Disclaimer: I don't own anything DC comics. This fic is purely for the pleasure of myself and my audience.
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Oliver Queen had just finished locking the door to his home and removing his suit jacket when he heard his cell phone ring. He checked his pants pocket and not finding the phone realized that he had slipped the phone into his suit jacket pocket earlier in the afternoon. He quickly grabbed his jacket and rummaged through the pockets till he found the offensive object which throughout his frantic search continued to play the horrendous version of Toccata and Fugue that Mia had set it to months before and he had never bothered to change.
When he finally got the phone out he glanced at the number before answering. A smirk quirked at his lips when he saw that it was Roy. He hadn't spoken very little with the elder of his two boys in the last year. Between the injuries he had suffered when Dr. Light and Merlyn had attacked him, retraining with Connor and Mia, and his election campaign he had seen very little of the young man he had started training when the boy was thirteen.
"Mayor Queen." He heard Roy snort softly at his chosen greeting.
"If that is the way you are going to answer my calls from now on then I'm not going to call." Ollie laughed quietly as he draped his suit jacket over his arm and made his way upstairs to change..
"What's the point of having the title if I don't get to use it when I answer my phone?"
"I still can't believe you decided to run for office or that people actually voted for you. If they knew you half as well as I do it never would have happened."
"We will just have to get used to the fact together than because I wasn't sure I was going to win till I won. So is this a pleasure call or did you call to talk shop?"
"What? I can't just call, what if it's both?"
"It's never both in our line of work."
"You mean your line of work, I've been out of the action for a year now." Ollie sighed and shook his head even knowing that Roy couldn't see him. Roy's words brought back uncomfortable memories of the fight in Metropolis a little over a year ago when Roy had nearly lost his leg after it had been pinned under a piece of falling rubble.
"Any idea when you will be back on your feet? A year is a long recovery time isn't it?"
"Technically I am back on my feet. I've been off the crutches for months. The two breaks in my lower leg healed nicely but my knee still isn't strong enough to handle being in the field yet. It was the second time I had broken it in less then 3 years." Ollie knew that Roy was referring to the incident with Deathstroke during Roy's last run as a member of the Titans, before they had disbanded and Roy had formed the Outsiders.
"I had forgotten about that, in part because I wasn't alive when you broke it that first time."
"Can we not talk about that please?"
"So what would you like to talk about? You obviously called for a reason." He and Roy never did social calls, their relationship had been strained too many times over the years for one of them to call just to chat. He had a pretty good idea why Roy was calling but he was hoping that Roy would be the one to bring it up. That didn't mean he couldn't dance around the subject though.
"You know Star City is really nice this time of year and I hear that a certain bird has taken up residence in New York. You could drag him out here for two weeks and enjoy yourselves." Ollie knew he was treading on delicate ground by bringing up the subject of Dick Grayson but he had never been able to resist teasing his oldest about the one sided crush that Roy had been harboring for Dick since they were kids. He also knew, even though he couldn't see it, that his comment had caused a light blush to surface in the red-head's cheeks. As far as he knew Roy had never told Dick how he felt about him and the constant line of dark haired women that rotated in and out of Roy's bed were just poor attempts to substitute for what he couldn't have.
"That's why I called. I saw your press conference I can't believe you are pulling a stunt like this. Marrying gay couples is going to get you into hot water pretty fast. As for me and Dick you know that it is never going to happen so can you please stop teasing me about it already?"
"I'll stop teasing you when you stop blushing and what I'm doing is not a stunt. I'm serious." Roy was silent for a second and Ollie feared that Roy would hang up on him.
"How do you know I'm blushing?"
"Please kiddo, I raised you since you were thirteen and ever since I first called you on your crush on that boy you've blushed about it."
"Fine, it's not going to happen though."
"Only because you won't try to let it happen. That boy has had a history of red-heads in the past, he might be doing the same thing you are."
"Ollie I... hold on a second." Ollie waited patiently Roy held the phone away and he could hear bits and pieces of the conversation that Roy was having with his daughter. "I'll be back in a minute Ollie, I forgot to set the timer on the oven and burned the pizza I was trying to cook. I'm giving Lian the phone." Ollie couldn't help but laugh at the thinly veiled annoyance that he could hear in Roy's voice before the phone was handed off to his granddaughter.
"Hey Princess."
"Hi Grandpa Ollie." Ollie couldn't help but smile at the little girl's enthusiasm even as he held the phone away from his ear when she squealed her new title for him into the phone. School had taught the little girl many things and when the child had heard the other children talking about their grandparents she had asked Roy why she didn't have any. Roy had fielded the question in his direction and he had reluctantly allowed Lian to start calling him grandpa. He was glad that he had even though the title made him feel older than he felt.
"How are things with you and your daddy?" He listened attentively as the dark haired child began telling him about school, and her father, and her friends. All in all it sounded like she actually enjoyed having her father home full time. He also found out that school would be out in about a week.
"Lian go get the menu for the pizza place around the corner." Ollie heard Lian giggle into the phone.
"Daddy messed up dinner." She informed him.
"I heard, now give the phone back to your father and go do as he says."
"Bye Grandpa." Ollie chuckled as Roy got back on the line.
"I still can't believe you let her call you that. I can try to get her to go back to Uncle Ollie if you want."
"Let her be. I'm just glad I get to hear her call me that. I never thought I would ever hear anyone call me by that name, hell never thought I would hear anyone call me dad either but Connor does so I guess grandpa isn't any worse."
"Yeah I guess." Roy's voice was quiet and slightly strained and Ollie guessed that he was thinking about his own childhood. The two of them had never reached the point where Roy felt that he could call Ollie 'dad' without it sounding awkward and Ollie knew that missing out on a more normal childhood ate at him sometimes.
"You okay kiddo?"
"Yeah. It's just odd hearing my daughter call you that."
"I know it's weird for me too but I'm getting used to it. Look Roy I'm sorry about teasing you earlier. You really should try talking to him about it, the worst is that he won't speak to you but I don't think you two have spoken since Dick was working for Deathstroke to infiltrate the Society." Roy's silence confirmed his suspicions and he continued. "At the very least you should try talking to him again. I think he could use a friend, especially since someone is busy impersonating his nighttime persona."
"I guess."
"Don't guess Roy, you either want your friendship back or you don't." Ollie tried to keep his voice gentle, knowing that if he started loosing his temper than Roy would as well.
"I'll try."
"That's all I'm asking Roy. Just talk to him."
"Daddy I know what I want." Ollie smirked as he heard Lian's voice in the background.
"Go feed your daughter." He heard Roy muttering something about his daughter trying to break is bank account before Roy came back to the phone.
"What did you say?"
"I said go eat. Enjoy being with your kid and consider coming out to visit for a week or so when she gets out of school for the summer. Oh and let me know how things go if you talk to Dick okay?"
"Sure Ollie I'll catch you late and I'll try but that's all I'm promising." Roy hung up and Ollie flipped the phone shut.
"All I've ever asked is that you try son and I hope it works out for you."
END FIC
AN
Deathstroke broke Roy's leg/knee in issue 22 of "The Titans"
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