A/N: Okay, so here's what happened: I started something else, that will probably never see the light of day, and I got very sidetracked by that, and very stuck on this. As an 'I'm sorry this took FOREVER' apology, here are 4,000+ words for you.

Reminder: The character relationships are more established here than on the show; except yucky Laurel, cause there is no fixing that train wreck.

Warning: Tenses were at war with one another, rogue commas multiplied like bunnies, and unicorn poop was discussed. I do not apologize for the unicorn poop; it made me laugh.

The five years her brother was dead notwithstanding, Thea Queen had a pretty great childhood. Most of her best memories involved Oliver, or Oliver and Tommy. Oliver now was a big adjustment. Ever since he came back a different person she watched and waited for her brother to come back. She treasured the real smiles and tried to give him passes on the fake ones. She could throw him a bone; he did spend 5 years on a deserted island-although she didn't completely buy that either.

Nights like this were golden. He was laughing and smiling, and actually being nice to Roy. She couldn't pinpoint when that happened exactly, or why, but she'd wasn't dumb so she wasn't gonna poke at it. They had gotten to the fair and immediately hit the food stands mostly to appease Roy who was still, understandably, put out from his forced lunch date with Laurel and Oliver.

They'd done a few rides and played a few games until the carnival staff became disgruntled because Oliver did not miss, and Roy could knock anything down. They'd given everything they'd won away to sad-faced kids, except a unicorn that Oliver kept tucked under his arm.

The fair was wrapping up but Laurel excitedly ran up to one final ride. "I love this ride," she exclaimed, "let's do this one before we go."

"Oh," Oliver said, letting out a puff of air. "That's a ship. A ship, that swings upside down and all around. I'm gonna pass on that one."

"Oh, come on," Laurel replied. She stuck out her lip and gave him puppy-dog eyes. "It'll be fun."

Thea saw a flicker of annoyance flash across Oliver's face, and just as one of his fake smiles started to lift to his lips she decided to sacrifice Roy…again.

"Why don't you and Roy go? I'll hang here with scaredy-pants, maybe we'll hit the Ferris wheel like we used to."

Roy plastered a smile on his face, eyes wide. "That sounds…awesome," he said to Laurel. He pulled Thea in, kissing her cheek and whispering into her ear, "whyyyy?"

"I love you," she whispered back. She pulled her hand from Roy's death grip, looped her arm through Oliver's, and pulled him away. "Take her twice," she said over her shoulder, "in case the other line is long."

Oliver laughed quietly as Thea dragged him away. "What?"

"Did he do something to piss you off?" Oliver asked.

"No," she said, shoving at his shoulder. "Are you implying that hanging out with Laurel is a punishment?"

"Thea," he said, aiming for mildly annoyed, but Thea caught the small smirk before he looked away.

"I'm mostly kidding. Laurel's been kinda…sharpish lately." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "I just want to hang out with my brother a little."

He smiled. "All you have to do is ask. You do know that, right?"

"Yeah, but you are a busy guy, so it's nice to have a little time now."

"It is." They reached the front of the line for the Ferris wheel and handed over their tickets. They climbed into their cart and Thea scooted right up to Oliver. He put his arm around her shoulders. "I think the last time we did this you were 11. I missed so much of your life," he murmured.

"You're here now." They sat quietly for a moment. "So, today I learned that Felicity may have an unhealthy obsession with Stallone."

"Is that a computer program?"

Thea laughed. "We had a really nice conversation at lunch. She was filled with wisdom. I mean, she always great for bouncing ideas off of or helping talk me down from my Roy induced rages…or maybe she just talks so long and fast I forget why I was mad." She smiled. "It's like she has super-powers or something, you know?"

He laughed. "Yeah, I know exactly what you mean."

"So she was filled with wisdom and gave part of the credit to one of the Rocky movies."

"I was on the receiving end of some of that today, too."

"Did it help?"

"We'll see." He huffed out a small breath. "She wasn't wrong about a lot of what she was saying, but that doesn't mean it sticks like it probably should, but I promised her I would think about what she said, and I am trying to do that."

