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Chapter Text

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Chapter Text

September 2036

“Well, that’s a sight,” Felicity smirks from where she’s leaning against the kitchen door, watching Oliver move around the kitchen with ease. She’s always loved watching Oliver cook, just like she likes to watch him train. He uses the same calculated ease and agility that often has just the right effect on her.

“Hey, you.” He smiles over at her, turning down the stove before he heads over, gathering her in his arms and kissing her soundly. “How was the city?”

“Busy, as usual. Meetings were good though, seems like everything’s in order and it was nice to see some of the projects we’re working on in the flesh.” She answers easily, smiling as Oliver takes her bag from her to place it away, removing her phone and placing it on the countertop. “Thank you.”

“I’m glad it was good. Kids are all home. Mia’s in the studio, Lucas is in the dining room and I think Ada’s in her room… oh, scratch that, she’s in the garden.” Oliver smiles and stops in front of the window. Felicity smiles as she steps up next to him, catching sight of their youngest. The small blonde is taking advantage of the beautiful day and practicing in the sun whilst her sister uses the studio. She’s wrapped up in her movements, moving elegantly around the grass.

“God, I could watch her dance all day.” She comments and hears Oliver hum his agreement. His arm settles around her waist and Felicity smiles, cuddling into his side.

“She’s so beautiful.” He sighs and Felicity nods, her arms wrapping around his waist.

The sound of the timer dinging makes them both jump and Oliver reluctantly moves away from the window to place something in the oven before setting the timer again.

“How was your day?” Felicity asks as she boosts herself onto the counter and steals a tomato out of the salad bowl where it’s sat on the side. He shoots her a mock glare and she gives him a cheeky grin back around the red fruit.

“It was good. Good turnout for how cold it was.” He comments and Felicity smiles. He’d really struggled when they first moved to Bloomfield, to find his purpose and his passion. Being in an area so rich with ex-military and ex-government agents, Oliver quickly discovered a niche he could easily and happily fill. Green Arrow Fitness is now the biggest leisure center and gym in the state, drawing in customers from a ridiculously wide span. Felicity could not be prouder of what Oliver has built and it makes her happy to see how happy it makes him.

“William texted earlier. He said that he and Jack are definitely in for Thanksgiving but he would like to let you know in advance that, and I quote, ‘Jack is more of a disaster in the kitchen than you are so I will bake a pie but we can’t bring anything more than that’. I thought that was a little rude, I’m not that bad anymore.” Felicity rambles and Oliver chuckles, shaking his head.

“I’m looking forward to meeting this Jack. It seems like he might actually really like this one.” Oliver comments and Felicity nods but they’re interrupted before she can answer.

“As if, Will is always going to be Will. He’s had more boyfriends than Mama’s had computers.”

Felicity whirls at the voice of her youngest son, smiling at the sight of him. She thinks it’s funny that the girls are pretty much all her looks wise and Lucas is the spitting image of Oliver, just with her darker, natural hair color.

“Don’t be so harsh on your brother. It’s difficult running a company and building a relationship at the same time.” Felicity frowns but she can’t keep it for long as Lucas walks across the room to kiss her on the cheek.

“Welcome home, Mama.” He tells her before he heads to the fridge and gets himself a drink. “It can’t be that hard. You did it and Will’s almost as smart as you are.”

“Your mother and I were already married when she started Smoak Tech, Lou. You know this. Have you finished your homework?” Oliver quickly shoots Lucas down but the fourteen-year-old is totally unfazed, opening his drink and leaning back against the fridge.

“Homework and extra credit done.” He smiles and mimes ticking off a sheet twice, making Felicity chuckle.

“Then go make yourself useful and set the table, please. Dinner’s almost ready.” Oliver tells him and Lucas nods, faking a salute before heading back in the direction he came. Oliver smiles amusedly before looking over to her. “Did you want to change before dinner?”

“No, that’s alright. I’ll change after. I’ll go get the girls now, leave the chef to finish up the job.” She winks and hops down from the counter, running an affectionate hand across Oliver’s shoulders as she passes him. He catches it just before she lets go, pressing her palm to his lips and she smiles, keeping her eyes on him until she reaches the patio doors which are open to let the warm, late September breeze in.

Ada’s so wrapped up in her dancing that she doesn’t notice Felicity approaching. The song that Felicity knows is the soundtrack for Ada’s jazz solo this approaching competition season is playing through the small speaker she’s set on the ground and the nine-year-old is hitting every beat. Felicity stands back and watches, clapping loudly when Ada hits her final pose and the music stops.

“Mama!” The nine-year-old grins, obviously out of breath but that doesn’t stop her from running across the yard to wrap her arms around Felicity. The mother grins and hugs her back tightly. The others are both too old to get this excited at the mere sight of her anymore so she’s clinging to these moments with her youngest like they’re gold dust.

“Hey Addie, that looked amazing!” She smiles, running her fingers through her youngest’s hair as she happily settles her head against her ribs but Ada merely shrugs with a small smile on her face.

“I can do it better but I’ll get there. I just need to practice.” She states and Felicity smiles. Ada is so dedicated and perseverant, she’s never seen anything like it. It’s her one day a week where she doesn’t have class at her dance studio and she’s still practicing her little socks off.

“Well practice will have to wait a little while, Daddy’s almost done with dinner so go wash up, please. I need to get your sister from the studio.” Felicity tells her and Ada nods, stepping back from their hug with a smile.

“Okay, Mama. I can have the studio after dinner though, right?” She asks and Felicity smiles.

“If your homework is done, then yes.” She tells her and Ada grins, scooping up her speaker before heading inside. Felicity chuckles and shakes her head before heading across the lawn to the small building on the other side of the garden.

When they first moved in, a home gym seemed like the logical progression for the abandoned out-building at the back of the house, but once Mia got really into her training and Ada her dancing, Oliver, and Felicity decided to turn it into a studio and move the gym into the basement inside. It means the girls have somewhere to go where their music won’t disturb the whole house. Lucas uses it occasionally when he wants to practice something but he’s much more likely to take himself to the dojo or GAF and his health doesn’t allow him to train as hard as the girls.

Felicity knocks loudly on the door before she enters, letting Mia know that she’s there. She smiles at the sight of her eldest daughter, hanging off of a bar near the ceiling of the studio.

“Oh hi, Mama.” Mia grins and in one deft move, drops down to the ground safely, pulling out her headphones as she stands. “How was Smoak Tech?”

“All good, lots of meetings.” Felicity smiles, her eyes tracking Mia as she grabs a towel from the rack on the other side of the room. “How was school?”

“Eh, it was school. Gym was fun.”  Mia smiles and Felicity chuckles. Her seventeen-year-old is an honor roll student by nature, not choice. She works hard at school and enjoys learning but it’s never been where her passion has lied. Mia lights up when she’s in the gym just as Ada does when she dances, or Lucas does when he figures out an equation.

“I’m glad. Dinner’s almost ready, Dad made risotto and garlic bread. There was some kale concoction on the island as well.” Felicity shudders and Mia laughs, shaking her head.

“All these years and Daddy still hasn’t turned you onto greens?” She asks as she wipes the sweat from her brow and Felicity smiles.

“Don’t tell him that his tartine is one of my favorites.” She winks and Mia grins.

“I’ll only be a few minutes, promise,” Mia tells her and Felicity smiles, nodding her head.

“Clear your mats away, please. It’s Ada’s turn for the studio after dinner.” She comments over her shoulder as she heads to the door, catching Mia’s nod in the corner of her eye.

“Yes, Mama.”

“Something’s up with Mia,” Felicity comments as she steps back into the kitchen. Oliver pauses in what he’s doing, which appears to be holding a giggling Ada up by her ankles. With a frown, he sets their youngest upright and sends her off to the dining room, stepping towards his wife with concern written all over his face.

“What do you mean? Did she hurt herself?” He asks, immediately looking out the window and across the grass to the studio but Felicity shakes her head.

“I don’t think so. She just… she didn’t complain about having to come in for dinner or about Ada having the studio after dinner. She just agreed to put the mats away.” Felicity frowns and Oliver raises an eyebrow.

“Is she really normally all that argumentative?” He questions but immediately quietens when Felicity sends him a look. “Okay… well, I’m sure if it’s weighing on her mind that much, she’ll talk to us about it.”

Felicity takes a deep breath and nods her head, faking a smile when Mia enters the kitchen, looking at the two of them with a wary expression on her face.

Their daughter is pretty much silent throughout their meal, allowing her siblings to babble away about their projects and their days whilst she sits there, swirling her food around her plate. Felicity looks at Oliver, raising an eyebrow, and he sighs, nodding his head.

“Lucas, Ada, could you go outside for a bit, please? We need to talk to your sister.” Felicity prompts once they’ve finished eating and Ada frowns.

“Can I go in the studio?” The nine-year-old pleads and Felicity sighs, looking over at Oliver.

“Not just yet, sweetheart. You can practice in the yard some more if you really want to.” Oliver tells her and Ada huffs.

“But…”

“Come on Miss Ballerina, I wanna see what you were working on earlier.” Lucas prompts and Ada pushes off her chair with an eye-roll.

“Fine, but I know what you’re doing. I’m not a baby, you know.” She sasses and Lucas raises his hands as if in surrender, smiling at his parents when they send him appreciative looks. The silence swoops over the room as they leave, the sound of the patio doors shutting the last click before it settles over the trio.

“Mia, what’s going on? You’re very quiet.” Felicity starts softly, frowning at their daughter who she can tell is building herself up to say something.

“You know you can tell us anything, baby. Is there something wrong at school? Was someone mean to you? Is it something to do with Connor…”

Felicity smirks at her husband’s last suggestion. The slowly developing relationship between their best friend’s adoptive son and their daughter drives Oliver up the wall because Connor is kind of actually perfect. He’s sweet, polite and treats Mia with the utmost respect. Not that Felicity would expect anything less from the son of John and Lyla Diggle. The fact that Oliver can’t find anything wrong with the boy past the fact that he’s been in love with their daughter since he figured out what that means is more frustrating than Malcolm Merlyn. Or at least that’s what Oliver says.

“I want to be a vigilante,” Mia says quickly, in one swift breath and Felicity frowns, her fork dropping to her plate. The sound resonates around the room and only Oliver doesn’t look towards her.

No, her husband is far too focused on staring at their daughter in disbelief. He’s got that unreadable expression on his face, the one that Felicity’s always hated. It’s the one he had when he lost Queen Consolidated, when she found him after his mother died, when she would find him outside on the balcony of whatever hotel room they’d found themselves in that week.

Processing.

Calculating.

Scared.

“If Connor gets to go out and fight and defend the city then I should be able to as well. I’m just as good at fighting as he is, if not better, and I’m definitely better with a bow. We can look after each other, be a team like you and Uncle John were when you first started and I…”

If there’s one thing Mia’s learned from Felicity, it’s how to fill a silence. Her eldest daughter talks and talks when people don’t reply and it’s only seeing her traits reflected back at her in her daughter that Felicity realized how misguided the move is.

“Mia.” She says softly and shakes her head. The teenager immediately stops, looking to her father with a desperate look on her face.

“Say something, please.” She begs and Oliver takes a deep breath. His eyes close for a moment and he looks over at Felicity, managing a small quirk of his lips when she raises an eyebrow. Reassured, she reaches out and their hands find each other, entwining tightly with a squeeze.

“Mia…” He starts and then stops, obviously unsure of what to say.

“Daddy.” Mia counters and Felicity sends her a look which immediately has her blushing. There are certain times when Felicity can only see her or Oliver in their children but often with Mia, there’s another Queen lurking behind her and in her antagonization of her father, Mia is all her Aunt Thea.

Oliver takes a deep breath, righting his shoulders in that way he always does when he’s nervous and looks at Mia dead in the eye.

“When your mother and I moved away from Star City, it was to give you and your siblings a life away from the Green Arrow. I don’t want you running back into that for a thrilling trip.” He tells her honestly and Felicity is agreeing with him until his last words. She knows their daughter, knows how Mia will react, and she does just that, her hands slapping against her thighs.

“It’s not a thrilling trip! I want to help people! You saved the city, there’s no big threat, but Daddy, people are still hurting every day. There are thieves and murderers in every place. I can help Star City, just like you did.” Mia’s practically pleading and Felicity sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. It’s completely the wrong argument to go with and Felicity knows that Mia knows that.

“Mia, those thieves and murderers are exactly why I don’t want you there. We worked so hard to give you a life where you’d be safe.”

“Safe is boring. I have tried so hard to wrap my head around the idea of a future where I go to college and get a job and live a safe life and I can’t see myself being happy. I need to help people. I can do all these amazing things, what kind of person would I be if I didn’t use that to help others?” The teenager asks, looking between the two of them with a deep frown on her face and Felicity feels her words sink into her heart. It’s exactly the train of thought she had when she first joined Oliver’s crusade and it’s the argument she reminded herself of every time she considered leaving the team. Hearing it from Mia now…

“Mia…” Oliver tries but their daughter is obviously done hearing what he has to say and she interrupts, trying a new tactic.

“Mom, you’re uncharacteristically quiet.” She states and Felicity is a little taken aback. Frowning for a second, she fidgets in her seat and takes a deep breath before speaking steadily and slowly.

“I can’t say the idea thrills me. Your father’s right. When we found out I was pregnant with you, the city was in one of the worst positions we’d ever seen it in, and we worked so hard to save it in time for you to be safe. All we’ve done for the past eighteen years has been to keep you safe. Letting you run off into the line of fire feels like undoing all that hard work.”

“But I…” Mia butts in but Felicity silences her with a hand and eyebrow raised.

“I am not done talking.” She states softly and Mia slumps back in her chair, looking more like the child she still is than a few seconds ago.

“Sorry, Mama.” She mumbles and Felicity cannot stop the soft smile.

“Having said that… We also raised you to do what’s right and most importantly, to do what makes you happy. We told you stories of your father’s heroism and gave you the tools to develop your skill set into the impressive one you have today.” She smiles at her daughter, unable to help it as she considers how proud she is of the woman her daughter is becoming.

“So you’ll let me go?” Mia asks, her voice full of hope and Oliver simultaneously chokes on the air.

“Felicity…” He groans and she sends him a smile, reaching out to squeeze his hand.

“Mia, I think we need to talk about this. Get your siblings to help you clear the table and we will come and get you when we’ve reached a consensus.” She states diplomatically and Oliver nods at her, taking a deep breath to calm the panic in his eyes.

“Do I really have to clear the table?” Mia asks and Felicity grins.

Not quite an adult yet.

“Yes.” Oliver snorts and Mia sighs, leaning back in her chair.

“Lucas! Ada!” She yells and Felicity shakes her head, standing from her chair and offering her hand to Oliver.

Her husband gives her that smile and takes her hand, standing from his own chair and leading her down the hall to their bedroom. Sinking down into the bed with a sigh, he lets his head fall into his hands.

