New Inheritance fic: Fallout

[sylph_fics]

Just to prove I can write something not ADP, or crack-porn, especially with a cowriter like merfilly.

This is still all Devin Grayson's fault, for writing Inheritance with that vibe between Ollie and Dick.

Follows Choosing Unwisely, which is Ollie/Dick, Reconcilation which is Roy/Dick, Crossed Lines and Revelations involving Ollie, Bruce, and Clark, and As the Arrow Falls which covers Dinah's reaction to the whole mess.

Title: Fallout (working title)
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Nah.
co-writer: merfilly
Characters: Ollie, Roy, Connor, Mia
Summary: Stubbornness is, after all, the Arrow-family trademark, and they all got it honest.

He was pretty sure the door was either not going to be opened or get slammed in his face, so he took a page from the god-damned Bats and used the window. He knew Lian was not home; also knew for certain that Roy was. He had screwed up so royally, and he still could not see how such an innocent thing like a tumble with that beautiful young man had led to all this heartache. That was, he now knew why...after Dinah left, Connor had drug the full story out of him, then slowly, in small words, explained the depth of Roy and Dick.

His eldest child was re-fletching arrows, more than half lost in the task, leaning over the table as his hands worked carefully...

The sound of the window opening preceded Ollie's entrance. He had managed to bypass the window's security, and the thought that it was simply set made him have images of Nightwing using this one to visit.

That sound drew his attention, head turning with a smile that said the images were right--and it slid off his face less than a heartbeat later. "Which part didn't you understand, Ollie? Was it the "Don't come after me", the fact that I've hung up on you every time you tried to call, or was Lian somehow not clear about the fact that you're not welcome here?"

"I know I'm not, Roy." Ollie stayed by the window, standing with a tension that pervaded every line of his body, all through his eyes and face. "And I can't let it stand at that, son."

Roy's eyes blazed with rage and he slowly stood up from the table, crossing his arms low across his chest, "'Son'? Haven't heard that one in a while--pity you somehow let it slip your mind the other night, just like every other time in my life I could've used your backup..."

Ollie flinched, visibly. "I didn't know. And yeah, I know...if I'd have paid some attention to you, I would have."

"Pretty much, yeah, you would have--so who finally filled you in, and why?" //Who do i get to scream at over this one?//

"It doesn't matter." Ollie clung to his long bow, keeping it planted by his foot, the top of it in both hands as he tried to draw the strength to fix this. He could not lose his son, the boy who had tried to outshoot him on a reservation, the cocky kid that had worked his six for years.

"Actually, it does." Narrowed green-gold eyes watched him, standing there so much like the man that had first walked into his life... and he couldn't get the image of his beloved under his one-time idol out of his mind, much as he tried...

"Quite a few people have cut into me for my stupidity. But your brother finally spelled it out in terms I could understand, crystal clear." The senior archer kept from tipping his chin up, trying to keep all appearances of arrogance out of body and voice. "I messed with your Pretty Bird."

"Yeah, Ollie, you did--I just... how the fuck did you not know? You're actually not stupid, I know you're not..."

Ollie had to look away, had to turn from those eyes looking at him with so much emotion, and none of it good. "Because I never took the time to see past the charade you put on. I believed you were just as much the ladies' man everyone sees me as." He gave a bitter laugh. "Should have known a rep like that was covering something, shouldn't I?"

Roy hissed at him. "Charade? Put on? I like women, Ollie, and I deserve my rep, thanks. Picked it up honest, after all... and do you really want to play the 'covering things' game with me, when you made it pretty damned obvious that your preferences aren't as clear-cut as I thought they were? 'Cause I've got a few questions about Hal, now..."

Ollie drew in a deep breath. "Lover. And yeah, that's why I wasn't there when you needed me, because I was off having a bit of time with my lover." He looked at Roy with conflicting emotions. "I fucked up, Roy. Bad. Worse maybe than any time but that one."

"Nice to see you admitting it," Roy agreed with him, but there was a trace of something more than the black anger in his voice, finally. "Do you even have a clue how bad you fucked with his head?"

Ollie winced. "No, son...I've been too damned busy thinking of what I did to you because of this." Now he met those eyes full on, laying the truth of his own pain out to be seen.

Roy sucked a breath in, held it, let it out, "I... will probably, eventually, get over it." //Once I'm sure that you didn't send him spiraling right back into the way he was at eighteen, I might get over it.// His redheaded temper wasn't about to let this one go easy, though the knowledge that Ollie hadn't known what he was doing was helping a lot...

"Roy..." Ollie took a deep breath. "Help me fix it. I won't...I won't lose you, or mess things up so bad for you and him. But I'm clueless. I don't have the right arrows for this one."

