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"Thea Queen, if you think I’m allowing you to step out of the house wearing that, you are sorely mistaken," Oliver announces casually as soon as he sees his sister. More specifically, what his sister is wearing for her night out in town. Even more specifically, what Thea is not wearing. She needs pants with that shirt!
They’re at the newly refurbished Queen Mansion on a Friday night. Oliver and Felicity were at the kitchen, preparing dinner for a quiet night in. Thea was heading out with her high school friends. Oliver had been supportive of the idea. Something normal like a night out dancing with her friends was something Thea sorely needed after the year she’s had, after all. Something that would remind his sister that she was indeed a young woman in her early twenties.
But not in those clothes! If one could even call it that.
It was fire engine red, short and had no back and no sleeves.
Oliver thought it was well within his right as Thea’s older brother to object to such an outfit.
"Allow her?" Felicity objects, turning away from the stove where she minding the marinara sauce to glare at him. It was, after all, well within her right as his girlfriend to let him know when he was being an controlling bastard.
"Yes! Look at it, Felicity! It’s a shirt, not a dress!" Oliver insists.
"It’s Chanel, Ollie!" Thea interjects.
"I don’t care what it is, Thea. You are not going out in that," Oliver commands, folding his arms intimidatingly across his chest.
"You’re so unfair, Ollie!" Thea stomps her high-heeled foot at the same time Felicity says, "What she wears is none of your business, Oliver."
"None of my business? Of course, it’s my business, if my younger sister wants to go out in a shirt, Felicity!" Oliver says, turning his attention to Felicity before adding, "Thea, change your clothes. Now."
"Hold on a minute, Mr. Queen," Felicity says, rounding in on Oliver, "Thea is a grown woman. She can decide what and what not to wear. I, for one, think it’s a nice outfit. Very age appropriate and chic!"
"It’s a shirt! She can wear pants with it before she steps one foot out of this house," Oliver claims.
Felicity and Thea give each other side way glances, before Thea says, “I guess you’re not wearing the dress from the same collection then, right, Felicity?”
"I guess so. I may have to return it to the shop," Felicity says, pouting.
"You— ah — you have the same kind of outfit?" Oliver stutters, images of Felicity wearing something slinky and sexy flashing through his mind.
"In green. Arrow green," Thea smiles.
Oliver gulps visibly.
Felicity goes in for the kill, “I was thinking of wearing it for our night out tomorrow — and modeling it for you tonight.”
"Yeah?" Oliver asks slowly, mind still reeling at the thought of the love of his life in his what he’s always thought of as his colour.
"Yeah," Felicity confirms, then adds, "But I guess I have to return it now. Since it’s just a shirt."
"No!" Oliver objects quickly, then catches himself, "I mean, I’m sure it will be pretty."
"On her, but not on me?" Thea pouts sulkily.
"You’re very pretty in that dress, too, Thea," Oliver concedes distractedly.
"Great! So I’m out of here then! Have a fun, private fashion show tonight, you two!" Thea says, before heading out the door.
A few minutes later, Oliver says, “I just got played, didn’t I?”
Felicity laughs out loud, stepping closer to him to wrap her arms around his waist and to nuzzle her face against his throat, “I did bring the dress to show it to you later.”
"Show it to me now."
————————————————————
"So, I was thinking, Ollie," Thea says as soon as she steps into the Q-Core office.
Oliver, Felicity and Diggle look up at Thea’s voice.
"What?"
"Now that our house is sorted, maybe it’s time to re-open Verdant. I want to re-open it," Thea announces, handing him an folder, "Here’s my business proposal and my plans."
"No, Thea. We’ve talked about this, you’re going to college," Oliver growls, giving the folder back to her, "That’s non-negotiable."
At Thea’s disappointed look, Felicity says, “Oliver, hear your sister out.”
"No," Oliver says stubbornly, "She’s going to college, she’s getting a degree and that’s the end of that discussion." He turns his head towards the proposal he had been reading before Thea made her announcement.
"Oliver!" Felicity shouts as Thea objects, "Ollie! Stop being unreasonable!"
Oliver sighs and glances at Diggle who shrugs.
"At least listen to her plans, Oliver," Felicity says, running a hand up and down his back, then whispers, "She really wants to do this, Oliver. You can’t just dismiss her."
