The night was the same. Full of nightmares and memories. Except this time, she was less exhausted so the cold kept waking her up; she missed her personal heater, she missed Matt's arm wrapping around her waist at some point of the night, his body, his general warmth. She put on another hoodie, but it didn't quite help.
The morning was brutal - she was woken up at eight by her ringtone. It was very unpleasant, because her pulse skyrocketed almost to 200 at the idea of Matt trying to contact her again. She wasn't ready to talk, even though she had to admit she would love to hear his voice. Not to mention she was still... unnerved he hadn't tried to call her again.
Goddammit, Veronika.
It wasn't her ex-fiancée. It was Terri. Vera couldn't say she wasn't disappointed a little bit more. And also utterly relieved.
"Hi, Mechy! I'm just heading to the café and I wondered if you've already talked to Mrs. Walker? I want to let her know I'm ready to go back to work, so if you have any note you want to me pass- Vera? You there? You okay? I'm not interrupting some morning-- whatever, right?" she asked cheerily.
Vera blinked to the darkness of the secret lair, processing her best friend's words. Vera hadn't talked to her since they saw each other in the cab after the explosion. Šmarja. She was such a shitty friend to have. Also, ouch. Terri was definitely not interrupting 'some morning whatever'.
"Hey, Terri."
"Hey you. I woke you up, didn't I? I'm sorry."
"It's okay. Tell Walker I still need several days off and I'll let her know as soon as I'll know when I'm coming, okay? Thanks," she mumbled. "How are you doing?"
"I'm fabulous, thanks, why don't you sound so good? Why do you need extra days off and it feels like you need a lifetime off? What's wrong?" Terri demanded, worried.
Vera bit her lip. "It was... a lot to process, Ter. I'm gonna be okay. I just need a little bit more time." Understatement of the year.
Her friend didn't say anything for several moments. The silence was ominous. Terri was no fool. "Try again, Mechy. Or I'm gonna check on you myself, screw the fact you need some alone time with your man."
Vera let out a choked noise; her eyes burned again. Ježišmarja, she just really wanted to stop crying. It didn't help anyone.
"I wouldn't do that, Ter. I'm not at-" home "-not in Hell's Kitchen."
"You what?! Where are you? What's going on? Can't you stay out of trouble for a goddamned day?"
"I... I don't want to talk about it, don't take it personal, it's just... I'm not in Hell's Kitchen and I can't tell you where I am, because you never know who's listening."
"What the actual fuck, Vera?!" Terri burst out, making Vera squeeze her eyes shut. Vera loved Terri, she really did, but this time, she so didn't need her concern.
"Look, we... we broke up, okay? I-I couldn't-- please, I really don't feel like talking about it yet," she whispered, her throat tight, her cheeks already damp.
The strangest thing was that maybe she wanted Matt to be listening in. So he would know she was hurting and so he would go and try to find her. He hadn't tried to call her ever since the evening they parted ways and it actually hurt. It went against everything Oliver had said about the events at Midland Circle.
"I... I am really confused, I feel like I'm missing something huge here, I don't understand at all, but okay. Call me when you're ready to explain what the hell happened that my OTP just broke apart. And- just... call me, okay? And don't do anything stupid."
Vera couldn't help a smile, though she was slightly annoyed. "I don't understand why everyone keeps telling me that. Thank you, Terri. I'll take you for a spa weekend when I'm back or something, I'm sorry I'm such a shitty friend-"
"Oh, please, shut up, Mechy. Just get your shit together, whatever it is and take care. Love you."
"Love you too."
---
The rest of the day was uneventful. She took a shower, explored the club above the base, seeing the irony on its logo, which looked like a reverse arrow head, a green one on top of that; she wondered how many people knew about this inside joke. She considered working out a little to chase away her thoughts, but she neither had her wraps nor had any idea how to work with the wooden dummy or anything else.
Before she knew it, it was late afternoon. She was still alone, Felicity being at work, Oliver and Roy God knew where. She was walking around, observing the room for the millionth time. The display case with Oliver's vigilante outfit; it was a little ridiculous and a little self-important, but there was no denying it looked really cool. She ran her fingers over the elegant curve of the bow, unable to keep the corners of her lips down at the memory of their first masked meeting. God, it felt like ages ago. Then Matt had come back, he had met her family and friends, he had proposed... and all the shit had happened.
