some guys think they can't be winners

[beanchaointe]

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[blackstarred]

[Laurel pops up from behind him and looks apologetically at her stepdaughter.

"I tried to talk him out of it." She ... may not have tried very hard, as she was worried too, but an effort was made.

Mia is still just stunned because it's been a while since she and her father have been in the same place, in the flesh and she's missed him, but she doesn't know how to approach this, and all she can do is be confused.]

What are you doing here?

[kapiushon]

( It's been too long a while. )

I don't need a reason to see my daughter who, until the last few weeks, I considered missing. ( But she wants answers. ) Your uncle John sends his regards.

[blackstarred]

[She can't help but wince, given how things ended with JJ. It's not entirely JJ's fault. Getting conflicting images of him, looking at the man who was supposed to be her boyfriend and seeing Deathstroke, a person who didn't exist anymore.

Also she wasn't ready to get married, but everything else on top of it made the relationship feel untenable.]

I ... didn't mean it in a bad way. I just wasn't expecting you.

[No one ever expects Oliver Queen. It's kind of like the Spanish Inquisition.]

[kapiushon]

( Really, all he tries to tell her is how he found her. Her uncle John. But, Oliver has always been a bit obtuse when it comes to emotional reactions. )

I could've called beforehand.

( He didn't. He wouldn't. Would she have denied him? Asked him not to come? Fled again? )

[blackstarred]

You could have.

[Probably not. The biggest upside is that she wouldn't be as much on the defensive, and maybe this would be a little less awkward. But with that, she'll take a step back and bang on the door to their room.]

Change of plans, we're going out to dinner.

[That's directed at her brother, not her dad. Though she doesn't think her dad would disagree.]

[kapiushon]

( William, dressed far more comfortable than he has in months, answers the door, finds his sister and -

"Dad. Laurel." And to his sister, "Did you --." )

[blackstarred]

I did not. This is a present from ARGUS.

[She's kidding. Mostly.]

So dinner. We're going out.

[kapiushon]

( "Wrapped and everything."

Or, on their 'doorstep.' William opens the door wider, revealing a setup in progress. And nobody is surprised. He grabs his room key, slips outside and lets the door close behind him. )

You could both look less like I'm torturing my only kids with this visit. We are a family.

[blackstarred]

It's not that we're not happy to see you.

[Mia does attempt to bridge the distance as they walk, sliding the up to her father's side and tucking an arm around his waist. A smidge of contact that she can sink into, because she had missed him and she does love him.]

It's just that most of our surprise visitors recently haven't been friendly ones.

[kapiushon]

Take off again, either one of you, and your surprise visitor won't be.

( Concerned, yes. Friendly, no.

"Remember our daily calls?" )

I'm making a point.

( They can't blame their father for dropping everything. He misses them, and misses seeing them in person. When was the last time they were all in the same state together, let alone the same room? His billionaire son and his socialite daughter. )

[razes]

Okay.

[Laurel steps up because this is not the reunion anyone wanted, but she's going to try and salvage it.]

We've gotten the fatherly disappointment out of the way. Can we all just relax? Have a nice dinner? Get caught up on your recent adventures?

[kapiushon]

( Laurel swoops in for the spare. Oliver's kids can take the lead, as he hasn't gotten his own lay of the land yet. (But he will, later. He is still Oliver Queen.) )

[blackstarred]

[They find their way to the Grille, which is nice enough for their purposes. As soon as they settle into the booth and are left with the menus, Mia drums her fingers against the table and tries to avoid the long conversation they'll eventually have about what she and William have been up to.]

So how're things with you guys? Still in Star City?

[kapiushon]

When we're not traveling. We got back from seeing Thea and Roy last week. They call.

( Also uncalled for, Oliver.

"To be fair, Dad. I barely call, even before I started working for Allison Argent."

Hold the arrow. )

You're working for a weapons supplier?

[blackstarred]

He's working for a hunter. Their cover is a weapon's supplier, but I think that's mostly defunct now, isn't it?

[She'll leave William to answer that question. She's late to that part of the party.]

It's really more that he works for Isaac.

[kapiushon]

( "It's their cover. Tax purposes. And, it does finance their extracurricular legal activities. They save the supernatural," he says proudly, but not boastfully. He's not running down his list of wrongdoing, he's doing good.

Also,

"Isaac Lahey. He's a werewolf in Scott McCall's pack." )

And he saves...

( "Witches, werewolves, and other supernatural people and creatures that need saving." )

Like Slayers?

( Oliver has never been good at easing into topics, and that particular pink elephant is one that needs to be addressed. He'll get back to the arms dealing saviors. )

[blackstarred]

Kind of.

[Mia isn't sure they're wholly compatible but:]

Slayers were created to protect humans from vampires. But sometimes the less harmful supernatural creatures need protection from humans.

[kapiushon]

And they need you and your brother.

( He's just trying to understand everything. )

[blackstarred]

I don't know about need.

[They've certainly got enough manpower that they don't need someone like Mia. Maybe they do need William, but he's got a different skill set from her.]

But it's the right thing to do.

[kapiushon]

You're doing it the right way.

( He does understand, especially where he came from and the lengths he went to as the Green Arrow. )

And as yourselves.

[blackstarred]

Not like we can be anyone else.

[The waitress comes to take their orders, and as they're passing the menus back, William's phone goes off with one of those Google alerts that he set up to be informed when Mia happened to pop up on the grid.

All that's there is a TMZ headline: Queen heiress reappears in Prague with new mystery date.]

[kapiushon]

( So. He just - stares, taps the article and scrolls. Oh, and then he orders, setting his phone beside him on the seat. What article? He rolls a (2) to try and mask that he read anything, but, (2), so. He clearly read something that tripped him up. )

[razes]

[Mia's sitting next to him, so she doesn't catch the look right away, but Laurel being directly across from him can't help but raise an eyebrow.]

Something wrong?

[slavophile]

Uh. Probably not.

( Not wrong, no. )

It's just - TMZ. You know the tabloids and our family.

[blackstarred]

[She can't help but raise an eyebrow, because who's in the tabloids this time?]

Did someone dredge up something from Dad and Uncle Tommy's party days again?

[Completely oblivious to the fact that they might be talking about her.]