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“So....” Thea looked toward her brother with lifted brows, “why are we doing this again?”

Oliver stared back at her. “I wanted to spend some time with you. Is that not okay?”

His entirely too perceptive little sister snorted. “You wanted to spend some time with me watching,” she picked up the DVD set sitting between them on the couch in the casual family room of the mansion, “cult classic supernatural television?” Thea canted her head to the side. “That's what you're going with?”

Oliver kept his bland mask in place. It never worked with Thea, but other than the truth it was all he had. “I've heard it's a good show.”

“Did you hear that after or BEFORE the island?” Thea drawled. “Because this show both started and ended airing before you ever took that faithful trip.”

Oliver frowned. “Last week?”

Thea groaned and banged her head down on the back of the couch. “You are so HOPELESS! How are we even related?”

“Have you seen it?” Oliver asked.

“Yes,” Thea told him, “I have seen every episode of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer', Oliver. It's a cult classic. It's like...a girl power right of passage!”

That didn't exactly sound appealing, but Oliver was determined to find some way to bridge this divide between himself and Felicity. If that meant sitting through some chick show, he could do it. He WOULD do it...because he wasn't about to sit back and let this Landon geek sweep his girl off her feet with 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' references. He needed to level the playing field.

Oliver painted on a big smile, shrugged, and stared down his stubborn sister. “Then you can explain what's going on to me.”

Thea turned her body on the couch to face him, crossed her arms over her chest, and lifted her brows. “Okay, Oliver, I will totally agree to play your guide to all things Buffy,” he started to relax and she shook her head, “IF, and only if, you cut the bullshit and tell me what's really going on and why you suddenly decided to catch up on an old television show when I know for a fact you haven't even seen 'The Avengers' yet.”

“Isn't that a comic book?” Oliver frowned.

“POINT MADE!” Thea jumped and pointed her finger at him.

Oliver straightened his mouth and tried to think of something to tell her. He didn't even fully understand himself what he was doing. He knew he wasn't ready to be...to admit how he felt about Felicity. He knew he couldn't give her what she deserved and that she would probably be better off without him. But he couldn't let her go. He had to fix this. He had to...to try. Maybe if he could show Felicity that he was trying then she wouldn't write him off completely. But how could he even start explaining that to Thea when she had no idea who Felicity really was to him? Hell, his sister had no idea who he even was anymore. She still thought he was that irresponsible asshole from before the island.

Thea glared at him. “Try the truth, Ollie. It's a new concept.” After waiting a long minute more, the brunette decided he was a lost cause. She climbed to her feet and looked down at him, but now her eyes were bitter and sad. “The choice is yours, Ollie, but I'm done playing games. I'm not about to let you pretend you want to spend time with me, when this is obviously just one more lie to add to the stack you've been feeding me for over a year now. This is just a waste of my time.” She turned to leave.

“THEA, wait!” Oliver stood up and started after her. He snagged her arm and turned her back toward him. “I'm not lying, okay? I do want to spend time with you.” He met her watery eyes and cursed himself once again for being a shit big brother. He tried to show her his sincerity. “I could watch this show by myself, but I didn't want to. I thought it was something you might enjoy...something we could do together.”

She eyed him doubtfully. “I did enjoy it...years ago.” She looked away. “Let's just say Buffy goes through a lot of crap and I could relate.”

His chest hurt just thinking about everything his baby sister had been forced to endure this early in her young life...and even worse knowing that there was still another shoe out there waiting to drop. Every time he thought about Merlyn and his MOTHER, about Thea and the secret that they were all keeping from her for her own good, it made him sick. No wonder Thea was so disgusted with all of them. No wonder she didn't trust them anymore. They didn't deserve her trust.

Well, Oliver decided, he could at least try to be honest about this. He took in a deep breath and blew it out. He closed his eyes. “There's this girl...”

Thea snorted. Her shoulders shook with laughter and she tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling. “Oh my god, Ollie! When ISN'T there a girl?” She smirked at him. “Is this about Sara?”

“NO!” Oliver forced. He shook his head, once again frustrated at himself for his own dumbass mistakes. “This isn't about Sara. There is no me and Sara. That's over. It never should've happened in the first place.”

Thea huffed. “This under the category marked 'duh'.” She tilted her head to the side. “How you ever thought that was going to work out well is beyond me. That relationship is guilt and pain and...yea more guilt and pain.”

“Thanks, Thea,” Oliver drawled. “I really needed to hear that right now. That's really helpful.”

Thea rolled her eyes. “So who is the girl this time?”

Oliver sighed and looked away from her stare. “I'd...rather not say.”

Thea studied his evasive expression. Oliver could practically see her running through options in that lightning-quick brain of hers. Then she blinked. “Oh my god, you are such a freaking cliché. It's the secretary, isn't it? You are chasing after your blonde bimbo secretary that mom hates!”