Everything had changed so fast.
Had she acted harshly when running away? Oh, definitely. But her heart had ached in the way she didn't remember it aching before. He would die. He would run towards the arms of death, she had known that before, but it terrified her when seeing it so up-close. How willingly he was able to give up his life... for someone who didn't even live anymore. Not to mention it was his ex, an ex he had been hiding from Vera. And wasn't that just an icing on the cake?
Vera wanted to be with him. Oh god, she wanted to be with Matt so badly. But how could she come to terms with that? That she was possibly only his second choice? That even if he had decided to choose her in the last moment, what they had could be over in matter of seconds - from his own initiative?
And what had they had, really? They had barely started living together, hadn't managed to start planning their wedding. Could she really believe that anything would change if there had been more? If they had been married? If she had been pregnant? If they had actually had a kid? He had claimed he wouldn't be keeping secrets from her. He had said that if they had had a child, he would have tried his best, would be more careful and be out less. That had all been just wishful thinking, hadn't it?
'Sweetheart, if there's something that you don't like about him, some annoying habit, some character feature you can't stand, don't keep your hopes up that it'll change. Don't ask yourself if he can change, the answer is no, not really. Ask yourself if you can live with the idea that he won't; not after years together, not after marriage, not after having children.' Her mum had told her that when Vera had been dating David and she had been crying her eyes off, because of-
Something cold and sharp touched her throat, arm around her chest. Vera inhaled sharply, immediately brought back to present.
What the fuck? She was in a secret lair. How was she having something cold and very sharp against her throat?!
"Who are you?" dangerous voice hissed to her ear, to Vera's shock (bigger shock) a female one.
Her mind raced. She didn't think Oliver had any other female friends knowing his secret, possibly knowing the location of his secret base. Which meant this woman was a villain. So Vera was the only one present when the base was under attack. And wasn't that just fantastic?
She felt stinging as the blade broke through her skin. "I asked you a question, answer me."
"No one," Vera breathed, closing her eyes. What was the way out of this one? What had she been taught?
"Try again."
"Who are you?" she tried her luck, possibly out of her mind.
"Someone who's not happy about you being here."
"Well, I was invited. Were you?"
The firm grip on her loosened slightly and that was all Vera needed. She elbowed the woman to her gut, feeling another sting on her throat, lower this time, and knocked the knife out of her attacker's hand. Vera caught her wrist, twisting, being rewarded by a roundhouse kick right under her ribs. She gasped, stumbling backwards, letting go.
Vera finally took a short look at her attacker - she had long blond hair, black mask and black outfit resembling Black Widow's, only with a low-cut. For a fraction of second, Vera wondered if all baddies in Starling City wore a costume just to make it more obvious that they were going against a guy dressed as Robin Hood cosplayer. The fraction of second was enough for the woman to punch Vera to her face, sending her flying.
Vera's involuntary movement was stopped by one the metallic tables; the one with arrowheads. She grabbed one of them, turning around, only to barely dodge a kick aimed at her head.
Why the hell was everyone she had met lately a fucking ninja? Not that she would prefer a gun in her face-
"Who are you and why are you here?" the masked blonde growled, lunging again. Vera noticed her gaze flickering to Vera's right - Vera jumped away just in time not to get hit by another woman in a skirt suit. What the fuck? Guess that was a 'no' to the costume question.
A brutal kick to her gut sent her flying backwards once again, her lower back colliding with another table. She hissed in pain, losing both her balance and the arrowhead, falling to the ground. She stumbled back to her feet, blocking another blow and another. Jesus, where was Oliver's team? She wasn't sure about the time, but it felt like she was down here alone for too long.
She didn't appreciate the attack as an acceptable way of passing her time.
Vera kicked out mostly blindly; surprised she hit something, making her enemy stumble. It gave her enough time to change her posture from defensive to aggressive. Knees were weak spots. She missed by an inch, quickly adding a hit with the back of her fist to the blonde's face. Success. This time when she aimed for her knee, she actually managed to hit it, making her sunk.
