A/N: Here's the new chapter. Leave a review and let me know what you think.
"Are you sure about this?" Connor asked Roy as he handed him the drill and a screw.
"I am," Roy replied as he drilled the screw into the wood of the bed frame. "Do you not want Mia living here?"
"No…" Connor looked at the tools and grabbed another screw to hand to Roy. 'It's nothing against her. I'm sure she's really nice… I just don't want Roy to get rid of me.' Raising two teenagers on top of being a vigilante would be a lot of work and if Roy decided he could only handle one of them, it didn't seem like a difficult choice. On the one hand, was this innocent teenage girl who'd been a victim of human trafficking and bonded with Roy over their respective traumas; and on the other hand, was the son of Oliver Queen. Yeah, it wouldn't be a difficult choice.
"Then why do you keep asking if I'm sure about taking her in?"
"…Because it's going to be a lot for you."
"I know…but I can't turn my back on her. The same way I couldn't turn my back on you."
'To be fair I forced that on you.' Connor picked up another screw and handed it to Roy. "Is she going to be a vigilante too?"
"Being a vigilante is not a requirement to live here."
"But it helps."
Roy chuckled. "Yeah, it does help." He set the drill aside and shook the bed frame of the bunk-beds. "Ok. Help me lift it."
Connor nodded as he stood and grabbed one end of the double frame. He helped Roy stand it from its sideways position on the floor. "It looks good."
"Yeah, I think so. Grab the other end of the mattress." They slid the mattress on to the top bunk, then the second one onto the bottom bunk. Roy grabbed a package of the new bedding and tossed it to Connor. "Start making the bottom one."
Connor looked at the bedding, light blue with two white stripes running down it, with matching pillowcases and light blue sheets. "Do we have to have the same blankets?"
"Yes, because I don't know which bed each of you will sleep on."
"How do we decide?"
"You and Mia can work it out between yourselves when she gets here." Roy finished making the top bunk and stepped back to survey the room while Connor picked up the trash and shoved it into a large box. With the bunk beds against the wall, it left plenty of room for the second desk and second dresser he'd had to add. 'If this doesn't work I might need to think about finding a new apartment with three bedrooms.' He helped Connor gather up the trash and dragged the huge box from the room. "Ok, we'll take this downstairs, then I have to go pick up Mia."
"Do you want me to come?"
"No, stay here. You'll meet her when we get back."
"Ok." Part of Connor was intrigued to meet her, and the other part didn't want to meet the girl who could end up replacing him in Roy's life. 'Maybe I should give her the benefit of a doubt. Maybe it won't be all that bad having another kid here.'
— —
Roy arrived at the Evergreen Home for Girls in his newish car and got out. It wasn't his first official visit here since he'd "anonymously" been asked to try and track down Mia's father (which had been unfortunately unsuccessful). A meeting that had resulted in him taking a liking to Mia and requesting the chance to foster her. Which had required not only an interview with Mia's case worker but an interview with the women who ran the home. They were incredibly invested in making sure the girls went to homes where they weren't going to be taken advantage of. 'I'm kind of glad they're so thorough,' Roy thought as he climbed the front steps and knocked on the door. 'These girls need someone to look out for them.'
The door opened and Amy Simmons opened it. "Raymond Wayne," she greeted. "Come in, we're expecting you. Mia's all ready."
"Good." Roy followed her into the front office where Mia was sitting in a chair, a backpack on the floor by her feet. "Her permanent caseworker, Julia Smith, was sitting in a chair next to her. "Nice to see you again, Mia."
"You too," Mia said quietly.
"Julia."
"Raymond." Julia gestured for him to sit. "We just have a couple of things to discuss before you take Mia home."
"Of course."
"Now, you fully understand Mia's health problems and that it will be your responsibility to make sure she gets her medications and keeps up with them. It's also your responsibility to take her to doctor's appointments."
"I understand."
"I spoke with the judge and part of the agreement to release Mia from the group home early is that she will attend group therapy at the Women and Children's Resource Center."
"I think that would be a great idea."
"I'm glad." Sophie looked at Mia. "Behave yourself, Mia."
"Mhm…" Mia hummed.
"If that's all, we should probably get going." Everyone stood and Roy once again shook the hands of the two women. "Thank you, both. Come on, Mia."
