Zero Hour - Friday, July 07, 2000, 8:58 PM ------------------------------------------ The sound of the opening and shutting of drawers and doors fill the sparse apartment as the red head begins to unpack his duffle bag. Next to the bag is a pile of items he just managed to drop... a crossbow, a simple long bow, several knives, water bottles, and several leather pouches filled with various survival gear and gadgets. Roy looks a bit tired and even yawns as he works, nearly dropping a stack of socks as he does. His unpacking takes him from one room to another, seeming with no rhyme or reason... good thing the apartment under him is empty still. And out in the hallway, another man with much less baggage in the duffle bag slung over his shoulder approaches the apartment door. He hears loud slamming and banging noises from inside, but can't quite tell what is going on. Suspecting a struggle, he drops his bag, moves to the side of the door and knocks loudly on it. "Roy?" he says loudly, as he gets ready to charge and break the door down if he hears anything worse. Roy Harper tosses the socks into a drawer, and glances in the direction of the familiar voice. He frowns and steps towards the front door, his foot landing fully on the tip of the bow and unsetting the entire pile of weapons and gear. Knives and survival gadgets clatter as muffled curses ring out. Roy leaps over the spinning pile and begins making his way towards the door again, grumbling about trouble finding him as soon as he's back in town, "Door's Open." His eyes lift to see if his ears were deceiving him. Oliver Queen steps through the door as he hears the crash and sees all the various weapons crash. "Ah... so that's what that was... I heard this loud banging coming up the hall and thought for a minute they were after you. Nice to see you're allright," he says calmly, his momentary panic and concern long past. It is then that all the worries he had on the bus ride here from Gotham finally come back as he looks at the young man who is the closest thing he's ever had to a son. "So..." Roy Harper smirks a bit at the situation, and at the oldster and his 'They' that might be getting Roy. His green eyes shift to a spinning knife about an inch from his foot, then bounce up to the blonde archer in the doorway, "Come on in, make yourself comfortable... What the hell are you doing here?" The question is asked with less bite than the wording, a trick only Roy can manage. Oliver Queen grins a bit at the way that comes out. "You know, that's just what Dinah said... well, she threw in a few more colorful four letter words... but that's basically it. Anyway, I'm here to apologize." Roy Harper cocks his head and eyes you as if wondering if he should check your head for fever, a sly smile turning up one corner of his mouth. His green eyes question as he asks, "For?" He obviously wants to know which of the many things in your life you consider bad enough to have to apologize for, and if the apology is going to be enough. Well, Roy... time to check yourself for psychic powers, because Ollie actually pauses for a second and then says with a slight exasperation. "Everything... every single damn stupid thing I ever did personally or indirectly caused... I'm apologizing for every single damned one of them." He says, his voice raising a few decibels. He then pauses and looks back at you. "There's a bit more to it than that, but if you're going to throw me out now I'd rather not waste my breath on the whole speech." He returns the smug smirk but his eyes are showing nothing but sincerity. Roy Harper laughs, "Blanket, sweep of an apology, huh." His smile slips from his face and he rubs his stubbled chin for a eternal moment, then laughs again, "Aww hell, I"m sure you'll need to apologize again tomorrow... I think the beers are cold by now. Want one?" He heads toward the kitchen before your answer. Oliver Queen grins. "I think I'm going to need one to get through it, thanks." he says as he watches you move off. "And I'd do the full apology now, but I didn't know if you had the next two months open..." he says with a slight edge of sarcasm. Only slight because if he did have to rattle off a list, it probably would take him that long. So... how have you been?" Roy Harper laughs as he ducks into the kitchen, "I've been alright... finding my balance... And you? Where have you been, too?" He emphasizes the where to add it to the how that you asked. He swings open the fridge and turns tossing you one of your labels artfully through the pass through bar. He pops the second as he walks out of the kitchen and towards the living area, stepping over a few items as he does so. Oliver Queen catches the can easily, barely having to move his hand. "Still got the perfect aim" he says as he pops the top. "I've been wandering about, trying to find myself again... no shock there, right? I just came from Gotham." he says as he continues to stand. "And I decided something while I was out trying to find myself... which is why I'm here." Roy Harper shakes his head, then takes a pull off the beer, "So Grasshopper, did you find yourself?" He