Title: Wilted Flowers
Author: QueencestQueen
Pairings: Oliver/Thea (aka Queencest and/or Tholiver)
Rating: M (or E, depending on the rating system)
Summary:
What is this place? The sign on the gate said "Foxworth Hall." Its Gothic style was intimidating and foreboding. He couldn't picture his mother and sister in that awful place. They belonged in somewhere light and happy, somewhere like their family home was their rightful place, not this house of dread. What the hell had happened during those five years?
Notes/Warnings:
- AU for the entire series.
- Inspired by "Flowers in the Attic," by VC Andrews
- This chapter was not beta'd, unfortunately.
Disclaimer:
All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of this author. This author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
As eyes heavy with sleep blinked open slowly, Oliver readjusted to reality. No longer was he spending his nights on a hard makeshift bed of solid earth and brush. He was resting upon a luxurious large bed with accompanying soft pillows instead. He was also pleasantly warm and so comfortable that he was hesitant to move. Then the warmth shifted against his side and for a split second, he panicked. He had never really done well with the whole morning-after charade before the island, but he was even worse at it now if his two companions since were any indication. He really didn't want to deal at the moment. Then the person shifted again and the sight of brunette tresses had him looking again.
It's only Thea, he thought with a long breath of relief. That simple piece of information awakened his sleep-fogged brain. The two of them had talked well past dawn about what they'd been through. It had been a difficult process for both, but necessary. Despite the time that they'd spent discussing, and the amount of paper that Thea had used to share her tale, both of them had only managed to get through their arrivals at their respective prisons before sleep swept them away. It wasn't much, but it was a start. He'd certainly shared more detail and emotion with Thea then he'd ever given before, but Oliver had resolved to hold nothing back, despite how uncomfortable the truth made him. His sister deserved absolute honesty.
Oliver carefully and slowly unfurled his body from his sister's, slipping off the borrowed bed quickly. He was pleased to find that Thea slept on peacefully without him. After a quick trip to the bathroom, he grabbed his phone and slid open the doors to their balcony. He closed it behind him swiftly lest the change in temperature awoke the room's remaining occupant. He'd missed several attempts at communication from his team. Concerned that perhaps in his absence they'd gotten involved in something bad, Oliver quickly redialed the Skype call he'd received from Felicity. Worry coursed through him as the ringing drone on and on. Had Diggle taken up the mantle of the vigilante despite my objections? Had Felicity said something she'd shouldn't have to the wrong person? He'd only been the vigilante for a short time before his quest for his family had taken precedence, but he'd still made enemies. Were Diggle and Felicity found out? Finally, after several minutes of the irritating Skype ring the call connected and both Felicity and Diggle appeared on his phone screen. He relaxed a little as both of them seemed perfectly alright.
"Where have you been?" Felicity demanded and then, before he could answer, she continued, "You call John in the early hours of the morning and ask for a doctor without any further information! Then you don't call us to explain what's wrong!"
How can such a small woman be so loud? He cringed slightly at the reprimand, but it was undeserved. Thea had to be his priority here, and she was, updating his team was a very distant second. "I was a little busy, Felicity."
"Did you find your family?" Diggle asked, cutting off whatever it was that the blonde might have said. He nodded and immediately both of them softened. "Are they okay?"
That was a complicated question. Neither his mother nor his sister were as he'd hoped to find them, but they weren't dead either. There was no simple answer he could give. The older man seemed to see his struggle in his face because he changed the inquiry.
"Why did you need to see a doctor, Oliver?"
"My sister was ill." He answered simply in a tone that stopped any further inquisition on the subject. For some reason, it felt wrong to discuss her with them. It was ridiculous to feel that way; Diggle and Felicity were good people and it wasn't as if Thea was his secret and yet… "I was just calling to check in, make sure everything's okay so…is it?"
"Yes, Oliver, everything here is fine."
He chuckled a little at the exasperated tone Diggle took in answering his question, "I'm just checking!" Oliver said, holding up his hands in front of the camera to show his lack of intent. Soon after that the video call was disconnected, leaving Oliver to look out at the morning view alone.
"Who were they?" Oliver jumped at the sudden introduction of Thea's voice. He smiled softly at the sight of her, sleepy and rumpled.
"My friends."
Thea narrowed her eyes playfully, "Impossible. I know all of your friends."
"I could have made new ones!" He countered in defense against the implication.
She sat down in the empty lawn chair beside him as she chuckled, "You? Nah. You've had the same few friends forever. Making new ones isn't in your repertoire."
He laughed at her statements, but didn't argue the point. "Since when did you start drinking coffee?" He asked, eyeing the steaming cup in her hand.