Oliver sighs again, “All right, fine. Hand the folder over, Thea, and share your plans with us. I’m not saying I’ll agree to this but, all right, I’m listening.”
Afterwards, when Thea had shared what she was planning to do with Verdant, and had gotten Oliver to agree to it with the condition that she would start taking classes at Starling City University as she worked on re-opening the club (Felicity’s idea), Diggle tells Oliver, “You know, those two ladies are a lethal combination, right? Especially for you.”
"I know." Oliver shakes his head, smiling.
————————————————————
"I’m ready, Oliver!" Thea shouts.
"No, you’re not, Thea! And I will not have you in the field!"
The team was in the foundry, getting ready for the night’s patrol, when Thea said that she wanted to help the team make Starling City safe.
"I’ve been trained by Malcolm! I almost defeated you in a fight last year, so I damn well ready. I want to help. I want to be part of this!" Thea insists.
"I don’t want you in danger, Thea! Can’t you understand that? How could I live with myself, if I put you in danger? I don’t care what you’re capable of, I will not put you at risk!" Oliver growls.
The rest of the team, including Sara and Laurel, were watching the two Queens argue back and forth.
"Ollie—"
"No, Sara!" Oliver interrupts, not bothering to look away from his sister.
"At least take her out on patrol, Ollie," Laurel argues, "You can keep her safe."
"No!" Oliver responds, "No, no, no!"
"I’m a grown woman, Oliver," Thea insists, "More than that, I’m a grown woman who can kick ass. I’m good at fighting. You know that! And I want to help!"
"I don’t care what age you are, Thea Queen! You are not going out fighting!" Oliver shouts.
"You’re unbelievable!"
"I don’t care. You’re not going to be part of this!"
"I’ll go out by myself then!"
"Do that and see what happens! You’ll be grounded until you’re fifty!"
"You can’t ground me!"
"Watch me!"
"Hacking!" Felicity’s voice interrupts the fighting siblings.
Oliver and Thea turn to look at her. “What?” they say in unison.
"You want to help, right, Thea? And that’s really admirable — Yes, Oliver, that’s admirable! And you don’t want her out in the field, Oliver. So, let me teach her how to do what I do to help. Less dangerous but very helpful," Felicity offers, standing up from her ergonomic chair.
Thea looks at her with hope in her eyes, “I’d love that, Felicity.”
Oliver approaches Felicity and says in a low voice, “I can’t have her be a part of this, Felicity.”
"She’s already part of this, Oliver," Felicity whispers, "And, honestly? If you remain stubborn on this, you might force her into going out on her own."
"But—"
"And this way, she can help but won’t be in danger. Too much," she insists, her hand wrapped around his arm.
Oliver pulls her in his arms and tucks his face in the corner where her neck and her shoulder meet, breathing her in. She runs her hands over his back, giving him time to compose himself.
After a few minutes, Oliver lifts his head and turns to face Thea again, “Fine. Felicity will teach you how to hack—”
"It’s such an ugly word, Oliver," Felicity says teasingly.
Oliver smiles at her before he continues, “Felicity will teach you what she does to help the team and the city, all right?”
Thea smiles and goes to hug Felicity, “You’re the best! Thank you!”
——————————————————
It’s a sight that equally terrifies him, and brings a smile to his face: Felicity and Thea training together in the lair.
Felicity had been ‘disappearing’ at random times during the past few weeks. Oliver didn’t think much about it because one of the things he loved most about his girlfriend was her independence. And he never wanted to be the kind of boyfriend who demanded that she spend every minute of every day with him (even though he really, really, really wants to spend every minute of his every day with her forever, if she will have him). To find out that this why Felicity had been unavailable sometimes these past few weeks, at first, relieved him. Then when he realised just exactly this was, he got angry.
"What are you two doing?"
"Oliver!" Felicity exclaims, "I thought you were having lunch with Digg and Roy!"
"What are you two doing?" Oliver repeats, standing on the edge of the mats where Felicity and Thea had been sparring.
"Training!" Thea smiles, "Felicity’s really gotten pretty good."
"Yeah?" Felicity smiles back at Thea, "Glad to know, sensei.”
"You’re teaching her?" Oliver asks Thea in shock.
"Yeah, quid pro quo. She teaches me to snoop in on databases where I’m not supposed to, and I teach her how to fight," Thea announces smugly.