"Later." Mia grabbed her backpack and followed Roy out of the group home.
"How're you today?"
"Fine. I've started taking my anti-viral meds and some…other meds that stops an enzyme of something. It's supposed to stop the virus from infecting my T-cells, and a couple of other cells. I don't fully understand how it all works. They're making me take five different medications."
"Yeah, I know. Your file had a list of all the medications the doctor prescribed and I did my own research on them."
"Why?"
"I just…wanted to be knowledgeable about your situation. So I know how to best help you."
"Oh." Mia got into the passenger seat of the car and looked around. "Nice ride."
"It's new. I had a motorcycle, but I can't exactly fit you and Connor on that."
"He didn't want to sit in a side-car?" Mia almost smiled, but then she remembered what was coming. So she looked out the window, looking for a distraction. "Is Connor going to like me?"
"Of course. You guys will get along great. I was thinking that once you get settled in we can go out and get you some clothes."
"I have clothes." Mia pet the backpack by her legs.
"How many outfits do you have?"
"….Two if you out the dress I was wearing when we first met."
"Ok, so one." He saw the look on her face from the corner of his eye and resisted the urge to sigh. 'I'm starting to really appreciate everything Bruce went through with me.' This was an interesting experience already. "I'll tell you the same thing I told Connor, you need at least enough clothes for one fit each day of the week."
"…I guess." Mia didn't want to piss Roy off after only being with him for roughly 20 minutes.
"Ok." Roy hesitated for a moment before continuing. "So…I know it's summer, but I'd like to take you to the middle school Connor goes to and see what we're going to do about that."
"What do you mean?"
"Well…according to your file you haven't gone to school in almost three years. So re-enrolling you might be a little…challenging."
"Do I have to go to school?"
"Yes. You absolutely have to go to school. Don't worry about it right now. Today we'll shop, get some dinner. It'll be fun."
"Sure. Fun." Mia was quiet as they arrived at Roy's apartment. They got out and she followed up the stairs. Inside it was…cozy. However, the first thing she noticed wasn't the bookshelves or pictures, or anything else that made it feel homey. No, the first thing she noticed was the teenaged boy sitting on the couch. He was looking at something in his lap but looked up when Roy tapped the top of his head.
"Mia, this is Connor Hawke," Roy said. "Connor, this is Mia Dearden. The newest addition to our…group."
Connor stood, setting a book on the coffee table, then approached Mia and held out his hand. "Hi, it's nice to meet you," he said.
"You too," Mia replied, although she didn't move to shake his hand.
Connor let it drop. 'What else do I say?' he wondered. Several seconds passed in silence before he looked at their guardian.
Roy simply smiled, trying to ignore the awkwardness. "Why don't you show Mia to your guys' room?" he suggested.
"Sure," Connor replied. He gestured for Mia to follow and led her to their, now shared, bedroom. "This is our room. Uh…Roy said we need to decide between ourselves who gets which bunk."
Mia studied the beds for a moment before nodding and throwing her backpack onto the top bunk. "That one's mine," she said. Her voice was firm, with a hint of finality, and the tenseness in her muscles suggested she was ready for a fight.
"But-" Connor stopped, remembering what Roy said about making Mia feel welcome (and he wanted to cause as little trouble as possible) so he simply nodded. "Ok. Go ahead."
Mia looked around, some of the tenseness leaving her body. The wall opposite the bunk beds had two desks, with a closet door between them. On the wall next to the door was a bookcase and the wall across from it had two dressers. "Roomy…"
"Yeah… It is… Uh…I cleared off some space for you on the bookcase if you have anything you want to put on there."
"I don't." Mia looked around, then looked at Connor, then looked around the room again. She crossed her arms, then glanced back at her roommate, who was looking at the floor. 'This isn't weird or anything.'
The two of them stood silently for a couple of minutes until Roy knocked gently on the open door. "How're things going in here?" he asked, aware of the awkward tension in the room as soon as he entered.
"Fine," Connor and Mia said at the same time, then actively stepped away from each other after it happened.
"Good. Why don't we go to the store and get Mia some clothes?"
"All of us?" Connor asked.
