You know why I don't own Arrow? We'd be in Hell if I did.
Enjoy! (:

2010-12-29

When he gets the call, he wants to throw up. It's honestly? The weirdest reason to throw up ever, but the moment Walter is telling him that Oliver is back (not alive, Tommy knew that bit, or at least hoped), Tommy has to excuse himself and go hug the toilet in the apartment for ten minutes, wishing his stomach would make up it's mind.

Oliver vanished. Around two years ago. No note, nothing. Tommy had eventually packed up all his friends things and stored them in one of the old QC warehouses in the Glades. Down in the basement. Less risk.

But the moment he doesn't feel like hurling, he's in the car, and heading to the Queen mansion to see Thea.

He's tried to be better for Thea, in recent years. Ever since Hong Kong. He's spied on her (illegal, he's pretty sure, but also needed), tried to guide her, teach her, even pressure her a bit, into giving up drugs and such. He eventually threatened with telling Moira and Walter and Raisa. Thea stopped after that, and either she's brilliant at hiding it, or she did actually stop (he hopes it's the second one).

He held her while she sobs into his chest, words incoherent, and eventually took her back to her room, and Raisa brought them Ginger Ale, and he turned on the TV to the first channel he can find that isn't the news, finding one that is showing all the Star Wars movies in chronological order. Thea doesn't like Star Wars. Well, she does, but she's not a crazy person about it.

They mostly just sat there, in her room, drinking pop, until Thea had cried herself to sleep at Yoda's fade away, and honestly, Tommy was crying too, but screw it, Oliver was back for real, and Yoda was damn amazing and should have lived longer.

"Hey." was all Tommy could actually say, when he closes the big front door behind him, and then Oliver is turning, and a small smile greeted Tommy, tiny compared to his giant one, and he knows how stupid he must look, but screw it, he doesn't care, Oliver is back for all of them now.

"Hi." Oliver said, and Tommy stepped forwards. "Sorry about the wait."

"I thought you died." Tommy admitted. To anyone else, they might sound like old friends. No one might know that the 'wait' was two years of Tommy waiting for Oliver to get back, and that Tommy thought Oliver got himself killed in Coast City.

"Sorry." Oliver said quietly, and they embraced, rocking slightly with each other, able to visibly be friends once more.

"What was it like there?" Thea asked, interrupting the silence of dinner. Everyone paused, their eyes on Oliver. He hesitates, looking to her, his mouth open for a moment before he speaks.

"Cold."

That was a bad idea. Tommy thought, frowning at Thea. He'd tried to get Oliver to open up about Lian Yu while in Coast City. He still knew nothing, other than Oliver would not talk about it unless he had to. Unless it was relevant to the current situation, or he was drugged (the way Tommy had found out was through painkillers and a couple of terrifying-to-watch nightmares).

The silence after Thea's question ended when Raisa tripped on the threshold of the rug, as she carried a bowl of pears in the room. Oliver swiftly catches it, and she speaks.

"Mr. Oliver, I am so sorry."

"Не переживайте из-за этого." Oliver replies, as he glances up at Raisa, then back at the bowl.

Tommy froze, fork halfway to his mouth. Shit.

He's unsure if Oliver realizes his flounder, and hurriedly tries to cover it up, while his friend sets the bowl down on the table calmly.

"Dude, you still speak Russian?" he said, catching the flash of thanks in Oliver's eyes as he tried to make people forget about it, with something else.

"I didn't realize you took Russian at college, Oliver." Walter added, and in full (maybe fake, but who cares, Tommy's panicking here!) sincere mode, Oliver replied, not missing a beat.

"I didn't realize you wanted to sleep with my mother, Walter."

Tommy wants to punch himself. He never actually got around to telling Oliver about Moira and Walter's relationship, and Oliver vanished the second time, before the marriage took place. He also wants to cheer at the brilliance of the deflect. It's uncomfortable. Any traces of the idea that Oliver speaks fluent Russian (that's new, add that to the list of questions) are now very firmly gone.

"I didn't say anything." Thea stuttered, dropping her hands to her lap, and Tommy blinked. Oh.

"She didn't have too." Oliver said calmly, still smiling.