Something awfully sounding like a cock of a gun caught Vera's attention, making her head snap its direction; the next thing she knew, she was on her back, air knocked out of her, her head hurting like a bitch, her gaze on the ceiling.
Both women entered her field of vision. The one in the business suit was aiming a gun at her. What was it what Vera had been thinking about guns earlier? See, that's what you get for blasphemy.
Vera was desperately gasping for air as the gunwoman eyed her associate. "You okay?"
The masked one wiped away blood from her mouth. Vera spent one precious second being proud of herself for making her bleed. She looked like a pro; her punches and kicks definitely felt like it.
"Yeah." She stared at Vera, who was pathetically lying on her back, panting and aching. "So. I'm gonna ask again and believe me, it will be the last time." Huh, Vera didn't register some accent before. She sounded... weird. "Name."
Vera gulped. Doprdele. What now?
"Gaia," she rasped. A second later, the blonde kicked her side. Honestly, Vera would kick herself too. She was a terrible liar, she knew that. Why was she lying again?
"You think I won't shoot you?" the other one asked confidently, raising her perfect eyebrow.
Oh, Vera had no doubt she would. She had just no idea what to do. Apparently, she was off her game since she couldn't even fight off two women. To be fair, the blond one was a fucking ninja. Not that it mattered; the important thing was Vera being in a secret base under attack and she had no way of defending it or herself. She needed to push herself harder, but she couldn't find the strength in her body.
Heavy steps resonated on the stairs and the gunwoman's head snapped that direction. Vera quickly rolled over, planning on cutting out her core since she was distracted. The masked blonde helped Vera graciously with the rolling, burying a knee to her back afterwards.
"Wouldn't do that if I were you," her captor hissed dangerously.
"Sara? Laurel?" male voice sounded with utter shock.
Roy. Oh, thank god, rescue on its way.
And oh, shit, could he take them down?
And what the fuck?! He knew them?!
"What are- SHIT! Let her go!" he burst out in panic, his steps turning into a rapid pace.
Vera felt the weight from her disappearing almost instantly, breathing in gratefully.
"You know her?" the blonde aka accent woman aka ninja demanded, surprised. Sara? Laurel?
Vera gasped for another dose of air, pushing herself up to her knees, coughing. Shit, her ribs were in agony.
A touch on her shoulder made her jump.
"Sorry, sorry!" Roy apologized immediately. Vera shook her head, licking her lips. Iron. Great. She loved tasting blood. "She's a friend."
He helped Vera up, grimacing as he checked her over. Vera tried to smile in return, turning her eyes to the women. The business woman had no longer her gun - it was now placed on a table, still in her reach. The blonde was observing them cautiously, mistrustful. Vera requited the glare wholeheartedly.
"How much of a friend? What the hell is she doing here?"
"Living temporarily?" Roy offered unsurely. The blonde raised her eyebrow. "Not sure how good friend actually, but considering she knows Oliver's secret and he was willing to make a trip to New York to help her, I would say good enough."
Vera was sure Roy was thinking about Vera asking Oliver to take his pants off when saying the word 'friend'.
"What? He went to New York? When?" the former gunwoman asked.
"Few days ago. I went with him, there was some ninja problem-"
"The League?!" the blonde blurted out in horror.
"No, no. The Arm-"
"The Hand," Vera corrected him automatically, speaking up for the first time. The women's gaze focused on her.
"The Hand? I- I heard stories about them. What-- what does she have to do with The Hand? Are you crazy, bringing her here? Is Oliver insane?"
Vera blinked, taken aback and... afraid. What did this woman know about the Hand?
"You know The Hand? ... What the hell is The League anyway?"
"The League of Assassins. Ninjas. Super badass ninjas," Roy explained shortly as if it was any help. He didn't seem to be concerned about her knowledge about ninja cults. Ninja cults. The world went crazy.
"Sure. The Hand, The Chaste, The League of Assassins..."
"The Chaste? Roy, Jesus, whoever she is, she's dangerous! What is your connection to them?"
My ex-fiancée, who I broke up few days ago, was an involuntary member of the Chaste. He joined them because they tried to kill me in order to recruit him, because one of their masters trained the said fiancée-- EX-fiancée, but now they are all dead except him and one guy with a glowing fist, but so is the Hand, because we let a building fall on top of them.