"Yes, all of us. Come on." Roy didn't miss the semi-wary looks Connor and Mia gave each other as they left. 'Well…it's probably not bad. Of course, they're not going to get along right away. It's not like they have a lot in common. Once they get to know each other better, things won't be so awkward. They just need some time.'
— —
Shopping was an interesting experience. Having never been a teenage girl, Roy was really unsure about what Mia needed or would want. Even if he had known though, it quickly became obvious that many of the clothes were embrue revealing than Mia was comfortable with. All Roy had to do was hold something up and she'd glance away and shift uncomfortably before mumbling about it being ok. It at least gave Roy a starting point on what kind of clothes to buy her.
"Come on, Mia," he encouraged as he held up a shirt. "Do you like this shirt?"
"…It's alright," she said.
"Just alright?" Roy looked at Connor. "What'd you think, Connor?" Instead of replying, Connor simply shook his head in response. Resisting the urge to sigh, Roy put the shirt down. "Mia, remember what I said. It's my job to supply you with the basic essentials; which includes clothing. You need enough clothes to have a week's worth of outfits." She still looked away. "I swear, Mia, I will never demand anything in return for anything I give you. You don't even have to say thank you if you don't want to."
'This has to be too good to be true,' Mia thought as she followed Roy through the store. 'No one is this nice just to be nice. No one. Especially adults. He has to want something from me.' She glanced at Connor, but he simply looked unhappy to be dragged along. 'And then there's him. I don't know what to do with him yet.' They stopped again and she sighed internally. 'As much as I hate to admit it, I do need some clothes. Especially if I fully decide to leave the life behind.' Mia wasn't completely sold on the idea of leaving behind her night work, but she was open to trying the "normal" thing again. Or for the first time. Whatever. And she didn't want to go around, pissing off Roy on her first day living with him, so she started putting a little effort into the shopping trip. She picked out simple jeans and t-shirts, nothing with a neckline too deep. They weren't anything fancy, but at least it would be something.
It put Roy a better mood to see Mia participating in the shopping. Even when he noticed that she was choosing clothes that were plain (jeans and t-shirts in solid colors) and on the bigger side that they would be slightly baggy and hide her frame, he was only slightly saddened. 'I wish she didn't feel like she needs to hide, but I completely understand why she'd want to.' He was also very aware that covering herself like this would probably be on the mild side of reactions Mia could have to what she'd been through. 'One thing at a time. Today, clothes and getting her settled. In a couple days, school. One step at a time.' He looked at Connor. "What'd you think about Mia's new clothes?"
"They're…pretty?" Connor replied, unsure if that was the correct response. "And…nice."
"Pretty and nice," Mia muttered. "Such high praise."
The group lapsed into an awkward silence, so Roy paid for the clothes, handed one bag to Mia and one bag to Connor, then led them to the shoe store.
"I have shoes," Mia protested.
"Do they fit you properly?"
"…They're not too tight."
"Are they too big?"
"That just means I'll grow into them. You won't need to buy me shoes for months."
"I want you to have shoes that fit properly. Just a pair of sneakers. They can be the cheapest pair in here if you want."
Mia studied him for a moment. "Fine." She turned on her heel and marched straight to the clearance bin full of shoes. It only took her a couple of minutes to dig through the entire bin and pull out a pair. A quick glance at the size under the tongue of the shoe confirmed it was her size, then she held them up for Roy by the tied-together laces. They were scuffed and a tie-dyed rainbow of colors.
"If those are the shoes you want then, those are the ones we'll get."
"Cool." Mia tossed the shoes to Roy as she walked toward him. "Then I want these."
"Fine."
'He's stubborn,' Mia thought as she watched him buy the shoes. 'I like that, but I'll find his limit eventually. We'll see if I can trust him. If he's really such a nice-guy-hero underneath.'
After shoe shopping, Roy glanced back at his teenage companions, both of whom were silent and standing as far from each other as the sidewalk would allow. "Are you guys hungry? Connor?"
"Yeah," Connor replied.
"Mia?"
"Mhm…" Mia hummed.
"Guess we'll grab an early dinner, then. Come on, I now just the place." Roy led them to a great burger place on the next block. It remained quiet and heavy between the two teens as they sat at a table. When the waitress came over, Roy ordered them three sodas, then tried to think of how to break the silence. "Don't worry Connor, they have veggie burgers here. No meat."
