A/N: This idea came into existence after I wrote the ending to LTTSWM and can be read as a stand alone one-shot or a semi-sequel to the aforementioned story.
Thea Queen knew that she wasn't considered to be a hard-worker or that intelligent and that she had the reputation as being a vapid, hard partier and mooched off her family's considerable financial funds. Still, her boyfriend believed in her and Roy himself was working hard to do a complete one eighty with his life so Thea felt a little guilty when she snooped around the areas of her family's mansion that Oliver frequently inhabited.
"Practicing your ninja skills now Speedy?"
Thea whirled around, her hands over her quick beating heart at the sound of Ollie's voice and she gave a shaky smile to her older brother. He stood behind her, leaning against the decorative wood-paneled wall and regarded her with amused curiosity. His silence unnerved Thea, his ability to stare without blinking for long periods of time one of his greatest weapons for getting people to talk and for a nervous talker like Thea, this tactic worked exceedingly well.
"No, I, um am just trying to see if I can practice your quiet footsteps. You know you make less noise than the cat?"
"Really?"
Even though Ollie tried to act surprised Thea saw the slight hesitation and that damn undeterminable twinkle in his eye as he remembered something amusing. Thea in her brilliant deductive work had determined that this twinkle only appeared when he was thinking about a particular something, like an event but the hopeless romantic in her that sat up late on Thursday nights eating ice cream while watching countless soap operas felt that the twinkle was about a certain someone, not something.
"Don't act all surprised Ollie. I can see through your act. What's her name?"
"What? What are you talking about?"
"Nothing. Never mind."
Thea brushed past Ollie and skipped out the front door to where her friends were waiting to drive her to school. As she closed the car door to the sporty convertible Thea vowed to uncover that special, certain someone in her older brother's life and she smiled a silly grin at the thought.
Twice now she has seen women's clothing in Ollie's room as she passed….
The door to Ollie's room always remained closed and Thea stared at the solid wood panel of the door like it was an impenetrable fortress. On rare occasions like this morning, Ollie forgot to close his door all the way and every time his door was open Thea would contort herself into interesting positions to see what she could through the crack into Ollie's room. His room was the stereotypical male, clean on the surface but with various items being left out in random spots but the items that drew Thea's attention were of the female attire.
"Since when did you wear pink designer blouses older brother?"
Deciding to bite the figurative bullet Thea pushed Ollie's door open just enough for her to squeeze through and she walked over to the foot of Ollie's bed where the questionable blouse lay. She picked it up and the hint of flowery perfume appealed to her senses.
"Whoever this girl is, she has excellent taste in perfume. Now what else are you hiding in here dear older brother?"
Thea spun around in a slow circle and saw a pair of stylish heels poking out of Ollie's almost closed closet. She waltzed on over and smirked when she saw the definitely feminine heels on the floor of his closet.
"So maybe she's not one of your supposed many one night stands after all Ollie?"
Knowing that the longer she stayed in her older brother's room the higher the chances were that she would be caught, Thea closed Ollie's closet door and exited his room with a devious smirk on her face. She decided not to question her older brother just yet as she didn't have enough evidence and if she blew her chance too early than he would clam up tighter than anything Thea knew of.
That necklace he wears and fiddles with was a gift from his lady friend, she was sure of it…
On occasion when emotions were high or he was lost in thought, Thea noticed that Ollie would pull out a beautifully masculine necklace with a bat pendant on it and would either rub it or fiddle with it between his fingers. Thea had never been able to see the piece of jewelry up close because every time that she tried Ollie would laugh and tuck it back underneath his shirt.
"It's a running joke between a good friend of mine and me Speedy."
That was what her older brother told her every time she asked about the necklace but Thea's womanly intuition told her that his statement was only a half-truth and Ollie's interaction with the mysterious necklace confirmed her thoughts. Even now as Ollie, her mother and Thea sat watching a movie Thea saw Ollie fiddle with the necklace and her attention left the movie to that blasted hunk of metal.
