Chapter 19: Home
Kara knew she was missing the full story of why Team Arrow was so excited to see Roy Harper, but Kara was nothing if not willing to join in a celebration - and the joy around her was electric. Oliver, Digg, and Sara seemed particularly excited to greet their friend and with so many earnest questions and answers flying, it became impossible to follow. Roy's presence animated the entire party.
Despite the enthusiastic response of every person on the beach that Roy had joined them, it was readily clear to Kara that Roy had been invited for one person. Kara didn't know Thea well, but as soon as she was by his side, Thea became a new person: there was a freshness in her features, an alertness in her eyes, and her entire being was relaxed. The romantic in Kara was enchanted by the sweet way that Thea and Roy seemed entirely unable to stop looking at each other with long, meaningful glances like they were the only two in the world.
Thea had willingly stood by Roy's side, quietly allowing him to enjoy reconnecting with his old colleagues and friends. She leaned into him as if magnetically adhered to his side. And it was only a little obvious when Iris calmly instructed Barry and the others that they should resume their game of volleyball that she was trying to give Thea and Roy a moment to themselves. Thea had shot Iris a grateful smile and then Roy and Thea, hand-in-hand, meandered down the beach.
As their steps looped them back around and closer to the main beach hangout, Cisco called out from the volleyball court, "Hey, you two! We could use a couple extra players. Are you in?"
Roy and Thea looked at each other, communicating without words, before turning towards the group. "We're in," Roy said agreeably. Thea stepped over to join Cisco, Sara, Mick, Wally, and Kara while Roy gamely ducked under the net with Alex, Laurel, Nate, Iris, and James.
"Are we using powers?" Roy asked looking over the members of each team.
"Do you have powers?" Wally asked sincerely.
"No," Roy said. "I just needed to know how soundly I stand to lose."
"No powers," Kara said chipperly. "As best as we can anyway," she added, knowing how much she had to concentrate not to push her speed just a little when the ball was clearly going to be just out of reach.
"I'm not using mine," Mick said proudly.
Nate rolled his eyes. "And we all thank you for not burning the ball to ash for a play."
Kara looked through the net to stare down her sister. Kara pointed her index and middle finger towards her eyes and then towards Alex to show her she had her eyes on her. Alex rolled her eyes and mouthed "Bring it on." To be sure, Alex had played volleyball in high school. But Kara was still going to take her down.
Fifteen minutes later, Kara had to admit that maybe she was overestimating her team's abilities. On the opposite team, Roy was maybe the weakest link on an otherwise dream team, with Alex serving some killer aces, and Iris and Nate creating a one-two set-up and strike combination that left even Sara and Thea, her team's best players, reeling.
Kara tried to dig a ball that James had launched towards the line, hitting it ineffectively further out of bounds. She stood sputtering as she pushed blond hair coated in sand out of her mouth while Mick grumpily went to fetch the ball. Laurel held up both her hands and James clapped them both in victory. Losing at volleyball was clearly not going to be the way that Kara got James' attention.
As Kara resumed her post, she became aware of a heartbeat that was suddenly much slower than those of the players surrounding her. Startled, Kara scanned over her team and her eyes landed on Thea. Thea's face had turned markedly pale and her breathing was sharp and quick. The moment Thea wavered on her feet, Kara pushed off and flew, catching Thea before she hit the sand.
Around them, play stopped instantly. Roy roared out in panic, "Thea!" as Sara, who had been positioned directly to Thea's right, dropped to the ground beside Kara and Thea.
Thea pushed off Kara to sit upright on her own, saying with a faint quality, "Woah. Sorry about that."
"You okay, little Queen?" Sara asked warmly.
"Yeah," Thea said. "All good. I think I pushed a little too hard," she added.
Laurel and Roy abandoned their side of the net and stood over the group. Thea started to push her way from sitting onto her feet when Laurel said worriedly, "I think you should stay down, Thea. Give yourself a minute. Have you been drinking water?"
Thea continued pushing up anyway, saying, "Yes, Laurel, I have been drinking water. And I'm not getting up to play – I'm just getting off the court."
Sara joined Thea in standing, grasping around her forearm to pull Thea up and Roy reached forward to grasp Thea's other arm once she was on her feet. Kara took a step back, giving them space to pass, while Sara and Roy walked on either side, helping Thea sit onto a beach chair to the side. Caitlin appeared next to Thea with a stethoscope and a small medical bag.
