* TOUGHER THAN THE REST.

hands work delicately on the parts of the plane she’d been trying to fix, humming along to the tune playing on the radio. she’d taken the old plane out for a ride earlier in the week and in the process of landing managed to damage a section of its wings. those damn icy roads, not even the runways were safe from gothams frigid winter. and even though zinda has nothing close to actual super powers, she’s always been in touch with her senses. so it’s no surprise she can already hear the other that’d made their way into the room, curious as to why they’d been standing there for the few moments without saying anything. “y’know doll face..” the blackbird starts, head peeking out from the plane to look at them. “if y’just gonna sit there would you mind givin’ me a hand and handin’ me that wrench there? this ol’ plane ain’t gonna fix itself.”

* starter!

ollie wasn’t a big smoker. not really. but his  role  certainly was, and it was enough of a detachment from the emerald archer that it furthered the gap between him and his cover. you know — it had to be hard to be a silent stalker if you were  hacking up  a lung from smoker’s cough.

it worked, however. the dealer, a  weasel  of a man with far too loose a tongue, voluntarily provided the intel oliver needed. how  CARELESS. there was hardly any remorse in handing over the dirtied bills in exchange for the vial that had been bartered.

the new drug all the kids were  raving  about. right in  the green arrow’s  hands. small quantity for such a high price. but if the rumours he eavesdropped were actually true, then he knew it has to be taken off the streets. the problem now lied in the information he had gleaned…

“go on,” the dealer goaded, yellowed teeth smiling up at ollie. “have a taste! it hits you almost  instantly.”

“this isn’t for me,” oliver corrected, voice lowered like that of a street urchin. even managed to get a scuff or two on his face to look the part. “i’ll be seein’ you around, rufus.”

waiting around for the dealer to respond was a choice he decided  NOT  to take. it left open doors for rufus to question ollie — like where he was going or who the viral new drug was for — but leaving in the abrupt way that he did incited suspicion. there were sure to follow him.

too busy trying to see the tail in the reflection of a puddle beside his boot, the usually stealthy archer clipped another in the shoulder rather roughly. enough to throw him off kilter.

“sorry about that,” oliver muttered, glancing momentarily between the other’s face and then behind them. “but that’s  ALL  the apology you’ll be getting —  i gotta run.”

thanks to babs, dinah was able to have a map of the local hotspots in which the hope serum was being dealt. a few of them were hit or miss, her only action for the night being a sputtering young teen who was attempting to deal out the product in hopes to turn a profit and support his family. after a heart to heart - or, well, as close to one the black canary could get - she sent him on his way, cash in his pocket and a few nearly empty vials in dinah’s. 

her eyes had been trained on the small device babs had given her to map out the locations, though just as she reached her final one, it seems someone had beaten her to the punch. a dark figure moves past her and nearly knocks her off her balance, a sharp glare shooting over her shoulder. until she realizes just who had passed by her in such a rush. 

Bruce was used to things that went bump in the night, and all things considered, he could hear every bump in the manor at night and knew the exact location of where that bump came from. He did not, however, expect bumps at dawn, very human bumps.  He walked out into the dining room, leaning against the door frame. Don’t be fooled, his calmness was a facade, he was quite frustrated.  “I don’t normally expect visitors, what are you doing here?”

Blonde hair flicks over her shoulder at the other’s voice, a grin fixing itself to Dinah’s features as her gaze meets Bruce’s. “Just checkin’ in on ya’,” she says playfully, arms lifting to cross over her shoulder as she lessens the distance between their frames. “When Diana told me you’d be staying behind, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried for your sanity.” 

She’s joking - mostly. “How’ve you been, Bats?” 

     oliver knew full well that he was SUPPOSED to be on his a-game. despite his usually carefree demeanor, he took his role as a hero very seriously. so there was no denying that the pressure was on for tonight. admittedly, as boring as it was, he probably should have been a little more invested in scoping out the scene. his wife, however, made WHATEVER motivation he had deter significantly. who in their right mind could focus on anything when someone as gorgeous as dinah was wondering around? he was honestly surprised she hadn’t had to give any of these sleazy politicians a PIECE of her mind yet. which was truly a shame. he loved watching her make men cower. ❝ me? flirting? never. ❞ her touch sent a shiver down the archer’s spine. raising his lips to his glass, he took a long swig of the iced beverage. although he doubted the coldness actually helped reduce the redness in his cheeks. ❝ you REALLY don’t play fair, pretty bird. ❞ he uttered a bit weakly. for a moment he let his gaze sweep around the room; trying to focus on something other than his now genuinely growing frustration. he was definitely getting her back for this LATER. ❝ right. the mission. ❞ he cleared his throat. ❝ does that mean if i behave myself, i can at least steal a dance? ❞

dinah watches as ollie’s complexion grows red from her touch. the sight alone has the vigilante’s teeth sinking into her lesser lip, a slight cock of her head to follow. she couldn’t help but keep his gaze for some time, remaining quiet as she took the time to take in his features. it’d been a lonely handful of months without ollie at her side, and this hits her like a ton of bricks as they stand, intertwined in one another. her index finger lifts to trail gently along the line of his jaw, a thoughtful expression forming to her features. “what’s the fun in playing fair?” dinah teases, hands gently gliding up the material of his lapels. “i suppose a dance couldn’t hurt. it’s been a while since we have, you know.” her hands reach to link around his neck, tugging him backward with her and into the center of the ballroom where couples were already dancing. she offers a quick glance around the room - an attempt to keep her guard up, this was a mission after all - before hues return to her husband's, a soft smile taking shape to her lips. dinah’s head falls onto his shoulder, nose nuzzled gently into the crook of his neck. just to breathe in his scent again was enough to make dinah feel at home, and not in a ballroom packed with the heartless and selfish lot it currently was. “i missed you big time, arrow.” 

