#Oliver x Diggle

[forbescaroline]

favorite platonic relationships: john diggle and oliver queen “I see you, man, and I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to have your back during Crisis, but I’m here now. I need you to come back to us. You’re my brother. I can’t lose you, man. I can’t lose you.”

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

I'm just glad I get to say goodbye to you this time. Me too. I love you, John. Love you, too, brother.

[arrow-v-flash-polls]

Best wedding? Off the top of my head there’s Iris and Barry round one, combined barryiris and oliverfelicity, Alex and Kelly, Sara and Ava

There turned out to be quite a few weddings that happen in the Arrowverse Anon and I'm sure I may have missed one or two. But which wedding was the best?

This was a cute question Anon, I enjoyed going back and finding all the weddings I could and highly recomend it if anyone needs a quick 'pick me up'. Sorry for the time it took to get posted tho, but please do continue to send in your suggestions.

[alannacouture]

I just started an Arrow rewatch, so if I start posting a shit ton of Olicity content, that’s why. I figured I’d just give people a warning. 💚🏹👩‍💻

[brinleyparke]

Slade: Something is happening inside me.

Oliver: Yeah, those are called feelings.

Slade: Ah, feelings. Yeah, okay, I need to shove them back down.

Oliver: ... What?

Slade: Okay. That was close. All better now.

Oliver: What the hell's the matter with you?

*Several years later*

Oliver: Something is happening inside me.

Dig: Yeah, those are called feelings.

Oliver: Ah, feelings. Yeah, okay, I need to shove them back down.

Dig: ... What?

Oliver: Okay. That was close. All better now.

Dig: What the hell's the matter with you?

[the-feral-gremlin]

Hc that John Diggle was third wheeling Olicity so hard he probably made Oliver third wheel him and Lila.

Diggle would drag Lila to the bunker when he could (though he mostly did it to get her out of her office bc she needs a break.) and they’d flirt with each other or fall asleep on one of the old Queen Consolidated office chairs that Oliver stole, while Oliver trained or did paperwork. Oliver has a million embarrassing photos of Lila and Diggle while Diggle has a million embarrassing photos of Olicity.

Felicity just has a million embarrassing photos of both of them 💀 She sends them to Lila when she can.

[ao3statistics]

This is self-made. Date: 14.03.2024

Please note that the numbers for Oliver Queen/Kara Danvers/Kara Zor-El might not be entirely correct.

The reason for that is that I made the chart before noticing that Oliver Queen/Kara Danvers and Oliver Queen/Kara Zor-El were made synonyms within the Arrow (TV 2012) and Supergirl (TV 2015) fandom but not in all other fandoms (comics, The Flash (TV)). Instead Oliver Queen/Kara Zor-El and Oliver Queen/Kara Starikova were made synonyms for the comic fandoms, Superman - All Media Types and (again?) the TV Show Arrow (2012).... I found it quite confusing because I don't know much about the Arrowverse in general (clearly). Unfortunately I accidentally deleted the excel table the charts were based on (haaaaah...) and I cannot be bothered to do it all over again.

In short: The hits you see for Oliver Queen/Kara Zoe-El/Kara Danvers are most likely related to the Arrow TV show (2012) and the TV show Supergirl (2015) only (if I understood the way the tagging for this ship is done on Ao3 correctly).

I assume no guarantee or liability for the completeness, correctness and accuracy of this chart despite my best efforts.

Includes fanfictions in all languages available, NOT English only. Includes all fandoms on Ao3 connected to Oliver Queen from DCU.

Percentages were rounded up or rounded down to natural numbers for easier comprehension.

Poly ships were not included.

More charts will follow. :)

Want to have a chart for different pairings, headcanons etc. in your favourite fandom? Send me an ask!

[kitkatt0430]

Haven't done this in a while, but HOPPY EASTER everyone, here have an Easter gift of villains being villainous in a villains win story.

The obvious solution to save Dante seemed to be to make sure he was sent somewhere far, far away. Which Savitar cheerfully agreed to. “I know a few realities we could drop him off on where he’d be relatively safe. Live out a normal human life, only have to worry about the normal human problems. Cars are dangerous and so is walking down the stairs if you trip. Hell, bad run in with a vacuum cleaner and next thing you know you’re going in for MRIs and knee surgery.” “Do you ever shut up?” Reverb muttered in irritation. If he’d asked Zoom something like that? Vibrating hand through the chest, immediately. Savitar just laughed.