"I was surprised you know, when you made Felicity your EA. I'm glad now, I mean what would we do without her? Back then, though, she was this person I barely knew and you were trusting her with our family business; essentially all of our family business."

"Well, that was probably the single easiest decision I've ever made as a CEO."

"How did you know you could trust her?"

"She's Felicity."

Thea sighed. Sometimes she wondered if Oliver was intentionally evasive; if he didn't know, or he just didn't want to share. "Before she was 'Felicity'. What was it that made

you sure?"

"Honestly?"

"No, lie to me. My favorite is when people do that. God, Oliver, I am trying to have a conversation with you."

Oliver tugged Thea a little closer, rubbing his thumb up and down her shoulder. "She gave me the chance to decide if I was going to trust her." Thea could tell he wasn't done, and if Oliver was really going to try to take what Felicity said to heart, so was Thea, so she waited him out. "I had a lot of stuff to figure out, a lot of people wanting to know everything that happened, and so many questions. Felicity… I needed some help navigating stuff when I got back and even though I fed her some really unbelievable…"

"Bullshit."

He laughed. "Yeah, it was bullshit. She made it very clear she wasn't being fooled, but she always stepped up to help. Felicity has a very low bullshit tolerance, but she didn't pry and it never felt like she was fishing for some juicy piece of gossip. It was nice to come back and have someone around who wasn't looking for dirt on Ollie Queen."

"I wasn't looking for dirt on Ollie Queen."

He sighed. "I…Thea, it was hard to be back here. I'm not the person everyone was hoping to see when I came back. In a lot of ways I am nothing like person I was before the yacht, but I still had a lot to make up for; with Felicity I didn't have anything to make up for. She was easy to be around." Thea sucked in a breath, but Oliver quickly continued. "It wasn't a trade off: you for her."

Thea was quiet as the Ferris wheel came to a stop at the bottom. She stood up to exit when Oliver handed the guy at the door a fifty dollar bill. "Could you take us around a little longer?" he asked. At the guys nod he turned to Thea and asked, "Is that ok?"

She sat back down and waited for them to start moving. Oliver's arm was no longer around her, so she grabbed his hand. "Sometimes I can understand why Laurel is jealous of Felicity. You're open with her and seeing the two of you together, how much you trust her, and how she fits into all the parts of your life, how you let her take care of you, it's like a slap in the face."

"Laurel needs to understand…"

"I'm not talking about Laurel. I'm talking about me. About why you couldn't trust your own sister but you do trust this complete stranger. And I get why, now, because she is Felicity, but I love you no matter what, too. No matter what, Oliver, and you still keep me in the dark about so much. I don't understand why you can't trust me to help you, too."

Oliver leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His head was bowed and Thea could hear him take a deep breath. She tried to pull her hand from his but he tightened his grip. He finally sat up and ran his free hand over his face. "It's a burden to carry."

"And I'm not twelve years old. I…"

Oliver turned his head to face her. "No, you're not. You're the person in my life that…just knowing you're here, and happy, and safe, it helps keep me grounded. I love you so much and I know you're here, but that just knowing part means more to me than you will ever know. I should tell you that more. I'm sorry I don't."

Thea knew she should, like Felicity said; take what he was willing to give, but the part of her that missed her perpetually happy brother had to know for sure. "Are you ever going to tell me what happened to you?"

"I'm going to try not to, and it's not because I don't trust you; it's because I love you so, so much."

"But..."

"I can't. Part of being a big brother is protecting your little sister. I didn't get to do that for a really long time, but now I can, and this is part of it. It was brought to my attention that I need to live more for now and let some of my past go. The island is something I am trying to let go of, as much as I can, but I can't do that if we're both still reliving it. It was… horrible would be an understatement, but you knowing the details won't help either one of us. You'll know things you don't need to, and I'll." He stopped for a moment, staring out of the basket as it descended. Thea gave his hand a squeeze and he looked at her. "I'll always wonder who you're seeing when you look at me."

