Imagine- One-Shots of characters across the fandoms

Even Canaries Get Stressed -Laurel Lance (Arrow)

As requested by dreammaster6! Male Y/N.

Y/N paced the floor of his apartment in Star City, continuously glancing at the door. It was the middle of the night, and she should've been back by now. But she wasn't.

Y/N worried about his girlfriend, Laurel Lance, more than he knew she should've. She was a hero for goodness sake! Laurel was in peak physical condition, she was a skilled acrobat and honed her senses well. On top of all that, she was great at martial arts and could wield all sorts of weapons. Plus, her Canary Cry, the sonic device that gave her the name, Black Canary.

Laurel could hold her own and defeat any foe that was thrown her way... so why was she late coming home tonight? If Oliver and the gang were holding her up, they usually called to let him know. If anything was threatening mass destruction that she had to take care of, he would've seen it in the news.

Y/N eventually gave up pacing and collapsed onto his couch, groaning. "Just call me, Laurel, please, please, I need to know you're okay," he begged, hoping that somehow, she would hear him. But his phone stayed silent.

Y/N loved Laurel, but dating a hero could be stressful sometimes with all of the constant worrying about their potential death.

Suddenly, the door opened and Laurel stumbled inside, slamming the door behind her. She sunk to the floor, her head in her hands.

"Honey!" Y/N immediately jumped up and rushed over to her, kneeling to her height. "Laurel? Is something wrong? Why are you so late?"

She didn't respond, so Y/N took the time to inspect her wounds. Normally she came back with bruises, but tonight she had a huge gash on her arm that had been patched up, but it was still very prominent. Something had happened, and Y/N was going to find out what.

"Babe, please, talk to me. You know you can," Y/N whispered, rubbing her shoulder soothingly. "Would you like to move to the couch and get comfortable?"

Laurel wordlessly nodded, so Y/N helped her up and led her over to the couch. She avoided his gaze the whole time, but Y/N could still see the cuts on her face as he sat down next to her.

He clutched her hand. "Tell me."

"I-I can't do this, Y/N, I can't-" she began, biting her lip to prevent tears from falling.

"Whatever you think you can't do, I know you can do it," Y/N assured her.

Laurel shook her head. "Not this. This is bigger than me. It's bigger than everyone."

"What is?" Y/N asked gently.

"Brick's thugs tonight, they're all just... they... there were so many. They surrounded me," she explained. "I thought I could take them all by myself. I thought I was strong enough to not ask for help... God, Y/N, I should've asked for help!" She held her head in her hands and sobbed.

Y/N wrapped his arms around her and gave her a huge hug. "It's okay, it's okay."

"No, it's not!" she exclaimed. "I could've died tonight the way they attacked me. I could've been killed! I would've been taken from you." She uttered the last part in barely a whisper.

Y/N understood why she was so shaken now and wanted to do whatever he could to make her feel better. "But you know what, you didn't die. And you're here with me now, and I love you. So, why don't you take a break from hero-ing for now, and we can, I don't know, drink some booze?"

"What kind of booze?" she sniffled.

Y/N chuckled and went over to his mini bar. "Hm... all I have is bourbon."

"That's perfect, pour me some," Laurel said, perking up at the sound of the alcohol splashing into the glass. "That should help me relax."

"You know what would help you relax is not worrying about other people's problems," Y/N said as he brought over and handed her the glass. "I know you love being Black Canary, and I think it's fucking sexy, but you've been coming home like this more often than not lately. Is it really worth it?"

Laurel took a swig of her bourbon before answering, downing half the glass. "If I don't help fix out little 'Brick' problem, it could grow into something out of hand. I have to."

"Babe, you don't have to. You expect too much out of yourself right now," Y/N told her.

Laurel shook her head. "You're sending me mixed signals now. Just a minute ago, you told me I could do anything."

"Yes, you can do anything, I stand by that, but I also don't like seeing you upset all the time." He placed his hand on her thigh. "My main concern is your well-being. I love you, Laurel."

Laurel managed a smile and wiggled her way onto Y/N's lap. "Maybe I can take a break from being the canary for a few days. I have wanted to go out on a formal date with you for quite a while now, maybe even a vacation... Green Arrow can handle things for a while without me."

"I love that idea!" Y/N said happily. "I've wanted to go to Alessandro's in Gotham City for quite a while."

"Gotham?" Laurel repeated. "Honey, that place has more crime than here and Central City combined. I thought you wanted me to take a break from crime fighting."

Y/N frowned teasingly. "But Laurel. Chicken Parmesan."

"Yes, that's a great reason to go to Gotham, to get a dish from that one specific restaurant that you can get from Corrado's Italian Bistro here for half the price." She shook her head playfully. "Anything for you, my love," she said sarcastically.

"I'm just kidding, we don't have to go," Y/N laughed. "I'm just glad to see you smile."

Laurel put her empty glass down and flopped dramatically over Y/N's legs with a pout. "Why'd you make me smile, I don't want to smile."

"I have that effect on people," Y/N murmured before leaning down and kissing her deeply.

She buried her hands in his hair and kissed back with just as much passion, letting out all her pent-up emotions into it.

When Y/N pulled back, Laurel sighed, disappointed. "Damn, I needed that. I may need more than that, actually."

Y/N smiled knowingly. "That can be arranged. Wanna go to the bedroom?"

"No time," she muttered, bringing his head down to kiss her again.

Y/N positioned himself so that he was on top of her and she could straddle her legs around him.

This was going to be a fun night...