Savitar is a bit of a talkative and sarcastic little shit in this one, but once Reverb gets more comfortable around him the banter will be much more two-sided. (This is totally villain flirting, right?)

But it's not just villains being villainous around here. From the Eobard-is-the-shitty-ex fic for Barry/Cisco/Hartley...

“I let Eobard convince me you were a lying brat and by the time I realized he’d been playing me…” Cisco hesitated. “I’m sorry, Hartley. I should have listened to you.” “And maybe if I hadn’t been an easily flattered idiot, I would have realized what he was really up to and turned him in with proof before things got too far.” Hartley heaved a sigh. “Maybe I could have stopped him before he ever had the chance to hurt either of you.” “Him using you… using all of us… that’s not any of our faults,” Barry said. And, for the first time, he might even believe it.

The only reason Barry can pull out of his own guilt complex? He feels the need to help Cisco and Hartley pull out of theirs. Right now they're sitting outside the building where a long hearing over Eobard's actions just took place and old grievances are being aired and reviewed. So it's been a long, hard day for all three of them, having to give testimony on their relationships with Eobard at some point during the process. But the hearing was entirely off screen, because I didn't want to have to research the actual process of investigating these kinds of allegations. Just move on to these three bonding, shall we?

Tommy is having to deal with a lot of obnoxious Queen family nonsense in the Ep3 rewrite for my Arrow Redux series. Including Oliver teasing him a little over wearing some of his mom's things as a kid. Though, to be fair, there's definitely the impression afterwards that Oliver liked getting to see Tommy in those things...

“We were, what… twelve? Thirteen.” “Ollie, do not.” “And we found your mom’s old stuff in the attic…” Tommy sighed. “I looked good in the tiara and heels, shut up.” Dig chuckled softly. “You must have missed her a lot,” he offered, looking amused by their antics. “I did. I still do. I have most of her things squirreled away in storage, actually,” he said with an amused smile. “And I do still look good in the tiara and heels,” he added with a smirk, just to see how that would get taken.

I've still got about... a third of the episode left to go? And then I can run cleanup on the fic. I'm also using this scene to set up an event taking place between episodes 6 & 7 as I'm trying to use the airdates of episodes as guidelines for approximately when the events within them occur and Tommy is going to be participating in an annual charity auction for an LGBT+ cause. A date auction, of course. ;)

Instead of trying to fit that into an episode rewrite, I'll probably just include it as it's own separate fic between those two rewrites.

[lacrimae23]

my arrow favs:

season: 2. definitely. without hesitation. season 2 is-[too many words] perfect. i love it.

bad guy: slade wilson • 1. slade 2. chase 3. malcolm

ship: olicity (no one guessed, i know it's hard to tell) • dyla, theroy, nyssara, merlance [ i have to add that i am sad and kinda mad that they ruined curtis x paul. i know people ship him with nick and i have nothing against it, but for me it was paul x curtis 🥺 i like them for them but also because i would like to see the life of a couple in which one person is a vigilante and wants to save the world through mask and one is not but supports the other AND THAT THEY ACTUALLY CAN WORK LIKE THIS WITHOUT DIVORCING. this storyline could happen, i know, i understand paul, i understand curtis, but i would just love to see a working relationship with one person doing all this vigilante stuff and the second living relatively normal life (relatively - with husband dressing in a superhero suit and punching people at night; you know what i mean🙈) . it would be nice. but i also love them 'just for them', you know. i'm sad about it so that's why this quick rant]

team (throughout the show): OTA. always and forever, one and only, yes. with sara and roy: also perfection, but OTA is 'it' for me

fav female character/fav male character: felicity smoak (unexpected, i know) / oliver queen

fav character: felicity smoak (tbh, in arrow i love almost every single character. they did good job with them. i love felicity, oliver, diggle, sara, thea, roy, tommy, i enjoyed helena's screentime, mckenna, and i like laurel, quentin, moira is an icon, sometimes a ruthless icon, but an icon all the same; i would love to see felicity — moira teaming up in later seasons soooo much; i have fanfics for that [thanks all the authors again!!]. i know all of these characters had their flaws (who doesn't) or didn't started their journey on the arrow so well, but i love them 🥹)

fav place with junk food: big belly burger (because i had to mention it)

