*thanks for the comments guys it really helps with the inspiration ^^

btw sorry about any typing mistakes... I type really fast and even if I try to revise everything before posting, I always skip one thing or two (it annoys me, believe me hahaha), I'll try to revise everything once more later.

And for those who don't know me yet: I'm a 28 year old brazilian girl that by the age of 8 decided she wanted to learn english all by herself. No I never took any classes, it was all my own hard work to learn it the hardest way ever. People ask me how I did it, because I can't explain them grammar or stuff like that, but I somehow know it. And I just tell them I don't know how. There's only a few people I know that also speaks english, so it's really hard to practice, so I started being active online, reading a lot and I noticed my writing was so weak, I had to do something about it. That is why I wrote Crisis on two earths (full of mistakes btw haha), I use fanfiction to improve myself, so yeah, I'll make a few mistakes, but I will learn from them the hard way. It's been long 20 years of hard work and I'm aware I need to keep working on it, that is why I write a lot of fics now. I swear to u my mistakes are not on purpose, and they are important for me to improve ;)

I got carried away and this is a really long chapter, but...enjoy ^^ see ya in the next chapter, the extra one.

**

Kara looked in total shock to Oliver. She was used to sometimes people wondering things like that, and she always managed to get out of the situation brilliantly. It happened once with her boss, Cat Grant, she was sure Kara was Supergirl, until J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter and her boss at the DEO shapeshifted himself into Supergirl so Kara could be in the same room as her, and it worked just fine. But now? Now she had no idea what to do. And for Rao's sake, Oliver Queen was the Green Arrow? That lunatic that terrified people in Star City, that killed a lot of criminals? Her head started spinning fast and she blinked twice before looking at Oliver again. There was nothing she could tell him that would fool him now, she was sure of it.

- How do you know that? – She adjusted her fake glasses, still looking incredulously at him.

Oliver took a deep breath and decided to tell her everything that brought him to this conclusion. He was surprised he never noticed them before to realize this sooner, he thought.

- I was so mad with myself, because I once saw your cousin flying around Star City and I realized I never noticed him, or you before, and the rest of the world did. I realized there was something really wrong with my life, with my perception of things. It was one of the things that made me realize I was a terrible person before the island and I remembered a few things that I was sure it was a dream, so I started digging. First I saw your picture on CatCo magazine, on my friend's car. It had an exclusive with Supergirl made by you.

- Pff... Anyone could have managed an exclusive with Supergirl... - She laughed awkwardly trying to disguise her nervousness.

- Not anyone, only you! – He said as he looked at her – I found really interesting that you were the only reporter that managed this. After that, I looked around National City news, and all I could find about Supergirl was reported by you. You were always at the same places she showed up to save people... When I saw pictures of Supergirl, I remembered yours on CatCo magazine. The glasses don't help; you know? You should wear a mask...

Kara frowned looking at him, still in shock. How dare he? She was starting to get annoyed. At least she tried to save people instead of scaring the hell out of them. She crossed her arms on her chest and arched an eyebrow.

- This is not funny, at all! – She said as Oliver gave her a small laugh. – And how can you sleep at night knowing all that you did, all the lives you took? You literally give people nightmares! This is so wrong in so many levels!

Oliver knew it was coming. He couldn't blame her, because everyone that did not know him, thought the same. That he was vicious, extreme, violent. They could never understand that was the only way he knew how to deal with things. It was what made him who he was, he couldn't help it.

- I do what's necessary... You don't understand. - He said, becoming a bit more serious.

- Enlighten me, then! – She said, noticing the change in his attitude.

Oliver was used to people judging him by what they heard about him, about the Green Arrow. He was used to it, because he never talked about his personal hell, what the island did to him, what all those years away turned him into. He never told anyone about his motives, why he did what he did, he never felt the need to explain himself until now. Because Kara had something in her that draw him, deep inside he felt like he could tell her anything, especially after finding out she was the greatest National City's hero.

- Star City is a dark city. It's poisoned by the rich and the powerful people that wants to destroy it. It's nothing like your Sunny city. And to get the job done, to get the information I need to put those people behind bars...

- To kill them, you mean...

- To put them down somehow, I have to scare them, they have to believe I mean it! And... I don't kill people anymore...

Kara looked surprised at Oliver. First she wasn't expecting him to tell her all of that, given what others told her about the Green Arrow. She started to realize that maybe some of them were exaggerating. She also noticed he was having way more patience with her than he used to, because she was judging him pretty hard and suddenly she felt bad about it. The truth is she knew nothing about him, or his past.

- I'm sorry if I was rude... - She said embarrassed as she looked to her feet.

- It's ok. I'm used to people judging me...

