Story of Us – Arrow – Ep2
Tommy walked into the room and heard Oliver say, “I’ve spent some time in a courtroom.”
“Four times by my estimate…you know there’s the DUI, the assault on that paparazzi douche bag, stealing that taxi which was…just awesome by the way…and who could forget peeing on the cop!” Tommy said
“I wish everyone would,” Moira said as Walter helped her with her coat.
“I’d hang, but we’re headed to court,” Ollie said as he grabbed Tommy’s shoulder.
“I know,” he said earnestly, “That’s why I’m here. My best friend is getting legally resurrected; I wouldn’t miss this for the world!”
“What about you?” Oliver asked Thea.
She passed. Tommy was simultaneously pissed and happy with Thea. It was her brother going to court and she wanted nothing to do with it. Oliver didn’t argue, but Tommy could see how hurt he was by her bitchiness.
Tommy tried to play the gallant and offered Moira his arm. She gave him a dirty look like he was so much grime beneath her shoes and walked past. He was just trying to show his support for the family…for Ollie. Why did she hate him? Ollie caught his eye and bit his lip. Tommy followed Moira and Walter before he did something untoward that he’d regret…like biting Oliver’s lip for him…
Coming Back to Life
He tried as best he could to keep people from coming up from behind Oliver when they went through the media frenzy once they got to the courthouse. He’d discarded his leather bomber in the car and looked like a regular Joe, so nobody noticed that he was helping with a protection detail…even Oliver. The questions thrown at Oliver made Tommy cringe. He knew that Ollie still hadn’t really dealt with his time away. He also knew that Oliver hadn’t really told anyone anything about that island he’d been stuck on…as far as he knew, even Laurel didn’t really know what had happened…not that she wanted to talk to Oliver…or him for that matter.
As he sat and listened to Oliver’s testimony to the judge about his time on the island, he heard the changes that they had wrought on Ollie. Tommy was angry. He was sad. He was devastated. Tommy heard emotions in Oliver’s voice that had never been there before Oliver was lost at sea.
When Oliver talked about having to survive, Tommy had an idea strike him. He didn’t think Oliver would ever tell him, but he got the impression, through the subtle way that Oliver said things, that there was a hell of a lot more to the story…His intuition told him his father had not gone down with the ship. His heart told him that Oliver had watched his father die. He knew he’d want to ask. Hoped he’d have the balls one day to actually ask. For now, he knew he could only stand solidly by Oliver’s side and support him in whatever way he could.
As the lawyer spoke with the judge about repealing the petition, Oliver turned back to look at him. He held Oliver’s gaze for as long as he could, trying to send his support and love to him. They stared at each other for only a few seconds, but in that moment, Tommy knew Oliver understood…at least the friendship part. Tommy dropped his eyes when the questions started in Oliver’s. Friends, yes. Anything more? Tommy didn’t think Oliver was ready for that…
Long Day…
“Uh…Mom,” Oliver interrupted Moira as she laid out the plan for the rest of the day, “That was, um…a little bit heavier than I was expecting it to be…could we do that tomorrow? Please?”
Moira agreed, reluctantly. Tommy wanted to slap her. She had sat in the courtroom with a vapid smile on her face. He knew and he knew that Oliver knew that the only reason Moira had wanted Oliver’s death in absentia turned over was so she could get him to the top of Queen Consolidated as soon as possible. Tommy realized at that moment that Moira really didn’t give a shit about Oliver or his feelings, and he hated her for it.
“Last week, you couldn’t wait to get to the company,” he said accusingly.
“Tommy, I’d just spent five years away from civilization, I wasn’t exactly thinking straight,” Oliver said brusquely. “Hi,” Oliver said as he almost literally ran into Laurel.
“Hi,” Tommy said, lamely.
The tension between Laurel and Oliver was so intense it hurt. She refused to even look at Tommy. After their conversation about the possibility of the two of them being more than the occasional hook-up, she had ignored Tommy’s texts and calls…not that there were many, but enough for a guy to get the hint.
“…and last week he told me to stay away from him. It was really good advice,” Laurel said angrily. Tommy thought about that one. No wonder she wanted nothing to do with either of them!
While Oliver was absent, their relationship had started as a way for her to vent about everything that had gone on. Tommy had heard her rant about her stupid, lunatic sister. He’d listened to her storm about Oliver being a lying, cheating, slimy bastard. He’d held her while she cried when she came to terms that they weren’t coming back. While their “lapses” happened regularly, Tommy knew Laurel never gotten over Oliver. But now, she was back to that angry Laurel…and he hadn’t known that Oliver had told her to stay away…
She said her piece and then stormed past Oliver and in front of him on her way up the stairs. Oliver, ever the gentleman when he wanted to be, told the girl it was nice to meet her and then stood, shell-shocked. Tommy wanted to hug him; make him feel better. Instead, he slapped him on the shoulder, “Come on, buddy…shake it off! Let’s go!”
He really wished he could tell him he was better off, but seeing the look on Oliver’s face, he knew there was no point. Oliver was still head over heels for Laurel. As they walked out of the courthouse, he wanted to cry. It had just been proven to him once again that his best friend needed him more as a friend than anything else…and that stung.
They headed down the steps toward the car. The crowd of cameras and microphones got between him and Oliver. Mr. Diggle got Oliver into the car and was trying to push off some of the paparazzi when the car peeled out, leaving both Dig and him on the curb. Tommy watched as the car took off and wanted to laugh.
“This happens to you a lot, doesn’t it?” he asked Dig before he raised his hand to hail a cab to head home. He’d pick up his jacket from Oliver another day.
Welcome Home, Ollie!
“Oh, ok, this is a surprise,” he said as he walked toward Laurel, looking her up and down, “Did you…show up here by mistake?”
“By invitation,” she responded with a small smile, “Oliver invited me last night.”
“Last night?” Tommy said with a smile to hide his jealousy.
“Is that surprise or jealousy I’m hearing?” she asked.
He couldn’t look her in the face completely. He knew what to say to her, but anything he said would have given her ammunition toward him.
“Look,” he said, “I just don’t want him to find out anything, OK? Oliver has been through a LOT!”
She knew nothing about what the two of them had been through, even recently. But he was being honest. Having Oliver learn about his and Laurel’s relationship could potentially destroy the friendship that he had with Oliver. That frightened him more than anything else.
“Tommy,” she said with a small scowl on her face, “we’ve all been through a lot.”
He wanted to slap her. What he knew about Oliver’s time on the island amounted to absolutely nothing. But he knew how the island had changed Oliver. He knew that Oliver had secrets he was not willing to share. What he, Tommy had been through, what Laurel had been through, he knew would not even come close to comparing to what Oliver had dealt with during those five years. He threw her a dirty look and turned away to listen to Walter blather on. When he heard Oliver’s “Whoa!” he turned to find him on the edge of the crowd.
He watched as Oliver walked through the crowd, stopping for a mimosa before he stumbled up to the podium and took the shovel from Walter. Tommy had seen Oliver in all levels of drunkenness in their growing up together. To everyone in the room, Oliver was drunk. Tommy recognized that he was stone-cold sober.
He took a glance at Laurel as Oliver almost dropped the shovel and saw her disappointment, her sadness. He saw the disappointment on everyone’s faces and smirked. As he stood there, watching the faces of Oliver’s family fall in despair, the thought of the hooded man crossed his mind and the light bulb went on over his head. Tommy knew at THAT moment that Oliver was putting on a show for everyone…and he’d fooled them all…almost. He knew at that moment, that while Laurel loved Oliver, she and the rest of the world didn’t know him as well as Tommy did.