"Oliver," she said, pulling him into a hug.

He let out a heavy breath. "I just want you to see your brother."

Thea hugged him tighter. "Ok." They pulled apart as the ride came to a stop and headed back to where they'd left Roy and Laurel. Just before they reached the ride, Thea tugged on Oliver's hand. "I just want you to be happy," she said when he stopped.

He pulled her close and kissed her temple. "Spending time with you makes me happy."

"Duh," she said, causing Oliver to burst out laughing. They watched the ship Roy and Laurel were on spin around a few more times before it started to slow. Thea shook her head and smiled a little. "She said you would say something like that."

"Hmmm?" Oliver said, tilting his head, confused.

"Felicity. She pretty much said that the best way for me to help you was just to be me around you so you could be you around me." She crinkled her nose. "I'm not sure if that came out right."

Oliver smiled and Thea noticed it was one of the real ones. "That sounds very much like something she would say."

"I'm glad she's around."

"Me, too."

The ship came to a stop and Laurel and Roy made their way off the ride and towards Oliver and Thea. "You guys have fun on your girly ride?" Roy teased as they met up.

Thea poked him in the ribs while Oliver narrowed his eyes. "Yes, best ride of the night, which means you have a lot to make up for, smart guy." She wiggled her eyebrows at him.

"I'm going to pretend there's no innuendo in there. You guys ready?" Oliver asked.

After a general chorus of 'yeahs' they made their way to the car. Thea smiled at her brother as she climbed into the seat behind Laurel. Thea Queen did not consider herself a stupid person by any definition of the world. She fully understood that Oliver had, once again, shut her down about what had happened on the island. While she didn't have any more details than before it felt different. It felt like permission to move forward, and she thought that was a good idea for all of them.

"That was a lot of fun. I'm glad we did it," Thea said grabbing Roy's hand. "We should do this kinda stuff more often, maybe even see if we can get them to go down to the Glades. I'll talk to mom and Felicity; see if we can make it a family sponsored event," she continued, catching Oliver's smile in the rearview mirror.

"Yes, the secretary. She's never far away, is she?" Laurel mumbled from the passenger seat.

"You know what, Laurel," Thea started only to be interrupted by Roy's sharp, "Executive Assistant."

"What?" Laurel said leveling Roy with an annoyed look.

"Executive Assistant. You keep saying 'secretary' like it's a dirty word. I have friends who push paper in office buildings, and a cousin who is actually a secretary, and you keep saying it like it's something to be ashamed of. I'm a little offended. I'd be more offended if I actually thought you had a thing against secretaries, but I really don't think you do."

"I didn't mean anything by it," Laurel tried.

"Yeah, you did. But Felicity, which is her name by the way, is his Executive Assistant. And my friend, and Thea's friend, and she is a good friend, and that's not even the best thing about her. So, you're entitled to feel however you want and say whatever you want, but know your audience, which I would have thought was lawyer 101."

"Roy," Oliver started.

"Sorry, man. I can't back down on this. I know she's your…no, I really don't know what Laurel is to you. Do you know?" he said turning to Thea.

Thea, while speechless, couldn't help but smile at him. Although she knew he liked Felicity, she hadn't realized exactly how much. Roy was one to speak his mind, but poking around in the Laurel mess and possibly antagonizing Oliver, even in defense of Felicity, was surprising, but also… so Roy. Despite whatever Laurel and even Oliver's reaction would be to his (awesome and true) outburst, Roy would definitely be on the receiving end of Thea's *gratitude* tonight.

"I was actually going to ask where you guys wanted to be dropped off, or if you're staying at the mansion tonight. Although, I think now I'll add 'quit while you're ahead'."

"Message received," he replied. He turned to Thea and whispered, "He's inviting me to stay at the isolated, Queen-pay-rolled mansion…he is going to kill me."

