Chapter Four: Sense- Thy Name is Not Oliver Queen

Barry and Sebastian settle down on the couch, leaning into each other. "What do you wanna watch, nerd?" Sebastian grins.

Barry rolls his eyes as he steals the remote and flips to the History Channel. "This looks good."

Sebastian raises his eyebrow, "It's about Alexander the Great."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious." Barry sighs, "I don't know, it's just something to watch."

Sebastian shrugs, "Sure. It's just something to watch." A few minutes pass and he idly comments, "The actor who's Alexander is kinda hot though."

Barry snorts a laugh, falling further into his brother's side. "You're so right but not as good as Chris Hemsworth."

Sebastian groans, "Nothing can beat the Hemsworth brothers." The brothers laugh as they ignore the rest of the TV show to discuss which actor was hottest, which quickly led to a juvenile game of kiss, marry, fuck. Barry never knew he could blush as much as he did, much to his twin's utter delight.

Thea sits down next to her brother in the sitting room and switches off the newscast, ignoring her brother's grumble. "What's with you not talking to Barry as soon as you got back?"

"Not you too."

"Yes, me too." Thea counters sternly. "You need to make up with Barry or you'll be unbearable."

"Thanks, Speedy." Oliver rolls his eyes.

"I mean it!" Thea exclaims, "You guys were so disgustingly cute together in high school."

"Maybe things change." Oliver shrugs, his face a perfect mask.

Thea snorts, "Yeah, but like I just said, you guys were so in love in high school it was sickening to watch you guys make heart eyes at each other. I had a Pinterest board planning your marriage." Thea plays with the couch cushion as Oliver doggedly looks everywhere but at his little sister. Thea sighs when a few minutes pass and Oliver refuses to talk, "Ollie, I love you, but you're being a dumbass if you don't go fight to keep Barry in your life. He's a nerd, but he's an adorable nerd and if you don't make him my brother-in-law soon I will never forgive you."

Thea stands up and stalks to the door, looking almost exactly like their mother. She steps over the threshold before she stops and sharply turns on her heel to address her brother once more, "I never realized what a coward you were." Oliver looks down at his lap in shame in the face of Thea's bitchface. "Typical," Thea mutters after another moment passes where Oliver fails to rise to the occasion. Thea flicks off the lights in the room before she turns once more and leaves for real, leaving Oliver sitting in an empty room, the sky outside slowly darkening the room.

Once the room had fully darkened, Oliver finally gets up and leaves the house, headed towards the Foundry.

That evening Felicity anxiously waits for Oliver to come to the Foundry, typing sporadically on her computer. Diggle sends her concerned looks from where he's working out in the corner of the room. "What's wrong, Felicity?" Diggle finally breaks down and asks.

Felicity looks guilty, "I went to see Barry over my lunch break."

Diggle looks confused, "Barry, like Oliver's kind-of-boyfriend Barry?"

"Yeah." Felicity hedges. "That Barry."

"Felicity…" Diggle sighs, "Why do you need to go poking around in Oliver's business."

"What is Felicity poking around in?" Oliver asks as he walks into the room.

Diggle gives Felicity a pointed look and she sighs, resigned to her fate. "I went and talked to Barry this afternoon."

Oliver stares at her for a few long seconds, "Why would you do that?"

"Because," Felicity boldly glares at Oliver, slowly pushing her glasses up her nose, "I think that I saw something between the two of you. Something special, Oliver. Don't you agree, John?"

Diggle raises his hands up, but replies anyway, "There might have been something. You need happiness in your life, man."

Felicity nods in agreement, tugging angrily at her heels as she kicks them off, "You deserve all the happiness Oliver, even if you don't think so."

"You guys aren't the first ones to tell me that today," Oliver admits, uncharacteristically fidgeting in place. Oliver sighs, "That means I should go beg for him to give me a chance?"

Felicity sharply nods once and gives him a small smirk, "Oh yes, I'd make sure to grovel. Flowers or chocolates or something sciency might help." Oliver looks helplessly over towards Diggle, who shrugs in reply. "Go ahead," Felicity urges, "contact him and plan a time to meet with him. But like, probably in public, so there's less of a chance that you guys try to kill each other or something."

Oliver smiles wryly, "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Felicity."

"Soooo, you'll do it?" Felicity plays with her cat coffee mug, tilting her head in consideration at the brooding man.

Oliver nods, "Yeah, I'll try not to burn the last bridge I have with him."

Felicity rewards him with a happy smile, "Good." She turns around, almost dismissively, and sets her mug down just as her computer chimes at her. "Oh, we got a hit. Clock King's real name is William Tockman-"

"Tockman?" Oliver raises an eyebrow in disbelief.

Felicity shrugs, "That's what it says. Anyways, we have a last known address and it says that there have been sightings of some guy called the Angler with him."

"The Angler?" Oliver asks, bemused.

Felicity shakes her head, "He has some deal with fishing themed….things? And stealing gold."

Diggle walks over to join the others by the computers, looking at the data on the screen. "What does a man who smuggles gold have to do with fishing?" The three stand in a confused silence for a beat or two before Oliver shakes off his confusion and heads to suit up.

"Well, let's go find out," Oliver says as his bow slides into its full length.

When Oliver returns to the Foundry, Felicity and Diggle can't hold in their laughter. Oliver growls as he sets his bow down and starts stripping out of his uniform. "Looks like you sure ran into something fishy." Felicity giggles, Diggle doesn't hide the huge smile he's sporting.

"They caught me by surprise." Oliver snaps, annoyed.

"So when he threw that clock at you, you were just watching time fly?" Diggle asks. Felicity collapses onto her desktop, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. Oliver growls again before storming off to take a shower, the fish smell and a small trail of water following behind him.

When Oliver appears again, smelling, to his major relief, of citrus instead of a fish market. Felicity hands him a strip of paper as he passes, which he takes and glares at, "It's Barry's number." Felicity explains, "I thought you could text him and set up a date for tomorrow."

Oliver nods and reaches out to take his phone from its place on his workbench, "That sounds like a good idea." Oliver opens up his contacts app and inputs the contact information before thumbing over to the messaging app. A few seconds later he has a message sent before he could second-guess himself.

Barry looks at his phone in surprise as he gets a message from an unknown number. He opens it and bites his lip as he reads. "Who's it from?" Sebastian asks from the other side of the couch, feet tucked snugly under Barry's legs.

Barry scratches under his Metropolis Mets sweatshirt before he replies, "It's from Oliver. Felicity just texted me saying that Oliver should be texting me and expect an unknown number."

"What's it say?" Sebastian asks, sitting up.

Barry worries at his lip for a moment, "He wants to meet. Says he regrets how we left things."

"Well? What are you going to say?"

"Is it bad if I agree to meet him?"

Sebastian shakes his head, grinning, "It'll be closure or a new beginning." He stands and gathers up their tea mugs, "Either way it's a good thing." As he leaves the room, he throws over his shoulder, "Text him back that you'll meet him tomorrow. Choose a fancy place."

"Love you Seb!" Barry calls.

"Love you too, nerd! Now text him!"