She looked at him, trying to figure him out. It was harder than with other people she was used to and it intrigued her way more than before.

- Why bother tell me all of this? If you are so used to it? – She asked curiously.

- I usually don't talk to people about anything or give a damn about what they think. I don't trust them to tell them this much about me, but... Something about you, makes me want to talk to you. Also because my sister told me I needed to talk to someone. I guess I feel you can understand... Given the fact that you also hide big things from everyone like the fact that you are actually an alien and have superpowers!

Oliver walked towards his chair and sat down. Kara stood up, just looking at him. He was being surprisingly honest with her, she had no idea what to think anymore, so she decided to just listen.

- When my best friend found out about me, he called me a killer. It bothered me more than I realized. He was like a brother to me and it broke me inside to know he saw me as only that, a killer. So I vowed to him I would try to change my ways, try to be better. Since then, I never killed again. But sill, in a city like mine I need to be scary, people need to believe I will torture them if it's necessary, only then I will be able to stop them. That's my ugly truth!

Kara just looked at him, thinking about the things he was saying to her. There was a lot she still couldn't understand, but she found deep in his eyes, he was truly being honest, and that there was more of him than met the eye. She was also curious about why he wanted to talk to her. She looked around and decided that wasn't a good place for them to talk about their activities as hero and vigilante, so she rushed to him, grabbing Oliver by his arm and bringing him in super speed to the rooftop of Queen Consolidated.

Oliver was taken by surprise and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths. He felt a deep nausea in his stomach and everything was spinning. Super speed definitely wasn't his thing, he realized. He opened his eyes just to see Kara in her Supergirl suit, her glasses far gone, her hair moving as the wind blew her hair.

- What do you want to talk to me about? You say you needed to talk to me... – She crossed her arms looking curiously at him.

Oliver took another deep breath and recomposed himself. He looked at Kara and gave her a tiny smile.

- When I went away with the Queen's Gambit and my dad and his crew, my friends were supposed to be with me, Tommy among them. After I came back, I have been having nightmares about them there with me, and they all die. And every time that happens, I wake up knowing the exact sensation of losing them, of losing people I love the most and bringing sadness to their lives. A few months ago the Undertaking happened. It was Tommy's father's doing. He had this terrible idea that he could get rid of the criminals in the Glades if he destroyed them, like one of them did to his wife. I was there, saving a friend of ours, when I heard Tommy stuck among the wreckage. I had once again that feeling I would lose my friend and there was nothing I could do, I hadn't enough strength to help him. And that's when you came. I couldn't reach for him and something had fell on my head, so I wasn't sure if what I was seeing was real or a hallucination of mine... But you flew in, threw the concrete away like it was just a piece of paper, and saved him. That's why it was so important for me to find you. I needed to thank you in person. You were everything I couldn't be that night.

- Oh... - Kara looked surprised at Oliver, covering her mouth with one of her hands. – I... I remember that. I saw the news talking about a horrible earthquake happening in Star City, so I had to fly there, to see if there was anything I could do. The first thing I did was to take your friend out of there and to the nearest hospital.

- He is alive thanks to you. And thanks to my nightmares I always have a glimpse of how things could have been if he died...

Oliver sat on the ground, resting his back on the wall near the door to the stairs. Kara walked closer to him, having no idea what to say next.

- I'm sorry... I thought...

- You don't need to be sorry - said as she sat beside him and he looked into her eyes – I just...

Oliver was going to tell her about why he had to act the way he acted when his phone rang. He grabbed it just to listen to Felicity warning him about a hostage situation on the City Hall. Sara and Laurel were dealing with another issue and Diggle wasn't feeling well. Kara looked at Oliver as she heard what Felicity said without meaning it, and smiled at him.

- Want some backup? Sorry, I couldn't help but listen... - She pointed to her ears – Super hearing...

- That's a cool superpower... - He smiled back at her – Well, if it's ok with you, I'll accept the help. We can finish this conversation later.

- Sure... I still need some insight about Oliver Queen before I write the piece for the magazine. Lead the way, please!

Kara was fully taken by surprise since the moment Oliver told her he was the Green Arrow. She realized she did that a lot to people, judge them. She felt really bad about it, promising herself to try and give people a chance before she makes up her mind about them.

Oliver changed to his Arrow suit as he drove his bike, Kara flying above him, following him to the City Hall since she had no idea where that was.

Once there, Oliver ran towards a few guys that were by the door, guarding it.

- I'll free the hostages – Supergirl said as she used her super speed to fly inside.

Oliver took his bow and a few arrows, shooting all the guys that tried to stop him. He ran towards a guy and kicked him in his knee. Making the guy fall down on the ground. He twirled around, hitting a punch on another guy's cheeks.