[6rookie-writer0110]

Part 2; It's over, we are your new rulers

Overgirl x Male Reader

Request: over girl x make reader where Kara is pregnant and male reader can't help but soften when he sees her walking around with a swollen belly and he will just walk behind her and hold her belly so some cute soon to be daddy vibes right there and the hero's find out about the pregnancy and try to get Kara to switch sides for her babies but it doesn't work and it ends with fluff

Kara is staring down at her stomach, and she gently touches her stomach. You walked behind her and you put your arms around her stomach.

“Our baby will be here soon,” You said.

“Everything will change, Y/N,” Kara said.

You stand in front of her and she seems nervous, but she tries to hide it. You hold her hand

“Change can be a good thing for us,” You said.

“What do you mean?” Kara asked.

“We are more powerful and our baby will be strong like us,” You said.

“I like how you are thinking” Kara smiled.

She leaned in and kissed you on the lips. You start to smile and you start to kiss her back.

You and Kara are happy about having a baby soon. You and Kara are the strongest villains on earth. Many heroes are still trying to take down you and Kara but they have all failed.

———

You are in the nursery room, building the crib. Kara walks in and you are reading the instruction book.

“You have been in here all morning,” Kara said.

“I was organizing the closet for clothes and supplies. Now, I’m reading the book” You said.

“You could use your speed to build it faster,” Kara said.

“And miss the fun, of overthinking it? Never” You joked.

“Let me help,” Kara said.

“Kara, you should be resting. Sit down and I will finish this” You said.

“Fine,” Kara sighed.

Kara tells you what to do because she starts to read the instructions. The crib came out perfect and you can't stop smiling about it. You and Kara have decorated the nursery room and the colors are dark. She starts to put a few teddy bears on the shelves that resemble villains.

✫ ✫ ✬ ✯

The heroes found out that gave birth to twins. They Think they have a chance to convince Kara to become good. You and Kara just destroyed a building and she starts to smile.

“Why, do you always ruin my moment?” Kara asked.

“We came to talk,” Barry said.

“Why?” You asked.

“We know that you have birth, Kara. You still can become good and change for the better. You still can change” Alex said.

“Why does everyone think, they can win me over with a dumb speech” Kara said.

“They are idiots and they underestimate you,” You said.

“We don't underestimate her,” Alex said.

You used your laser vision to attack Alex, but Barry used this speed to save her. Then You start to fight Barry and Kara starts to fight Oliver and Sara. Alex tries to make her sister stop but it's not working.

“Kara, you don't have to do this. We can be like before” Alex said.

“That will never happen, Alex. I will never change back” Kara said.

Kara grabbed Alex’s neck and started to choke her. Kara picks her up and she glares at Alex. Then John Diggle went to attack Kara then Alex fell to the ground. You are fighting Barry and Oliver, you punched Barry in the stomach then you picked up Oliver and threw him towards a random building. Ray Palmer and Sara started to fight you, but Ray tried to punch you. But you grabbed his wrist and then slammed on the cement ground hard, he passed out. Then you destroyed his suit and you took off his helmet and broke it into pieces. Sara tried to kick you but Kara attacked her Sara towards the ground.

———-

You and Kara won the fight.

“You haven't stopped smiling since we got home,” You said.

“It felt great that we got to fight them. And seeing them begging for mercy was great. But, I’m happy right now to have some family time with you and our babies” Kara said.

You already holding your son and you gently pat his back. Then Kara picks up her son and smiles at him, she gently touches his cheek. Then he grabs her finger and you watch them bond.

“Being bad is good. You break all the rules you want and take anything you want” You said.

Your son smiled at you.

“Your father is right, being bad feels great,” Kara said.

“They will be strong like us,” You said.

“Yes, they will” Kara smiled.

She gives you a peck on the lips.

You and Kara went to the nursery room to keep spending time together. You and Kara use baby toys to play with the twins. You and Kara are smiling and keep bonding with the boys. Then you show them the Flash and Superman toys

“Why did you get that?” Kara asked.