“You can’t say this is much of a surprise.” She comments as she stands in front of him, twisting her wedding ring around her finger.

“You knew?” Oliver asks, his head shooting up and Felicity smiles, shaking her head.

“Oliver, she’s a frigging ninja. The only stories she ever wanted to hear growing up were those of the Green Arrow and she still watches that documentary about as much as Ada watches The Red Shoes.” She reasons and Oliver sighs, his shoulders slumping.

“And you’re just okay with it?” He questions and Felicity shakes her head, shrugging her shoulders.

“Of course not. But she’s come to us about it and we can help her do this in a way that is safe and gives us peace of mind.” She states calmly and Oliver frowns.

“I am never going to be relaxed knowing that my baby girl is out on the streets fighting god knows who.” He states in as close to a growl as he comes these days.

“Alright, as much peace of mind as we can have.” Felicity amends and he nods, taking a moment before he groans loudly.  

“She’s seventeen.”

Felicity chuckles and reaches out. Oliver immediately grasps her hand, letting her interlace their fingers. His eyes focus on their entwining digits as she speaks.

“And she’s not saying that she wants to start right now, Oliver. All she’s said is that this is what she wants to do instead of going to college. That gives us time. We lay the ground rules, tell her how things have to be in order for this to work for us and we go from there.” Felicity explains softly, squeezing his hand gently and Oliver lets out a long sigh, his eyes meeting hers.

“And if I want to say no?”

“If we say no, we lose her. Maybe forever.”

It’s not something she ever wants to think about but Felicity knows how this goes. It’s exactly how she and her mom were. Donna wanted so desperately to keep Felicity close that she clung and clung and it was Felicity who pushed her away, moved to the other side of the country and stopped answering her calls.

Felicity swore to Mia when she was just a fetus that she would never have that kind of relationship with her and she’s not about to start almost eighteen years later.

“I know that, I just… she’s my baby girl, Felicity.” Oliver states so plainly, looking up at her with such a heartbroken expression on his face that it tears Felicity’s heart in two. She takes a deep breath and walks towards him. His arms immediately fall open and he tugs her into his lap, burying his head in her shoulder as her hands comb through his hair.

“She always will be, honey, but she’s not a baby anymore. We promised we would give them everything to help them spread their wings in whatever direction they chose. You didn’t bat an eyelid at sending William through college and grad school early and I know you won’t care about sending Lucas all the way to MIT or Ada to Russia if that’s where she wants to train…”

“Ballet. No Bratva.” Oliver insists and Felicity chuckles.

“Of course. Not that kid anyway.” She winks and Oliver practically chokes. “We’ve got to look at this from Mia’s perspective. We’re happy to send her siblings around the world to follow their dreams, and she knows we will one day, but we won’t let her go an hour down the road to pursue hers?”

“It’s not the same as college or ballet school.” Oliver frowns, finally lifting his head from her shoulder and she smiles, running her hand down her face with a smile.

“No. It’s not. But she’ll have Digg, Lyla and the boys to look over her. Do you really think Connor is ever going to let her hurt herself?” She asks and Oliver frowns before freezing, a small smile finally spreading across his face.

“Do you really think Mia would ever let anyone who isn’t us tell her what to do?” He asks and Felicity shakes her head with a soft chuckle.

“Babe, Mia barely lets us tell her what to do.”

“True.” Oliver laughs and then lets out another heavy sigh. “Alright, I guess if this is what she really wants… but I have some conditions!”

“Good, so do I!” Felicity nods and Oliver smiles at her.

“Mia?” Felicity asks softly, the blonde’s head immediately flying up as she looks towards her hopefully. Felicity smiles as best she can. “Come on, Dad’s in the living room.”

“Okay,” Mia says quietly and places the dish she’s holding in the washer before stepping towards the living room.

“No eavesdropping you two.” Felicity addresses her youngest who both gasp dramatically.

“Would we ever?” Lucas asks, clasping his heart and Ada huffs.

“I am insulted at the insinuation.”

“Alright drama queens.” Felicity smiles, her heart feeling a little lighter as she follows her daughter back through to her husband.

“Don’t look so nervous, baby.” Oliver manages to smile at their daughter as Felicity sits down next to him, sliding her hand into his.

“I just… I really want this.” Mia tells him and Oliver nods.

“We know that.” He tells her and Felicity nods encouragingly.

“We just want you to be happy, Mia.” She adds sincerely and Mia frowns, processing their words.

“Does that mean…?” Hope spreads across her face and her eyes light up in that way that always makes Felicity’s stomach flip.

“There are some rules,” Oliver adds before Mia can get too excited and the teenager nods, sitting up tall in her seat.

“Yes, of course. Whatever you want.” She agrees readily and Felicity chuckles, settling into Oliver’s side.

“No missions by yourself until you are eighteen. School is still your main priority until graduation.” Felicity starts simply, unable to stop the chuckle at how hard Mia is concentrating and nodding her head.

“Got it, of course,” Mia tells her and Oliver chuckles as well.

“We’re not done, baby. You let us know you are safe after every mission and you tell us when you are hurt, no matter how minor an injury you think it is.” He adds and Mia looks between the two of them, her nodding continuing. She looks a little like a bobblehead and it’s kind of adorable.

“Yes, Sir. Loud and clear.” She tells him and Felicity snorts. She doesn’t think she’s ever heard Mia call her father Sir.

“You can have the loft, it’s already paid off and we will help you get settled but you will need to pay your own way. We’re always here if you need help but we aren’t funding this like it’s a vigilante vacation.” Felicity explains, taking a deep breath to control her giggles. Mia finally settles down and she nods, less intensely this time.

“Of course, I wouldn’t expect you to. I’ll get a job.” There’s an honesty behind her eyes and Felicity feels a slightly pang in her heart. Mia’s not moving away, not yet, but this is the first time they’ve really discussed it and the thought breaks her heart a little.

“You know, I think Will’s looking for an EA,” Oliver comments lightly, cutting through the serious air quickly and Mia lets out a loud groan, rolling her eyes.

“Daddy, there is literally nothing in this world I would rather do less than fetch Will coffee.” She winces and her words are practically dripping with contempt at the idea.

“Like mother, like daughter.” Oliver grins at his wife who rolls her eyes with a soft smile.

“You come home for dinner at least once a month. I’m not having you be that close and never seeing you.” Felicity smiles and Mia does too, nodding her head.

“Is that it?”

“There’s one more thing,” Oliver says with a deep breath and Mia frowns as Felicity squeezes her husband’s hand in support.

“What is it?” Mia asks, never one for patience and Felicity smiles, nodding her head reassuringly at her daughter.

“Here.” Oliver hands over a key that he dislodges from the set in his pocket and Mia immediately freezes, staring down at the small piece of metal in her hand.

This key means a lot to all of the members of their family.

It’s been a taboo thing for so long. The chest in the garage is not to be played on, it can only be opened with the key on Oliver’s chain and it contains perhaps the most important item in their family’s history.

The Green Arrow’s bow and arrows.

Their family legacy locked away in a box.

“Daddy…” Mia gasps, looking up at him with tears watering in her eyes.

“I am so proud of the woman you’re becoming, Mia. I can’t think of a better person to take over my mantle.” He tells her honestly and Mia sniffs, throwing herself across the room and into his lap.

“I love you, Daddy. Thank you so much. I’ll try and make you proud.” She sobs and Oliver smiles, wrapping his arms around his baby tightly and kissing her temple.

“You already make me proud. Every single day, Mia. I love you so much, baby girl.” Oliver tells her sincerely and Felicity wipes away a tear as she watches the two of them.

She waits for a beat and then…

“My Green Arrows.”

“Mom…”

“Honey, no…”

Chapter Text

“William honey, could you get my phone from the living room?”

William turns at his grandmother’s voice, smiling with a nod to her request.

It’s been a lonely couple of months.

William thought that moving to Central City with his grandparents would help him find some peace of mind and finally relax but he’s more confused and terrified than he ever was, even in protective custody with Felicity.

He never expected to not hear from his dad and Felicity, either.

To know that they stopped trying to call after that first week…

He can’t even attempt to process that kind of thought.

His grandfather is in the living room when he enters it, scanning the room for his grandmother’s phone.

“Good afternoon William, how was school?” He asks and William shrugs, carefully retrieving the phone from the coffee table.

“It was alright I guess. I got an A on that math test I did last week.” He tells him and his grandfather nods. No congratulations, no smile. It’s certainly not the squealing and bouncing hug he’d get from Felicity whenever he told her his grades. It’s not even the proud smile and the promise to place the test on the fridge that he’d get from his dad.

“And what about girls? Is there anyone who’s taking your fancy?”

William winces at the question. “No, not really.”

“Come on now. There must be someone. People are going to start to think you start walking on the wrong side of the sidewalk soon if you know what I mean.” His grandfather chuckles as if he’s said the funniest thing in ten years but William just freezes.

The wrong side of the sidewalk.

Sounds about right.

“Well, Will? Oh come on, that was funny.”

He’s saved by the phone in his hand starting to ring and William looks down at it, freezing for a second time.

The number’s not programmed into the phone but he knows it anyway. It’s the number he had to learn a year ago, the one Felicity drilled into him until he could recite it backward. He takes one look at his grandfather who is still frowning over his homophobic joke and answers it immediately.

“Felicity?” He asks in utter disbelief, his voice shaky with emotion and his eyes fill with tears.

“Will? Holy frack. Honey, get in here! Oh my god, I try twice a week and I always get voicemail.” Felicity’s voice is unmistakable and she sounds as emotional as William, if not more. William sinks down into the couch, his hand flying up to his mouth. He can hear footsteps on the other end of the line, someone approaching, and he lets out a sob when he hears his father’s voice.

“William?”

“D-dad? Felicity?” He asks, in disbelief that he’s actually talking to them.

“We’re here, honey. We… it’s so good to hear your voice, sweetheart. Oh my…” Felicity’s voice is comforting, like it always has been, and William can tell that she’s crying too. The sound of sniffling makes William wonder if his father is also shedding a tear.

“Are you alright, William? You’re safe?” His dad asks, the conviction in his voice strong but there’s a layer of emotion beneath it.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good, Dad.” William replaces, his voice wavering on the last word.

“God, I missed your voice.” His dad tells him and William takes a deep breath.

“You guys changed your numbers, I tried calling…” William explains, trying not to let the hurt and pain collect too badly.

“What?” His dad asks and William flinches.

“Pardon? Sweetheart, did you just say we changed our numbers?” Felicity asks and William frowns.

“Well yeah, I figured that was why the call kept rerouting when I tried to call you.” He tells them and he hears them take shaky breaths.

“Will, honey, our numbers are the same,” Felicity tells him and William freezes.

“Then, why…?”

“William, does it really take that long to pick up a phone, honestly…” His grandmother’s voice distracts him and he looks up at her with tear-filled eyes, watching the way she freezes in the doorway. “Who are you talking to? Jeremy, who is he talking to?”

“My parents,” William tells her and she huffs.

“I knew it was only a matter of time until that block wasn’t enough.” She sighs and gestures for the phone. William’s grip on it only tightens however and he holds it tightly to his ear, listening to his dad and Felicity ask what’s going on. He clicks the speaker so that they can hear.

“Mr. and Mrs. Clayton, what’s going on?” His dad asks and his grandparents share a look before his grandmother moves towards him.

“I told them to stop calling. William, hand me the phone.” She demands but William takes a few steps back, everything finally processing in his head.

“No! I can’t believe you would do this!” He tells them, his voice raising involuntarily as he looks at the people he suddenly feels like he doesn’t even know.

“We did what’s best for you, our grandchild. You weren’t safe being associated with that riff-raff!” His grandfather sighs, finally standing up from his chair and the anger flares in William at the idea of his parents being called such an awful name.

“They’re heroes! And they’re my parents!” He yells right back and he can see the anger flash across his grandfather’s eyes.

“Our daughter was your parent. Your father is a criminal and a murderer.” He practically spits back at William but the boy simply looks at his grandmother, betrayal written all over his face.

“And that woman… she wouldn’t know how to look after a child properly if it was her own, which you are not I would remind you.” His grandmother tells him, raising a judgemental eyebrow and William huffs loudly, shaking his head.

“How dare you! Felicity is an amazing parent and she may not be my biological mother but she is my parent! I love her and she loves me. She’s been calling you twice a week for months to try and talk to me!”

He’s full on yelling at them now but he doesn’t know what else to do. He’s thought for months that his dad and Felicity abandoned him because they were mad at him leaving but now… now he doesn’t know what to think.

“You do not talk to your grandmother like that. Go to your room. Now.” His grandfather’s voice is slow and steady, the glare deep on his face and William takes a deep breath.

“What are you going to do? Lock me away?” He asks, looking between the two of them but his grandmother merely shakes her head.

“William. Go to your room.” She repeats his grandfather’s words and gestures to the door.

“I hate you! I hate you both!” He yells as he thrusts his grandmother’s phone into her hands and rushes into his room, slamming the door as loudly as he can behind him. He’s never been one for teenage dramatics but this has pulled him over the edge.

Why is it that everyone in his life is always lying to him?

He finds the block easily once he knows what he’s looking for. It’s done cleanly, obviously by a company, and William curses himself for having not seen it sooner. He finds message after message that has been blocked, all of them outpours of love from the two people who have done nothing but fought to give him the best life possible. Good morning texts and good night ones practically every day for the first three weeks. The messages that were filled with hope turn into apologies and pleas and William wants to cry when he imagines his dad and Felicity wondering what they did wrong. They tell him of news they are desperate to share with him but don’t feel like they can do so over the phone and William does cry when he thinks of how much they must have yearned just to hear his voice. Probably just as much as he’s yearned to hear theirs.

A message beeps through, a new one, bearing Felicity’s name.

Don’t do anything stupid, I know you’re mad and you have every right to be, but we need to do this the right (and legal) way. We love you so much, my brave boy, and we’re going to figure this out.

William’s grateful for it. He was half considering packing a bag and climbing out the window but as he takes a few deep breaths and contemplates the situation, he knows that Felicity is right and he has to wait for the grownups to sort this out.

Fuck, grownups suck.

A week later, William finds himself stepping inside a courtroom. It’s not one of the large ones like he’s been in before with his dad and Felicity but instead more like one of the classrooms at his school. There are a few people in there that he doesn’t know or recognize but William doesn’t really care, he only has eyes for two people.

“Will…”

William throws himself into his dad’s arms before he really knows what he’s doing. He doesn’t give him the chance to fully stand up so he kind of ends up on his lap but he’s just so excited to see him that he doesn’t really care.

“I missed you so much.” He mumbles into his dad’s neck and calms as he feels his dad’s large hand rubbing soothingly over his back. The familiar feeling of Felicity’s hand on his shoulder makes him smile but he can’t bring himself to draw back from his father’s arms just yet.