Kara flew inside the city hall, having bullets being shot at her. She used her heat vision to fry all their guns and in seconds, punched all of them, throwing them against the wall and creating small holes on it. She used her super hearing and could tell Oliver took care of the criminals outside the vault. She warned the hostages to follow her, and helped them get out of there.

Oliver looked at Kara, impressed with the fact she managed to free them in just a few minutes. She smiled, approaching him and looking around, noticing a few guys lying flat on the ground.

- Are they... - She looked worried to their bodies on the ground.

- Kara!

- What? – She looked innocently at him.

Oliver took a deep breath and gave her a tiny smile.

- He is just unconscious.

- Ok, just checking... - She smiled awkwardly at him as they started to walk. – Where are we going now?

- Follow me. – He looked at her, full of mystery in his voice.

Kara flew high in the sky, following Oliver's bike towards the City. They stopped at where it seemed to be an old factory, or something. Kara found out it was actually a night club, but it was empty. She felt even more curious when he walked towards the basement, bringing her to a huge door with a lock on it. He pressed some buttons and the door unlocked.

Kara went downstairs after Oliver, looking around as he turned the lights on. She was impressed, for sure. It had a few computers on a huge desk, a space she could only imagined he used to train, or something like that since there was a huge dummy and a few hanging towels around it. On the other side of the room, there was 5 mannequins and Kara looked curious at it.

- Why there are 5 of it?

- For my team mates and I, and Barry.

- Barry Allen? Do you know him?

- Yes, I do. I trained him – Oliver laughed at the expression on Kara's face.

- But... You have no super powers... How did you train him? He is a speedster...

- I trained his human side. I learned a thing or two on the island, thought it was useful to pass it along...

- That's... I'm sorry again... - Kara looked at him feeling embarrassing for once again making him remember the accident. She somehow felt he could never not think about it and felt she could relate, since she could never forget about her own nightmares.

Oliver looked around and found a note from Felicity, warning him she had another date with Tommy and Diggle went home because Lyla needed to talk to him and it was urgent. He took a chair and sat down, point a chair next to him for Kara. She smiled and sat down, looking worried at him.

- Like I was telling you before, I understand assumptions, I understand every single judgment. I don't care for it; it helps me keep my secret. As long as people think I'm shallow, that I'm a frat boy that still has the same flaws he had before the island, the better for me.

- That sounds lonely...

She looked at him and noticed the sadness in his eyes. She could relate to it, because she alwas felt lonely. To save people, to have to pretend you are something you are not, it can be really lonely.

- Yes, it does, but it's better this way. And... I think you can relate...

- How's that? – She was also surprised with the fact that he seemed to understand her better than herself.

- You disguise yourself with glasses so you can protect your real identity. I can only assume you have to lie to people all the time, and the list of people who knows your secret are really short. I know it can be hard to trust people, to meet someone knew and let them in, having to trust they won't betray you or something like that...

- You have a lot of perspective about this super hero life, Mr.

Kara could only tell he was talking about experience. She felt really bad about judging him, but to be fair, she had no idea Oliver Queen was the Green Arrow. She suspected that Arrow guy had a dark past or something like that, but she never in a million years would figure it out about him being away for 5 years alone, having to do anything to survive. She couldn't even try to imagine how it was like for him, being only a human, going through Rao knows what.

- More than I like to admit.

- But you are surprisingly accurate. – She said and he looked at her, curious. – Given the fact that you also hide and have to lie to people you love, I'll assume here I can trust you. You didn't kill those people today, as you told me you didn't anymore, so I will believe you. You also know I can throw you in space, one more reason for me to trust you...

- I don't know you that well, but I can assure you, you can trust me. – He smiled and she gave a small laugh that made him nervously laugh as well. He somehow felt she was damn serious about the space thing.

- You said that you read about me on a magazine... I gave that interview so people would relax a bit, they were all excited, wanting to know more... I gave them what they wanted, but what I thought it was enough for them to know. And that was that my planet exploded and I was sent here to take care of my cousin, but ended up arriving a few years later. What most people don't know is that I spent more than 20 years stuck on space, alone. The last thing I saw was my parents telling me I had to go, that I would be fine. And right after I left, my planet exploded.

- Wow... That's... Really terrible, Kara.

- Yes, it is! And I can't tell everyone about it, because they can't have a vulnerable Supergirl. They need someone strong for them, and I'm this person. I need to take deep breaths every day and remember that people need me, and if something happens to me, who else will be able to look after them and save them? So yes, I understand your loneliness. Is something we have to live with.

- I also have things I never told anyone... Not the police, or my family and friends. I couldn't bring the terror upon them.

