A/N: Warnings for slight coarse language.

THEA QUEEN

Oliver had called Felicity just as she was leaving the office at Queen Consolidated and asked her to bring him some important files he forgot when he had left early at lunchtime. What Felicity thought as a long but simple task – she would have to drive out to his mansion and then back into the city – soon became a complete disaster.

When she finally made it to the mansion's front door it was dark and she was soaked to the bone from the heavy rain. Warily she knocked on the door and waited to see who she would have to explain her appearance to first.

She couldn't decide if she was lucky or not that Oliver answered the door himself.

"Felicity?" he asked eyes wide in shock.

She held out the thankfully waterproof briefcase, "Here are the files you wanted."

He grabbed the briefcase in one hand and her arm in the other and pulled her inside. "You're freezing! What happened?"

"Well it is raining."

"That's not what I meant."

They stared each other down and Felicity was the first to break. "I got the files you wanted and drove over here, which might I add is well outside of my job description and the only reason I did it was because I know you need these tonight so you can finalise the investment deal, and you really would be helpless without me…not me, me, just an assistant me, which really is all I do really, assist you that is."

"Felicity, breathe," Oliver instructed. "I am aware of how much you do for me and I thank you. Now, why were you in the rain?"

"I was driving along the road outside your house when my tire blew. I went to get my spare tire only to find out that it was flat so I had no choice but to walk and my umbrella decided to attack me halfway here so I had to walk in the rain and your driveway is really long. Really, really long."

"Why didn't you call me?" Oliver demanded. "It's not like I was far away."

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and showed him the huge crack in her screen. "When the tire went I swerved and it fell off the dashboard."

An angry expression appeared on Oliver's face and he looked like he was trying hard not to say anything that would annoy her.

"Hey," she defended herself. "I am not responsible for my tire blowing in the middle of a rainstorm when the road was slippery and at night on a barely lit road. I am a good driver."

"I wasn't saying you weren't," Oliver promised.

"Oh."

"I was just worried. It could have been a lot more serious than a walk in the rain."

"Speaking of, do you mind if I borrow a towel? I'm dripping on your very nice and probably very expensive floor."

Oliver remembered his manners and escorted her upstairs despite her protests of getting more floor wet.

On the way up he smirked. "Your umbrella attacked you?"

"Of course you would notice that," Felicity sighed. "The wind caught my umbrella and instead of turning inside-out and just blowing away, it managed to hit me in the head first." She rubbed the sore spot on her forehead to demonstrate her point.

Oliver had a hard time not laughing at that and Felicity rolled her eyes at his suppressed grin. "Just laugh, Oliver. We both know these things only ever happen to me."

"I would never laugh at you, Felicity."

"Right."

Oliver led her through the hallways until he opened a door and ushered her inside. Felicity looked around the large bedroom and noticed the few decorations and ornaments as well as the clutter of a lived in space. She stopped dead.

"Is this your room?"

"Uh, yeah," Oliver answered disappearing into what she assumed was his private bathroom.

Felicity made an effort to think her next few sentences through and managed to come out with the innocent but still embarrassing, "Your room is the size of my entire apartment. You could live in here. What do you even use all the other rooms for?"

"This and that," Oliver shrugged, passing her a towel.

Sighing in relief she started to dry her hair which was beyond curly by then. Removing her glasses she also carefully dried them so she could see without drops of water blurring her vision. When she put them on she found Oliver in front of her offering her a t-shirt.

"Here's something to change into," he offered. "It's all I've got that will fit you."

"What? Oh no, a towel is enough. I'll just call a cab and go home, I just didn't want to get water on everything while I waited."

"Just take the shirt, Felicity," Oliver sighed. "You are dripping wet and shivering. Change into this and I'll dry your clothes for you and then I'll get one of my drivers to take you home. Please."

"I…alright."

Stepping into the bathroom to change Felicity shed her clothes and pulled on the t-shirt that was definitely Oliver's. It came down to mid-thigh so at least she was kind of decent, or as decent as you could get while only wearing a man's shirt.

Gathering her drenched skirt, jacket and blouse she walked out, resisting the urge to pull down on the t-shirt's hem.

"I hope the shirt is, okay?" Oliver asked turning around when he heard her.

"It's fine," she answered. "It's lucky that you're so big." Felicity closer her eyes and wished that there was such a thing as a rewind button for real life. "Dammit, you know what I mean."

When she opened her eyes Oliver cleared his throat and stared down at the floor, which she found odd. "If you give me your clothes I'll go put them in the dryer and see if I can find something of Mom's that you can wear in the meantime."

"I'd appreciate it," was all Felicity got out before Oliver quickly disappeared.

