Oliver Queen comes crashing back into Starling City when his father dies, shocked to find out that their family fortune has been left to him, and not his dutiful sister, Thea. With Thea heartbroken and Oliver more confused than ever before, he sets out to right his father's wrongdoings and get things back to normal as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Oliver quickly learns the people that can help him most, are the friends he abandoned years ago, and he must face his own demons as well if he really wants to fix everything. Olicity.
"Excuse me, what did you just say?" Thea's voice was calm, even with the growing tension in the small room. Despite Oliver's urge to look her way, he kept his eyes trained on the lawyer across from them, mostly because he was afraid of what he would find on his sister's features. Yes, her voice might have been nonchalant, but there was no way she wasn't absolutely pissed off right now. At least, she had every right to be.
Tommy pulled on his collar, the offending material tightening when he moved his eyes from Oliver to the younger brunette, who was currently staring daggers into him as she waited for him to speak. He gulped when she arched an eyebrow at him, pushing him to get on with it. "Robert Alan Queen leaves one hundred percent of his assets to his eldest son, Oliver Jonas Queen."
The sharp laugh that came from Thea's mouth made the other three people in the room slightly jump and Oliver's eyes quickly averted to his sister's, his concern for her blanketing his previous nervousness of what he might find looking back at him. Betrayal was all that lied there, her jaw clenched tightly shut as her wide eyes lowered to a glare as she looked him over. It was enough to feel like the blanket had been swiftly taken from him, replaced by a sudden urge to crawl into a hole somewhere and hide.
He broke off the stare and met Tommy again as he tried to rack his brain for a way that this would make sense. "How old is that Will?" Oliver asked, the only thing coming to mind was that his father hadn't updated it in about twenty years. It had been five years since his father kicked him out of town, and he hasn't spoken a word to him since, so to think this was all part of the plan was far-fetched.
Not to mention, Thea has been working her ass off since she was seventeen years old to take over their father's company, Queen's Consolidated. Which, if you haven't figured out yet, is one of the many things Oliver inherited about ninety seconds ago. And why they were all witnessing the only humble and hardworking Queen in the room about to blow a gasket. Oliver was ready to bring his father back to life and kill him again for doing this to his sister. Hell, for doing this to him.
Tommy was ready to join Oliver in that hole when he asked that question, because he knew the response was only going to make things worse. So, even though he loved Thea, Oliver, and Moira like family, he ran his eyes down the paper as if he had no clue what the answer was. "It was finalized three months ago." He answered slowly, pretending to read it somewhere in the fine print. Three months and six days to be exact, since Robert had walked into his office with the new paperwork. Tommy didn't understand or respect the decision, but he also didn't want to be involved in war that was going to break out because of Robert's irrational decision. Although, he was now realizing that was inevitable.
When Oliver heard his mom sigh he knew she was thinking the same thing he had been, 'why?' And that thought only scared him more, because if his mom didn't understand why his father did this, then he wasn't sure if anyone would. "How long will it take to get the paperwork together to fix this and transfer everything to Thea?" Oliver asked with his head hanging in his hands. It seemed like a quick and simple fix, he could put things in their right place and bolt out of the city as quickly as possible. Maybe his father's plan, give him one last chance to do the right thing and mend some fences with the rest of his family.
"Six months." Tommy answered.
It was a nice thought while it lasted.
"When I get..."
"Six months?!" The three across from him interrupted simultaneously, varying levels of confusion on their faces. "Yes," He responded slowly, looking over each of them. They would have made a humorous picture if you didn't know the weight of the situation. "That's a lot of paperwork to get together, and I need to finalize all of this," He motioned to the stacks of paper on the table around them, "before I do anything else."
"I don't want it."
"Thea…"
"No, Mom, I'm serious. This is what dad wanted." Her eyes moved past Moira to her older brother, who seemed to cower behind their mother when the attention was on him. "If he thinks that your irresponsible decisions and insistent ability to run from your problems," She was pointing a finger at him, her voice growing as she stood. "is what this family needs, then I want nothing to do with it." Only a second passed before she was standing at the door with her purse slung over her shoulder. "I'll come by the house later to get my things before it becomes the playboy mansion."
