Thea knocked the door and waited for Felicity to open it. She was at Felicity's doorstep at 10 at night for a reason. She wanted to talk to Felicity, have a drink with her and relieve all the pent up emotions she had piled inside her heart. And she knew that Felicity also needed a girl on girl talk time. May be this night could be their much needed we–get drunk–and– mope on-boys-night. Felicity had broken up with that cop last week and as much as Thea was happy about that, she knew that she can't judge Felicity for that. At least she tried to move on. That was much better than the options that Thea turned to when things went bad.
Felicity stayed with Oliver. When Laurel died, and Diggle and Thea left and deserted him, Felicity stayed. Just like when they left the city and team one year ago, they stuck together no matter what. If that is not love, Thea didn't know what is.
And the stubborn woman still denied it.
Thea saw how hurt Oliver was when he got to know that Felicity was dating again. Her brother tried his best to hide it, but Thea was used to his masks. And she knew that Felicity saw him through too. With all the things going around they just didn't have much time to stop and worry about their personal lives.
They all tried to cope with the changes in their own way and all of them had failed miserably.
Diggle ran off to war again and ended up in jail. They rescued him, yes, but he was broken inside. Thea had never seen Diggle like that. He was always the calm one, the one who put sense into them, the one person who saw things for what they are. But now he has lost hope. He has lost his light.
Oliver was working on it. Thea knew. Oliver and Diggle both had lost brothers. Oliver lost Tommy and blamed himself for his death for a long time. Diggle lost Andy. If anyone knew ho Diggle was feeling right now, it would be Oliver. So, it made sense that Lyla asked him for help. And he would help. Of course, Diggle was Oliver's brother too. They fought together side by side and they will come out winners from this too.
Oliver was working hard for the city. Both as the mayor and the Green Arrow. He attended all the meetings and at least tried to be on time. He roamed the city at night and tried to sublime the crime rate. He was hurting. He had killed again. But surprisingly he was not blaming himself and brooding again. Oliver was coping. He had forgiven himself. As much as Thea was happy about it, she was envied. How could he do that? After all the things happened to him? To them?
Yes, Oliver had Felicity. At least as his partner in crime and the voice in his ears. Though they had broken their engagement and lived separately, they are still together in a way. They talked to each other. They stood up for each other. They argued and acted just like the old married couple they used to be. She didn't believe it when Diggle told her about the tension they had between them before Oliver owned up his feelings and got together with Felicity. But now she was a front raw audience for just that. They argued loudly, and flirted subtly.
And they both knew what they were doing. They were still very much in love with each other but were trying to skip around it. But it is still clear, by the way Oliver looked at her when she was not looking and the way Felicity attended each and every public meeting he spoke and listened to him with a proud smile on her face.
Felicity has returned to her bubbly self again. Always trying to lighten up the things. Thea could see what Oliver saw in her. Felicity was a force to reckon. Yet, there was something missing. Felicity's smile didn't reach her eyes anymore. And Oliver was concerned about her.
Thea knew this because Oliver asked her to talk to Felicity. He was worried about her. He was the one who knew Felicity most. So if he was worried, there had to be something to be worried.
Thea herself was not doing much better. Yes, she was getting to a normal life again. If you can call the war she was waging with media normal. At least she was a pro at this. Queens were trained to tackle media around since they were out of their cribs.
Yet she was alone. She felt alone.
After Alex's death she didn't think about dating anymore. After what happened to the two serious relationships she had in her life, she didn't want to date anymore. But she wished that Roy was here. He was her strength. And she could use her strength now.
She was living in Laurel's apartment. After Laurel's death she wanted to stay out of the house. But after a few months she returned to it. She had to face her demons and Thea knew that Laurel would hate it if she left her apartment to rot.
She asked Oliver to move in with her but he refused saying that he had improved the living area of the Arrow cave and it was easier for him to be there. But she knew that he didn't want to move on to a more permanent living arrangement because he couldn't make up his mind to live somewhere he didn't share with Felicity.