“I’m teaching them a lesson, babe,” You said.

“Boys, they are the Flash and Superman and we don't trust them. They are called heroes and they are weak and hypocrites” You said.

“They don't know the meaning of the word hypocrite,” Kara said.

“They will know soon enough. Okay, boys, this is what we do to heroes… we break them” You said.

You snapped the toys in half and the boys giggled. You and Kara continued to play with them and you made funny faces to make them laugh.

[thebisexualdogdad]

Thea Queen x Red Hood male reader headcannons?

Thea Queen x Male!reader

● after the whole dying and coming back to life thing you decided to leave Gotham and start fresh somewhere new

● you heard about the arrow and his team and thought you'd head out west to check out what they were all about

● you met Thea when jumping in to assist them in a fight and immediately started flirting with her

● "Who the hell are you?"

● "I'm whoever you want me to be sweetheart and can I just say red looks even better on you than it does on me"

● "I hate him already"

● except after only two missions with the team you were already sleeping together

● you weren't allowed to tell anyone that you were hooking up

● felicity was the only one who figured out what was happening

● Felicity "I wonder when they are going to tell us they are hooking up"

● Diggle "what are you talking about? They aren't hooking up they hate each other"

● "they are definitely hooking up, I think arguing is a kink for them"

● the day finally comes when you're arguing about you being too reckless

● "why do you even care so much Thea?!"

● "Because I love you, you asshole!"

● this leads to really intense 'I love you' sex and making your relationship official

● and telling the rest of the team

● Diggle "oh damn, Felicity was right"

● Felicity proudly "told you"

● you two are the ultimate red superhero power couple

● when she finds out about your history with the Lazarus pit

● "is there anyone this thing hasn't resurrected??"

● Oliver hates seeing her on your motorcycle

● "So I can be a vigilante but I can't ride on my boyfriends motorcycle?"

● "I'd prefer if you didn't do either but I can't seem to change your mind about the first one so the least you can do is give me a little peace of mind with the second"

● she doesn't

● you love not having to pay for drinks at the Verdant

● Thea "you know you're gonna run my bar dry if you keep drinking everything from the top shelf"

● "Hey we don't have any clubs this clean in Gotham and im taking advantage of it, back home you're lucky if the only thing a bar is infested with is cockroaches"

● sparring together

● she surprised you with how good at hand to hand combat she is

● "damn Thea, now I know why they call you speedy, you dodged all of my punches"

● and another time she knocked you down and landed on top of you

● "batman would be so disappointed to see me in this position"

● "really because I thought you liked me being on top" she says with a smirk

● Thea felt so bad when she accidently sent an arrow into your shoulder during a mission

● "Oh my god Y/N I'm so sorry I thought you were one of the bad guys"

● "Thea it's okay, I died remember, an arrow isn't the worst pain I've ever experienced"

● her gently tracing your scars when you're lying in bed together

● Dick and Tim came to visit you one weekend when they found out a new drug on the streets of Gotham and Bludhaven were being sourced from Star City

● and to meet Thea because they never expected you to have a serious relationship

● part of them thought you were lying and Thea didn't actually exist

● Dick "so you must be Thea, Y/N has told us so much about you, I hope you're keeping him in line"

● Thea "oh trust me, Y/N loves when I order him around"

● Tim "didn't need to know that, so about this drug-"

● when the mission is over you take your brothers to the club before they go back home

● they have a great time but halfway through the night you've disappeared to hook up with Thea in her office

● Dick to Oliver "Hey have you seen Y/N, he left to get me another drink an hour ago"

● Oliver "yeah when Y/N and Thea both disappear you usually don't want to know what they are doing"

● Thea buying you a brand new knife when yours breaks

● this one also has 'red hood' engraved on it

● "babe, this might be the nicest thing anyone has ever given me"

● "I should find that endearing but I know by tonight you will have used it to stab someone with"

● "you're not wrong"

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

[arrow-v-flash-polls]

Which of these two highest Diggle Ships is your favourite?

