AN: Finally finding some time to purge this from my head, woohoo! So surprise, 2 in one night. This one is short too. A bit of fluff, really, because the next one will be another angst filled mess. I hope you enjoy!

IV.

The fourth time Felicity slapped Oliver came the following spring. Roy had told Thea their secret, and Oliver was throwing a fit of epic proportions.

"It's not your secret to tell!" He said, getting in the kid's face. And yes, Roy had learned to control his rage a heck of a lot better in the year since he had started working on the team, but getting in his face and screaming didn't seem like the wisest of ideas. Neither Roy nor Felicity pointed out that it was not just his secret anymore. Roy was out there nearly every night now.

"I'm tired of lying to her," Roy said, his voice calm. But Felicity watched his jaw work, and she knew his rage was simmering just below the surface.

"You just put her at risk," Oliver ground out, invading Roy's space even more.

The kid held his ground and his fits squeezed. "She's already at risk, because of you. How many times has simply being your sister nearly gotten her killed?"

Felicity watched Oliver's fists ball, and she stepped forward before things got further out of hand. She put her hand on his arm, but he shook her off. "It's a whole different kind of danger, knowing this secret!" Oliver shouted.

"She has a right to know," Roy said succinctly. "She deserves to know, to not have all of us lying to her every single day."

Felicity heard the truth in his words, but Oliver was shaking his head. Felicity said his name and reached for him again, and again he shook her off. Alrighty then. Apparently she wasn't going to get through to him with calm words and a gentle touch.

She met Roy's eyes, giving him notice she was getting into his space, and he stepped back as she stepped in front of Oliver. "Enough!" She said sternly.

"He had no right Felicity," he said, and he went to physically move her from between him and Roy, his murderously angry eyes still locked on the younger man.

So she slapped him again. Those angry eyes shifted from Roy down to her, and his jaw worked. "Again?" He said in disbelief and annoyance.

"Quit being unreasonable and I will quit having to slap you," she said evenly.

"He didn't have the right to tell her," he said, and his shoulders fell forward a little, giving her an indication of how much keeping the secrets—especially from Thea—weighed on him.

"But he isn't wrong, Oliver," she said, again reaching for his arm. This time he didn't shake her off. "She does have a right to know." She thought about how long it had taken Thea to forgive him last year, when Slade had told her that Malcolm Merlyn was her father. It had taken them most of the summer to get back on solid ground. "And isn't it better that it comes from Roy, than from another enemy down the line?" Oliver's eyes tightened at the though, his breath leaving him in a whoosh. His gazed dropped to the floor as she continued. "Roy shouldn't have to keep secrets from her either, Oliver. She deserves to know."

"It's dangerous," he said, sounding defeated.

She nodded, unable to argue with that. "Yeah, it is. But isn't it better that she knows, so it doesn't blindside her?" Like last time. She didn't say the last part, but she knew he was thinking it. His gaze lifted back to hers and he could see the weight of it in his eyes. But as she watched, he came to terms, and the anger faded from those remarkable blue depths. The pain was still there of course, but there was also a bit of relief there too. She knew he was relieved that there was now one less lie to tell.

His hand covered hers on his arm, and gave it a squeeze. "Thank you," he said.

She looked over her shoulder at Roy. "Thank him," she said, turning back to her computers.

Roy barked out a laugh. "I wouldn't hold your breath on that one, Felicity."

She decided to simply be pleased that they didn't break anything when they sparred.