Arrow: the Two Archers

Chapter 3: the First Hunt

As she entered, she found that Oliver had already set up most of their hardware and training equipment. The racks for their arrows, the grindstone, the various containers with explosives and different types of arrowheads were all laid out across various tables. The salmon ladder and the training dummy were pushed up against one of the corners. The two wooden crates they had brought with them from the island took up a more or less central spot, making them easy to access. The only thing remaining was some of their more complex electronics, a task that Lydia was glad he had left to her. Oliver had been sitting at one of the tables looking through a small booklet, when he noticed her arrival.

"Hey, Lyds. Glad to see you didn't get lost on the way."

Normally she would have responded to that with a quip of her own. But after the talk she had with Laurel, after learning why she disliked him so much, Lydia was only able to give him a quick smile in return. Unfortunately, it seemed Oliver had managed to pick up on her discomfort.

"What 's wrong? Did something happen?" he asked.

Lydia let out a sigh, debating whether or not to approach the subject. On the one hand, Oliver's private life wasn't really any of her business, no matter how much time they'd spent together on the island. Especially the things that happened before then. On the other hand, she couldn't help but feel a little miffed that he hadn't thought to mention that he had cheated on his girlfriend with her sister before suggesting Lydia crash with said girlfriend.

"Laurel and I talked. About Sara." she eventually said.

"Oh."

"Why did you never tell me?"

Oliver leaned forward in his chair, his slight playfulness from before replaced with a look of sincerity and guilt. Lydia instantly felt more at ease. That look had always meant that he was serious, that he understood what the situation was.

"I'm sorry I never told you all of it." he began.
"Back then, you were just a little girl, only a couple months older than my sister. It just... it didn't seem right to try and explain that whole mess to you on top of everything else we were dealing with. And then after Hong Kong you left for Gotham, and I suppose I just never thought of it again until now."

Lydia nodded, taking in this information.

"Did you love her? At least, like you loved Laurel?"

Oliver was silent. She could see him slowly pondering the question. Another comforting sign. It meant that he cared enough about her to answer with the truth.

"No, I don't think I did. Not really." he eventually answered.
"At the time, Laurel had just asked me to move in with her. And that... it felt permanent. Like it was a point where I couldn't go back. And it scared me. So I tried to run away from it, and ruined what I had in the process."

Lydia wasn't sure she liked his explanation, but she could tell it was the truth. And she had seen enough to know that the truth was not always what one wanted to hear.

"That was stupid of you." she declared.

Oliver hung his head in what she could only guess was shame.

"Yeah. I was a selfish idiot."

"Oh, you're still an idiot. Just not that selfish anymore." Lydia replied with a smirk.

Her little quip seemed to do its job well enough, eliciting a small chuckle out of Oliver.

"Anyway, what were you looking at before I so rudely interrupted you?"

Oliver turned around and opened the webpage for an online newspaper on one of their computers. It displayed an article on a bald man with a scowl on his face. One that seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite figure out why.