"That's a well-crafted necklace Oliver. What does the bat symbol mean?"
Thea half turned to face them as she knew that Ollie couldn't lie to their mother and finally she would get some more information on the necklace she was sure that his mysterious lady friend gave to him. Ollie gave them a dubious look and looked down at the necklace like he was surprised it was even there. Thea scoffed but held her tongue.
"I was told that it symbolizes the awareness of the powers of darkness and chaos. Silly I know but…"
"It makes sense son and it seems to bring you comfort so tell the person who gave it to you thank you from me."
Thea was dumbstruck when her mother didn't press anymore than that and she squirmed in her seat. Her movements drew Ollie's attention and she fixed him with her best innocent gaze.
"Who gave you that necklace Ollie?"
"A person with a great sense of humor Speedy. Now shush, I want to finish watching the movie."
Thea pouted and slumped back into the comfortable couch at Ollie's quick dismissal and she knew she wouldn't get any help from their mother. Still, Thea had learned that not only did this mysterious lady friend (Thea knew it was her despite what Ollie said!) have a great eye for style but that she had a sense of humor as well. Thea filed this away for later review but a small smirk twisted her lips.
Thea can't quite place her finger on it but Ollie has been more 'real' in the past few months….
After a long day of tedious and often boring classes, Thea groaned with relief as she stepped through the front door to her family's mansion and she threw up her hands in joy. If she had to sit through one more lecture about the state of the economy in her basic economics class she would not be responsible for the destruction her epic temper tantrum would create.
"Classes couldn't be that bad Speedy."
"Shut up and consider yourself lucky that you skipped straight out of further education and are a natural at running your little nightclub."
Thea didn't even bother to open her eyes in her response to Ollie's sarcastic quip and she felt him take her bag from her outstretched arm. She smiled in thanks and opened her eyes to see her older brother regarding her with that all seeing gaze. It made her somewhat nervous and she mentally reviewed her day to see if she did anything worthy of reprimand.
"Yes well I would trade suffering through school over the island any day Speedy. Knowledge is power after all."
"So I've been told. I would ask if you would care to join me in eating some chocolate cake but you have this nasty habit of being more self-conscious about your figure than most women I know. Can I tempt you with an apple?"
Thea smiled when Ollie chuckled, a real chuckle mind you, and led her into the kitchen with one of his large hands on her lower back. His physical interaction made her smile widen as Ollie hardly ever touched anyone and kept a good six inches between himself and other people.
"What can I say? The island taught me the importance of healthy eating and it's a hard habit to break."
"I don't believe you. You are a regular at that diner with your buddy-pal Diggle and that is also where you take people for 'food dates'."
When Ollie didn't answer Thea stopped slicing a large piece of cake and looked up to see him struggling to answer. This made her laugh as it was one of the few times she could say she honestly stumped her older brother and she liked the sense of realism and closeness it brought her with Ollie.
"So what has you being honest twice in one conversation? Some healthy reprimanding from the oh so mysterious lady friend you claim not to be dating?"
Like always, Ollie rolled his eyes at the mention of his mysterious lover and he set a plate down for her to put her slice of cake on. He grabbed an apple and took a bite as he regarded her with that perpetually cool gaze of his.
"Oh no no no! This is not an introspective look at my life older brother! This is me prying into your non-existent social life and trying to find out who your mysterious lady friend is."
"Well now that your intentions are out in the open…"
Thea groaned and rolled her eyes. She stuffed a large piece of chocolately goodness into her mouth and glared at her older brother. He smirked and took another bite of his apple. Thea knew, she knew that the changing of Ollie's behavior was a result of his mysterious lady friend and she was dying to know more but her brother was like Fort Knox this afternoon.
"I will get the truth out of you soon Ollie. I will."
