Title: Arrow's Reflections- Treat Time

Summary: Part of a series of ficlets/drabbles I'm attempting to write..all will be based on Ollie's thoughts, and they'll all be set at different times in his life.(There will be no order to them). This one is set after a hard nights work when Roy's about fouteen.

Rating: PG

DC owns all characters.

It's late when we walk into the diner..we're the only customers here, and I like it like that, no need to put up with the stares and whispers of other diners when it's just us. I bet Batman doesn't bother taking his kid out for a treat after a solid few hours of working a case...I doubt he'd take his kid anywhere just for the hell of it..just to put a smile on the kids face, he's all work and no play, too damn serious for my liking. We slide into the seats of our usual booth, and George, the owner, takes our order. Smiling as he scribbles in the order pad before heading towards the kitchen.

It was a good fight, got a bit hairy there for awhile, but we bagged the bad guys and saved the day..or night as it is now. The kid looks tired, but he's happy, he's humming quietly to himself and tapping his foot in time to the beat. He's a great kid, always gives one hundred and ten percent in a fight..he's got a deadly aim and he's developing a killer left hook, he's even better to have beside me in a tussle then a lot of adults I know. I have to give Bats credit there too..he's got that boy of his trained to perfection, maybe even more than I've trained Speedy, but then he's had the kid longer than I've had mine.

I catch the boy's eye for a minute and ask him how his face is, and he smiles that cocky grin of his and turns his head a little so I can see the bruise that's forming. He's gonna have one hell of a shiner by the time morning roll's around. He's still grinning at me, he knows I'll let him skip school tomorrow...little shit knows just how to make me feel guilty. I knew I shoulda went after that thug myself. Dinah's gonna kill me when she see's that, still the kid won't learn to duck if he doesn't get clouted every now and then...it's a learning experience, that's what it is..he's still learning, at least that's what I'll tell Dinah anyway.

I reach across the table, knocking his cap off, and ruffling his hair, telling him he did a good job tonight, he smirks a little and pulls away, patting his hair back into place and looking a little embarrassed at the praise...but I know he likes it, even though he pretends he doesn't, a little praise goes a long way with this kid, and the boy sure as heck earned it tonight. That's one thing I noticed Bats doesn't do with his kid, never tells the him he does a good job, at least not that I've ever heard anyway, Bats needs a lesson or two in the parenting department I think.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm pushing him too hard...he's only just turned fourteen and already taking guys on that are twice his age and three times his size. But I just hafta take one look at that grin, and I can see he loves it, the kid just lives for it. Yeah I can be hard on him in training, but you hafta to be tough in this business, being soft won't get him nowhere but dead..and I'd never be able to live with myself if that happened, 'sides we have some good times together..great times that make up for the hard work..

Hell, he's got it better than most kids his age, he's doing what he loves, he's healthy and happy, not like some kids you see roaming the streets and getting into strife, they don't have a purpose in life. They'll end up living in the gutters because no one's watching their backs. I'll never have to worry about that, this kid doesn't have a care in the world, he's smart and focused...got everything he needs in life, guess he's one of the lucky one's, some kids don't get it so good.

He looks up at me again and grins, asking me when we're going after the rest of the gang we just busted up..he's dog tired, his eye's getting blacker by the minute, and he's still willing to crack more heads, I can't help but laugh...then again, maybe I'm the lucky one, life sure as hell would'a been a whole lot more boring without this kid around.

end