“We missed you more buddy, believe me.”

His dad’s voice is thick and full of emotion, more so than William’s ever heard it and any thoughts that were flying around about them maybe not actually wanting him fly out the window at that moment.

William finally gathers the strength to pull back but he stays perched on his father’s knee, turning to Felicity with a wide grin. He’s just as excited to see her, the bond they formed over the months of being alone together still strong even after all the tension applied to it. He realizes, however, as he turns around that Felicity is taking up a lot more space than usual, a bump protruding from her front that has William gasping and looking between the two of them in disbelief.

“I’m gonna be a big brother?” He asks, unable to stop the grin spreading across his face. He sees one just as wide reflected on his father’s face as he confirms the news and William jumps off his father’s lap, bending down next to Felicity’s chair and wrapping his arms around her as tightly as he thinks is safe. She squeezes him back ten times as harshly so he figures he’s allowed to tighten his grip just a little.

“You’re okay with this? We tried to tell you but with everything going on and the block on your phone. I left messages for your grandparents saying that we had important news but still nothing and then when you got back in touch a few days ago, well, everything’s been so hectic. I know that the timing of this is a little awkward but I just want you to know that I love you just as much as I love this baby and nothing will ever change that. Okay? I…” Felicity rambles but William can’t help but grin at her words. He’s known what she’s saying but to hear it outright from her is even better.

“Felicity!” He cuts her off before she loses oxygen and she stops, taking a deep breath as they pull back from their hug. He smiles at her and she smiles back, her hand coming to rest on his cheek.

“You’re okay with this?” She repeats her question and William rolls his eyes, the grin on his face only growing.

“Duh. This is amazing! I’ve always wanted a sibling! Wait, do you know if it’s a boy or a girl yet?” He asks excitedly. He can’t wait to meet them and he truly doesn’t care but he’d like to know if they do.

“It’s a girl.” His dad confirms and William gasps, the excitement within him only growing. “Mia.”

“Oh, that’s pretty.” He tells them and Felicity chuckles, her hand moving to run through his hair.

“We thought so too. Well, your dad came up with it. It’s kind of a mix of your grandma and Aunt Thea’s names.” Felicity explains and William nods, smiling at his dad who blushes a little at the thought of such sentimentality.

William’s used to his dad’s big softy ways but he also knows that he’s not very comfortable with that becoming public knowledge. He guesses that it has something to do with the Green Arrow having a reputation to uphold.

“Well, it was Felicity who was insistent that whatever name we chose sounded good with yours. What do you think, buddy? William and Mia sound good? Felicity only repeated it a million times, asking me after every iteration.” His dad teases, that loving look all over his face as he looks at his wife who mock glares at him. William, however, is a little overwhelmed that Felicity was still so concerned with him in such an important part of the new baby’s life.

“I had to make sure they went well together so that when I brag to everyone about my children, they don’t judge me for their non-cohesive names.” Felicity states and William chuckles, her wit and humor reliving the emotion-filled scene.

“I love you, Fliss,” William tells her and she freezes for a second, her eyes filling with tears as her hand moves back to cup his cheek.

“I swear this is the pregnancy hormones.” She gestures to the crying and William grins. “I love you too, kiddo.”

“Alright, now that reunions are over, shall we begin the hearing?” A new voice asks and William turns to see the judge sat there. He’s watching the scene with a soft smile on his face and William is filled with hope that finally, things might settle down and he’ll get to be where he wants to be.

The hearing goes on for hours.

William is ready to fall asleep by the end of it truthfully. When they take a break in the middle, William asks Felicity why the social workers can’t just take his word that he wants to be with her and his dad and she smiles at him sadly, kisses his forehead and tells him that they’re going to fight as hard as they can and that she’ll do anything to bring him home. He’s a little more awake and less angry after that but he’s still sick and tired of repeating the same thing over and over in regards to every scenario.

No, he’s never felt unsafe because of Oliver and Felicity’s actions.

Yes, he understands that his dad’s role as the Green Arrow means that sometimes he was in situations that were considered dangerous but as William points out every time, his dad has left Star City and hung up the hood.

No, he was never exposed to any inappropriate violence or extraneous images of force whilst he was living with his dad and Felicity.

Yes, he wants to be with his dad and Felicity.

Finally, finally, the judge declares that William’s wishes are the most important part of this scenario and grants full custody to his dad and Felicity with the conditions that William visits his grandparents for two weeks of the summer and three days over the holidays at least. William practically vaults the table to throw himself into his dad and Felicity’s arms and he spends literally five minutes before they leave thanking the judge profusely.

“You seem like a special young man, William. Good luck with everything.” He tells him and William grins, saying thank you one last time. Felicity is next to him, her fingers stroking through his hair and he grins up at her. It’s the kind of maternal affection that he’s missed since moving away from them and looking at her shining eyes, William can tell that she’s missed it too.

“I’m sorry for messing you all around so much.” He tells her and Felicity shakes her head, pulling him in for an awkward hug with his baby sister smushed between them.

“You had to do what you thought was right for you. We totally get that. I’m so glad you’re coming home though.” She whispers into his ear and William grins into her hair, their similar height meaning that they’re cheek to cheek.

“I’m glad I’m coming home too.”

“Hey bud, do you want to make the journey this afternoon or we can get a hotel room?” His dad asks as he joins them, smiling at them affectionately and placing a hand on William’s shoulder.

“Can we go today? I just want to get home.” He tells them and they both nod, smiling at him.

“We’re gonna swing by your grandparents and get the essentials. They’ve said they’ll pack everything up and ship it in the next couple of weeks so that we can get on the road.” His dad explains and William nods, glad that his grandparents are finally being supportive.

“Alright, let’s go home.”

The cabin is awesome.

It looks like something out of a movie and there are so many cool little nooks around the place that William can’t wait to explore.

It takes everything in him not to cry when he sees that his dad and Felicity have already decorated his room for him, covered in everything they know he likes. It’s at the other end of the hall to the nursery and his dad tells him it’s because they wanted him to be able to sleep once the baby gets here. Even with zero contact from him, they’ve put so much thought into his presence in this house and William can’t express how much that means to him.

They settle down in the living room, snacks galore spread across the coffee table and William notices that his dad seems to have given up on trying to feed Felicity healthy food. When he asks about it, his dad shrugs and smiles. “She’s pregnant bud, I’ll give her whatever she wants.”

“Is there anything you wanna do before we get you set up at school?” Felicity asks from her position on the couch. William thinks it’s kind of funny, she’s such a tiny person but she’s taking up most of the couch whilst his dad, who probably still weighs more than a seven-month pregnant Felicity, has the tiniest little space at the end that’s also been invaded by Felicity’s feet in his lap. His dad doesn’t seem to mind at all though as he absent-mindedly runs his thumbs over her ankles. It’s the little things like that, proving how much these two love each other, that William has missed more than anything. The true sense of love that radiates out of any space the two of them inhabit, it’s truly kind of magical.

“Um, how easy is it to get to Star City from here?” He asks because they drove a different way coming from Central City and he saw the sign on the side of the road but he wasn’t really paying attention.

“It’s not too far of a drive. An hour or so. One of us can definitely take you.” His dad confirms, with a small frown coming across his face. “Why? Is there something you need?”

“Um no, I was just wondering… I’d like to see Zoe, say sorry for going radio silent on her. It was kind of a dick move, sorry about the language.” William explains, smirking a little as Felicity barks out a laugh at his cursing accompanied by an apology.

“Zoe, huh?” Felicity asks with a smirk, wiggling her eyebrows. It’s an innocent enough comment and William knows that she’s only teasing but it doesn’t stop him from freezing at the implication and the reminder that he still has some pretty big news of his own to tell them.

Well, is it conceited to call it news? Is it news? He doesn’t really know and the idea of telling them right now makes him feel sick. He knows they’re not homophobic. Curtis is Felicity’s best friend and his dad worked with him for years, plus William remembers his dad’s numerous campaigns during his time as mayor to create more LGBTQ+ safe spaces within Star City. It’s just… William’s not entirely sure himself just yet and he…

“Hey, buddy, what’s wrong?” His dad asks and his voice is so full of concern that William can’t help the tears that spill over his eyes and the sob that escapes his mouth. He hadn’t even realized that he was this emotional and both his dad and Felicity move quickly. Well, his dad moves quickly. Felicity moves as quickly as any heavily pregnant woman can.

Before William knows it, he’s settled between the two of them on the couch, his dad’s arm wrapped around his shoulder and his hands clasped tightly in Felicity’s.

“Hey, whatever’s going on, you can tell us,” Felicity tells him with such honesty and sincerity that he sniffles loudly, feeling a little silly when his dad produces a tissue and wipes his tears and snot away for him. He’s certainly old enough to do that himself but that grounding and reminder of the fact that’s he’s with the two people he knows will never judge him gives him the courage to take a deep breath and start talking.

“I… you see… I’m not entirely sure myself yet and I know that I’m still really young and probably have a lot more to figure out as I get older but I’ve been thinking about this for a while and I don’t really know how to say this and it’s not that I think you’re going to react badly but I just… I don’t want you to think of me any differently or be weird about it, not that I think you would be! It’s just… I guess what I’m trying to say is, I should just come out and say it really, I think… well, there’s a possibility that I might be… gay.”

A sigh of relief involuntarily escapes him when he finally gets it out and he squeezes his eyes shut, unable to look at either of them. It’s just too much right now and he can’t handle it.

“William? Can you look at me please?” His dad asks and William vehemently shakes his head, his eyes squeezed shut tightly. “Buddy, it’s just me. Take a deep breath and look at me, please.”

He waits for a beat before doing as he’s told because his dad is right, it’s just him and William needs to ignore the fear poking at the back of his mind and the pit of his stomach. His dad’s eyes are sparkling with tears and he can hear Felicity sniffle slightly behind him.

“William, I love you so much and there is nothing, nothing, in this world that you could be or do that would make me stop loving you. I am so proud of you for telling us this, I know it wasn’t easy and it was really brave of you to open yourself up like that, especially with what you’ve been through in the past couple of years. Thank you for being open and I want you to know that I will never look at you differently. You are my son and you are beautiful exactly the way you are.”

His dad’s voice is so full of sincerity and honesty. It’s been such a rollercoaster of emotions for William getting to this point that he can’t help but throw himself into his dad’s arms just like did a few days ago. There’s something about it that just makes him feel so safe and his dad cups the back of his head, kissing his hair.

“I love you. Thank you.” William whispers into his neck and he feels his dad’s grip tighten.

“You don’t ever have to say thank you for me loving you. That’s my job and it’s the best one in the world.” His dad replies and William sniffles, unable to care about the fact that he’s covering his dad in tears and snot right now.

After a few moments and many deep breaths, William pulls back, managing a small smile at his dad before he turns to Felicity, whose hand is resting on his shoulder. It travels up to cup his face when he turns his attention to her and she gives him a watery smile that he returns weakly. Her thumb rubs circles over his cheek and William takes a moment to take it in, relaxing into the feeling of her comforting touch.

“My beautiful boy, you fill our lives with so much light. As your dad said, there is nothing that would make me stop loving you. I knew from the moment I met you, you captured my heart just like your father did before you. I love you so much, you’ve been so brave.” She tells him and William grins, sinking into her hug. It’s a little more awkward than the one with his dad as his baby sister is kind of in the way but William can’t bring himself to care as he wraps his arms tightly around the woman who has become mother, friend, and confidante so quickly.

They stay wrapped together for a moment until a very strange feeling whacks William in the stomach and he pulls back with a gasp, looking down at Felicity’s stomach and laughing. The baby has obviously shifted positions and she’s ‘pushing out’, even obvious through Felicity’s t-shirt.

“Whoa, that’s strange!” He laughs and Felicity laughs too, her hand rubbing over the spot. William watches in fascination as she moves again, looking up to Felicity with wide eyes and a grin on his face.

“I guess Mia loves her brother just as much as we do.” Felicity smiles at him and William grins, nodding his head a little shyly.

He knows that they’ve still got a long way to go. There’s trust to rebuild and pathways to bridge but at that moment, watching his baby sister wriggle within Felicity’s belly with his dad’s hand like an anchor on his shoulder, William knows that in the end, it’s all going to be okay.

Chapter Text

Ada knows her parents started worrying about her from a young age.

Not in the way that they worried about Lucas or the way that Mama’s breath hitches every time Mia attempts some strange, acrobatic, new fighting move.

No, Ada is six years old the first time she hears her mother say that she feels like she’s failed her as a mother.

She’s not supposed to hear it. She’s sat on the stairs, unable to sleep after the events of the day and when she was heading to the bathroom, she’d heard the sniffles of her mother crying. Through the slats in the banister, she can see her mother curled up in her father’s arms, sobbing into his neck.

It’s remarkably similar to the position Ada was in herself a few hours earlier. Having accidentally smashed a plate when helping Oliver with the dishes, she’d immediately started crying and apologized for not being good enough. Her comments had taken her parents aback and they’d immediately stepped in, comforting her as she sobbed, telling her that she most definitely good enough and ensuring her of how much they love her.

Ada does not know it at the time, but later she connects her mother’s sobbing to her comments about herself rather than her actions. Her mother is not upset with her, as Ada’s six-year-old mind had assumed. Rather she is worried that her daughter, who is not yet big enough to ride in the car without a booster seat, is already showing signs of her own overachieving personality that has riddled her with anxiety for most of her life.

“I swore I’d do better, that I’d make sure that they know how wonderful and special and unique they all are. She’s still so little, Oliver, how have I already failed her?”

Her father’s response is immediately one of denial. Ada hasn’t been failed by either of her parents and even as she starts to understand her mentality as she grows older, Ada never once places any of the blame on them. In fact, a lot of her ability to cope with her overachieving and perfectionist personality comes from her parents’ incredible openness and lovingness towards her. Ada knows that her parents are always in her corner, even when Ada herself is not.  

It’s this love for her that makes them skeptical when Ada announces less than a year later that she wants to start dance classes one night over dinner. Mia tried them when she was younger, she poses, and she wants to see if she likes it too. She explains to them, with eloquence and reason above that of a normal seven-year old’s, that she doesn’t find the enjoyment that her father and sister find in the gym, that her brother finds in the dojo or that her mother and brother find in math and computers. She wants to see if she can find her happy place somewhere else. Unable to argue with her logic, Felicity orders her the outfit and shoes off the internet and Ada finds herself stood at a ballet barre not a week later.

It’s not an instant love.

Most of the girls in her class have been attending this exact studio since they were two or three years old and Ada feels like she might be a little too old to start seriously. At insistence from both her parents and the (kind of scary but also really nice) French instructor, Madame Courville, that it wasn’t the case at all, Ada lets herself relax into a little more.