- You can tell me... - She looked at him and waited for his answer.

Kara was surprisingly enjoying where that conversation was leading to. She felt the need to open up to someone for so long, to do it with a stranger that understood exactly what she had been through was some sort of relief.

Oliver got up and slowly walked from one side to another. He never talked about this not even with his sister. It was too damn painful. He was still not over it, still had nightmares about it. But something about Kara made him want to open up. She was an alien, she suffered enough in life by what she was telling him. He felt like they both had something inside of them that scared them to tell others. She had her true origin, her scary and lonely past and he had this darkness inside, something he couldn't even try to explain.

- My dad killed himself in front of me, so I could survive. There wasn't enough food or water for the both of us on that lifeboat. Help wasn't coming... He told me to save our city and then, shot his own head. After hours on the island, I met this guy, Yao Fei, this was his hood. – He took off the hood from the wooden box he had underneath the table on the corner of the wall. – I used it for a long time before Cisco from Star Labs upgraded my suit. Yao Fei saved me on my first day on that island, and told me I had to learn how to kill if I wanted to survive. I had to kill my meal so I wouldn't starve there. It was a damn bird but it tore me apart, I felt awful... And that was just the beginning.

Kara listened as while told her about his worse days on the island. Little by little, she started feeling awful inside for misjudging him. She looked up at the sky, thoughtful. His story just got worse and worse, making her react every time. All the times he was tortured, when he had to choose between the girl he was starting to care about and his friend Sara, and watched the woman he liked being killed in front of him, when he met a family in Hong Kong and had to learn how to torture people so he could live, how he saw a little kid dying because of a deadly virus, when he had to kill again to survive back in the island, when he saw himself inside the Russian mob and all the terrible things that happened there.

- I reached a point I was taking a guy's skin out of his body just for practice. Anatoly told me I had to be careful, not to let the monster take over but I couldn't help it. Extreme violence was the only thing keeping me alive for that long. And at some point, I started enjoying it.

- Oliver... - Kara covered her mouth with her hands – I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have judged you, I didn't even know anything about you, it was so wrong...

- I...

- No, it's not ok to be used to this! You can let people think what they want so they don't find out about who you really are, but it doesn't make it right!

- I accept your apology! – Oliver realized this was somehow important to her and she wouldn't let this go, so he just nodded with his head.

- Thank you! Was that hard? – She gave him a tiny smile.

Kara could tell Oliver had a huge difficulty in accepting apologies, it was written all over his face how broken he was inside. To think is was ok for people to think the worst of him was because he accepted he was the worst and if that was true, he wouldn't be worried in saving anyone, she thought to herself. Oliver kept telling her how he managed to come back to Star City and all the times he had nightmares. It was beyond awful, enough to drive anyone crazy.

- How on Earth you never lost your mind, Oliver?

- I think I did for a while – He took a deep breath as he watched her getting up and coming closer – All of that changed me. That is why I pretend to be the same playboy I once was. It's my disguise.

- I think the fact that you care enough to protect your city, it makes you less worse than you imagine. And... I know you don't believe it – She said as she crossed her arms again – But I do the same...I mean, similar. What happened to me is not even close to all those terrible stuff you told me, but when I got older and decided I wanted to use my powers to save people, that's who I really am. No one would believe a clumsy awkward girl that uses glasses because she has terrible eyesight, is Supergirl. It works. Is all about the persona. I created this person, Kara Danvers and she is so different from Supergirl, it was the perfect disguise. Just like your shallow, frat boy disguise.

- I believe you – Oliver looked at her – I was just messing with you...

- I have to tell you; it was really nice to get to know the guy under the hood properly. – She touched his right arm, giving him a smirk, squeezing his arm slightly without even noticing, and blushing after realizing what she just did – I'm going to e-mail you a copy of the issue, if that's ok to you.

- It was my pleasure; it was nice to know more about the woman under the cape as well. – He said smiling back at her, finding her awkwardness funny, and cute at the same time. – I would love to, can't wait to read your vision about me.

Kara nodded with her head and flew away back to National City.

Tommy drove with Felicity 'til they reached Coast City entrance. Felicity looked outside the window as she took the view in. She already thought it was a beautiful place, you could see the ocean from the road, and if there was one thing that she loved was the ocean.

- Coast City, huh? – She smiled as she looked at Tommy, feeling impressed.

- I thought about a picnic on the beach would be better than a fancy restaurant... You challenged me, I accepted – He smiled as he drove towards the beach.

- It's perfect. – She smiled back at him.

It took them a while to take everything they needed from the car, but they did and found an amazing spot on the sand. Felicity put the towel on the sand and Tommy grabbed the wine, two glasses and Felicity grabbed the snack basket.