"She’s really good, Oliver," Felicity agrees, stepping out of the mats to grab a water bottle. She tosses a bottle at Thea, who catches it single-handedly.
Oliver looks at Felicity and then to Thea, and back. Repeatedly.
"Why?" he asks.
The two females shrug, “Why not?”
"And before you use your angry voice, Oliver," Felicity adds, "This doesn’t mean that we’re planning to go out into the field, all right?"
"Yeah," Thea chimes in, "We all know how you feel about us, delicate, helpless little girls being let out into the big, bad, dangerous world."
Felicity and Thea roll their eyes at each other, smiling at each other.
"It’s — not — It’s not like — I mean — Of course — I don’t think —" Oliver stammers, completely disarmed, "I never said you were helpless!"
"Well, you kind of implied it when you said we couldn’t be out in the field," Felicity says logically, "I mean, I understand why I can’t be out in the field. I know that’s not really within my skill set. But Thea? She can fight. And really well. But she’s not allowed. Therefore, it was implied that she was a ‘delicate, helpless little girl’ in your mind."
"And that’s fine, Ollie," Thea smiles, "I’m happy with what I’ve been doing to help the team and the city. And working with Felicity has been really awesome!"
"Aww, thanks, Thea!" Felicity flashes a smile at the younger woman, "Ready to go again?"
"Yep!"
"Wait!" Oliver says before the two women begin their sparring again. They turn to look at him, he continues, "I don’t mean to imply that I think you’re both helpless! It’s just that I —"
"You wouldn’t know what to do with yourself, if something happens to us. We understand, Oliver," Felicity adds consolingly, giving him a small smile.
"Yeah, but we just want to make sure we’re ready when the time comes that you will need our help," Thea chirps in, "And you can’t stop us from doing that. And this."
Oliver watches on helplessly as his sister and his girlfriend (the two loves of his life) begin to spar. After a few minutes, he smiles in pride. They were actually pretty good!
Then he groans internally when he realises that Felicity and Thea spending more time together meant that they had more time to plot ways to gang up on him. Dammit.
—————————————————————————
"You really think they’re ready to be together again?" Oliver muses aloud, running his fingers through her long, blonde locks.
"You really think you can stop Roy and Thea from trying to give their relationship another shot?" Felicity responds, absent-mindedly stroking his naked chest.
They were in her bed, relaxing in between rounds of sex.
It was a quiet night in Starling, allowing all the members of their team having the chance tonight to attend to their personal lives. Diggle was spending quality time with Lyla and Angela. Oliver and Felicity had gone out on a date, which ended in her apartment for sexy times. Thea and Roy had taken a road trip out of the city to reconnect.
"No, but you know I can talk to Roy about this, if I wanted to," Oliver says, taking her response as challenge to his authority.
"But you won’t," Felicity says, lightly pinching the side of his torso as warning.
"No?" he says smugly, "Why not?"
"Because their relationship is none of your business, Oliver," she sighs.
"It is, too! She’s my sister. He’s my protégé. They’re both my teammates. I think their relationship is well within my circle of control," he insists.
"But they’re grown-ups! You don’t, you can’t, control them," she says, pushing away from her position on his side to fully lay over him so she can meet his eyes.
He gets distracted by the sight and feel of her over him, and brushes her hair towards the back of her shoulders gently.
"Look, they’ve taken it slow. They’ve given themselves months as friends, to get to know each other again, to build a trusting relationship. This is the first time, since Thea came back, that they’re taking a step towards a romantic relationship," Felicity insists, "And did I forget to mention that they’re adults? No, I think I already said that."
"Don’t remind me," Oliver whines, rubbing his thumbs on her shoulders, "Why can’t Thea remain a kid?"
Felicity laughs and he smiles up at her. He cards his fingers through her hair to pull her down for a kiss, which she deepens immediately, rubbing her chest against his. She moves, not letting go of their kiss, to straddle his hips. They begin their next round.
After, Oliver says, “Funny, Thea said the same things you said about her and Roy. Why do I feel like the two of you are ganging up on me again? Did Thea ask you to distract me with sex so she go on a road trip with Roy?”
"Are you complaining?" she asks teasingly.
"No," he responds.
