A/N: So, this took a whole lot longer than I'd anticipated. Real life and writer's block got in the way. I'm so sorry for taking this long! I promise I won't abandon this story, I like it way too much.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter! It's a little shorter than usual (about 100 words or so), but a short chapter is better than none, right? I'll try to update by next Saturday, but I can't promise I'll be able to...

Chapter 5:

"Seriously, though, do you still have feelings for my brother?"

They were seated in a far too fancy bistro, and Felicity was staring intently at the menu, even though she still hadn't read a word of it. When Thea didn't immediately ask another question, though, she looked up to see the brunette looking at her seriously, no trace of a smirk in sight.

Sighing, Felicity put the menu down. "I barely know Oliver anymore, Thea, and I haven't talked to him in nearly a decade."

Thea pursed her lips and looked at her suspiciously. "I don't know, it didn't look like nothing at the house."

Felicity rolled her eyes. "First of all; you don't have a house, you have a castle, and second; all you saw back there was the awkwardness between us."

Thea didn't look convinced, but held up her hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, whatever you say." Then she looked a little more serious. "He seems better when you're around is all I'm saying," she said with a shrug.

"What do you mean 'better'?" Felicity asked, confused.

"Just… he seems a little more relaxed. He tries to hide it, but he's all tension. His first night back, mom found him having a nightmare as he slept on the floor in front of the open window-"

"Wait, there was a rainstorm that night."

Thea raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"What? I pay attention to stuff like that," Felicity said defensively.

"Suuuuure. Anyway, that's not all. Mom tried to wake him, and he judo flipped her and tried to strangle her," Thea finished in a whisper.

Felicity could only stare. She'd known that the island had changed him, but this… It made her wonder exactly what he'd had to do to survive. Luckily, she was saved from replying by the arrival of the waitor. Dazedly, she just ordered whatever Thea was having and hoped that it wasn't snails or something. She didn't think so; Thea didn't look like a snail person… Then again, someone must eat them, right?

Felicity shook her head. She wasn't a very picky eater, she'd manage. As she took a sip of her water, her attention was drawn to a TV hanging in the corner. The news was on, but while the sound was muted, Felicity had no problem understanding what it was about. 'Oliver Queen, officially resurrected', it was quite the headline, but Oliver looked tense, his eyes cast down as he pushed through the throng of reporters clamouring for his attention.

"He used to love the media's attention," Thea said, having followed Felicity's gaze. "But I guess five years of complete isolation would make anyone's patience run thin, right?"

"Can you blame him?" Felicity said softly, keeping her eyes on the television.

"I wouldn't, except that he doesn't talk. Ever. All he does is avoid mom, ignore or insult Walter and judge me. You know, I wanted my brother back so badly, I forgot how much of an ass he can be."

Turning back, Felicity frowned at the brunette. "I wouldn't want to talk about something like that either." Thea opened her mouth to protest, but Felicity cut her off. "Can you even imagine? Just for a second, try to imagine being on a deserted island, probably starving and malnourished, with no one to talk to, in harsh conditions… Sounds like a pretty traumatizing experience to me, something he may not want to burden anyone else with. Or relive it by telling someone."

Thea was the one frowning now. "You know, for someone who claims she doesn't know him enough to have feelings for him anymore, you're pretty insightful."

Felicity had no idea what to say to that…

/*/

Sometimes, it seemed like Felicity's life was a non-stop soap opera. First, she falls for the richest, cutest guy in school, then, the guy saves her and she kisses him, but he doesn't remember due to a head injury. Next, the guy breaks her heart, and they stop talking to each other, only for him to die in a boat accident. Fast forward a couple of years, and she's good friends with the guy's little sister, when, lo and behold, the guy turns out not to be dead.

There was far too much drama in her life already, but Felicity figured her workplace was still safe. After all, even if she did work in his family's company, why would Oliver be going there?

Right?

So, when Felicity's boss told her to run down to the lobby to sign for a new piece of tech they'd ordered, she was not expecting Oliver to be standing there.

"Oliver?" she said before she could stop her stupid mouth from moving.

"Felicity, what are you doing here?" he asked, turning around.

"I work here. In the IT department. Why are you here? You hate corporate stuff," she said, confused. Then, she noticed the man standing behind Oliver. "Sorry, hi. Mr. Diggle, right?" she said with a polite smile as she extended her hand.

The other man raised an eyebrow, but smiled and shook her hand anyway. "Just Diggle's fine."

"Wow, you have a strong handshake. I mean, of course you do, you're a bodyguard. Not that I know all that many bodyguards, so I can't really compare. Am I rambling?" she said, talking far too rapidly.

Diggle chuckled. "It's fine."

For a moment, they stood around a little awkwardly. "So, why are you here?" Felicity asked Oliver before the silence got too oppressing.

"I just wanted to see my dad's company," he replied evasively. "Look, we should go. I'll… talk to you later?"

Felicity forced a smile. What a brush off. "Sure. Thea has my number." God, why had she said that? It was basically an invitation to call her. A stupid, desperate-sounding invitation.

Oliver, however, just nodded and followed Diggle out of the building.