- Fruits, toast, strawberry jam... You got everything right! – She said excitedly as she put everything down and sat facing the ocean.

- Glad you liked it! – Tommy said as he sat next to her, pouring the wine on their glasses.

- So, I know you work with Oliver and the team Arrow... What else can you tell me about you? – He said once they toasted, taking a sip of wine.

- First of all, I'm gonna kill Oliver because I was an IT girl in the company. I didn't graduate at MIT in Cyber Security and Computer Sciences to be his secretary. He says it's only a cover, but I could be undercover doing what I studied for... - She rambled nervously as she chose what to tell about herself. I was a hacktivist once, dark days...

- What? You have a dark past? – Tommy asked, amused.

- Yes. I did! – She laughed – I had black hair, wore heavy makeup, listened to heavy metal... A complete different person...

- To be fair, we all have dark days in our past... Yours were goth days, mine was being a frat boy, being drunk all the time.

- Looks like we have something in common – Felicity laughed with Tommy as she also took another sip of her wine.

She wasn't expecting for this pleasant evening. Tommy had really surprised her by picking their second date. He wasn't trying to impress her with his money or his name, he was actually being natural with her, like he had no worries in the world. She was liking to get to know this side of his. She despised his father and ended up connecting them, creating a judgment before knowing Tommy, but that was all changing now.

- And what about your parents?

- Mom raised me all by herself. My dad went to jail. He is not a good person, at all...

- One more thing we have in common – Tommy gave her a weak smile.

- Yes...

She got up and reached her hand to him.

- Let's take a walk...

- Sure! – He said, reaching for her hand and getting up.

Tommy felt an electricity running through his arms when he touched her hands and smiled widely at Felicity, knowing by the look in her face that she felt it too. She kept her hand intertwined with his as they slowly walked, the water from the sea reaching their feet and going back.

- I'm not a huge fan of what Oliver does... But, I think is awesome that you guys dedicate your time to protect others. – Tommy looked proudly at her, making her blush.

- I know what you mean. I still think he is way too extreme and violent... But somehow it works, so I don't question it... But it feels good. To do something for the city... And I'm not the only one doing something Mr. I donated a big amount of cash to CNRI. Laurel told me what you did. Is really cool.

- Nothing like facing criminals and saving the city...

- Hey! – Felicity stopped, reaching for his cheeks with her hands. – Still counts for something... - She approached her lips to his, giving him a sweet kiss. – At least to me it does. – She smiled to him, making him approach her this time around, kissing her back.

Two days later, Oliver was in his office, going through a few things Felicity had sent him about her investigation on a corporation that was sponsoring illegal weapons from Central City to Star City. He was looking through his inbox when he saw an e-mail from Kara. He opened it and saw her message.

- Hey Oliver, here's a copy of the interview. We are publishing it tomorrow, so I wanted to give you a heads up. Let me know what you think later. Have a nice day, Kara. – He read it almost in a whisper and opened the attachment that came along with the message.

Oliver let a small smile escape his lips as he read the whole thing. He wasn't sure why, but he was hoping Kara would be a bit harsh on him, but she was really nice. She wrote about experiencing a traumatic event changing him into a mature and responsible men who cared enough about others to make such a huge donation to National City's hospital. There were a few quotes from him like the one he told her about his wish to keep going with his parents' charity work, and that he was aware of their actions having hurt the city in the past, but he was doing everything he could to make up for it. She also kept his secret, what made Oliver smile even more. Not one single mention of his dark days, his traumatic experiences. Any other journalist would have mention it to sell magazines, but it seemed like he never told her anything. He knew the fact she was Supergirl helped her understand and keep his secret, but he didn't know her at all. Today, he was sure she was trustworthy. Oliver liked to test people without them realizing and Kara was the only one in a long time to be able to pass with flying colors.

He spent half the day with Laurel, Sara and Diggle going after the owners of the company Felicity found out earlier, scaring the crap out of them.

- I'm gonna ask one last time, and you will lose your arm for good: WHERE IS THE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SELLING OF THE ILLEGAL WEAPONS!

- I don't... I don't know I swear. I just close deals and...

The guys started rambling when Oliver lost his patience. Sara held him in place and Oliver shoot an arrow in his shoulder making the guy scream. Sara reached for the guy's arm and twisted it backwards, making a crack noise so loud, everyone else could feel the pain on their own arms. The guy yelled and Oliver shoot another arrow, this time on his other shoulder.

- TELL ME NOW OR YOU'LL HAVE TWO BROKEN ARMS!

- He's inside Central City P.D

- WHO IS HE?

- A COP! A corrupt cop! Gillian B. Loeb. He was transferred from Gotham.

