To Embrace
Disclaimer: I don't own Arrow.
Chapter 4: Delicate
Thea's frown deepened at the computer screen, which only hosted a blank word document. If there was one thing she wasn't it was a good writer. She was maintaining an A- in her English lit class despite this but barely. She took a sip of her long cold coffee and resisted the urge to throw her computer across the tiny coffee shop. Her only solace was that she could more than make up for another not so great paper with the upcoming final exam.
Glancing at the outline on the legal pad next to her she sighed and willed herself to start typing. Apparently her will power was greatly lacking because she stood and walked back to the cash register to order another drink. The bell that announced someone else coming into the cafe rang after she placed her order and Thea half turned in response.
Of all the gin joints in all the world,' Thea thought, her lips twisting into a grin. Not that she was in a gin joint. Unless the Odd Mug started serving something a little harder than espresso without her knowing it, which given her love for good cocktails was doubtful. She caught the way he eyed her laptop before his eyes turned to hers. A slow smile spread across his all too handsome face as he took her in. Thea turned around to accept her fresh coffee from the not so sober barista and didn't look back at her once-lover until she sat down.
Roy Harper took a seat at a table a few feet from her own, but facing away from her after he had his own drink in hand. The boy who in another life became Arsenal was even wearing his signature red hoodie and Thea's hazel eyes softened as she took in his back. She and Roy never reconciled their romantic relationship completely after he returned to support the Green Arrow, but their friendship became far stronger. A trust that they never had before was built through working together.
The Odd Mug was one of their favorite places once upon a time, back when she saw the world in a far more naïve light. They spent hours talking, joking and teasing over cups of decent coffee and pastries that neither of them really liked.
But that was another lifetime. Thea slammed the door on those thoughts. Se wasn't that girl anymore and there was no going back. There was no going back. She could get up, walk out of the shop and never look back. She didn't need to get involved with Roy. Not now, maybe not ever. But there was no telling what would become of him if she stopped them from meeting. Roy told her more than once that she saved his life when she forced him to be more than just a thief.
Zatanna, the person ultimately responsible for her time travel on top of everything else warned her that fate had a funny way of getting what it wanted, one way or another. Thea didn't believe in fate. She couldn't believe in fate because if she did what was the point of coming back to change the future. She did, however believe that Roy Harper would find his way to the Green Arrow or the Hood as he was called originally and trouble again.
Sitting back in the slightly uncomfortable chair the time traveler chewed her bottom lip. She winced as the taste of her lipstick flooded over her tongue. No doubt it was on her teeth now as well. She zoned out for a bit while weighing her options. Thea knew she couldn't exactly go up to him and introduce herself. Roy would hear her name and not so kindly tell her to go be a princess elsewhere.
After a few more minutes of deliberation she made her decision. She backed up the important stuff on her flash drive and locked her computer before grabbing her small cross body purse and standing. Making sure the baseball cap she was wearing was firmly in place on her head Thea moved to Roy's table. "Hey," she managed to spit out after a moment's hesitation.
Eyes that she knew nearly as well as her own looked up. "Yeah?" Roy said with a grin that would have made her knees a little weak the first time around. Now all she wanted to do was snort out a laugh. Roy was only ever smooth when he was trying to steal something.
"I need to use the restroom. Mind watching my stuff till I get back? It will only take a second," she requested.
Roy turned his head, glancing back at her computer. "Sure, no problem" he responded casually. He was always an impressive liar when he tried to be. When they were just starting to date Thea often would tease him about how terrible he was at flirting and then there was his gobsmacked face when she took initiative and kissed him for the first time.
Once in the rather unclean bathroom the brunette ignored the toilet in favor of the mirror. Checking her pearly whites she rubbed at the smudge of Delicate, a soft nude shade that transferred from her lips. She heard the door bell signal the thief's departure. Thea tightened the low ponytail her hair was in, underneath the Rockets cap. She counted to ten and decided she had given Roy enough of a head start.
Opening the bathroom door Thea couldn't suppress her smile. Roy was no longer sitting at his table and her computer and carrying case were absent as well. Not even bothering to complain to the barista who was now jamming to music only he could hear, Thea headed out the door. She zipped up her jacket a little farther against the cold and looked both ways down the street.
