I'm not ready to make nice I'm not ready to back down I'm still mad as hell

Notes:

This idea sprung from a conversation I've had a while back... it's a what if scenario...

Chapter 1

When he got up in the morning, he'd never guessed the day would progress the way it had and end with him being at odds with his best friend. And that was taking it mildly. He was downright pissed and just couldn't understand what Ollie was thinking.

Tommy had decided to drop in on Ollie for a surprise visit. They hadn't seen each other in what felt like forever, and he missed his best friend.

He parked his car and turned to unbuckle when something caught his interest out of the corner of his eye; he wasn't sure what, but it had demanded his attention for some reason, so he turned more fully looking around, searching for what it might have been.

What he saw made him stop dead in his tracks. No. This couldn't... this wasn't... he'd just talked to Laurel... she said... from what she had said... things were supposed to be great between them, according to her and yet...

His mind had trouble processing what his eyes were witnessing, especially given Laurel's words just a couple of hours ago.

Tommy saw Ollie stand by a car, a woman trapped between him and the car door. Her arms wrapped around his neck and his around her waist while they were engaged in a pretty steamy kiss or, more accurate would probably be make-out session.

It wasn't necessarily the fact that Ollie was physically involved with a woman who wasn't Laurel. It most definitely wasn't the first time. No. Only usually it was after they'd had a fight or something along those lines and Laurel was aware that they were having an issue which she didn't seem to be this time around. Far from it. She'd told him about some spontaneous romantic shit Ollie had done for her just a couple of days ago. All gushing and smiling and happy, while sharing how Ollie was really trying with college now and taking things more seriously, and how she had a really good feeling that he was finally growing up. Those words might have been part of the reason why he'd decided to spontaneously come here, having this desperate need to see his friend. Laurel's words were terrifying him beyond belief and more than he would ever admit to anyone.

He was happy for Laurel if she was right that Ollie seemed to take things more seriously and this having a positive effect on their, at times rather rocky, relationship. But part of him hoped she wasn't because he wasn't sure what he would do with a more serious version of his best friend that wouldn't go out to party with him. So, he needed to see for himself, and find out whether Laurel was right with her assessment or not.

And from the looks of it, Laurel had probably been wrong unless this was a sort of last hurray, or last stand or something, which he seriously doubted because this seemed like a different kind of entanglement since they were making out in broad daylight.

Usually, Ollie kept his indiscretions in the dark of night and was three sheets to the wind and partying when he conveniently forgot he had a faithful, devoted, and amazing girlfriend who loved him and had their entire future planned out for them. Who also happened to have been one of his closest friends for years before she became more. So, this was very out of character for his best friend, and he was pretty sure it would also be a deal breaker for Laurel, not being able to blame it on alcohol might lead to her not being willing to forgive his infidelity this time around, should she ever learn about it. The chance of which was both slim to none and very likely, given the time and place Ollie had chosen to get entangled with a woman who was not his girlfriend. And while their interaction looked very passionate, there was no push to change location or take it any further than the above clothes action they were partaking in. Which could mean one of two things: it was more serious than just sex or she had spent the night and was leaving now. But that would also circle back to one because Ollie didn't usually walk his one-nightstands to their cars, on the very rare occasions he let them spend the night which almost never happened, impeccable manners and all but that would take it a step too far. Even for Moira Queen's son.

Plus, with daylight came sobering up, and that usually brought a heap of guilt with it, knowing how hurt Laurel would be were she to find out about his indiscretions. They've had many a conversation about that and he knew how bad his best friend usually felt after. Not bad enough to change his ways, but still, Tommy knew how much Ollie loved Laurel and that the women he'd cheated on her with meant nothing to him. Which was why he would've bet everything he owned that Ollie would never have an actual affair, at least up until this very moment. This felt different in a way, and he didn't know why. But it did, and not just because of the unusualness of them being in the light of day.

The curious situation was all cleared up when they finally separated, and Ollie stepped slightly away from his latest conquest to let her move away from the car and shock overtook him the moment he laid his eyes on the woman his best friend had just been intimately occupied with.

The woman Oliver had just so heatedly kissed was no other than Sara Lance.

Sara who was beaming up at Ollie, placing her hand on his chest and grabbing his shirt to pull him back towards her, standing on her tiptoes and dragging him into another sensual kiss. That his best friend returned in kind, without hesitation, his hands taking hold of her waist and pulling her in, so close that there appeared to be no more space in between them, before one of his hands caressed her backside until it came to rest on her ass. Ollie was very seriously making out with Sara right in front of him.