"Since now." Thea raised the cup to her lips and blew lightly to cool it. She flinched as the bitter taste touched her tongue.
"Did you put cream and sugar in first?"
She shook her head and he laughed, stealing it from her and going back into the rented room. He made his own cup of mediocre coffee before adding cream and sugar to both, stirring it in, and going back outside to join her. "There. It should be better now." He said, handing the cup back to her. She took it and sipped cautiously.
"Better," she said, but he still caught her slight flinch.
He leaned forward and took the cup from her hands, sitting it down on a lawn table with his own. "You don't have to drink it, Thea."
"But adults drink coffee."
"Not all adults." That seemed to settle something for her because her green gaze turned from the mugs to him once again. She was just looking at him, no judgment, no anything…just wonder. It was flattering and a little overwhelming to be looked at like that. Instead of shying away from that intensity, he met her eyes with his blue ones. For a few minutes, the two of them sat there, just looking at each other.
"So…" Thea said, finally breaking their eye contact, "I'm gonna go grab a shower." He nodded absently and she left the balcony for the comfort of their hotel room once more. After a few moments, Oliver picked up his own cup again and sipped on it slowly as the world continued to awaken. It was only after he depleted his cup that he followed in her wake. Several seconds after he closed the sliding door, he noted the silence.
Concerned, Oliver made his way over to the bathroom and knocked with two knuckles, "Thea?" He called tentatively as the door swung open a little, "Are you okay?" She was just standing in front of the bathroom mirror, staring at it unblinkingly. He had to break her trance or she could end up standing there all day. "Thea?" He asked again and she turned away from the bewitching glass abruptly. The back of her calves touched the edge of the tub as she changed positions like a frightened rabbit. She clutched the towel around her with white knuckled hands as she took note of his presence.
She blinked owlishly at him for a moment before she found her voice, "Is that really me?"
"Of course. That's what mirrors do."
She took a breath and turned her head to look at her face once more. "It's been two years since I've been able to see myself." As was apparently her habit when talking about the attic, her voice became almost too quiet and Oliver had to strain to hear the words. "Grandmother smashed the bathroom mirror, and the one in the bedroom, and she had Moira bring down the few that were in the attic. She smashed them too."
There was two heartbeats of silence and then she added, "I look...scary."
"You do not look scary."
"Yes, I do. I look like a zombie, Ollie."
"No," he insisted, reaching out to take her shoulder, but his hand fell uselessly back to his side when she visibly flinched at the idea. "No, you don't look like a zombie. I'm not going to lie and say that you look…normal, because you don't, but you do not look zombie-like." His lips twitched with a small bit of a teasing tone to his words. "It's nothing that time, sunlight, food, and care won't reverse, okay?"
She sighed and once more and met his eyes, "I'll still scare small children."
He laughed a little at the ridiculous turn their conversation had taken. "You will not." Oliver insisted, "Now, can you get in the shower?"
"Yeah," Thea said softly, rocking back and forth a little on her heels, "Yeah, okay, I'll get in the shower, just…" she made a shooing motion with her left hand, while her right gripped the edge of the towel to keep it closed around her.
He held his hands up in mock surrender and left the bathroom. As soon as he was out of the doorframe, the wood clicked behind him. Before he could even blink, he heard the tell-tale shtick of the lock sliding into place. Of course she was to lock the bathroom door, but why did she do it so fast? He turned half a step, to look at the door, as confused hurt lingered in his mind. Does she really think I'd…barge in on her or something? Do I frighten her so? He frowned as he made his way over to the little sink by the coffee machine and absentmindedly rinsed out the used cups.
By the time that Thea came out of the bathroom, Oliver had managed to fall back asleep again despite the coffee he'd consumed. It was odd how this bed, and the one at the motel as well, were so easy to sleep in when his bed back in Starling City barely got him a couple of hours at best. It was the slight change in temperature that awoke him as Thea stepped from the bathroom, suitcase in hand. He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he did so. She looked even smaller in her ill-fitting clothes then she had in her pajamas as she once more sat her suitcase next to the dresser.
"You can unpack that, you know," he commented idly as he stood and made his way over, pulling out a simple grey t-shirt and jeans from the piece of furniture. "We'll probably be here for a few more days at least and there's more than enough room."
Her wet hair moved about her shoulders ever so slightly when she shook her head in the negative. "No."
He frowned, turning to look at her as he moved towards the adjoining bathroom. Thea had never liked secrets, especially not between the two of them. What could possibly be in that suitcase? His mind raced with the possibilities though he gave voice to none. Instead, he really looked at her. Her blouse hung off her shoulders and the jeans she wore were several inches too short. It was in that second that Oliver decided what they were doing with their day.