Oliver winced and bit back the wave of rage her description inspired. It wasn't Thea's fault. She didn't know Felicity. All she had was second-hand information and the opinion of their mother. He couldn't take out his frustration on his sister. He could, however, set her straight. “Felicity is a genius, Thea. An actual, graduated from M.I.T. at nineteen-years-old, smartest woman I have ever met, genius. She is NOT a bimbo. And she is only my executive assistant because I begged her to be. She's doing it as a favor to me.”

He turned away from his sister and carded his hands through his short hair. “Hearing you talk about her that way? I'm disappointed in you. You don't even know her.” He pinned her with his stare. “And I know for a fact that she's never been anything but nice to you. Because that's who Felicity is, Thea. Felicity is nice.” He took a step back toward her. “Felicity is beautiful, intelligent, thoughtful, and kind. She doesn't deserve your judgment or your scorn.”

Thea's eyes widened and she threw her hands up in the air. “Okay, okay...I get it. You like her and she's perfect and really really nice. I shouldn't have said anything against her. I'm sorry.” She paused and tilted her chin down and looked up at him through her lashes. “But you do have to admit that the circumstances are a little suspicious.”

“And that's my fault, Thea,” Oliver insisted, “not hers.” He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “All of the rumors going around about Felicity, the way she's being treated and looked down on, that's all because of me. Because I'm a selfish bastard and I wanted her close to me. I didn't even think about how that would affect her.”

Thea blinked and frowned. “So...this has been going on for a while?”

Oliver blew out a long breath. “It's...” he ground his teeth, “I don't even really know when it started. She just...crept up on me.” He started pacing. “And now she's pulling away and I CAN'T lose her. She's...important.”

“So definitely before the whole Sara thing then,” Thea realized.

Oliver froze. He squeezed his eyes closed and looked down. “It's not like that, Thea. I didn't cheat on her. We weren't together.” But that wasn't the whole story and he knew it.

“Well thank god for small favors, because if she's as intelligent as you say she is, she's not putting up with that shit,” Thea said.

A laugh escaped Oliver's throat. “No, no, Felicity definitely will not put up with my shit, Thea. And that, among many other reasons, is why I can't even begin to deserve her.”

“Wow,” Thea stepped forward and slapped her hand against his back, “that's some hardcore brooding you've got going on there, brother dear. You must be really serious about this one.”

Oliver sighed. He turned and looked at her. “I want my friend back. I want my...my girl back. Even if I don't deserve her.”

Thea nodded. “And somehow this all comes back around to watching 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'?”

Oliver huffed a laugh. “She likes this stuff.” He reached down and picked up the DVD set. “All kinds of this stuff. She likes movies and television and games.”

Thea pursed her lips. “She's a geek?”

Oliver grinned. “Maybe, but she's a lot more than that.”

“But this is your way in, right?” Thea said. “You want to impress her with your vast geek knowledge?”

“She's talking to this guy,” Oliver admitted.

Thea laughed. “OH, oh, here we go!” She waved her hand eagerly at her brother. “Lay it on me.”

Oliver took in a deep breath and blew it out. “She met him on some internet dating site. He knows about this stuff and they're bonding over it.” He frowned and balled his hands into fists. “They have these debates about favorite superheroes and best vampire...or something.”

Thea kept laughing. “Well, that's actually Damon Salvatore, but if we're sticking to Buffy? Safe bet says Spike.” She grabbed the DVDs from Oliver and headed for the entertainment center. She flipped open the first case and popped out the disk.

“See!” Oliver pointed to Thea. “That's what I need! I need to know who that Spike person is. She likes him!”

“Of course she likes him,” Thea rolled her eyes, “he's Spike.” She plopped down on the couch and patted the seat across from her. “Now cop a squat, Ollie. I'm gonna teach you about the Buffyverse. I'll be your Yoda.”

Oliver sighed in relief and sat down beside his sister. He turned to look at her as she lifted the remote and booted the first disk. She held her free hand up in warning and cut her eyes his way. “And if the words 'who is Yoda' leave your mouth? I don't know you.”

Oliver threw his head back and laughed...a genuine laugh, a real laugh. A huge smile curled Thea's lips and as Oliver watched tears filled his sister's eyes. She dove forward across the distance between them and hugged him as hard as she could. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back. Then he pulled her closer into the middle of the couch and maneuvered them until Thea leaning against him and they were both facing the television screen as the first episode started.

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The next week...

“I just don't know, Sara,” Oliver heard Felicity talking as he made his way down the steps and into the foundry. “We have a lot of the same interests, but...”

“Don't you think you might be being a little too picky?” Sara asked. The blonde assassin was leaning up against Felicity's station. She threw Oliver a grin when she spotted him. “It was your first date, Felicity. You need to give the guy a real chance. He might have been nervous.”

Oliver glared at his ex. Sara had been overly supportive of this whole 'internet dating' thing. She was enjoying this a little too much.

“He told our waitress to scamper, Sara,” Felicity said, “like...scamper. Like she was a mouse!” The genius' blonde ponytail swayed to the side as she looked up at her friend. “It was rude. She was only doing her job. Also? I was afraid to eat anything after that because I don't like spit! And I do like food! This girl,” she waved down her appealingly curvy body encased in a tight bright blue dress, “likes to eat and I left hungry. I'm starving now and the boys will tell you that I DO get hangry.”

