likeahero | [For Derek, July 2]

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derek,
in-game

[For Derek, July 2]

Oliver is quick to anger, and is completely irrational when it comes to Thea. He knows this, but the combination of the two makes it difficult for him to see anything clearly. It's only Thea's anger that punches through and reaches him, shaking him until he lets go of anger over something that not only can he not change, but isn't any of his business in the first place.

She's a grown woman who can make her own decisions, but it's still hard for Oliver to let go of the little girl he remembered.

Worse still, after he apologizes to Thea, is remembering the way Derek had looked when he left him. How callous was he that he was so willing to drop a friend so easily because he couldn't get a hold of himself? Had Diggle not pushed back against Oliver constantly, he would probably still be alone, lost as the Arrow and fighting a war he could never win on his own.

It doesn't take long for Oliver to suck it up and head over to Semele's one evening. He's in all black, his usual outfit for a later shift at Lush, but he stops by the bar first to find Derek.

And he will, for once, try to apologize.

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Suddenly finding himself being the owner of a bar has sucked up a lot of Derek's free time. There's a lot to be done, as it turns out, and now he's sitting at the end of the bar with a stack of invoices, trying to see if he could come up with a better system. There's an office in the back that he could do this in, but he likes it out here where he can keep an eye on things.

When the door opens he doesn't so much as blink, but then Oliver's scent reaches him while he has his head bent down over an order for peanuts, and he stiffens slightly. They haven't talked since that disastrous encounter at the coffee shop, and Derek slowly straightens up as Oliver approaches.

"Hey," Derek says calmly, setting his pen down and looking Oliver over warily. "If you came to put an arrow in me, I'd prefer we do it out back. Blood is a bitch to get out of these hardwood floors."

Edited 2015-07-18 04:52 (UTC)

The corner of Oliver's mouth lifts as he shakes his head. It's not surprisingly Derek would think that of him, and he'd almost perfect the simplicity in it. Someone needs an arrow in them, they get one.

Apologies and friendships are messy.

Hands in his pockets, Oliver stands there for a moment, eyes on the bar as he works through what he want to say before looking back up at Derek.

"Thea gently pointed out that I may have been a bit irrational."

"Gently, huh?" Derek lifts a brow, huffing in slight amusement. Oliver doesn't seem ready to attack him so Derek relaxes from his defensive position, shoulders sloping a little. He gestures at the stool next to him with his chin and closes the folder in front of him. Peanuts can wait.

"I do remember what it was like to be a big brother," Derek says after a moment, mouth twisting wryly. "My sisters never made it to Thea's age, but I can't imagine that I would have reacted much better."

It hurts to think like that, wondering what might have been, and he swallows hard before turning to look at Oliver again. He wasn't really expecting Oliver to seek him out, not like this anyway, and he can't deny that he's relieved.

Gently is code for the only way siblings truly fight: loud, angry, and short. It hadn't taken much for her to drive her point home, and he's glad that of all the fights he's had with Thea in the last year, this is a relatively small one.

Of course, Oliver then feels even worse when Derek mentions his siblings-- a fact he hadn't known about until now. Derek's words are very telling, and reminds him of how lucky he is to still have Thea. Richard and Moira are gone because of him, making Thea the last of his family alive and the last person he ever wants to see hurt.

He sits next to Derek, trying to relax as much as he can, to remind himself that it's okay to let his guard down a little.

"Our parents are dead, and I lost five years with Thea." He shakes his head, eyes on the top of the bar as he speaks. "She's all I have left, and...I get over protective. I'm sorry for losing my head."

"Apology accepted," he says easily, not wanting Oliver to feel bad about it any longer. Derek watches Oliver and bites his lip, thinking for a moment before speaking. "After we lost our parents, and everyone, it was just me and my sister for a long time. She was older than me, and my alpha, but we were very close. I get it. Don't worry about it."

