Oliver Queen

It feels good to be suited up and out at night again without having to watch his back every single second. Whatever was going on with the animals seems to have stopped; Oliver still keeps an eye out, but not to the degree he had been for the past week.

Everything going back to normal has allowed him to go back to what he's been doing recently-- namely, stalking his boss. Oliver's trusted enough now that Alexei includes him in the planning of certain deals, though they each come with the expectation and warning that he needs to step up and actually use his rank once more, or sever his ties to the bratva entirely.

Considering that means they intend to kill Oliver if he doesn't take on his role as a true avtoritet, he's got a bit of a dilemma on his hands.

He's come up with stalking Alexei, collecting intel in order to shut him down for good. While it will mean an end to his job and the connections he's come by thanks to the bratva, Oliver gets to live at the end of it.

Alexei has spent most of his night in rather innocent pursuits, leading Oliver around half the city as he checks in on employees and rivals alike. While he doesn't seem to realize that anyone is on his tail, Oliver has had the feeling lately that someone is on his. He hasn't let on that he knows he's being followed, but the night is drawing to a close and Oliver's grown tired of it.

When Alexei's car rounds a corner to head back to Lush, Oliver doesn't follow; he drops into an alleyway instead, bow up as he blends into the shadows behind a large dumpster. It doesn't take long before he hears careful movement follow, and he lets his arrow fly, aiming low to disable whoever it is.

Wrapping up at Semele's the night before hadn't taken long, and Oliver was happy to call it an early night and take Felicity home after Thea left with a quick goodbye. It was nice to have nights like that, where he got to simply be with Felicity and Thea -- to hang out at a friend's bar with those he loves most and do normal things. Those sorts of moments are becoming more common in his life, and the only thing that really stands between Oliver and Thea anymore is the Arrow.

He isn't sure if he's going to tell her yet. Though he saw a possible future in that Seeing Stone where she didn't turn away from him or hate him for it, he isn't sure he can take the chance on telling her. Thankfully, the Arrow doesn't get much press at all, and Thea probably hasn't put two and two together yet.

Not having seen Derek leave the night before, Oliver shoots him a text after his usual workout at Off the Wall. Coffee, breakfast, whatever would work. He knew how to be friends with Porthos, had fallen into a comfortable routine with the musketeer (one that usually involved either punching or drinking), but he was in the midst of figuring out how to be friends with Derek.

It still startles him from time to time to think about the relationships he's forged here, friendships made just by being himself. Maybe it's not a complete version of himself, not the whole that only Felicity ever sees, but it's an improvement from his first two years after returning to Starling.

After a quick shower and a brief call to set up a lunch date with Felicity, Oliver heads out. It's still a little strange to be doing this, to be going through the motions of what normal people do -- have beers, hang out, drink coffee -- but he finds he's missed it a little. Maybe he'll never have the same friendship he ever had with Tommy, and not having Digg around is like missing a limb, but this can be good enough.