"...Dick and I are pretty much okay, actually, thanks to a stubborn Mini-Bat deciding to play yenta or something. I'm going to be keeping a pretty sharp eye on him for a while, but we're better than we've been... since Donna died, pretty much." //So maybe I owe--no, I damnedwell don't.// "Like I said. I'll get over it. That you didn't deliberately go after my lover helps... helps a lot. Not like I can blame you for being attracted, he's..." and Roy's hand flicked in one of those gestures of 'how the hell do i even start?'

"He's a piece of art, Roy. And I say that with admiration, not lust." Ollie gripped the bow tighter. "You...you are my son, my firstborn, of heart and spirit. You're the link between me and Pre...between Dinah and me. And I just..." He knew he needed to say so much, needed to show just how much this had impacted him. "I'm sorry, Roy. So damned sorry."

"Yeah, he is," Roy agreed, though his eyes flickered dangerously... but when Ollie kept talking, most of that dangerous defiance slid away, and despite all his best attempts, the kid who'd been abandoned too many times was peeking out of his eyes. "I... wish I could tell you it was okay, Ollie..." Amazingly enough, he honestly did, but that phrasing caught his attention, "Whoa, stop. What's going on with you and Dinah?"

Ollie shook his head. "Nothing. That's all there can be." Ollie was not going to dwell on having lost the love of his life. "So, tell me how to do this, Roy. Tell me exactly what I, the screwed up idiot absentee father, has to do now, to show you I mean it when I say 'I love you, son'."

Roy's shoulders tightened, instinctive reaction one of pure anger, but... //He's trying. He's honest-to-god trying...// "Show up to play with Lian, so my kid actually knows her grandfather. Call me once in a while when the world isn't trying to end... hell, call me when it is!" He stopped, shrugged, "You're you, Ollie, and you're not going to change. I figured that out a long time ago. But those would be good starts."

"Would you ever consider moving back to Star City?" Ollie asked softly. "My place is huge...or you could have your own space. Because the thought of having you and Lian closer...it's what I'd like more than anything. Mia and Connor are good kids, but they're not you. They weren't there through the rough stuff, or the good stuff."

Roy stared at him, jaw dropped, then shook his head in slow, amused disbelief. "Ollie, my team's here, my kid's preschool is here, along with her doc and all her friends. ..and nothing's going to budge Dick out of the Haven til he whips it into shape or it kills him--now, you tell me how to get back to my team in under fifteen, or my lover from coast to coast for the three hours of sleep he gets when he remembers, now that I've finally got him back, and I might think about finding an apartment around Star City. Might."

Ollie grinned. "I can respect all that. And see if I can wheedle the League into fixing up some teleporters in Star City." He slowly relaxed his grip on the bow. "Guess I should head back out, son. Not too sure when I'll get back over here, but it will be soon. And I will call, if you tell my baby not to hang up on me or scold me anymore."

Roy couldn't help a soft chuckle, "She's pretty good at that, isn't she? ...Ollie, the JLA would pitch a hissy the size of the moon if Dick and I started bounding through the transporters on a regular basis, and you know it, don't be dumb. I..." he had to fight to say it. "I haven't worked this hard at making my own name to go back into your shadow... dad, but that's not saying I don't want you around."

A brief look of pain flickered over Ollie's face, but it was replaced with a deep seated pride. "I understand." He nodded slowly. "Give my girl a kiss and a hug." He wanted to walk over to Roy, to either clasp his shoulder or hug him, but he was afraid to push it beyond this right now. Instead, he placed his hand on the window sash, ready to step out and go see about a flight back to the west coast.

"I can do that," Roy nodded, watching him... "And thanks. For getting it." //Now just to beat Batman upside the skull with the same thing...//

"If you ever think the time's right...or it needs saying..." Ollie began, one foot out already. "I'll apologize to him too."

Roy thought about that one. "I'm not sure if that would be a good thing or a bad thing, actually."

Ollie nodded. "Figured, son. That's why I left it up to you." He looked briefly in the direction of Gotham, feeling a pull and knowing better than to answer it. "Take care, Speedy," he gave as a parting shot.

Roy bit back the snarl, hearing the good humor in it for what it was worth, and just shook his head. //Would it kill you to learn my damned name?//

There was a brief laugh as Ollie navigated the fire escapes, showing it had been very intentional, considering the lack of humor to the reason he had come.

Roy sighed and shut the window behind him, starting to go back to his arrows, then, he changed his mind, and headed for the phone, dialing home. //No, I think there're some things I need to know... and I need to talk to Connor anyway.//

"Queen/Dearden/Hawke residence," came the sassy voice of Ollie's latest sidekick.

"Hey there, Mia. Bro around?"

"Hmm, let's see. Yep, since Kyle's nowhere on earth right now, he's here." Mia grinned. "How's Lian doing? And how are you?" The question was asked with a shade more knowledge than she should have shown probably.

"Lian's good, over at a friend's for a sleepover," Roy told her, "and I'm okay. Wouldn't mind if you pegged Dad with something nasty in your next training session, but I'm okay." He couldn't help a chuckle at the mention of his brother's best friend, "So, think you could take him the phone?"