"Oliver." Moira started, taking ahold of Walters hand. "Walter and I are married. And I don't want you too think that either of us did anything to disrespect your father."

"We both believed that Robert, like you, was well..." Walter's usually calm tone vanished as he stumbled over his words. "Gone."

"It's fine." Oliver said, and Tommy frowns slightly. He was in Coast City once, with Oliver, visiting. Oliver had been shot, and insisted he was fine (not that Tommy had thrown up, nope, defiantly did not happen).

He wondered if this was an Oliver-Fine moment, or a Tommy-Fine moment, because they were very different. He settled for what might be a Thea-Fine. Somewhere between, but her fine was way closer to Tommy-Fine. So, a very Oliver Thea-Fine.

Gah! This was giving him a headache!

"May I be excused?" Oliver asked, standing up. Moira nods slowly, uncertainly, and he picks up a pear, before leaving the room.

Concerned, Tommy glanced at his friends' plate. It was untouched, and he sighed. Damn it, Oliver. Now I've got to do something about this! Not that your family is helping much...

"He didn't eat anything." Tommy said, maybe a bit louder than needed, but this was painful.

Ever since Oliver had reappeared in Hong Kong, and once Tommy had a safe internet connection, he'd been looking up PTSD. He wasn't an expert, but not eating was bad. That, and Oliver was most certainly not used to the flavours and spices. In Hong Kong, he'd noticed that Tatsu had given Oliver plain rice, without any sort of sauce (she'd given him and Maseo and Akio and herself sauce though. While glaring at him). He'd actually asked her about it, and after suffering a death glare, and explaining that he wanted to know, genuinely, she'd explained it was preferable for him.

"Is that bad?" Thea said, and Tommy nodded, pointedly looking at Moira and Walter as he does.

"He can't handle the taste."

When he got weird looks, he elaborated. "I did research online. His taste buds are wonky now; he needs plain food, not this stuff. Sugar is probably too much for him as well."

Moira nodded at that, looking worried. "Should we have something sent up?"

Tommy shook his head. "I'll take him some fruit; he should be able to manage that just fine."

After a pause, they seemed to accept that they won't be talking much anymore, and they all eat in silence. Asking Raisa for a bowl, once Moira and Walter had left, Tommy filled it with a banana, two apples, an orange, and a pear. Variety.

Thea follows him upstairs, but neither of them said anything. Tommy hesitated before knocking on the door. He bet Oliver already knew someone is with him, but he called out all the same. "Oliver? I've got Thea with me. Mind if we join you?"

He tried the door when there's silence, but it's locked. Typical paranoid Oliver.

Tommy had a chance to get to know Oliver again while in Coast City, Hong Kong, and via texting. He knows Oliver might have jumped out the window, gone for a run or something, but he waits. Just in case (he can always tell Thea Oliver might be sleeping; and it might be true). A moment later, the door opens, letting them in. Oliver shuts it behind them and goes to lock it right away, as the two others move deeper into the space, Thea towards the bed, Tommy just standing awkwardly.

He sighed, walking towards his bed, where Thea is sitting. His eyes studied her for a moment, and then he bent down. Pulling out his chest. The beaten-up, green one that is probably better off being burned, but sentiment is killer.

Tommy shifted the fruit bowl from one hand to the other.

"Oliver, what are you doing?" he asked, as the man unlocks the crate. Oliver shot him a look, as Thea watches her brother in interest. He opens the lid, and pulls back light brown cloth, revealing two items. A worn book, and a stone arrowhead. He lifted them both, studying them, until Thea spoke up.

"Oliver?"

He seemed to decide, and set the book back in the chest, covering it, and locking it up. He stood, and held out the rock to Thea.

"This is a Hozen. In Buddhism, it symbolizes reconnecting. I kept it, in hopes, that one day, it would reconnect me, with you."

Thea grinned, lifting the stone up, and turning it over in her nimble fingers. "Do you know what it says?"

Oliver's face shifted, and Tommy recognized the look. Uh-oh. Bad memories. Nightmares.

"Coordinates on one side, and a saying on the other." he said. "Someone was kind enough to translate it for me."

"Oh." Thea nodded, and slid it into her pocket. "Did you get Tommy anything?"