They jumped for the second time when the door slammed shut, and Oliver groaned as he buried his head in his hands. What he feared the most about returning to Starling City was having to face the sister he left behind, worried that she would hate him for abandoning her and that she wouldn't let him explain his side of things. Now it was like Oliver had taken everything Thea wanted from her, and he wouldn't be surprised if she never spoke to him again. He should be thankful, because he deserved a lot worse, but it just hurt more.
"Ollie, stop beating yourself up," Moira's hand rested on his shoulder as she spoke, hoping that he would know she only wanted to comfort him. "your father must have a good reason for this." She wasn't just trying to convince Oliver either, this was something she never saw coming. Never had she considered that her husband would leave their livelihood in the hands of the son he forced out of town for 'constantly embarrassing the family's reputation' years ago.
"I can't think of one." He sighed truthfully, feeling her grip tighten in a way that seemed sympathetic. It didn't make him feel any better, but at least he knew she wasn't just going to shut him out.
"Honestly, I can't either, but I know your father. He wouldn't put everything in your hands if he didn't think you could handle it, if he didn't trust you." That much Moira was sure of, even if she didn't share the same confidence as her husband. While her conversations with Oliver had been scarce these last few years, she knew he was far more mature man now than he was when he left. Unfortunately, he was also a man they barely knew, who had shown no interest in wanting to return to their family and everything that came with it.
"We'll work it out," Moira added with a pat on her sons arm when he stayed quiet, before heading towards the door. "And don't think for one second my house will be the playboy mansion." She added almost slyly before he heard the door click shut.
Tommy let out a slight chuckle, but clamped his mouth shut when Oliver quickly lifted his eyes to him. "This isn't funny," He gritted, "this is bad, Tommy. Tell me he explained this to you."
Tommy sighed, meeting his serious gaze. "He didn't, man. Trust me, I asked." Multiple times.
Oliver wanted a drink for the first time in three years. It's not as if he thought his father was dad-of-the-year, or some upstanding citizen. You don't gain the power Robert Queen had by simply playing fair, but to think he would betray his own daughter in the most hurtful way possible, that's something he couldn't wrap his head around. There had to be more to this.
"There's one other thing, but I had to wait until we were alone." Tommy pushed a folded piece of paper towards him as he spoke.
"What's this?" Oliver asked, slowly unfolding it.
"Combo to your dad's safe. He said you have to go alone, it was his last wish."
Oliver scoffed, folding the paper back and shoving it in his coat pocket. "I don't even know where his safe is." Just another clear reason as to why he didn't belong in this position.
"It's in the library at the playboy mansion."
Damn, if looks could kill, Oliver's glare would have put Tommy dead on the floor. He only shrugged as an excuse for his bad timing.
Oliver sighed as he finally dropped his gaze, guilt filling him again when he was reminded of Thea's words, and how hurt she was by all of this. "How about we just draw up my Will? I'll leave everything to Thea, and then go home and kill myself."
Tommy smiled at Oliver, a sincere smile kept for an old friend. The good, wholesome version of him, not the immature party boy he knew so well. "Do you remember what you asked of me when you left?" He asked hesitantly, twirling a pen between his fingers.
Oliver nodded once. "Keep Thea on the right track, make sure she doesn't mess up her future." It was the only thing Oliver had asked of anyone, because something good had to come of all the bad decisions he had made. And no one deserved it more than his little sister.
"Well, I should let you know that it was pretty much the exact opposite." Oliver lifted his curious eyes to his friend. "If it wasn't for Thea, I probably wouldn't even be a lawyer right now." Tommy smiled as he leaned back in his chair, memories flooding him. "I told her one time that I was losing interest in all of it, I was coming up on my last year and I couldn't grade higher than a C, with a professor from hell. I was miserable, and that kid showed up at my house every night with pizza and flash cards. Even after she had worked a twelve-hour day at the company, she was there for me every step of the way. For three years straight, she texted me at nine in the morning to make sure I was awake. Three freaking years, Ollie!" Tommy emphasized his words by thrusting three fingers in the air.