Laura was his his entire world during their time in New York. She kept him sane, kept him alive after the fire. If anyone so much as looked at Laura wrong, he wanted to tear their throat out. So yeah, he really does get it, and he doesn't blame Oliver for losing his cool. What matters is that he owned to it and apologized, and that means a lot.

Edited 2015-07-18 06:12 (UTC)

Practically everyone Oliver has known over the last few years has been marred by loss in some way, with the exception of Felicity. She's always been a bright spot in his life, untouched by the darkness he does his best to keep away from her whenever he can.

He nods, grateful for Derek's understanding. It's probably a lot more than Oliver deserves.

"Will it help if I buy something expensive?" he asks, looking over at Derek again. "You have bourbon?"

"Well, it wouldn't hurt," Derek says with a smirk as he gets up and walks behind the bar. "Though I'm not sure how making me work fits into this whole apology thing."

He grabs a bottle of good scotch and two glasses, pouring out two fingers in each and then taking a seat next to Oliver again. He holds his glass out as Oliver reaches for his. "So, bygones? Or are you still secretly planning on putting an arrow in me?"

"I could have done it," Oliver protests, but he doesn't move, allowing Derek to pour the scotch.

When he picks up his glass, Oliver nods and clinks it against Derek's. "Bygones. And if I'd wanted to put an arrow in you, I would have done it already," he adds before taking a sip.

"No non-employees behind the bar," Derek says with a smirk. He lifts his glass in a toast and takes a sip of his own, blinking down at the amber liquid after. It's not often that he drinks any alcohol that isn't beer or his wolfsbane liquor, but he's still surprised by how smooth this is. The wolfsbane burns, but considering it's basically everclear infused with werewolf poison, that's to be expected.

"Ah, that's assuming you'd be able to put an arrow in me in the first place," Derek replies with an amused chuckle, glad that they've fallen back into their easy camaraderie. "It might be fun to see you try, though."

Oliver looks Derek over, thinking through what he knows about him -- strength, speed, agility -- and how, if at all, he could best him if he needed to.

"I bet I could get at least one arrow in you," he says, the challenge implicit. "And you'd probably make for good target practice."

"Now see, that reads like you're still mad at me," Derek says with a smirk, laughing a little and shaking his head. "Just because it'll heal doesn't mean it won't still hurt like hell."

He thinks about it and then nods, shrugging one shoulder. "But sure, we could do that. We could try it with me in both forms, so you can feel like an asshole if you sink an arrow into a wolf."

"I sound like an asshole no matter which way you put it," Oliver tells him, but he still considers it. He's had to kill wild animals before, has the scars to prove it, but just the idea of trying to shoot at Derek as a wolf feels wrong.

"Are you stronger or faster than other wolves when you're in that form?" He doesn't need the practice against animals. It's the inhuman he has to look out for now.

"Much," Derek says with a nod. "I'm even faster on four legs than I am on two. But we'll stick with me like this, at first."

As a wolf, Derek is inky black and blends in with the night, with the shadows. But as a man, he's still fast and hard to hit. It'd still be a challenge.

"It'll be an interesting challenge." Slade had been difficult to fight, too fast and powerful for Oliver to keep up with for anything but a short length of time. The memory of some of the rib cracking hits he took still makes him wince.

Oliver snorts as he realizes he's starting to wonder at how fast Derek moves and how to best him.

"Felicity's going to think we're crazy," he says, taking another long drink.

"It's also been a long time since I've sparred with anyone, if you're up for that." Derek sees the way that Oliver is looking at him, like he's sizing him up, and if anything it gets Derek excited. He never really liked fighting for his life, and he definitely doesn't want to go back to that, but sometimes he does miss the rush of adrenaline that comes with it.

"What, did you tell her that you made friends with a werewolf?" Derek asks with a laugh, giving Oliver a teasing smile. "We're just bonding."

"She knows," Oliver says, shaking his head at Derek's laugh. He hadn't been able to keep that one from Felicity-- and really, who would, if they'd met a werewolf for the first time?

