A/N: Okay so I know I had this all typed up but apparently it's all Uncles Go To Heaven over here. I feel like my family just had a big secret uncles meeting and they organized all of their getting cancers and dying. Like who does that? My family sure is weird as staples though. Is that a saying? Because it should be. "My cat is as weird as staples!" I would use that all the time. Well anyways, back on the subject of my crazy ass family. Apparently my Uncle got a brain tumor and I didn't know until the day before he died. I asked how long they knew and my aunt said three years! Who knows for three years and doesn't say anything? I dunno.
Well on the bright side. I cut back on classes I'm taking this year and I no longer feel like I'm drowning with no hope of rescue. That was rough. I still have to real like 30 pages of my anatomy textbook but I have until Tuesday. I also have to write a paper for Nutrition but I am not going to do that until Monday because apparently I was born to procrastinate. It's like my hobby. I procrastinate as well as Yiruma plays the piano.
So this chapter isn't written as well as most of my chapters because I haven't slept in over threedays but I needed so saucy mommy problems and I was listening to Christopher Titus's Last Husband. So consider this disclaimed.
Chapter 2
"Hi, I'm Oliver Queen, any family of Felicity's is a friend of mine." He decided to throw their usual office formalities out the window. Felicity didn't seem to be using them so she clearly thought it was unnecessary. Oliver's hand extended towards the shapelier brother, Cole.
"Relatively okay to meet you Mr. Queen." Cole replies sarcastically earning a punch in the arm from Felicity.
"Call me Oliver." Oliver offers her other brother a hand but he seems to be spaced out at the moment and doesn't notice.
"Don't mind him… He doesn't do the touchy feely stuff" Felicity trails off looking at the scraggly boy as if it was nothing.
"You have brothers?" Oliver asked. He was extremely baffled by this new information. The way Felicity talked when she made vague mentions about her past he assumed she was an only child. His background check on her had turned up practically nothing due to her own meddling, not that he told her that. "You have two brothers?"
"Well actually I have three but yeah… And technically these two are my step-brothers. So..." Felicity rocked back and forth on her feet, feeling very uncomfortable now. Oliver and Digg were never supposed to know so much about her family life. Once they knew this there were bound to be multiple questions that followed. And if Felicity was being honest with herself she HATED talking about her family. The two boys that were staying at her house were the best things that had ever happened to her. Other than Team Arrow, that is. "Well actually ex-step-brothers because our parents were only married for three years before Neil was-"
"Flinch!" Cole interrupted her before she could word vomit all over her boss. When they were young it was his job to protect her from her nasty case of foot-in-mouth-disease in fact it still was. When he was ten his ass of a father married the sweetest woman in the world that also happened to come with a sweetest five year old in the world, Felicity Megan Smoak. When his father married Donna Smoak and Cole was on the receiving end of love and care for the first time in his life since his mother died, he knew from that moment on he wanted always to love and care for his family like Donna had done for him. When he was eleven he noticed the bruises on Donna's arms and face. When he asked her about it she would spin a story about how she was busy slaying dragons all night and got a little scuffed up. Or how she joined the Mafia and was scaling walls and fighting bad guys all night. It wasn't until he noticed the bruises on his heavenly little step-sister that he thought something was wrong. Felicity didn't talk much back then so he could never tell what had happened. However it didn't take a genius to figure out who was doing it. He himself had been on the receiving end of his father's anger.
"Yes, right! See Oliver, Digg that's what you're supposed to do when I start to ramble!"
"Felicity?" Mason had apparently decided to rejoin the conversation and he sounded more like the trouble maker that had called on the phone.
"NO!" Felicity said sounding a bit panicked. She knew that voice, and the fact that they were on the top floor of one of the highest buildings in Starling didn't escape her notice either. And her brothers had very clearly taken notice of the opportunity.
"But-"
"I said no."
"Fine."
"Fine."
"Okay…"
"Okay…"
"Fe-"
"NO! Oliver I am really sorry, I would have brought this up sooner but I didn't know if you would say yes or no and they were supposed to stay in the car…." She glares at her brothers' hoping that the floor swallows them whole.
"Felicity don't worry about it, it's fine. You can have as long off as you need. Consider this me paying you back for the coffee you got me that one time." Oliver rests his hand on her shoulder rubbing circles into her skin with his thumbs. These were the moments he lived for after all, the rare moments he could touch her, or be near her. None of these were anywhere nears as wonderful as the unthinkable moments when he actually got to wrap his arms around her pulling her flush against him in a long embrace. Hold up! He couldn't let himself dwell on these moments. If he did he wouldn't be able to think about anything else until he was able to claim one of those hugs for himself in something other than a memory.