Vera mentally counted to ten. "It's complicated."
The blonde inhaled sharply only to be stopped by Roy.
"She's a friend, like I said. No one would come after her. She's not a member and I honestly doubt she ever wanted to be part of any of that."
"I really didn't."
"She at least started the training," the black mask protested, still suspicious, wiping the corner of her mouth again.
"She did this?" Roy wondered, astonished, looking at Vera in shock. "You punched Sara?"
Vera clenched her jaw.
"Not the time, got it. You're bleeding. Shit."
"I'll live," Vera murmured, her hand automatically reaching to her throat. The bleeding was minor, already stopping. Her ribs and face hurt like a bitch though. Her head wasn't too great either.
"I'll take care of it," the blonde offered to Vera's absolute awe. The woman took off her wig - yes, took off her wig, she was a less shining blonde under it - revealing her freckled face. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. I'm Sara."
Vera reluctantly accepted her hand, shaking it.
"Vera."
"Not Gaia, huh? I'm Laurel. I'm Sara's sister," the other woman shook her hand too and Vera managed a relieved smile.
"I would say it's nice to meet you both, but... well..."
Sara shot her a sympathetic look as she opened a ridiculously equipped first aid kit and put on latex gloves.
"Why didn't you tell us your name? Or that Oliver let you in? Hearing his name would probably help."
Vera eyed Laurel, hissing as the disinfectant stung on her throat. Roy awkwardly stood by her side. "Yeah, let's just assume I had no idea if you're the residents or the bad guys. I really wouldn't give away Arrow's identity."
Sara looked up from Vera's wound. "She has a point, Laurel. Don't make her talk now, I'm trying to work here. It's not bleeding much, you won't need stitches."
Vera wanted to say thanks, but she shouldn't be talking. Nodding was probably out of question too. She thanked once Sara was done with the cleaning.
"You think you're bleeding somewhere else?"
Vera shook her head. "No. Ribs hurt like a bitch, but I doubt there's any bleeding." Visible one, at least... internal bleeding was another case.
Sara placed a bandage square on her throat, fixating it with plaster. Vera was sure it looked ridiculous, but hey, she didn't want the wound to get infected.
"I'm sorry. Can I check for bruising?"
Roy turned around before Vera could answer, making her huff out a laugh. And Jesus, ouch.
"There is some older bruising, I had... uhm, stuff happened. And it's okay. You were just protecting the base of operations."
"So were you," Sara offered softly, giving her a small smile before rolling up her tee. Vera realized too late it would reveal her scar as well - only when Sara's breath hitched. "The Hand?"
Vera bit her lip. "The Chaste actually." Sara looked up. "Told you it was complicated. Someone I know was being recruited for their war. I got caught up in the crossfire. How do you know about all that?"
"On and off member of The League of Assassins. It's... complicated."
"Gotcha," Vera hissed as Sara poked a sensitive spot. Physically this time.
"Someone should stay with you, just in case there is any internal bleeding, but I think that won't be a problem since you're staying here. The way you hit the table wasn't pretty either. Did you hit your head too?"
Heels clicked on the stairwell and Vera instantly knew who it was. "A little."
"Whoa, that's a crowd. Sara, I didn't know you were back in- what the hell happened here?!" Felicity squeaked and Vera grimaced.
"I met some of your... friends," Vera informed her nonchalantly, covering her exposed torso. Felicity's gaze flickered between all of them.
"Care to elaborate?"
"She was very protective of your secret lair and so were we. Few kicks and punched were thrown," Sara did elaborate. Felicity's eyes went wide.
"We are so dead..." Felicity mumbled, gaining confused looks from everyone, ignoring them only to check on Vera.
Vera couldn't decide whether she should be flattered Felicity cared more about her or insulted, because she automatically assumed she was the one hurt more. Then again, Sara was 'on and off member of The League of Assassins'. What did that even mean?
"If there were kicks and punches, why does she have the bandage as if someone tried to slit her throat? Jesus."
"I'm... I'll be fine, Felicity. I survived worse."
"I know. And you realize that's not reassuring at all, right?"
Vera gaped. "What do you mean you know?!"
"Oh, she has a thing for hacking databases. Hospital ones too," Oliver grunted, joining them. Where the hell did he come from? He placed a gentle hand on Vera's arm. "You okay?"