Somewhere further up the beach, Kara could hear Felicity say, "Oliver – breathe." Kara listened in and could hear Oliver take a deep breath, trying to slow his own pounding heart. Felicity noted to Barry, "We're still trying to figure this whole thing out – when to actually be worried and when she's just having symptoms that we're going to have to get used to." Felicity added with a deep breath of her own, "Clearly we're not there yet."
The volleyball players were strewn about in small groups chatting and doing their best to not seem focused on Thea. Kara heard Thea direct Sara, "Don't stop the game for me. I'll just watch for a bit."
Sara nodded, and, tucking her arm through her sister's, led a reluctant Laurel back to the court. "Okay," Sara said cheerfully to the gathered teams, "whose serve was it?"
Even while she got into position to play, part of Kara continued to tune into the conversation off to the side of the court.
"Roy," Thea said gently, "You should play."
"No, I'm staying with you," Roy said firmly.
"I'm fine," Thea said lightly. "Right, Caitlin?"
"Yes, you're fine," Cailin agreed, before admonishing, "but you need to take it a little easier. Your lungs aren't fully healed and your energy level is far from normal."
"See?" Thea asked. "So, go play! I like to watch you."
Roy didn't respond, so Kara turned to see what was happening. Roy seemed undecided, sitting beside Thea on a second beach chair.
"We'll stay with her," Lyla offered, walking towards them, holding little Sarah's hand. Directing her daughter, Lyla said, "Sarah, get auntie Thee!"
In response the toddler broke into a chaotic run, sand flying with each footfall, until she slammed her little body into Thea's knees.
Roy seemed reluctant but rejoined his team, slipping back onto the court next to James. As play continued, Roy seemed completely unengaged. He hadn't been a key player before, but now, easy lobs were falling at his feet uncontested. Kara winced as one particularly easy ball whiffed past his outstretched arms.
No, Roy decided. This wasn't how he intended to spend his day.
With determination in his voice, Roy stepped over the ball he had just missed and said to his teammates, "Sorry guys, I'm out!" Roy quickly slipped up the beach to grab two inner tubes and walked back to where Thea was sitting and chatting with Lyla and bouncing Sarah up and down on her knee.
Roy dropped the tubes beside Thea's feet to catch her attention. Thea turned to look up at Roy, and her grey-green eyes were clear and relaxed, her eyebrows raised in question. The look sent a pang of love and pain through his heart.
Roy had spent the past month with Team Flash awaiting this day. From the moment he had set foot in STAR Labs, Roy was aware that there was something peculiar about Barry and his team seeking out the fugitive former team Arrow member. The team was both super excited, but also super cagey about why they had summoned him. Then, they had placed a call to Felicity and left Roy in the lounge by himself with the phone. A half-hour later, he had emerged, shaken but determined.
Yes, Roy had spent the past month awaiting this day: one perfect day with Thea. And now here he was, with her, and he would be damned if he spent any part of it more than a foot from her side.
"Join me for a swim?" he asked, shooting her his best charming smile.
Thea grinned back, and said genuinely, "I would love to." Thea stilled her leg with Sarah on it, and, dropping a kiss onto the top of her head, said, "Okay, Bear! You stay with mama."
Roy scooped the innertubes up and nodded for Thea to lead the way. As their feet hit the surf, Roy handed a tube to Thea, and once she had shifted it in her grip, Roy took her open hand in his. The water slowly rose over their ankles, then calves. Once it was over her knees, Thea dropped her inflatable onto the water's surface, stepping inside. With a little squeal, Thea dropped down into the water, arms holding onto the sides of her flotation device.
Roy grinned and, letting go of Thea's hand, dropped his innertube in front of him. Roy propelled himself forward, chest first, onto the floatie and into the next wave. The ebb of the waves tugged him away from Thea and she said teasingly, "Roy! Don't leave me!" waving an arm in his direction like she was reaching for him.
His happiness wavered as he responded seriously, "Never."
Thea's eyes clouded at the change in the conversation's timbre for an instant, before clearing. "Roy," she admonished lightly.
"I know," he responded. And he did.
Earlier, as the two had slowly walked up and down the beach together, Thea had told Roy that if this was all they had together, this one day, then they weren't going to be despondent. She was, she had assured Roy, just fine, and would probably be fine for awhile. There was simply no reason why they should mope away their time. And Roy, even while feeling his heart twist painfully within him that he was granting the wish of a dying woman, had willingly agreed.
