The Arrow & The Huntsman [The 1st Installment of DC HEROES: CHAMPIONS OF EARTH]

[20] There's No Place Like Home

"Excellent. If it's all the same to you guys, I'd like my job back," Dean responded casually. "Wait, what?" Oliver balked. "Well, now that you mention it, that's what we were going to say to you," Moira chuckled. "Perfect, great minds think alike," Dean smiled.

"Um, excuse me?" Oliver questioned. "Can I please speak to my brother for a sec?" Oliver smiled tightly at the others, as he dragged his brother into the empty conference room. Once the door was closed behind them, Oliver turned and glared at his brother sternly, while Dean leaned against the table casually. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Oliver interrogated.

"Getting my job back, obviously," Dean retorted. "We have a plan; a plan that does not involve us playing Fortune 500 CEOs," Oliver hissed. "We made a promise to our father that we would right his wrongs, but we can't do that if you're up here sitting in a swivel chair and I'm out there risking my life." "Ah, yes, but we also need to keep a low profile and not draw attention to ourselves," Dearden said as though he were speaking to a child. "You running the club out in the Glades is classic Oliver Queen, but if I'm not doing what the public thinks I would usually do they'll suspect something's up."

"But if you take on too much responsibility here, then you'll slack on your responsibility out there," Oliver whisper-shouted. Dearden sighed in irritation. "Look, brother, we can talk about this later, but right now our family awaits." Then he started towards the door but was held back by his brother grabbing him by the arm.

"What is it now?"

"Last night, where were you?"

"I went to see an old friend," Dean answered obscurely. "Now, get your hand off me." "Was it that girl you were with the other day?" Oliver called out. "Keep your voice down," Dearden warned.

"So it was her?"

Dean sighed in defeat. "Yes. Happy?" And just like that Dearden wriggled out of his brother's grasp and walked out of the door. "We're back, y'all!" Dearden announced.

"Is everything all right?" his mother asked.

"All good, we just needed to sort some things out," Oliver chimed in. Walter came up to stand next to Moira and placed a hand on her back. "We know this has been a difficult transition for you both, so if you still need time to think over everything, we'll give that to you," he said.

"Thank you, Walter. Which part, though," Oliver started before his brother could say anything. "Everyone being proud of Dearden because he got his MBA and I didn't? Or the fact that my father's CFO sleeps down the hall from me? Or maybe it's that my brother is now hiding things from me and keeps sneaking off to see some girl?"

Dearden felt his heart plummet and quickly glanced over at Aaron to gauge his reaction to his brother's outburst before quickly looking away. Hopefully, he would ignore it and wouldn't bring it back up with him later.

But that was a big-ass maybe.

* * *

As the Queen brothers exited the building ten minutes later, they were immediately swarmed by the paparazzi as they neared the car. Once they were inside, Aaron got in the passenger seat while Diggle slid in the back with the secret vigilantes. "The driver will be here in a minute," Aaron voiced.

"Okay."

"You know, I spent the first 27 years of my life in Starling City, and the next five in Afghanistan," Diggle stated. "You wanna know what I learned?" "That there's no place like home?" Dean exhaled. "No, just the opposite," Diggle replied. Diggle's response drew curious looks from the two vigilantes and they both nodded for him to continue. "Home is a battlefield. Back home, they're all trying to get you," Dig continued. "Get you to open up, be somebody you're not sure you are anymore. Or I could be wrong. Maybe after five years alone, you're not as messed up in the head as you have every right to be."

* * *

~~flashback~~

They woke up on the beach of the island to the sound of squawking birds. Blinking their eyes open and wiping the crust from their eyes, they looked across the shore at the life raft they arrived on and saw birds pecking at their father's corpse hungrily.

Instantly, they were on their feet and stumbled over to the raft shooing the scavengers away. Once they were a few feet from Robert's body, right away were they able to smell the stench of the dead businessman. Oliver, never having smelled something so rank and putrid before, hurled immediately. However, Dearden, despite how disgusting he found the odor to be, was able to withhold from vomiting, even if only barely. "Ollie," Dearden grunted. "Ollie, we gotta bury him." Oliver coughed and wheezed loudly but nodded.

The boys soon got to their feet and started to drag their father's body out of the raft and carried him up the shoreline.

~~end of flashback~~