“I like ballet the best I think.” She comments to her father as he drives her home from the studio one night when she’s eight. She’s been dancing for around a year and hasn’t been able to settle on a favorite before now.

“Oh yeah?” Oliver asks. “Why’s that?”

“Well, there’s rules and stuff. There’s a right and a wrong. I like that about it. It feels more regimented, more logical.” She comments and her dad smiles, nodding his head.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it, monkey.”

Later that night, her mother tucks her in, settling down next to her on the bed and reaching out to stroke her hair. It’s something her mama does a lot and Ada’s seen Grammy do it as well so she thinks she might get it from her.

“Daddy said that you decided you like ballet the best today.” She tells her in that soft voice she always uses when she wants Ada to talk about feelings and stuff.

“Yeah, I had a lot of fun in class today.” Ada smiles, remembering how good it had felt when she hit the pirouette and landed in an almost perfect fifth position.

“Well, I just wanted to check in with you, make sure you remember that having fun is the most important part.” Her mother tells her, repeating the same words she’s told Ada almost every time she’s stepped inside the dance studio in the past year.

“I know Mama. The regimented thing I said to Daddy, that’s not all of it. It’s just that Daddy doesn’t always understand.” Ada frowns and Felicity smiles sadly, her fingers still soothingly running through her hair.

“I know, baby. He’s trying his best though.” She tells her and Ada nods her head.

“I just don’t like making him sad. He tries to hide it but I can see it in his face.” Ada frowns and Felicity shakes her head, her other hand moving to rub Ada’s shoulder.

“Hey, your daddy loves you so much. He just wants you to happy, that’s all.” Felicity explains and Ada nods her head.

“I know and I love him lots and lots too. I think sometimes he doesn’t quite understand why I’m upset because he’s never been like me or you.” The little girl shrugs and she doesn’t miss the heartbroken expression that Felicity manages to quickly mask. “I know that he’s trying though, he’s doing the best he can.”

“He is, baby.” Her mother reassures her and Ada smiles. “You wanna tell me about why you suddenly love ballet so much then? Maybe I can help explain to Daddy.”

“Okay, well it’s like this. Sometimes I feel like getting things right is something I can’t control, like dropping things or not being able to hear the tap teacher’s feet properly.” Ada explains, looking to her mother a little nervously. She grows a little more confident with her mother’s encouraging smile and nod. “With ballet though, it’s different. I can control whether or not I get it right and if I get it wrong, I can feel what went wrong so I do it right the next time. I like that feeling. Does that make sense?”

Her mother is smiling at her, her eyes filled with tears. The tears give Ada pause for a moment until she realizes it’s the same look her mother has on her face before she usually launches into a speech about being proud of one of them. “That makes perfect sense, baby, and you know what?”

“What?” Ada asks, unable to stop the smile spreading across her face at the fact that her mother seems to have understood what she’s trying to say.

“That’s how I feel with computers.” Her mother smiles and Ada gasps, her smile lighting up her face.

“Really?” She asks, her eyes wide and Felicity grins, nodding her head.

“Definitely. It’s not quite the same way but that feeling of control? I can definitely relate to you on that.” She attempts one of her bad winks and Ada giggles at it, relaxing back into her pillows as a calm feeling settles over her. “Maybe we could talk to Madame Courville about getting you a ballet private? If you’d like that, that is.”

“You can do that?” Ada asks, her eyes wide and it’s Felicity’s turn to chuckle as she nods.

“Most certainly. It might be with one of the other teachers for a while but we can definitely get that organized.” Her mother smiles and Ada grins.

“Thank you so much, Mama, I love you so much.” She tells her and Felicity leans down, kissing her forehead.

“I love you more than you’ll ever know, baby. Now get some sleep, my little ballerina.”

“I’m not a ballerina yet, Mama!” Ada protests and Felicity laughs as she fixes Ada’s blankets around her.

“Oh sorry, my little ballerina-in-training.” She corrects and Ada nods, letting out a loud yawn. “Goodnight baby girl, sleep well.”

“Goodnight Mama. Tell Daddy I love him.” She whispers and Felicity smiles, pressing one last kiss to her forehead before she turns out the light and sneaks out the door.

Oliver loves seeing his wife’s traits in his kids.

William’s picked up Felicity’s perchance for babbling somewhere along the way, Mia smiles that same lopsided grin, and Lucas struggles to wink as much as his mother does. Every time he sees that reflection of his wife in his kids, his breath catches in his throat and his heart thuds with that reminder of just how much he adores the woman he’s built this life with.

It’s interesting when you have children with the person you love most in this world, to see your own flaws and the flaws of your partner reflected back at you as well as their virtues. William has a slight arrogance in his abilities, often begrudgingly explaining his more extensive vocabulary or far advanced ideas. Mia has all of his stubbornness and his youthful perchance for getting into trouble, manifesting itself in a lot of interesting situations over the years. Lucas struggles to express his emotions like Oliver always has, often having to be coaxed into telling his parents what’s wrong.

Ada, however, Ada’s a different story.

His baby girl is as incredible as her siblings. As beautiful as her mother, with all of her intelligence and at the tender age of seven, far more advanced than the majority of children her own age. The strive for perfection that she appears to have inherited from Felicity is one of her best qualities and her biggest flaws.

By the time Ada is only seven years old, she’s telling him that he doesn’t understand her and that she loves him, but he’s never going to be able to help her with this. As a parent, the idea that you don’t have the capability to help your seven-year-old through feeling inadequate is absolutely heartbreaking.

“Does she think that we’ll be disappointed in her? Or her teachers?” Oliver asks his wife one morning after Ada came home from school crying about a mark of 88% on a test that she’d studied hard for. It had broken his heart to see his baby girl so upset about something that he knew she’s done her best in but his reassurances that he’s still so proud of her only seemed to make her more upset.

“No, she knows we’re not. She’s disappointed in herself.” Felicity comments back. There’s a pain in her voice but Oliver can’t help but be a little jealous of how easily she seems to understand this. The idea that his wife was as upset about things like test scores and doing chores wrong as a child is of course not something to be jealous of but the idea that she can use it to help Ada through what she’s going through now is something Oliver finds himself envious of.

“But why? She tried her best.” He frowns and Felicity sighs, turning to look at him as she shrugs.

“It doesn’t always make sense. We just have to reassure her that she’s perfect to us the way that she is and take our cues from her as to where we need to go next. She’ll find something that makes her feel good, just like I found computers.” Felicity assures him and Oliver sighs. He’s feeling pretty inadequate himself right now. What kind of father can’t understand their seven-year-old?

It’s a few weeks later that Ada herself suggests ballet. It feels a little backwards to him, dance, from what he knows of it, is a lot of rules and expectations and that seems like the last thing Ada needs right now. Felicity expresses the same sentiment but Ada insists so they give in, just wanting their daughter to be happy.

She tells him she has fun at her classes, which is a word he doesn’t usually hear Ada use to describe her experiences. They always push it, asking if she enjoyed herself, but she would generally just say ‘I did this well’ or ‘I could have done this better’. To hear her say that she’s genuinely enjoying something makes Oliver cry with happiness (once he gets home and away from her).

A year in, Oliver has added driving Ada to and from the dance studio to his almost daily routine. His youngest lives in ballet tights and leotards with her hair scraped back into a perfect circle on the top of her head, something he and his wife have learned to master over the past year. He worries, however, when she tells him in the car on the way home from class one day that she’s decided ballet is her favorite because it has rules and there’s a right and wrong way to do it.

“The whole point was getting her to relax, no? I thought this was working.” He laments to Felicity whilst he’s cooking dinner. She hums from her perch on the kitchen counter, turning to him once she tells Mia to use the stairs instead of jumping from the top one.

“I’ll talk to her tonight. There might be more to it than she said.” Felicity poses and Oliver frowns. He’s used to dealing with teenagers who don’t want to tell him things but Ada is eight, he thought he had a little more time.

Felicity is wiping tears from her eyes when she steps into their bedroom that night.

“She’s found it, Oliver, she’s found her thing.” She tells him and even though she tells him word for word what Ada said, Oliver still can’t wrap his head around it.

“Do you remember when William was struggling with his math, just after Samantha died?” Felicity asks him, stroking his chest where she’s laying on it. Oliver frowns, it seems like a weird thing to bring up but he nods.

“Yeah, that’s when we got back together.” He confirms and Felicity nods with a smile.

“Remember how you didn’t know what to say to him? How you couldn’t figure out why he was so stressed?” She questions and suddenly it all clicks in Oliver’s head.

“Yeah, but you sorted that out. It was our first co-parenting experience.” Oliver smiles down at her and Felicity rolls her eyes with that affectionate smile that still makes him feel like a teenager on his first date.

“My point is… did you ever get to a point why you really understood why William was so stressed?” She asks and Oliver hums, thinking about it for a second.

“Maybe later I did, but honestly I think I didn’t get it until I accepted that it was fact. By trying to understand why, I was acting like it was something he shouldn’t be doing. That wasn’t helping. What I needed to figure out was how to help.” He comments and Felicity just smiles at him.

“And people say you’re slow.”

“What people?”

He makes a decision that day to be aware of the fact that he’s never going to understand Ada’s perfectionist ways and that understanding it isn’t important.

What is important is the way that Ada lights up when she comes running out of a ballet class. He values how she bounces in her seat as she excitedly tells him about a new move she’s learned or a particular variation she’s managed to master. They both cry with happiness when she gets her first pair of pointe shoes and they both sob in gratitude at her ‘graduation’ from her dance school.

The way that ballet makes Ada happy is far more important than understanding the kind of backward way of how it helps to control her perfectionist tendencies. By the time Ada is nineteen and he’s traveled halfway across the country to watch her perform in her first ever performance with a professional ballet company, Oliver finds that he doesn’t really care about the how of it all.

Chapter Text

Mia is just out of diapers when Felicity tells her husband she’s ready for another baby.

Oliver has not been shy about his wish for more children. As many as Felicity is happy to give him, are his exact words. He’s very respectful, however, of when she wants to have them and the fact that her job doesn’t exactly allow for her to have them very close together.

But watching Mia grow in front of her eyes, her baby turning into a child in what feels like a fraction of a second, Felicity thinks it might be time to have another. She tells Oliver this and stops taking her birth control. Within two months, the seven pregnancy tests in their sink read positive.

The pregnancy is very similar to Mia’s and yet very different. She craves entirely different food and, even though she doesn’t believe the superstitions and old wives’ tales, Felicity swears she carries lower than she did with Mia.

Nothing seems off until Felicity hits 34 weeks.

She’s been feeling off for a couple of days, uncomfortable and pissed off. She writes it off as just late pregnancy hormones until she’s standing at the island feeding Mia and her water breaks all over the kitchen tile.

“Mama?” Mia asks with a frown, looking between the puddle and her mother in confusion. “Did yous have an accident?”

“It’s okay, baby.” Felicity smiles tightly, taking a deep breath before she turns to yell over her shoulder. “Oliver! Get your butt in here!”

“Hey, how are my… wow, okay. Is that…?” Oliver freezes in the doorway, looking between the floor and his wife with the exact same expression as their toddler. Felicity would think it cute if she wasn’t too busy freaking out.

“Oliver!” She yells when he just stands there and he jolts, nodding his head.

“Okay, okay, I think we should go to the hospital.” He says tentatively, obviously unsure of Felicity’s reaction. Mia was a home birth, a very successful one at that, completed by an ex-army medic who lives on the opposite street. Now, however, with her waters breaking so early, any idea of a home birth is out the window.

“Yes, yes, definitely. Oh, frack, we don’t have a bag or anything ready. Frack... oh!” Felicity worries but her trail is interrupted as her first contraction hits, the pain jolting through her. Suddenly, all she went through with Mia comes flooding back and she lets out a long groan.

“Hey, hey, come here. Sit down. I’ll get everything ready, okay? We’ll get you to the hospital.” Oliver promises and eases her down into a chair by the dining room, kissing her on the forehead when she gets settled.

“Daddy!” Mia calls and Oliver frowns, looking between his wife and his toddler with a frown.

“William!” The father calls over his shoulder before he heads over to his baby girl, lifting her out of her toddler proof seat and far away from the mess. “It’s okay, baby. Your baby brother’s just coming a little bit earlier than we thought.”

“What?”

William’s voice sounds from the doorway and the teenager’s eyes widen as he takes in the scene in front of him.

“Oh my god, Fliss, are you okay?” He asks and Felicity smiles tightly, nodding her head.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” She tells him and William frowns, obviously unconvinced.

“Listen, I’m going to call Aunt Thea and get her on the next plane out here but in the meantime, could you please watch your sister? We gotta go to the hospital.” Oliver tells his son and William frowns, nodding his head.

“Yeah, no problem. C’mere, baby bug.” He complies, reaching his arms out for his sister.

“No!” Mia cries, however, clinging tightly to Oliver, and Oliver sighs, taking a deep breath.

“Mia…”

“Wanna stay with you and Mama.” Mia pouts, her little hand fisting in Oliver’s t-shirt.

“I know you do baby, but we’ve got to go and make sure that Mommy and your baby brother are all healthy because he’s wanting to come out and he might not be ready to quite yet.” Oliver tries, bouncing her a little to try and coax her into compliance but she just shakes her blonde head, the pout set on her face.

“Wanna stay.”

“Hey, c’mere baby,” Felicity tells her and Oliver hands their daughter over. The mother maneuvers her around her baby bump and she smiles, rubbing Mia’s arm soothingly. “Everything is going to be okay. Mommy and Daddy will be back real soon and we’ll hopefully have your new baby brother with us. Won’t that be exciting, huh?”

“I guess.” Mia shrugs and Oliver takes the moment to slip out of the room to start gathering supplies.

“And whilst we’re gone, you and Will can do all sorts of fun things. I’m sure, if you ask really nicely, you can go for ice cream.” Felicity tells her daughter and smiles as Mia’s face finally lights up.

“Rocky road?” She asks and William laughs, moving over to his step-mother and baby sister.

“Is there any other flavor?” He winks and Mia giggles, making both of them smile.

“But we gots to brush our teeth afters else we might hurts Mama when we gives her kisses,” Mia tells him seriously and William nods.

“I know, baby bug.” He tells her and Mia nods back in confirmation.

“Okay, Mia love?” Felicity asks and Mia smiles, wrapping her little arms around her mother’s neck.

“Okay, Mama. I’ll miss you.”

“Oh, I’ll miss you too, my sweet girl.”

“Okay, I got the bag,” Oliver calls as he walks back into the room, smiling at the sight of his girls kissing goodbye.

“Go, I got this. You’re gonna do great, Fliss. I love you.” William smiles, scooping Mia into his own arms as Oliver moves to help Felicity stand up.

“I love you too, sweet boy.”

“Say see you later, Mia.”

“Bye Mama, bye Daddy.”

“You ready to do this?” Oliver asks as he helps her to the car and Felicity nods, a smile spreading across her face.