Reaching out to grasp her hand, Roy pulled Thea towards him, his raft bobbing, followed a moment later by hers with the motion of a wave. "So," Roy said with purposeful levity, "Tell me more about Arae."
And the day was perfect. As the November sky began to darken at 5:30 pm, a large bonfire was lit and soon smells of ham and bean soup and all-beef sausages drew the hungry beachgoers from across the secured bubble. Sarah was decked out in a light-up, high-vis vest and glowing bracelet, allowing the entire group to ensure the excitable little girl stayed far enough away from both the fire and the surf.
As Roy roasted a sausage over the nearest fire, he saw Sara come up and take ahold of Thea's hand, leading her a few feet away from the group. In a low voice, he heard Sara say, "I talked with Laurel. I'm sorry you're sick. I won't make promises I can't keep, but my team is all over time and space. When I'm back out there, know I'll be looking for a cure." Thea murmured her thanks. Sara added, "I know just how much you mean to my sister, and to my father. And I know firsthand what it feels like to want to pull away to protect them, but – I hope you can allow them in. Be better than me. Yeah?"
Thea said softly, "I'll do my best." Sara began to step back when Thea said, "Hey, did she tell you Sin's been working with me?" Sara turned back around. Thea continued, "Yeah, she's not only my business partner in party planning, but she's also my partner in crime-fighting. We're vigilantes in the Glades – picking up where you left off. Taking up your mantle."
Sara grinned. "Good on you, little Queen. Tell Sin I said hi. You've got nothing to worry about if she's covering your six."
As bowls and plates were collected and packed away, Joe West settled into a camp chair and opened a sleek, blue guitar case. With a deft motion, Joe lifted the guitar to his lap, settling an intricately patterned strap around his shoulder. "Barry, Iris, get over here and help me," Joe called across the fire to his kids.
Barry and Iris shot each other a look, before making their way around the outside of the main bonfire. Iris stood behind her dad, rubbing his shoulder and then resting her hand there while Barry dropped to the sand in front of his foster dad, crossing his long legs in front of him.
Joe began picking the strings, playing a familiar four-chord pattern and tapping the guitar body to keep rhythm. He sang out, "When the night has come and the land is dark."
Barry closed his eyes, swaying with the rhythm, and added, "And the moon is the only light we'll see."
Joe strummed again, building the melody up as Iris joined her father and Barry, singing, "No, I won't be afraid; oh, I won't be afraid, just as long as you stand, stand by me."
Roy felt Thea's head drift down onto his shoulder and he smiled as warmth swelled in his stomach. Thea's breathy voice was quiet enough that it seemed to belong only to Roy, combining with other voices from around the crackling fire. "So darlin', darlin', stand by me, oh, stand by me. Oh, stand, stand by me, stand by me."
Roy scarcely had to tilt his head for his lips to reach the top of Thea's head in a chaste kiss. He turned his head so that his words were directed straight to her ear as he mumbled the words, "If the sky that we look upon should tumble and fall, or the mountains should crumble to the sea, I won't cry, I won't cry; no, I won't shed a tear just as long as you stand, stand by me."
Thea pulled her head away from his shoulder to look at him. Her eyes glittered in the firelight. Her look was so earnest and so full of painful longing - Roy felt like he couldn't breathe, caught in her gaze.
The singing continued around them, but all Roy could see was her. And then Thea said softly, as though her heart was breaking, "I don't know how I can ever say goodbye to you again." A tear slipped down her cheek. Roy shook his head quickly, swallowing down his own emotions and pulled her head back to rest against him, wrapping his arm around her tightly.
The evening continued with songs and a few fireside games, including a rousing game of "Mafia" which left Felicity in fits of giggles as the collected group of superheroes managed to lose to the "Mafia" … twice. Finally, J'onn noted that his team should return to their world, thanking their hosts for the day at the beach, and Dr. Stein agreed on behalf of the Legends that they should do the same. The party rose to their feet and people moved back and forth around the fire, seeking out friends and teammates and family, giving parting messages and pulling each other into hugs.
Except for Thea and Roy. Roy could immediately feel in the way that Thea's head became heavier on his arm, that Thea had no intention of moving from his side, even to see off their friends. Some stopped over to see them – Sara and Ray, Kara and Alex – but Thea only raised her eyes to greet them, declining to lift her head from its place on Roy's shoulder.
