Working With Red

Side-trips and Oh, Shit...

What is up, my dudes. Let's get rolling.

Also, my cheer squad won second place in Orlando, Florida last week! We also won second place during the Nationals Competition, so that was pretty great, too! :)

Updated: 2022.09.03

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"So, they're already gone?"

You nodded, leaning up against the island countertop as you eyed Roy sitting on the stool across from you. Roy hesitated for a moment before letting out a sigh, running a hand down his dirty face. It kind of irked you that he hadn't bothered to change out of his uniform yet, despite being home for the past couple hours, and if you were honest, no matter how good he looked dressed in red with his new bow in his right hand, he was smelling up the kitchen.

"They left early this morning," you replied. "Oliver finished packing up while you were on your mission, and he and Dinah left about an hour ago. They zeta-ed out, so I'm not surprised you didn't know." Roy shrugged.

"Did Oliver say anything to you before he left?" he asked, leaning his bow against the counter as he began stripping off his gear. He already had a rough estimate, from what Oliver had previously told him, though he didn't need you finding out he'd known about the mission for a while, now.

"Not much; he told me about Sacramento, but he said he had something planned for tonight. I'm not sure what, though," you murmured, gaze flitting to the ceiling as you breathed out a sigh. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about this whole 'Sacramento' thing, would you?"

Of course. "Just that we're going. Not much else," Roy replied, offering a lazy shrug. You studied him for a moment before making your way around the island to stand beside Roy, who let out a tired yawn as he struggled to remove his arm guard. Keeping your gaze averted from his own, you reached out and took hold of the arm guard, unstrapping it and placing it on the countertop with the other. Roy muttered out a quick "thanks" before peeling the mask from his face.

"So, we have the rest of the day to ourselves?" he murmured. "Great. I'm going to take a nap."

"U-Um, shouldn't we at least take some time to pack?" you replied, pursing your lips. "We should get it done as soon as possible and try to get a little bit of training in."

"How about a nap?" Roy muttered flatly, his eyes already half-closed. "I'm about to crash; I've been out all night and I don't want to be in a bad mood if Oliver is making us do God-knows-what later tonight." That, and I don't need to pack; I've been ready since yesterday.

You eventually nodded in compliance. "Yeah, okay. Well, then I guess I'll see you later." After shooting a quick look to Roy, you made your way out of the kitchen and back up the stairs to your room, closing the door behind your. You then eyed the empty suitcase Dinah had dropped off for you that morning, which lying on the floor beside your bed. Considering you know absolutely nothing about the mission that had suddenly been sprung on you this morning or how long you'd be gone for, you realized you had absolutely no idea what to pack. A generous amount of clothes and other necessities were untidily spread out all over your bed, a result of what you'd been doing to keep yourself busy while waiting for Roy to return.

You could hear Roy's lazy footfalls slumping up the steps from the other side of the door, and you were surprised when they suddenly paused in the hall between your bedroom doors. You figured he'd taken a moment before deciding to enter his room, but when you heard the doorknob jiggle behind you, you stifled a gasp and backed away from the door, waiting somewhat anxiously to see if it'd open. You waited for a moment, though after that simple movement, everything fell silent, followed moments later by the sound of Roy letting out a deep sigh before his shuffling footsteps wandered back across the hall to his own room.