Note: Takes place in a universe where Thea is a member of Team Arrow because she is awesome and I wanted a chance to write her character.
Felicity knocks on the front door of the Queen Mansion holding a potato salad, a bottle of semi-expensive wine, and a package of sparklers. It's something she could have never imagined herself doing, yet somehow it now feels normal.
Well, almost.
Possibly if she wasn't about to gather with most of Starling City's crime fighting superheroes.
But hey. That's her normal so she's going with it. And to be honest, she's kind of excited.
It's the Fourth of July, crime has been down, and it is time for some Team Arrow bonding. She attempted to make an apple pie - because how much more patriotic does it get than apple pie? - tossed said attempt when it took a turn for the burnt, and whipped up a potato salad with considerably less trouble.
When she'd first broached the idea of a Team Arrow celebration - without the words 'Team Arrow' in there because Oliver still didn't like the nickname she'd given them, although he had yet to come up with his own suggestion - there had been blank looks all around the foundry.
"What exactly are we celebrating?" Sara asked as she circled Diggle on the mats. She glanced over at Felicity, brow furrowed. Diggle darted towards her, swiped a leg under her and took her to the ground with a loud 'oof'.
Oliver chuckled as he polished his arrows. "Nice one, Dig."
Sara blew out a a breath and pushed herself back to her feet, shooting a dirty look in Oliver's direction. "I was distracted!"
"Really? You guys, it's the Fourth of July next weekend," Felicity had announced. "And I think that we could all use a night off. Crime has been down the last week or so and it's a good reason to let our hair down. So to speak," she hastily added as Oliver's eyebrows quirked.
Surprisingly, it had taken very little convincing after that to get everyone on board. Felicity had set up a chart to organize who would bring what, and like that they had planned the First Annual Team Arrow Fourth of July Picnic.
Not that she was planning another one. Yet.
The rich mahogany door swings open to reveal Thea Queen, dressed in a spectacular red and white sundress and Felicity smothers her feelings of inadequacy. It's a picnic. Surely her jean shorts and American flag t-shirt are more than appropriate, even if this picnic is at the largest house she's ever seen in her entire life. She imagines Oliver and Diggle in matching star-spangled suits and smothers a giggle at the thought.
"Felicity! Hi! I'm so happy to see you," Thea says excitedly, as though they haven't seen each other in years. "Everyone's on the back patio."
Together they walk through richly decorated hallways, past paintings that definitely cost more than Felicity's car, and into the backyard.
There are decorations and the smoky smell of barbecuing and her friends actually look relaxed, which is a milestone in and of itself. Once she rids herself of the salad and wine, she makes her way around, greeting everyone.
It's casual and fun and relaxing, and if she made an inappropriate innuendo when she was chatting with Oliver she blames it on the second glass of wine and his impeccably fitting t-shirt. It moulds to his arms and his chest and she knows what is underneath since he insists on spending so much time shirtless in her presence. Felicity shivers just picturing it again.
She's feeling pleasantly warm and fuzzy when Sara announces "We're out of wine!" The sun has started to set and Felicity is enjoying watching Diggle struggle to start a campfire. Boy scout he is not.
"I'll get a bottle from inside," she volunteers, rising from her seat. She makes her way into the kitchen and finds Oliver standing, hands braced on the counter in front of him. She can tell by the set of his shoulders that something is wrong.
"Ol- Oliver?" He jerks at her voice, but doesn't move otherwise. She approaches him slowly, like you would a wounded animal. "Is everything okay? Did something happen?"
He snorts.
At least she thinks he does, because she's never heard such a sound before. Coming out of Oliver Queen anyways.
Stepping beside him, she rests her hands on the counter beside his. She can see that his knuckles are white and she gently runs her fingers across them, hoping to help him relax.
He hisses out a breath. "Felicity."
She pulls away. "Oliver. What is going on? You're in here all broody and tense, when you could be watching John fail at building a simple fire even though he was a soldier and you would think that would be one of the more essential skills if you're going to be sent to a deserted area with few supplies." She pauses, trying to remember what she was saying in the first place. That damn wine. "Anyways. You could be doing that and instead you're doing this. What gives?"