"CONNOR!" She did tuck the phone away from her mouth to yell, but she was so typically teenaged that it would not have dawned on her to carry the phone upstairs. "Yeah, well, I think Dinah laid it into him pretty darn good yesterday, so I'll keep my shots to grazing ones for now," she added back into the phone.

"Di laid into him?" shocked voice. "And oww, Mia, damn, girl, you've got a set of pipes..."

"Yeah, well, not like her. Course she got real quiet talking to him too, and I think that scared me worse." She smiled as Connor came up. "Take it easy, Hot Shot, and see you around? Here's Connor." She handed off the phone to the quiet archer of the family.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Connor."

"Roy."

"I hear I've got you to thank for my latest visitor?"

"That would depend on who came to see you. I have not told anyone to go." His voice was marginally laced with concern though, indicating he could guess.

"Some days, bro, you're too damned quiet. Ollie showed up."

"Ahh." Connor took a breath, trying to find the right way to express his concern for the outcome of that meeting.

"No, I didn't hit him... did Di, though? He was kind of favoring his left side--and trying not to let me see."

"No, that would have been Batman. Black Canary kept it to words only." He paused and then added, to get across the severity. "Words equally as sharp as anything we have ever fired from our bows."

"Batma--oh, oh fuck. Oh, dear gods, this is so many levels of bad..." It was almost like he hadn't even registered the severity of that last comment.

"From what I understand, Batman was most gruelling in laying into him."

"Oh, deargoodchrist, Connor, you have no idea how bad it is that he even knows what happened..."

Connor considered for a long minute, until Roy thought maybe the man was waiting for him to speak. "I don't know your friend very well, but it seems that this...violence, would be an expression of a very deep love for Nightwing. I can't see that as being bad."

"If that was all there was to it, it wouldn't be so bad, but... they're Bats, Connor. Nothing's ever just what it looks like. Not to mention that if he finds out that Batman knows... things are going to get very, very bad. Damn, damn, damn..." He bit at his lip, and made himself switch topics. "You were talking about Dinah," he reminded his brother.

"She made it plain she would not fix this matter for him," Connor began. "And though she dismissed Mia and I, we ...lingered in earshot. Mia insisted."

"Attagirl, Mia," Roy said, pride in his voice. "Which means you know what got said, and how something that should never have gotten beyond the three of us involved is hovering on the edge of the superhero gossip chain. What happened, Connor, I've got damage control to do," he demanded, needing his brother to stop playing coy.

Connor seemed reluctant at first, which meant Dinah had seriously kicked Ollie's teeth in. The younger son could not help but feel protective of their father, and he did not have the same strong attachment to the woman that Roy did. "She mentioned her partner, Oracle, as being how she learned."

"And things just keep getting better," Roy muttered. He, after all, knew who that woman was. "And? Connor, come on."

"She ended it, any chances. Because of this. Because he hurt you."

"Aw, damn, that's why he... All right, I'll work on Dinah."

Connor shook his head minutely, then realized Roy could not see it. "No, Roy. You should let it go. They were already strained...because of Ollie's recent involvement here. She told him she was no longer an arrow."

This time, it was Connor hearing nothing but the sound of a shaken breath, the savage shake of a head, and finally Roy's low, sad voice. "Oh, no... No, she didn't..."

"Roy, concentrate on yourself for a change. And we'll try to keep Ollie occupied away from you while you deal with this all."

"....damn, what a mess," Roy finally gave up and swore, brain running on too many different tracks. "Yeah, okay. ..you do realize that if Nightwing ever hears that you called him my pretty bird, he'll make your life hell?"

Connor chuckled. "I finally saw it, in how he looked after she left. I could not think of a better way to express to him how...unwelcome...his actions had been."

"It worked... so, thanks. And I'm not even going to ask what gave the two of us away. I don't think I want to know."

"Lian." Connor was too helpful. "She knows her Uncle Dick is far more special than any other uncles."

Roy shook his head, laughing, "That's my baby, smart as a whip..." //better than it could have been....// "Okay. Batman knows. Oracle knows, Dinah knows. Anyone Else on the list, that you know of?"

"Kyle does not, and he usually hears the gossip first." Connor could not help the curl of his voice over the name of his best friend.

"When are you going to get around to telling Lian she ought to be calling Kyle uncle, too, Connor?" Roy asked, not really teasing. He knew that tone of voice, after all. "Thought Mia said he wasn't earthside, though..."

"He's not, he's stuck on Tower duty."

"Aaaah. Okay, then. Favor, bro?" He wasn't going to push.

"Anything." Connor was very fond of Roy.

"If either one of you hears anything... quash it, somehow." He wasn't asking for himself, and Connor ought to know that.

"We'll do that." Connor let sympathy bleed into his voice.

"Thanks, bro. I appreciate it, a lot."

"Be safe, brother."

"You, too."

Conversation over, he hung up, scrubbing his hand over his face, swearing to himself. Just what he didn't need to know.