- I love to deal with corrupt cops! – Sara said as she smiled wickedly at the guy.

- Thanks for the information. – Oliver nodded at Laurel.

Laurel opened her mouth and used her cry, making the guy's ear bleed until he dropped unconscious on the ground. Everyone else on the team wore ear protectors so they couldn't be affected by Laurel's power.

- I'll call dad! – Laurel told them as she used her cell phone, warning her father about the guys they stopped.

- And I'll warn Barry. – Oliver said as he used his cellphone and let his friend know about the corrupt cop inside CCPD.

By the end of the day, Oliver and his team had stopped three more guys from that gang they were after, and Oliver felt as tired as ever. Even so, he managed to find energy to grab his bike and go to National City. He was one more mission to complete for the day.

Kara was feeling really tired. Between being a reporter and being Supergirl, both her jobs drained her out today. She was craving for a bowl of ice cream so badly, but still had a few notes to finish for her next story. She heard a knock on her cabin and looked up only to see Oliver Queen standing with roses on his hand. She looked surprised at him and stood up to say hi.

- I wasn't expecting you... What's up? – She smiled.

- I came here to ask you to dinner... You told me you eat a lot, you must be hungry – He reached the flowers to her and Kara grabbed them, smiling at him – And to bring you this.

- What's that for?

- A thank you. For not trashing me on that interview... I know I deserved

- Stop being so hard on yourself! I couldn't trash you anywhere – She laughed as she put the roses on a jar with water, in her desk. – Thank you for that, they are beautiful – She smiled back at him.

- So... Dinner?

- Well, I am really hungry, so... - She laughed as she grabbed her things and left the building with him.

Oliver gave Kara a ride on his bike, which she found scary, but fun and in a few minutes they arrived at the restaurant.

- I can't believe you. – He whispered to her as he helped her out of the bike – You fly and find bikes scary...

- When I fly I'm in control, is totally different – Kara whispered back – But it was fun, I confess.

Once at their table, Oliver felt impressed with the amount of food Kara ate. He thought she was joking when she told him that detail about herself.

- I'm scaring you? You? – She laughed, finishing her third plate.

- To be honest, yes... I thought Barry was the one who ate a lot... Apparently I was wrong.

- I burn a lot of calories in seconds, like a lot. So I need to eat a lot to keep up...

- It makes sense...

After the dessert, Kara looked at Oliver full with curiosity. She was finally satisfied with the food and just drank an orange juice while he had a sip of whisky.

- You are full of surprises, Oliver!

- You're the one to talk... - He gave her a small and brief laugh – For real, thank you. I read your piece on me... It was really cool, way more than I deserved.

- I was too harsh on you when I met you... It wasn't fair.

- Kara, my past and the hardships I have faced doesn't excuse my behavior when it comes to fighting criminals...

- No it doesn't, but it shows where your behavior came from. I understand more than you think.

- Now it's my turn to ask you: how's that?

Kara looked at him across the table, thoughtful. It was hard for her to admit but she knew she also had darkness inside of her, extreme emotions that she bottled up for so long and it took some red kryptonite to make her let it all out.

- My parents in Krypton raised me to be a good person, a fair and honest one. Back there, I had no powers at all because we lived under the Red Sun. On Earth, I was suddenly discovering all those powers, how cool were they. I decided to use them for good later, but what if something happened to me? I was tempted a lot of times to do things differently. And I had feeling inside of me, not nice ones... It all came to the surface when something affected me, making me let it all out, everything that I kept inside for so long. I was cruel Oliver. I almost killed people, and I discovered I had so much hurt deep inside. I was cruel to my sister, my friends, reckless. When it all came back to normal, I realized it wasn't just a piece of rock that made me act like that, that I actually had it all inside of me. And I felt bad for it, I felt a terrible person, people no longer trusted me. I learned little by little to regain people's trust, to take a day at the time... I learned how not to be so hard on myself. It's not the same thing you went through, but somehow, we both got to know darkness from up-close. And I can tell it doesn't define us.

- I wish I could deal with mine like that... But the truth is I can't. I can't barely sleep at night without waking up feeling terrible about myself...

- And sometimes you think no one gets it. You feel your chest burning and sometimes is hard to breathe...

- Exactly.

- I have nightmares as well... No one knows it, but I do. I always see myself inside my pod, in space, watching my whole world exploding and feeling like I will be alone forever. That's when I wake up, feeling all the terrible things I felt when it happened...

- I see the island. My friends dying on the Queen's Gambit, and I reaching the island and then all my old enemies show up and torture me over and over again. Sometimes I wake up when my friends die, sometimes when I'm being tortured. I can feel again all the pain I felt back there.

