Teaching, And Loving.
(Author's note: Supergirl is on Earth-1 from the beginning. Also, for the sake of my sanity, S1 of Arrow happens at the same time as S1 of Supergirl, and S1 of the Flash. One more thing: Oliver never took Sara on the boat. But he did lie to Laurel about why he was leaving. The real reason will be explained.)
In the sitting room of the Queen Mansion…
Oliver Queen realized how odd his life was. He had spent five years on a deserted island in the North China sea, and honestly that would have been enough for most people. But not him. Apparently, the mental hardiness he developed on that island meant that somehow the universe had decided to conspire to see just how weird his life could get before he cracked. And so, if not for the first time, he had to expand what he knew about the world. In this case, it was the existence of a 6' martian man who could shapeshift into a middle-aged black man standing in his sitting room that helped him shift his mind.
Quickly reaching for his practice bow and a travel-sized quiver he kept in his home for this exact purpose, he sighs and realizes that anyone who has figured out that Oliver Queen is the Green Arrow and can shapeshift is probably the sort of person he needs to try and deal with diplomatically, as opposed to martially.
"Hello, sir? Is that even what I call you? Are you a sir? From wherever you're from, do you get called sir or is there something else?" He's babbling now, and honestly the way he's acting; he wouldn't mind putting an arrow in himself just to get himself to shut up.
"Mr. Queen, do not worry. I am, in nearly every way, acclimated to earth customs. In fact, my name is J'onn J'onzz, although perhaps calling me John would be easier for you. Rather, I am here in need of a favor. As we are both soldiers, I feel it appropriate to ask you to help train someone who has decided to go down our same path. She is like a daughter to me, but I worry she will not be prepared for the mundanity of what she can be expected to do" said this man named J'onn J'onzz, and to be quite honest, Oliver felt a little bit more like himself knowing he had a task, a job.
"What do you need from me, Mr. J'onzz?" Better to understand what this alien wanted, and hope he could deliver, than to be unable to and find his brains turned into garlic mashed potatoes or whatever the fuck this guy was capable of.
"It's good of you to think of garlic mashed potatoes, Mr. Queen. It turns out that my surrogate daughter is in need of both combat training, and serious, SERIOUS, nutritional guidance. Might you know anyone else who needs the same assistance? Perhaps…. A red streak?" At this, the Green Arrow groaned. How in the world? He hadn't even thought of the Flash. Did this guy's powers run this deep?
"I have government-level clearance, Mr. Queen. Of course, I would know of your meetings with the Flash. Perhaps you should bring him too."
This was annoying. But, he supposed, it made sense. If he wanted to be worthy of the sacrifices he had made to get here, he had to help the generation after him. He had to make sure that there were others who could do what he did. But as he thought of that, one person flashed to the forefront of his mind. A tall woman with honey-blonde hair, an ever-present smirk, and the heart of a true servant of justice. Not the law. Justice. If he was going to do this, Laurel Lance was going to be brought in. Not just as a resource, but as a hero alongside him. That had to be.
"I will help you, Mr. J'onzz."
The next morning at a Queen Consolidated shipyard on the outskirts of Starling City….
Oliver Queen had spared no expense for this. If he was going to do this, he was going to do it right. He had called on contacts he had made during his five years away to get a state-of-the-art world-class kitchen set up, an Olympic-level training hall put in, and as many different boxing rings, sparring dummies, and bags of all conceivable kinds as he could think of.
But he was only doing all of this for one person. And that person was pulling up in her beat-to-shit olive-colored Toyota Camry. He understood that Laurel would never really get why he was having her come here, and honestly, a part of him feared that she would take one look at this and run straight to every federal law enforcement agency she could think of.
But he had to tell her the truth. Lying to her had gotten him into trouble before, and he absolutely was NOT about to do it again. If it turned out that he was sent to Iron Heights for telling her the truth, that was a price he was more than ok with paying. Any price he could think of, even his own death, was worth it if it meant that Laurel knew why he had ACTUALLY left, and what he had intended to do, and be, before his whole world crumbled.
Embracing her kindly, Oliver walked her in and prepared to explain everything. But before he could, he heard, just off in the distance, the sound of a sonic boom.
"For Fuck's Sake" said an amused Oliver Queen as he kindly, and happily, grabbed two handfuls of Laurel Lance and dragged her inside the hallway to avoid the streak of yellow lightning that he knew was coming.