"Driftwood? Bones?" Tommy teased, then his humour faded at Oliver's expression. "Oh God, please say you didn't bring back a skeleton or something."

Oliver shook his head. "Unless you want dried plants."

"No thank you!" Tommy declared and threw himself onto the bed beside Thea. Trying to lighten the mood, he playfully threw a pear from the bowl at Thea, and it bounced off her cheek with a soft thump.

"Hey!" She said, and he leaned back, out of her range as she grabbed it, swinging at him with a fist. "Jerk!"

Oliver chuckled, and she wound up, as if aiming at the Merlyn, but ends of chucking it at her brother instead.

Who, of course, caught it in front of his face, then looks disappointed, as he lowers his hand.

"Sorry." he murmured, lowering his hand. "Didn't mean to catch it."

Thea burst out laughing, falling backwards on the bed, as she snickered. "Tommy's face. Priceless."

"Hey!" Tommy complained. "I feel like I'm a prime target today, could we change that?"

"You haven't had a pear chucked at you today." Thea said cheekily, and he swore at her good-naturedly. Oliver, in turn, curses him in Russian, and of course, he immediately looked like he wants to punch himself for that.

"When did you pick up Russian?" Thea asked, and Oliver didn't answer, pointedly looking at Tommy from his spot on the floor, until Thea spoke again. "Okay. Are you going into town tomorrow?"

'Maybe." Oliver replied softly, and Tommy grinned.

"You have a lot to catch up on, Queen."

Oliver rolled his eyes. "Keep telling yourself that, Merlyn."

"You really want to see Laurel?" Tommy said, as they stop outside of an old QC warehouse. The one all of the stuff from Coast City is (the reason Tommy thought Oliver might be alive was because the stupid crate was missing from that town). "Or are you going to run off and set up your base?"

"Laurel first." Oliver said, staring out the window. "I already have plans for the base, don't worry."

"I think you've forgotten my line from Coast City." Tommy said. "'I worry that you'll die, and then I can't kill you myself.'"

Oliver snorted. "I'd like to see you try."

"Hey, I took self-defence lessons, Mr. Robin Hood." Tommy protested, grinning. "I bet I could give you a run for your money."

"Keep telling yourself that." Oliver responded, and Tommy grinned, as they started to drive again, the light green.

"How'd you think that was gonna go Tommy?" Laurel snapped, as she marched past him.

"About like that." he admitted, looking over at Oliver, who was looking up at the sky, his expression blank. Tommy walked over and waves his hand in front of Oliver's face. Oops.

His friend grabbed it and squeezed hard. Tommy bit back a yelp, and then Oliver let go, looking embarrassed. "Sorry."

"Ow." Tommy complaind, rubbing his hand. "Guess I won't be sneaking up on you anytime soon."

They start to walk back to the car, and he considers. "What do you want to do now?"

Before Oliver can speak, a black car drives up behind them. They both spin, and then men in red masks appear, walking out from hiding places around their parking spot.

"What the hell?" Tommy called, but then a gun was raised, and a dart buried itself in his neck. He stumbled, and Oliver lunged forwards for him, expression worried, and a dart hits him too. The last thing that Tommy sees is his friend's blank anger, fading into black.

"Mr. Queen!" someone shouted, and Oliver blinked his eyes open. "Mr. Queen!"

A taser was waved in front of him, and then he was zapped. It didn't hurt as much as it once might have (after dealing with electro-shock torture and passing it, it's almost nothing) but it's still a surprise. He gritted his teeth, biting back the yell of alarm.

"I ask the questions. You give me the answers."

Okay then. Oliver thought. What are the questions?

He got shocked again. Fantastic.

"Did your father survive that accident? Did he make it to that island?"

He got shocked again. Really?

"Yes. He did." Oliver answered, and the man nods.

"What did he tell you, Mr. Queen?"

Oliver breathed in a few times, and exhaled slowly, his breath fogging up in the below zero chill of the abandoned building, before he looked up at the man with the taser.

"He told me I'm going to kill you."

He returned to find a somewhat lucid Tommy Merlyn, where he left him.

"Hey buddy." the brunette mumbled, lifting his head. "Mind helping me?"

