A/N: A thousand thank yous for the lovely reviews!

I've just finished one of my other fics, so this has now moved up to my top 3 stories I'm working to finish. Yay. This chapter is dedicated to my friend, "The Bat Thing" (Cas) because... you once dedicated a chapter of "You Do Good, You Find Good" to me, and it brightened up my life. Haha :)

Chapter 4

Roy Harper could have kissed Dick Grayson. Or hugged him at least, if he'd just stop talking. He was talking about types of blood now, the differences between mammals and reptiles, and did Roy know? Birds were actually dinosaurs? And something about a mother with type O blood cannot give birth to an AB type, and Roy didn't care, he really didn't give a shit.

It was Dick's first comment that had stayed with him, 'not human blood', that was all that had mattered, and yeah, he was sorry to the poor animal he'd manage to smack with his car, and he'd already promised himself he'd stop eating meat for ever...or for a month, but that meant that it wasn't Ashley's blood on his car, and she was fine! She was probably home by now!

"Will you shut the hell up, already?" He managed to say, as Dick gave him a disapproving look while he cleaned up their samples at STAR labs. They hadn't exactly had options, and the boys had figured that Oliver Queen was the least likely to notice their little rendezvous in his company. 'A science project' they'd said when questioned by one of the guards.

"Wow, really, that's the thanks I get?" Roy could have been more grateful, The raven haired boy thought, especially since he was risking being labeled an 'accomplice'. This was the relationship they had though, he and Roy were two sides of the same coin. They had so much in common, and while their personalities were so different, there was a solid friendship, a brotherhood.

"No, this is" Roy walked over and gave his best friend the most awkward hug, one that was returned just as awkwardly.

"...Okay, don't do that again." Brotherhood or not, he was still a 16 year old.

"Wasn't planning on it." Roy laughed,allowing himself to feel relieved, though there was still a great big question. Where was Ashley? As if reading his thoughts, Dick began pacing, willing himself to come up with a plan.

"Her parents are organizing another search party tonight Roy, I know it's smart for you to keep your distance, but I could go...?"

"No! Well, I mean, I have to go too, Dick, I'm not -"

"Where is that you have to go, Roy Harper?"

Both boys turned sharply, almost hitting each other in the act, both recognizing the voice of Oliver Queen. Dick's eyes doubled as he saw who was next to the blond archer. Bruce Wayne. He could feel Roy tense up next to him, and he tried to 'subtly' elbow the redhead in the ribs, to signal that he should remain calm. It was, of course, noticed. Mostly because Roy yelped out an 'ouch!'. Hopeless.

Bruce ,who was staring at him, quirked a brow in expectation, 'What the hell are you doing here?' it asked, and Richard Grayson pretended, for once, that he wasn't so in tune with his guardian.

"Um..."

"We were just going to the tower, Wally is sick too, and so-"

"Okay, let's go ahead and shut that bullshit down" Oliver, in all his grace, snapped at Dick, and then turned back to his boy. "What's going on?"

"Dinah called me, she was worried that you two were up to something, and I happened to agree." Bruce interrupted now, making sure that they felt like there was no choice but to tell the truth. "It wasn't hard to find your whereabouts, by the way, so I really hope you weren't trying to be discrete."

Oh, there it was. Dick immediately felt uncomfortable, insecure and... like a failure. Sure, they were keeping secrets, but did Bruce really have to be such an ass about it? Did everything the man said have to sound like a judgement?

"Okay, Okay, everyone calm down." The older 16 year old laughed, as he nodded at Dick. It held a message. 'Let me take the fall'. Roy knew that the acrobat would do the same for him, for any of his friends really. He was a hero, after all.

"Yes, Dick did come over to help me, but it's all my fault. I crashed my car-Ollie you saw-and I noticed...blood. I was really freaked out, cause I had been drinking a little...and yeah, I deserve all the hate in the world, and probably to go to jail, I don't know...and to have my license taken away, and to..." Okay, he was done giving them ideas.

"Dick helped me find the source. It...was a bird. You can check-" He had held his head down as he word vomited part of his sins, the ones that would get him grounded, but hopefully not thrown in jail. He chanced a glance at the adults in front of him. He could feel Oliver Queen's anger start to engulf the room. Bruce Wayne-or rather Batman- was taking him in, deducing whether he was telling the truth or lying, or something in between.

His best friend, next to him was slowly shaking his head, probably trying to warn him, and back to Ollie, Oh, yup, still angry.

"Roy...you're saying you were so drunk that you didn't know what you hit with your car?" He didn't wait for a response as he turned to Oliver, "I think we need to discuss how long he'll need to stay away from Mount Justice"

"I wasn't drunk..." Roy muttered, annoyed, but also just wanting the earth to swallow him whole.

The blond man, who had still not said a word, not to Roy or anyone, simply nodded his consent to Bruce. Roy had expected this, and honestly, he had bigger things to worry about, but when Dick and Bruce left, and he was suddenly alone with the man who'd given him a home, he felt all the more ready to sink into the earth and never come out.

It wasn't a secret that the relationship with his father wasn't perfect. They saw things differently, they both had tempers, and there was always an underlying layer of crippling resentment. The young 16 year old shook his head, and shrugged his shoulders at the man, unwilling to speak first, but wanting, so badly, to tell him the truth, to have Oliver tell him that it would all be okay. Instead, when Oliver Queen turned his back to him and walked away, Roy simply followed; miserable and feeling like shit.

To Be Continued...