In this moment, though, he was ok with that. For five years, through some of the darkest things any person could have ever dealt with, he always had her to come home to. Even if she didn't know how he felt, and he hated knowing there was a possibility of that, her kindness, and her light, was always there for him when he felt like a monster. So, to touch her, even if it was only to pull her out of the way of the Flash so she didn't get run over by someone running at Mach 2, felt like a dream come blissfully true.
And yet, it wasn't enough. He didn't just want to touch her now. He wanted to grow old being able to have two armfuls of her, whenever he wanted. He didn't need his money, or his influence. All he needed was that.
But right now, he needed to deal with the Flash. And…. Did he bring Cisco and Caitlin with him? Of course, he did.
(Laurel's POV)
What was Ollie DOING? Lord knows she was happy to have him survived that island. But she was happy in the way she would want anyone to survive a hell like what she imagined that place was. Oliver, on the other hand, was appearing to just be happy in her presence, like he had been before he got on that boat.
There were things she liked about this new Oliver. The old one was goofy, partied way too much for anyone's liking, and didn't seem to have a plan. This one, though, she liked. This one was serious, and clearly had plans for his new life.
What she wouldn't admit to anyone but herself, though, was that she liked the way the new Oliver looked. Sure, old Oliver was cute in that boyish sort of way. But this Oliver? This one was a damned MAN. He was, and it had taken her many nights alone with herself to figure this particular description out, sturdy.
Previously, he had been kind of just…. There. Like branches on a tree. But now, he was the whole motherfucking tree. He was bigger, it seemed, and somehow…. Taller. Her lizard-brain admitted to finding him insanely attractive in a way she hadn't before. But, every time she wanted to jump right back into a real relationship with him, she couldn't help but think that he was hiding something from him. Something big.
And she was never going to be the sort of person who was with someone who could lie to her.
But just as she thought that, she suddenly was pulled into his arms as a bolt of yellow lightning rushed in front of her. In his arms, she felt right. She felt full, and complete. Which made knowing that she could feel that good in the arms of someone who lied to her…. Strange.
(Oliver's POV)
Well, he'd get the chance to deal with that later. As he said hello to Barry, and the rest of his allies (He steadfastly refused to call them Team Flash), he figured out what he wanted to do. He wanted to show Laurel that he was a good man, better than he had been. These people that could be allies to him, he would teach them and in the same breath show Laurel that he was serious about changing. Maybe, eventually, he could prove himself to be worthy of her.
So, with the first stirrings of hope that he had felt in years, he started his plan. But wait, wasn't he missing someone? And then…. She showed up. She flew, honestly, with J'onn by her side and some other woman driving underneath them in a really cool-looking black Ducati all of this, Oliver felt both a tension headache and soul-deep resignation. This was his life now. He had died on that island, or contracted some exceedingly complicated form of malaria, and this was all a fever dream while he was recovering. This was the only way that any of this made sense.
But, whether it was real or madness induced by a tropical sickness, he was here. And since he had given his word to help this strange martian man with his problem, he would. There was nothing Oliver hated more than people who said they were going to do something, and refused to do it. If you said you could do something, but found yourself unable to do it, that was one thing. But flat-out not even trying? That he found wholly distasteful.
So, even though this was the weirdest shit he had ever seen in his life, he introduced himself and immediately realized why this J'onn J'onzz person needed his help. Other than the two of them, everyone around them were like over-excited puppies.
"Hi! I'm Kara Danvers, but everyone calls me Supergirl! Oh my god, this is so fun! Wait, is that the Flash? Oh my god, you know the Flash? I didn't know you knew the Flash! This is going to be so cool! This is J'onn J'onzz, and we call him the Martian Manhunter. The woman on the motorcycle is Alex Danvers, my adopted sister."
Feeling a sinus headache, the Green Arrow glanced over at J'onn and got nothing but a nod of the head. This was going to be a long day.
A few hours later…
(Oliver's POV)
After making the introductions, and making sure everyone understood that this was as much about learning as it was about some sort of metaphorical dick-measuring contest, Oliver Queen knew what was coming.
As he put out several ceramic mixing bowls and 25-pound bags of whole wheat, all-purpose, and bread flour he could hear the sound of black high heels stomping on the concrete of the kitchen floor and he turned slowly to see an absolutely nuclearly-furious Dinah Laurel Lance walking towards him.
"What is this, Ollie? Who are you to all these people?"
