Hi! Here's another fic to tide us over the hiatus. It's only canon compliant as far as the back stories of the Queens and the Smoaks (pre-Gambit) are concerned. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow and its characters. I only wish I did.

Chapter 1: Now That She's Back for Good

"Stare some more, and your eyes will pop out, man," his best friend teases, stopping just behind him, holding two champagne flutes in his hands.

"Tommy," Oliver responds with a soft, low growl between gritted teeth, annoyed at his friend's mischievous attempt at chitchat.

Tommy holds out one of the flutes to him. Oliver takes the drink because he feels like he really needs it to calm his nerves. But he still doesn't take his eyes off the beautiful blonde across the room.

Blonde. He still can't get over it.

She certainly looks different, but in many ways, she's the same Felicity he's known through the years. She has come a long, long way from the dark-haired Goth girl that had walked into his life years ago. Correction. Back then, he had thought that she had barged into his life so unexpectedly… so soon after the family's boat went down. He had still been grieving over the loss of his mother and sister, wallowing in pain and anger and wanton self-indulgence, that he had been oblivious to anything but her unconventional looks and strange quirks.

Years ago, his mother Moira and younger sister Thea had gone on the Gambit for a much-needed mother-daughter bonding. Thea had been right in the middle of teenage identity crisis, which did not mix well with Moira's middle age crisis and stress over her husband's tendency to be linked with women in their sphere of influence that lacked propriety and moral values. His father Robert Queen had arranged Moira's business trip to Russia in behalf of Queen Consolidated. Thea had gone along for the business trip, which was to be followed by a tour of East Asia on their family boat. Moira and Thea never made it back to Starling City. A violent storm had sunk the Gambit, and the North China Sea had swallowed it up, taking half of the Queen family with it.

Both Robert and Oliver had suffered so much because of that sudden, tragic loss. They also had very similar ways of expressing their grief and bitterness. Robert had buried himself in the company's affairs and responsibilities, turning to alcohol instead of the usual flings he had mindlessly turned to for alternative, temporary comfort and pleasure when Moira was still alive. QC had suffered the consequences of Robert's downward spiral, and the Board had been at the brink of replacing him as the company's President and CEO.

Oliver had been on his own miserable journey down a dark path, having been kicked out of Harvard Business School because of multiple failing grades for two semesters in a row, not to mention two counts of misconduct that violated the school's code of behavior. Back in Starling, he hadn't faired any better. He'd been arrested for peeing on a cop's car and for drunk driving, and had only evaded being detained overnight at the precinct both times because his father had been able to pull some strings on his behalf, especially with the help of Detective Lance, his off-and-on girlfriend's dad. Oliver had also turned to alcohol, but unlike his father, he had frequented bars and clubs in the city and out-of-town, regardless of their rating, often with his best friend and partner in monkey business, Tommy Merlyn. More often than not, from his club-hopping and drinking sprees, he would bring home some leggy model or sexy brunette whose names he hardly remembered the morning after. In his pathetic hung-over state, he would ask his bodyguard John Diggle (whom his father had hired not really to protect him from threats but to make sure he stayed out of trouble) to get rid of every girl "nicely," without the intention of ever getting in touch with her again.

Like father, like son. Robert and Oliver had somehow lived with each other's woes and accepted that kind of normal to their detriment… until one particular week-long business trip in Las Vegas that Robert had gone on to represent QC's interests in a major acquisition there.

For some reason that Oliver hadn't cared much about then, Robert had gone on weekend trips to Vegas thereafter. He had always assumed that his father had gone on business. No wonder it had taken Oliver completely by surprise when one day at the close of spring – less than two years after Moira's and Thea's passing – his father had called him from Vegas, breaking the shocking news that he had remarried. Robert had summarized everything by saying that he had had a whirlwind romance with a fantastic woman named Donna Smoak, whom he had met at the Caesar's Palace a couple of months prior.

Oliver had thought that he was only imagining the entire conversation because he had woken up with a splitting headache that morning after another drunken debacle the previous night. When his father told Oliver to get the entire Queen Mansion security and household staff ready because he was arriving the next day with Donna – and with Donna's daughter – to come live with them in Starling City, Oliver had fallen out of his bed, hit his forehead on the floor, and realized that the whole thing had indeed been real. Robert had arrived the next day with Oliver's new step-mother and step-sister, Felicity.

For Oliver, Donna was not at all like the woman his father had been linked with in the past, and definitely, did not come close to his mother Moira. The thought of his father remarrying had crossed his mind once or twice, but he had expected Robert to pick someone like Isabel Rochev, a smart and sophisticated junior executive at QC that had often been a source of animosity between his parents. Donna was the exact opposite of his mother and the other Isabels that the QC mogul had given second looks. First of all, Donna was a blonde bombshell who wore glittered heels and brightly colorful clothes that were probably two sizes smaller than she should, not leaving much of what should be hidden on the female frame to the male imagination. She also had a bubbly personality, and tended to babble and go off-tangent in any given conversation. Needless to say, Donna did not fit into the upper-class environment and refined lifestyle of the Queen family and estate.

Nevertheless, in just a few weeks, Oliver understood why his father had fallen for the single-parenting cocktail waitress who had worked double shifts just to make both ends meet for her and her daughter. Donna was all sunshine and rainbows – exactly what his dad needed to move on with grief and loneliness. Oliver had seen how happy his father had become with Donna in his life, and how the entire household had become alive with her in it. Donna had adapted very well to her new role as a billionaire businessman's wife, not because she adjusted her persona and gave way to everyone's preferences just to fit in, but because she had firmly decided early on that she didn't care about what other people said about her and her marriage to Robert Queen. The woman had simply loved the man that had swept her off her feet and had provided the security that she and her fatherless daughter very much needed.