She lets out a long slow breath thanking whatever gods are out there for not getting fired. "Thank you." She lets a big smile wash across her face refreshing her features as Oliver's mouth begins to twitch into a smile as well "Well as I was telling you before these two very inappropriately and rudely interrupted. I finished all the necessary reports for this week and gave the final papers about the retirement plans to PR so you really don't need me for the rest of the week. And you have five meetings today, one with accounting one with the head of the IT about the new firewall made by yours truly," She gives a quick smile " One with Personal Relations about that girl from third who is claiming an affair. Have fun with that by the way. And two separate executive meetings." She strides over to Oliver's desk and picks up all the files she brought in. "I Hacked into each head of the department and went over all the material they will be presenting and wrote you a short, dumbed down version of what they are going to say, as well as a list of questions to ask each presenter." Felicity flashes a wicked smile knowing he always become overwhelmed when she dumped all the information on him at once. "You're welcome, and thank you." She gave him a sweet smile and began her retreat. As they walked away Oliver finally under stood what her brother Mason had been trying to argue about.
"Are you saying you have never done it?" Mason asks.
"Mason I work here I'm not about to let you pull a Lion King in my office. This isn't the grand-canyon and I thought we were never going to talk about that again."
"Yeah well you said you were never going to let us stay at your place again after the time in Boston and look where we are now."
"At QC?"
"No your house…"
"We aren't-"
"it's the principal of the thing." The elevator door slide shut and the trio was no longer in sight or hearing range.
"Well that was… unexpected…" Diggle is the first to speak. "And strange"
"Did you know Felicity had brothers?" Oliver asks quizzically.
"Not a clue. I always assumed she was an only child. She has that sort of mentality. Be well-organized, perfectionists, comfortable with responsibility, comfortable with being the center of attention, and responsible"
Oliver raises his eyebrows. "Are you like a walking breathing version of a parenting book? Because if so I need some help with Thea."
"Laugh it up Robin Hood, but I am going to remember this conversation the next time you need someone to save your white ass. You know my book parenting book has a chapter about Older children. And you fit the bill. Perfectionist, Taking on a leadership roles, Feeling jealous or neglected when younger siblings arrive as a result of no longer being the center of attention." Digg smirks at Oliver's amused expression, "Hey I'm going to be a dad. I'm not leaving anything to chance."
"I'll keep that in mind the next time anything child related comes up. 'Excuse me sir, one moment let me call my child whisperer!'" Oliver mimics a panicked voice but keeps his straight face.
"When do you plan on having child problems? I didn't know you and Felicity where that far in your relationship yet." Diggle's back hand reply hits its mark when Oliver points at Digg as if he wants to say something smart back but instead opts for
"There is no 'Felicity and I'."
"Suite yourself," Diggle says retreating back to his position at the door.
Felicity sits down at the corner booth her brothers have chosen for their dinner at Big Belly Burger. "So, have you two decided what you want to do tonight?" Mason looks up from his computer and turns it to face her.
"We want to help the vigilante." Cole and Mason exchange looks when Felicity's eyes widen. "Before you veto our idea listen! The Vigilante is currently tracking a local drug Lord who is a known associate of the Drug Cartel. We have been doing research for a few weeks so we know the patterns. We have narrowed down the possible locations of the next drug exchange. We want to be there before the Arrow and help him out. Cole can do all the rough and tumble whatever's and you and I can do the computer stuff. You still remember how to use a computer right? Or had being an EA drained all important information from you?
"What are we going to tell your secret hacking society in Boston? They will be so disappointed to find out their fearless leader Kristina Svechinskaya 2.O has retired? They will be so-"
"MASON!" Felicity whisper yells at him effectively cutting him off. "The Vigilante is dangerous and a criminal! I don't want my family to have anything to do with him. I don't care if you think you can help! Cole is a boxer not a crime fighter! He doesn't know the first thing about taking down an opponent with agility and speed. He fights for show! And the fact you think you can just hack the glades is adorable! There is nothing to hack, no camera, no security no cell phones. This isn't high school prom. This is life and death and I want you two to have no part in it. If you think I could handle losing you after what happened with Eric you're wrong. Because losing my only blood brother didn't make me stronger!" Her voice was raising as she spoke the anger and pain dripped out of every word. "It didn't prepare me for losing the both of you. So the answer is, No. You will be doing no such thing, Not while I'm here." Felicity stood up abruptly "I'm taking a cab home. Take your time and have fun exploring the city, but NO crime fighting got me?" She tossed them her keys marched out the front door.