Sighing, he reaches up into a cabinet and grabs a dough hook, packets of active dry yeast, and boxes of salt and sugar while contemplating how to best explain this. Eventually, he decides to just yank the bandage off.
"My name is Oliver Queen. I am the Green Arrow, and every one of these other people you've met came to me because I can help them. I can help them be better than they could have been by themselves, and it's my responsibility. I promised them all, whenever it was they needed me, I would be there for them. And this is me being there for them."
"But why me, Ollie? Why did you bring me here?" said Laurel, still not comfortable with how things are going so far but also feeling like something big is on the verge of happening.
"Because, Laurel, I can't lie to you anymore. I told Sara what I was doing, and I begged her not to tell you. It was intended to be a surprise. But for five years, all you knew was that I had lied to you, and then I was dead in a shipwreck. No matter what, I'm never going to lie to you ever again. That doesn't mean, can't mean, I can tell you everything. This is a dangerous life I've chosen to lead, and sometimes I have to keep secrets for my safety and yours. But when I can tell you, I will" and suddenly, the five years of pain, guilt, and anger he had been carrying around like scars began to release from him.
But before he could process all of that, and finally explain what the lie actually WAS, Barry Allen and Kara Danvers sped into the room and saw everything he was setting up.
"Wait. Are you going to teach us how to cook? I thought we were learning how to fight, and do detective work, and all the stuff that you do. Learning how to cook sounds boring" said Kara Danvers, still seemingly running on nothing more than joy to be around other heroes.
"J'onn put this together for you, Ms. Danvers, and apparently his biggest worry was your poor nutrition. From what I am informed of, all you consume for food is sweets, potstickers, and pizza. Do you think this is the appropriate thing to do for someone who has sworn to defend their city, and this world, from all those who would do it harm?" glowered Oliver Queen, and for the first time all day, Kara Danvers realized this isn't a joke. If she wants to do this, to be the hero she believes the world deserves, she needs to learn a lot and fast.
"And as for you, Mr. Allen, your nutrition isn't much greater but I'm willing to cut you a little bit of slack. Your calorie needs are so completely outlandish that I can't really expect you to sit down and eat rice and chicken for every meal when you need 10,000 calories a day to avoid going hypoglycemic" said Oliver, ignoring the look of awe on Kara Danvers's face because he was utterly pleased to see the look of respect on Laurel's. "Your problem is the same problem it was the night you first came to me and told me about your speed: You haven't figured out how to harness it to completely be the hero your city deserves. It is sunnier in Central City than here, I admit that. But there are people there who will do your city grave harm if you let them. So this for you is about learning how to fight, how to defend yourself against anyone who comes to do you harm. Do we understand each other?"
Before he could continue his lessons, and teach the things he had suffered so much to learn, he heard a scoff in the corner in a distinctly female register. He knew that wasn't Laurel. She'd never mock him like that, especially not in public. So that left…. Alex Danvers, that woman who carried herself like the toughest girl in a room full of tough girls.
"Can I help you with something? Is there something about this that amuses you?" Oliver Queen did not enjoy having the skills he had earned be mocked in this way, and especially by someone who he didn't actually INVITE to this thing. It would be one thing if someone he had brought in scoffed at this. He'd be willing to explain what he was thinking about to them, after all. But this strange woman he barely knew? This insult could not be allowed to stand.
"I am just amused that you, some rich guy with a Robin Hood complex, has somehow managed to fool my sister, and J'onn, into thinking that you are a great warrior. She doesn't need you to show her how to be a hero, because you aren't one. You're just a billionaire with a god complex."
Honestly, if he had been alone, he wouldn't have fought back. After all, there were many sleepless nights where he wondered if he could ever be the hero that he knew his city deserved. But he wasn't alone. Laurel was here, and as long as she was, he had to show her he was trying.
"How about you fight me then? If you think I can't train your sister, or that you can train her better than I could, fight me. If you can beat me, you, your sister, and J'onn can go. But if I can, you will join us in learning too. Because arrogance of the sort you're showing here makes you dangerous, and a threat to your friends as well as your enemies" Oliver Queen stated coolly, having seen that exact thing play out multiple times when he was on the island. This was his deepest fear, that there would come a day when he was so arrogant, so convinced of his superior fighting skill, that he would become unable to defend the city he loved.
So, as the rest of the class watched, Oliver Queen moved into one of the sparring rings and waited for Alex Danvers to join him.