“Let’s go.”

By the time they get to the hospital, the time between Felicity’s contractions is practically non-existent and the doctors rush her into the maternity ward. They’re understandably worried about how far away from her due date Felicity is but there’s nothing much they can do. It seems that Lucas has decided he’s coming today and there’s no stopping him.

“We’ve got a head! One last push Mrs. Queen!” The midwife calls and Oliver smiles at her the best he can through the pain of how tightly she’s squeezing his hand.

“You’re doing so well, honey. One last push and he’s here. I love you so much.” He tells her, pressing a kiss to her forehead and Felicity takes a deep breath, nodding a teary smile before she makes the final push.

They both are so in awe of the sight of the tiny body that they don’t initially notice the lack of crying but after a few seconds pass, Felicity retightens her grip around Oliver’s hand.

“He’s not... why isn’t he crying? What…?”

Her words get caught up in a flurry of activity. Oliver watches in horror as his tiny, infant son is carried away, his little limbs tinged a very concerning shade of blue. It’s been almost a minute and he still hasn’t cried. All over can hear is the hospital staff calling out orders and the sound of the emergency alarm as someone tugs the red button on the wall. That only draws more people into the room and Oliver steps forward when so many people crowd into the room that he can’t see his son.

“Mr. Queen, please stay back. We need to help your son in the best way we can.” A nurse tells him, holding a hand up in an attempt to stop him from coming any closer.

“Is he…?” Oliver asks, his voice shaking as he strains to see his son.

He’s just so small.

“Please, Mr. Queen. I must insist.” The nurse tells him and Oliver frowns until one small word makes him freeze.

“Oliver...”

The sound of his wife’s strangled cry pulls him back to her side and the sight of the heartbroken expression on her face has him wrapping his arms around her.

“It’s okay, everything’s going to be okay. They’re helping him, they’re gonna help him.” He tells her but he barely believes the words so he doubts that they have the desired calming effect on Felicity.

“We have a heart rate!”

“We need an incubator!”

“Call the NICU!”

Oliver has been through a lot since the Gambit went down. He’s seen things he never imagined possible and dealt with problems even his worst nightmares couldn’t think up. For years, however, he never thought that any pain would amount to watching his father shoot himself so that he could live or the sight of his ex-friend ramming his mother through the chest with a sword. As he watches his newborn son be wheeled away from him, his tiny body turning blue from the lack of oxygen in his system, and as he listens to the distraught cries of the love of his life, her weeping screams echoing around the suddenly empty hospital room, he thinks that this moment right here might just come close.

It’s three hours before they’re allowed to see their baby.

The afterbirth is difficult. Felicity doesn’t have the distraction of her newborn to help her through it and her distress means that the nurses have trouble getting her muscles to relax in the right way.

There’s no cutting of the umbilical cord, no moment alone with their newborn son. Just an empty, silent room severely lacking in newborn cries and happy, disbelieving smiles.

The doctor comes in, a sympathetic smile on his face that makes Oliver sick to his stomach. He explains that their baby (Lucas, Felicity insists) is having trouble breathing on his own. His premature birth means that his tiny lungs haven’t quite finished developing in the way that they should. He’ll need to stay in the NICU, they’re told, until his lungs have grown enough so that he will be able to breathe without the assistance of a ventilator. For now, he’s in an incubator to recreate the environment of the womb so that he might have the best chance of developing his lungs.

“Can we see him?” Felicity asks the doctor in a voice so small that Oliver hardly recognizes it as his wife’s.

“We’ll get you a wheelchair and take you down.” The doctor replies, nodding at the two of them before leaving the room.

They don’t speak to each other. Oliver doesn’t even know what he would say. It would all be empty words and promises he has no idea how to keep anyway. They grip each other’s hands tightly, never separating. Somehow, through that contact, they tell each other everything they need to hear.

Oliver is grateful that the nurse that takes them into the NICU, Jacob, isn’t more talkative than necessary. He quietly explains the rules of the ward before directly them quickly over to Lucas’ incubator.

He’s so tiny.

He’s almost half the size that Mia was, Oliver swears it and the amount of wires that are hooked up to his tiny body only make him appear smaller. He doesn’t appear distressed and his skin looks a far healthier color.

But still…

“He… he’s so small.” Felicity sobs as she stares at the tiny baby through the glass, vocalizing aloud Oliver’s thoughts. “Did… did they weigh him?”

“4.8 pounds, ma’am. It’s a healthy weight for a preemie his age.” Jacob tells her softly and Oliver is grateful for his sensitivity around her.

“It’s just the breathing then? Everything else seems okay?” Oliver asks and the nurse nods at him, a reassuring smile on his face.

“Yes, Sir. Your baby just needs the time to let those lungs of his develop properly so that he can handle being outside the incubator.” Jacob explains softly and Oliver nods, squeezing Felicity’s hand tightly. The nurse reaches between them and opens two side panels on the incubator. “It won’t affect the environment and since you two washed your hands as you came in, feel free to touch him. The skin to skin is important.”

Oliver watches as Felicity’s shaky hand extends into the machine. Her fingers have always seemed so small and dainty to him, but next to Lucas, they look gigantic. His wife takes in a shuddering breath as she delicately strokes his tiny little arm and Oliver feels his own tears stream down his face at the realization that this is the first contact that either of them have had with him.

Oliver holds Felicity for two hours once they’re asked to return to their room so that the doctors can check on Felicity herself. She lets them work no hassle but she clings to Oliver as she sobs, her hands fisted tightly in his shirt as she wails about how unfair it is. It’s all Oliver can do to hold her and tell her that he knows.

It is unfair.

He can’t get the image of his baby boy out of his head.

So tiny.

He can’t believe it.

Felicity finally cries herself to sleep and Oliver is glad. She’s been awake for almost twenty-two hours, it would be enough to send anyone to sleep, let alone someone who’s just given birth. Oliver strokes her hair away from her face and kisses her forehead, whispering apologies into her skin as he watches her finally rest.

“If this is some karmic retribution, you’re a sick son of a bitch for inflicting it on her and that innocent child. Me, I get, but they’ve done nothing.” He speaks to the ceiling quietly, the tears soaking the blanket covering his wife.

It takes three days for Lucas to be stable enough for them to hold him. They both sob through the twenty minutes they’re allowed before he needs to be placed back in the incubator. It’s simultaneously incredible and heartbreaking to have that moment with their baby only for it to be ripped away so quickly.

Two days after they’re allowed to start handling Lucas in their arms, they decide to bring their family to the hospital. William has been keeping them informed by text as much as they’ve been giving him updates about his newest sibling. Thea caught an earlier flight and Donna’s flown in from Vegas as well, the two of them staying at the cabin with the kids to take the weight of William.

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Oliver asks Felicity for the thousandth time when the text from William stating they’re in the elevator comes through. Felicity looks up at him, nodding her head with conviction.

He’s never admired his wife more than he has over the past few days.

Years ago, when they were in this very hospital, her own life hanging on the line, Oliver had commented to Laurel that he saw Felicity the strongest of them all and it’s a statement he stands by now more than ever. They’ve both cried tears, more than they possibly ever have, but it’s Felicity who keeps looking forward and it’s her who somehow manages to give him to strength to spend another day watching their baby fight for his life.

“It’ll help, I think. To be sure that William and Mia are safe.” She says softly and Oliver nods, leaning down to gently brush his lips against hers.

“Okay, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

The door flies open a moment later and Oliver cannot deny the feeling of joy that rises in his heart at the sight of his children. Mia’s grin lights up her face and her call of ‘Mama!’ as she launches herself onto the bed makes Felicity smile in the way that Oliver has missed.

“Hi, baby girl,” Felicity replies wearily, wrapping her arms tightly around her daughter as she clings to the child that she can hold.

“I missed you so so so so so so much!” Mia cries, burrowing her head into Felicity’s neck and Oliver sighs contently for the first time in days at the sight of his girls. Felicity’s face loses its tension as well, her eyes closing as she burrows into Mia as well. A hand lands on Oliver’s shoulder and he looks up to see his son looking down at him, a concerned look on his face. Oliver attempts a weak smile and pulls the teenager in for their own hug, letting his boy’s calming presence take its effect.

It’s a surgical effort to separate Mia from her mother. This amount of time away from their parents would be difficult for any three-year-old, Oliver knows, but the promise of seeing her new baby brother and the reassurance that she will be able to return to Felicity’s side is enough to finally draw her away. Felicity’s devastated she can’t see the meeting herself but she’s still recovering and the nurses want to limit her movement as much as possible at the moment.

Mia swings between Oliver and William’s hands down the halls of the hospital, unaware of the somber environment as she babbles away to her father about what she, her brother, aunt, and grandmother have been up to the past few days. She describes a lot of junk food, playing and she tells Oliver that she’s got so many pictures to give her baby brother when he can have them. Her vibrant voice attracts the attention of the nurses and other parents as they enter the ward but instead of the glares that Oliver fears due to her loud voice, the toddler receives nothing but smiles.

“Alright munchkin, we’ve got to clean our hands,” Oliver tells his daughter, letting William retrieve some of the hand sanitizer before he lifts Mia so that she can get some of her own. She does so dutifully and grins up at her brother whilst Oliver completes the task.

“So many babies!” Mia states and William smiles, nodding his head. “Are they all poorly like Lucas?”

“They all need some more help before they can go home.” Jackie, the nurse in charge of the ward smiles brightly at the three of them as they approach. “Hi, I’m Jackie, you two must be William and Mia. Your parents have told me a lot about you.”

“About me?” Mia asks, her eyes wide as she looks between Oliver and Jackie. Oliver chuckles and nods his head, taking Mia’s outstretched hand.

“Jackie is helping to look after Lucas,” Oliver explains softly to Mia, knowing that William is certainly capable of recognizing hospital staff when he sees them.

“You guys still use the Palmer Tech batteries to power the equipment, right? What backup do you use for if they fail?” William asks, looking around at the equipment. Jackie smiles amusedly, Felicity asked the same question two days ago.

“Our generators are linked to Star City’s sustainable energy power grid.” The nurse answers kindly and William nods approvingly, smiling a little bashfully at his father when he clears his throat.

“Shall we go introduce you two to your new sibling?” He asks with a smile and William nods whilst Mia jumps up and down in excitement. Jackie smiles and nods at Oliver before she walks away, leaving the family alone.

“Remember what we said Mia-bug?” William prompts, smiling at his father when he looks at him in confusion. “We’ve got to be very gentle because Lucas is still so small.”

Oliver cannot help the smile that spreads across his face. He knew William was going to be a fantastic big brother but it never fails to make him emotional when he’s as incredible as he is with Mia.

“I’ll be careful! I’m good at careful!” Mia claims and Oliver smirks. His baby girl is wrong in that matter, she’s about as careful as a bull in a china shop generally but he knows she’ll be on her best behavior today. He pulls out his phone and presses record as they approach Lucas’ incubator, knowing that Felicity will never forgive him if he doesn’t get this moment on camera.

William gasps immediately at the sight of the small baby, tears prickling at his eyes as he looks at his baby brother. Mia frowns at the reaction, a little small to see properly and Oliver is about to step in when William swings her up onto his hip so that she can look into the incubator from the top.

“He’s so smalls!” Mia gasps, her voice no louder than a whisper and Oliver smiles encouragingly when she looks over at him. She smiles softly and looks back at Lucas. “Will, what are all the wires?”

“Remember how we said that he needs help breathing?” His eldest son replies just as softly and Mia nods, her eyes locked on the baby. “They’re helping him do that, giving him air because he can’t draw it in himself just yet.”

“But he’s okay?” She asks, looking back at Oliver and Oliver nods with a smile.

“Yeah, baby, he’s okay,” Oliver reassures her and Mia nods.

“Here, Mia-bug. Why don’t we say something to him?” William prompts and places Mia on the floor before bending next to the incubator himself. He inserts his hand into the side and lightly runs a finger over his arm. “Hi Lucas, I’m your big brother, William. I know you’re probably a little scared right now but I want you to know that we all love you very, very much and we can’t wait to have you home with us. We’re all a little crazy but you’ll soon learn that a little crazy is sometimes just what you need.”

Oliver sniffles a little at his son’s words but the tears only get worse as William tenderly encourages his little sister to place her own small hand into the incubator to tenderly hold her baby brother’s hand.

“Hi, Lucas. I’m Mia and I’m your big sister. I’m going to look afters you. Will says your too littles for me to give you a kiss right now but I loves you very much and I’m gonna give you all the kisses when you gets bigger.” Mia whispers into the incubator, just loud enough that Oliver can hear and the words of his daughter, so full of innocence and promise make him start to cry all over again.

His children have managed to do what they always have, inspired him to keep going and look towards a new day and the future with hope.

It takes two months.

Two months of sleepless nights, of more tears than Oliver can ever remember crying and of countless prayers.

Two months and Lucas is finally allowed to come home.

William comes to collect them from the hospital and they install the car seat in the middle seat of his backseat, each of them flanking the side. Oliver chats with his eldest son as they drive back to the cabin but Felicity does not remove her eyes from Lucas, adjusting the blanket every time it slips.

“Fliss?”

Felicity jumps at the address and she looks up to see that they’re home, the familiar sight of the cabin a surprise.

“That was quick.” She comments lightly and Oliver smiles at him as William shrugs his shoulders. It’s late evening and as they climb out William’s Jeep, Mia appears in her pajamas at the door with Thea and Donna at her sides.

“Daddy!” She grins and Oliver laughs as she launches herself into his arms, clamoring up him like a monkey until she settles in his arms. He deftly balances Lucas’ car seat away from the wriggling toddler but Felicity gasps, launching herself forward to settle it.

“Mia, be careful please!” She tells her daughter and Mia deflates a little, sinking into Oliver’s arms.

“Sorry Mama, I was just exciteds.” She says quietly, leaning her head on Oliver’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, baby. We just need to be careful around Lucas. He’s very small still.” Oliver explains to her gently and Mia nods.

“Sorry.” She repeats and her downtrodden expression breaks Oliver’s heart just a little. He plants a kiss to her temple and holds her tightly with one arm as he carries both her and Lucas’ car seat towards the house.

“Are you guys hungry? We didn’t know when you’d be back so we left some on the side.” Thea explains and Oliver smiles at his sister, shaking his head.

“Thanks, Speedy, but I think we’re okay.” He tells her and she nods.

“I’ll put it up in the fridge in case you want it later.” Donna smiles and Felicity nods, squeezing her mother’s arm as she passes her.

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Can I hold him?” Thea asks, brimming with excitement as they settle down around the living room. Oliver places Lucas carefully in his seat on the coffee table and plops Mia down on the couch behind him. He looks over at Felicity who bites her lip nervously but nods her head, forcing a small smile for Thea. Oliver unclasps the straps and carefully extracts his son, unable to stop the smile spreading across his face.