"That's good," Connor nodded as he looked at the menu.
"Are you a vegetarian?" Mia asked, a hint of surprise in her voice.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I'm Buddhist."
"That doesn't really explain anything."
Before Connor could reply, the waitress bought them their drinks and they placed their orders. Connor played with his straw wrapper for a moment before answering. "I believe that life is sacred and it's unjust to kill a sentient being…including animals."
"So Buddhists are vegetarians?"
"Not all of them. But I am."
"Oh…" Mia started playing with her own straw wrapper. 'Roy did say he lived with monks. Guess he wasn't exaggerating.'
"Cooking for Connor has shown me the versatility of tofu," Roy joked. "And not all of it is bad."
"I have a hard time believing that."
"You'll see. We'll prove her wrong, right, Connor?"
"…Sure."
'Great vote of confidence.' They lapsed into silence once more and Roy resisted the urge to sigh. 'They've only known each other a few hours,' he reminded himself. 'They'll warm up to each other when they get to know each other more.'
Unfortunately, it didn't look like that would be happening. The two teens are silent as they ate their dinners, only really responding to Roy and saying the bare minimum to each other when prompted. It was obvious to him that neither knew what to think or do with the other. so, when they finished, Roy led them back to the apartment silently, but still cheerily. When they got there he looked at the time.
"Ok, Connor go help Mia put the bags in your guys' room," Roy instructed. "Then we need to get ready for patrol." He looked at Mia. "Will you be ok here by yourself, or do you want us to stay? Or I can leave Connor here with you if you want."
"No," Mia replaced quickly. "It's- It's fine. I'll be fine. I can take care of myself."
"Ok. Only if you're sure though-"
"I'm not a child, Roy! I'll be fine!"
"Ok. Ok. Keep the door locked, don't answer it for anyone. Don't….burn the building down or anything like that. Feel free to watch tv or read or…whatever. Got it?"
"Got it."
Roy nodded to Connor, who grabbed one of the bags and brought it into their bedroom.
After a moment, Mia followed him. 'I don't care if Connor is a monk or…whatever,' she thought. 'I'm not being left alone with him. I'd try not to sleep in the same room with him if I could.' She crossed her arms and leaned against the bunks beds, staring at him. "So you're a vigilante too?" she asked.
"Yeah," Connor replied.
"What's like?"
"…Great. There's…nothing like it."
"Really?"
"You get to help people. Make their nights better. Protect them. Every day you know you made a difference in someone's life. You get to be a hero."
"Huh." The conversation ended there and it remained silent as Connor left. Mia didn't move until she heard the apartment door close. She sighed and began putting her new clothes away in the empty dresser. 'This is kind of perfect,' she thought to herself. 'Roy and Connor will be gone for a while, so I can look around. See if Roy is really as nice as he seems.' No one was as nice as they seemed. The nicer people were, the harder they were trying to hide their real intentions.
When she finished putting away her few measly belongings, she started looking around. The bedroom opened to a short hall, with a bathroom at the end on the left, and another room next door on the right. Mia went to the second room and tested the doorknob. The door wasn't locked, so she let herself in. Roy's room was…normal looking. A large bed, a dresser, and a tv. The most eye-catching thing was the rack with four bows on it. Mia examined them closely and picked up the closest one. She tried pulling back the string, but it barely moved an inch. Rolling her eyes, Mia put the bow back, then turned around. On the other side of the room was sliding closet doors and rows of metals hanging on hooks. Drawn to the medals, Mia walked over to look closer. She touched one, a gold one, and frowned a little. 'He must be like…really good at archery,' she thought as she flipped the medal over and read the label on the back. It had the name of a tournament and a year. Mia did some mental math. 'He would've been…12 probably when he won this. And it says it's from the adult division… Jeez…'
Next Mia moved to the closet doors and slid one open. She eyed a long, wooden box on the shelf. 'Wonder what he's hiding in there?' She stood on her toes to reach the box and carefully slid it down. 'It's light. Doesn't feel like there's a lot in there.' Box in hand, Mia knelt on the carpet and set the box in front of her. It was nice, painted a shiny black and had metal clasps keeping it closed. 'Whatever's in here must be important.' She undid the clasps, then lifted the hinged top. "A…bow?" she frowned. Inside the box, which was lined with incredibly soft material, was a bow that was cradled gently in a small valley of the inside material. Very carefully, Mia picked up the bow. It was wooden and badly burned as if someone had briefly set it on fire. "That's…weird. Why would he have a burned up bow in a nice box like this?" Something in her gut told her the box had been custom made just for this bow. "What's so important about it?"