She gives him her best disgruntled face when he glances up at her. "I, uh… I went to get a sweater for you, from my room. I- I noticed you had goosebumps." He looks supremely uncomfortable at this admission, running a hand over the back of his head and avoiding her eyes.
Felicity has a swarm of butterflies in her stomach all of a sudden. Is a group of butterflies called a swarm? She's not sure. Maybe a gaggle? No, that's geese. She'll have to look that up at a later date.
Oliver sighs and shakes his head, like he's trying to erase an Etch-A-Sketch image from his head. "Anyways. I was upstairs and I saw…" He trails off and his hands clench into tight fists again.
Felicity racks her brain.
And then Thea waltzes through the kitchen on her way back outside, straightening her dress and shooting Oliver a dirty look over her shoulder. Roy hurries after her, pointedly not looking in their direction at all, and Oliver takes a menacing step towards him.
"I am going to kill him."
He's using his Arrow voice and Felicity reaches out a hand, grabbing onto his arm to hold him in place.
"Whoa there. Hang on. Oliver," she says, biting back a smile. "Did you happen to… walk in on Roy and Thea?"
She can't help but picture how that might have gone. In her head it's filled with muffled cursing and threats, covered eyes and stumbling.
Oliver is gritting his teeth, eyes narrowed and flitting around the room like they can't stay in one place too long.
He doesn't respond but she knows she's right.
"You know, they've been together for a long time," she tells him, running her hand up and down his arm in what she hopes is a comforting gesture.
"I know that, Felicity," he grinds out, teeth still clenched, like he's trying to hold himself together. "But there are some things that a big brother does not want to see his little sister doing. And now I will never get those images out of my mind." He pauses. "However. I think that giving Roy Harper a black eye is a definite step in the right direction."
He shakes off her hand and strides purposefully to the sliding doors leading to the backyard. Felicity hurries in front of him and pushes both hands into his chest, stopping him in his tracks.
Huh. Who know she was that strong?
"Stop. Oliver, Stop." He looks down at her and she has to look way up to meet his eyes because she's wearing her favourite panda flats, instead of the heels she generally rocks at the office and in the foundry.
His eyes are dark and stormy and she digs her fingers into his chest, accentuating her point.
"Look, Oliver. I get that you're trying to play big brother here. I don't have one but I get the general idea. Thea is a precious treasure that no man is good enough to touch."
He growls, actually growls, at her last word, and she tries to hold back her chuckle. Oliver Queen all in a huff over seeing his sister and her long-term boyfriend together is definitely not something she thought she'd have to deal with.
"However," Felicity continues, "Thea is a grown up. She makes her own decisions. Remember when she wanted to join Team Arrow? You said no, and she said yes, and where is she now? On Team Arrow."
Oliver's anger seems to be deflating, if she can tell by the tightness of his chest muscles, and oh goodness, her hands have been on his chest this whole time. She hastily pulls them away, clasping them in front of herself. She smiles slightly at Oliver and he widens his eyes, blowing out a breath.
"You're right," he says and Felicity throws up her hands in a 'stop' gesture.
"Whoa! Can I get that in writing, mister? I, Oliver Queen, have acquiesced that Felicity Smoak, fabulously intelligent IT girl, was right. Man, I could get it framed, put it up in the foundry. Just look at it when you're being particularly pigheaded. That would be wonderful."
Oliver's smiling now, and she feels like she's done her job. It's not a big smile, but it's a Felicity-smile and they are her favourite because he brings them out just for her.
He playfully slaps her hands down. "I am never writing that down. One time only deal," he informs her, hands tucking into his pockets.
She sighs dramatically. "Fine," she says, drawing out the word. "But you owe me a perfectly toasted marshmallow, my friend. Maybe even a s'more." She tucks her arm through his and leads him outside.
He chuckles softly. "Deal. But I am not sitting next to Harper."
Thank you so much for reading! This is my first attempt to (somewhat) write a scene with the whole team, so comments/constructive criticism are very welcome!