Chapter 122: A Certain Shade of Green

The Starl-Star City Convention Center was the go-to venue for any major society event in the city. At least any that exceeded a guest limit of a hundred or so. Galas and benefits, inauguration celebrations and graduation ceremonies — the Convention Center hosted them all. It was no different with the official establishment of Star City. Once it had been made all legal, completely with a trillion papers, Mayor Altman had invited every bigwig in the city to a huge bash to celebrate. Of course, there was some charity cause attached, because he didn't want to be accused as wasteful and possibly catch the attention of the city's resident archer, but there was no questioning the purpose of the occasion. It was Altman's victory lap for etching permanently what little significance he had in the city's history.

It was dumb, but Oliver was the Queen heir so he was required to go. Thea might be the actual heir, but she was still a college student and she hated these things as much as he did. Besides, she wasn't the one who was working at the company right now. Oliver wouldn't have minded as much if it weren't for the fact that Laurel hadn't been able to go with him. Ever since her promotion to Director of CNRI, she had been swamped with work, and while normally this is the kind of thing that fell into the purview of her new job, there had been a recent snit with several of the PIs the firm used, tying her up for the day and leaving her immensely stressed and exhausted. She had even begged off Black Canary duties, which meant Kara was on duty for tonight. Another reason to hate this.

His parents were there, but they were all prim and proper and he had to be on his best behavior with them. Sam was there, and while he wasn't particularly close to her, at least he could trust her to be genuine and more down-to-earth than everyone else present. Other than that—well, Oliver was grateful for the acting lessons he had gotten from the League. Less so for the emotional control, since that had pretty much been beaten into him, but it was helpful nonetheless. It stopped him from turning everyone here into a pincushion.

As the last sycophant left his sphere, Oliver allowed his well-practiced smile fall. His shoulders didn't slump, that would've been too much, especially since they were in public, and he didn't dare drink any alcohol. He was fairly certain it wasn't spiked, but he was paranoid and he didn't even like alcohol anyway. It impeded the senses.

But, he did mime it. Gave a sip, let the dribble of wine actually fall down his wrist and into his sleeve. Thankfully, he was wearing black tonight, so no one would notice a small stain on his clothes.

"You're doing well," Mom whispered to him, and he gave a smaller, more genuine smile to her.

"Thanks," he whispered back.

Next to her, Dad was laughing at something that someone told him. Dad had always been great at these things. An easy man to like, they said. Oliver couldn't be like that, he didn't have quite that capacity for levity anymore. He could be polite, kind, but never so personable. Not to strangers, at least.

It seemed that was enough for his parents, however, for which he was grateful. That wasn't going to stop him from counting the days until Thea was ready to take the reins, though.

Suddenly, there was a hush nearby. One that grew until it spread throughout most of the crowd. Oliver frowned and glanced towards the direction of where it was coming from, and froze.

Tommy Merlyn was walking towards him in a tasteful burgundy suit with a black dress shirt and a charcoal gray bow tie. He looked older than he was the last time Oliver saw him, with a light beard that spread across the bottom half of his face. That being said, there weren't any bags under his eyes anymore or anger and sorrow to his gait. In fact, Oliver couldn't read him well at all.

People were staring at Tommy in shock. Some with pity, others with disgust. No matter what it was, everyone had a reaction and were ready and willing to gawk with it. After all, the son of the most infamous man in Star City history had finally returned, and no one knew why.

Oliver wanted to scream at them all to stop staring. No matter how badly things went with Tommy the last time they saw each other, the man was still his best friend, would always be his best friend. He loved Tommy as much as he loved anyone in this life. And to see these—these leeches staring at him like he was the gunk beneath their overpriced shoes infuriated him. No matter what Malcolm had done, Tommy wasn't him and was still ten times the person any of them could ever hope to be.

"Ollie," Tommy greeted him calmly, if a little quietly.

"Tommy," Oliver breathed back. Before he could say more, a tap on his shoulder had him looking at his mother, who gave him a short, but knowing nod. She took Oliver's glass away from him, and gave a pointed look to the gawking crowd. Slowly, conversations started up again, though some could be seen still swiping looks at the two men.

Oliver ignored them, and beckoned Tommy over to a hidden corner of the Convention Center, away from the crowds. What Tommy needed to say to him needed to be private, he was certain, and there were already going to be enough rumors as it were. No need to add anymore.

