OK! Finally! I know some of you have been waiting a while for the beginning of this story/continuation. I apologize. As some of you may know, I tend to make a story fit cannon as closely as possible so that as I watch the show, my story is part of the subtext...yeah, yeah, I know, I'm weird, what can I say? But today, it all hit me like a ton of bricks and I whipped this chapter out in a matter of an hour or so! Thanks so much to all of you who have been reviewing and responding! It makes Doc and I giddy! Anyway, here's Story of Us: Legacies! Enjoy!

Hey! Just the man I wanted to see!" Tommy said as he walked through the door and almost into Oliver, "I just picked up a new sports car and I'm thinking we can open her up, pick up a few tickets…"

"That sounds great," Oliver interrupted with a slight smile, "but something's come up. I gotta jet."

"Oh…uh, ok," he stammered, "Nice talk…thanks."

And with that, he was out the door, leaving Tommy standing with his mouth hanging open again. Ever since that day in Oliver's room, Oliver had been avoiding him. A part of it was his fault, he knew. He never clarified his statement about Laurel, but so many things had gone from bad to worse in a matter of minutes that he'd never had a chance.

Thea had stormed into Oliver's room, screaming at her mother over her shoulder about how she hated her. Oliver had yelled at her for being disrespectful. Thea started screaming at Oliver about how she couldn't stand his BS and he needed to man up. Moira had come storming in at that point and started yelling at the two of them for bickering and all hell had broken loose. Tommy chose to slip out as quietly as possible to avoid being in the middle of a Queen family meltdown. They were about as toxic as the ones between him and his dad.

Almost as soon as he'd gotten out of the Queen mansion, Dear Old Dad had texted him yet again.

Where the hell are you? Since you're NOT where you're supposed to be, get to my office. Now.

He'd gone to see his father in his offices and all hell had also broken loose there as well.

"Thomas, I've had enough," Dad had said.

"Sorry, Dad," he'd replied, "but Oliver is my best friend. He has been my entire life. He's going through a hard time and I'm probably the only person who gives a shit."

"He's got family for that, Tom," he said, "You have responsibilities to this family. Now either you get down to business and at least find something to prove you are worth my time and my money or I will cut you off."

"Dad, you have threatened almost daily to cut me off since I was twelve," Tommy growled, "It's gotten really old. I am trying to be helpful in the business, but you won't let me in, at least not here at home, where I'm needed…Look, I have a few ideas on some things here locally. If you can give me a little time to work out details, I think you'll be happy enough with it to keep me here instead off on the other side of the world."

He hated asking his father for anything, especially time. But he needed come up with something to keep his father happy and keep him in Starling City, near Oliver. The only way that was going to happen was time…and a brilliant idea…soon.

"You know," his father said, "You used to like to travel. You used to beg me to send you somewhere, anywhere as long as it wasn't here."

"He was gone, Dad," Tommy said bluntly, "He was dead. He isn't any more. And I need to make up for that lost time."

"Oh my god!" Mr. Merlyn said incredulously, "You're in love with him!"

"No!" Tommy denied vehemently, again very glad that he had learned at an early age how to lie to his father. "But I do love him. He's the only brother I've ever had and I was lost without him for five years. You may not want me to think of him as family, but he is."

Dear Old Dad just gave him a dirty look. Tommy stared him down. He would not flinch. If he did, he knew his dad would see the truth.

"Fine," Dear Old Dad growled, "Prove to me you're not in love with Oliver Queen. And prove that you can contribute to this family in some way. You have two weeks or we're done with this whole charade."

"Got it," Tommy growled back.

That had been only a couple days, but it felt like time was running out. He had started to "prove" that he wasn't in love with Oliver by courting Laurel, but it just wasn't working there. She knew the truth and wasn't really putting up with the façade. He also really needed to talk to Oliver about the misunderstanding they'd had. But when it came to Oliver, Tommy just never seemed able to catch a break.

"He moves fast, doesn't he?" Thea said as she came into the foyer, pulling him from his reverie.

"It's ironic, really," he said teasingly as he turned to face her, adjusting his face to genuinely show he was happy to see her, "since you're the one we call Speedy!"

"Oh! Please! For the love of God!" she groaned with a smile, "But if you need somebody to talk to, I'm here."

How does one tell his best friend's little sister that he's in love with her brother? Simple. You don't. He went for the next tack.

"You know…maybe you could help," he smiled slightly, "There's this girl I'm interested in…And I'm really not sure how to pursue it."

"Have you tried using your usual lines?" she asked cheekily, "'Hi. My name is Tommy Merlyn and I'm a billionaire, but I don't look like Warren Buffet.'?"

Yeah," he responded with a small sigh, "she is aware of that and she doesn't care. You know…money really isn't a big deal to her."

He knew he was lying to her, because he really wanted to talk to her about Oliver. But substituting Laurel was a good way to find out the same information, right?

"Why don't you just tell her how you feel?" Thea asked with a small smile.

"Well, I've-I-I've known her a long time and I'm not sure the direct approach is really the right way to go," he replied honestly.

"Maybe you just need to figure out what's a big deal to her and make it a big deal to you," she suggested with a sly grin.

Perfect. It would work for Laurel or Oliver. Why hadn't he thought of that?

"Thea," he grinned and leaned in to kiss her cheek, "you are amazing!"

He turned and bounced to the door. Now he had a plan…at least with Laurel. For Oliver, he would need to work a little more to figure out what Oliver really wanted. He knew Oliver had the Hood, but it was obvious he already had a partner to help him. What else would Oliver want or need his help with?

"Love you!" he threw out to Thea as he bolted out the door.

He didn't hear Thea whisper, "Love you, too."

Yes! Now that I'm through that hurdle, I have a feeling the rest of this will flow quickly...but y'all know the routine: Reviews make DocWatson happy and he leads my charge towards this insanity, so please help keep him happy! More soon!