“I brought Big Belly,” Oliver spoke up as he walked over to join them. He held out a bag and drink to Felicity. “I got your usual.”

“Oh,” a wide smile curled Felicity's lips and her blue eyes sparkled up at him, “that was so sweet! Thank you, Oliver. You are my hero.” She turned and dug into the bag.

Oliver smiled smugly at Sara. The assassin stuck her tongue out at him. Then she looked back to Felicity. “But you did say he was hot, right?”

Felicity snorted. “Super hot...I mean like REALLY hot...like smoking hot (no pun intended).” She shook her head. “That man could start a heatwave in the middle of winter.”

Oliver frowned.

Sara snickered. “So, don't you think he's worth a second chance?”

Felicity chomped down on a fry and frowned as she considered it. “I'm not that shallow. I don't fall for men based strictly on their physical appearance.” She waved another fry at Sara. “There are a lot of ugly hot men in this world, Sara Lance. I appreciate a man's inner beauty. I mean the last guy I liked was Barry!” Seeming to realize what she'd just said, Felicity winced and hurried to explain. “Not that Barry's not hot! Barry's very very hot! I just meant that I can't go from witty and thoughtful and brilliant to...to scamper!”

Sara chuckled and Oliver swallowed his own laugh. Sara threw her hands in the air. “Okay, I said my piece. I just think you may be giving up too easily.” She threw Oliver a pointed look as she walked away.

“So,” Oliver cleared his throat and stepped closer to Felicity, “no more Landon?”

Felicity sucked on the straw of her milkshake unhappily, her shoulders slumped. “I guess not. It's kinda depressing, actually. I'm gonna have to start all over now.” She dug out another fry and popped it into her mouth. “And I was really looking forward to that Buffy marathon, too! We were going to write our favorite episodes on pieces of paper and draw them randomly out of a hat.” She looked up at Oliver and stuck out her lower lip. “It was my idea!”

Oliver took in a deep breath and blew it out. He leaned back against the desk beside her and shrugged. “Well, I could probably help you out with that.”

Felicity smiled up at him. “As sweet as that it, Oliver, I really don't think you can arrow someone just for being a jerk and ruining my fun.”

Oliver huffed a laugh and rolled his eyes. Didn't he wish he could go around arrowing every man that came near his girl. “No, I uh...I meant I could fill in as your marathon da...uh...marathon partner.”

Now Felicity's mouth dropped open. She stared up at him stunned. If her expression wasn't so damn cute, and if he wasn't so determined not to let this opportunity pass him by, Oliver would have made an excuse and hurried away to train with Sara and Digg. As it was, he waited anxiously for her reaction.

The blonde finally shook herself and spoke. “You...I mean, you don't have to do that, Oliver. I'm sure you have plans...or...something better to do?”

“I'll never have something better to do than spend time with you,” Oliver told her. He rushed on before she could react. “But I've only seen the first three seasons, so you can choose the episodes if that works for you.”

“You've only seen the first three seasons?” Felicity repeated. “You've...seen the first three seasons?”

“Yes,” Oliver nodded. “But I don't want you to miss out on any episodes you really want to watch.”

Felicity frowned at him again. Her forehead scrunched together in that way that he found so adorable. Then she narrowed her eyes and pointed her finger at him. “You cannot skip ahead and watch Buffy episodes out of order! There is a process, Oliver! Watching episodes all willy nilly will blunt the emotional impact and ruin your viewing experience!”

Now he frowned. “But you said...”

“I've seen them all before,” she poked him in the side with her finger, “multiple times! And I can't listen to 'Full of Grace' by Sarah McLachlan to this day without bursting into tears!”

“Okay,” he said. Was that a no on the marathon? He looked away and his stomach churned. He really wanted this. He wanted this time with her. He wanted a chance to...to try. He didn't know what he was supposed to do now.

Felicity heaved a loud sigh and shook her head. She turned back to face her station. “We'll just have to start at the beginning of the fourth season and go from there. It's a good one anyway. There's plenty of Spike, and yes we will have to endure Riley and the uber-boring that is Adam, but really 'Pangs', 'Something Blue', 'Hush'...these gems make everything else worthwhile.” She nodded and her ponytail flipped. “You have to take the bad with the good, Oliver. You can't just skip to dessert.”

What? Oliver paused and ran her words back through his mind. A smile curved his lips and he watched Felicity out of the corner of his eye. “So...this Friday then?”

Felicity nodded again and Oliver knew she was keeping herself carefully turned away from him. Her cheeks flushed pink. “It's a da...uh...it's a marathon! We'll work out the details later.” She motioned to where she could see Digg and Sara squaring off on the mats across the way. “You should go...do your thing. I need some personal time with my babies.”

Oliver smirked. “Okay, I'll go do my thing while you wrest information from your dread machines.”

He started to walk off to join his other partners. He heard Felicity groan loudly and bang her head down against her desk behind him. “He can not start quoting Buffy to me! That isn't fair!” Grinning ear to ear he kept walking.

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