Felicity had invited Thea to stay with her. It was Thea's loft after all. But Thea refused it because she didn't want Oliver to be uncomfortable coming to see her. As much as ridiculous it seemed to her Oliver still hadn't moved his things out of Felicity's loft and Felicity had stopped reminding him. They needed time and space and Thea would never interfere that.
But with all the things going on around them, Thea still needed Felicity's light. She was her sister-in-law-to-be. And she will be again if Oliver were to be successful in winning her, again. Nevertheless Thea had accepted Felicity as her sister since they bonded up on Oliver's supposed death in Nanda Parbath.
The door opened.
And it was not the woman, Thea was hoping to see opened the door.
It was Evelyn Sharp.
The newest recruit of Team Arrow.
"Hi…" The petite girl said in a nervous voice.
"Hi… is Felicity in there?" Thea asked.
The girl shifted in her feet.
"Yes, she is. You are Thea Queen. And I'm Evelyn.. Evelyn Sharp." The girl somehow reminded her of Roy. She has edge. But she was unsure of how to proceed with their team leader's sister.
"Hello Evelyn. Can I come in?" Thea tried to be friendly.
"Yes, of course. Sorry I was…" She was interrupted by Felicity's voice coming from the stairs.
"Who is it Evelyn? If that is the old lady from next door, tell her that we haven't seen her cat today."
"It's me, Felicity." Thea stepped in.
"Oh Thea… so good to see you." Felicity came running down and hugged her.
"You too, sis.." Thea returned. It was always good to be in Felicity's company.
"This is Evelyn, our new recruit. Evelyn this is Thea, Oliver's sister." Felicity introduced them.
"Wait, what? Does she know about us?" Evelyn looked shocked.
Thea gave her a smirk.
"Did you think that the mayor can disappear suddenly from the functions and be late to his meetings without having someone to have his back inside?" Thea asked.
"But… Your brother… Do you know that Oliver is…" Evelyn stuttered while looking at the two women who were staring at her with amused looks on their faces.
"That he is the Green Arrow?" Thea supplied.
And Evelyn nodded, not trusting her voice.
Thea and Felicity exchanged a look and Felicity signed Thea to go on.
"Yeah, I know that my brother is the Green Arrow and Felicity is the Overwatch. Who do you think was in that red suit? Speedy is my nick name since I was three."
Thea enjoyed seeing the realization and admiration coming bubbling up in Evelyn's face. It was a rare thing to be able to accept that she was the Speedy, the vigilante who wore a red suit and shoot the criminals at night.
"I'm Artemis." Evelyn said.
"Nice name." Thea stated.
"So, want to have a glass of wine Thea? Evelyn shifted here yesterday. Her boarding place was being renovated and she was looking for a new place. As I live here alone, I offered her to be my roommate and she accepted. We were going to have a camp night inside the living room."
Felicity told her while getting two wine glasses from the kitchen cupboard. Evelyn was not allowed to drink, Thea realized. They broke several rules a night, yet Felicity was adamant on this. They already had set the settee and had Pizza, French fries and an expensive looking wine bottle. There were two sleeping bags at the back of the couch. Evelyn claimed that she was going to get a movie from her collection and left the room.
"I kinda wanted to have a night to let myself go, Lizz. I think after dealing with that Susan William and her media stunts I deserve a girl's night out. So I came here to see if you are available. And interrupted your girl's night" Thea sat on the couch and said. She felt a little upset over the fact that now Felicity has a girl to talk other than her.
"Oh, you are always welcome here, Thea. And I do think that Oliver owe you a spa day. I was hoping to meet you and talk to you anyways. I don't want you to think that anything has changed between us just because I'm not your brother's fiancé anymore."
"I know Felicity. And I'm happy that now you have someone else to be a sister for." Thea said.
"Hey, Thea. I'm not replacing you with Evelyn. She is still new to this and need someone to lean on to. I'm just giving her what I didn't have. This crime fighting business is not easy to get used to." Felicity said.
"I know that too Lizz. Being there, done that. And it's cute that you think that anyone else can replace me." Thea smiled.
Felicity returned the grin with a full glass of red wine. And Evelyn joined them with a pile of dvds.
….