(Laurel's POV)
Wait a minute. Was Oliver about to fight this woman? What happened to the sweet boy she knew 5 years ago?
But the more she watched him, this confident and self-assured man who was willing to relive his pain and torment to ensure the generation after him could learn from his mistakes, the more she realized the depths of her feelings towards him. Even more than that, his speech about heroism had meant the world to her. If eh was going to be there for every hero who called upon him, she needed to be there for him. And the best way she could do that was to fight alongside him.
So, before she lost her nerve, she grabbed him by the collar of his jade-green Henley and drug him to the side while everyone pretended they weren't watching.
"I know what you're trying to do. I know what it means to you to make sure you do it the right way. And I want to help. Not just as a resource to help you find people who are doing wrong, but as an equal ally. Ollie, teach me to fight. Teach me to become the hero you are, and you want all of them to be" she begged, hoping against hope that he would give her what she didn't know she needed until right now.
"After." That was all he said, but in that one word, she knew exactly what he meant. And it would be fine.
"After." She agreed.
(Oliver's POV)
With that handled, Oliver Queen went to spar against Alex Danvers. It was a rapid-fire flurry of counters and blocks, but he eventually saw the opening. He had timed her kicks and quickly grabbed her leg and executed a perfectly-timed legwhip into an ankle lock, waiting to hear her verbally surrender which she did.
"You're fast. And if it had been quite a lot of other people, you would have been the victor. But for five years, I spent every waking day being forced to do things you only see in your nightmares. So I learned how to fight at a level that only a handful of others can best. Even then, I work on getting better. That, above everything else you learn here today, is the lesson I want you to leave with. If you make the decision to defend those who cannot fight back, it is your responsibility to find every way to improve that you possibly can. It is not always fun, but it is always necessary" he said, and everyone in the room agreed.
With that handled, he began to teach Kara how to make food she could still find enjoyable while providing her with the nutrients necessary to make sure she got the most out of her powers. And as it turned out, Kara loved omelets. She enjoyed the fact that they still felt instinctively like a treat, but were far better for her than the pizzas and sweets she inhaled regularly. With Alex's help, then, Oliver sharpened up her fighting skills and made sure that she could fight any of her new enemies. He also, surreptitiously, slipped Alex Talia Al Ghul's number. He figured making them friends would be a good idea.
Barry, by contrast, needed almost no help nutritionally. Oliver simply explained to him that weight-gainer versions of protein powder wouldn't make him more muscular, but would instead simply help him fill his caloric needs easier. On the other hand, Barry soon realized that he didn't really know anything about fighting other than the absolute basics. Oliver teaching him western-style boxing and the basic tenets of Wing Chun seemed to be a good idea for someone who could throw a 50-punch combination with the ease that most people could turn on their cars.
The whole time, though, he was training Laurel. Everything he made the Flash and Supergirl do, he asked Laurel to join in. (It is a fool's errand to believe you can make Laurel Lance do anything.) So, by the time they were done, Laurel was, at the bare minimum, a competent hand-to-hand fighter. But for the love of his life, that was never going to be good enough for Ollie to live with. He had heard rumors that there was a woman who was the best hand-to-hand martial artist in the world, and she was interested in training someone to be her successor. What was her name? Lady Shiva, was it? If that's what Laurel needed, and he got the sense it was, she would get it.
(Laurel's POV)
Well, this was a lot. Oliver was taking time with her, in a way he hadn't…. ever, really. Sure, some of that time and care was spent around making sure she was capable of fighting and defending himself. But that made a whole bunch of sense now. Oliver Queen was no longer a playboy, or the spoiled rich boy she had remembered.
He was a hero now, a genuine one. And if the way he felt the most comfortable around her, the most secure, was to ensure that she was capable of doing all that he had, she understood.
And, she realized, she had wanted this. She had wanted to be his partner, so she should have expected that he would demand that she be fully prepared to join him.
The look in his eyes when he was doing it, though, was strange. There was a depth there, a kindness she couldn't remember seeing from him. But every time she wanted to open her heart fully, to scream her joy at having him back, something held her back. And she knew what it was. It was that damnable lie.
So, as their day ended, she again grabbed the Emerald Archer and took him to one side to have the conversation they both knew they needed to have.
(Oliver's POV)
Well, here it was. The thing they needed to talk about. The lie he had kept to himself for five years, and a few more months, give or take. If she took this lie poorly, that would be that.
