Arrow in the Heart

Chapter Eight

"When was the last time you were here?" Roy asked after we had let go of each other.

"I came by on his birthday last year. I try to stop by every couple months." I said, taking his hand in mine again.

"I'm glad you decided to come back to Star City for awhile." Roy said.

"Me too. Ever since I left here, I've had this void in my heart. I always thought it was because of Noah, but I never realized it was more than that. It was you, Oliver, Laurel, Thea, Diggle, and everyone else I care about. My whole life had been created with all of you in it."

"For weeks after we lost Noah, I cried for hours on end. I didn't sleep, I didn't eat, I could barely hold down water. I couldn't even imagine what you were going through. I tried to hold it together around you, but seeing you so broken killed me. I turned to other things to try and dull the pain, but nothing worked. The only time I felt even partially whole was when I was with you." Roy said, his eyes filled with regret and sadness.

"Roy, I felt the same way whenever I was with you. Up until I found out you were screwing my best friend, you were my anchor." I said.

"Words can't even describe how sorry I am for doing that to you. The memory makes me cringe even to this day." Roy said, looking away from me in shame.

I put my hands on either side of his face and turned his head so that he was looking me in the eyes.

"Roy, I've forgiven you for that. We were young and foolish. We made mistakes. You need to forgive yourself. Move past your mistakes, don't dwell on them."

I pressed my lips to Roy's cheek and softly kissed away the single tear that had escaped from his bright emerald eyes. As I pulled away, I noticed that the sun was just beginning to lower towards the horizon.

"We should get going soon." I said.

"Can we just sit and talk to Noah for a little bit?" Roy requested.

"Of course." I replied, sitting against the base of the tree that grew right next to Noah's grave.

Roy sat beside me and pulled me close so that I was tucked into his side.

"Hello, my sweet Noah. I'm sorry it's been so long since Mommy came to visit you." I said.

"Daddy misses you so much. I'm so sorry that I never got the chance to teach you how to ride a bike or tie your shoe or even how to walk. I wish that I had appreciated you more when you were in your mommy's tummy. I will always love you, even though you never got to take your first breath."

As Roy spoke to Noah, I shifted positions so that I was lying sideways with my head in Roy's lap. He ran his fingers through my wavy brown hair and smiled softly down at me.

"You're a good dad." I said after Roy finished talking to Noah.

"You're an even better mom." He replied, kissing my forehead gently.

"I feel like even though we never got the chance to raise our son, we're still parents." I said.

"I think so too." He replied.

We sat in silence for a little while, just enjoying each other's company and thinking about what it would have been like if Noah were here with us. Eventually, we decided it was time to head back to the lair.

"Thank you for coming with me and for visiting Noah while I was gone." I said as we drove away from the cemetery.

"We should do this every so often. I think it would be good for both of us and I'm sure Noah would appreciate it." He replied.

I nodded in agreement. When we reached the lair, everyone had already left to go get dinner and shower. Roy and I sat in the chairs by the computers. We talked for a while about the things Roy had done since I left Starling. After a bit, Roy left to pick us up dinner from Big Belly Burger.

"Hey, where's Roy?" Oliver said behind me, making me jump.

"Freaking hell, Oliver. I didn't hear you come in." I said, smacking his arm.

"Sorry. Where's Roy?" He asked again.

"He went to Big Belly Burger to get dinner for him and I. Is everything okay?" I asked, concerned.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I just wanted to make sure you didn't kill him yet." Oliver joked.

"Very funny, Oliver." I said, sticking my tongue out at him.

He smiled at me before walking over to one of the tables covered with arrows and started organizing things. Roy came back a few minutes later, his arms full of food.

"Hey, Oliver. What's up?" He asked, handing me my food before starting in on his.

"Nothing. I just needed something to do." Oliver replied, moving over to the computers and typing in something.

Suddenly, there was a beeping from the computer. I spun around in the chair and checked what the alarm was for.

"Well, here's something for you to do. The tracker that you placed on that shady realtor just came online. He's in a restaurant in the Glades. Give me a second and I'll hack the security cameras to see if he has any guards with him." I said, typing quickly.

Oliver started suiting up as I hacked. When I got in a minute later, I saw that there was a whole swarm of security all over the restaurant. I called the rest of the team and told them to get here as soon as they possibly could.

"Roy, do you want to come or do you want to stay here with Emma? This is going to be a dangerous one." Oliver asked as he slipped on his mask.

"I'll go with you. Felicity can stay here with Emma." Roy said, kissing my forehead gently before rushing to suit up.

Everyone arrived a few moments later and got dressed and ready to go in a matter of minutes. Felicity and I were working on the computers, making sure we had an accurate count of the amount of potential attackers and what they were armed with.

"Will you be okay here with Felicity?" Roy asked, strapping on his quiver.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Be safe." I said.

"Everything will be fine, Emma." Roy said.

"If you get shot again, I'm going to shoot you myself." I said, placing my forehead against his.

Roy laughed and kissed my cheek. In a rush of emotion and fear for Roy's life,I pressed my lips to his in a surprising kiss. He kissed me back immediately and all of my anxiety melted away. In that moment, I felt safe and warm. In that moment, I knew everything would beokay.