Oliver had to smile at the thought of it. Tommy was a miserable bastard in the morning, but Thea was never one to take anyone's shit, so it had to of made for a good show. "That's okay." Oliver answered, and Tommy gave him a look of confusion, his dark eyebrows knitted together. "It's okay that you were preoccupied with your own life sometimes, you did really good for yourself." He said sincerely. Yes, he had asked Tommy to look after his sister, and although this certain story didn't convey it, he was sure there was many times Tommy had been there for Thea, just as she for him. And although he had asked Tommy to protect her, Thea had always been the level headed, supportive person in their group of friends, and he was happy to hear that much didn't change these last few years.
"Thank you, but that's not where I'm going with this," Tommy paused when Oliver's phone rang, and he apologized immediately, snaking his hand into his pocket and silencing it without giving it another thought, his sincere eyes back on his old friend.
"Please continue." he offered simply, and Tommy had to fight the shock that was clouding his brain from coming to his face. The man across from him now was so different from the friend he knew, and it was really starting to settle on him. He looked the same, just had a shorter haircut and he had put on about twenty pounds of muscle. The clear, conscious look in his soft eyes was a sign that he was sober as well, and Tommy knew whatever he had been up to lately, he was a better, healthier person because of it. And that much made the situation more comforting.
But despite looking alike, nothing about the blonde man seemed to be the same. This man was vulnerable, and open. Oliver was sitting across from him, acting patient even though he could hear his foot start to tap from Tommy's silence, willing to hear what he had to say and wanting to do the right thing, and it had plainly caught him off guard. It was new. Welcome, but new.
"One day, about two years into my internship, she texted me and told me she was coming over with ice cream. So, I came up with this whole speech, I was going to tell her I was out of my funk, and although she could hang out whenever she wanted, I needed a little more space. And I really wanted to sleep in on the weekends," they shared a laugh from across each other. "And then she came barreling through my door, apologizing and rambling about the store because she had to get Rocky Road, since they were out of my favorite, Mint Chocolate Chip." Tommy could tell Oliver didn't know where he was going with this, but he was thankful he was still listening anyways.
"I hate Mint Chocolate Chip," he continued with a smile. "But before I could tell her that, I realized that all those years when I thought she was bringing it because she liked it, she was actually bringing it because she thought I did." Tommy sighed, the emotions he felt the day coming to the surface again. "Then, I remembered something else. Mint Chocolate Chip was your favorite flavor." They're eyes met again, and Tommy knew Oliver had caught on. "I understood the role I was playing in her life then, who I was living up to." He added for measure, and Oliver nodded, his eyes boring into the wooden table separating them.
"She still texts me every morning." Tommy clarified, smiling to himself, because he really appreciated everything Thea had done for him. He made a mental note to remind her of that soon.
Oliver let out a soft laugh as well, before collecting his thoughts and focusing on Tommy again. "Why are you telling me all of this?" He asked, calmer than Tommy had anticipated. Having this conversation years ago would have resulted in Tommy having a black eye for painting Oliver as anything less than perfect. Now, he was simply having a real conversation with an old friend.
"Because I don't think that the way for you to solve whatever is happening, is by leaving everything to Thea and just taking off again." Tommy answered, his voice curter than he had intended it to sound. "I know she's stronger than either of us could ever be, but that doesn't mean being left alone with Robert and Moira Queen was always a cake walk, you know?"
Shame covered Oliver's face, and he rested his palms against his forehead as if he was exhausted. Because as sad as it was to admit, no, he hadn't thought about that until now. And he hated himself for being so damn selfish.
"And just because she's hurting right now, doesn't mean that she hasn't missed you every day, and it definitely doesn't mean she doesn't want you here." He finished by sliding a few papers he removed from the rest of his pile towards Oliver, along with a pen. "Sign these and once I have them processed, we'll figure out the rest."
"And what should I do until then?" Oliver asked, signing the papers without even bothering to look at them beforehand. Oliver couldn't imagine this getting worse, so he was all ears at this point.
"I'd start with checking out that safe," He offered, and Oliver returned with an obvious look, because what in the hell else was he going to do? He needed some answers and apparently, they all sat in a safe. "And then if you need to talk, text me and we'll go get a drink."