     ollie had left behind the family business BEHIND for many reasons. but it was gatherings like these that made it abundantly clear how much he hated being a part of it. there were only so many ways to feign interest in what droning, greying politicians had to say. the fact that a majority of these men were leading their country was concerning ── even in THIS decade. how the hell did half of these morons even get elected? then again, he found himself wondering the same thing in modern times. whiskey in hand, he made his way from person to person. his face was starting to ache from all the fake ass smiling. FORTUNATELY for him, this had been around the time his father had started to make a name for himself. so when it was heard that the intriguing robert queen wanted an invite, it didn’t take much to secure one. a glimpse of blonde hair had the archer GRINNING like an idiot. he quickly dismissed himself from the man he had been speaking to; closing the distance between him and his wife.  ❝ why hello there, foxy lady. ❞ he reached up to affectionately tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.  ❝ i’ve always got your back, babe. though i’m afraid the quiver CLASHED with the polyester. ❞ this would’ve been so much better if they could have actually spent the evening together.  ❝ i’m definitely digging the dress but i think it’d look even better on my bedroom floor. ❞

while dinah proudly put off the vibe that she is this fiercely independent woman who softened for no one... it’s hard for the vigilante to keep a straight face as the other addresses her in the proper 70′s vernacular that he seemed to be so fond of. if there was anyone that was going to distract dinah long enough to complete what she had set out to do, it was definitely going to be ollie - the archer never failing to keep a smile on dinah’s face, regardless of their environment. his words cause her teeth to sink into her lesser lip, pausing briefly to concentrate on the lapel of his coat, fingertips grazing against the fabric before tugging at it playfully. “mr. queen, if i didn’t know any better i’d say you were flirting with me.” her words are followed by a bit of laughter, her sour mood somewhat subdued as they’re able to break away from the seriousness for just a moment to keep each other entertained. “though if that’s the case, i’ll have to admit that from the second i put this on, i couldn’t stop thinking about how badly i want you to be the one to take it off for me.” her tone is sickly sweet, as if she wasn’t talking about she and ollie tearing each other apart once they got back to the mansion - as if she was talking about something equally as bland as the gala they’d so happened to be at. “and if you play your cards right, you’ll do exactly that. but we’re on a mission, my love.” her gaze leaves his long enough to survey the room, as if to make sure there weren’t any eyes on them. “so the last thing on our minds should be how badly i want to tear this hideous thing off of you, piece by piece.”

     ollie is a man who rarely EXPRESSES his more serious emotions. instead, he prefers to deflect said feelings with humor; a habit that some might deem as a bit of a coping mechanism. but, the moment he hears her voice  ──  well, that’s all out the window.  ❝ you definitely aren’t wrong there. i know you’re a MARRIED woman… but that’s doesn’t make you any less of a babe. ❞ his lips form into his usual cocky grin. completing contradicting the overwhelmingly tight sensation in his chest. how had he ever been so blind? he had almost ( carelessly ) thrown all of this away. and for what? because they had a few bad ARGUMENTS? sure, they were both stubborn as hell. and they butted heads more times than he could count. but that was also what made them so perfect for each other. who else would put up with him the way she did? 

     he’s not ENTIRELY sure what behavior would be deemed as appropriate ──  given how they had parted ways. and while he knew nothing had truly changed for him, who was to say dinah felt the same? it had been awhile. he brings a hand to his face, STROKING his beard out of anxiousness. the tightness in his chest is almost unbearable. and he knows if he were to say anything else, a load of sappiness would come pouring out ( something he’d never be able to live down ). before he can brood even further, he’s abruptly SNAPPED out of his thoughts; finding himself in an all too familiar position.  ❝ just like old times. ❞  he laughs in an attempt to hide the wavering in his voice. of course dinah would get straight to the point ──  just another trait he adored about her.  ❝ well… ❞ he pauses for a moment, ( apprehensively ) REACHING out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. hopefully, that wasn’t too forward. “… do you still think we need a talk, pretty bird? ❞

it isn’t until he’s quite literally in her grasp that dinah’s getting a good look at him, examining features she knew so well, as if it was the very first time. she’s aware that their time apart, while it helped them realize that this wasn’t something they wanted to throw away, also meant that they were going to have to work through their problems eventually. at one point, dinah was tired of the fighting, the screaming and the heartbreak and she felt as though they’d exhausted all their options, like there was one viable course of action to lessen the burdens on their heart and stop the cycle of hurt. but in just a years time, the blonde came to realize that if she was going to be at anyone’s throat, it would be ollie’s. time and time again, it will always be ollie.