Thea settles on the armchair and Mia immediately rushes over to settle herself in the small gap at the side of the chair, peering excitedly over as Oliver carefully lowers the baby into his aunt’s arms.

“Oh my goodness, he’s precious and so much bigger than the last time I saw him!” Thea exclaims, smiling at Lucas happily.

“He’s almost eight pounds now,” Felicity states proudly, slipping down on the couch, close to the armchair. Oliver reaches out and grasps her hand, squeezing it with a soft smile.

“Oh, are we holding? I want to hold my grandson!” Donna squeals as she enters the room, rushing over. Felicity hisses in a breath at the speed she approaches but she catches herself, watching as her mom bends down carefully next to the armchair. “Oh, he’s so handsome!”

“Daddy?” Mia asks and Oliver smiles as he looks over at his daughter who looks so tiny squished into the armchair with her aunt.

“Yeah, baby?”

“Can I give him a kiss now?” She asks and her little voice is so unsure, so sweet.

“Go on, baby.” He tells her and she grins, wiggling carefully until her knees are underneath her and she peers over Lucas’ small face. She’s very slow in her movements and she leans down extremely carefully, showing incredible restraint for a three-year-old. The press of her lips to Lucas’ forehead is barely a graze but it still has Oliver feeling like he wants to cry and, judging by the tightness with which Felicity is gripping his hand, it has a similar effect on her mother.

Thea passes Lucas over to Donna when she settles in the other armchair and William settles on the arm, grinning at his baby brother as he gently tickles the baby through the fabric of his baby grow. It’s a beautiful sight but Oliver’s attention is drawn when Mia climbs into Felicity’s lap, throwing her arms around her neck.

“Mama, do you think we have a special picnic soon in the garden? There’s so much I need to show Lucas like the trees and the flowers and the stream.” Mia asks and Felicity takes a deep breath, settling Mia a little more comfortably in her lap.

“He’s still a little small at the moment, baby, but I’m sure he’ll love learning about all those things when he’s a little bigger,” Felicity tells Mia diplomatically but the toddler is insistent.

“But what about the picnic? We can still have a special picnic, right? Lucas doesn’t have to move but it would be so nice and…”

“Mia, I said no!”

Mia immediately freezes. Felicity never talks to their children in that tone. She doesn’t snap, their kids know where the line is.

The toddler climbs down, her little eyes welling with tears, and with one look at Oliver, she lets out a sob and bolts out the room.

“Mia…” Felicity calls after her with a sigh, going to stand but they’re interrupting by an unexpected voice.

“No, I’ll go. Here, take him, Oliver.” Donna tells them and Oliver moves to appease his mother-in-law. She sends her daughter an unimpressed look before heading out of the room in pursuit of her granddaughter.

“I’ll just go put Lucas in his crib,” Oliver states, unsure what else to do and he shoots a look at Felicity before he scurries to their room where he knows Thea and William have set up Mia’s old crib. He busies himself by laying the already sleeping baby in the crib and rearranging a few of the other items in there. He turns on the white noise machine just as he hears footsteps approaching the room.

“William and Thea are going to bed.”

Felicity’s voice is timid and she lingers in the doorway, looking at him with an unsure expression.

“She’s just excited.” He says with a sigh, not wanting to beat around the bush. Felicity sighs as well, moving to sit in the nursing chair.

“I know.” She replies, running a hand over her forehead.

“Honey, I know you’re scared but he’s going to have to go outside at some point.” He tells her, bending down in front of her and Felicity sighs, her eyes filling with tears.

“But what if I take him outside and he gets sick and he has to go through all of that again? What kind of mother would that make me, Oliver? I just feel so helpless! And then I go and make Mia cry and I…”

“Mama?”

They both turn at the sound of Mia’s little voice and they see her stood there nervously, fiddling with a piece of paper in her hands.

“What are you doing up, baby girl?” Oliver asks gently and Mia wiggles a little where she’s stood, her nerves evident on her face.

“I was wondering if we could put my drawing up on Lucas’ crib.” She explains, hastening over to Felicity’s side. Oliver watches as his wife wipes her tears and lifts Mia onto her lap so that she can look at the child’s artwork.

“Oh, it’s beautiful, baby. Is this all our family?” Felicity asks gently, her voice softer than Oliver’s heard in a while. Mia nods, snuggling back into her mother’s chest and Oliver feels his eyes fill with tears at the sight of his girls.

“Yup. That’s you and Daddy and Will and me and Lucas.” She explains, her little finger tracing over the figures on the page. “I thought it might help Lucas to know that we’re all here, even when we’re sleepings.”

“That’s a wonderful idea, baby girl,” Felicity tells her, pressing her lips to Mia’s blonde curls.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t careful earlier, Mama. I didn’t means to make you mad.” The toddler says tiredly, turning in her mother’s arms. She leans her head on Felicity’s chest and looks up at her. Oliver watches Felicity practically melt as she shakes her head.

“No baby, I’m the one who’s sorry. I just need to remember that Lucas is a fighter, just like his big sister, and that it’s okay to let him be a normal baby.” Felicity replies softly, her eyes meeting Oliver’s over Mia’s head. He smiles at her and she smiles back, apologies of their own passing unsaid between their locked look. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you. A picnic is a lovely idea and so is putting up your picture. I’m very sorry, baby.”

“It’s okay Mama. I know you’re just scareds that Lucas will have to go back into the hospital.” Mia replies and Felicity shudders, pulling Mia into a tight hug.

“When did you get so smart, huh?” She asks, peppering Mia’s forehead with kisses as the toddler squeals. As she wriggles around, Lucas wakes up, letting out a loud cry and Mia immediately silences, a loud gasp.

“Sorry, Daddy!” She cries and Oliver shakes his head with a smile.

“It’s okay, sweetheart.” He tells her honestly, scooping Lucas up out of the crib to confirm what he thinks is true. “He just needs a diaper change.”

“Can I help?” Mia asks and Felicity laughs.

“You want to change a stinky diaper?” She questions and Mia’s nose scrunches up.

“Stinky?” She questions and Felicity nods.

“Your daddy had to start wearing a nose clip when you were that little because your diapers were so stinky.” The mother jokes, pinching Mia’s nose gently with her fingers and Mia gasps, shaking her head.

“Did not!”

“I did too!” Oliver replies with a laugh. “You were a very stinky baby.”

“Meanies.” Mia pouts, crossing her little arms over her chest and Felicity and Oliver laugh, the former pressing a kiss to her cheek.

“Oh, are we talking about how stinky Mia was as a baby?” William’s voice adds and they turn to see him stood in the doorway with a smirk on his face. “Don’t worry, Mia-bug, at least you don’t make food that smells as bad as a baby’s diaper.”

“It was an experiment!” Felicity gasps and they all laugh loudly, Mia falling back against her mother. Oliver watches as she draws her close, her eyes slipping close as she breathes Mia in.

In that moment, as he carries his baby boy over to change his diaper, he knows that all of them, including Lucas, are going to be okay.

(Lucas never ends up back in the ICU. They’re careful about his health but he has every opportunity and he learns to love the trees and the flowers and the stream just as much as his big sister. He also learns to love math, like his big brother, and Felicity finds herself an heir for her technological empire in their very happy and healthy baby boy.)

Chapter Text

June 6^th, 2037

Jack Harris is unsure if he’s ever been so nervous.

When William had first approached him with the idea of meeting his family, he had been so happy. To know that his boyfriend considered their relationship as serious as he did gave him such a sense of elation.

Until he remembered just who his boyfriend’s family is.

Jack grew up in Star City and therefore is all too aware of the names Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak. One of his first memories is the fear of Genesis Day and seeing Oliver Queen on top of that car, spreading inspiration across the city, and working in technology, he can’t deny the revolution that Felicity Smoak and Smoak Tech brought to the industry. They’re both legends in their own right and Jack has heard story after story of Green Arrow and his never absent partner, Overwatch.

“Hey, it’s gonna be okay,” William tells him as they head away from the city and towards the sleepy community of Bloomfield.

“Will, your parents are literal superheroes,” Jack replies deadpan and watches as William rolls his eye, obviously exasperated.

“Were. They don’t do that anymore. Plus, it’s only really Dad that might be an issue tonight but Fliss will keep him in check. She would have done her own vetting months ago when I first told them your name. Speaking of which, you haven’t noticed any vast changes to your credit score recently, have you?”

Jack got used to Will’s babbling months ago. When he tries to explain something, he obviously gets rather up in his head about it and the words seem to just flow out of his mouth. Jack has no idea where it comes from but he knows he finds it utterly adorable.

“Pardon?” He coughs as he finally computes what his boyfriend just asked but when he looks over at the driver’s seat, William is chuckling with an obvious teasing expression on his face. “Not funny!”

“It was kinda funny.” William smiles and reaches across, taking Jack’s hand in his own and squeezing it. “It’s going to be fine. We’re in our thirties, we’re not teenagers anymore. We don’t need to be scared of each other’s parents.”

“Right. Right.”

Sure, that would be fine. If only Jack didn’t have this niggling feeling that his boyfriend was being far too blasé about how his parents are going to react.

“Okay, let me check this one last time.” Jack takes a deep breath as the GPS tells him that they’re fifteen minutes out.

“Go ahead,” William smirks, looking over at him as if he’s finding all of this just far too cute.

“Your dad is Oliver Queen. He’s 52, retired vigilante slash superhero and now runs Green Arrow Fitness in Bloomfield. Your stepmother is Felicity Smoak. She’s 47, also retired vigilante but now runs media empire, Smoak Technologies and all of its subsidiaries.” Jack reals off, the facts ticking through his head like seconds on a clock.

“You know this sounds weirdly robotic, right?” William snorts and Jack side-eyes him.

“Shut up. I don’t want to mess up.” He whines and William’s smirk melts to a smile.

“Sorry, keep going.” He prompts and nods encouragingly.

“Your eldest sister is Mia Dearden Queen. She’s almost 18, badass by her own admission and annoyingly sneaky by yours.” Jack relays and William nods his head with an affectionate smile on his face.

“Indeed, not to mention cheeky as hell.”

“Alright, your brother is Lucas Thomas Queen. He’s just fifteen, smart as anything with a black belt in three different martial arts?” Jack questions the last statement, unsure if he’s got the number right.

“Technically two. He’s almost got his third.”

“Right, okay.” Jack nods, storing that information away in the back of his head. “Okay, last one. Your baby sister is Ada Megan Queen and she’s ten. She wants to be a ballerina and her favorite animal is a kangaroo, much to your stepmother’s chagrin.”

“Got it all.” William chuckles as he squeezes Jack’s hand tightly. “Baby, chill. Just be yourself. They’re gonna love you. I’m more worried you’re not going to want to stay with me once you’ve spent a night in the crazy house.”

“Not gonna happen. I’m a little too far gone already for that.” Jack smirks, winking at Will who blushes adorably before he looks back at the road.

“Alright, well welcome to Bloomfield.” He declares as they pass over the town line.

Jack keeps his eyes out the window as they pass through the small town where William spent most of his teenage years. He can see why his boyfriend speaks so fondly of it, it’s got all the charm of a small town and somehow none of the suffocating nature. There’s plenty to do, they drive past a cinema, a bowling alley, an impressive-looking play park, and Jack even spots a sign for free shuttles to a nearby mall. He can see that look in William’s eyes as they drive through the center of the town that can only be described as nostalgia. Jack’s heard bits and pieces of all the trauma his boyfriend went through in his early life but all his bad stories stop when his parents moved here, replaced only with tales that William recalls with fond smiles and laughs.

Pretty much as soon as they drive into the town, they’re heading out the other side. They’re about two miles down the road before William takes a left down what can only be described as a country lane. It’s lined with tall trees that look well tended to and looked after.

He has to control his gasp as the trees open up into an almost movie-like setting. Jack has heard Will refer to his parents’ home as ‘The Cabin’ before but he’s never quite considered what that means until this moment.  It’s practically idyllic and Jack feels slightly jealous that this is where William got to spend his formative years.

“Cool, right?” His boyfriend grins and Jack can only nod. He pulls up in front of a long gate, next to three other cars and kills the engine. “You ready?”

“No. But let’s go.” Jack states honestly and William laughs, leaning over the console to grasp his face in his hands and press a soft kiss to his lips.

“Just be yourself. They’ll fall just as easily as I did.” Will tells him and Jack sighs softly, nodding his head.

“Thank you.”

“Come on.” William winks and climbs out the driver’s seat.

“Right.” Jack breathes deeply, nodding his head before reaching behind him to grab the bottle of wine and bunch of flowers he’d placed on the backseat when they left his house earlier.

William is waiting for him at the gate and he smiles, rubbing a hand over his back as they head up the steps of the cabin. He produces a key from his pocket and taps in a code to the panel by the door. Jack jumps for a second as the panel flicks to life and carries out a retinal scan of William.

“Welcome home, William.” The automated voice tells him and William smiles as he pushes open the door.

“Thanks, Archer. Come on, babe.” He prompts and Jack takes one last look at the deceiving simple tech before he steps through the door. “Hello?”

“Hi Will! Hi, Will’s boyfriend!”

Jack frowns at the sound of the small voice but no small body to accompany it. There’s a giggle and Jack frowns as William chuckles.

“Up here.” The voice speaks again and Jack frowns, looking above his head. He takes a step back in surprise at the sight of who he knows is Ada hanging upside down from one of the ceiling beams, her long blonde hair hanging like a curtain above her head and her legs looped through the small hole in the triangular exposed beam.

“Oh! Hello.” Jack greets, a slightly confused tone to his voice, but it gains him a bright smile from the little girl.

“Ada, what are you doing up there?” William asks and Jack watches in slight awe as the ten-year-old starts to swing her body back and forth with a giggle.

“Just hanging around.” She replies and William snorts at the pun with a shake of his head.

“Ada Megan, get down from there before your brother’s young man thinks we run a zoo out here.”

Jack almost jumps at the sound of the stern voice, turning to see William’s father stood a few feet away. He looks far more bemused at the situation than his tone of voice lets on and his daughter just grins at him, looking around for a second as if analyzing the situation.

“You need a hand, little monkey?” Oliver questions but Ada just shakes her head.

“No, I got it, Daddy!”

Jack feels like his eyes bug out of his head as the small girl almost folds in half as she reaches up to grasp the beam with her hands, flicks her feet out so that she’s the right way up and then deftly drops to the floor, bending her knees expertly to soften the landing.

“See, easy peasy.” She grins at her father before she turns towards Will and throws herself into his arms. “Hi Will!”

“Hey, munchkin. You started those circus classes I guess?” William laughs, adjusting the small girl so that she’s balanced on his hip and she pouts, pushing at his shoulder.

“They’re acro classes and yes, yes I did.” She states proudly. Jack smiles affectionately at the way William places a soft kiss on his sister’s cheek before carefully placing her on the floor.