(Based on the amount of fics on AO3)

[alannacouture]

The reunion I didn’t know I needed 🏹💚👩‍💻

[throuple-tournament]

These are the throuples that are currently in the tournament in alphabetical order by media. The bolded ones have no description and the italicised ones have no image (Last Updated: 2nd February 2025):

3 Will Be Free: Neo, Shin and Miw

A Chorus of Dragons: Kihrin D'mon, Janel Theranon and Teraeth

Agents of Shield: Jemma Simmons, Leopold Fitz and Daisy "Skye" Johnson

Arrow: Oliver Queen, John Diggle and Felicity Smoak

The Bad Guys: Snake, Wolf and Diane

Berserk: Guts, Casca and Griffith

Boy Meets World: Cory Matthews, Shawn Hunter and Topanga Lawrence

Carrie: Carrie White, Susan Snell and Tommy Ross

Dead Boy Detectives: Crystal Palace, Edwin Paine and Charles Roland

Doctor Odyssey: Avery Morgan, Tristan Silva and Max Bankman

Doctor Who: 12th Doctor, Missy and Clara

Ferris Bueller's Day Off: Ferris, Sloan and Cameron

The Golden Girls: Dorothy Zbornak, Blanche Devereaux and Rose Nylund

Guardians of the Galaxy: Peter Quill, Richard Rider and Gamora

Ice Age: Manny, Sid and Diego

The Infernal Devices: Will, Tessa and Jem

Jane Eyre: Bertha Mason, Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester

Jurassic Park: Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler and Ian Malcolm

Keroro Gunso AKA Sgt Frog: Giroro, Dororo and Keroro

Kim Possible: Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable, and Monique

The Kingkiller Chronicle: Bast, The Chronicler and Kvothe

The Kingkiller Chronicle: Kvothe, Willem and Simmon

Lockwood & Co: Quill Kipps, Lucy Carlyle and Anthony Lockwood

Love Me To Death: Mercedes, Victor, and Enrique

Luca: Giulia, Luca and Alberto

Lupin III: Arsene Lupin III, Daisuke Jigen and Ishikawa Goemon XIII

The Man From U.N.C.L.E.: Gaby Teller, Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin

MASH: Hawkeye Pierce, Bj Hunnicut and Peg Hunnicut

Mass Effect: Garrus, Tali and Shepard

Merrily We Roll Along: Frank, Charlie and Mary

Mo Dao Zu Shi: Jin Guangyao, Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters: Keiko, Bill and Lee

The Mortal Instruments: Jace, Clary and Simon

Nancy Drew: Nancy Drew, George Fayne and Ned Nickerson

The Phantom of the Opera: Erik, Raoul de Chaligny and Christine Daaé

The Picture of Dorian Gray: Dorian Gray, Basil Hallward and Lord Henry

Pinky and the Brain: The Brain, Pinky and Phar Fignewton

Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald/Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire/Adventures: Maxie, Archie and Matt

Pokémon Scarlet/Violet: Clavell, Sada and Turo

Pokémon X/Y: Calem, Shauna and Serena

The Princess Bride: Fezzik, Inigo and Wesley

Project Sekai: Rui Kamishiro, Shizuku Hinomori and Tsukasa Tenma

The Road Within: Vincent, Marie and Alex

Romeo & Juliet: Romeo, Rosaline and Juliet

Sherlock & Co: John Watson, Sherlock Holmes, and Mariana Ametxazurra

Shrek: Donkey, Shrek and Fiona

Shugo Chara: Tadase, Amu and Ikuto

Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas: Sinbad, Proteus and Marina

Six of Crows: Jesper Fahey, Inej Ghafa and Kaz Brekker

Star Wars: Leia Organa, Han Solo and Chewbacca

Static Shock: Richie Foley, Virgil Hawkins and Daisy Watkins

Stranger Things: Nancy Wheeler, Steve Harrington and Jonathan Byer

Ted Lasso: Roy Kent, Keeley Jones and Jamie Tartt

Tokyo Ghoul: Seidou Takizawa, Akira Mado and Koutarou Amon

Totally Spies!: Clover, Alex and Sam

Transformers: Ratchet, Rodimus Prime and Drift

Twelfth Night: Viola/Cesario, Olivia and Duke Orsino

Welcome to Demon School Iruma-kun: Suzuki Iruma, Asmodeus Alice and Valac Clara

White Collar: Neal Caffrey, Peter Burke and Elizabeth Burke

Wings of Fire: Clearsight, Sunstreak and LeafWing

Winx Club: Stormy, Icy and Darcy

Winx Club: Stella, Bloom and Flora

Yentl: Anshel, Avigdor and Hadass

Y: The Last Man: Dr. Allison Mann, Yorick Brown and Agent 355

Zero Escape/Zero Time Dilemma: Carlos, Junpei Tenmyouji, and Akane Kurashiki

Feel free to submit descriptions for any of these throuples!