"Thank you for everything you're doing, Tommy." Oliver stood, offering a hand to shake that felt a whole lot like a peace offering right now.
Tommy shook his firm hand, smiling in return. "You're welcome, but between just me and you?" Tommy asked, and Oliver answered with a nod. "You're my boss now so I couldn't say no." He finished, winking as he did so. Although it was a true statement, it had nothing to do with why Tommy was going to help. He was going to help because Oliver is his oldest friend, and Thea is one of his best friends. And neither of them asked for this.
The trees looked like a wave of green as Oliver flew past them in his truck, and it barely registered to him as he pushed harder on the gas pedal when he saw his family's mansion come into view. The curiosity of everything going on with his father had swiftly turned into anxiety when he got to thinking about how bad all of this really could be. And yes, it must be bad, because there's only two ways he could imagine their company, as well as everything else, being given to him. One is that he is more qualified than Thea. Which, by the way, isn't the case. And the only other thing he could think of is that the company is going under, and his father wanted it to fall on Oliver's shoulders rather than anyone else. It was still messed up, but being the disappointment was something he was accustomed to, so that much he might have been able to handle. Still, something told him that it wasn't even going to be that easy, because if that was the case their father would have just given him the company. Instead, he had given Oliver everything. It scared the shit out of him.
Everything about the mansion was identical, the only sign that time had passed was the green ivy that had grown to take over the white bricks along the outside. Other than that, it felt like the same bland museum as before, obnoxiously clean and nothing like you would think a childhood home would be. When he was younger it was a staple in his life, throwing a party at the queen mansion was an easy way to have everyone worship you and get a girl in bed. Now, it was nothing but bad memories to him and another thing he didn't want.
Oliver made quick and quiet work of getting to the library, he was sure his mother, as well as a few house workers were here, and he wanted to avoid all of them.
He had never been in his father's study before. It was different from the rest of the house, something about it was warm and used, in a way. There was dust in ignored places, showing his father didn't even let the cleaning people in. The rest of the room was covered in books, some left open on a random page, others stacked on the floor in the corner of the room. His father's desk was covered in papers, a pen dropped in the middle of them and a half drunken cup of coffee in the corner. It was harrowing to realize this was probably the last place Robert had been before his car crash last week.
Oliver glanced under the desk curiously, before stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking around the rest of the room. "Ok dad, where's this safe at?" Oliver mumbled as his eyes landed on the cheesy family portrait hanging on the wall from when he and Thea were young. Seriously?
Despite the huge picture he lifted off the wall, the safe behind it was small. He quickly spun in the numbers from his pocket into the small dial in the center of it. They were easy to remember, since it was Thea's birthday. It had felt like a punch to the gut when he read them, but it also seemed like a sign that none of this was to hurt her.
There were only three things on the other side of the door; a small notebook, a sealed Manila folder, and stack of money tucked in the very back. Oliver grabbed the notebook first, but only got disappointment as he flipped through the pages and found them all blank. "Who locks up an empty notebook?" He muttered to himself as he put it back, grabbing the folder instead. He could feel a large amount of papers inside of it and felt relief for a small moment, hoping it was something useful.
After only a glance at the file, he felt his stomach hit the floor. "Felicity." He breathed, reading her full name along the subject line on the first page. He did a quick flip through the stack, to see if there was anyone else in there, his heart beat picking up to an uncomfortable pace when he realized that it was every page was dedicated to her.
"That was quick." He heard a familiar, deep voice admire from behind him.
Oliver dropped the papers as he spun around, shaming himself for being so caught up in emotion that he hadn't sensed someone approaching. "John!" Oliver shook his head of the thoughts, taking long strides to envelop his old bodyguard into a hug. Although Diggle looked slightly surprised, he didn't hesitate to hug him back.
"You look good, kid." John admired after they pulled apart. "I'm glad I found you in here."
Oliver crinkled his eyebrows together. "Why?" His brain went back to Diggle's earlier words. "Dig, do you know what's going on?" The thought brought a huge sense of relief to Oliver, because he needed some help, or at least some guidance with all of this. He was sure Diggle had moved to be his father's bodyguard when he left town, which meant he was around him always. And while it was Diggle's job to turn a blind eye to anything suspicious, it didn't mean he wasn't perfectly aware of everything happening around him. And Oliver had no idea what in the hell he was supposed to do with a stack of cash, an empty notebook, and a file on another person that he left behind. Another woman he loves.