"We're going shopping today," He declared, "I'll be ready to go in just a few minutes."
"Shopping?" Her brow was furrowed in confusion and he didn't blame her. He'd made no secret of hating the shopping process in the past. It was a tedious, boring exercise; clothes were just clothes in his mind, but it was clear that Thea needed this.
"You," she said, a note of honest disbelief in her voice as an eyebrow rose to match it, "want to go clothes shopping...with me."
Oliver nodded, beginning to feel unhappy in the face of her skepticism. It wasn't like he was a complete idiot when it came to women's clothing. I helped many women shed them in my day! "I'm not a moron, Thea." He snapped bitterly, but she took no notice of his tone.
Instead, she merely chuckled and took a few steps closer to him. "So, you really think you can help me pick out clothes, huh?"
Again, he nodded, though this time it was weary. It felt like he had wandered into a trap and now awaited the snap that would kill him.
"Uh huh," Thea said, scratchy voice going soft as she considered, "so you'd be able to tell me which hemline length works best for my height? Or whether I could pull off spaghetti straps?"
Now he knew this was a trap. He wasn't even sure what the guidelines were for being able to 'pull of spaghetti straps,' but he was in far too deep now. There was no use in trying to chew off his leg, as it were, when the snap was closing in. Thea smiled in a way that set off alarm bells in his mind as she took another couple of steps; the tips of their big toes touching as she asked, "So you'd be able to help me pick out the right bra then?"
Oliver could swear he heard the snick-click of the trap squashing him. Thea smiled in victory as she started to elaborate, just to watch him squirm, or so he suspected, "'cause I've not been sized since I was thirteen and all of the bras I have are either much too big or too small and I sort of just-"
Oliver grimaced and backed away a few steps, "Okay, okay, I get it." He said, barely resisting the urge to clamp his hands over his ears in childish denial. Thea grinned and giggled a little, proud of her small victory. "This isn't something brothers assist with."
"Not really, no."
"But you can't...I mean, of course you can, but you probably shouldn't do it alone either, right?" Oliver typed 'personal shopper' and 'Virginia' into his smart phone. While he waited for the screen to load, he looked up at his sister. Her hair was wet and appeared vaguely tangled, but he couldn't really tell for sure, given the distance and darkness of her strands. She looked better already then she had when he first found her in the attic. He didn't say so aloud though because he knew she wouldn't yet believe him. The change of light on his screen drew his attention away from her to the device again. "Nordstrom's has personal shoppers for full wardrobes." He said idly as he triggered the website's map, "it's about an hour from here."
"An hour?" Thea echoed, her tone giving nothing away.
"It's not that far."
After that, Oliver went and took a quick shower before donning his chosen clothes. When he came back out, Thea was rooting around in her suitcase yet again. He pretended not to notice her pulling a medium-size book from inside and sliding it half into the back of her jeans, pulling out the tail of her shirt to cover the top half that peeked out from the waistband. He busied himself with putting his wallet and cellphone into the pockets of his jeans while Thea closed the ancient suitcase and clicked the locks into place.
"You ready to go?" He asked as he turned back to face her, "We'll take a cab to rent a car."
"You're gonna drive us?" There was a note of surprise in her voice that had Oliver pushing her shoulder playfully as he passed her.
"I can drive," He said as he shut and locked the door to their room after she stepped out too, "You don't have to sound so surprised, brat." As he turned, he smirked at her and she smiled in response to his teasing. She has such a nice smile, he noted idly as they walked down the hall to the elevator. When the doors opened on their floor, Oliver was oddly surprised to find people already in the car. Automatically his gaze shot to Thea, worried that she'd be freaked out inside at the sight of other people, remembering how she'd panicked about her appearance in the bathroom mirror. She didn't seem ruffled though; she simply stepped inside the silver box and turned to face the open door without pause. Oliver followed her lead as always and the elevator descended.
The lobby was nearly empty when they stepped from the elevator, but he attributed that to the early hour of the morning. The siblings stepped out into the orange glow of the morning sun and quickly shielded their eyes. He attempted to hail a cab, but no one stopped until Thea stepped up. Then there were two taxis trying to take their fare. "You girls have it so easy." He joked as he held the door open for her and her smile was soft as she slid inside. He climbed in after her and shut the yellow door behind himself. "Rental car place, please."
The driver nodded behind the partition and soon they were off. It took less than ten minutes and Oliver paid the driver in cash for the short journey. It took him half an hour to fill out the paperwork, but soon the duo was in their borrowed car, driving down the road. Thea leaned her body back against the armrest between the seats with her knees bent. Her gaze was out the window, watching as the buildings and other cars rushed by. His eyes focused alternated between the road, in front of him, and her.
