The lucky one

Chapter 16

Oliver was enjoying his afternoon walk with Zeus when he suddenly heard splashes and laughter coming from further down the trail that led to the bridge he was walking toward. 

He immediately recognized the voice as Kara's, the notes of joy in the laugh somehow filling his own heart with some. As he reached the part of the path that trailed along the side of the river, the former vigilante saw what caused the blond kennel owner to smile that much.

There, Kara Danvers was laughing with a wide smile as she played in the water with a dog, while another was contented with watching or rather sleeping, from the shadow of a tree.

Zeus preceded Oliver on the bridge, stopping at its center so that he, and his human companion when he caught on with him, had the best view of the game. The blond, female, human, for some reason that Zeus couldn't fathom, lost some length to her smile when she saw Oliver standing on the bridge, even though all he did was nod a silent greeting.

At that moment, the other dog seemed to be stabbed by a mosquito or something, because it bolted right from the shadow where he had been resting and dove right into the water, snatching the stick that Dexter was a second away from. This drew away Kara's attention, allowing Oliver and Zeus to withdraw back to the kennel without having to suffer from an awkward silence.

"That man is so irritating," Kara called as she walked up the stairs of the patio, knowing that Eliza would be taking her tea at the table. "Every time I turn around, he's just-"

"Uh-uh-uh" Eliza gestured for her to stop talking as Kara stepped in. The blond soon discovered why when said man walked into the dining room from the kitchen, the sugar pot in his hand

"Good morning" he simply said, not feeling like rubbing in Kara's face that he had heard everything she had just said

"So," Eliza said as Oliver sat at the table, giving her the sugar "You were saying"

"Well, as I said, my family was way too rich for its own good, so we lived in this big, and empty, mansion atop the hill that surrounds Star City."

"From what I've heard, you had quite the social life back then."

"I did. But only because of my name, my money, and the over the top, hundreds of people strong,  parties I made a point of throwing almost every week."

"And if you don't mind my asking, how many of these people could you have called true friends?"

Oliver smiled a sad smile at that, looking down at his mug "Three... Tommy, Laurel and Sara."

"I've heard... I'm sorry for Tommy Merlyn seemed like a good young man."

"As far as millionaire playboys can be" Kara commented from the kitchen

"Kara Danvers!" Eliza chastised

"It's alright" Oliver cut, not wanting the memory of his long lost friend to be the source of a family spat "We definitely weren't angels back then. But in the end, he died saving Laurel during the Undertaking."

"That terrorist attack during your first year back?"

"Yeah. Laurel was his girlfriend at the time. He died a hero."

"Laurel is the new District Attorney right?" Kara asked

"Yes." Oliver smiled again, although it was a small and sad one "What she went through... It made her decide to try harder to change things in the city. To try and make it as safe as possible."

"Probably not going to happen anytime soon with the Green Arrow running around."

"He does all he can." Oliver defended his former vigilante side, that John had since taken over

"From what I know, the cities are always better off without capes or hooded figures publically protecting them."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, let's be honest, since the Green Arrow started being active, Star City was the target of 4 major terrorist attacks, open war with a crime lord two years later, another terrorist organization the next year, etc. And let's not talk about satellites falling down on Central City, the entire population of National City being mind-controlled or almost enslaved, Metropolis having a weekly superpowered maniac trying to lure out Superman before being destroyed in a very destructive fight... The world is better off without suited guardian"

"And what would have happened had the Green Arrow not confronted Damian Darkh in the street? Or had he not taken the fight against Ricardo Diaz into his own hands? I wasn't able to fight him because of how corrupt the government was. Almost one cop-out of two was in the Dragon's pocket, the captain included. My district attorney was also working for him, and the city council was pushing legislation at his demands."

Kara didn't have an answer to that, preferring to grab a glass in silence as her mother asked "I've heard you didn't have much success in college Oliver. Was it because you weren't interested or-"

"Yes," he answered "I was young, had all the girls fawning over me, more money than I could spend and never really got in trouble for what I did. So I only went to college for a full year without dropping out."

"What did you learn?"

"Probably not much if he only stayed there for a year," Kara said from the kitchen

Oliver decided to let the jab slide, answering Eliza's question "I liked philosophy. As ironic as it is, I preferred that to the endless lessons on stocks holding and marketing"

"Really?" Kara asked, mildly curious

"Yeah" Oliver nodded, looking at her "I like to read"

"Give us a quote of your favourite philosopher" she challenged

Oliver thought for a second before one came to mind "Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact." 

"Hmm?" Eliza nodded appreciatively, directing her eyes to her daughter

"Don't tell me," Kara said as she thought "William James? It's William James, isn't it?"

"It's Charles Sanders Peirce" Oliver answered flatly, taking his last swallow of tea as Eliza chuckled

Kara clearly didn't know what to answer to being found wrong after making that smug comment about him not learning much. Deciding to turn her suffering short, Oliver stood up and pushed his chair "Thank you very much for the tea, Mrs. Danvers. I should get back to work"

Eliza, who was trying not-so-very-hard to suppress a smug smirk, looked at him as he reached the door "Will you call me Eliza for goodness sake?"

Oliver playfully smirked, winked for good measure, and simply stepped out. He heard the door close as he climbed down the stairs of the entrance and chuckle, having a hard time not laughing as Kara's expression still lingered in his mind.