[schrijverr]

Tomorrow Will Be Different 26

Chapter 26 out of 26

Instead of managing to meet up later, Oliver has to keep running with Akio. The only way to keep them safe is to go public with Oliver being alive, leaving him back home in charge of Akio, while Tatsu and Maseo are still in the wind

In this chapter, the Yamashiros leave and Oliver decides what the next part of his life will look like.

On AO3.

Ships: Tatsu x Maseo, minor Tommy x Laurel

Warnings: mentions of panic attacks and ptsd

~~~

Chapter 26: Dealing with Them Being Gone

On the tarmac, it isn’t any less strange than it had been two days earlier in the court house that he isn’t going to be in close quarters with Akio or Tatsu and Maseo anymore.

But he keeps that strangeness to himself. They finally have each other again, they’re going home. They don’t need him being weird about it. Besides, it’s not like he’s going to lose them forever, there will just be a little more distance between them.

He hugs Akio tightly and says: “God, you’re gonna do great, Akio. I just know it. Give it some time and call me whenever you need, okay?”

“Okay,” Akio agrees, hugging him back. “You can also call me whenever you need.”

The gesture makes Oliver smile and he tightens his grip for a second. “Thank you, buddy. I’ll remember that.”

They let go and Akio seriously says: “Don’t get sad and grumpy without me. Your face looks weird when you frown.”

“Thank you,” Oliver chuckles. “I’ll try not to. Be good for your parents.”

“Yes, sir,” Akio salutes, something Diggle taught him.

Oliver shakes his head with a grin, ruffling Akio’s hair, before turning to Tatsu and Maseo. He hesitates for a moment, but Maseo moves first, puling him into a hug. “Thank you again for all you have done for us. If there ever is anything we can do, please, allow us to help.”

“It wasn’t a hardship,” Oliver replies. “Thank you for looking out for me the past year.”

They let go, both looking each other in eye, before giving one another a sharp nod, then they step back and Oliver moves to hug Tatsu. He doesn’t expect much, a brief hug at most, but she surprises him by pulling him close.

“Thank you so much for watching out for my Akio,” she whispers. “You’ll always have a home and a family with us.”

Now Oliver is getting choked up, while he told himself not to cry. He pushes it all down, though can’t help but hug Tatsu tighter as he replies: “Thank you for letting me into your home. I’m a better man for it. Akio is lucky to have you as parents.”

Behind them, Akio is saying goodbye to Diggle, while Tatsu moves to thank Moira and Thea, who have come as well, with her husband once Oliver lets go.

When they’re done with that, they board the plane. The Queens have loaned out their jet to them for this trip, wanting to ensure they had a comfortable flight without curious fellow passengers or paparazzi following them all the way to the gate.

Oliver stands next to his mom and sister, Diggle half a step behind him. There is more space between him and Thea than him and Diggle, but he’s getting there.

Neither of his mom nor his sister know of his panic attack at the courthouse and he’s planning on keeping it that way. He doesn’t want them to worry and he doesn’t want them to ask questions. He just wants to go back to always being fine, like he used to be before he left. He wants to get the good pieces from then back.

Diggle clearly disagrees, as did Tatsu and Maseo when he told them not to mention it, but Oliver doesn’t care. With Akio and his parents back to Japan, he craves a normal and his normal has never involved his mom and sister worrying about him like that.

So, Oliver puts all that undercover work to use and plasters on his best brave face as they wave the plane goodbye.

Akio is pressed up against the glass of his seat the best he can, grinning and waving. Oliver imprints it the best he can. He knows it’s not the last time he’ll see Akio, but it somehow feels like it, like an ending.

As the plane disappears from view, it hits Oliver that it is definitively over. He completed his mission.

The thought creates an empty pit in his chest. Ever since Tatsu and Maseo returned, it has been growing, that feeling of unease, but he’s been able to push it down with the thought that he was still responsible for them here. That is now gone.

Oliver is without a mission. It is over. He is home completely. Nothing standing between him and life as he knew it.

It’s terrifying.

His nightmares have already been bad ever since he got home, however, the panic attack didn’t happen until the courthouse, until his mission was almost done. Not having a mission only makes him more anxious and the only way to make it better is to think of his plans as a vigilante.