They slipped away, easily enough, and soon they were isolated and on their own. An awkward silence fell between them, neither man knowing quite what to say. Finally, it was Tommy that bit the bullet.

"I'm sorry," he said, shuffling his feet.

Oliver blinked, not expecting to hear that. "… What?"

"I said I'm sorry," Tommy repeated, though there was no heat to him. "I'm sorry about how I acted with Laurel and you those last months before I left. I know now that neither of you ever wanted to hurt me, but I was angry and jealous so I lashed out at you anyway."

"Tommy, it's okay," Oliver soothed him. "Both of us… well, we weren't happy, but we understood. All of us knew how you felt for Laurel, and both of us should've been more mindful of your feelings after she turned you down. I apologize for that. And then with your dad, and Isabel… you've been through a lot these last couple of years. Neither of us blame you for not being at your best."

"Still, I shouldn't have done it. You two were my best friends, and I had just gotten you back Ollie. I should've been happy for you two instead of letting my own feelings get in the way."

Oliver smiled. "It's all water under the bridge, Tommy. You've apologized, I've apologized, so that's enough for me. I'm sure Laurel will say the same." He hesitated for a moment, and then said, "But it's not just us you need to apologize to."

"Right," Tommy sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Thea, Kara and Kal, your parents, the Lances, even Sam. I'm not an idiot, Ollie — I know why A-Corps and QC bought up all of Merlyn Global's stocks. You're planning on selling it back to me, aren't you?"

Oliver's expression turned a little sheepish. Tommy chuckled. "We figured you would've come back sooner than you did. But it's been over a year now and I guess you don't want Merlyn Global anymore."

Tommy shook his head. "Nah. I'll buy up the shares from A-Corps, but I'm going to sell them to QC. I was wondering… is it okay if I work there instead? I still have the fortune and all but I want to reconnect with you, and since you're working there now I figured this would be the best way."

Which was a relief, honestly. Tommy doubted he would ever be able to go into the Glades again without the risk of getting lynched. Of course, with the skills he had at his disposal that was not as much of an issue, but he was supposed to keep a low profile; the Green Arrow could not cotton on to his training. If he did, it wouldn't be hard for the vigilante to realize he got it from the Shadows, not the Assassins, and that would be the end of his entire family. Including Ollie.

"I would have to talk to Mom and Dad, and we would probably have to sell it to the Board, but I think we can manage," Oliver replied, rubbing his chin with one hand. "I'm sure our PR team can spin it into some kind of redemption arc for your family name. I just hate that we have to." He glanced sadly at Tommy. "You're not responsible for your father's crimes."

Neither are you. "It's okay, Ollie. Dad was responsible for that, not you or anyone else." He didn't notice Oliver slightly flinch upon hearing that. "I'm going to have to carry that for the rest of my life, whether we like it or not. We're just going to have to get used to it."

"Right," Oliver agreed, nodding.

Tommy smiled again. "So, mind catching me up on what's been going on since I've been gone? The most I've heard about is the dumb name change."

Oliver laughed. "You know, Laurel, her parents, Mom, Dad, Thea, and Sam have all said the same thing."

"Well, yeah. And the fact that we're having a party celebrating it is even dumber…"

Two weeks after the gala and the shocking return of Tommy Merlyn to Star City's social scene, Kara Danvers dragged her best friend Sam Arias over to a masseuse that Laurel had recommended to her a couple months ago. Sam had been tense the last couple of weeks and had been masking it for her daughter's sake. Today, however, she had been especially moody and even Ruby and Kal had managed to see through her act. Kara, who had never been fooled, had dropped the two off at home with the ever-helpful part-time babysitter Thea herself before dropping in after Sam's shift at the office was over with her proposition. After some prodding, Sam had agreed, which found them there — laying on their fronts with green face masks while two female masseuses massaged their naked backs.

"She's been leaving messages at the office now," Sam told her. It didn't take long for Kara to figure out who Sam was talking about: Patricia. "Ever since she realized I wasn't going to call back."

"Why haven't you called back?" Kara asked.

Sam sighed. "It's like what I said before — I find it fishy. Make no mistake, Kara, I want to reconcile with her. I want Ruby to have a relationship with her grandmother. But it's been so long, and not once has she shown interest in reconnecting, no matter how many tentative offers I've made over the years. And now she just shows up out of the blue, now wanting to reconcile?" The older woman scoffed.

"I get that. I find it strange too. But if she really is beginning to leave calls at the office, then she wants something, and the only way you're getting any peace of mind is if you meet with her and see what she wants."