Her prey wasn't even around the corner yet to her left, obviously trusting a girl to take longer in the bathroom. His red hoodie made it easy to pick him out of the crowd on the sidewalk, not that there were too many people out and about in this part of the Glades as the sun set. It was a good thing meeting her forced him out of his life of crime. He wasn't very good at it.
Thea shadowed him deeper into the Glades. Eventually he turned down a narrow alley way and the brunette followed keeping a bit of distance. Looking around the corner, she frowned when she found it empty. She cautiously walked deeper in.
But Roy was nowhere to be seen. Letting out a huff Thea shook her head. Maybe she was getting too cocky. It was completely embarrassing that he managed to lose her. She was about to turn back and head for his house when something clattered above her.
The brunette looked up just in time to see Roy's figure drop from a fire escape. Her hand flew to the hidden blade she kept on her back under her clothes despite knowing he wouldn't hurt her.
"You know the kind of people who don't call the police when something is stolen from them?" Roy asked as he walked forward into her space.
Thea inwardly glared at his smug look before sending a no doubt confusing smile of her own. "People who want to punch the thief in the face?" she guessed dryly, trying to ignore the thrill she got from the exchange. After Roy returned to Star City it took some time to get back any sort of relationship between them but the banter between them was always thoughtless and free.
Her once upon a time boyfriend snorted. "No, people with something to hide. You trusted the wrong person with your stuff, which you no doubt stole yourself. Run along now before you get your delicate self hurt." He made a shooing motion and the urge to break several fingers on that hand rushed through her. She would show him how 'delicate' she was.
Thea stepped towards the thief and squared her shoulders. "The only thing delicate about me is my lipstick."
Roy's eyes flicked to her lips before he chuckled and shook his head. "You can't be more than 110 pounds soaking wet. Go home."
"What's the matter? You only fight in your own weight class?" Thea teased closing the distance between them, her grin turning just this side of vicious. Her small frame was something she constantly struggled with. Putting on the muscle weight that was required to fight was not easy and she fought for every bit she had. It was one of the reasons she relied on blades so often despite her brother's objections. He thought they were too lethal, so she tipped them with a mild paralytic that ensured all she needed was a few shallow cuts.
Her thief took a step back, probably without even realizing it and was about to respond when another voice broke in. "Harper!" The pair in the alley turned their attention to the street where four youngish thug types just entered.
"Shit," Roy cursed under his breath and shot a worried look at Thea. She didn't share his concern, quite the contrary. After years of training and fighting Thea knew trouble when she saw it. These four thugs were the best kind of trouble. None of them had bodies to write home about and hers itched to do some damage. The dark hunger the Lazarus Pit infected her with stirred and Thea breathed deeply through her nose. The bloodlust she felt now was curbed through years of keeping it at bay and meditation. As long as a fight didn't go on for too long she could remain fully in control. But there was a part of her that enjoyed the fight and causing her opponents pain more than she liked to let on.
"You owe me some money Harper," the guy Thea identified as the leader said. The three followers fanned out, blocking her and Roy's only exit from the alley. Her eyes ran over their forms trying to discern what weapons, if any they were carrying.
Roy's eyes shifted between them as he walked forward till he was between Thea and the new arrivals, his mind obviously trying to figure out how he was going to get out of this situation. "Yeah well I got your money right here," he lifted the black case in his hand. "Laptop, and its high end."
"My laptop," Thea interjected, drawing all eyes to her. Roy half turned to glare at her, clearly trying to convey the message, 'shut up'. She raised an eyebrow with a scornful look in return.
Thug leader grinned, showing her a mouthful of not so appealing teeth. "What do we have here?" His eyes raked over her as he stepped around Roy and towards her. "Damn Harper! Not man enough to pay your own debts you gotta have your friends bail you out?" The wanna-be gangster circled her. Thea caught sight of a piece in the back of his jeans.
"We're not friends. I believe you could classify our relationship with the words thief and mark. Him being the former."
This only made the thug whistle appreciatively. "You sure picked a fine ass mark. Got a fancy mouth on her too."
Hazel eyes skimmed over the other three as the exchange of words took place. She doubted they were carrying, but probably one if not all of them had at least a knife on them.
"Kel man, just leave her alone. She must have followed me. I got your money." Roy started toward them and Thea smiled inwardly at the way he was trying to protect her, a stranger. It reminded her of the time that she was hassled right outside of his place. Looking at the goons she wondered if they were the same. One of the other boys grabbed Roy's shoulder keeping him in place.