Kara felt a chill down her spine as she observed Oliver looking down at his glass of whisky. It scared her how she could see herself in each of Oliver's descriptions of nightmares. She knew they were different, so different, but at the same time so similar, it scared her. Out of the sudden, she felt less lonely than she ever felt before. She felt unsure about it, but her left hand reached for his at the table. She brushed his hand slightly, making him turn his attention to her.

- It looks like we both have inner monsters to deal with.

- Except I would never be able to be that sunny as you are... I wish I knew your secret...

If Kara had never told him about her past, he would never imagine she was so alike him in that department. She was just a bright person, smiling all the time, being funny, full of joy. How she managed it, was beyond a mystery to him.

- I just have to have hope. Hope makes me wake up every day and believe things will be better, otherwise, how can I go on helping people and living day after day?

Felicity, Diggle, Sara and Laurel were at the bunker while Oliver was still in National City. They decided to give him a break since he was desperately needing one, as they could see.

- So, how was your date with Tommy? Are you guys getting serious or something? – Diggle asked Felicity, sitting right next to her.

- Tommy can't stop talking about you, by the way, it's getting annoying. – Laurel joked as she teased Felicity – Please tell me you will go out with him again?

- I don't know, maybe – Felicity teased back – And it's none of your business – She pretended to be mad at Diggle and Laurel. – The Chinese Triade won't take themselves down you know? Chop, chop!

- Let's go guys! – Sara said as she finished suiting up.

They found a few guys with Chien Na Wei opening the back of a huge truck, just in time to stop them.

- This is a stolen cargo, stop it right there! – Diggle said and one of the guys came to him, making him shot him.

- Where's Green Arrow? Too busy to deal with me again? – Chien laughed as she advanced to Sara's direction.

- We were just dying to catch you! – Laurel said as she helped Sara fight the white haired woman.

- Well, one thing you will: die!

A huge fight started and Sara and Laurel were having a hard time dealing with that woman. She was extremely good, but Sara knew she was better. She gave a knowing look to Laurel, who gave them her canary cry, knocking three of them out. Chien was a bit disorientated but managed to stand up and hit Laurel on her face. Sara grabbed her from behind, chocking her neck with both her hands.

There was a strong whoosh of wind and in a blink of an eye, Superman stood before all of them, looking serious at Chien.

- Don't do this! – He demanded, not even trying to be polite.

- Excuse me? She was going to kill us! She needs to die! – Sara said as she got really mad at the interruption. She admired the guy, but this was really lame of him, she thought.

- No, she doesn't! She needs to live and pay for her crimes the right way!

- What? – Sara looked at him incredulously and then looked at Laurel and Diggle.

Laurel just waited to see how things were going to go and Diggle lowered his gun as he punched the last guy standing, making him drop unconscious on the floor.

- We don't get to decide who lives and who dies! That's not our decision to make! We must protect the weak and help people doing the right thing. Killing is not the right thing! – He looked with pleading eyes at the others and back to Sara.

Sara looked annoyed at him but nodded with her head.

- Fine! Laurel, please?

- Who... Are...You? – Chien tried to speak, looking at Laurel like she could burn her with her eyes.

- I am the damn Black Canary! – She said and used her canary cry loud and clear.

Superman covered his ears and Chien yelled in pain, fainting afterwards. Superman flew to her and Sara gave her to his arms, looking at him with questioning looks.

- What brings you here anyway?

- This cargo was from Metropolis. I've been following them since they left my city. It has important and dangerous things inside of it. The police were going to take it when she stole the truck. – He looked at Laurel, smiling thankfully – Thank you for not killing her.

- You're welcome – Laurel blushed as she smiled excitedly at him – Is really nice to meet you – She reached her hand to him.

- Nice to meet you too. All of you.

He flew a bit higher in the sky with Chien in his arms and looked down.

- We will take the rest of them to the cops! – Diggle said as he looked around, looking at all three guys knocked out.

- Thank you! And keep up with the good work!

Superman flew away and Sara looked annoyed at Laurel.

- Someone is fangirling!

- Even I am to be honest... - Diggle said as he kept looking to the sky, his mouth hanging open.

- The guy is cool, but...

- Cool, Sara? He is Superman!

- Batman is more of my type! – Sara said and looked at the two of them as they looked confused at her – Never heard of him? Lives in Gotham, Dresses like a bat, terrifies people, do what needs to be done... never?

- Well at least we can understand why you prefer him... - Laurel joked as they left grabbed the knocked guys, putting them on their van so they could bring those criminals to the police.

Kara asked if Oliver wanted to walk with her and he agreed, leaving his bike on the parking lot of the restaurant. He could always pick it up later. As they walked slowly, Kara ate her desired ice cream she bought in a truck right in front of the restaurant.