"But how can I ever expect her to be honest with me? I don't trust her anymore, Kara."

Kara frowned. "And I'm not saying you should. You can have a PI investigate her, see if there's anything going on. If there isn't, you can just try to reconnect with her. If there is, though, you can confront her about it."

Sam adopted a thoughtful look. "That sounds reasonable. Though I don't know what I'll do if she doesn't have any ulterior motives. I don't want her to hurt Ruby if they meet."

"I'd be worried too." Kara hummed. "If that is the case, then I guess you need to tell Ruby everything and let her decide if she wants her grandmother in her life. She's old enough to understand and make that choice for herself now."

"Yeah," Sam agreed, a little wistful. She smiled at Kara. "Thanks, Kara. I'm glad to have a friend like you in my life."

"And I'm glad to have a friend like you in my life too," Kara replied, smiling back. "Don't worry Sam. No matter what happens, I promise I'll always be by your side."

"… and he's already bought the stocks from Sam and he's setting up the sale to me. No matter what happens, though, he doesn't plan on going back to Merlyn Global. So…?" Oliver cringed, glancing between the impassive expressions of his parents. The Queens exchanged looks, before settling back their attention onto their son.

"It's going to be a hard sell to the Board, you realize," Robert pointed out.

"I know. But that's why I went to you. If anyone can convince the Board…" Oliver trailed off, before giving a shrug. He wasn't afraid of the Board. He had faced far worse throughout his life. But he wasn't blind to reality — he didn't have nearly the same amount of clout with them as his parents did. Honestly, if it wasn't for the fact that his last name was Queen, he wouldn't be considered for the CEO position at all.

"We'll try, Oliver. We won't guarantee anything, but we'll try," Moira told him, sighing. "We love Tommy too, of course, but in the end, he doesn't really need this job and we need to think about the good of the company as well. At least he has the experience and the education to actually do any job we offer him. That should minimize any accusations of nepotism in the public eye." But not all of it. It was inevitable, really, considering the intertwined histories of the Queen and Merlyn families.

Oliver clapped his hands. "That's all that I ask. Thanks Mom, Dad."

"Any time, honey," Moira told him. "Any time."

Later that day, Oliver met Laurel at one of their usual eating spots: the local Big Belly Burger in the Glades. Picking up their meal from Carly, the nice woman at the cashier, he dropped one bag right in front of Laurel, who was texting something on her phone, before sliding into the seat across from her and dropping his own bag there. He quickly began tearing through the bag, stretching out napkins to make a makeshift place mat and taking out his burger and fries. Across from him, he could see Laurel putting away her phone and mimicking him.

A few minutes later, while in the midst of their meal, Laurel was in the midst of dipping her fries into her milkshake (something that would never cease to make Oliver cringe, at least internally) when she gave a pointed look to her boyfriend. "What's on your mind, Ollie?"

Oliver sighed. "You know how I met Tommy at the gala a few weeks back and that we've been trying to get back into our old groove since then?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, we met yesterday and he told me that… that he wants to talk to you."

Laurel froze. "Oh?"

"Yeah. I understand if you don't want to—"

"No, I do, I do." Laurel inhaled deeply. "He's not just your best friend, Ollie. He's mine too. He was there for me when you were gone. No matter what's happened between us, I'm always going to need him in my life."

"Yeah, I get that," Oliver said, thinking about his siblings and Slade.

"But, if I am going to meet with him, it needs to be somewhere private. Ever since you started working at QC, we've been getting more camera time," Laurel grumbled.

Oliver cringed. "I know. One of the downsides of the job, I guess."

"And a big one," Laurel pointed out.

"Yeah, I know," Oliver sighed. "Don't worry, Laurel. Give it a few more weeks and they'll get bored and move on to the next thing. But until then, I guess we do need to meet somewhere private." He hummed, thinking it over. "How about your apartment? It's familiar to all three of us, it's as private as we can get, and I can show off to Tommy my new cooking skills."

Laurel nodded slowly. "That sounds perfect. How about this Friday? That way, if we get too drunk and have to sleepover, we won't miss anything if we oversleep." It did not have to be said that Kara would be taking over their patrol routes that night.

"Sounds good to me," Oliver agreed. He smiled. Friday couldn't come sooner.

Oliver and Tommy have reconciled, and Kara and Sam are apprehensive of Patricia's motives. What's next on this assassin soap opera? Wait and see.

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