notarrowette | Meeting Roy

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Meeting Roy

[RP with father_archer]

Cissie had been nervous about today, but once she arrived at Roy's, things were just--easy and really nice. Lian was so sweet, adorable and friendly, and she had greeted Cissie with a hug and a guided tour. The Robin Hood marathon was the most fun Cissie could remember having without Tim in a long while. The three of them ate more junk food than Cissie thought was possible, and sometime during the last movie, Lian passed out in a sugar coma across Roy's lap. Cissie was surprised and touched when Lian gave her a huge hug before letting Roy tuck her into bed. Once Lian was in bed, Cissie followed Roy out to his car for the drive back to Elias.

"Thanks for having me over," she said, buckling her seatbelt. "I had a lot of fun."

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"It was my pleasure!" Roy said, buckling in and starting up the car. "Lian really liked having you over, and I had fun, too." he grinned at her, "Besides, Lian doesn't get why Errol Flynn's antics are just so damn... laughable."

He pulled out of the driveway and headed towards her school, "Anytime you want to come over, just call. My door is open."

Cissie laughed a little. "Yeah. He isn't nearly as bad as Kevin Costner, though. And Lian's really great."

She ducked her head, blushing a little. She smiled. "Thanks. That's really nice of you."

"Ehh... You're right." Roy gave up on finding a redeeming quality in Kevin Costner's performance as Robin Hood. "And thanks, I'm proud of her."

They were quiet for a bit, but comfortably so. "D'you like Elias?" Roy asked.

"Yeah," she said, turning to give him a friendly smile. "It's a really good school. Most of the teachers are nice. We have a new principal though, and I liked Ms. Foster a lot more."

"That's good." Roy nodded, "I didn't like school much." Not that I went, much. "Why'd you leave The Life?" he asked curiously. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to!" he assured her. "It's not really my business, anyhow."

"It's okay," she said quietly. She looked down at her lap--she didn't like talking about it, but there was something about Roy. She wanted to tell him. She took a steadying breath. "It's... kind of a long story. I'm not really sure where to start."

"The beginning works, little Arrowette." Roy said warmly. "Though sometimes Bats begin at the end. And older Arrows, they talk a lot and say nothing important." he shook his head, his lips thinning as he thought of Ollie. "Regardless. Begin where you like and end when you want to." he turned to smile at her. "I'll listen and interject semi-appropriately."

Cissie gave a quiet laugh. For some reason, when Roy called her that she really liked it. It surprised her, because she didn't usually think fondly of "Arrowette," despite the times Tim reminded her that without Arrowette they wouldn't know each other.

"Tim does that too sometimes," she said, focusing on what Roy was saying. "Sometimes it takes a while to find the beginning."

She took a deep breath, thinking about how to start. "Well. I didn't really start for the right reasons. Mom kind of pushed me into it. I--didn't really have a choice, in the beginning."

Roy frowned, angrily. Forcing a child to use cultivate a talent was one thing, but forcing them to use it, especially in The Life was entirely another.

"She was making you live the dream she couldn't?" he asked gently.

Cissie shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah. She was Arrowette, before I was born. But she hurt her wrists and had to quit, so--after Dad died, she started homeschooling me and had me take all kinds of classes, like gymnastics and karate and self-defense. And etiquette--I hated that one. And archery, of course."

"I know what happened to Bonnie." Roy said quietly. "Yeah, etiquette was stupid." he agreed.

She managed a small smile. "Well, you know. You might need to know the difference between a salad fork and a dinner fork when you're stopping criminals, right?"

"If that criminal is Lex Luthor, probably." Roy smiled, "And dinner forks are more efficient as a weapon, salad forks don't stick in as far."

"Yeah," she laughed. She sobered a little, shrugging and looking back at her lap. She toyed with her seatbelt as she spoke. "Anyway, so--I think I went out like twice before I met Bart. And then Max Mercury called DHS and social services got involved and--there was a trial and Mom lost, which is how I wound up at Elias."

"Oh. Wow." Roy said, blinking. "Didn't know 'bout that." he looked at the petite blonde girl beside him, "Are you okay with that?" he asked, "Well, you can never be okay with it, I guess. But does it work out all right for you?" he'd never forget when the man who'd cared for HIM wasn't able to keep him. There were days he would give anything to call him and talk to him in a way and language he never could with Ollie.

Cissie was quiet for a minute, considering. "Yeah," she said finally. "I mean--it's the way things are, you know? And we get along better now than we ever did before, and Mom's had some counseling, so--she's better. It..." She exhaled and pushed her hair back. "I was really mad when it happened. At Mom, mostly. I didn't want anything to do with her for--a long time. Which included Arrowette for a little while, but then I got it in my head that I could 'get back' at Mom by being a better hero without her than I was with her, so I took it back up again." She looked up at Roy sheepishly. "Stupid, huh?"

Roy looked at her, "Maybe." he said, "But what do you think Arsenal was?"

She looked at him in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Green Arrow... Ollie... and I... we had a falling out." Roy said. "I stayed Speedy a while, but then I went to work for Checkmate. Then I met Jade, Jade had Lian, and long story short I went back to The Life as a hero instead of a toy soldier. But I was still pissed at Ollie, wanted to make my own way, though Ollie wasn't even there anymore. Anyway, I went out to prove I could do it and I could do it without him." he shrugged. "I did."

Cissie gave him a sad smile. "I'm sorry, about Ollie," she said quietly. "But--I'd say you did, too. And Lian--she's really awesome."

Roy smiled at her, the sadness gone from his eyes, "Thank you, little Arrowette." he ruffled her hair, "And Lian is my pride and joy and my reason for doing what I do. What's yours?"

She ducked her head, blushing a little. She really couldn't say when the last time someone had ruffled her hair or given her a pet name, other than Tim sometimes calling her "Cisskabob." Then she chewed on her lip, jerking a shoulder. She really wasn't sure how to answer that. "I don't really do much these days. I mean--aside from school and competing."

Roy nodded, "You'll know it when you find it." he smiled, "And you're going to be coming over for regular movie nights, right? and I told you the chocolate ice cream graham cracker thing worked."

Cissie smiled back at him. "Yeah, you did. And--I'd like to. It was a lot of fun."

"It was." Roy nodded, pulling into Elias's grounds. "Call me if you need anything, even if it's just contraband chocolate." Roy grinned. "Or a listening ear. And you behave y'self, y'hear?" he teased.

Cissie returned the grin, just a little relieved that they had arrived and she didn't need to talk about Marcy and that night in the woods--she had little doubt that it wouldn't come up at some point, but for now she was feeling really comfortable and happy. "Thanks, Roy. I'll do my best."

"Good girl." Roy said quietly. "Keep yer chin up." he called after her as she got out.

He liked her. A lot. She was a sweet girl, and if Lian turned out anything like her he'd be thrilled.

Now Bonnie and Ollie, they'd be hearing from him...

Or maybe not. She seemed content enough.

Cissie laughed a little and nodded, waving as he drove away. She headed to the building and her room, feeling really happy. She liked Roy--and Lian--and it had been a surprisingly fun day. She checked her watch--there was even enough time to call Tim in San Francisco before he went out on patrol. All in all, it was the best Saturday she'd had in a long time.

[The End? This was fun, thanks! :)]

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Meeting Roy

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