What's wrong with us when happy hurts

We've taken different paths And travelled different roads

We've taken different paths And travelled different roads I know we'll always end up on the same one when we're old And when you're in the trenches And you're under fire I will cover you

Notes:

I know it took me forever to update and I am really sorry about that. There has been a lot going on in my life lately and I've been struggling with this chapter for ages, I'm still not happy with it, it is very short but I'm at a point where I'm sure I'm not going to be able to improve it. So it is what it is. I hope getting this one out will help me move forward and get the next chapters done sooner.

Thank you so much to everyone who is still supporting this story! I really appreciate all the likes, subscribers, favorites, and commenters and everyone else who reads and enjoys it. You guys are awesome and it means the world to me. And I apologize for how long it has taken me to update.

Diggle

The drive to Oliver's apartment had been awkward, to say the least, and didn't help at all, given the current situation. It might have been smarter to use different cars. John had noticed Oliver shutting down his emotions and pushing the issue with Felicity to the back in order to aim all of his focus on Laurel and her missing friend. It was a by now very familiar tactic Oliver used on the regular. It was still fascinating and a little disturbing to him just how quickly Oliver could go from emotional, to turning his emotions off completely as if someone pulled a switch, and becoming rational, single-minded and mission focused.

He was grateful once they reached their destination and they could get out of the car and the very uncomfortable atmosphere that had been present during the entire drive, not that he expected it to become less awkward simply because they were no longer trapped in a vehicle. But no longer being confined helped, a little, until they reached the elevator and the feeling was even more intense. He was glad when they could step outside and faced the entrance to Oliver and Sara's very spacious apartment. Hoping this would ease some of the tension, plus the fact that they were going to focus on their newest mission, would probably help a lot, too.

John watched Oliver step over the threshold and continue his stride until he reached Sara, who had stepped into the corridor at the sound of their arrival, only stopping once he had reached her. Placing one of his hands on her pregnant stomach, wrapping his other arm around her and kissing her temple before pulling her fully into his chest. He watched Sara crumble in Oliver's arms for a split second, before she very obviously and physically pulled herself together, it was almost as if she had given herself this one short moment, while being enfolded in the Green Arrow's embrace to let herself go before pulling the same switch Oliver had, only it didn't work as flawlessly and well as it used to. There was a quiet and mostly silent conversation between the two of them before they pulled apart and turned towards Laurel, Felicity, and him as a united front. He watched Sara quickly take hold of one of Oliver's hands and hold on to it tightly. There were small cracks in her façade. And that was what it essentially was every time Oliver and Sara pushed their feelings aside in order to have their entire focus on the mission. They put on a façade. Rebuilt all the walls surrounding them to keep their emotions at bay so they could put all of their energy and attention on the issue at hand and the current crisis.

John wasn't sure when the last time was that this tactic had this obviously been displayed by Oliver that he almost felt like he had been slapped in the face with it. This was essentially what Oliver had done the past few months, only he had put the façade on before he entered the bunker, probably whenever he left the apartment, and they couldn't see the change in demeanor. Making it less obvious and more difficult for them to detect. Which meant Lyla might have gotten to see a different Oliver than he had whenever she had gone over to visit Sara. He pushed that thought to the back of his mind, like some of the ones he's had while watching the confrontation between Oliver and Felicity unfold to also focus on the matter at hand, and that was Joanna's whereabouts.