Hello guys

An idea that wouldn't leave me alone for an Oliver Queen/Lyla Michaels pairing which I have never seen done before, so decided I would give it a shot.

If you dislike the pairings used hit the back button, instead of wasting time complaining about how you don't like it. Seriously I shouldn't have to explain something like this.

Oliver/Lyla could work given they both have dark pasts, worked under Waller, and never have judged either other for living the grayness of the world.

For the timeline, this takes place sometime after Arrow season 5 and how far it is up to you.

a bedroom

Oliver wearing a gray shirt and boxer shorts starts letting out painful moans which awakens his sleeping partner Lyla who's wearing a blue tank top, and underwear, instantly comes awake.

"No Slade" Oliver mutters angrily.

"Oliver come on wake up, you're not wherever you are. You're safe" Lyla says keeping her voice an equally measured.

After a moment this seems to give Oliver an anchor out of his dreams with coming to gasping for a moment.

"I'm fine," Oliver says flatly.

"Sure" Lyla replies but is not going to press unless he wants to talk about it. After all, has enough nightmares of her own to live with for eternity.

"It was my mother being killed by Slade, fighting Slade on The Amazo with watching Sara drown, Waller, forcing me to torture a Chinese Triad member in Hong Kong and killing Kovar," Oliver says blankly, keeping his emotions closed.

Lyla merely takes Oliver's hand in hers's giving it a light squeeze in support.

"The first time Waller ever made me torture somebody she used a sixteen-year-old kid who she threatened to kill if I didn't. After I tortured the person Waller killed them both anyway, revealing the kid was a member of the same human trafficking group we were trying to find" Lyla explains old painful memories surfacing.

"Yeah, Amanda always has a way of persuading you to do things you would rather not" Oliver replies grimly.

"Well enough talk about our past" Lyla says coming to a decision.

"Hmm, so what did you have in mind?" Oliver asks.

"Given I know neither one of us are going back to sleep and it's a while before either of us has to go for our respective jobs. Or we've had the time given how busy our lives are" Lyla replies trailing off sultry.

"I like the way you think Ms. Michaels" Oliver says smirking.

Moving over Lyla straddles Oliver's hips while upon helping him remove his shirt, she takes off her tank top revealing her naked chest. They begin passionately kissing again as Lyla moves her hands over Oliver's scared chest.

Next morning at the director's office in ARGUS headquarters

Oliver wearing a long-sleeve T-shirt and blue jeans while Lyla is wearing black dress pants, a black blazer, and a blue shirt underneath as her typical director clothes. Handing Oliver a file that an associate of theirs's managed to track down the location of Cayden James into Star City, and decided it's best if Green Arrow merely took him down instead. For one Oliver is still an agent for ARGUS, and two one of the best they have for years of experience, plus training for being one of the deadliest men to ever walk the planet.

Suddenly hearing footsteps entering the office Oliver and Lyla turns to see John Diggle standing there scowling.

"What are you doing here?" Lyla asks with a resigned sigh.

"I was hoping to talk to you," Diggle says.

"Why?" Lyla asks.

"Because I want to know why I legally can't even visit my son," Diggle says outraged.

"I'm not going to have a man around my son who constantly looks down on others for not fitting his perfect moral code as you've spent years tearing Oliver down. Constantly lecturing me without even caring to find out why I make the grey choices I do, while you let Felicity Smoak no matter how horrible including defending her actions as a cyber-terrorist get away with whatever Felicity wanted" Lyla replies icily "That is why."

"Get out John before I make you. All the security clearances you have for ARGUS were revoked" Oliver says.

"Some brother you are given you went after your brother's wife," Diggle says in disgust.

"That implies we are still brothers, and I only began something with Lyla months after she divorced you" Oliver replies.

"Still doesn't make it right" Diggle snaps.

"Like constantly trying to force me into a relationship with Felicity, no matter how toxic it is for me. Yeah, your worse" Oliver says.

"Who you had arrested and sent to an ARGUS black site," Diggle says.

"Because she committed cyber-terrorism with Helix, including redirecting a security drone and association of killing an ARGUS agent" Oliver replies.

"Just get out John before I have you forcibly removed" Lyla adds.

Diggle after consideration turning around storms out, as Oliver and Lyla glance towards each with shaking their heads.

"You know I sometimes think Diggle married the wrong women given how much he takes after and defends Felicity no matter her becoming a cyber-terrorist," Oliver says.

"I think you might be right, sometimes I wish I never married him the second time but then I wouldn't have had my son so for that it's worth it," Lyla says.

Nodding "Yeah I can understand" Oliver replies thinking of William "Pass my thanks along to Oracle for the info on Cayden James."

"Will do," Lyla says.

"I have a hard time thinking of anyone who would willingly offer their services to Amanda. Though I guess a better way of negotiating your terms with her on a freelance basis" Oliver says.

Briefly, the archer remembers meeting Oracle aka Barbara Gordon, not yet married to Timothy Drake aka Robin, during his time in Hong Kong where Barbra taught him computer skills for hacking. Though Oliver brings himself out of those memories.

"Guess so" Lyla notes than softly "Oliver be careful."

"I always am" Oliver replies.

Hallway of a building later

Ducking a punch from a thug wearing military gear the Green Arrow responds by giving a swift kick to the man's jaw, breaking it, and sending him to the floor. Turning around ignoring the twenty-eight men laying on the ground with various broken bones Oliver marches forward to the door with kicking in, before notching an arrow to point it at directly at Cayden James sitting in a chair at computer monitors.

As Cayden James turns around Oliver fires an arrow that impales Cayden James directly in his head, killing him nearly instantly. Given Cayden James threat level and Lyla wasn't one to just throw anybody into a black site without very good reason compared to Amanda Waller, unlike what Diggle thought of his now ex-wife, he made the call to just take James off the board for good.

Walking over Oliver plugs in a flash drive into the computer system which copies all the data for what James was into for trying to hack into multiple government organizations from various countries. Upon the download being complete Oliver removes the flash drive before heading for the door with notching an explosive arrow fires it into the computer set up.

The computer explodes behind the Green Arrow who exits the room.

Hope somebody enjoyed this and leave a review letting me know what you think if you want.

Regarding Barbara Gordon/Oracle having worked freelance with the Suicide Squad before is a reference to in the comics when Oracle first showed up, Barbara was originally helping the Suicide Squad and Amanda Waller. Not the bat family initially.

That's something which has disappeared over the years, until the New 52 where Oracle as a character vanished altogether.

For Timothy Drake/Barbara Gordon well when I first heard of the pairing Arkham Knight I initially balked at it, then once realizing I was just looking at it through the goggles of Dick/Barbara I started looking at Tim/Barbara on its own. Upon reading some fan fiction with them as a couple and thinking about them as a pairing I realized they could work.

Why? They have an interest in tech with being very good at it, solid friendship/work well off of each other, both work with the shady side of crime-fighting, Barbara leading the Birds of Prey with one of it's founding members being Helena Bertinelli, and has worked with the Suicide Squad.

Meanwhile, Tim has worked alongside members from the League of Assassins, in the New 52, Jason and Drake were brothers, being one of the only bat family members Jason would spend time with, etc.

Regarding Oliver's comment of Diggle should have married Felicity instead, well look at all the times Diggle has Felicity back from Arrow season 1 over both Lyla and Oliver.

Until next time