Vera almost cried at the kind voice and his sincerely worried eyes. She didn't. But she was hanging by a thread. Not trusting her voice, she just nodded.
"Hey, Sara." He gave the blonde short but firm hug, rewarded by her smile.
"Hi, Ollie."
Ollie?
"So, now when we are all here, do you think we could do some work? Because - surprise, surprise - there's another fugitive from the law," Felicity announced almost celebratory, tidying up the mess on the floor only by the tips of her shoe.
"Are you saying I'm gonna see Team Arrow in action?" Vera joked, grateful for the distraction.
"We don't call ourselves-"
"No, you don't call us that. Everyone else does," Felicity cut Oliver's protest off with a grin, sliding on a rolling chair to the computers. Vera smiled at the domesticity and at the brilliant gape that Oliver's mouth made.
"What's the word?" he asked instead, following her to the screens. The rest joined them and Vera sat in one of the chairs too, wondering if her life could get any crazier.
---
"How did you meet Oliver?"
Laurel stayed behind while Roy, Oliver and Sara sprung into action under Felicity's attentive monitoring. Laurel was obviously feeling a little left out, but didn't exactly hurry to change into any costume, so Vera assumed she wasn't one of the vigilantes. But she didn't seem to be a computer geek either. So who was she, apart from being Sara's sister?
Obviously someone who didn't like just sitting there in silence.
Vera wavered at the question. Laurel seemed nice. She had a look of someone who had been through more than they should, but considering she was friends (?) with a guy running around the city shooting criminals with arrows and her sister was an assassin, it was kinda implied. She seemed confident when holding the gun. On the other hand, she was neat - high heels, perfect makeup and hair, the kind of a woman men fell head over heels for. The business suit - manager? Lawyer? She looked smart. But not like Felicity crazy hacking skills smart. Anyway. Did Vera want to share the story with her?
"He... crushed to my fire escape," Vera said after a while, apparently surprising Laurel by answering in the end.
"Huh. In the hood, I assume?"
Vera chuckled. "Yeah. In the hood. He... he was injured. Nothing that serious, but... he needed help."
"And you helped a creepy guy carrying around bow and arrows? That's rich."
Vera sighed. This was the real moment of truth. "I... I have some experience with his kind of people."
"Yeah, I saw. That was some serious fight you pulled out."
"I got my ass kicked."
"If you say so..." the other woman hesitated. "Sorry for... you know. Aiming a gun at you."
Just two girls, talking, apologizing for pointing a gun at the other. Sure, why not. Vera burst out laughing at the absurdity. Laurel reluctantly joined her.
"Is that my sister laughing?" mechanically disguised voice complained and both women shut up instantly. "Take that as a yes. Any joke to share? The mood is kinda down here."
"Laurel is apologizing for threatening Vera's life. Focus. There are at least ten heat signatures in the warehouse..."
"Why is it always a warehouse..." Vera mumbled absently. "What's your story with Oliver?"
"Oh, we didn't finish yours yet. How exactly did you help him?"
"I... borrowed him a phone, because his comms were... something." She hesitated once more. "And I stitched him up a little."
"Huh. Fighting and stitching up... you're running around a city at night too?"
"No. I played vigilante once and it was enough."
"She almost got crucified back then," Felicity hummed absently and Vera jumped a feet above her chair.
"How the hell do you know that?!" she yelped at the same time Laurel blurted out "You what?!"
"Thanks, Felicity. How- how do you even know that? There's no official record of-- wait, is there an official record of ME personally--- Jesus."
"Inappropriate swearing."
"Is that you watching our backs?" presumably Oliver hissed, slightly irritated. "Also, boundaries, honey." Definitely Oliver.
"A) I was talking about something else and B) seriously, boundaries. I have secrets I'd like to keep for myself," Vera whispered, exasperated. She turned back to Laurel. "I figured out Oliver's identity. Things... happened. He knew I got involved with a New York vigilante. I asked Oliver for help when ninjas tried to wipe off New York City of the map. He came. I came back with him, because- I needed a vacation."
"I think it's a little more complicated than that, but still, wow. Guess it's not your favourite topic."