Felicity walked for a while before realizing she had come to the entrance of Verdant. The club's first few occupants were filing in and the music was blaring as the sound of the current most popular song filtered out onto the street. Oliver would be there by now, starting his warm ups, even though Oliver's warm-ups were the average man's Crazy Olympics.
Slowly she made her way down to the foundry entering the pin and lazily walking down the stairs. The moments she hits the bottom of the stairs every eye turns towards her. "They uh, wanted to go sight-seeing. Apparently it's 'Uncool' to 'hit the city' with your little sister. Also Cole gets more cave-man than Oliver when it comes to douche bags in bars." She gives a quick smile and starts towards her chair. Before she even makes it halfway to her whirly chair Roy emerges from the work out equipment. "So you have brothers huh? Is that why you work so well with us? What are they like? I hear they're ex-step brothers; do you have the hots for one of them? Will you ever do one? Would you? From what hear one's pretty buff has he ever hurt you? He had PTSD doesn't he? Where did that come from? Is it from-"
"Roy!" Sara calls him from her spot at the top of the salmon ladder. "Leave the girl alone! Clearly she doesn't want to talk about it." Sara's hands release her death grip from the bar and she soundlessly drops to the ground landing in a dramatic crouch with one fist pumping into the ground like a super hero. And like the sneaky little drama queen she is she looks up with a smirk. Felicity realizes Sara knows exactly what she had done.
"Nine point five, would have been a ten but you looked up to soon." She gave Sara a sweet smile. "Sorry Iron Man, maybe next time."
"So, you have brothers. Is that why you work so well with Roy, Digg, and Ollie? What are they like? Do you have the hots for one of them? Will you ever do one?"
"Seriously, Sara? I thought you were on my side!" Felicity cries out. She didn't like talking about her past. Sure this particular story had a slightly funny conclusion if you said it right.
"I was until Roy said muscle and PTSD." She gives a shrug. "I have a thing for guys with baggage." She jerks a thumb towards Oliver. "Point and case."
"You're lying! You aren't that bad."
"Man with girlfriend, daughter of an assassin, man with intense thing for another blonde." Sara lists on her hands.
"Who was the last?" Felicity asks confused, she understood the first two, but not the last. Oliver, Nyssa, and then someone else.
"My point," Sara ignores her "Is that uh, crazy, doesn't bluff." She walks over to Felicity who is now turning on her monitors. With Roy keeping her from running away, "Now spill!" Felicity slips away and starts rummaging through the medical bay. "What are you doing?" Sara inquires.
"I don't care if it's the red pill or the blue pill. Whichever kills me faster Morpheus!" She says in fake outrage.
Diggle walks over closing the drawer she messing up. "You have some explaining to do girl." Digg tells her.
"Alright, dad! Fine I'll dish." Felicity walks glumly over to her station and drops into her seat. "What do you want to know?" Sara, Roy, and Diggle open there mouths to speak but Felicity cuts them off "ONE at a time, Ladies first." She motions for the questions to start.
None says anything for a moment until Sara pipes up, "Roy, she said ladies first." She laughs at his irritated look and continues. "Okay let's start with the basics. When did you first meet them?" Oliver who had been mostly quiet until now scoots closer giving her space but clearly wanting to hear her answers.
"Neil married my mom when I was five." She gave them a quick smile before continuing. "I don't remember a lot but I know he was abusive and three years down the road my mom got fed up and she kinda… Snapped... Well she kinda more than snapped."
"What does that mean?" Roy asks.
"Well she was a little…weird. I mean she was crazy. 180 IQ, concert harpist, and she spoke four languages. But she was crazy. Is crazy sorry…" She corrects herself when she sees the pity looks in their eyes. "Well anyways Neil would beat her up all the time and one year she just lost it. And I'm not saying what she did was justifiable but I didn't mind because he kinda deserved it."
"Felicity what did she do?!" Sara asks skipping to the point.
"It's a long story and we have to crack the whip on this drug Lord!" She complains.
"We have time. Now spill."
"Well I guess it started on Thanksgiving." She nervously fidgets with her hands and Roy, Diggle, and Sara have pulled up chairs or perched on her desk. "Thanksgiving has always been mom's time. She made the best Turkey in the world! You would be pumped, eat her turkey, sit down for the game excited and then boom. You eat one of mom's turkeys and you wake up at Christmas." Felicity gave her first genuine smile of the night thinking about the amazing food her mom used to make. "However you have to remember life is about balance. My mom is brilliant but manipulative, beautiful but more voices in her head than the Woo-Tang Clan. Loves her kids… Killed her last husband."