Sara. Laurel's baby sister.

Sara. One of their best friends.

Sara. Who they'd agreed was off limits years ago.

Sara. Their Tweety Bird.

Sara. Their Sara.

What the hell was Oliver thinking?!

Tommy got out of his car and walked towards Ollie's apartment. Deciding getting some air to try to clear his head might be a better idea than confronting them right then and there as an enormous part of him really, really wanted to do. He wanted to bust them and for them to know they got busted. But he was, at the very least, still rational enough to see how that might not be the best course of action. No matter how furious he was right now. Causing a scene in public would be very, very bad. No need to risk the press getting word of it and dragging Ollie through the mud, yet again. This didn't keep him from turning back around while his path was still allowing him to see the pair, and stopping at the scene he was an inadvertent witness to.

He watched them while they were occupied with each other again, watched Ollie open her car door for her and let her get in, watched his best friend bend down to steal another couple of kisses before closing the door, watched as Sara lowered the window and they got lost in each other once more before Ollie stood upright and slapped the car door a couple of times before stepping back to let her drive away. It was almost as if they'd been incapable of parting, as if some invisible string kept on pulling them back together.

As if they were in love, whispered a barely perceptible voice in the back of his mind that he harshly shoved away. Denying what his mind tried to tell him, because that realization would be more than he could stomach right now.

So, he focused on the anger boiling in the pit of his stomach and the urge to storm towards them and demand answers was almost overwhelming. But he doubted that would be a good idea and lead to anything constructive. Tommy forced himself to turn back towards Ollie's apartment and began walking again, only allowing himself to spare one more glace back just to see Ollie just standing there, staring forlornly in the direction Sara had left. Fuck. He wasn't sure what it meant, but it couldn't be good.

When he reached the front door of the apartment, he tried the handle and let himself in when the door just opened, as expected, given Ollie staying back and not leaving with Sara.

His mind was reeling. He was still trying to process what had happened in the past fifteen or so minutes.

Tommy strode through the familiar place to help his occupied mind cope. He took everything in; from the opened windows to the rumpled sheets, the discarded overthrow to the condom wrappers on the nightstand. It was obvious that Sara had spent the night in Ollie's bed and that sleeping hadn't been all they'd been doing. He wasn't stupid; he knew the signs. And it was obvious that they'd fucked in his bed and not just from the rumpled sheets and the condom wrappers. The entire apartment reeked of sex. He turned away from the door leading to the bedroom and walked back to the living room. It was while his eyes noted the throw pillows, Laurel had gotten Ollie as a housewarming gift for his new apartment, that were lying on the floor as if they'd been hastily discarded, his mind bringing up different scenarios how that might have happened, that the front door opened and closed.

"Tommy, hey, what..." his thoughts were interrupted, and he turned around when he heard the familiar voice address him. He had meant to stay calm, to not...

"What the fuck are you doing? Are you fucking serious right now?!" Tommy hadn't meant to react like this, but he couldn't help it. He hadn't even been able to push his feelings down long enough for Ollie to finish his question. He looked at his best friend incredulously. What the hell. He couldn't believe it. He would've never thought Ollie was this stupid. But obviously, he'd been wrong. It was the only explanation he could come up with. There was no other that would've led to Ollie believing screwing Sara was a good idea and not going to blow up in all of their faces.

Plus, the Queen heir looked pretty sober. Too sober to use alcohol or drugs as an excuse.

"Tommy, chill, what are you talking about?" He mustered his best friend, trying to figure out if he seriously didn't know or suspect what he was referring to or simply playing dumb, hoping he'd get away with it as he usually did when pretending he wasn't nearly as intelligent or observant as he was. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't ablet to reach a definite conclusion.

"You and Sara. Saw your little show in the parking lot." He had no patience to not get straight to the point, the look on his best friend's face would've been hilarious in any other situation but this. Partially stunned and at the same time like the kid that got caught with the hand in the cookie jar. Except the cookie jar was fucking Sara Lance and his hand hadn't been the part in it, or her, or not the only part.. Jesus fucking Christ! He couldn't fucking believe this. Their parts should've never connected in that way. Ever!

"Tommy..." he wasn't sure what Ollie had meant to say and from the look of it, neither did he since his name was all that he said. It seemed like the other man was rendered speechless by this turn of events.

