Sitting Down with dl_greenarrow

[quickreflexes5]

Ian walked through the lobby of the large building taking a deep breath and nodding towards the doorman as he made his way to the elevator. He'd been there a ton of times before, and a few times since Oliver had moved back to Star City, but somehow today felt slightly different. It was close to three in the afternoon and he was meeting up with Oliver so they could talk. He stepped into the elevator, reached out pushing the button for the penthouse, and when it prompted him for the code he started to type it in before he swore to himself and canceled it.

That was exactly what he needed, to walk right in and let Oliver know he'd obviously been there alone with Mia before. That really wasn't the way he wanted to start his visit. He cleared his throat and pushed the buzzer as he stood there waiting for Oliver to answer.

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[quickreflexes5.livejournal.com]

Ian made a face as he leaned back slipping his hands into his pockets and arching a brow at Oliver. "I like to think I'm my own unique brand of male...but okay, I'll go with this. I take it you weren't the greatest guy when you were younger then?"

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

He shrugged a little. "I was a player. I thought because I'd lost my parents when I was younger that loss entitled me to whatever I wanted. That I could treat people however I wanted and I could get by with it," he admitted.

[quickreflexes5.livejournal.com]

"Not having parents does seem to get a sympathy vote with women..." He winced shaking his head not sure why his mouth wasn't often attached to his brain. "I get your concerns okay? And i'll admit I can be ass and I have been before. Honestly though and this probably won't make you like me anymore, if this was about sex, I could get it somewhere else for a lot less work."

He shrugged, "Mia is more than that to me, her I respect. I'd never push her into anything she isn't ready for and she and I already discussed this. She's setting the pace for our relationship and I'm okay with that. When she's ready...then she's ready."

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

A faint smile touched his mouth at Ian's blunt honesty. "I'm glad to hear that. I'd like to say I won't be so overprotective when it comes to Mia, but I try not to make promises I know I can't keep. So what I'll promise is that I'll try to give the two of you more space. How's that?" He raised his eyebrows a little.

[quickreflexes5.livejournal.com]

Ian sent him a small smile while nodding, "Yea, that would be appreciated." He said his tone more pleasant than earlier.

He bit on his lower lip for a second before catching the older man's eyes. "And I'll do my best to remember it's not just us anymore. I'm not great with change and there's been a lot of it lately. First with Mia actually deciding to give this relationship a go, which I actually think I owe your wife for..."

He cleared his throat, "And now with you guys being back...I'm not used to having someone tell me I can't stop by when I want or that Mia can't spend the night at my place. I guess I'm just used to being able to be around her whenever I feel like it...so it's difficult for me to get it through my head that it's different now."

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

A small smile touched his mouth at that and he held Ian's gaze. "Appreciated. There has been a lot of change lately. But if you want to come over and hang out with Mia, you can still do that. You don't even have to bring over Chinese for dinner." There was a hint of teasing in his voice.

"Most nights, I cook, actually. You're welcome to join us whenever." He paused. "But I'm not comfortable with the idea of her spending the night at your place. If she brings it up, we'll discuss it, though."

[quickreflexes5.livejournal.com]

He tilted his head slightly trying to figure out if Oliver was being serious or not. He doubted the guy actually wanted him invading his home whenever he felt like it.

"Noted and I appreciate the offer. I might even take you up on it sometime..."

Ian smirked. "And yeah, somehow I didn't think you would be. But...even I can understand that from your standpoint. Fair warning though, since we're being honest and I would eventually like it if we got along. If she ever does ask, I'd tell her no if I were you."

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

He raised his eyebrows a little at that, taking a drink of his juice. "Duly noted." He smirked, as well, nodding at the other man's empty glass. "More juice?" he offered.

[quickreflexes5.livejournal.com]

He shrugged, the corner of his lip quirking up. "Mia already said she isn't comfortable with it now that things are different between us. So if she's asking that probably means she's ready and even though I consider myself a good guy where's Mia's concerned, I'm still a guy."

Ian's eyes shifted to the empty glass and he shook his head. "No, I'm good, but thank you."

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

"Fair enough," he acknowledged. "I appreciate the honesty." He set his glass down, extending his hand toward the younger man, then pausing. "Do I need to give you the obligatory 'if you hurt her in any way, I reserve the right to break every bone in your body' speech? Or are we good with me leaving it at that?"

[quickreflexes5.livejournal.com]

Ian chuckled taking Oliver's hand and shaking it. "Only if you want me to give you a similar speech," he said a hint of humor in his voice before his face sobered slightly.

"I'll tell you what...I promise you that I'll do everything I can not to intentionally hurt Mia...if you promise to do the same. You're important to her and I'm not sure you realize how much your opinion means to her."

He smiled, a fond look in his eyes as he spoke. "She's tough and stubborn, but under all that...I'm pretty sure she just wants to know she has people around her who love her."

He swallowed hard not looking away from Oliver's eyes, voice steady. "So I guess it's up to us to show her she does?"