She couldn't resist the urge to look around the room for long and figured Oliver wouldn't have taken her here if he didn't want her looking. Absently drying her hair with the towel she inspected the shelves and eventually settled at his desk where a laptop was sitting. She knew all his secrets, at least the ones that would be held on a computer, so she didn't feel guilty at all as she booted it up. Knowing how he had originally set up the computers at Verdant she had no doubt that she could improve his system in some way.

That was how Thea found her a few minutes later.

"It's not what it looks like," Felicity said weakly.

"It's not what it looks like?" Thea repeated. "You slept with my brother!"

Thea glared at Oliver's assistant who looked as shocked as Thea felt. They hadn't officially met, but Thea knew that Felicity had been around for a while before she got the assistant position. One of the reasons she had respected the woman was because she dealt with Oliver, she didn't just bow to his every command. She didn't play the games that she and her brother had grown up playing. Felicity was one of those rare genuine, if somewhat awkward, people. Thea was only now discovering the difference between a true friendship and what she had thought friendship meant, and she had hoped that she and Felicity could become this. The fact that she had wound up in her brother's bed undid everything Thea had respected about her.

"What?" Felicity gasped. "I thought I looked like I was snooping through his computer. Which I'm not. But, I am also not sleeping with your brother. Probably should have mentioned that one first."

"You are wearing his shirt and nothing else," Thea pointed out.

"Oh that." The blonde laughed nervously. "My tire blew and I couldn't change it so I had to walk here but I got hit in the head with my umbrella so my clothes were wet and Oliver offered me his shirt so I could not be wet and…yeah."

"That is the worst excuse I have ever heard," Thea announced, crossing her arms. "I expected you to be different. I thought for some reason you saw the real Oliver and not the playboy everyone thinks he is."

"I do see the real Oliver," she whispered.

"No," Thea said. "You don't. You're just like the rest. No, you're worse. I can see the headlines now, 'Oliver sleeps with assistant'." Thea narrowed her eyes. "Oh my God you were looking through his personal files. Are you going to sell the story of your experience to the highest bidder? Tell the magazines about the real Oliver? Well, what's it to be?"

"I…no."

"Bitch! I wish Oliver had never met you!"

"Thea," Oliver thundered.

Thea whirled around to see her brother standing in the doorway. Of course he would take her side, Thea thought. "She–"

"No," Oliver growled. "Apologise to Felicity right now."

"She's using you," Thea burst out. "She's just a gold digger."

"You're wrong," Oliver said calmly.

He stepping into the room and stood between her and Felicity, who had her arms crossed and looked like she was trying to make herself as small as possible.

"She was looking through your computer," Thea tried again.

"She is an IT specialist, Thea. She can't resist fixing things and she knows how bad I am at computers."

"Okay, but…she's your assistant, Ollie. Why did you have to be so cliché and sleep with her?"

"What?" Oliver asked staring at her like she was crazy. "I didn't sleep with Felicity."

Felicity took this moment to cough and they both turned back to her. "Not this isn't an important conversation and everything, but I'm not wearing any pants."

"Right, sorry," Oliver said passing over a pair of their mother's yoga pants that Thea hadn't realised he was holding. "These should fit you."

Felicity grabbed them and all but ran into Oliver's bathroom.

"What is going on?" Thea demanded, turning on her bother.

"She was dropping some files off but her tire blew on the way here and she had to walk the rest of the way in the rain. I offered her something to change into while Raisa dries her clothes. Felicity and I are friends, Speedy. Just friends."

"I…are you sure? I mean she is stunning and smart to boot."

"Thea."

"I'm just saying, you could do a lot worse."

"Weren't you just totally against us being together?"

"That was before I realised how cute you two would be as a couple."

"Wow," Felicity said reappearing, "what did I miss?"

Thea watched as Oliver hid his face in his hand and Felicity looked at him in confusion. She turned to Thea and she took the opportunity to apologise.

"Sorry, Felicity," she said sincerely. "I'm just a little protective of my big bro."

"It goes both ways, don't worry," Felicity grinned.

Thea snorted, remembering Oliver's reactions to Roy. An idea hit her then. "So, me and Ollie were going to watch a movie tonight," she said with a mischievous smile. "Would you like to join us, Felicity?"

She stared at her blankly, Oliver's look mirroring hers.

"Good, we all agree then," Thea announced. Looping her arm through Felicity's she dragged her out the room, Oliver following reluctantly behind.

Thea enjoyed Felicity's company immensely and she couldn't help but notice the effect the blonde's presence had on her brother. They eventually started the movie and Thea couldn't hide her grin of triumph when half way through she looked up to see Felicity asleep and curled into her brother's side, who had without thinking wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Oliver needed someone in his life that would be there no matter what, and Thea thought Felicity was it. Felicity would always be Oliver's friend, but hopefully he would get his act together and realise that she could be so much more.