⇻sin-eater⇺

He watched it not to say anything steep for a child, then again, Arthur is hardly known for his foul mouth, so that wasn’t particularly difficult, but to hear Lian repeat that particular word, not that was hilarious and he couldn’t help but snort with amusement, especially paired with Oliver’s reaction.     “   Fist fight?  When it comes to the government, I don’t think that’d be the best look for me. I represent Atlantis and currently negotiating on trying to get us an embassy, so I doubt punching government officials would help my cause, but I’ll keep the offer in mind.   “

Otherwise he realised it was very amusing and daresay heartwarming to see Oliver like that, the way he talked and acted around Lian brought a smile to his face without fail.     “   I’d certainly hope so! If you suddenly find yourself bored with nature and the small town charm, I guess you could just run away, but I’m not going to lie, I’d be pretty offended. At least leave a note or something.   “

While Lian fights against her restraints Arthur flashes an amused smile at Oliver, deciding not to interfere and let him handle the energetic toddler.     “   I have to say I thought the exact same thing when she was just running around the sidewalk, but I thought you’d be offended at that observation, but now that you arrived to the same conclusion, I don’t feel so bad about it.   “

   “Who do you take me for? I break up with people in person, Arthur. I’ve been burned enough to learn that lesson by now, thank you very much.” Oliver grabs a couple of pamphlets without really looking at them at starts herding Lian towards the east wing, where the bones of an enormous woolly mammoth sits on a rotund chestnut pedestal. Groups of families and tourists mill around it, their voices bouncing off the high walls of the chamber, all trying to work the angles for a perfect selfie.

   Lian is surprisingly highly receptive when Oliver coaxes her to stand in front of one of the huge legs and shows her how to do the world’s tiniest peace sign. She grins, all pearly white baby teeth, and Oliver has to get down on one knee to take a photo of her. She runs over to look after, and Oliver tips his head up towards Arthur with a wry smile. “I keep sayin’ these are to send to Roy, but...” He gets up and with a few swipes of his finger, the photo swaps out for the previous background.

   “...Right, well. I’ve been here dozens of times. What do you want to see? Lian’s down for whatever you are, right Lian?”

   “I’m up!”

If Oliver wants to dance then Arthur is certainly ready to tango. It’s rare that he’d mirror the kind of smile the archer is flashing at him, but he’s more than up to the challenge, and besides, there’s a fine choreography to this by now.     “   Oh, silly me, I knew I forgot something, I guess it wasn’t the stove.   “

He huffs a laugh as Oliver educates Lian, finishing his drink and throwing the cup in a bin.     “   Of course, because the great land of the free, the US will decide for every other country what’s good for them and brings them their own brand of freedom, whether they want it or not. I happen to be Hawaiian as well, not just Atlantean, and I’m pretty sure Hawaii would like their monarchy back instead of US occupation but what do I know…   “     He adds a feather light shrug with an equally easy smile.     “   Lian, your foxy granddad can be the first to greet the nationalist fanatic the Atlanteans would elect, who would gladly level the surface just in case it would ever pose a threat to them. So…   “     This time the smile is just for Oliver.     “   Amnesty Bay it is. We have a nice beach, great places to fish at, charming little festivals, good food and picturesque sunsets, and if you’re willing to walk just a bit further inland, some gorgeous forests as well. It’s a great place to get off your high horse at.   “

   “Foxy!”

   Oliver sputters, and out of everything, that’s specifically what seems to get him. He holds Lian closer to him and shoots Arthur an accusing look. “Hey, you wanna fist fight the government? I’m down literally any day of the week, let’s go.” A pause. “Maybe when I’m not babysitting Lian. Roy would never forgive me.”

   “Daddy!”

   “Yes, sweetheart, but later.” Oliver grunts softly as he extrapolates Lian from his neck and gently sets her back down onto the sidewalk. It’s busy for a weekday, but the museum is large and attracts tourism from all over the tri-state area. Oliver has to snag Lian by the loop on the collar of her jacket before she gets swept away, and starts herding her towards the concrete steps.

