I Don't Understand Women Sometimes

Rating: T
Disclaimer: copywrite, DC
Notes: I had considered just tacking this one to the beginning of the next chapter, but that doesn't quite go with how I write. I like to write short scenes trying to convey a thought or emotion, so I decided to post these separate, and make people turn the page. And if anyone happens to be wondering at the end of this for some odd reason - I actually like Dinah. Her and Helena are quite humorous together. And yes, there is a reason why she's acting this way.

"He did what?"

"Removed the aglets from all my shoestrings."

Dinah Lance a.k.a. Black Canary stared across a Watchtower cafeteria tabletop at Green Arrow casually popping a fry into his mouth. "No, Ollie. Let's back up to the part where he broke into your room."

"Come on, Dinah. It's just Question. I'm sure he breaks into everyone's quarters to sift through their trash or make sure they're not terrorists or something."

"That doesn't exactly help out his case much, Ollie." Dinah crossed her arms and settled back into her chair, tone dry with an undercurrent of irritation. "He could have done anything while in your quarters."

"He was just removing my aglets, Dinah."

"What, exactly, is an 'aglet' and why was he removing them?"

"Uh..." Oliver scratched at the side of his head, disturbing his green cap and leaving it at a slightly crooked angle. "Aglets are those little plastic things at the end of shoestrings that keep them from unraveling and he was removing them because... well, truthfully, I don't really know why. Something about a sinister purpose and safety issues."

"And you let this man into your room?"

"I didn't let him in, he broke in!"

"See, that's what I'm talking about, Ollie! Did you at least report this?"

"Report what? We all know the guy's a little wacky but his motives were completely harmless!"

"'A little wacky'?" Dinah leaned forward – Oliver took a short half-second to admire the picture she was presenting him with – and cocked a blond eyebrow. "The guy's a sociopathic nutjob!"

Oliver was surprised to feel a sudden flash of annoyance, sitting up straighter in his seat and dropping the fry he had been nibbling on. "Despite what the rumors flying around this space station might say, Dinah, I think calling him a 'sociopath' is taking things a bit too far."

Perhaps in response to the note of defensiveness that had crept into Oliver's voice, Dinah straightened as well, shoulders thrown back. At her very core, Black Canary was a fighter, and Oliver easily recognized the proud tilt her chin had adopted. "Oh, so you're defending him now?"

Oliver's mouth dropped open a bit. "Well, yes, what's so wrong- I don't... What is wrong with you today?"

The moment those words left his mouth, he knew it was the exact wrong thing to say.

Dinah's blue eyes flared with emotion, and she was gorgeous. "What's wrong with me? I'm not the one letting a known crackpot free reign to all my personal stuff!" She stood then, tall and proud and Oliver couldn't help but follow her with his eyes. "And you, Oliver Queen, need to get your head out of your ass and start paying attention to what's really important!" With that, she turned sharply on one heel, and walked away.

Oliver scrambled to his feet. "Dinah-!" An arm was raised to reached feebly for Black Canary's retreating back. "Pretty Bird, wait!"

Silence descended over the mess hall as the door slid shut over the blond woman's shapely form. Oliver let his arm drop limply to his side. Two tables over, Kara Kent a.k.a. Supergirl and Courtney Whitmore a.k.a. Stargirl stared on with wide eyes.

"I think I'm missing something important." Oliver told the empty air where Dinah had just been sitting.

Kara nodded minutely back in response.