"Have you lost your fucking mind?" He must have. There was no other explanation. He and Sara both must have lost their fucking minds. Maybe they got kidnapped and someone performed a lobotomy on them. Maybe it had been aliens. It was the only fucking explanation that would make sense. It had to have been aliens. Tommy was very aware of the fact that he was pretty close to losing his own mind, but who could fucking blame him after this shocker?

"I..." Were it any other situation he'd be feeling bad for his friend, he knew how much Oliver hated confrontations and arguments. Knew that his first instinct in situations like this one was to bail, so he should give him props for sticking around and at least trying to rationalize or explain himself instead of running away. Even if he was failing miserably and not even managing to utter a single sentence.

"You what, Ollie? How could you be this stupid?" Not that he cared, he had plenty more to say himself. None of it nice or understanding, or even just constructive. But then again, who could blame him? This was too enormous a mess to show any sympathy or understanding towards his best friend. Fucking Sara for kicks was the stupidest thing Ollie had ever done and probably would ever do. This would ruin everything if it came out.

"It's not... it's not what you think." Was he fucking serious right now? This was the best he got? Did he think he was stupid?

"Oh, so you didn't fuck Sara last night?" He was seeing the evidence right now; it was all around them. There was no denying what had happened between the two blondes the previous night, and probably this morning, too.

"It's complicated, Tommy." Ollie shifted his eyes from the floor up to his face to look him in the eyes while saying it before he went back to looking at the floor. It sounded like a copout. A way to placate him and justify his actions. But at least he wasn't denying it and, with that, outright lying to him.

"No, it's really not. You're in a relationship with her sister!" This was the harsh reality, the simple truth. The statement that made it very clear. An 'it's complicated' wasn't good enough. It didn't even come close to being good enough. There was no explanation that would be good enough to justify his very fucked up actions.

"I know that! Don't you think I know that?! That's why this thing with Sara… that's why it's complicated." Ollie's anger came as a surprise, looking back thought he'd realize that given his constant attacks it shouldn't have been, and it was sort of justified, it was also what led to another shocking realization that left him speechless for a moment while he was processing what he assumed just slipped out and his best friend hadn't meant to share and stopped himself from finishing. But it was too late. The implication had been there. This thing with Sara. This was a thing? A thing implied it wasn't a onetime deal. A slip-up. A momentary lapse of sanity. A moment of weakness. It being a thing meant…

"This wasn't the first time." It was another shocking revelation and conclusion he's reached given Ollie's words. What the fuck. He didn't want to know this, he didn't want to know any of this. Even less this last fact; Oliver and Sara were having a thing behind everyone's back. He felt sick to his stomach at the realization and the implication and the possible outcome when shit hit the fan and people found out. This wasn't just going to be one hell of a mess, this would literally turn into a shitshow.

"Tommy… I…" His behavior was all the confirmation he needed; the deer caught in the headlights look and his shuffling around while avoiding looking at him. Jesus, what else was he going to learn today? All he had wanted was to hang out with his best friend and make sure their days of partying weren't over yet, not this.

"How long?!" Part of him really didn't want to know, wished he could just turn back the time and decide to not go visit his best friend unannounced or pick up some food on the way or take the long way… anything to not be in this situation and learn what he had never wanted to know. And yet, another part of him needed to know.

"Tommy..." He wasn't sure if he was trying to avoid answering the question or if there was another reason why he didn't just tell him, but he had a bad feeling. How long had this been going on if he tried to avoid the question? Did he really want to know?

"Answer the goddamn question, Oliver! How long have you been screwing Sara behind Laurel's back?" It didn't really matter anymore. He hadn't wanted to know any of this, but now that he knew about it, he needed to know all about it. It wasn't about wanting anymore. He needed all the information in order to try to understand what they've been thinking. And what exactly was going on. It was like watching a train wreck and you just couldn't look away even though you wanted to because you didn't want to see all the destruction and the blood and gore and shit. But once you noticed it happening, you were incapable of looking away.

"New Year's Eve. But not... " he stopped, almost as if he stopped himself from sharing too much.

"But not what?" He purposely refused to do the math. New Year's Eve was too long ago. He didn't need to do the exact math to know that. The fact that the nights were getting longer again, that he'd taken a jacket with him and seen pumpkins on his way here was enough to let him know New Year's Eve had been too fucking long ago for this to have been going on since then.

"We'd hook up occasionally when we were drunk." He wasn't sure if Oliver was purposely not answering his question or if this was part of the explanation. Either way, it wasn't nearly enough and definitely not good enough as an excuse for betraying Laurel the way they were and for as long as they have been.