"And sparring would actually be a great idea. I spar with a couple of people, but you're closer to my size than any of them are."

"And what did she have to say about that?" Derek asks. He's always curious to see how people will react, especially here.

Derek's excited by the idea of sparring, and he's grateful that Oliver didn't decide to hold a grudge against him. "When do you want to do this?"

"Questions," Oliver responds with a small smile. "Lots of questions."

After the shock had worn off -- for both of them -- Felicity had done her typical thing, and he couldn't really blame her. He wondered about it as well, but wasn't inclined to ask Derek outright unless he wanted to answer.

"You free in the mornings? I usually head to Off the Wall a little after dawn."

"What sorts of questions?" Derek asks curiously. He's sort of heard them all at this point, and he might not want to answer all of them, but he's a lot more open about it after so much time in Darrow.

"Yeah, that works. I usually go for my runs just before dawn," Derek says with a nod. "I can meet you there."

"Werewolves are real was the first one, obviously," he says, his smile growing as he remembers it. There were certain things about Felicity Oliver tended to adore, and her mixture of confusion and curiosity about Derek had been one of them. "Can you change into a wolf, do you have to look yourself up during the full moon, would it be okay to hurt you if you somehow end up accidentally turning me into a werewolf?"

He grins and takes another drink, finishing it up. "I think the last one is my favorite."

Derek watches him in amusement, smiling a little. Oliver looks different when he talks about Felicity. He looks softer, warmer. Happy. With a brief pang, Derek wonders if he looked like that when he spoke of Stiles.

"We're real, obviously," he says with a laugh. "I can change into a wolf, but that's very rare for my kind. I personally have perfect control on the full moon, but that doesn't go for all the werewolves in the city, and she can definitely try, but I don't foresee me sinking my fangs into you any time soon."

Oliver makes a face at the last part and resists reaching down to touch his abdomen, the bite mark there still the most startling of all the scars he's gained over the years.

"That how it works? You have to bite someone?"

"Yeah," Derek replies, tilting his head curiously at Oliver's reaction. "I'm an alpha, and only alphas can turn someone with a bite. And it has to be with my fangs."

He curls his lip back and extends canines, showing them off for a moment before they retract back into blunt, human teeth. "But don't worry. You're not in any danger of being bitten. Not you or anyone else, even if you run into me under a full moon."

It all sounds familiar and different, a weird combination of werewolf stories he'd grown up hearing or watching, and Derek's version of reality. The fangs are a little startling, even though they aren't the first evidence he's seen of the new supernatural world he's slowly getting to know day by day now.

"Good," he says, lighthearted. "Because if you got out of control and bit me, I don't think we could be friends anymore."

Edited 2015-07-26 03:40 (UTC)

"I think you'd make a good wolf," Derek says easily, but he smiles and shrugs one shoulder. "But that isn't something that you have to worry about."

He's glad that Oliver accepts him for who he is, and doesn't shy away from it like others would. Derek feels like he can be himself around Oliver, which is incredibly rare. "I'm glad you stopped by."

Oliver, a werewolf. The idea of it makes him laugh. He's gone through enough transformation in his life.

"I'm glad too," he says, finding it easy to admit so. He holds up his empty glass. "One more drink? I've got to head to work." As close as he is to his shift starting, Oliver finds himself reluctant to start heading over to Lush. The atmosphere has been tense the past few months, and he isn't sure just how much longer he can keep putting Alexei off.

"Sure." Derek gets up and grabs the glasses, and he catches a hint of a change in Oliver's scent, not quite anxiety but close. He refills their glasses and comes back to sit down, looking at Oliver curiously as he slides his beer over to him. "You don't sound thrilled about it. What is it that you do, exactly?"

"I'm a bartender," Oliver says, the corner of his mouth going up briefly in amusement. From CEO of a multi-billion dollar company to a bartender in a club run by the Russian mafia. Moira would have had a heart attack. "Work hasn't exactly been pleasant lately. Too much pressure from the owner to take on more responsibility."

