade's clean shaven cheeks with his cold hands, relaxing into the warmth the tanned skin provided. "I would love to," He wrapped his arms around Slade's neck, kissing him with a hard press of lips, wanting to laugh as Thea cheered in the background.

For all that was happening, for all that people knew and all he would have to still hide, Oliver knew that life, in this very moment, was perfect, and with Slade, it could only get better.

Wade Wilson watched, sat on a strong large branch of a sizeable tree, high enough that he was hidden from view. He almost jumped down to make his presence known or at the very least start clapping but that could ruin the moment. He would surprise Slade tomorrow when he came into work.

So, we're not telling Slade we're alive tonight? White box asked with his deep monotone voice. A white comic book speech square appearing at the corner of Wade's eye.

That sucks! Yellow box whined, squeaking the last word, along with his own yellow square. Followed by another. We have to see him again!

"You two weren't even around at the time," Wade mumbled. He did not feel at ease anymore when the boxes faded out, knowing they would only show up again.

Yes, we were!

Back at the abandoned subway. White pointed out.

"Well, okay. Technically, you were, but you weren't when I last spoke to him. When I was sane."

We did speak to him, he just never replied!

When were we ever sane?

Wade thought about that for a second before cocking his non-existent brows. "Fair point," he nodded. He looked back to his brother, who at this moment was laughing because the younger sister was hugging him. There must have been a joke Wade had missed.

He ignored the voices, who seemed particularly chatty tonight. Meeting Slade again really must have had him more worried than he thought.