Cisco accompanied Team Supergirl through a breach and Barry led Team Legends through the protective bubble they had spent their day within. Laurel and Josh began assisting Cecile in packing up the food into coolers while Oliver and Felicity worked with Lance and Joe collapsing the large tents that had kept them shaded during the day. Caitlin and Iris pulled up stakes from the volleyball net.
And Roy and Thea huddled together, silent, in front of the fire. No one disturbed them or asked them to help. The space surrounding them was like its own bubble – a sanctuary from facing another day apart.
Suddenly, Digg was in front of them with a bucket. "Sorry, guys," he said apologetically. Roy watched as Digg poured water over the flames, and felt Thea snuggle in closer to him, aware their time was waning. Digg picked up a mid-sized metal shovel and began to stir the pieces of wood apart, revealing further embers. He scooped a shovel-full of sand and dumped it atop the glowing logs, then stirred around the pit.
Leaning over, Roy said quietly in Thea's ear, "Come on, Thea." He drew his arm away from her and stood, forcing Thea to sit up. Roy was startled to find when he turned around that the lined-up vehicles were already packed away with the remaining evidence of their day. The rest of Team Arrow and Team Flash were grouped together near the cars, lit up by headlights and the interior car lights from ajar doors.
Roy waited for Thea to reach him, holding out his hand until she tucked hers within his grip. Roy clutched her hand tightly, then began to walk slowly across the sand to reach their friends.
"Heey guys," Cisco said, drawing out the 'hey' impishly, as they approached. "Have a good day?"
Roy could hear the heaviness in Thea's voice, even as she tried to respond positively, "Yes, it's been perfect. Thank you all. I really can't thank you enough."
"Don't thank us just yet," Caitlin said with a gentle warmth.
"Yeah," Barry said, nearly vibrating with pent-up energy. "There's one more thing." He looked straight at Thea and asked, "Is there anything that would make today better?"
Thea's eyes went wide and then she darted a look towards Roy, as if caught. How could she admit that she wanted something that she could never have – Roy. "I, uh – I don't know," she stumbled uncertainly.
"So, one thing you may not know about Team Flash," Cisco said, "Is that one of our on-again off-again team members shares a face with a famous - and famously dead - man. And Harry has never been one to allow barriers to infringe on the way he wants to live. As a scientist, he simply finds ways to make what he wants a reality." Thea was listening with rapt attention and Oliver had wandered closer to hear Cisco better with Felicity directly behind him.
Cisco continued, "Harry created technology that allows his team to see him as he is, but to be perceived by the public as a completely separate, unremarkable person, enabling him to go where he wants."
"We felt like there was so little we were able to do to support you," Barry picked up the story. "But Caitlin and Cisco realized that maybe there was one thing we could do." Barry paused dramatically, before a smile lit up his boyish face. "We could bring Roy home."
Thea gasped, grasping what she was being told. Caitlin said, "It took some time, but – to you, and your friends, Roy just looks like Roy, but once you leave this bubble, anyone you run into will see a completely different man due to an implant in Roy's neck." A smile began to break across her face as she watched Thea struggle to breathe through the shock. "Roy is done running. And, if he chooses – if you all choose – he can return to Star City, a free man."
Thea turned to Roy, searching his face with wide, disbelieving eyes. Roy said, his voice shaking, "It's true, Thea. I'm free – free to be with you. If you'll have me."
Thea opened her mouth, but Cisco spoke first, "Not that we meant this to be a like, a mail-order-bride situation. We aren't saying that, you … need to get back together or something. This is no strings attached. Roy gets his freedom regardless of your -" Cisco paused screwing his face while he searched for an appropriate phrase. "… relationship status."
Roy could see Thea's mind spinning with this sudden information and decided he needed to get her out of her head. He said quietly, "I'd be your mail-order-bride."
Thea laughed at Roy's unexpected offer and said in a voice shaky with emotion, "You're so weird."
"What?" Roy asked, pretending to be hurt. "Am I not cute enough? Don't I look like my picture?" Roy tilted his head down, then slowly raised his eyes and his chin, pursing his lips and giving her a head nod. The over-the-top 'smolder' caused Thea to giggle. Roy said, in faux-offense, "Well, that wasn't the reaction I was going for at all."
Thea cut him off by pulling him into a kiss which Roy willingly returned. Pulling apart, Roy quipped, "That was the reaction I was looking for!"
Thea leaned her head against his chest and said, "It wasn't the look – I just missed you, you dork."
Roy kissed her head again, this time with the knowledge that this wouldn't be the last time. "Let's go home," he said.