Oliver quickly broke Tommy free and helped him up, supporting him. "You good to stand?"

"Dunno. No." Tommy said, stumbling over his own two feet. Oliver caught him and kept him upright, easily. "Did ya kill them?"

"Yes." Oliver gave a tight answer, worry flooding him. Every time they do this sort of thing, end up in this situation, or something similar where he has to tell Tommy that, he fears that his friend will abandon him. For good.

"I think… we can talk about that… later." Tommy decided, looking around. "What we gonna tell the cops?"

"That the Hood showed up. Minus the archery. Say he freed us, took them out, and left. Said nothing."

"Okay." Tommy agreed. "Float ya boat."

"So, a guy in a green hood flew in, and all on his own, took out 3 armed kidnappers." Lance summed up.

Tommy nodded.

"That's what we saw." he agreed.

"I mean, why would he do that?" Lance asked. Oliver, in answer, shrugs.

"I don't know. Find him, and you can ask." he said.

"Funny." Lance said. "Not one day back, and somebody's already gunning for you. Aren't you popular?"

Neither Tommy, or Oliver responded, and Walter spoke up in the ensuing silence. "Were you able to identify the men?"

Lance's partner replied. "Untraceable weapons, scrubbed identities. These were pros."

"Yeah, well, probably figured you'd pay King's ransom to get your boy back period or, a Queens ransom, I guess." Lance muttered, earning a look from Hilton, and a glacier-like glare from Moira.

"I don't find your tone appropriate, detective." she informed him curtly, earning a sneer from Lance.

"If we remember anything, we can call." Tommy offered and Lance rose.

"Your luck never seems to run out." he sneered again, this time at Oliver, and Hilton took him by the arm.

"That's enough." he declares. "Let's go partner."

Tommy followed Oliver outside, towards his car, and took the lead from his friend.

"Well, that went well." he commented sarcastically.

"Detective Lance hates me." Oliver said quietly, and Tommy unlocked the car. The conversation halted for a minute, while the two got in, and then started up again. "He should."

"When are you going to stop blaming yourself?" Tommy wondered aloud, looking to Oliver. Who had (predictably) slammed into Not-Oliver mode.

"When it's no longer the truth." Oliver said, just as quiet as before. Maybe even more so.

"So, you're not going to blame your self anymore?" Tommy tried, but it fell short of the net. "Oliver, if this is about killing those guys, I'm not angry. I know you had to."

"But you'd prefer if I hadn't."

"Yeah, of course, I wish you didn't have to kill them. But I'm not stupid, and I am glad you did, because if you didn't kill, you'd be dead, and I would have my best friend. Between a dead Old-You and an alive New-You, I will always pick the alive one."

A long, drawn out pause.

"Okay."

Progress.

"Ready for the hide out?" Tommy asked, as he picks up a large black bag. Oliver looks over at him, already carrying two. They're near the old QC factory in the Glades, and Tommy is not very impressed, and hasn't been since he first seen the warehouse's basement, when Oliver vanished two years ago. It's definitely a step up from the last hideout, at least (it was under an abandoned bridge, in the control room for the railroad lights or something. Tommy doesn't remember the details, nor does he want to).

"Yeah." Oliver replied. "We can make something out of the main floor, and then we have an alibi. Any ideas?"

"Other than a nightclub, I'm fresh out, unless you want to give archery lessons."

"Definitely not." Oliver said, starting to lead him towards the building. "Come on."

"Okay."

Oliver drew back an arrow, aiming carefully. Releasing it, he drew another, fires, and then started to move to a different spot. Both arrows landed perfectly, and the lights in the parking garage fall.

"Get in the car! Get in the car!"

Oliver heard the door slam shut, and he drew another arrow, as one of the bodyguards turns, to look around. Said bodyguard opens fire, in the complete wrong direction, and Oliver called out.

"Hey." he said, his voice echoing eerily around the parkade. "You missed."

Drawing and firing, he eliminated all three bodyguards easily enough (not killing, just injuring), and then aimed at the car window, shattering it with an arrow. Pausing for a second, he reached in, and pulled Adam Hunt out, leveling an arrow in his face the moment his hands were free again. The man screamed, one hand up, as if it might block the deadly projectile. It won't.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" he yelled. "Just… look! Just tell me what you want."