Donna's daughter, Felicity, was a totally different story, however.

The long jet-black hair (which Oliver had been sure wasn't her natural color), the ear piercings, nose and belly button rings, black leather pants and jacket, metallic chains hanging from her neck, the thickly blackened outlines of her eyes, and the black nail polish on her fingers and toes completed the Gothic look she had sported even before the day she set foot on the foyer of the mansion. She had hardly spoken to him or to anyone, but she had been polite when she needed to be.

Instead of sunshine and rainbows, Felicity had an air of mystery and aloofness about her. Instead of adapting well to her new situation in life, she had been mostly withdrawn, retreating to her own world of computers – something that Oliver had found extremely hard to appreciate or, at least, pretend to be interested in. Instead of being interested in the things that girls her age usually found exciting (such as, hanging out with rich, handsome playboys like him), Felicity preferred to spend hours doing such a boring activity that she had called "coding" in the company of an unbelievable supply of caffeine, or binge-watching geeky TV series or movie marathons that involved superheroes, time travel, space exploration, and anything related to real-life science or science fiction.

Initially, Oliver and Felicity had tried to befriend each other and be nice. But just as much as he couldn't stand her whims and oddities, she couldn't stand his questionable moral choices and bratty behavior. They just… clashed. In every way possible. They bickered and argued about any and every topic raised during family dinners. They refused to back down on habits that ticked off each other, and they eventually began to test each other's patience on purpose. Despite Robert's reminders for his son and Donna's coaxing of her daughter, those two had seemed to repel each other beyond repair.

Oliver takes a swig of the champagne, savoring the flavor on his tongue. His gaze is still locked on the same woman who has had command of his attention all evening.

He sighs as he takes her in – her new look, her golden blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail, her smart casual forest green dress that ended just above the knee, her heels that accentuated her perfect shaped and toned legs, her hands that flew in front of her in captivating gestures while she talked animatedly with the other QC executives, but most of all, the refreshing smile on her luscious pink lips and the sparkle in those bright blue eyes behind the dark-rimmed glasses she wore. In so many ways, she seems different. But one knowing look into her eyes, even from the distance between them in the crowded room, Oliver can see that she is still the Felicity he had learned to love through the years.

His Felicity.

He only wishes she knows. He only dreams she also feels the same way.

"You should go talk to her," John Diggle suggests, with a twinkle in his eye. He didn't notice that his loyal bodyguard had joined him and Tommy.

"I'm not so sure about that, Dig," Oliver says, dropping his gaze and looking down for the first time since he'd set his eyes on her. "The last time I did… hadn't gone well."

"That was two years ago, Ollie. Things change," Tommy tells him, clapping a hand against his shoulder.

Oliver shakes his head, remembering the last time they had talked. Or not.

He had tried to explain to Felicity over the phone what had gone down between him and Laurel, and why he had cheated on her with her sister Sara. He had thought that as his best friend, Felicity would understand. But because Laurel and Sara were also her friends, Felicity had been torn among the three of them, and that frustration had been too much. Her utter frustration over Oliver's stupidity had unleashed her wrath. The call had ended abruptly on a sour note, and they hadn't spoken to each other since. Felicity also hadn't come home from Boston since, not even for holidays and summer break, and had decided to work there after her graduation from MIT.

But now she's back in Starling. For good.

And Oliver doesn't know what to do. Had he really lost his friend for good?

"You'll never know unless you try, Oliver," John urges him.

He realizes that he had been thinking out loud just then – something that he had picked up since he and Felicity had started to get along a few years ago. So, he turns to look at John, who, in turn, encourages him with a smile. There's a slight crinkle in between his eyebrows, as he considers what John and Tommy are saying.

Once again, Oliver shakes his head and then he blows out air through his mouth. He doesn't say anything to his friends, but he hands Tommy his champagne flute and walks away. In just a few confident strides, Oliver makes it across to where Felicity is standing, talking with Walter Steele, the head of the Cyber-Security Division, and a couple of executives. He overhears the men congratulating her for her new position in the company as head of the Applied Sciences Division and welcoming her to the growing QC family.

"We're so happy to have you, Ms. Smoak. Thank you for honoring Robert's wishes. He asked me to reach out to you just before he passed. I'm sure he's happy where he is," Walter Steele remarks just as Oliver comes around their small group to stand behind Felicity.

Walter notices Oliver's presence and directs Felicity's attention to him. She turns slightly to her left and comes face to face with her step-sibling.

"Hey," is all he can say as their eyes meet.

"Hello, Oliver," Felicity greets back. Her smile does not fade as she takes him in. He looks quite different, she thinks. Shorter, cropped hair. Just the right amount of scruff to make him look more handsome than she remembers. "It's good to see you," she tells him.

And he's glad – relieved, that at least, she doesn't hate him too much to ignore him in public.

"It's good to have you back," Oliver replies.

He knows she will understand that to mean that he's happy she decided to get involved in his father's company. He only wishes that someday, it can also mean that he's happy to have gotten back his best friend. Maybe more.

Notes:

I've had the idea for this fic for some time now. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't recall reading an Arrow/Olicity fic yet where Oliver and Felicity are step-siblings because Robert and Donna were married.

I'm also excited about this story because it's a challenge I've given myself to write a multi-chapter fic in which each chapter is only 2,500 words (or less) in length, because I don't want this to drag on for a long time (especially since I'm still in the middle of my historical fic Purple Hearts). This one is pretty much set towards an HEA; the fun is in finding out how they get there. The opening chapter is the midpoint in the story line, so the rest of the chapters will definitely contain flashbacks.

So, please let me know if this is a story worth continuing. I'd love to hear what you think and if you have suggestions as to how it should go.