"Because, if you are, you’re more than welcome to leave now. I’m sure with your motorbike, you can still catch up with them. I can give you the location of their trackers," she continues as if he didn’t answer her. She moves as if to reach for her tablet.
"No, nope, not complaining," Oliver insists, pulling her back down.
"Good," she says, snuggling closer to him.
——————————————————————-
+ 1
"You know, this is kind of cliché. I expected better from you, Oliver Queen," Felicity says she is led to some unknown location blindfolded.
When Oliver picked her up from her apartment tonight, he handed her a sleeping mask, asked her to put it on and to trust him.
"Yeah, yeah," Oliver responds good-naturedly, "I feel like after this, once the blindfold is off, I should give you a dictionary so you can check what ‘surprise’ means."
"It’s not my birthday, though."
"I know, Felicity."
"So, why the surprise?"
"Can a guy just give his girlfriend, the love of his life, the woman he wants to spend forever with, a surprise just for the heck of it?"
"Cheesy."
"You love it."
"I do. I love you."
"I love you, too, Felicity," he says sincerely, "We’re here."
She hears the sound of a door opening and Oliver leads her into wherever they were at with a hand on her lower back another on her elbow.
"You can uncover your eyes now, babe," Oliver whispers, untying the knot that held her blindfold in place.
Once Felicity opens her eyes, she sees that she’s in the study of the Queen Mansion. Thea is standing in the middle of the room with a banner behind her saying, “Move in with us, please?”
"Surprise!" Oliver and Thea shout in unison. Oliver pecks Felicity’s cheek while Thea moves closer to the two of them to give her a hug.
"Wha—?" Felicity mumbles in shock.
Oliver nods at his sister, who produces a piece of paper from somewhere behind her.
"So, we, Queens," Thea smiles as she reads from the piece of paper, "Have agreed that one, you are the best thing that has happened to us, Felicity Smoak. You are the best friend that Oliver and I could have ever hoped to find. My brother is head over heels in love with you, and that’s going to be true for the rest of his life, he promised me. And spoiler alert: there’s an engagement ring with your name inscribed on it at the Starling National Bank vault—"
"Speedy!"
"Right, sorry," Thea scrunches her nose before she continues, "And I love you, too, Felicity! Like the sister I’ve always wanted! So, second, we’ve decided that our lives would be more perfect, if you moved in with us. Please?"
Felicity opens and closes her mouth a few times, no words coming out as her eyes water.
"Ollie!" Thea panics at the sight of Felicity’s tears, "She’s crying! Do something!"
"Felicity?" Oliver whispers, stroking her shoulders, "Is this too soon? I mean, we have been together for over a year. And we love each other, right? And you and Thea get on really well that sometimes I wake up at night, worrying about what the two of you are plotting behind my back … So, Thea and I thought that we would invite you to move in with us. I mean, we definitely have the space for that. Not that you moving in would require space, as you’ll stay with me in my room. Or any of the rooms! If you want. But with me. And—"
"You shouldn’t worry about your sexy times," Thea chimes in, "I’m moving to another wing so you can have your privacy — and I can save money on therapy that I will need, if I continue to hear my brother having sex. Because, boy, you two can be loud sometimes. Just saying!"
"Speedy!"
Felicity laughs. Loudly. Happily.
The Queen siblings look at each other nervously.
"Felicity?" they ask hesitantly in unison.
"Are the two of you ganging up on me?" Felicity asks, wiping the tears from her eyes, still chuckling.
"Now you know how I feel when you two do it," Oliver mumbles.
"Yes!" Thea chirps, "We are totally ganging up on you, Felicity! Because we really, really, really want you to move in with us. And look, we have logical reasons why it’s a good idea. One, it means we get to spend more time together — and that’s a good thing. Two, you can save on rent — another good thing. Three, you and Oliver can go to work together, which means you use less gas. Therefore, less carbon footprint. Think of the environment, Felicity!"
"Yes," Felicity says.
"Yes, you’ll think of the environment?" Oliver asks.
"Yes," she smiles. At the Queen sibling’s disappointed expression, she adds, "And, yes, I’ll move in with you!"
After the celebratory hugs, and kisses between Oliver and Felicity, are exchanged, Felicity asks, “Carbon footprint, really? Who came up with that?”
Oliver and Thea, grinning, point to each other.