Robert studied Felicity again. Maybe he had underestimated her. He thought she would be a push-over but he was finding she was anything but that. Robert had always wanted what was best for his son and he used this to justify pushing him as hard as he did.
"Dad Oliver's fight against Dozer was fantastic. You should have seen the move he used to put him down." Thea said, her eyes dancing. "You are sooo going to teach me that move bro."
Robert looked at Oliver thoughtfully. "I am sorry we missed your fight son. Sounds like your injuries are not hindering your movements as much as I thought they would."
Felicity felt Oliver stiffen beside her again, and remembering Thea's words, she gently took his hand in hers and drew it to her lap. Oliver glanced at her before he answered.
"I had some stiffness at first, but Lyla Michaels has done wonders in working to improve my flexibility." Oliver took a sip of his wine.
"Has John been working on your overhead slam?" Robert asked. "I seem to remember you struggling with that move."
Robert was looking at Oliver casually but anyone that knew him could tell by his tone he was treading on topics that had been a bone of contention in the past.
"I never had a problem with the slam Dad. My arm had just been twisted like a pretzel by Slade when I tried that move on him." Oliver said irritated. He remembered the fight his Dad was referring to and he had lost it to Slade.
"You need to keep better concentration son. You should have saved that slam until your arm strength was back to 100%." Robert said. "Or next time try a superman punch to make him a better target."
Oliver was growing more irritated by the second. It was always this way with his Dad. Robert held him to high standards and if he did not feel like Oliver was doing things exactly as he felt he should be, then he would bring it up every time.
"If everyone is done with their dinner, why don't we move to the sitting room and have coffee." Moira said, noting the tension that was starting to mount. She loved her husband but she always felt he was hard on Oliver. She knew it came from a good place but it always rubbed Oliver the wrong way.
Oliver waited for Felicity to walk ahead before placing his hand on her back and walking to the sitting room. They sat on the couch and Oliver took her hand again, keeping her close to his side. She could tell he was tense and so she settled in next to him.
Roy and Thea sat across from them as they waited for Robert and Moira, "So Oliver, who is your next fight? I heard Yoel Romero was in town", Roy said.
"Well actually I was going to tell Oliver that news tonight when everyone was here." Felicity said laughing. Oliver looked at her in surprise. Yoel Romero was the current middleweight champion and was in town for an exhibition fight.
"Am I fighting the exhibition with Yoel?" Oliver asked.
"You are!" Felicity smiled. It had taken a lot of finagling and a promise of a publicity shoot, but Felicity had gotten Oliver the exhibition fight. Normally this was done between the champion and the highest-ranking fighter, but Felicity had been able to sell Oliver's story as someone fighting his way back to the top. It was exactly the story they wanted to sell tickets.
Oliver pulled her close and gave her a hug. He knew what a big deal this was for his career and Robert and Moira walked in as Thea jumped up in excitement and Roy gave a loud "Yeah!"
"What's going on?" Moira asked, noting the excitement in the room.
"Felicity just old Oliver that he is going to be fighting the exhibition bout with Yoel Romero." Thea said proudly.
Robert and Moira both looked at her in surprise and Moira smiled widely, walking over to hug Oliver. "Son that is fantastic news."
Robert looked at Felicity, again impressed. "Wow. How did you manage that Miss Smoak?"
"Please call me Felicity. And I just told them that having a fighter who was overcoming all the odds like Oliver would be a great draw for the fight. Of course, pitching them some projected numbers for what they could draw didn't hurt." She smiled and looked at Oliver who was telling her with his eyes how much he appreciated her.
"Well sounds like we came back from our trip just in time honey." Robert said to Moira and then walked over and hugged Oliver.
"Even though it is an exhibition fight, he is going to be a tough one Oliver." Roy said with almost envy.
"It will just be for a total of 4 rounds and they want to keep the moves simple." Felicity said. "John will work with you on it this week Oliver."
"Maybe I will stop by tomorrow for your training." Robert said. "I have some suggestions for John that I think would help you to improve some of the submission holds."
Oliver held his tongue. He knew it was no good to argue with his Dad and Thea gave him a look of understanding before she started talking about Roy's next fight. Felicity sat back down and when Oliver sat next to her, she grabbed his hand again. She wasn't sure what it was about their clasped hands but she could feel a peaceful energy between them when they were connected and she found herself seeking it out.
A couple of hours later Felicity tried to stifle a yawn, but Oliver noticed and immediately stood, feeling a relief go through him as they said their goodbyes. He could only handle his Dad for so long and they hugged and made plans for another dinner soon before walking to the car.
