okay but like i just want a fic where autistic selective mute bruce wayne is a year or two younger than ollie, but was in his classes anyways because he is SMART and so they like grew up together, ollie loves him like his little brother, you know, the usual.
and then, when the justice league is formed (i put both of them in their mid twenties ish, like maybe ollie is 26 and bruce is 24) and ollie just like instinctively recognizes that batman is sorta like his baby brother and like subtly helps him and the league communicate until one day he’s just like hm maybe i should have a conversation with the big scary bat. and i’d imagine it went something like this:
ollie waited for the meeting to end to bring it up, hoping this conversation won’t go too wrong.
“hey, b-man! can we chat in private real quick?” he asks, as the other leaguers are filing out of the room, already having their own conversations.
superman shoots him a strange look, but ollie doesn’t really care about that right now.
batman looks a little constipated, honestly, but oliver knows its most likely not because he is disinterested in having a conversation with him, but more likely because of the abruptness of the request.
he waits patiently, bouncing around on his toes. its a habit he picked up from bruce’s stimming. the kid just always looks so peaceful doing it, and ollie doing it right alongside him usually seemed to make him smile.
batman grunted and turned away, to which oliver smiled and followed him to one of the lead lined rooms built specifically for private conversations.
it’s little things like that, that have convinced ollie even further that the batman doesn’t have any ill intentions towards the league. he’s the only one that thought of creating a safe place for emotions and secrets, even in the workplace.
ollie closed the door behind himself, turning to face an awkwardly still batman. but that’s okay, brucie does that, too, when he is unsure of where he stands.
“i just wanted to talk to you about some of the miscommunication present between some of the leaguers. this isn’t my place, and feel free to punch me if you’d like, but i’ve noticed a few similarities in your and my brother’s behavior, and people don’t always take the time to understand him and the way he communicates, and i think the same is happening here.” as he talks, ollie notices the slightly tense line of the bat’s shoulders, the barely-there clench of his hands, the subtle shifts on the balls of his feet, and further adds to the theory he has landed on.
“some of the leaguers seem to think you’re always upset with them, and-“
“why would they think that? i haven’t said anything.” batman speaks for the first time, the cowl scrunching sightly where the man’s eyebrows are under the thick kevlar.
ollie holds back a small smile, mentally reminding himself to go see his little brother soon.
“i know, and i’ve told them that if you were upset with them then you would tell them, but like i said, a lot of people don’t try to understand anyone who think differently than them.” its something he has told bruce many times, and probably will again. “i wanted to propose-“
“oliver?” and this time it isn’t exactly batman’s growl that interrupts him, and that’s what brings oliver’s head shooting up.
the league hadn’t been together but for half a year or so, no one had said anything about identities, and that was that.
ollie’s first instinct is to be mad, angry that batman had found out his identity and seemed to be informing him that he knew.
but then, before he could say another word, batman was reaching for his own cowl, and soon enough, oliver stood facing his little brother.
bruce’s eyes were wide, his cheeks slightly red from where the kevlar had pressed against it. his hair was a mess that alfred absolutely would not approve of, and his little brother was standing in front of him, bat insignia proudly marked on his chest.
he blinked a few times, processing what he was seeing, before-
“brucie?? what the hell man, i-“
“are you mad?” his voice was soft, confused, and his head tilted just a bit. his hands clenching and his feet shifting just a little more.
oliver breathed, in and out, before realizing no, he’s not mad.
“no, bruce, just surprised is all. but really, i shouldn’t be. god, you never grew out of that bat phase, did you?” and now he was smiling, stepping towards his brother and clapping a hand on his shoulder, beaming when the younger shoots a small, relieved smile back in his direction.
it lasts only a moment, before the furrow is back between his brows.
“who thinks i’m mad at them?” that soft, confused voice is back, and ollie wants to punch his friends for putting that face on his brother.
“just lantern and flash, mostly. i’ve tried to explain to them that you aren’t being dismissive or rude, but they don’t seem to believe me. i wanted your permission to talk with them, and maybe some others if you’re okay with that, more in depth about how you are a founding member of this team, and they need to be the ones to do the work in learning that you are communicating, they just aren’t trying to understand.”
oliver is still slightly boggled at the sight of his brother standing in front of him, brows furrowed and hand gently rubbing his chin as he thinks, the batman cowl hanging down over the back of his neck, but delights in the fact that he gets to share something this big, this deep with his brother in all but blood.
“if you think they’ll listen better than the kids at boarding school did, then i suppose we can try.” bruce’s words bring him back to the present, and ollie smiles and smacks a kiss to the younger’s cheek.
“we’ll meet up for lunch later this week or early next week to chat about what details you’re willing to bring up at the next meeting, yeah? haven’t seen alfred or the kids in a bit.” and bruce just gives him that small smile again, and oliver is overjoyed at the thought of seeing this part of his brother, and sharing his own secrets with him.
Green Arrow: Just for curiosity how many of you kids are related to a villain? *silence* I'm not judging. We always have some of those, Emi has a complicated thing about being raised by Komodo for a bit and Lian's mom is Cheshire but they are both great kids and I'm proud to have them as part of my family. So how many of you bats have evil relatives?
*Cass, Damian and Duke raise their hands*
Tim: Are you just not going to?
Steph: Yep.
Tim: Why?
Steph: Cass mother is Lady fucking Shiva and Damian is an Al Ghul. Ollie would likely ask me and Duke *mimicks Oliver's voice* "I don't know this ones who are they?" and Duke will go "oh my dad is a superpowerfull evil entity" and I'll go "my dad is discount Riddler" and Ollie will quip "isn't Riddler discount Riddler?" because my dad is a cringe failure even at being evil!!