The sort of responsibility that involved a bevy of illegal activity that Oliver was more inclined to stop now than commit.

"Huh, well. If you ever want to tend a different bar, I know a guy." Derek smirks at him, but he would hire Oliver in a heartbeat. Because he likes Oliver, which makes him think about their prior topic of conversation.

"Hey, let me ask you something," Derek says quietly, expression going serious as he meets Oliver's gaze. "You're in a dangerous business," he says and he isn't talking about bartending. "If you're ever in a situation where you're hurt, and you might not make it out, would you want me to bite you? Or let you go?"

It's something that he's been thinking about asking his friends, ever since it came up with Neil. Whatever they decide, he'll obviously respect, but he wants to know.

Oliver inhales sharply, not expecting the question even though he'd noticed the shift in Derek's expression. He can't say the idea isn't appealing on some level, but he can't say he thinks he deserves another chance, either.

Given the chance, Oliver doesn't think he could ever willingly give up the life he has now, but he's been living on borrowed time ever since his father killed himself to save his son. Facing death has always been the easy part.

"I should have died a dozen times over in the last few years," he says after taking a drink. "No. If it's my time to go, then I'll go."

Derek flinches slightly at the answer because to him, it sounds like Oliver would rather die than be a wolf like him. He swallows hard and nods, schooling his expression and looking down into his glass.

"Well, I hope it'll never come to that," he says quietly, looking back up at him. "But okay."

Oliver doesn't miss the flinch, but he's not sure why Derek does so and he shutters his expression quickly enough that Oliver knows not to ask.

"I think," he adds after a quiet moment, "if anything does ever happen to me and I can't make a decision...Felicity's word is as good as mine."

He's never really thought of this before, has always resigned himself to knowing that the sort of life he leads is heading down a certain path. Lately, though, that path hasn't been so dark, and Felicity's saved him enough times in the past that he'd trust her-- even if he wasn't completely in love with her.

"What do you mean?" Derek asks, because what Oliver says isn't exactly clear to him. He looks at him, head tilted curiously. "If Felicity were to tell me to save you, do it?"

He bites his lip and then shrugs helplessly, dragging his finger through the ring of condensation on the table. "It isn't so bad, you know. Being a wolf."

"Yeah." He nods after a long moment, knowing that even if he told her his wishes, Felicity would do everything to save him anyway -- and he would never hate her for it. Sometimes it seems like she knows him better than he knows himself.

"You seem to have it good compared to lots of movies I remember."

"Alright then," Derek says with a shake of his head. It's maybe an unconventional answer, but he'll remember it. Hopefully, he'll never have to go to Felicity with that question, but he feels better for having asked it.

"Yeah, they seem to get a lot of things wrong." He shakes his head in amusement and finishes his drink. "And I do have it better than some wolves here. There are two more here that are where I'm from, but only I can fully shift into a wolf."

And Malia isn't technically a wolf, but that's more than he needs to get into right now. "And there are others here that are from different places with rules of their own. Some do lose control on the full moon, but they take precautions to keep everyone safe, including themselves."

"You keep an eye on them?" It seems like that would be something Derek would do even if only as an alpha, if Oliver is thinking right. The lack of any news about strange wolf attacks or a werewolf problem proves that there isn't much to worry about at all, which Oliver finds a bit comforting.

"I'm not their alpha," Derek tells him, but he shrugs his shoulders. "But I am usually out running around on the full moons. I don't like being cooped up."

He refills their drinks and leans back in the booth, taking a long sip of his own. Luke locks himself up, but Derek swings by in the mornings sometimes. He's not sure what Scott does, but Derek knows that he doesn't have to worry about his control. Malia is usually with him or out in the woods, just like Biffy. "No one has anything to worry about during full moons. Staying out of the woods would probably be smart, but that's about it. Only one wolf loses complete control, and he takes precautions."

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[For Derek, July 2]

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