Oliver stared at him for a long moment, listening to the anger in the younger man's voice, seeing it in his expression, and things began to make a lot more sense.

"There's nothing I can tell you that won't sound like a string of excuses." He shook his head a little. "And honestly, I can't explain things to you anyway. There's a lot you don't know about me, about my life."

He paused for a moment. "There was too much involved and there was too much at stake for Mia to stay in Metropolis when I found her. I have enemies. People who hate me because of who I am. And back there? Things were dangerous. She was a target. And I didn't like sending her away and leaving her to deal alone. It's why I was back here as often as I could be. Why I called and texted her constantly after she came here to live."

Oliver paused for a moment, looking down at the floor. Then he looked up once more. "But I can tell you this much. I'm here now. And I'm not going anywhere. So I think it would be a good idea for the two of us to come to some kind of an understanding for Mia's sake. Because she's been through enough."