You Take The File Natasha’s Holding Out To You And Sit Next To Her, Flipping Through It With A Frown.

You take the file Natasha’s holding out to you and sit next to her, flipping through it with a frown. “Why are we going to Star City?”

“There’s a growing crime ring there that could turn into a terrorist threat,” Steve explains.

“Who’s Damien Dark?” Sam asks, flipping through his own file. “Sounds like someone out of a comic book.” You snort and look back at the file. It seems that Sam, Steve, Natasha, Wanda, and you are the only ones going on this mission. At least for now.

“He’s most likely the ring’s leader.” Natasha pulls up a picture of him on the projection monitor. “For the past couple of weeks, he’s either been impossible to track or at public gatherings.” She looks over at you. “He’s been at every single one of your boyfriend’s campaign events.”

You swallow nervously when you see Oliver’s smiling face staring up at you from the file. He still doesn’t know that you’re an Avenger, and you’d like to keep it that way for as long as you can. He’s already been through enough; he doesn’t need a superhero girlfriend and possibly an evil overlord locked on him. “Okay, so what’s the game plan?” you ask.

Steve leans forward. “We will be as undercover as we can be in Star City until someone recognizes us, which will happen eventually. We’ll be supporting Mr. Queen’s campaign. Wanda will go through Damien’s mind at each event so we know if he’s guilty and, possibly, what he’s up to.” He locks eyes with Wanda, who’s standing next to you with her arms crossed. “Is that alright?”

She nods with determination. “I can do it.”

The corner of Steve’s mouth twitches up at her words. “All right, we’ll head out in fifteen minutes so we can make Queen’s next event. ”

“Steve,” Sam says, “what about the Green Arrow?”

Natasha and Steve exchange a familiar look that makes you frown. It’s a “we-know-something-that-you-don’t” look.

“We tried to contact the vigilante so we could work with him, but got no response,” Natasha says. “We’re on our own for now.”

“Hey.” You smile, walking up to where Thea stands in the front row of Oliver’s supporters. The younger girl smiles brightly and pulls you into an enthusiastic hug.

“Hey!” she squeals and keeps her hands on your shoulders when she pulls away. “I didn’t know you were in town! Where have you been? It’s been months!”

You sigh. “My job’s kept me tied up in a bad way.” Your eyes flick to where Steve stands at the edge of the crowd, the World War II veteran hat Natasha got him pulled low over his face. His undercover get up sucks, as usual. “In fact, I’m here on business.”

Thea frowns suspiciously. “What kind of–”

She’s cut off as Oliver takes the stage in the new music hall, smiling and waving at the cheering crowd and flashing cameras. “I’ll tell you later!” you yell to Thea over the commotion. She nods and you internally sigh in relief. That will give you enough time to invent a good alibi. 

“Good evening, everyone,” Oliver greets, smiling at the crowd. His eyes move over you once before they recognize you and Oliver’s smile brightens. “It’s great to see you all here.” You can’t help the smile that comes over your face at the way he’s looking at you.

“As you probably know, I am here to support the opening of this beautiful new Star City Music Hall here in the Glades. Earlier this year, it was–”

You feel a tug on your right sleeve and turn your head to see Wanda, her eyes flashing quickly from scarlet to brown. “Wanda, what’s wrong?” you whisper, taking hold of her elbow in case she gets weak. “Wanda?”

Thea leans over your shoulder and gasps. “Hey, is she okay?”

“She’s fine,” you snap and Thea recoils. You wince at your sharp tone and the fact that you responded way too quickly. “This is my colleague. She has anxiety and doesn’t do well in crowds, I’ll be right back.”

Thea nods with concerned eyes. “I’ll save your seat.” You smile gratefully and wrap your arm around Wanda’s waist, half-carrying her to the edge of the crowd and into the entrance of a hallway so you’re partially-hidden. “What’s wrong, Wanda? What is it?”

Sam walks up to you, sporting a red hat and a casual jacket and jeans. He looks at you questioningly and you shake your head. “Damien is here,” Wanda gasps, “but something … Something is wrong. It’s twisted and dark, (y/n). It’s making me dizzy.”

“Do you see anything about him? Anything important?” Sam asks.

Wanda shakes her head. “Nothing. Except …” Her eyes suddenly widen and flash scarlet as her mouth opens into a small, surprised “O.” 

You squeeze Wanda’s trembling shoulder and lean her against the wall. She’s only proving to make you more worried at the moment–You’ve never seen her like this. “Wanda are you okay?”