"What are you thinking?" Oliver asked without intent to do so as his attention flickered back over to her again. Thea jumped at the sound of his voice over the quiet drum of the music and he felt guilty for surprising her so. He saw her smile, however so slight, in the glass before she turned towards him.
"People are always in such a rush." She said simply, "Always having to go places and do things…why? Why does no one ever just slow down and enjoy life? Enjoy the small things, you know?" That…wasn't what he thought she'd say. It didn't surprise him that she had such deep thoughts; his Speedy was always wiser than her years. He just had not expected that she'd share her true thoughts with him so readily.
Oliver reached out and took her hand softly, "I know what you mean, Speedy." He was still adjusting to the rushing world and he'd been back among the masses for a while. He remembered how overwhelming it had been in the beginning, how quiet he'd been; he didn't want her to close off like that. "They just get caught up in life, I think. Forget to just exist." He shrugged and squeezed her hand gently.
"We won't forget, will we?" The tone of her question was so quiet, so young. It hit him then. She went into that attic when she was barely thirteen. Thirteen years old and no further education to speak of. She was, in a way, stuck at that age just like she'd been stuck in that attic. She was still a child at heart and she needed her big brother. Perhaps Thea always has. His heart hurt thinking about it, thinking that she'd needed him and he had failed her.
"No," he said softly, turning his gaze back to the road ahead of them, "We won't forget." Sooner then he realized, they were pulling into the parking lot outside of Nordstrom. Thea was fidgeting in the passenger's seat as he put the car into park, eyes widening at the number of people milling about. He turned his head to look at her, taking in the nervous jiggle of her knees and the indent in her cheek from where she was chewing on it. "You okay, Thea?"
Her head turned sharply at his question, "Don't you-don't you need an appointment for these things, Ollie?"
"Usually," He agreed, "but money can get you anything if you're willing to pay for it."
"How do you have all this money?" The question had been bound to come eventually, but he hated having to answer it. He hated that because he'd been naïve, because he'd never thought to put together a will, his sister had to live in that attic. If only he'd been more aware of the realities of life, he could have left his trust fund for Thea, to keep her safe. But he had not. It was his fault she'd been in that attic at all.
He let out a long breath, "Because I was over legal age and hadn't prepared for my death, mom couldn't touch my trust fund or stock options so…" He trailed off with a shrug, guilt multiplying in the ensuing seconds. Why didn't I prepared better?
"What are you thinking?" Turnabout was fair play, after all.
How was he to tell her that he failed her? That because he hadn't thought ahead, because he hadn't thought like an adult, she'd spent years in that dreadful room. It was all his fault.
"Ollie?" she asked, a note of panic in her voice. His lack of response had frightened her. Her eyes followed his frozen gaze out the window, sweeping their surroundings for whatever danger he must have spotted. "What's wrong?"
"I should have been prepared."
"Prepared for what?"
"For the accident," he needed to face her response like the man he was, like the man he should have been back then. "I was no child, but I was naive as one." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "If I'd been...if I'd planned properly, you and Mom...my trust fund could have kept you out of that attic."
There were two heartbeats of silence and then, "you're an idiot." Oliver flinched, but nodded in agreement. He was an idiot. She chuckled softly, shaking her head a little, "How were you to know, Ollie? You weren't a kid yes, but you weren't exactly an adult either. You were 22! No one prepares for what might happen at 22; you're still invincible at that age." He raised a skeptical eyebrow; she spoke as if she were a wizened old woman herself.
She huffed, once more seeming her appropriate age, "I was bored, there were a couple psychology textbooks in the attic, so what?" She reached out and cupped her hand gently over his forearm. "My point is it's not your fault, Ollie." She shrugged, "And even if you had planned ahead…that money would have been gone in less than a month. It's much better this way."
"Better?" He echoed inside of a choking laugh. How is any of this better?
"Yes," she smiled softly and squeezed his arm, "because your money stayed with you, you were able to come and get me. You needed your money so you could get me out, okay?" …That is actually a valid point. He smiled at her, nodding his acceptance of her explanation, and laid his left hand atop hers on his arm.
"You ready to go shopping?" Her face turned away from him to look out the window, eyes sweeping over the cars in the parking lot, the people moving about. Oliver stayed silent and waited for her to make a decision on her own time. Pushing her would only do them harm in the long run.
There was several moments of stifling silence in the rented vehicle and then Thea stepped out. "Let's do this." She declared, tugging her clothes nervously into place. He nodded once and followed her lead, exiting the car. Together the siblings left the parking lot and made their way inside.