No, Oliver and Felicity had never actually been together, because he refused to act on it. She was simply out of his league and he knew he would just hurt her, but she had been a true friend in a very hard part of his life, and he was sure she resented him for not even saying bye before he left. He had spent years regretting it, and missing her, but the last thing he wanted was to bring her into all his family drama. Unfortunately, she was obviously involved anyways, so hopefully Diggle could tell him why.
"I don't know exactly what's going on." He answered, taking a seat by a wall of books. Oliver quickly followed, sitting at a chair near him. "But I have an idea- "
"Do you know why my dad has a file on Felicity?" He asked before Diggle could continue. She was Oliver's biggest concern now.
"Yes, she was investigating him, as well as many others from the company, for corruption."
Oliver's eyebrows perked up. "Investigating? When I left she was running the science lab at Starling General, why would she be investigating anyone?"
"Two months after you left, her mother was killed." Diggle saw something flash across Oliver's eyes, but he stayed quiet. "She was stabbed to death in an alley behind the bar she was working at. The police couldn't find any evidence on it and it quickly went cold." Oliver felt his heart tighten at his young memories of Donna Smoak. While she wasn't the most dedicated mother in the world, she still tried and that was more than most.
"So, she became a cop." Diggle continued when Oliver seemed to collect his thoughts. "As you could imagine, it didn't take her long to climb the ladder. She was doing good for herself, and while she hadn't gotten anywhere with her mom's case, she was still a great cop. Really seemed to enjoy it, too."
"Sounds like you guys are friends." Oliver replied, an odd look on his face.
Diggle shook his head as a response. "I've been keeping an eye on her though. For you." Those words gave him Oliver's devoted attention again. "Don't thank me." He added before Oliver could say anything.
Oliver gave a brief smile, but the questions quickly came back to his head, and his demeanor was serious again. "So, what went wrong?"
Diggle shrugged, this part of the story even a little confusing to him. "Well, something drove her to start a huge, private investigation on your father, and when she finally thought she had enough evidence to take him down, she took it to the Chief, and the Mayor."
The idea that Felicity tried to take down his father wasn't comforting at all. Especially since she obviously didn't succeed. "And?" Oliver pressed.
"Later that day your father and I went to a meeting with them both, where he vehemently denied doing anything wrong. He claimed that she was going after him for getting you out of town, and without anything further, she was fired the next day."
Oliver's glare traveled around the room as he tried to put the puzzle pieces together. "They didn't even look at the evidence?" He asked, shocked.
Diggle gave him a knowing look.
"So, what's your idea?" Oliver asked softly, recalling John's earlier words.
"I'm not going to lie, I didn't want to believe her either. I was with your father every day and while he didn't involve me in any closed-door meetings, I just thought I knew him better than that." He sighed, running his hand over his bald head. "It was scary, Oliver. Whatever she has, it was going to take away everything your father worked for."
"You believe her now." Oliver spoke, mostly thinking out loud.
"When I saw him change his Will, I knew she was right." He confirmed. "Or at least, I faced it for the first time."
Oliver didn't need to hear anymore after that, at least not from John. Now all the questions he had were for Felicity. He jumped up quickly, gathering the papers he had dropped on the floor and placing them neatly back in the safe. He then grabbed the small notebook and shoved it into his leather jacket's inside pocket. Another moment and the safe was locked, the picture secured over it once again. "Do you know where she lives now? I need to go see her."
"Actually," Diggle answered, finally standing up. "I do. And I'll drive you, since I'm your bodyguard." He smiled, almost mischievously, because he knew the younger blonde couldn't ditch him like he used to in the past. That wasn't the only reason he wanted to go, though. John wanted to help in any way he could.
To his surprise, Oliver only smiled back at him. A huge difference from the guy a couple years ago who would have bolted out of the door in a full sprint to try to avoid him. "Lead the way." Oliver offered, gesturing his hand towards the door playfully.