“C’mere Will.” Oliver smiles, opening his arms and Jack watches the way his boyfriend practically melts into his father’s arms. That familiar pain rises in his chest at the sight. He would never begrudge Will his loving family and their complete and utter acceptance of everything that he is but every time he sees this sort of fatherly affection, he cannot help the memory of the look of indifference on his own father’s face as he walked away from home.

“Um Dad, Ada, this is Jack. My boyfriend.” William introduces and if Jack wasn’t so nervous himself, he would think his nervous fidgeting very sweet.

Oliver goes to step forward but his daughter railroads him, stepping forward and extending her hand with a very professional look on her face for such a small girl.

“Ada Megan Queen, a pleasure to meet you.” She states and Jack schools his amused expression to shake her small hand with a professional nod of his own.

“The pleasure is all mine, Miss Queen.” He replies with a smile and her eyes narrow as she obviously scrutinizes him before she steps back and nods at William. Jack is unsure as to what that means but William sends him a reassuringly smile as Oliver finally steps forward.

“Jack, welcome to our home. It’s so lovely to finally meet the man that William’s been gushing about for so long.” The imposing man smiles, shooting William a grin when he groans loudly at his father’s words. Oliver is utterly charming, Jack realizes, and although he never expected it, it’s welcome after all the worrying he’s done since Will suggested this dinner.

“Thank you so much. These are for you and your wife.” Jack smiles back, passing over the flowers and the wine.

“Speaking of, where is Fliss?” William asks but just as he finishes speaking, there’s a loud squeal at the other end of the large open room and Jack jumps back just in time as a quick, blonde blur passes between him and Oliver and throws itself at Will.

“I missed you so much! You have been away for far too long, young man!” She squeals and Will just laughs, wrapping his arms around her and holding her in mid-air as they both laugh.

“I know, Fliss. I’m sorry. It’s so good to see you.” William replies and Jack spots the content smile on Oliver’s face as his wife pulls away from his son and clasps his face in her hands. She lingers for a moment before she turns to face Jack, a bright smile lighting up her face.

“And you must be Jack. We’ve heard so much about you from Will and I’m so happy that you’re finally here to meet us. I’m Felicity, Will’s stepmother. Please call me that and not Mrs. Queen or something like ma’am. I know I’m technically old by all you kids’ classifications but I’d like to hold onto my own delusion for slightly longer, thank you. I’m sorry I’m a little late. I was on a phone call for my company.”

Jack blinks.

Okay, maybe Will’s babbling makes slightly more sense now.

“It’s nice to meet you, Felicity,” Jack emphasizes as he outstretches his hand and it earns him another bright smile from the blonde as she shakes it.

“Honey, look what Jack brought with him,” Oliver speaks up and Felicity smiles at the sight of the wine and the flowers.

“Ooo, handsome and polite. You certainly did hit the jackpot, Will.” The blonde mother winks and Jack is certain he flushes as red as a tomato.

“Come on, let’s move away from the door,” Oliver suggests and takes two steps towards the rest of the large room when he stops and turns to look at his daughter. “Go and take that jumper off please, baby. You need that for class tomorrow.”

“Yes, Daddy.” Ada nods and heads off down the corridor. Jack follows Will and his parents through a homely looking kitchen where there’s the most incredible smell coming from the oven and into the living room.

“Where’s Mia and Lucas?”  Will questions as he looks around and Oliver smiles at Jack, gesturing towards the sofa. Jack takes a seat on the extremely comfortable couch and resists the urge to groan.

“Lucas is at GAF and Mia is in the studio. I told her to be out by six but you know what she’s like with keeping time.” Felicity explains and William nods with a chuckle.

“I’ll go grab her.” He states and then turns to look at Jack. “Are you good for a sec?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, babe.” He smiles and William grins, nodding. He looks between the three of them for a moment before he rushes from the room out of the French doors.

“Every time he does that, I get more and more convinced that Felicity somehow contributed DNA.” Oliver comments and Jack can’t help but laugh. It does seem that William acts a lot like his stepmother.

"He certainly does seem to be the perfect argument for nature vs nurture.” Jack replies and Felicity grins. “Something smells incredible by the way.”

“That’s Oliver’s chicken cordon bleu. I can guarantee it’ll be the best thing you’ve ever put in your mouth.” The blonde grins before she frowns. “Sorry, I didn’t mean…”

“Honey…” Oliver laughs with an amused shake of the head and Jack’s heart warms at the utterly endeared look on his face as he looks at his wife. It seems that even after all the years that they’ve been together, these two still utterly charm each other. Their love for each other shines through every look between the two of them. He can see why William has such a distinct view of how love should be.

“Incoming!”

Jack barely has time to look behind him as Ada comes rushing down the corridor. She laughs loudly as she flips over the side of the couch and lands in Oliver’s lap. He also laughs and sets her upright, in-between him and Felicity.

“Are you incapable of entering a room on your own two feet, young lady?” Felicity questions, brushing blonde curls off of Ada’s face and the small girl grins, nodding her head. Her mother shakes her head with an amused smile before she looks over at Jack. “You’ll soon learn that it seems like we’re running a zoo around here.”

“That’s what Daddy said earlier!” Ada giggles and Jack laughs.

“Oh and there those three go, proving my point.” Felicity comments and Jack follows her gaze to the open French doors where William is re-entering the room.

He is not alone however and Jack is slightly impressed at the ability he has to continue walking with two fully sized humans hanging off his frame. Who Jack knows is Lucas has his legs wrapped around Will’s shoulders, laughing loudly as he ruffles his brother’s hair and the blonde Jack recognizes as Mia is wrapped around his waist, her torso hanging upside down as she tugs on his pants.

“Hey, Mom!” Lucas smiles, waving at the blonde who takes a deep breath and shakes her head.

“Down now. Both of you.” She demands in a calm, slow voice that has Jack even a little terrified. Both Lucas and Mia clamor off of Will who falls down on the couch next to Jack with a laugh.

“It’s alright Fliss. I was intrigued to see if I could still carry the both of them.” He comments and Felicity looks over his out-of-breath body with an amused shake of her head.

“Animals, the lot of you. My children are animals.” She sighs and Oliver chuckles, reaching around Ada to run his hand over her arm. “Will you at least please introduce yourself before William’s guest thinks none of you have any manners at all?”

“Hi, I’m Mia, you must be Jack. I’ve heard so much about you from Will.” The tall blonde smiles, extending her hand and Jack stands to shake it.

“Likewise. Nice to meet you.” He replies and Mia nods. When they separate she turns to look at her mother, raising her eyebrows with a ‘see?’ expression on her face. Felicity just appears exasperated.

“Lucas, hey.” The teenager smiles at Jack, raising his chin in acknowledgment and Jack nods back.

“Nice to meet you, Lucas. I’m Jack.”

“Alright, now that we’re all acquainted. Who wants a drink?” Oliver asks and there’s a symphony of calls the answer his question.

Dinner goes far better than Jack expected. The Queens are excellent at maintaining conversation and Jack feels like they are truly interested when they ask about his work and his family. It’s something he’s long since forgotten family dinners could feel like and it gives him a warm feeling inside.

After they eat, William moves to help his parents with the dishes. Jack offers to help but all three of them decline, shooing him into the living room with William’s siblings.

Jack sits on the couch, feeling rather relaxed. That is until the three youngest Queen children share a look and a scarily well-timed simultaneous nod.

“Wh… what’s going on?” Jack questions as Ada situates herself on the coffee table in front of him.

“We have some questions.” Mia starts as she sits down next to Jack, a smile that seems all too sinister on her face. “About your intentions with our brother.”

“I’m sorry?” Jack questions, looking between the three of them with a confused expression on his face.

He dreaded this from Will’s parents but his siblings, one of which is an adorably tiny ten-year-old, he never saw a conversation like this coming from.

“Well you see, William doesn’t like to get too close to people. So why you?” Lucas questions, leaning forward so his elbows are balanced on his knees. Something about the movement highlights just how much muscle the teenager has built up in his arms and Jack blinks.

“Um…”

“We’ve heard about twenty or more different boys that William’s dated so why are you the first one we’ve met?” Ada questions, her eyebrows raised in a perfect arch that, as Jack looks over at Mia, he notices is almost identical to her sister.

“Don’t you think that’s more of a question for Will?” He tries but all it earns him is a scoff. Simultaneously. From all three of them.

“I don’t think you quite understand what we’re getting at here, Jack. William is our brother and he’s the best big brother in the world.” Lucas tells him and Jack nods with a frown.

“Yeah, I understand that. Can totally see that. He’s an amazing person.” He replies and the siblings share a look.

“So you can see why we only want the best for him?” Mia questions and Jack nods.

“Of course.”

“The thing is, Jack, we’re just not entirely sure that you’re it. We don’t know you. All we know is that you work at Will’s company, you have a less than stellar credit score, and you’re now dating our brother who is the CEO of said company with a lot of money.” Lucas frowns, reaching for his phone and Jack frowns, his brow furrowing.

“I’m not… I’m not a gold digger.” He tells them and watches as Ada reaches over to smack her brother on the arm.

“We’re not accusing you of that. Are we, Lucas?” She hisses and Jack had no idea that any ten year old could be that intimidating, let alone one as small and cute as Ada is.

“No, no. Sorry.” Lucas confirms, shaking his head.

“It’s just that some clarification on your intentions with our brother would help us feel a hell of a lot calmer about this whole situation.” Mia smiles, leveling out the tension and Jack frowns, looking between the three of them. It’s kind of sweet really, how much they want to make sure that Jack is suitable for Will.

“Listen, guys, I think it’s really beautiful how much you obviously care about your brother. Not a lot of people have that kind of dedication to anyone. Will is a wonderful man, he’s sweet and kind and funny and ridiculously smart and he makes me feel a way I’ve never before experienced. The thing is, I don’t know where this thing between Will and I is going. I care very much about your brother and I’m certain that I can love him someday as well. I can see a future between the two of us but I need the change to see where this could go. Can you guys give me that?” He questions, looking between the three of them.

“I believe so,” Ada tells him with a nod and he smirks, nodding back just as seriously.

“That was really beautiful.” Lucas smiles at him and Jack heaves a sigh of relief. He turns to look at Mia who is still staring at him with a dubious expression on her face.

“Let’s make one thing clear, Harris. If you break my brother’s heart, I’ll break your bones. One by one. Slowly.” The threatening blonde tells him plainly and Jack swallows tightly before nodding his head.

“Yeah, yeah, sure.” He replies and Mia’s face contorts into a smile before she also nods her head.

“Then we have a deal, Harris.”

“Hey, everything okay in here?” Oliver asks as he, Felicity and William walk back into the room.

“Yeah, we were just about to tell Jack about the time that Will got his head stuck in the banisters when he was babysitting Ada,” Lucas replies nonchalantly and Jack breathes deeply as the family around him burst into laughter.

“Hey, it’s not my fault you raised three ninjas! It makes babysitting kind of hard!” Will huffs as he settles down on the couch next to Jack. He wraps his arm around him and frowns at Jack’s terrible attempt at a reassuring smile. “You okay?”

“Yeah, all good babe.” He smiles and William raises an eyebrow but relaxes. He knows that later he’ll be quizzed by his boyfriend about what happened whilst he was out of the room with his parents.

In all of the years that follow in Jack and William’s relationship, he never does tell his partner about what occurred in the living room with his siblings that night in June. As with all relationships, there are some close calls but Mia never does have to snap any of Jack’s bones, a fact he is most appreciative of.

Chapter Text

Oliver grumbles a little as he wakes up to soft sounds coming from the other side of the room.

It’s been a long night. Felicity’s labor lasted twelve hours and they both pretty much zonked out once Mia seemed like she might sleep for a couple of hours. Oliver had planned on heading out to introduce his children (children, he has children now) but the moment he settled next to Felicity on the bed to make sure that she got some rest, he had passed out as well.

He’s worried and sort of excited that noise might mean his new-born daughter is awake and he sits up, being careful not to nudge Felicity and wake her up. After all, if anyone’s earnt a nap, it’s her.

Mia is awake but it wasn’t her who drew Oliver into the land of the living. William is stood over the bassinet, his arms cradling Mia perfectly, as he stares down at his baby sister. They make the most beautiful image Oliver thinks he’s ever seen and the tender care that is evident in even William’s posture makes him a complete mess. His son has been so excited about his new sister and to see it now… it’s Oliver never thought he would be able to have.

“Hi, Mia,” William says softly, his eyes too focused on the baby for Oliver’s almost silent rustling to catch his attention. “My name’s William and I’m your big brother. I know you probably want Felicity right now, that’s your mama, but she’s sleeping because you just tired her out. So, is it cool if the two of us chill for a minute?”

Mia wriggles around a little in William’s arms and he moves with her easily, laughing at her.

“I’ll take that as a yes. You’re so small! And you’re really frigging cute, I think Dad’s gonna have his work cut out for him learning to say no to you.” William grins at his comment and Oliver forces himself not to laugh himself. His son is completely right but he doesn’t want to alert him to his presence just yet. “I’ll teach you just how to push all the right buttons as well. I got your back, Mia-bug.”

Oliver’s attention is pulled away from the sight and words that are making him teary-eyed by a soft rustling next to him. His wife, obviously sleepy and worn out, stares up at him confused and Oliver holds a finger to his lips before gesturing over to William and Mia. Her eyes go wide before they get teary and she fumbles for his hand which he willingly gives.

“Oh.” Felicity’s voice catches in her throat, almost silent so as to not attract William’s attention, and Oliver can’t help but agree as he stares at the sight of their two children. “God, they’re perfect.”

“I know.” He whispers back, wrapping his arm around her waist as she leans her body weight on his shoulder.

“Could you ever have imagined, back after Ra’s or Darhk, that we’d ever make it here?” She asks him softly, her eyes filled with tears and Oliver smiles down at her, leaning in to brush a kiss against her forehead.

“Baby, I couldn’t have imagined six months ago that we’d make it here.” He replies and she giggles a little. The sound finally draws William’s attention over to them and the teenager blushes, looking at them a little sheepishly.

“I’m sorry, I just couldn’t wait.” He tells them and they both shake their heads.

“Don’t be silly, buddy.” Oliver shakes him off and Felicity grins at him, patting the spot on the other side of her. William smiles and moves carefully towards her, only taking his eyes off of Mia to make sure that he’s not going to walk into the bed.

“I read that book you guys left on the coffee table earlier whilst everything was going on. Am I holding her right?” Their son asks as he sits down next to his step-mother and Felicity grins, nodding her head.

“You’re doing amazing, sweetheart. Mia’s already got such a good big brother.” Felicity tells him and William smiles, blushing a little at the praise. He rolls his eyes when Oliver catches his eye, obviously wanting to come across as cool and grown-up, but Oliver can see how much the comment means to his son.