Not having any answers, Mia gently put the bow back, then closed the box. After she returned it to the closet, she kept rummaging around. There was another box on top of the one with the bow, a blue box, so she grabbed that one next. The top pulled off and she looked inside it. There was an old copy of Peter Pan, as well as some random things like a comb, a pocket knife, and a folded up red hoodie on the bottom. 'Why does he have a box of random stuff?' She took out the hoodie and let it unfold. 'Definitely too small for him… Looks like it's meant for a pre-teen or something.' Maybe it was Roy's when he was younger. This could've been a box of his things from when he was a teenager.
"They probably have…sentimental value." Mia shrugged as she carefully folded the hoodie, put everything back in the box, then returned the box to its spot in the closet. Everything else in the closet was pretty normal. Clothes and shoes, etc. Nothing extremely out of the ordinary. So, Mia shut the closet door and took another look around. The bookshelf contained several pictures, most of them with Roy. One showed Roy sitting in front of a large, grand Christmas tree, a teenage boy with black hair just behind him with his arms around his neck, and another boy next to him with Roy's arm over his shoulders, the boy's head leaning against Roy's chest. It was a nice picture. Familial. Many of the pictures showed Roy with another man, holding hands, hugging, kissing, laughing. "Boyfriend…?" Mia wondered. She went through the bedside table and found a box of condoms. "Definitely boyfriend. Good for him." She shut the drawer, then look under the bed.
It turns out to bed empty, so Mia left Roy's bedroom, making sure to shut the door behind her, and walked into the living room. There wasn't much to find here. Books and movies. All the standard things you'd expect in a 21-year-old's apartment. Nothing suspicious in the slightest. In the end, Mia had to sit on the couch and sigh. She ran her hands through her hair. "This is so dumb," she muttered. "It's so dumb." And yet it didn't feel dumb. All Mia's experience with men thus far was that they never had good intentions. Not where she was concerned anyway. "If he is planning something…he's hiding it really well." Or not well, depending on how you looked at it. He did just buy her a bunch of stuff. "When it does go sideways, I won't stick around that long."
A time tested strategy. If Roy did turn out to be like every other adult male in her life, she could just leave. "Find Richard and…go back to normalcy." Mia got up and went to her bedroom. She grabbed the backpack her social worker had given her, then dug through her dresser. She put a change of clothes in the bag, then went to the kitchen. She rummaged through the cupboards until she found several granola bars. As she passed the table, she saw a small stack of folded bills. Mia hesitated for a moment, then slowly picked up the roll. She ran her finger over the edges of the bills. After another moment of hesitation, she took a breath and pulled a random bill from the middle of the stack. It was a $20. She took one more, then quickly put the stack back and went back to her room. She shoved the food and money into the front pouch of her bag, then hid the bag in the bottom drawer of the dresser.
Suddenly exhausted, Mia put her pajamas on but hesitated before she got into the bed. It was the top bunk, up high where it would be difficult for someone to sneak up on her. Even so, she couldn't help but feel the tell-tale beating of her heart in her chest at the thought of sleeping and letting her guard down in a strange place. Especially since she'd be sharing the room with a boy she didn't know. Mia quickly went to Roy's room and retrieved the blue box from his closet. She took out the pocket knife, then set the box back in its place. The knife now in hand, she returned to her own bedroom and climbed into the top bunk.
Mia hid the knife under the pillow, inside the pillowcase, then rolled onto her side and closed her eyes. 'I don't get Roy… Or Connor… Or this place… Why are they like this? What are they getting at?'
'Every day you know you made a difference in someone's life. You get to be a hero,' Connor's words echoed in her mind.
"…I'm hardly a hero. Definitely not anyone's first choice for one either." But she could see the appeal of that kind of life. And it strongly appealed to her.
