Chapter Text
Roy had a habit of avoiding looking up at the starry sky, especially on nights like these when there was not a cloud to cover the deep black speckled with sparkling silver dots. He broke this habit this night and looked up for once, finding himself amazed at just how beautiful the sky looked. He sighed, restinig his bow on his thigh. It would be a long stakeout but at least for once he wasn’t investigating some shady warehouse with ugly thugs. No, this night the sky and the ballroom of the Star City Opera House were dotted with stars. He watched over the great room, a dome of glass granting him a panoramic view he seldom got to enjoy.
“Hey Red Arrow…” – He heard over his earpiece.
“Hey old man… how’s it hanging?”
“Not too bad… at least we get to watch something a little less gritty this time, huh?” – Oliver responded with his usual light tone.
“Took the words from my mouth.” – Roy smiled drawing his eyes away from the stars to the Opera House. – “So, the fake heir…”
“Should be arriving soon… can I just say, it’s good to see you…”
“Oh you growing soft on me now? What happened, huh?”
“Nothing much, just happy to be working on a case together again… been a while…” – Green Arrow sounded awfully emotional, Roy wondered if he’d forgotten something.
He bit his lip and watched the waiters walking around distributing champagne flutes to men and women in long gowns and elaborate hairdos. He scratched the stubble on his face, overgrown and messy – Roy had a habit of forgetting himself.
“So what’s the breakdown on this guy again?”
“One big smoke screen… the guy is going around acting like the great heir to a central asian dynasty of a country that doesn’t exist, getting investment and support into a shell company… admirable skill really, he’s swindling bankers and tech guys all around out of their dirty cash except…”
“Is he just greedy?”
“He’s buying land all over the city… south side mainly… projects and all… I smell something bad…”
“So what’s the plan?”
“Watch, track who he speaks to, then speak to them, then track him some more…”
“No engagement, huh?”
“Not if all goes well… this guy is pretty well shielded, need to catch him with his pants down…”
“Gotcha…” – Roy sat back a little, using his mask to zoom in he could afford to perch a little less uncomfortably knowing this was mostly just a stakeout.
“How’ve you been, Red?” – Oliver asked doing the same from across the glass dome.
“Fine? You?”
“Splendid…”
“Cool…” – Roy watched on feeling like maybe Oliver had his eyes on him instead of the party they were meant to be watching, wondering if this mission was a done job Oliver was using as a cover to get some time with him – either way, he didn’t mind it.
He tapped his bow and looked over with growing disinterest until he spotted someone moving quickly across the room. They weren’t dressed like all others, no fancy sparkly gowns. The tall woman with long sleek black hair was dressed in all black. A black long sleeve turtle neck, black trousers and black shoes. She carried a large camera with her around her neck and other photography paraphernalia around her hips and thighs. It reminded Roy of the clothes a superhero would wear, a utility belt of sorts. He smiled feeling drawn to her, zooming his sight even more until he noticed her stop and talk to someone. They discussed and the man pointed at something behind her, lending her to turn around to follow whatever he was pointing at, revealing her face. Roy gasped audibly, air being punched out of his lungs he leaned forwards, catching himself on the sleek glass of the dome. He couldn’t believe his eyes, the woman looked exactly like Donna.
“Red?! What’s wrong?” – Oliver asked having heard Roy’s gasp, his breathing growing ragged. He looked over and saw Roy leaning forwards, clutching his chest.
“It’s… it can’t be…” – Roy mumbled unable to peel his eyes away, following her, waiting for the moment he’d blink and the woman would look like someone else, a trick of the eye or something.
“Red?! Respond dammit, what’s happening?”
“Donna… the- the photographer… it’s Donna…”
Green Arrow diverted his eyes from Roy and tried to spot the woman he was referring to.
“Come on little arrow… We’re pretty far up here, surely it’s just a- Holy crap!” – Oliver’s eyes widened catching sight of the young woman. – “That looks like Donna alright…”
“Are you- are you seeing what I’m seeing? I’m not… I’m not hallucinating this, right?” – Roy’s voice was choked.
“I’m not one for false hope son, but that is a carbon copy of Donna…”
“It can’t be… it’s been… it’s been three years… It can’t be we… she was… she was dead.”
Roy clutched his arrow, regaining some rhythm to his breathing. For the next few hours he watched the woman attentively, not a moment went by where he wasn’t looking at her, following her as she travelled through the great ballroom like a pinbal taking pictures with two cameras, a bright flash making Roy’s vision dotted with sparkles every time it went off
She paused for a bit on the corner of the great room, taking a long sip of water and tying her hair up. She used a large claw clip to secure it, her straight hair falling perfectly messy and framing her face.
“Fuck…” – Roy whispered, having seen Donna put her hair just the same so many times before during training, during missions, in the bedroom…
“Red?”
“Uh nothing… she just… she put her hair up just like- just like Donna used to…”
Hours went by and Roy watched nothing else but the woman who looked just like Donna until the party fizzled, the ballroom emptied and she found herself on a corner packing her equipment into a large bag.
“Uhm… Arrow?” – He asked seeing her speak on the phone, making her way out front.
“Yes?”