At first, everything was fine. Thea walked a single step ahead of Oliver until they reached the center of the store. There were people everywhere, crowding the counters and shuffling about down the paths between racks. He looked over at her, concerned for her in the face of such overwhelming chaos. There was a pallor to her skin that worried him. When she reached out blindly behind her for his hand, he was more than willing to give it. He briefly quickened his step so that he was by her side as they made their way through the chaos, looking for an available store associate to help them out. As a group of obnoxiously loud teenagers moved past, Thea crowded closer to him like an injured sheep in the face of a starving lion.
He released her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulders, holding her to his side firmly. "You okay?" He whispered the question, but she heard him nonetheless.
She nodded, "Yeah. Just…so many people, so much noise."
"I know." He pressed a small kiss into her hair. He remembered how overwhelming it had been when he first stepped off that boat, back. Everything was so bright and loud. He could protect Thea from people wanting to know her whole story for now, but the rest of it? "Just keep breathing, Speedy."
"Can I help you find anything today?" The woman's voice startled both Queens, having just appeared like magic. Her nametag read Meg. The typical response of 'we're just looking, thanks' was on the tip of his tongue when he remembered that they were, in fact, there for something specific.
"Yes, actually. We're looking for the personal shoppers?"
"Do you have an appointment, sir?" Oliver knew from her tone of voice that she'd taken note of the 'we' in his previous sentence. That's why the charming attitude was suddenly replaced with the efficient, yet professional coldness they were now confronted with. Nowadays, he preferred it when women were not giggling, bubbly disasters at the sight of him. He did not have the time, energy, nor even desire for the complications of a romantic entanglement; he was having a hard enough time maintaining his friendships. However, he was also aware that he'd need to charm this woman in order for Thea to get what she needed. So, with that in mind, he smiled his most winning smile and sure enough, the young woman melted.
"No, but I was hoping one of them could squeeze her in to their busy schedules? I'd be more than happy to pay extra for my lack of forward thinking." His expression shifted to apologetically contrite and the last of the damage done by the careless 'we' was forgotten. The blonde's expression shifted back into the soft look from previously as she smiled up at him.
"I'm sure that won't be necessary," She batted her eyelashes and it took every ounce of willpower in him not to flinch, "follow me, please."
Thea rolled her eyes as they were led toward a nearby service desk in the women's clothing department. Oliver ducked his head to hide his smile, watching as Meg rounded the counter and picked up the phone. She paged a coworker named Jenn and then they all stood awkwardly until the older woman came up to them. Her red hair was streaked with natural grey, belaying her age, and braided down her back. She was a rather pretty woman, with wise laugh lines and bright blue eyes; Thea would be safe with her, he could tell. He was a good judge of character, after all. Meg pulled Jenn aside and the two spoke in whispered tones for a few minutes. Oliver kept them in his eye-line, but turned to Thea. Her eyes were flitting nervously around like she couldn't believe any of what was happening was reality.
"Still doing okay, Speedy?" He asked her softly as he finally released her shoulders.
"Mhmm," It was barely a mumble, but it was enough.
Jenn looked over and smiled softly at Thea before she approached them. She held out a hand to Thea first, "Hi, doll. I'm Jenn…and you are?" Her southern twang was heavy, almost bordering on false, but it seemed to reach Thea somehow. She took the proffered hand, which was surprising in and of itself, and shook it quickly.
"Thea." Her voice was weak and quiet, but the personal shopper just smiled ever so slightly brighter.
She turned to Oliver then, once more offering her hand, "And you are?"
"Oliver."
With introductions out of the way, the trio moved towards the fitting rooms. Jenn told him, in no uncertain terms, that he was to take a seat. He bristled at that but said nothing; he simply took a seat and prepared for a long wait. Thea looked back at him, her eyes dull and unfocused, as she followed the click-clack of the other woman's high heels. He folded his hands over his lower stomach as seconds ticked by.
It couldn't have been more than a minute before Thea came flying out of the dressing room, her feet barely skidding in time to stop in front of him. "Are you alright?" Oliver asked, concerned that something had gone terribly wrong once she was out of his sight. Had he so misjudged the kindly looking Jenn?
She nodded quickly and reached behind her back, pulling out the book he saw her hide earlier. She pressed the medium-sized tome in his hands urgently, "Start at the beginning." She whispered before running to the waiting personal shopper without any further explanation. He stared blankly after her until she was long vanished from his sight and then his eyes turned down to the clearly-important possession in his hold. It felt monumental to be so trusted; should he read its contents as she wanted? Do I dare?