"You don't look drunk nor hungover. Neither did Sara." So, he wasn't willing to make this easy on him or pretend like it all made perfect sense now. Because it still didn't make any sense at all. They'd hung out drunk for years, and always managed to mostly keep their clothes on except for the occasional strip poker or skinny-dipping event, so why the hell hook up now?

"I know." Well, he at least looked guilty and ashamed while admitting that. Not that it made the situation better or explained how they went from 'occasionally hooking up while they were drunk' to now having hooked up while they were sober and, wait, why was he using occasionally in the past sense? Was it more than that now? How often were they hooking up now?

"So..." He wasn't sure what to say, this latest revelation still having him reeling.

"I don't know... I... we... I don't know what to say, how to explain." This time Ollie was the one who didn't let him finish, not that he was really saying anything useful in order to help him understand his actions.

"How bout you actually try?" Because, honestly, he didn't feel like he actually had. He was fed up with the stalling and none answers. If he couldn't even give him one fucking reason why he was screwing Sara, apparently on the regular, behind Laurel's back, there was no fucking reason for him to do it. It was really simple. Not that there was any reason that would make this okay. There wasn't. Laurel deserved better. Heck, even Sara deserved better. And Ollie should know better.

"Tommy, I… it just happened, and it just kept happening and I'm sorry… I can't… Sara… she's… we… it's not what you think… I know it's wrong, but I can't let her… I need her… when I'm with Sara I feel… I don't know how to explain… I don't know what to say." Had he not been so furious right now, he would've noticed that Oliver was seriously trying to explain but seemed to have trouble putting into words what he was trying to say. Struggling with the part of the explanation that would mean baring his emotions and analyzing his own feelings, something he had apparently not yet done and never been good at.

"Yeah, it's wrong, it's more than wrong, it's totally fucked up! And fine. Then don't. Don't explain why you are fucking up the best thing that ever happened to you. Why you not only fuck up your relationship and friendship but mine too. Never mind the Lance family! Don't fucking explain to me why you feel like this is a great idea, why screwing Sara is something you just had to do, more than once, apparently, because you 'need' her. You know there are plenty of other women who could take care of your needs that aren't your girlfriend's sister and one of our best friends! You know what, Ollie, fuck you too!" He walked past his best friend and out of his apartment still fuming and for the first time in his life not at all able to understand Ollie and his actions and his refusal to explain the situation to him. He felt hurt and betrayed by the behavior and he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with the knowledge he had gained, but he just knew he couldn't stay here. Couldn't stand being around his favorite person in the world right now because he felt like he didn't even know him anymore. And that hurt.

Never mind the fact that he had kept this from him. They didn't have secrets from each other. At least that was what he had always thought, looked like he had been wrong about that too. What else was Ollie keeping from him? Was this the only thing, or was there more? He felt betrayed by his best friend, the closest thing to a sibling he had. And that hurt like hell. They weren't supposed to keep shit from each other, to lie to each other. What the hell was going on with Ollie? What was wrong with him? None of this was like his best friend, unless he didn't know him at all.

He let this entire exchange run through his mind over and over again on his drive home and the rest of the day while sitting in his room, trying to make sense of it all and failing miserably. And the thing he struggled with the most was the fact that he couldn't get the picture of Ollie and Sara out of his head. The way Sara had looked at him, the way Ollie had watched her drive away. And every time those pictures flickered through his mind, the same barely perceptible voice in the back of his mind whispered that they had looked like they were in love, but every time the little voice reminded him of that, he harshly shoved it away. Denying what his mind tried to tell him because that realization was still more than he could stomach at the moment and on top of everything he had learnt today. It wasn't love; it was simple lust, nothing more, nothing less. Physical.

The helpless and lost look on his best friend's face and gestures when he tried to explain what this thing between him and Sara was, on the other hand, told an entirely different story.

Fuck.

Tommy wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. Keep their secret or tell Laurel.

He had no idea where his loyalties were going to lie if he was put in a position where he had to pick. He'd always assumed it would never come to a situation where he had to pick a side, besides the obvious which was Ollie, but now... this was different. It felt different.

He guessed he'd find out when all of this ended.

Notes:

Any feedback would be highly appreciated.

This idea popped into my head after a conversation about what would've happened had Tommy found out about Oliver and Sara's affair before the Gambit.

It's different and I'm not entirely sure about it but here it is.

There may or may not be a part two at some point.

The chapter title is from the song "Not ready to make nice" by the Dixie Chicks.