“I’m gonna follow her, hope you don’t mind…”
“Please do… the fake heir can wait, you found yourself a far more interesting mystery to unravel…”
“Thanks old man…” – Roy said running off to the edge of the building, perching next to gargoyles as he watched the woman rush out of the building into a taxi. – “Game on…”
Roy ran after the taxi jumping from rooftop to rooftop, swinging when he could. He celebrated being in good shape, the streets were so empty the taxi cruised fast, this would’ve been much harder a few months ago when he was still recovering from a particularly long bender.
The taxi eventually stopped in front of a brownstone apartment complex on the east side of the city. He watched as the woman left the car and waited for a light to come on. The top floor lit up shortly after and he settled on a rooftop across from it watching as the woman came inside shedding the layers of equipment all over a long table.
The apartment was beautiful, a big industrial loft similar to his own place – the perfect space for a vigilante and a photographer alike it seemed. The walls were a mix of brick and painted walls in a mauve shade that gave the space a feminine touch, flowers and rice paper lanterns softened the harsh burnt cement flooring. The woman undressed and entered the bathroom. Roy couldn’t peel his eyes away, trying to find something, anything that would tell him he was wrong. A birthmark, a scar, a tattoo or anything that could help him identify the woman. He found nothing out of place. The beauty spots were right where he’d remembered them, the three ones on the back of her shoulder as well as the one next to her belly button he’d made a habit of kissing almost every day. He swallowed hard.
“It can’t be… it’s been three years… it can’t be…”
He waited while she showered, watching the apartment telling himself he was gathering evidence. She emerged from the bathroom, wrapped up in a fluffy bathrobe that was a dark blue shade covered in big white stars. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun and she was brushing her teeth, pacing the house while she did it. Roy gripped his suit over his chest feeling his breathing quicken.
“That… what are the odds…”
The woman eventually finished getting herself ready for bed and the lights went off in the loft. Roy sat there for some time digesting all he’d seen for the night, conflicted and confused.
“It can’t be… I must’ve missed something, I must have…” – He said to himself tugging his knees against his chest.
The doorbell had been going off for ages, Roy was at his limit. He yanked himself from bed walking with heavy steps towards it and slammed the front door open not caring how he’d look. He was expecting his rough sleepy self to scare off whoever was on the other side trying to bother him, he was dead wrong.
“Dick?” – He asked blinking repeatedly, the ghost of the other wonder twin haunting him it seemed.
“Hey, Roy…” – Dick said with an easy smile.
“Did Oliver call you?” – Roy asked stretching.
“No… why…?” – Dick’s smile dropped and his eyes ran over Roy’s body analysing every inch of him, lucky for him Roy was shirtless.
Roy turned around and pointed for Dick to follow him inside.
“Been a while…”
“Hey… come here…” – Dick said catching up to Roy, a hand finding his waist and pulling him back. – “Did I wake you?”
“Yeah… it’s fine…” – Roy stopped and blinked hard, focusing on the feeling of Dick’s warm hand on his shirtless body.
Dick’s eyes scanned Roy’s apartment, finding his suit on the floor by the window, his bow and arrow tossed on the couch.
“Roy… what the hell…”
“What?” – Roy shot his eyes open.
“You just leave all your stuff lying around like this?”
“Oh… can’t see through the windows…” – He leaned into Dick, his head finding his shoulder and resting on it. – “Listen… I need to tell you something…”
Dick tensed under Roy, his eyes scanning his arms and feet one more time before he pulled Roy’s head up, cupping his cheeks in his hands, afraid he’d come too late.
“What?” – His brow furrowed, his heart racing.
“You’re not gonna believe me when I say this… but, I think I saw Donna last night…”
Dick didn’t react at first, tensing his mouth and looking at Roy with sad eyes.
“Roy…” – He began caressing his head, tangling his fingers on his hair.
“No no, listen, Oliver was there too… he also couldn’t believe it… that’s why I asked if he’d sent you…” – Roy said pulling away despite not wanting to, finding comfort in Dick’s warm hands and touch after such an emotional night.
He walked up to his laptop and typed away, hunching over the long dinner table that was always covered in gadgets. Dick looked around some more while he made his way to Roy, spying on his surroundings and Roy’s body. He leaned over behind him, slotting his head on his shoulder and looking over it.
“Look…” – Roy pulled up the feed from the ballroom, showing the recordings of the photographer.
Dick straightened up immediately, pushing Roy to the side and leaning over the computer. He zoomed in and watched attentively in silence for some time.
“When was this?”
“Last night…”
“Did you engage her?”
“No, I followed her home… she…” – Roy grimaced and closed his eyes, collapsing onto a chair next to Dick and covering his eyes. – “She was wearing a bathrobe covered in stars Dick… her flat is… full of cameras and lights and tarps for backgrounds… it’s full of orchids and those japanese lanterns like the ones she had in her room at Titans Tower…”
He took a deep breath in and felt the air choke in his throat.
“Hey…” – Dick opened himself up, placing a hand on Roy’s hunched back.
Roy reached for Dick, grabbing his clothes and resting his head against his stomach. He sobbed, he cried hard and clutched Dick desperately. Dick kept his hand on Roy’s back, the other finding his head and cradling the back of his skull making small caresses.
“She looks exactly like her Dick… exactly like her…”
“Listen… we’ll figure it out, okay? We’ll… I’ll help you sort this one out…” – Dick said with his eyes focused on the screen, the image frozen on a close up shot of the woman who looked like Donna, smiling.
Dick pulled Roy even closer, embracing him against his body.
“I’ll help you out…”