She whips her head back and forth and continues to shake uncontrollably. You look at Sam helplessly and he gulps, taking Wanda’s other arm. “What do we do?” he asks.

Before you can even think about responding, the floor shakes with the familiar force of a nearby explosion and the sound of gunshots comes from down the hall. You gently lower Wanda to the floor as Sam runs to look at what’s going on. You follow, looking around the corner to see complete chaos.

People are fleeing in all directions, and masked men with guns are firing into the crowd. Oliver is nowhere to be seen, which immediately makes your chest clench in terror. You glance behind you to see Wanda still in the same state as before and are about to run into the crowd when you see a familiar blonde rushing toward you.

“Felicity!” You yell. Running forward, you take her arm and pull her behind cover. Sam pulls out his gun and guards the entrance as you pull the surprisingly-calm techie towards Wanda. “Please watch her, something’s wrong and I have to go.”

Felicity nods unquestioningly before glancing at Wanda and doing a double take. “Is that … ?” Then she looks at Sam’s crappy undercover outfit and even though his back is to you, she puts two and two together. “Oh my god.”

You smile shakily. “I’ll be back.”

Then you rush up to Sam’s side, pulling on your wrist braces as you do and, at his nod, the two of you run into the fray. 

Sam grins, walking towards where Diggle stands on the other side of the lair. “Looks like neither of us really got out of the good fight.”

“Can’t escape it.” Dig laughs and shakes his old army buddy’s hand. He sees Steve standing beside Sam and greets him with a handshake next, nodding knowingly. “Even after a lifetime.”

Steve laughs dryly, and the three veterans look around the room. Felicity, Thea, Wanda, and Natasha are all talking around the computers as Felicity tries to track the terrorists. Wanda has a blanket around her shoulders and is still shaking slightly. She doesn’t know what happened to her at the music hall, only that Damien caused it somehow. According to her, he must have somehow known that she was in his mind.

All of the information she gathered from him was erased like a computer, and you’ve already made it clear to Steve that you’re not letting her do that again.

While the two teams have gotten along well so far, the couple at the other end of the room has been in a silent dispute for nearly two hours. They were silent on the ride to the lair, silent for the first half hour and, finally, they went to the corner to talk and haven’t stopped. Everyone else is doing their best to ignore them.

“So, what’re they usually like when they’re together?” Sam asks, looking away from you and Oliver and back at Diggle. “(y/n) talks about Oliver all the time, but …”

Dig smiles a bit. “They’re great. Oliver’s happiest whenever (y/n)’s in town. I just wish he would’ve told her about his nightly activities before now. And that she told him.”

Steve nods. “(y/n)’s very strict about keeping her identity secret. She’s never told me why.” The three are silent as they all look at the other end of the room. Steve clears his throat. “Well, since they’re a bit caught up at the moment, we should probably discuss some sort of plan.” The other two men agree, and they begin discussing a plan of attack.

On the other side of the large room, (y/n) steps away from Oliver and crosses her arms over her chest. “I just don’t understand why you didn’t tell me.”

He holds up a finger and narrows his eyes dangerously. Your heart sinks when he does so; that glare has never once been directed at you. “You have no right to say that to me. You did the same thing.”

“I was going to tell you today after your conference,” you hiss, trying your best not to subdue to his anger. “But then some psychos decided to shoot up the place, so I didn’t really get the chance.”

Oliver’s angry gaze doesn’t falter from you and you sigh, stepping forward and interlacing both of your hands with his. “Look, I love you, Oliver, and I really don’t want this to be what comes between us. We both kept secrets, and we both know everything now, so can we please just promise each other that we won’t lie anymore and move on?”

You pause and look down at your entwined hands. “I already hardly see you in the first place and I don’t want to lose you forever.”

He untangles his right hand’s fingers from your left’s and cups your chin gently so you look up at him. “No more secrets?” You shake your head. “And you’ll keep me updated?”

You nod, feeling the corner of your mouth twitch slightly. “And you’ll keep me updated?” He nods and smiles softly down at you, making you do the same. “Good.”

He grins and releases his hold on your chin and hand so he can wrap his arms lazily around your waist. “So we’re good?” he asks.

You laugh at his attempt to be coy and rest your hands on his strong chest. “Yes, Ollie, we’re ‘good.’”

Still smiling, he leans down and kisses you softly. You grip his shirt just a little tighter and kiss him back for a few seconds before pulling away. The two of you simply sway back and forth for a few seconds, foreheads touching as you do.

“I love you,” you breathe.

Oliver’s chest moves up with a small laugh and you feel his warm breath brush over your face. “I love you too.”