Oliver replaced the arrow in his quiver, and grabbed Adam Hunt by the jacket, slamming him against the car, so they're face to face, the businessman held down.

"You're going to transfer 40 million dollars into Starling City bank account 1141 by 10:00 PM tonight."

"Or else what?" Adam Hunt spat.

"Or else I'll take it." Oliver threatened. "And you won't like how."

He dropped Adam Hunt, and started to walked away. After about two or three seconds, Adam Hunt seems to regain his courage, shouting after Oliver, spittle flying from his mouth in rage.

"If I see you again, you're dead!"

In answer, Oliver turns, drawing an arrow, and letting go. By the time Adam Hunt looked back at him, he's gone. Arrows and threats are the only signs he was ever there.

"Have fun?" Tommy said, and Oliver glanced at him, as he stepped out of the bathroom, as Tommy come down the stairs.

"Not for amusement." Oliver reminded him, then frowned. "Why are you here? I thought you were going to see Laurel."

"Yeah, well, she has work." Tommy replied with an eye roll, flopping down at the desk chair. "CNRI. Doesn't seem to care that I didn't have to ask her out for lunch at a nice place - not crazy nice, don't worry, but nice-nice - and pay for it. I have a job now, remember? My money, not Idiot-Fathers."

"Sorry." Oliver said, sincerely. "And yes, it went well."

"You think he'll transfer the money?"

"Probably not." Oliver said, but he didn't sound disappointed. "But there's always a chance."

"He's probably mad." Tommy mused. "He was on trial last year or something, looked like he wanted to kill Johanna."

"Johanna?" Oliver repeated, in confusion.

"A friend of Laurels at CNRI." Tommy explained. "And also, you can't avoid Thea for much longer."

"I'm not avoiding Thea." Oliver argued.

"She doesn't see it like that." Tommy shot back. "She was twelve Oliver. I get that you went through hell or whatever, but she doesn't understand that."

"You want me to bring my little sister into this." Oliver guessed.

"Good assumption."

"I don't assume." Oliver said, a bit darkly. "But yeah. And also, no. I am not bringing Thea into this."

"Then you're going to lose her." Tommy said.

"I show her this—" Oliver gestured around the Foundry. "—and I agree."

Tommy resisted the urge to face palm. And the urge to hit Oliver, but the latter is probably more out of self-preservation than anything.

"Well, she hates when anyone lies to her, so if you tell her. If you explain, she isn't going to leave you."

"You don't know that she won't leave."

"And you don't know that she will."

"I can't—" Oliver closed his eyes. "Tommy. Just please."

Tommy sighed over-dramatically. "Just think about it."

"Has he transferred it?" Oliver asked, holding the phone to his ear.

"Cool it, He's got twenty seconds." Tommy shot back. "Nineteen. Eighteen. Seventeen. Is this annoying? Fifteen. Fourteen. Thirteen."

Oliver considered hanging up. He decides against it.

"Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Oh, I was off. It's past ten, and he hasn't done it. Feel free to kick his butt."

"Talk latter." Oliver said, lowering the phone.

"Don't get killed!" Tommy shouted, just before he got hung up on.

Not all of the chapters are going to be this long, and there is not going to be any sort of update schedule, because my life is just to hectic and all over the place. BUT!
That said, I am going to make an effort to post at least one chapter a month, and I know that's not a lot, but this is a graduation year, so I'm going to a new school next year. So, I do have to study more.

And also. This is going to be Tommy - Oliver - Thea based, seen from Tommy and Thea's POV more than Oliver's. Felicity and John aren't here really, and Johanna is taking up Laurels role from the first season, as the Hood's legal aid. I feel like while Laurel was a good choice for that bit, for the show, logically, Johanna would have been smarter, because Oliver doesn't have a connection with her, so it's harder to trace the Hood to him, and safer for Laurel. No relationships. Storys should be character and relationship driven, but not romantically driven, if you ask me. That and I'm not really comfortable writing romance.

My story.
My rules.

Thank you for reading!
Flurkin!