If there was anything in this world that truly kept Oliver going, it was how loved his daughter was. Oliver thought Riley was the greatest human on this planet. Could you blame him? She was charismatic and amazing, her energy completely magnetic. Her zing for life was practically contagious. Even now, he can’t help the beaming smile that graces his expression as Tommy calls out for her, a protectiveness to his tone.
As Tommy speaks, though, Oliver can’t help but furrow his brows in amusement and concern. “That was the least convincing thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life.” He says with a laugh, smiling warmly at the other. The social worker bumps his shoulder once more, “Everything okay?” Oliver Stone was one to meddle, that’s for sure. But he only does so because he cares. Oh, and he’s nosy. A nosy man with a heart of pure gold.
That’s when his gaze averts back towards Zach, that same nervousness from before cascading over him. The thought of raising a teenager truly did scare him. But, for now, he’ll keep those thoughts at the back of his mind. “Um, I’m not sure, actually..” He starts, still walking alongside the other man, “He hasn’t quite opened up about that yet. He seems really reluctant. I can’t really blame him. Most kids in his situation have a hard time opening up. I mean, shit, look at Eli. I have to pry things out of my husband most days.” Oliver was aware of Tommy’s own situation and his entire ordeal growing up. Having grown up around the Thane family, as well, it was hard not to run into him. “What was your experience like? If you don’t mind me asking, of course.”
He didn’t mean to worry Oliver, though he appreciates how concerned the older man sounds when he asks again that even he has to wonder if there truly is something wrong. Often, he feels like other people catch on faster than he does. “No, Oliver… everything’s fine, really.” He chuckles. “I’m just tired, I guess.” He shrugs it off, and he knows Oliver would understand, especially after the events that had transpired all over town. He’s sure, as a family man, that Oliver himself has been stressed out over it, too.
He spots a strange-looking twig that Riley must’ve missed, so he pauses briefly to pick it up, dusts it off, and stuffs it into his pocket to present to their notorious little twig-hoarder later on. It’s the simple things, isn’t it? “Yeah… I mean, I get it,” he says when Oliver mentions how he hasn’t been able to crack the kid open just yet. “But at least he likes you. And he trusts you… he did choose to come to you, out of everyone else.” It’s a comment on Oliver’s character as well, how open and receptive he is of others, how it’s easy to feel safe and comfortable with him. Much like how he feels now, when he asks about his father; a subject he doesn’t touch on too frequently, mostly because no one really asks. The fact that Oliver does because he feels like he can (and he, in fact, can) is hard evidence of the covenant of trust he shares with him that he shares with very few people.
“Well… it was just me and him, as far as I can recall.” He never knew his mother, and before he could be old enough to ask about it, he’d lost his father, too. “I guess I just never knew any different, for the most part. Like... I know I had a dad, I had memories of him… and then I just didn’t.” It’s so strange, hearing it out loud and not just echoes that bounce off the walls of his head when he feels like he misses him, a person he never knew long enough to be truly affected by his loss. He trains his eyes on the back of Zach’s head, feeling a sense of kinship wash over him. “Don’t get me wrong— the Thanes are... everything to me. Uncle Cronus was very kind to take me in. But there’s always that looming figure over me, like someone else used to be there.” He glances at Oliver’s profile beside him. “I never thought badly of him, my dad. I think we had a good relationship,” he adds, wondering if Zach could say the same. “It could be different for him, though. And he’s still so young.”