   “Well, it sounds way more fun that the extravagant vacation destination that is Lian Yu, so I guess I can’t say no when desertion is not required.”

memories‌:

The key to a balanced diet is three servings of #thegreenbatman | 01., one plate of #[ i love them so much ], and four glasses of Tide Pod juice.

@pincushicn

“   As far as I’m concerned, you’re definitely not acting like a complete…   “     A quick glance at Lian, remembering there’s a small child in their company.     “   … meany face.   “     Great save right there.     “   Besides, is it a problem that I find you nice? Do you feel the need to punch me just to balance out my opinion of you?   “

As they walk Arthur’s eyes are on Oliver as he happily sips his vanilla frappe, glancing at Lian from time to time to exchange a warm smile, but it’s also very nice to see his friend like this, out of the context of work, constantly dodging bullets and the occasional bleeding and continuous stress.     “   I know, I’m lucky that my calling and my talents together allow me to travel the world often and if I can show you just a fragment of it, I think that would be great. And you know… if you ever want to get away, or just need some fresh air and a change of scenery, the lighthouse is always there for you. Maybe you could come to Amnesty Bay, we could hang out there a couple of days, show you around and then take you to Atlantis. I’ll get you a suit to withstand the pressure of the ocean from our chief scientists, unless you have one of your own. And if you’d like to stay the night down there, I can make sure we have a pressurised, dry room.   “

   Arthur’s always always been a particular brand of nice and polite, and it’s probably what Oliver built their friendship up on—they’ve certainly butt heads in the past, especially when it came to the topic of Arthur’s status and what he represented. He definitely remembers calling Arthur... a lot of unsavory, politically skewed things, some of which he still stands by because that’s just who he is, but he’s never truly disliked him.

   He tried, but he doesn’t think he can, especially when Arthur talks so earnestly about him visiting Atlantis, like he’s excited about the prospect of it.

   “Why don’t we start with Amnesty Bay?” A sly smile curls the corners of his lips as he meets Arthur’s gaze, ready to poke at a wound so old between them that it may as well be a joke by now. “Have you introduced democratic elections to Atlantis yet? Maybe I’ll visit then.”

   “Demycratic?” Lian parrots, holding onto Oliver’s shoulders so she can lean back and look at him.

   “Yes, honey. Kings went out of style with religious persecution, but those aren’t words you have to worry about knowing right now.”

“   I live in a small town,  not on a farm,  so sorry to disappoint, but I don’t think I’ve been close to a chicken at many points in my life. But I sure know I like my chickens nice, big and healthy. So as far as I’m aware, I have an albeit one-sided, but great relationship with chickens.   “     The little stress Oliver adds to his speech demands a small chuckle from Arthur as he watches his friend, feeling as delighted as ever to spend time with him.

Gently he nudges the archer in the side with his elbow, leaning just a little closer before he notices Lian’s daring move and he’s about to move himself when Oliver saves the day and Arthur’s attention shifts back to the conversation at hand.     “   Visiting Atlantis is  always  on the table. I’m happy to take people there, the locals are not necessarily the  friendliest  of people, but they need to get used to surface company. I intend to bring land and sea closer,  working together,  so showing off one of the  nicer  surface specimens seems like a beneficial idea. Not to mention I want to share the wonders that are down there. There are so many things the surface doesn’t even know about in the depth and I could show all of that to you.   “

   “Arthur, you think I’m nice? Man, maybe I should punch people harder.” Oliver knows it’s not what he means, but he grins anyway, adjusting Lian’s jacket before grabbing her up into his arms so he can carry her across the crosswalk. He’s too tall for her to reach his hand otherwise and not make a fuss about it. “It’s definitely not a no. I’ll have to take you up on that offer, sometime. It’ll be like a vacation, and then everyone can stop bitching that I don’t take any time off and just work myself into the ground instead. It’ll be great.”

   “Great!” Lian cheers, right into his ear.