"So, did you know about them from the beginning?" Evelyn asked Thea while switching off the TV. They had finished the wine bottle and two beer cans Thea was sure that Oliver had stocked in the fridge when he was living here. Felicity didn't like Beer.
And the above mentioned blonde was currently asleep on the couch, snoring faintly. Felicity had fallen asleep around her fifth wine glass and the second movie. Thea didn't drink much and Evelyn had amazingly huge appetite and had finished all the food.
"The beginning? You mean the Arrow business? No… I didn't know about it for nearly three years." Thea said.
"How did you find about it? Did he tell you? Who knew first? Felicity?" Evelyn shot too many questions. That girl is too curious.
Thea smiled. She was just like Evelyn once.
"Ollie told me. Because I was in danger. Felicity was not the first one to know his secret, Diggle was." Thea said.
"I still can't believe that Mayor Queen is the Green Arrow. I mean, I thought he was a spoiled rich guy who thought that a title would make him look good." Evelyn said.
Thea scowled at her.
"Hey, they showed all of his past shenanigans repeatedly when he started campaigning for mayor-ship. I thought that he was a pretentious jerk."
Evelyn raised her arms and shrugged.
Thea sighed.
"He was. He was all that before the island. He was lost for five years. And he was different when he came back. I don't blame you or anyone else for doubting that he was changed. I did. It took me long to understand my brother for the hero he was." Thea said.
"He saved me. He saved me from myself." Evelyn said.
Thea knew what she was saying.
"I know. I was there. You pretended to be Black Canary. We thought for a second that Laurel was alive somehow."
"I'm sorry. I didn't think that I would be disrespecting her. I just wanted to get my revenge."
"You didn't disrespect her." it was still hard for Thea to talk about Laurel without remembering the pain they all went through.
They stared at nothing.
"How does it feel like to be a hero?" After a while Evelyn's whisper broke the silence.
Thea didn't reply at once. That was a question she hadn't asked herself for a longtime. She had lost all the appeal of being a hero when they lost Laurel. The brave Laurel Lance, who fought till her last breath.
"It's not an easy road to take Evelyn. You lose so many things that you finally stop counting. You get hurt and sometimes the only way out is getting hurt. Sometimes you lose all the hope and only thing you feel is fear and desperation."
She thought about Roy. Her first love, who gave his life for her brother.
"You'll have to lie to the people who love you. You'll have to hide things from people who are close to you. You'll have to sacrifice the things you love most for the people who you love the most."
She thought about Diggle. The soldier who showed them that they could have a life that worth living.
"You'll get used to live dangerously. You'll learn to put others' pain before yours and put a brave face up for them. You'll have to accept that bad things happen and you'll start anticipating the worst.
She thought about Felicity. The kindest women with the purest soul she had ever met.
"Your light will diminish little by little without you knowing it. Your life will be a constant struggle of trusting people and doubting their intentions. You'll have to see people you love dying and hurting again and again and you won't be able to do anything. And you'll have to take decisions that will haunt you till you die."
She thought about Oliver. Her big brother, the selfless man who had given everything he had for the people he loved.
"You'll be always alone in your own darkness. You'll have to shoulder the blame and the responsibility of the acts you do, even with the purest intention. And you will never be acknowledged for the goodness you bring. You will never be respected for your braveness and selflessness."
Evelyn was staring at her. Her intelligent eyes were filled with unshed tears, just like Thea's.
"Is that all about this life, Thea? Sacrifices, hurt, pain, darkness and loneliness?" She asked.
Thea thought about it. Did those words define their lives? Was there anything else than constant danger and hurt? Yes, there was. This was not what kept them going.
They had joyful memories. They had fun and excitement filled moments. They had happy stories.
"No, That's not all about this." Thea stated. Now that she said it aloud she felt the warmness seeping to her bones.
She thought about Laurel. The woman who took pride in doing the right thing.
"You'll get to do the right thing. You'll be able to stand up for justice. You'll have the pride of knowing that you are doing something to change the tide. You'll know that you are making a difference. Your existence had made a difference."
Thea thought about Roy. The reckless boy who became a man who never stepped out from saving people.