"Nope. Care to share your meet-cute?"
"We used to date. Then he hopped on a yacht with my sister he had been sleeping with behind my back and their boat crushed. He came back from the dead and became a vigilante, not that I knew about the night part. Sara came back from the dead too and they banged once more-"
"Jesus-"
"-then I found out about their secret lives, she returned to The League and Ollie and Felicity got together."
"Wow. Not your favourite topic either?"
"Nope," she accented the p. Then her expression softened. "We're okay now, we overcame it all I think. He catches criminals, I nail their asses at court."
Vera huffed out a bitter laugh - she had been right. "Of course you're a lawyer."
Felicity gave her a sympathetic look, quickly snapping her head back to the screen when gunshot rang. Laurel and Vera jerked to their feet immediately, checking the screens.
The fight was... epic. Vera didn't know who she should be watching first. Roy was mostly for shooting arrows, perfect aim. So was Oliver, but when one of the thugs got closer, he sent them to the ground in no time. And Sara... Sara was a freaking ninja. She had one long stick she was using very skilfully, but at some point she divided it into two - it reminded Vera painfully of Matt.
And then there was just laboured breathing and Oliver's voice. "Everyone okay?"
"Yep."
"Fine here."
"Why don't we let the SCPD know we have a gift for-"
"Oliver, four o'clock!" Vera blurted out.
Swish of an arrow and grunt of a man, body falling to the ground.
"Nice work, Gaia," Sara praised her over the comms and Vera couldn't help a small smile.
"Gaia, huh?"
"Any chance you took the fake name from a book series?" Sara teased knowingly and Vera chuckled despite the agony it caused her.
"Bullseye."
Sara laughed too. "Knew it!"
---
Felicity didn't have anything else for them so far, so they headed back to the base. It probably didn't take them long, but Felicity was so kind to provide Vera some painkillers - forbidding her to help with the aftermath of her fight with Sara - and while they were waiting for their return, Vera's eyes were getting heavier with each second. By the time Oliver placed a kiss to Felicity's hair instead of a greeting, she was literally dozing off.
"Hey, why don't you go to bed? You look like you could us some sleep," Oliver offered her subtly and Vera blinked her eyes open, licking her lips.
"And miss another bad guy with a gun you won't notice? You need me," she slurred and Sara snorted simultaneously with Roy. "That's no laughing matter."
"Of course it's not. You did great," Sara patted her shoulder lightly. "But you really look exhausted."
"Sleeping means nightmares."
Vera didn't realize how quiet the room was until it got even quieter. She groaned, pushing herself up to her feet.
"You've been having nightmares?" Felicity asked gently, appearing by her side. "Anything I can do to help?"
"Happen to have Matt's shirt lying around somewhere? And a heater? Also, this place smells like concrete, it's not helping," Vera mumbled, making her way to the bed, slowly realizing what she had said. And that everyone could hear her. Shit. She massaged her forehead; the fight with Sara caught up with her too. She had hit her head when she had fallen.
"No. Sorry. Do you want an extra blanket?"
"No. Thanks anyway." She gathered the last pieces of dignity she had, trying to smile. "Thank you, Felicity. Really. I- I really appreciate you letting me stay. I'm sorry that I'm-- I'm-"
"Whatever you're about to say, don't bother. It's okay."
Vera just hummed and crumbled to the bed, barely reaching out t put away her contacts. She was out in no time. She would swear she had heard voices whisper before she did though.
"Matt?"
"Ex-fiancée with recent near death experience."
"Is that why she's really here? They... broke up?"
"She didn't take the fact he almost stayed in a collapsing building to save someone whose heart wasn't even beating anymore very well. I really hope they can fix it."
"He's... she said she got involved with a vigilante."
"That she did."
"Oh."
"You might meet him. I'm sure I'm looking forward meeting him and giving him a piece of my mind."
"He's coming here?"
Vera didn't hear the answer, but it didn't matter. She was pretty sure half of the conversation was only in her head anyway.
-----Notes:
The chapters are getting uncomfortably long. Oops.
I tagged a Meet-cute, thinking of the Lance sisters meeting Vera this way. I feel like I really need to work on my definition of meet-cute :D
Next time - finally the advertised Matt chapter. Angst guaranteed.