Ollie has been smiling a heck of a lot more in the past few months…
There were many annoying qualities that the 'new' Ollie came back with in Thea's opinion and she wouldn't even bother stressing about his over the top need for privacy or his not so awesome lying or that he was never around or…well there were a lot. The one annoying quality that annoyed her at this moment in time was the fact that he had an annoying, secretive smile on his face all day!
"Get lucky last night there brother?"
Thea broke the silence in the living room where she sat watching the news with Ollie and to her continued annoyance her older brother didn't even break a sweat. He looked over at her with that infuriating little grin on his face and then looked back at the TV without answering her!
"What is your definition of 'getting lucky' Speedy?"
Add answering questions with questions to the ever-growing list of annoying qualities. Thea sighed but smiled sweetly at her older brother and made sure to only burn him to half a crisp with her impressive glare.
"The horizontal mambo? Dancing in between the sheets?"
"Euphemisms you kids come up with today. No I did not."
Thea bristled at being called a kid but chose to ignore the quip in favor of continuing her line of questioning as Ollie gave her a straight answer for once.
"I so don't believe you. That is one goofy grin and that grin only comes from receiving the good stuff for any man."
"I'm going to not think about how you would know that and change the topic of conversation as I am still a firm believer that you're still innocent."
Thea smirked wickedly and sauntered over to stand in front of Ollie. She noticed that his gaze smoothly tracked her every movement and she marveled at how he remained cool under sudden pressure.
"Fair enough but only if you tell me what you're grinning like a fool for."
"I had a nice afternoon is all Speedy."
"Uh uh. Give me more than that because I know there's more."
"I don't ask about the details of your 'dates' Speedy."
"Because you don't ask. You want to know about my last night with Roy?"
Thea gave that same wicked smirk at the face Ollie made but she leaned forward and placed her hands on her hips. To her disappointment Ollie didn't cave and that damn twinkle came back in his eyes, which led Thea to believe that his mysterious lady friend had done this to him before.
"You're impossible!"
"Calm down Thea. Oliver will tell us on his own time."
Thea whirled around to see her mother finishing putting herself together as she looked ready to go out for a late night business meeting at Queen's Consolidated. Thea threw up her hands and stomped her foot.
"But mom he's hiding this on purpose!"
"And how long did you try and keep your attachment to that boy from the Glades a secret Thea?"
At her mother's knowing smile and warm eyes Thea flushed a bright shade of red. She heard Ollie chuckle behind her and she turned around to see his eyes crinkled as he smiled. Thea's indignation left her at the heart-warming sight and she decided that once again this mysterious lady friend was doing good things to and with her older brother. Heck she had never even met her but Thea was beginning to like her and her dreams painted up some pretty grand visions of what Ollie's mysterious lady friend looked like and how she would act.
"I'm getting closer Ollie and you're only delaying the inevitable."
With a particularly good hair flip Thea exaggerated her flouncing as she left the room and she smiled as she heard her mother and brother laugh.
The trail leads to Queens Consolidated…
The sight of Thea Queen walking into her family's business empire caused many heads to turn and others to do double takes. Thea ignored them with a practiced ease but she knew her appearance would cause a stir and she reveled in creating little upsets wherever she could.
"Yes, can I help you Ms. Queen?"
Thea tilted her head to the side as she read the man's nameplate and smiled a dazzling smile at him. For her to be successful in her little mission she needed to be in and out before her mother or her brother knew she was here and Thea felt an adrenaline rush course through her.
"Yes I think you can. My brother comes here for some small side projects like fixing computers and the such. I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of where he gets his help from? My iPhone was hacked and I need to find out who did it."
"Of course Ms. Queen. If you would follow me I will take you to our resident IT tech expert. This way please."
Thea wanted to gag on the man's over the top politeness and smarminess but his actions were to be expected as she was the heiress to the Queen's family empire and she followed behind him. She deliberately chose to ignore his attempt to look down her top as she fixed the strap on her heel and she reminded herself that Roy was the only one who could touch her.
"Here we are. Ms. Smoak, Ms. Queen is here to see you."