"What did you lie to me about, Ollie? Why were you ACTUALLY on that boat?" Laurel asked, and at this moment, he knew he had to tell her. He had made the mistake of giving Sara incomplete instructions, and right now, he was paying for it.
"I told you that I was going to go and party in China, and part of that was true. But, not all of it. I was going to find you a ring, a ring worthy of you. That's what I was on that boat to do. And for five years, I waited for the day I could make my way home to you and tell you all of that" he said, and it was, to him, the height of self-control that he could make sure he didn't just break down into tears at the thought of it.
"You were going to propose to me?" Laurel said, and he felt the tightness in his throat grow with time.
"Yes, I was. Even during my five years away, I never stopped wanting to be your husband. I did finally get the ring before I returned home. I just…. With the new life I have now, I don't know if it's fair to you to always be looking over your shoulder because of me" he said, hope beginning to swell up in his heart.
(Laurel's POV)
And there it was. The question. Could she be a hero full-time, if that meant being with Oliver full-time?
But before she could answer, Kara Danvers ran up full-speed with panic in her eyes.
"There's a guy outside who says he wants to see you, Oliver. He's got a bow, and a bag of arrows on his back just like yours. Apparently, he's called the Dark Archer".
(Oliver's POV)
FOR FUCK'S SAKE. Can he not have a week, or a month without this fucking Dark Archer guy showing up in his life? Well, he supposed, at least he has help now. So, with nothing else to do, the Green Arrow began to plan the siege.
He had decided Supergirl and Flash would be his frontline troops. Kara was invulnerable, and Barry was faster than even a marksman of the Dark Archer's caliber would be able to track. While that was all happening, the Green Arrow would sneak behind him and engage him while he was distracted. The thought of just shooting him in the back with one of his tranquilizer arrows entered his mind quickly, and left just as fast. It would be easier, true, but it would be perhaps the most dishonorable thing he had ever done. And Laurel would be ashamed of him.
No, that couldn't be how he did this. He had to rely on overwhelming force, 3 on 1, to get this done with the fastest man alive and a literally invulnerable alien.
So, grabbing his travel bag with arrows in it and a compound bow he had planned on using to teach the basics of archery, he set up.
Supergirl went out first and he smiled as she simply stood in the middle of the dock as arrows bounced off of her while Barry circled around him, picking up the dented arrowheads and running them back into the shipyard where he could do chemical analysis on them to figure out who fired them. They were doing their jobs perfectly.
And then, Supergirl sprinted towards the Dark Archer and rammed a shoulder into his solar plexus at the exact moment Oliver tied him up with a cable arrow and then knocked him cold with a tranquilizer arrow. So, they all stood over an unconscious Dark Archer.
"This feels like we're a team of some sort, doesn't it?" Said a giddy Kara Danvers, waiting patiently as Barry Allen brought her a toasted panini with swiss cheese, bacon, plum tomatoes, and sriracha.
"Almost. We're missing something" the Emerald Archer said, although he couldn't figure out what it was.
(Laurel's POV)
While the rest of them were fighting outside, Laurel was coming up with a plan. This would be the absolute LAST time there was a fight, and she wasn't in it.
Right now, though, her plan was to find this ring. So, she dug through Oliver's gear bags. Lots of arrows, a few compound bows, and then she found it. In a jade-green box, because of course it was. She grabbed the ring and ran outside.
"OLIVER JONAS QUEEN" she yelled with all of her considerable lung power. "WE WILL HAVE WORDS."
(Oliver's POV)
Well this was about to be bad. Nonetheless, he ran over to her and was stunned by what he saw.
Laurel Lance, the love of his life, was on HER knees holding HIS ring.
"I didn't know how much I loved you, how much I needed you, until I saw you fighting and I wasn't there. That's the last time I'll go through that. From this day, until our last day, I will always be by your side. Please marry me? Please?"
He said yes. Of course he did. There wasn't an answer in his mind, or his heart, other than yes.
Epilogue…
After sending the Dark Archer away, bootcamp continued. It went on for a week, and by the time it was done, Cisco had created a state-of-the-art suit for Laurel that was specifically built to withstand blades, arrows, and bullets. If she was going to do this, she would be protected.
Years went by, and the four heroes who came to that shipyard that night never stopped looking out for each other. Their love deepened over time. Kara's for food, Barry's for a happy-go-lucky cop named Patty Spivot, and Oliver and Laurel's for each other. But they all knew, whenever they needed each other, they were only a phone call away.