The newly identified Kel chuckled. "Aww you always were a punk ass bitch Harper. Don't worry I'll be nice to her and her fancy mouth." Thea ground her teeth as he reached out and flicked her ponytail that hung under her cap. It would take her less than a second to turn, grab his wrist and snap it like a toothpick. "With looks like yours baby you could make a lot of money." Kel circled around to her front. "I know someone who could set you up with a sweet little gig." Thea nearly shivered with anticipation knowing the fight was soon. It had really been too long since she dealt violence to someone.
"Really?" Thea asked stepping into Kel's space with a wicked smile that he no doubt would misinterpret. "That is really generous of you," she said letting the sentence linger. Roy's confused face over Kel's shoulder caught her attention and she couldn't repress the urge to wink at him as she trailed a hand up the thug's chest. "But I'm going to have to decline your offer." The brunette said it like it was an actual loss as she played with the collar of Kel's jacket. "See, I'd rather beat you and your boys unconscious," she added a little head tilt to sweeten the innocent picture she was painting in contrast to her threatening words.
It seemed to take a second for her words to sink in. When they did Kel threw his head back and laughed. His followers joined him a beat after. He wrapped an arm around her with his hand landing directly on her butt. "Your skinny ass is going to beat me and my boys? And how exactly are you going to manage that?" he asked reaching out to pull her cap off.
Without changing the sweet expression on her face Thea took a firm grip on his collar as her other hand swept up in a flash and delivered a powerful blow directly to the thug's throat. The other men in the alley could only blink and a second later Kel was on the ground gasping for air through his damaged wind pipe and Thea had his gun in her hand. She quickly discharged the magazine and emptied the chamber. At her feet Kel tried to struggle to his feet only to receive a knock out blow to his face from Thea's booted foot. The thought to finish it and not let him ever get up again flitted through her mind before she easily ignored it.
"Yep me and my skinny ass," she taunted the unconscious guy below her. Adrenaline was high and she wanted another opponent. Kel's posse finally came unglued from their shock at seeing a featherweight girl take out their leader. The first one to react and start forward lost at least one tooth when Thea whipped the now empty, but not so harmless gun at his face. He went down to his knees with his hands flying up to his suddenly bloody mouth.
The remaining two opponents in the alley came at her all at once and Thea easily ducked and weaved around their slow punches before dealing her own blows till they were both on the ground. The thug with missing teeth and bloody face staggered towards her with a knife which Thea smoothly disarmed him of before dislocating his arm and striking him in the temple.
Silence rained in the alley as the brunette turned to the last man standing. The hunger for more writhed under her skin and made her almost wish Roy was an enemy. Her hand casually found the pocket of her jacket, but the thing she was searching for was missing. She bit back at the frustration her unpreparedness caused and focused on getting herself out of the alley and away. Roy who was still holding her computer bag gaped at her in disbelief. Much in the same way he had after she kissed him in that hospital room. The sweet memory gave her the strength to open her mouth and speak. "My computer please. Or do I need to take it from you?" she asked holding out her hand for the case.
Wordlessly it was offered. "Thank you," she said with genuine gratitude. His quick surrender cooled her blood enough that she chanced further interaction, holding up a hand she showed him her battered knuckles. She absently wished she'd been able to tape them up before this little dance. "Not quite as delicate as you thought, am I?" Thea strode out of the alley without a backward glance at the mess she made.
A/N: So this for the most part is a chapter from the original story that has just been expanded on. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and been following this story. I really enjoy your comments and thoughts so please keep'um coming.
So this chapter was the beginning of what my interpretation of Thea's bloodlust is like which I kind of ignored before because we actually just learned about it when I wrote the original version.
Naitch03: Moira was actually one of the reasons I wanted to go back and do this rewrite because I felt I didn't really utilize her. I find her incredibly difficult to write so that is one reason and the other is I have a hard time imagining what Thea would feel towards her mother and how she could go about having a relationship with her. I do have a short interaction with them written and will have a chapter with just the two of them coming up.
TooLegit: This was just an intro the bloodlust. I hate when the show just drops a character's arc for the sake of convenience which is what I feel like happened.
Loves to read books: Thea will be getting a friend! There will be one more school chapter before she graduates and more Raisa and Park soon. Good luck with the rest of your finals!
