Working With Red

Freak-Outs and Present Ideas

"Calm down, (Y/N)! It's not like this is the end of the world!" You groaned, hanging upside down over the edge of your bed as you stared irritably at Dinah. 

"I can't help it!" you whined. "Christmas is in, like, two days and I still have no idea what to get either of them!" 

There were only two days left until Christmas, and you were in the middle of a crisis; at least, you considered it so. You'd been living with Oliver for almost four months now, and after your first official mission, you'd been going out on a more frequent basis. You'd even had a mission during Thanksgiving, where you the privilege of meeting Count Vertigo, and became indulged in another run-in with Cheshire. At the time, a villain called Sportsmaster had been with her; that mission hadn't exactly been very memorable for you. 

Since your first mission, the Council of Wings had been rather silent. There had been no recent information from any of the League members about the group, but it came as somewhat of a relief to you, seeing as you didn't have to worry about another run-in with them--or, more importantly, Zayne. Roy's arm had healed nicely, as had your black eye, and over time, your partnership had grown. Though it had only been two weeks since Oliver had given you the green light to go on missions by yourselves, the missions were always--for the most part--a success. You had even begun carrying carrying Class 2 weapons on missions; you'd taken a particular interest in the Remington 870, though you remained faithful to your trusty ACP. 

Your most current mission, however, was finding your two favorite archers Christmas presents, and you were failing miserably. 

"Well, I mean, they're men," Dinah muttered, shrugging. "They can't be that hard to shop for. Just buy them each a pair of socks and call it good." 

"I can't just do that!" you exclaimed, groaning. "That's a too-simple, last-minute present I would get for somebody like my. . . my dad." There was an awkward silence between the two for a moment before Dinah let out a sigh, raking a hand though her vibrant blonde hair. 

"Well, isn't Ollie kind of like a dad to you, now?" She asked quietly. "I-I'm not saying he's your dad now, or anything--" 

"No, it's okay," you cut in, gaze fixated on the ceiling above you. "Honestly, I don't really know how to feel about Ollie. I feel like he's done more for me than anyone in the world--other than Dad, of course. Socks wouldn't even begin to cover the type of gratitude I want to show him." 

"He knows you love him in your own special way, (Y/N)," Dinah replied, smiling. "He loves you like you were his own daughter. He'd probably cry like a baby if you simply got him a pet rock." You scoffed as you rolled back over onto your stomach. 

"Probably," you muttered, groaning, "but that still doesn't bring me any closer to finding him a Christmas present!" Dinah rolled her eyes as you groaned, holding your face in your hands. 

"Then make a list of Ollie's interests," she suggested, folding her arms over her chest. "Try to find something he likes and turn it into a present for him." 

"Well, he obviously likes the color green," you joked, "and he's an archer. He's rich, so there's probably nothing materialistic he doesn't have. He seems to like guns, but he already has way too many of those. Arg, this is so hard!" 

"You're making it too hard on yourself, sweetie," Dinah muttered, shaking her head. You scoffed, hanging your head as you let out yet another groan. 

"Easy for you to say! You know Ollie better than anyone! What are you getting him?" You fell silent as a cocky look spread across Dinah's face, and you cocked an eyebrow when Dinah flipped a lock of hair over her shoulder.