- I remember when I saw the news... About your accident – Kara told him as she ate her ice cream. – It was shocking... Even more shocking when you came back... And then Sara...Sara right? I just could imagine the struggle of being back after having been through Rao knows what... How are you dealing with this, besides having nightmares? With being back with business, having to take care of what your family left you... You have a sister, right?

- Yes, Thea. I try to be strong for her. I opened the nightclub so I could have an alibi if people wondered why I spent so many nights away from home. Diggle, Sara, Laurel, Felicity...They are always with me, so people only guess we party a lot... But... It's been hard in every single way, especially with the company. I almost lost it twice. Sara is also trying to put herself together. She has been through worse than I...

- Worse? How is that even possible? – Kara finished her ice cream, looking at Oliver with wide eyes.

- She got involved with dangerous people after we went separate ways on the island. People called the League of Assassins.

- Assassins... what a...cheerful name! – She looked horrified at Oliver, trying to disguise her reaction with a fake smile.

- It's ok, they are terrible! She was lost in darkness for so long, it took her a lot longer to try to come back than I did.

Kara stopped walking and looked up the building in front of them. Kara looked at Oliver, smiling.

- That's my place... - She pointed at the 8th floor.

- Thanks for tonight – He smiled at Kara as they both looked at each other having no idea what to do next.

Kara took a few steps towards him and opened her arms, welcoming him into a hug. He turned around to walk away and Kara kept looking at his back, when suddenly, something made her ask him to wait. Oliver turned around, looking confused at her.

- Do you... Want to come in?

Kara felt her heart jump inside her chest. Was she crazy? Inviting him over her place? She thought she was, but she also felt like talking more to him, something about him and his eyes made her curious and want to know more. She noticed how he kept looking at her, like he wasn't sure about what he just heard.

- Sure... - It was all he could say and Kara smiled back at him.

Once they reached her place, Kara opened the door and let him in, closing the door after her. She mentioned for him to make himself comfortable and he sat on the couch, Kara following him afterwards.

- You know, I never told anyone about details of what happened... You are the first person hearing all of this... And it feels really good to be able to talk to someone, Thea was right...

- Do you think... - She started after thinking about it for a while. – that you do it, you hide all deep inside of you, because you might be afraid of people seeing you differently?

- I don't know, maybe... Why do you ask?

- I'm not quite sure why, but... Is what I feel sometimes... My parents did bad things back on krypton, they created this virus that could harm all kryptonians, my aunt and my uncle tried to dominate Earth and enslave humans, red kryptonite can affect me and bring the worst in me... I feel the need to hide who I am not just because my life would be hell if people found out, but deep down I'm also scared.

- Is living in constant fear our kind of lives might hurt those we care about if people knew... - He commented, looking intensely into her eyes.

- And pushing people away because we feel scared of what they might think or do if they knew...

- Believing we are destined to be alone... - Oliver's face approached Kara's as she looked at him serious, with a different spark in her eyes.

- Because we can't trust anyone...

- I know the feeling! – Oliver's lips were closer to hers now, he could feel her breath next to him. It was a warm breath and a scent that make him a bit dizzy.

- It's terrible!

- It hurts – He looked from her lips to her and she closed the space between them with a sweet and slow kiss.

A single tear came down Kara's face, she felt the hurt in his voice and in her own voice at the same time and couldn't help but express it somehow. They both were so broken, so lonely.

Oliver felt Kara's tear reaching his cheeks and he brushed it away with one hand while the other held the back of her neck, bringing her closer to him. Her words were so true, he could relate to every single description of what it was like to her. It was unbelievable how much they were different and similar at the same time. Oliver felt alone for so long, he tried to meet people, to have a normal life, but every single time his secret life reminded him it was not a possibility for him, ever. He felt a small hope growing inside him while he kissed Kara, feeling her responding to him with the same need he felt. Suddenly all his fears and worries came back. She was the girl of steel, but she also had her weakness. Somehow, as usual, Oliver felt like having her in his life could somehow hurt her. She was such a bright person, even with everything she has been through, she could find strength to smile, to be joyful. The last thing he wanted was to poison her with his darkness. He felt attracted to her like he never felt before, and at the same time, he felt the strong need to push her away and keep her safely away from him.

- I'm... - Oliver opened his eyes, looking deep into Kara's – I'm sorry... I shouldn't have done that...

Oliver stormed out of her apartment while Kara touched her lips with the tip of her fingers, looking at the open door and trying to regain her breath and calm her heartbeat. She was panicking just as she imagined Oliver was right now, and she had no idea what to do about it.

It was going to be another troubled night, for sure.