"You'll learn to control yourself and to let lose when it is needed. You'll learn to look up to someone and trust someone with your life. You'll get a family who never give up on you."
She thought about Diggle. The Big man who loved his family with everything he had.
"You'll learn to live every second of your life knowing that it's worth it. You'll learn that there are people who will give their life for you. You'll know that there are people on whom you can lean on. You'll feel like you are the safest person in the whole world even when you are amid an army of enemies."
She thought about Felicity. The babbling fake-blonde who brought light to all of their lives.
"You'll learn to seek the hope at every situation. You'll learn what it feels like to have a person so loyal to you that they will jump out of a plane to find you. You'll learn to share your pain and to let people in. You'll feel the love and warmth your team gives you unconditionally."
She thought about Oliver. The man who had one happy story to compensate all his pain and hurt.
"You'll have the peacefulness knowing that people you love are safe, that you made their lives safe. You'll be able to close your eyes for the day with the satisfaction that you saved someone's life. You'll know one day that you made a difference. And even though you'll never be able to come out of shadows you'll learn to accept that and be happy that what you sacrificed was not in vain."
She thought about herself.
"You'll have the best family you could ask for. Evelyn, you'll get the best mentor. You'll get the best friends. You'll get the best life, where you could make your place in the world."
There were tears flowing down on Thea's cheeks. But they were happy tears.
"We lost Laurel. We lost Sara. We lost Tommy and so many others. But we got Diggle. We have Felicity. We got Lyla and baby Sara. We have Captain Lance. How many of the people you know can tell you that they know the Flash? That they had friends in League of Assassins? Yes, we all have been hurt, more than once. But Diggle and Lyla got together again. They had baby Sara and we all fight with each other for her baby sitting duty. We fought with so many bad people and we saved the city countless times. Sometimes the people of Starling didn't even know that they were in danger."
Thea took a gulp of her wine glass.
"We love each other and we protect each other. Even though I'm out of the team now I'll always be a team Arrow member and I'll come back whenever I am needed. We all gave some parts of our lives but we got some things too. I found the courage to face the life. Diggle found his way back to his family. Roy found him a new family and Laurel found a purpose to live. My brother found the love of his life and Felicity found herself in him. I think we can say that being a hero really pays off, even if in some ways that you never expect."
They stayed in the comfortable silence for a long time. It was way past midnight and Thea didn't think that she will bond with this little girl when she thought of coming to Felicity's.
But life was like that. You get things that you never expect.
Felicity turned in her sleep, mumbling some incoherent things about pandas.
"Does she talk in her sleep too?" Evelyn asked.
Thea chuckled. The blond genius was never silent.
"She is a sleep talker. Ollie says that she mostly talk about food and pandas. It amuses him to no end."
"He still loves her. Doesn't he? I thought that they would be awkward together. I mean how can it be easy to spend all your night with your ex-fiancé? Yet, there they are. Being mommy and daddy to us. As if they did this all their life together." Evelyn said.
Thea laughed.
"They kind of had adopted Roy once, so yes they have some experience. And they know each other like no one else. They were friends before they got together. They loved each for a long time without ever voicing their feelings. They know that this is bigger than them. Yes, they are not together but they will always love each other. I hope that they will get together again, even if the sweetness and love they had before had made my tooth ache. I'll prefer that anytime than the sexual tension between them."
Thea grimaced.
"Do you think that they will get together again?" Evelyn asked.
"Of course. They have been through a lot together. They will come out of this too, together and stronger. They have kind of ruined me for love. After seeing them together, I yearn to have something like what they have with each other."
"I never realized that that kind of life will be possible for a vigilante." Evelyn said.
"Me too. And to be fair Oliver thought that as well. But he was forced to let down the walls he had built around his heart. Felicity stormed into his life and grabbed his heart and wrapped him around her pinky finger. It's a very interesting story. But I can't tell you that. That's their story to tell. I guess you'll have to wait."
Thea was tired and feeling sleepy. Evelyn seemed to notice that because she nodded her head in agreement and gave Thea a blanket and a Pillow. They both laid their sleep bags on the floor near the couch and covered themselves with the blankets, hoping for a new day and a better tomorrow.