She rolled her eyes. "Stop it," she whispered back. "My brother's not really the type to run around killing people because they mouth off." Roy scoffed. "If he catches us having sex, then he will kill you." Roy moved to the other side of the car. She caught Oliver's eye in the rearview mirror. "We'll head back to the mansion with you."

Laurel huffed out an indignant breath. "That's all you have to say?" Laurel said when Oliver pulled up to her building.

"I don't actually disagree with him, Laurel."

"That's great," she said, rolling her eyes, "typical Ollie."

"I don't know what you mean by that, but honestly, I'm not taking the bait tonight. Right now, I'm going to go home and spend time with my sister and her boyfriend. I think it would be best if we both had a little time to think about…whatever this is," he said, waving a hand between them and then throwing a glare to the backseat where Roy's snort came from. "Good night, Laurel."

She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped when Oliver gently shook his head. She gave a small nod and climbed out of the car.

The drive to the mansion had been quiet, but not uncomfortable. Thea noticed Oliver visibly relax as they got closer to home. At one point he even started chuckling to himself in the front seat. At Roy's questioning look, Thea just shrugged her shoulders and smiled.

"So," Thea said as they made their way into the kitchen, "I'm thinking s'mores and a movie."

"How can you possibly fit more food into your body?" Roy asked. Thea spun around, eyes narrowed, jamming her finger into his chest. Roy threw his hands up in surrender. "S'mores and a movie sound great."

"I thought so," she said, making her way to the pantry.

Oliver pulled open a drawer and grabbed a pack of skittles. He set the unicorn he had saved from the fair onto the counter, and opened the skittles. "Can I borrow your phone quick?" he asked Thea.

"Why?"

A small blush rose to Oliver's cheeks. "Please." He set the unicorn on its feet and lined up a handful of skittles behind it. Roy and Thea exchanged a look that had Oliver rolling his eyes. "It's a joke. She mutters 'unicorn poop' every time she has to make changes to my schedule at work. The internet says…I can't believe I am having this conversation. The internet says unicorn poop is rainbow colored." Oliver scrubbed his hands over his face as Thea and Roy stared at him. "Can I please just borrow your phone?"

"Can you please just use your own phone to take pictures of unicorn poop?" Thea deadpanned.

Oliver narrowed his eyes at her. "I want to send the picture to Felicity."

Thea raised her eyebrows in question. Oliver stared at her.

"Ha," Roy said from beside Thea. "He's banned til Wednesday."

"Shut up, Roy."

"Don't be mad at me. I didn't ban you, man."

"Roy."

"You could use my phone. I'm not banned."

Thea laughed and handed her phone to Oliver. He took the picture, sent it to Felicity, and handed Thea back her phone. "I don't think she would have minded you actually sending that from your own phone. We could even call her and even invite her over to hang out."

"No. She wants alone time. She deserves it."

"Come on, it'll be fun."

"Something wrong with your present company?" he asked.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "No. I'm just saying that friends hanging out with friends is fun." Her phone started to ring. She glanced at the screen. "Speak of the devil," she said, putting the phone to her ear. "You guys gather the s'more stuff, I'll go pick out a movie. "Hey," she said into the phone as she made her way out, "Yes, it is what it seems. Oliver used the internet. I don't know if it can be considered successful…"

Oliver shook his head at his sister as she left the room. He started grabbing the makings for s'mores while Roy sat down at the counter. He felt Roy tracking every movement.

"What?" he finally said.

"I'm sorry if I made things harder for you with Laurel." He held up his hand when Oliver started to speak. "I'm not sorry for what I said, I stand by that completely. Felicity is my friend."

"She's my friend, too."

"Yeah, and Laurel?"

"It's complicated and not really your business."

"Parts of it are complicated, and Felicity is my friend, so it is my business. My entire life has depended on watching my surroundings and being able to read people. Where I come from you don't last long if you don't pay attention to that kind of thing. So I understand a lot more than people think."

"Oh, yeah," Oliver said, dismissively.

"Yeah," Roy countered. "In fact, I understand why you really keep so much from Thea. I know why you want me to keep things from her."