These plans to become a vigilante are not ones he can talk about. Diggle might be a good asset later on, but he can’t have him stop him before it’s off the ground. It’s something he needs.

Not just to keep the anxiety away or to let out the darker parts inside of him, but to do good as well, to make his father proud.

He still hasn’t forgotten the video his father left him that he found when breaking into QC for A.R.G.U.S., nor what he said in the boat, nor the sacrifice he made so that Oliver could live. These past three years have made it difficult to do right by him, but now that he is no longer responsible for Akio, he can. There is no one dependent on him, should it go wrong.

The latter part is another reason he probably shouldn’t tell anyone about his plans. He knows people will care if he gets caught or hurt, but it’s not the same as someone relying solely on him to look out for them.

He has to reconsider the importance of others in his life when they get back home. Tommy is sitting in the living room, grinning when the come in. “What are you doing here?” Oliver asks.

“Well, as I predicted you got empty nest syndrome the second Akio left and have been pouting ever since,” Thea says. “As your kindhearted and generous sister, I organized board game night to cheer you up.”

His two siblings – because let’s be honest, Tommy is family – have organized this for him. They’ve gone out of their way to make him feel better, to do something with the three of them. They care so deeply about him and he’s planning on getting caught into something dangerous just to make himself feel better.

It’s selfish in a way and he starts to doubt if he should go through with it. Akio might not rely on him anymore, but these people still care. They rely on him in different ways and will be upset if something happens to him.

All of it makes it so that Oliver chokes up slightly, but he luckily doesn’t have to do anything with those emotions, because Tommy says: “I suggested making a custom castaway card for the Game of Life, but Speedy vetoed it.”

“I suggested teen adoption instead,” Thea smirks.

“Both of you suck,” Oliver informs them happily, plopping down on the couch as he declares: “I want to play Ludo.”

“Ugh, you are so boring,” Thea groans as she gets out the Ludo to set up.

“I call playing green,” Tommy says.

“Hey, I wanted green,” Oliver pouts.

“No, you always play blue. I play green.”

“Maybe I want to play green now. I feel like I have the right to first pick today.”

“Oh, I see how it’s going to be, huh, pulling out that card?”

Thea interrupts their familiar bickering: “If both of you are going to be twelve years old about it, then I’m playing green.”

“You no longer want to play red?” Oliver asks.

“I do, but not if you’re going to be a baby about it,” Thea grins.

Oliver narrows his eyes at her, then turns to Tommy and says: “I play green,” snatching the pieces out of the box.

Tommy rolls his eyes, but he’s grinning. “Alright, I’ll play yellow. But I call dibs on green next game. Deal?”

“Deal.”

They play three rounds of Ludo, which Oliver wins none of. He always sucked at Ludo and he had half thought that with the strategy he’d learned, he would finally find the secret, but no such luck. So, he forces them into playing Risk after, gleefully wiping the floor with them.

It’s after they’ve gone two rounds of Risk and are setting up for the next round, while Thea goes to get them snacks, that the happy atmosphere breaks.

Tommy glances around and says: “How are you doing, man?”

“Good,” Oliver replies, cautious at the tone. “I miss Akio, but this is nice. Thank you for coming and doing this.”

“Of course,” Tommy smiles, before his face turns serious again. “Laurel mentioned your freak out at the courthouse, but when I asked your mom how you were doing, she didn’t seem to know a thing about it.”

“You told her?” Oliver panics slightly at that. He wants to hide that from them, Laurel – and now Tommy knowing – is already too many people.

“No, no, just implied, but I got not reaction,” Tommy says. “Dude, are you hiding this?”

��What? No. …Maybe,” Oliver clears his throat. “You can’t tell them, Tommy. I don’t want to worry them. It was just a one off thing. Nothing big. I don’t want it to be something big.”

“It sounded like something big, dude. I mean, Laurel said you were completely out of it, struggling against your bodyguard and needing two people to calm you down. That is something big. You can’t just brush it off.”

“Yes, I can. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Come on, Ollie. You can talk to me,” Tommy implores.