Thea walked up to Felicity as she was about to get in the car and whispered, "You handled my Dad brilliantly. Thank you for speaking up and telling my Dad what a wonderful fighter Ollie was and is. I think sometimes he forgets." She hugged Felicity and as they drove off Felicity looked over to see Oliver gripping the steering wheel with a tension she only saw in his fights.
A quiet fell over them both and when they arrived back at his apartment, they walked to the door, hands clasped saying nothing. Felicity got the feeling that Oliver felt this way often after leaving his Dad's presence so she just let him be, knowing he would talk to her when he was ready.
They walked into Oliver's apartment and Felicity made her way to the couch, collapsing with a big sigh. She was glad to have that dinner over and done. Oliver walked over and sat next to her and she looked at him with compassion in her eyes. She could tell his relationship with Dad was complex and as she had done all evening, she took his hand in hers to let him know she was there for him.
"You know my Dad was so proud of me when I told him I was going to follow in his footsteps and fight in the MMA. I use to love to go to his bouts as a child and I was so proud because I could say that is MY Dad up there. And I think a part of me hoped that it would be the same for him when he saw me fighting. He is why I wanted to be a fighter. He was so strong, yet so graceful. He was a sight to behold in the cage." He paused for a moment and Felicity just held his hand.
"Now I wonder if he was ever proud of me. He seems to find fault with every single fight, and as much as I know he loves me. I don't understand it."
"Maybe you need to talk to him Oliver." she said softly. "If this continues it is just going to throw a wedge between you and him and take it from someone who wishes her Dad was still around. You don't want to lose that relationship with him."
Oliver leaned his head back on the couch and turned his head to look at her. "When did you lose your Dad?"
Felicity leaned her head back as well and gave him a sad smile, "He died when I was just 8 years old. I have some memories of him, and they are good ones, but I missed him so much when I was growing up. I would see my friends with their fathers and I remember actually being jealous. He is part of why when I stumbled onto sports management, I stayed with it."
"What do you mean?" Oliver asked.
"My father loved sports. Any sport. On Sundays he could be found in front of the TV watching football, basketball, wrestling, whatever was on at the time. I would sit next to him and do my computer work just so I could be close to him. It was a way for me to feel close to him. Doing this job is similar to that. It helps me feel close to him, and I enjoy it." Felicity smiled as she remembered snuggling up to her father on the couch on Sunday afternoons.
Oliver played idly with her hand as she talked. "After he passed my Mom tried her best to fill that void, and I loved her so much for that. But Oliver, it wasn't the same." She looked at him and her eyes were filled with a silent pleading. "Don't let this come between you and your Dad. Talk to him."
Oliver leaned over and kissed her on the lips.
"You Miss Smoak are amazing you know that? Thank you for what you said at dinner tonight."
Oliver sighed. "I will talk to my Dad tomorrow."
"Good." Felicity said with a smile. But then her face grew serious.
"For the record Oliver, I meant every single word."
***
Oliver walked into Verdant Gym the next morning with a pit in his stomach. He knew his Dad would be coming by this morning and as promised he was going to talk to him. He just hoped the talk would go well. His father could be stubborn when he wanted to be and Oliver was hoping the words he chose to use would convey his feelings in a way that his Dad would understand.
Oliver changed clothes and grabbing his water bottle and towel made his way to the treadmill. John always had him warm up on the treadmill and Oliver was finding he enjoyed the time where he could just put his headphones in and let his muscles take over. The running helped to clear his mind and as his legs started pumping he was finding his nervousness was subsiding.
John had him run for 15 minutes before he took him to the mats. Today he wanted to work with Oliver on some simple moves that would be used during the exhibition bout. They were powerful enough to give the audience what they needed in terms of strength but also would work toward keeping the fighters safe. This fight was not about who won but helping the sponsor to raise money for whatever they were promoting.
John started working him through the moves and John was impressed with how quickly Oliver was picking up each kick, stiff-arm and submission hold. They continued to work and when it was time to break John gave Oliver a high five.
"Great job man. This exhibition match is going to a great way for you to perfect these moves." John said as he wiped his brow with a towel.
"Great job son." Oliver and John turned to the voice and Oliver saw his father standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. Oliver was surprised that his father had not said anything before now, and he walked over to him as he took a swig from his water bottle.
"Thank you Dad." Oliver put the cap on and taking a deep breath said, "Dad can we talk?"
Robert looked at his son but there was no surprise in his eyes. He and Moira had spoken for awhile after everyone left dinner last night and Robert knew this talk was coming.
He just hoped he could express to his son what he had told his wife last night.