Shit, that went badly.

/*/

The next day was supposed to be calm, relaxing, and completely Oliver-free.

So naturally, fate decided to intervene.

Felicity had slept in late and was enjoying a well-deserved chocolate donut. Or, at least, well-deserved in her own opinion anyway. She'd been just about to get a hot chocolate for herself, when her phone rang. Groaning at the unwelcome distraction, she glanced at the caller ID.

Huh. Thea…

She'd talked to the brunette just yesterday, and she'd thought the youngest Queen would be busy all day, so it was a bit weird that she'd be calling now. Gingerly, she answered the call.

"Hey, Thea."

"I can't believe him," the younger woman said angrily.

"I'm fine, thank you so much for asking. How was your day?" Felicity asked sarcastically. She jammed her phone between her head and her shoulder and went back to making her hot chocolate. If Thea wanted to vent, she could do it while Felicity kept enjoying her morning.

"I'm sorry," Thea said, sounding at least somewhat contrite. "It's your day off and I'm calling you to complain about Oliver."

"It's okay, Thea, I'm starting to get used to it again. What did he do now?" she asked, adding 3 spoonfuls of cocoa powder to her Doctor Who mug. It was a big mug, okay, any less powder and it would just be milk.

She was only listening with a half ear when Thea answered. "He just doesn't talk to keeps it all bottled up inside, and it kills me to see him shutting everyone out like that. He didn't used to be like that."

Felicity really wanted to say that, yes, Oliver had definitely been like that. The only difference was that the things he was hiding now were probably more traumatic than what he used to deal with in high school. But Felicity also didn't want Thea to think that she'd never really known her brother. She remembered how close the siblings had been back then, and tarnishing that image wasn't on her to do list for today. So, she just agreed. "He really should talk to someone," she said, somewhat absentmindedly.

"Oh, thank you! I knew I could count on you! I think he's free tonight, but you should text him to be sure. You do have his number, don't you?" Thea rambled.

"Wait, what?" Knowing Thea had her own unique view of the world, and being able to keep up with it were two very different things, Felicity knew, but this time she was really confused. "I'm doing what?"

"You'll talk to him." The 'duh' was implied. "I'll let him know that you'll get in touch, bye!"

And with that, hurricane Thea hung up.

What on earth had just happened? And on her day off, too…

/*/

Honestly, Felicity had forgotten about her conversation with Thea as soon as she turned on Doctor Who. She'd gotten a bit behind on season 7, and, though she wasn't sure what she thought of Clara yet, the episodes were so good!

So when Oliver showed up on her doorstep that night, she was somewhat shocked.

"Oliver! What are you…" she trailed off when the memory hit her. She groaned. "Crap, Thea… I'd completely forgotten, I'm sorry."

Oliver, however, seemed more amused than anything else. "I can come back some other time if you want?" he asked. Felicity detected the slightest hint of awkwardness in his voice, which calmed her and made her focus.

She waved him on in. "No, I'm fine. Come in."

A quick glance down at her outfit made her groan. She was wearing marvel pyjama pants and a baggy men's shirt with a dalek on it. Not exactly the most alluring clothes. Not that wanted to seduce Oliver or anything like that!

Felicity winced as her thoughts immediately went back to the one kiss they'd shared when they were teenagers. God, what was wrong with her?

Oliver was looking at her with an unreadable expression underneath his fake polite smile. Smoothing a hand over her hair - despite it being in a bun - and pushing her glasses up, she came to stand on the other side of the kitchen bar. Best to put some distance between them. "Coffee?" she asked awkwardly.

There was that amused smile again. "Sure, thanks."

Felicity turned around to the machine. "How do you take it? Or, wait, I should be offering decaf, shouldn't I?" she said, trying to get the damn machine to stop making the coffee. "It's 8pm, of course it should be decaf. Unless you're planning to stay up late, which I'm sure you are. I mean, not that I'm presuming to know your plans or anything, I'm not a stalker, I-"

A hand landed gently on her elbow, sending a shiver through her. "Regular's fine, Felicity," Oliver said softly. His voice was so smooth, Felicity thought that he could make a lot of money just by recording audiobooks or something. Not that he needed the money, but still.

Ever so gently, he took her hands off the coffee machine and - keeping her between his chest and the counter - took over the job of making coffee. It was such an intimate position, Felicity blushed. Mostly because she had the vague thought that she'd be okay if he just kept standing there forever. Breathing became a bit of a problem though, so Felicity quickly stepped out of his arms and put some distance between them.

Once Oliver was done, he left the machine to make coffee, and turned around to face her. Felicity had no idea what to say, so she mentally cursed Thea again. Why would she do this to her? She and Oliver weren't even friends!

"So…" she said, to fill the silence. "How are you?"

"I'm sorry," Oliver said.

/*/

A/N: Okay, a little bit of a sudden cutoff, but the entire conversation was too long, and deserved it's own chapter, imo, so I cut it off here.

Also, I think I'm going to get Felicity involved with the Arrow a little sooner than in canon; I feel like this story needs more action. And more throwbacks to ASG, so expect some familiar people to show up!

Review!