And in that moment, Oliver realizes he can’t. He can never open up about any part of it, ever. Even if fictionalized slightly to fit with his story. He can’t break the view they have of him, he can’t ruin the memories they have of Ollie.

He carries a darkness, created from the things he’s had to do in order to survive. It has become a part of him. Oliver doesn’t know who he is without it. But it’s not a nice thing, not a savory thing about him.

If anyone here knew the things he has done, they’d be horrified, rightfully so, maybe even scared of him too, and he wouldn’t be able to blame them. No matter how hard he tries, he isn’t made to fit in with polite company.

Tonight has been a taste of the good times, of the simpler years he lived. However, it is never the same as it used to be.

Thea has been way too agreeable, trying to cheer him up and Tommy is now inquiring about how he is, genuinely concerned something is deeply wrong with him. Even in this lighthearted moment, those years and how they changed him hang over him.

He is trying to wave away his episode at the courthouse, saying it was a one off, but he doesn’t know that. If he doesn’t do what he has planned for himself, that might become his life and the thought is terrifying.

The only person he has here now that might understand is Diggle and even he doesn’t fully know or understand what Oliver went through. He’s proven himself ready to support Oliver, help him through this, but Oliver isn’t ready to face that.

He doesn’t want to have more of those attacks, doesn’t want to find an outlet for all that is caught up inside of him. What if he lashes out because he hasn’t found anything yet and someone gets hurt? He already nearly killed Diggle earlier, what if it had been someone more breakable like Thea? He can’t risk that.

No, Oliver needs the outlet, needs the mission to keep him sane. He needs to do right by his city and his father. This is the way to do all of this in one. Keeping the bad men away has been the only skill he has gained these three years that is actually good, he should do that.

All these realizations wash over him in the split second after Tommy tells him he can talk to him about what’s happening.

He blinks himself back into the present and tries to be as reassuring as possible with his expression as he replies: “Tommy, I appreciate it, really. But there’s nothing to talk about. I’m fine. Truly. It wasn’t anything big. Laurel arrived later than the main thing, the rumors got out of hand.”

Tommy doesn’t look like he believes him, so Oliver pleads: “Please, I’ve already put mom and Thea through so much. I don’t want to worry them when it was nothing. I have it handled.”

Thea comes back with snacks before Tommy can reply. She looks between the two of them and asks: “Did something happen? You both look so serious.”

Oliver looks at Tommy, holding his breath as he waits to see what he’ll say. After a beat, Tommy answers: “I just realized how long Ollie has gone without sex. That’s something horrible to mourn, Thea.”

“Ugh, you’re both gross,” Thea wrinkles her nose. “I don’t wanna talk about Ollie’s sex life – or lack there off – let’s play more Risk.”

“Ready for me to kick your ass again?” Oliver gloats, happy for the deflection. Tommy has always been the one better at coming up with excuses.

“As if. Those two times were just luck,” Thea says.

The rest of the board game night passes in a good mood, but Oliver is aware of what his future will hold and he’s sure both Tommy and Thea feel the sudden barrier that has been erected between them.

But Oliver doesn’t acknowledge it. He was a fool to think that barrier wouldn’t be there, that he could just fit back in to his old life.

He’ll still try, of course. He’ll play at who he used to be, because that person can never be who he is now or who he is planning on becoming. He’ll need a cover and his old life is perfect. But those closest to him will feel that it’s not the same. It’ll hurt both them and him, but it’s the way it has to be.

The next day, he goes out to the Glades, using covert tactics to get the supplies he needs as he starts to set up a base of operations.

Within days, he’s in business. His father’s notebook is on the table, open on the relevant page. Tonight he’ll start with the first name he plans to cross off: Adam Hunt.

~~

A/N:

It’ll likely play out a little different than the first season of the show itself, but I will leave that up to your imagination, because this is the part of the story I wanted to tell. Thank you so much for sticking with me for it’s entirety and congrats on reading 100-ish pages xp