"It keeps her safe."

"Kind of. It keeps her away from some of the violence of it all, but…" he trailed off.

"Just say it, Roy."

"You told me once that you knew I loved Thea, that you could see it. And she is the most amazing part of my life. She is resilient, and tougher than we think, and forgiving. And sometimes when she looks at me I just breathe easier because I know how much she loves me. I can see it in her face."

"You can't tell her, and I am both sorry and not sorry for that."

"I hate lying to her. I hate it. But I don't want her to know for the same reason you don't: I'm afraid of losing her when she finds out I'm a monster; a psychopath.

Oliver's entire body stilled. Roy watched him swallow once, his eyes squeezed shut. He pulled in and blew out a deep breath and looked Roy in the eye. "I wanted to keep you out of this. I tried to keep both of you out of this, Roy."

"I believe in this. Thea would love me anyway, I think. But I imagine her face in that second and it scares the hell out of me, man." Roy's eyes darted around the room, finally meeting Oliver's. "So, the best I can do is keep our secret safe, for as long as I can, for both of our sakes."

Oliver was silent, but gave Roy a small nod.

"My point in all of this is to say: I understand a lot of why you do what you do. I understand you wanting to keep Laurel in your life. Here's the part I don't: you have someone in your life that you never have to worry about seeing you as a monster. Felicity will stand beside you no matter what. She would do that for all of us, Thea included. You're lucky to have someone so close and so important, and luckier than any of the rest of us that you don't have to hide anything from her."

"Felicity and I…we aren't in a relationship like you and Thea. It's different.

Roy sighed and shook his head. "I'm not trying to play matchmaker; that's Thea's project."

"What?"

Roy waved his hand in the air, shooing the question away. "We are a team. Twice today Laurel took a shot at her. The first time she stood up for herself, the second I did. Both those times it should have been you doing it, without hesitation. Felicity gives up a lot to protect us all and sometimes she has to take a hit for the team. She shouldn't have to take shit from your girlfriend, and she shouldn't have to lie about why she's around. She's my friend, but she's your friend, too. She stands beside you and you should do that for her, and it shouldn't matter who else is standing there."

"Hey," Thea yelled from the hallway into the kitchen. "What is taking you guys so long?" She took in the scene in front of her, Oliver, with his jaw clenched; Roy with his hands held up in front of him. "Ollie?"

Oliver glanced from Roy to Thea, and back to Roy. He hadn't realized it, but he was now standing right in front of Roy, fists balled up at his sides. He took a step back, grabbed his phone, and turned to Thea. "I have to leave."

"No." She grabbed his arm and glared at Roy. "What did you do?"

Roy began shaking his head, getting ready to defend himself. Oliver laid his hand over Thea's. "He didn't do anything wrong, Thea. I'm not leaving because of him."

"Then why are you leaving," Thea asked, confused.

"Felicity is my friend."

"Yes, I know that," Thea said, still confused.

"Felicity is a great friend, and a great person," he huffed out a breath and smiled. "And those aren't even the best things about her."

"Ok." She turned to Roy. "Did he hit his head? Did you hit him in the head? Cause he is not making any sense."

"Sometimes I'm an idiot."

Thea smiled at her brother. "Oddly enough, that makes things a little clearer." She grabbed Roy's hand and started pulling him from the kitchen. She smiled over her shoulder. "Good luck, Oliver." He gave her a small nod, and she turned back to Roy. "If we're not gonna watch a movie, let's go make one."

"I heard that, Thea," Oliver shouted from somewhere near the door. At the same time Roy whisper-shouted, "He will kill me, Thea."

Thea laughed. "I'll make it worth your while." She paused, listening. She heard the front door open and close. She looked Roy in the eye and gave him a quick, chaste kiss on the lips. "Thank you, for whatever you said."

"Felicity is my friend," he said. Thea raised her eyebrow. "And so is Oliver, but let's not make it a thing."

Thea laughed and pulled him up the stairs. "We won't, but let's go celebrate it anyway."