smiles at how alike Ollie and Connor are in their 'finding' of themselves, amusing how the one nickname can be used for either... the little Buddha is much better for the littlest. Oliver Queen shakes his head. "Close... I figured out where I lost myself though..." He sighs. "Roy, you're probably the the best example of why I left this last time... you see, after I came back for the first time after I died, I was determined to get back everything I thought I had lost... well, everyone was so astonished to see me alive that they weren't sure how to react... so I left because I thought everyone was uncomfortable... then I came back and found that everyone was getting along just fine without me... Dinah's moved on... Connor was with the JLA... and you..." he grins. "Well, you've always dealt with me not being around... So I left because I thought everyone was better off with me being "dead. Well, I'm back again... care to guess why?" Roy Harper smiles shaking his head, then thinks back to something you said earlier and asks, "Gotham? Did you stop by Dinah's?" He seems to be marveling that you are still in one piece. He uses the line to think about what Ollie was saying, trying to see it from his perspective. He sits on the sofa and invites you to do the same Oliver Queen nods as he moves to the couch. "I thought I said I did. Yeah, I just came from her place and told her what I'm trying to tell you..." He pauses a bit and looks at you with eyes that look a lot older all of a sudden. "It went... about like most of our conversations lately..." He pauses a bit. "Speaking of which, how's that girl you were seeing... what's her name again?" Roy Harper smiles at the confirmation of the troubles with the pretty bird, "Her name is Barbara Gordon, and she is fine, I'd think. We haven't spoken lately." He takes another swallow, leaning back with the beer resting on the arm of the sofa. Oliver Queen sighs. "Yeah... that pretty much sums up things with Dinah right now. She's fine... we spoke... that's pretty much it." He looks sad for a second and the perks up. "Like father, like son, eh?" Roy Harper says "God I hope not." then winks, "So, your balls still attached?" Oliver Queen nods and chuckles. "Oh, it wasn't that bad... hell, the arguing was the best part... it wasn't until we started being nice to each other that she got pissed off..." he sighs as he leans back on the couch. "You know?" Roy Harper laughs and nods, remembering much the same in situation in his life, and sighs softly. After another swallow, he asks, "So, why are you back again, anyways? You never got to that part." Oliver Queen nods. "Yeah, well... I thought I'd go off and leave everyone alone since everyone important in my life seemed to be doing just fine without me..." he says looking at you. "Well, I spent the last few months wandering around, going where the road would take me... and that was when I realized..." he pauses. "That I am getting real damn sick and tired of wandering around feeling sorry for myself. I also figured out what it is I've been looking for.. it's not myself... truth is I've been running from myself and what it is I want... And what I want right now is this. I want to be able to talk to all my sons like they're friends. I want to have my family back." He also wants Dinah back, but he's not about to say that outloud." Roy Harper raises a eyebrow, thinking that this will be good. His beer sits on the arm of the couch, untouched for the moment, and he leans forward a bit, listening while you speak. "You can always talk to me, Ollie... You might not like what you hear, but you can talk." He frowns sightly at the use of 'family' and 'back' but refrains from further comment... for now. Oliver Queen nods a bit. He can't believe he's saying it either, but he presses on. "I don't mean family like I'm gonna marry Dinah and get you and Connor set up in bunk beds in a suburban house with the freaking white picket fence. I mean I want to get back in touch with everyone in my life that's important. That family." he says as he sips his beer. "Look, I know that I've been a piss poor father to you. I know we're never going to be the Brady Bunch or the Partridge Family, if for no other reason than I can't carry a damn tune with a forklift." he says allowing himself a slight grin. "But I've wasted too much of my life on trying to find myself, Roy. I want to spend the rest of it trying to be a better father and grandfather.... how is Lian, by the way?" Roy Harper listens with his brow creased, as if thoughtful... or doubtful, and as you ask about Lian, he frowns. "She's fine. She's been staying with the Santos." He looks a little guilty, perhaps thinking about the way that he was passed around as a kid, and wondering just how much better a father he is. Oliver Queen nods. "That's good to know. From what I've heard, you've been as good for her as I was... well, not for you." he says with a reflective pause. "That's it... that's what I came to say. I'm sorry for being a lousy father. I wanna make up for it. I should say more than that, but... well, not much more to say, is there?""