Thea dismissed the man with a wave of her hand and her eyes focused on the beautiful blonde who sat behind her many computers clacking away. Thea liked her right away as the blonde held up a finger to let Thea know that she knew Thea was there but would get to here when she was finished. This told Thea that the other woman wouldn't bend over backwards to help her and that Thea's reputation did not faze her. Something interesting as most employees were like the man who had shown Thea to Ms. Smoak.
"Afternoon Ms. Queen, it's my pleasure to meet you face-to-face and my name is Felicity Smoak. I like your top and those are cute heels!"
Thea stumbled for a second at Felicity's excitement and distractedness. These two qualities made Thea like Felicity even more as Felicity reminded her of Roy and how Thea didn't faze him either. Thea shook Felicity's offered hand and sat down when Felicity motioned for her to.
"Would you like some Oreos? I was having a snack while I worked, not that I slack off mind of course, and if I eat anymore I'm afraid I'll get fat."
"Sure. You fix Ollie's computers right?"
Thea's eyes narrowed as Felicity stumbled in handing her an Oreo but the blonde corrected her mistake in record time and smiled when she looked up. Felicity waved her hand and snorted.
"Mr. Queen couldn't figure out how to turn his computers on if it weren't for the IT department here at Queen's Consolidated. Yes, I fix his many unexplained 'accidents' that happens to his software and hardware."
"Ever consider dating him?"
One of the tricks she had learned from listening to Ollie and Roy both was that if one wanted to get an answer to a particular question one slipped it in right when the target was feeling most comfortable. While not as skilled as Ollie was at masking his expressions, Felicity did a remarkable job at trying to hide her astonishment at Thea's bold question.
"Mr. Queen is my boss Ms. Queen! I could get fired for even thinking about it."
"Pssh! Ollie always gets what he wants and if you have me helping than it will be a breeze."
"A fanciful thought Ms. Queen but weren't you here to ask me to fix something for you?"
Thea's eyes narrowed again as Felicity deflected the line of inquiry and put the attention back on Thea. The fact that an IT tech could handle herself so smoothly didn't fit the stereotype of women like her and Thea smirked.
"I suppose I could have brought something that needed your line of expertise Felicity but that's not why I'm here. You see my darling older brother has a mysterious lady friend and despite my best efforts he won't tell me who she is. I'm afraid that you are one of my first stops of many, and let me tell you there are many, women I plan on interrogating to see whom my brother is dating."
"Interesting but using the family name to get what you want is not a way to endear yourself to potential allies Speedy."
Thea jumped at the sound of Ollie's voice and turned around with wide, doe-like eyes to see her older brother standing in the doorway to Felicity's office. She looked back over her shoulder at Felicity to see the other woman grinning like the cat who ate the canary.
"You knew he was behind me the whole time didn't you?"
"That is a possibility Ms. Queen."
"The two of you are impossible!"
Thea stood up, fixed her skirt and glared at Ollie. He gave her a devastating knowing little grin and Thea turned her nose up at him. She turned back to Felicity and pointed a well-manicured finger at the other woman.
"You and I are going to lunch in the very near future Felicity Smoak. Count on it."
"I look forward to it Ms. Queen."
Thea rolled her eyes as she realized Felicity was hiding behind the mask of professionalism and she knew that she had to do quite a bit more work to get the other woman to open up. She brushed past Ollie with a naughty little smirk and just as she went to step into the elevator she turned back to look in Felicity's office.
"Oh my…"
Ollie still stood in the doorway and Felicity still sat behind her desk but even from where Thea stood the electric tension between her brother and the IT tech was palpable. Thea decided to screw the other women she planned on meeting with (even Ollie's exes!) and play matchmaker to Ollie and Felicity.
"I have found your match older brother and you'll thank me in the future."
Thea stepped into the elevator and when the doors were all the way closed she did a little happy dance and pulled out her phone. She speed dialed Roy and squealed a very girly squeal when he picked up.
"We have work to do oh boyfriend of mine. Serious work to do."