Making Friends – AU #2

By: RavenHeart101

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A: N – I'm not really sure what this is. Just a thing. I also have an incredibly weird writing style in this. Enjoy?

The first thing Roy notices about Grayson is that he's stuck up. He wears that $3,000 suit like it's a second skin. He has that fucking cocky smile. His hair is literally perfect and his goddamn eyes are so blue that Roy can't even pretend to not see Felicity double take. He knows Oliver sees it too, and he knows Oliver has to fold his hands into tight fists to stop himself from pummeling the guy.

Roy almost tells him to go for it.

It's when Grayson reaches out to wrap his hand in a grip that's ten times more strong than Roy expected it to be that he thinks, hey, maybe I've judged too fast again. Grayson doesn't really do anything to garner the attention he gets and it draws attention away from Oliver and Thea. He seems to know that it does too, if that wink he gives Roy is anything other than possible flirting.

But Roy still hates him. Mostly because of that stupid smile.

Roy's met plenty of rich guys since he started hanging out with the Queens. He's never met Bruce Wayne, though, and that excitement was stomped into the ground the moment the announcer was like "hey, Bruce couldn't come but we have his kid instead". Who seriously cared about the kid of Bruce Wayne when they could have the guy himself? Roy certainly didn't. Apparently, one was as good as the other in the eyes of the press and tabloids.

"Bruce is busy at home taking care of a sick kid." Grayson made excuses to the press but his eyes were sort of sad when he spoke the words. The corner of his mouth twitched and so did the fingers on his left hand. He looked, for a moment, like he wanted to reach out and slam the camera into the photographer's face. The level of restraint he showed was impressive. "Respect their privacy and focus on the gala."

Oliver raises an eyebrow, Thea looks on with approval, Roy scoffs, and Felicity swoons.

"I'm Thea Queen." She's the closest one to Grayson's age, Roy admits stubbornly. When they shake hands it's with a familiarity that shows that they had met before. Probably at another one of these. Grayson has this spark in his eyes and this smirk on his face that is both annoying and attractive.

"I know who you are." He winks and Thea giggles. She fucking giggles. What the hell. "I knew only a little bit of English and you sat next to me at this big party and just colored pictures with me." Thea's smile softens.

"I had just lost my brother and father a few months before and didn't really want to be there either."

Oliver has this dopey look on his face and Roy can barely resist the urge to roll his eyes. Felicity elbows him like she knows how insensitive he's being and he sobers. Right. "You were a big help. I don't think I ever said thank you." Grayson smiles again and Thea's cheeks fill with just enough color for Roy to know that she's blushing. Roy sort of wants to throttle the guy but Thea isn't dating him anymore and she can flirt with whoever she wants.

Grayson's eyes float over to him again and he has this look on his face like he knows. He knows that Roy wants to throttle him and he knows that Roy probably could with that serum still in his system. Oliver told him that the possibility of it ever leaving was slim. Roy's a little bit terrified, if he were to be honest. He doesn't want to become Deathstroke anytime soon.

They wander away from Grayson for a while, Roy the appointed body guard of Oliver for the night (Diggle's busy at home with the baby). Felicity and Oliver are still on the rocks so she has her hand tucked into Roy's arm instead. Oliver barely notices. He's in another one of his brooding moods. Roy thinks about calling Barry to get him to break out of it but then thinks better. Sure, he likes Barry as much as the next person (he's simply too much of a dork to not like) but Barry has his metahumans to take care of.

The gala's in Bludhaven this year and Roy can't even remember what the gala is even for. Homeless kids or something. Bludhaven is a pretty disgusting city. There's crime that isn't even hidden, pollution stinks the air and gets stuck to the tongue, and the politics are so corrupt that Starling seems 100% better. Roy knows there are other cities like this out there – most notably Gotham – but he's never actually had a reason to go into Bludhaven until today. The criminals Roy used to run with were too scared to step foot in the place.

Rumors had it, though, that Bludhaven had recently gained its own vigilante. It was a protected city now which meant that the Arrow team was possibly crossing boundaries that shouldn't be crossed.

Because Bludhaven was so bad, Roy shouldn't have been surprised when the gun shots started going off.

Oliver pushes him and Felicity down and Roy doesn't even know where Thea is but then he sees her, ducked under Grayson's arm as his $3,000 suit jacket is pressed tightly by her hands into the chest of some rich socialite. The guys shooting don't bother with masks, so Roy's pretty sure they're not planning on letting anyone out of here alive. "Phones over here!" The guy closest to them shoves his gun in Roy's face. He wants to react, but a look traded with Oliver is enough to let him know that he shouldn't.

He tries to tell him that they're not going to make it out of here if they don't try to do something but either Oliver knows and is coming up with a plan or is distracted by his epic man pain. Roy isn't sure either of those options is better than reaching up and shoving the gun in the guy's face just to know how he likes it.

Roy looks over at Thea and Grayson isn't there anymore.

In fact, after a quick scan of the room, Grayson isn't anywhere in the room anymore.

What the actual fuck?

"What's your name?" The voice comes from a doorway. When Roy looks he has to triple take because he's in a skin tight suit. With a blue bird over his chest and a domino mask with a clever, shit eating smirk. The way he stands in those boots of his is like he doesn't care that there are guys with semi-automatic guns pointed at hostages. He looks cocky and arrogant but confident. Roy could use confident.

He's holding a paper in his hands, skimming his pointer finger down it with a pointed look to the gun men. They all stare at the vigilante for a while before one of them actually opens his mouth to answer. "What?" He asks around his confusion, trading a look with his other comrades in arms.

"I need to make sure you're on the guest list," The vigilante looks around with a 'duh' look clear on his masked face. Roy's got to give the guy props for sass. And also for distraction factor because while the gunmen are thinking up some clever way to answer that they've already been taken down.

It's with a few kicks and flips that he gets the first few down. Roy literally sees him grab onto the shoulders of the guy closest to him, flip the gun far out of his hands, jump over his shoulders, and propel himself into the balcony with a swing like it's the easiest thing in the whole goddamn world. Roy's in awe. Oliver has just sworn under his breath to show that he's in awe and Felicity may or may not be freaking out.

"Who the hell are you?" One of the gunmen asks in a voice that clearly lets it be known that he is only sort of pissing his pants at that very moment. The vigilante pushes his back against the railing, bending almost completely in half as they grapple for the gun, let's go for a moment, gives up on trying to trip the guy and instead does a really impressive jumping round house kick that sends the gunman spiraling to the ground.

"You must of haven't gotten the memo yet. I'm Nightwing."

It's pretty much over after that. Roy's gotten used to the clean up after crimes and almost hostage situations. He tries to locate Thea in the mess but instead he finds Grayson, leaning against a column and talking to the Captain of the Bludhaven police. He has a split lip and that cocky smirk again, but he throws Roy a wink when their eyes meet.

Roy goes back to Starling confused and it isn't until a year later when they're working with Nightwing that he makes the connection.

That cocky little sonofabitch.