“She’s so small. Like, I didn’t know babies could be that small.” William comments and Oliver snorts quietly, adjusting a little behind Felicity so that he can see his daughter a little better.

“Just wait until you see her fingers and toes, they’re like the size of a tic-tac,” Felicity explains and William gasps, making Oliver smile.

This is his entire world, right in front of him. It’s all he’s ever going to need.

“You guys are gonna have more kids, right? Because I’m just saying that knowing you just make babies this cute…” William comments and Oliver cannot stop the laugh that bubbles out of him even as Felicity gasps in surprise.

“Will!” She admonishes and William shrugs, grinning cheekily as he looks between the two of them.

“What? It’s true!” He declares and Felicity looks up at Oliver who only grins, causing her to sigh with a shake of her head.

“Can we let Mia celebrate being a day old before we start thinking about me becoming the size of an elephant again?” She questions and both Oliver and William laugh, the former dropping a kiss to the top of his wife’s head.

Mia chooses that moment to let out a cry and William’s expression immediately changes to panicked as he looks up at his parents.

“I didn’t…” He starts but Felicity merely shakes her head, reaching out to take the baby.

“It’s okay, bud, she’s probably just hungry,” Oliver tells him reassuringly and Felicity nods with a smile when their son looks to her for confirmation.

“As we all are,” Felicity comments quietly, taking the cloth that Oliver hands her to drape over her shoulder.

“I can make dinner if you guys want? That chicken pot pie you taught me the other week, Dad?” William offers and Oliver smiles at how much he’s trying to be helpful right now. It’s almost too endearing for him to take.

“You are an absolute angel. Thank you.” Felicity tells him, holding Mia securely as she leans over to smack a kiss against his cheek. William blushes but he still smiles proudly.

“I’ll see you in a little bit, Mia-bug.” He says softly as he tugs ever so gently on the foot of her baby grow and Oliver blinks back the tears once more. William grins at the both of them before he leaves the room, his eyes lingering on his baby sister as he rounds the corner.

“Okay, okay, munchkin.” Felicity soothes the still crying baby and pulls down the singlet top she’s wearing to expose her breast to the baby.

Oliver watches in amazement as Mia takes a few tries to latch on before finally settling down happily, her eyes shutting as she eats.

“You should go check on Will,” Felicity comments softly, looking up at him with a smile and Oliver frowns, knowing that he really should but also not wanting to move. A large clang from the kitchen makes him jump.

“I’m alright!” William calls and Felicity chuckles, shaking her head as one of her hands drops to rub Mia’s arm.

“We’re fine. Go.” Felicity prompts and Oliver sighs, running a hand through his wife’s hair before bending down to press a kiss to Mia’s soft head.

“You’re sure you’re okay?” He asks and Felicity smiles, shaking her head amusedly at him.

“Yes and if we’re not, we’ve both got two sets of working lungs to tell you otherwise.” She winks and Oliver chuckles, bending to kiss her softly before he stands from the bed. The sight of his girls is only more beautiful now that he can see the whole picture and he tears up again as he meets Felicity’s gaze. “You big ole’ softy.”

Her voice is light and teasing but there are tears in her eyes as well as she smiles at him. She knows how much this means for the both of them that they’ve made it here. They’ve battled everything to get to where they are today and the sight of her with their little angel cuddled in her arms is almost too much for Oliver to cope with. Mia’s not yet a day old but he already knows he’s going to be wrapped as tightly around her little finger as he is her mother and brother.

There’s another loud bang from the kitchen that has both he and Felicity wincing and Oliver takes one last look at his girls before he heads off to make sure his son doesn’t break any of their kitchenware or hurt himself.

As he told his wife, the idea that he’d be here, in this idyllic cabin, with his wife and children, would have been ludicrous to him six months ago but he knows that he’s going to enjoy every last moment of it for the complete and utter miracle that it is.

Chapter Text

Mia is devastated when William leaves for college.

At only four years old, she can’t quite understand where her brother’s going and why she won’t be able to see him. She and William have been extremely close ever since the little girl was born and it’s heartbreaking to Oliver and Felicity to see how much William spreading his wings has affected their daughter.

“Hey, kiddo.” Oliver smiles softly as he makes his way over to his daughter. She’s sat on the large armchair in the living room, little arm on the side rest with her head resting in her palm. Her eyes are sad and there’s a practically permanent pout on her lips. They’ve been home for about an hour and Mia headed straight to this spot when they got in, William’s usual spot in the living room. “You wanna go play outside?”

Mia shakes her head, looking up at her father. She stays quiet, which is entirely unusual for a child as usually hyperactive as Mia.

“Munchkin, you’re killing me here.” Oliver comments, bending down in front of the chair and brushing her blonde curls away from her face.

“I miss Will.” She finally tells him after a long sigh and Oliver nods, a sad smile on his face.

“I know, baby. I miss him too but he’s gonna come home. He’s not going away forever. It’s like Momma’s trips for work.” He tries to explain, rubbing his hand up Mia’s arm but she frowns.

“Those are shorter though.” She tells him and Oliver pauses, nodding his head. He’s quickly learning that his daughter is not one who can easily be swayed by coverups and explanations that would usually work on small children. He swears it’s an early sign of his wife’s intelligence, that Mia is always quick to apply a blunt form of logic when someone tries to coerce her into believing something.

“That’s true but it’s just like when Momma goes away, we can still talk to Will and see his face on the tablet,” Oliver explains, keeping his voice light and a smile on his face.

“Not the same,” Mia tells him bluntly again and Oliver sighs, reaching for her small hand and rubbing his thumb over the back of it.

“No, it’s not, but he’s gonna have so many fun stories to tell you and you’re gonna have so many fun stories to tell him.” He tells her, squeezing her hand gently with a smile as he brightens his voice but it’s still to no avail.

“I guess.” Mia sighs and turns her head away. Oliver knows he’s failed at his mission of trying to cheer her up when he sees the tears start to build her eyes. It’s like a punch to the stomach, knowing that he’s unable to keep his baby girl from being upset. Even though he knows that in the long run, situations like this are important for her emotional development, it doesn’t stop the want to just scoop her up and attempt to make everything okay.

“Hey, what’s going on in here?” Felicity’s voice makes them both turn towards her as she heads into the room from where she was feeding Lucas and putting him down for a nap after the long journey. Mia’s bottom lip quivers at the sound of her mother’s voice and Felicity frowns as she approaches the two of them in the living room.

“Momma…” The little girl waivers as the tears finally spill over and Felicity frowns when she finally reaches them.

“Oh baby girl, that’s a lot of emotions for such a small body, huh? C’mere.”

Oliver watches with a soft smile as his wife easily scoops Mia into her arms when the girl reaches out for her. Felicity bounces her for a minute until the worst of her cries have lessened and she smiles gently, smoothing her hand over Mia’s hair as her cries turn to sniffles and she clings to her mother tightly.

“I know you miss him, we all miss him, little star. It’s gonna be weird around here without him, huh?” Felicity whispers, smiling sadly as she catches Oliver’s eye over Mia’s shoulder.

He can tell by her expression that she’s just as heartbroken by this as he is. They expected Mia to be upset, they know how close the two of them are after all, but they didn’t quite expect this.

“Do you remember what Will told you, about why he has to go?” Felicity asks and Oliver hears Mia sniff as she pulls back, wrapping her arms around Felicity’s neck to stabilise herself.

“Be…because he’s going to learn from the really, really smarts people.” Mia relays and Felicity smiles, nodding her head.

“That’s right and you know how excited he was about that, right?” She presses and Mia frowns, biting her lip as she nods her head.

“Uh huh.”

“So as much as it hurts us because he’s not going to be here all the time, we have to be happy for how happy he’s going to be. Does that make sense?”

Oliver watches Mia process her mother’s words with a deep frown on her face. It’s a difficult concept for a four-year-old to grasp, for sure, but eventually, her brow evens out and she shrugs her little shoulders.

“I guess so.” She sighs and Oliver smiles, standing to step up to her as he places a comforting hand of his own on Mia’s back.

“And it will only make the times that we do get to see him all the more special, I promise.” Felicity tells her, pulling her back in closer to pepper kisses across the tear tracks on Mia’s face. The little girl sighs, obviously thinking through what she’s been told, but the tell tale sign of her lips pursing tells Oliver that she’s got a question for them coming.

“Do you think he’ll bring back presents?” She finally blurts out and Oliver cannot stop the chuckle that bubbles out of him.

“I’m sure he’ll bring back lots of presents, baby girl.” He assures her and Mia turns to look at him, nodding as is he’s just given her the answer to the most serious of questions.

“Do I have to walk to Daddy’s work now?” She poses next, obviously contemplating that it’s her big brother who often drives her to the classes she takes at Oliver’s gym. She looks between them both and it’s Felicity’s turn to chuckle as she shakes her head.

“No, silly girl. Momma will drive you to Daddy’s work.” She promises, her lips pressed to Mia’s temple.

The little girl nods, her frown diminishing by the second and Oliver catches Felicity’s eye, smiling at his wife and how easily she’s calmed their daughter. He never thought it was possible to fall more in love with this woman but then he saw her with their children and it was like his heart grew three sizes.

“Tell you what, why don’t you go help Daddy with dinner and once we’ve all eaten, we can see if Will can video call?” Felicity questions, bouncing Mia on her hip, and that has the little girl’s face lighting up in the way that Oliver’s been trying to achieve since they got home.

“Really?” She asks, her eyes wide with hope, and Felicity chuckles, kissing her across her face again.

“Really.” She promises and Mia begins to wriggle, silently asking to be put down. Felicity complies and the little girl moves towards her father, tugging on his hand.

“Come on Daddy, we gots to make dinner fast.” She tells him before she lets go and rushes into the kitchen with her usual excitement. Oliver sighs as he watches her go before he turns back to his wife, wrapping an arm around her waist as he tugs her close.

“Thank you.” He tells her, pressing his lips against her temple.

“What did I do?” Felicity frowns and Oliver sends her an incredulous look which only earns him a reproachful one in return. “You would’ve gotten there.”

“Hmm… I love you.” He tells her, moving his lips down to her cheek, and Felicity chuckles, turning so that they’re face to face as she loops her arms around his neck.

“I love you too, my emotional old man.” She grins as she rises onto her toes, pressing her lips against his softly.

“Hey, we’re parents to a college kid now.” Oliver reminds her as they pull away and she groans, leaning her forehead against his.

“Christ, we’re old.” She comments and Oliver snorts. They both jump however, when an alarming crashing noise comes from the kitchen.

“I’m good!” Mia’s little voice calls and Oliver groans, reluctantly pulling away from his wife to go and stop his daughter before she breaks anything.

Mia soon adjusts to life as the eldest child in the house. One thing Oliver and Felicity never imagined to come out of William moving to college is the way Mia has stepped up as a big sister to Lucas. She’s always been helpful, but she’s on a whole other level now.

There’s no denying it though, their four-year old’s favorite part of her week is the hour she gets to spend chatting to her big brother over a video call. She tells him everything she can about what she’s been doing and updates about the rest of their family and she listens as he informs her of the stuff he’s been up to that might hold a little girl’s interest.

By the time William’s first visit home arrives, the little girl is practically thrumming with excitement.

They head to the airport to pick him up and Oliver chuckles as he struggles to keep hold of their excitable daughter as she dances around the arrivals lounge.

“Oh, what a sweet girl.” A nearby woman tells them with a smile and Felicity thanks her with a polite smile, Lucas balanced on her hip.

“My big brother’s coming home!” Mia informs her, making the woman chuckle.

“Well how lovely for you, where’s your brother been?” She questions and Oliver smiles at her willingness to engage with Mia even though the little girl is spinning in excitable circles.

“Big boy school,” Mia tells her happily and the woman chuckles, looking over at Oliver and Felicity with a grin. The two of them are very used to scenarios like this, Mia is social and she loves talking to people so something like this tends to occur wherever they go.

Oliver notices that a new influx of people are spilling out of the arrivals gate, and with William’s flight having landed ten minutes ago, he stands in excitement.

“Mia, I think this is William’s flight.” He calls and Mia looks up from her scuffed shoes, grinning as she rushes back over to him. She worms her way between him and Felicity, reaching up to hold both their hands and Oliver shares an affectionate smile with his wife over her head. Mia’s excitement is infectious and Oliver feels the anticipation start to grow within his own body.

He’s missed his son something awful and even though he feels like he might burst with pride whenever he even thinks about how much William is already excelling, he’s seriously looking forward to having him home for a few days.

“William!” Mia squeals and darts away from them before Oliver has even spotted his son in the crowd of people. The other arrivals dart out of the way of the small girl and Oliver follows the sight of his daughter’s blonde hair as she crashes into her big brother at an alarming speed.

Oliver watches as the teenager laughs, standing with his arms full of four-year-old.  

“Hey there little ninja! Oh, I missed you!” William comments as he carries Mia back over towards them and Mia giggles, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.

“I missed you so so so so so so so so so so so so so so sooooooo much!” Mia rambles making William chuckle.

“Wow, that’s a lot and lot.” The teenager tells her, his voice light as he grins but Mia’s face grows serious as she nods her head.

“Uh huh!”

“Have you been looking after everyone whilst I’ve been gone?” William asks her and Mia grins, nodding enthusiastically.

“Yup! I even helps with Lucas’ stinky diapers.” She relays, scrunching up her nose and William chuckles as they finally fully reach where Oliver and Felicity are still stood with Lucas.

They both hug William tightly, telling him how much they missed him and that they can’t wait to hear all about his first weeks at MIT. He greets Lucas with kisses to his face that have the baby giggling in Felicity’s arms and all the while, Mia clings to him tightly.

She continues this behavior for the entire journey back to the cabin. She sits in her car seat, rambling happily along to him about anything and everything. Oliver is happy to just revel in the fact that his family is all together and Felicity reaches across the console, taking his hand with a bright smile. He can tell that she’s just as content to revel in William’s presence and the sound of his voice as he engages with Mia.

William heads to his room to throw his bags down when they get back and when he comes back into the living room, he’s holding something behind his back.

“Hey little ninja, I got a present for you.” He comments and Mia spins, rising onto her toes excitedly. William grins and draws his hand to the front, showing a large seashell. Mia gasps and rushes forward as William bends down to her level.

“Oh, it’s so pretty. Look Momma!” The little girl grins, looking back to where Felicity is sat on the couch.

“I see, baby girl. What do you say?” The mother prompts with an affectionate smile and Mia’s mouth forms an ‘o’ as she turns back to her big brother.

“Thank you!” She grins, throwing her arms around his neck and William chuckles, squeezing her tightly. Pulling back, he leads her over to the armchair and tugs her into his lap. Mia smiles and snuggles into him, looking up at him as if he hung the sun in the sky. Seeing the bond between the two of them so clear in front of him again makes Oliver tear up.

“You see Mia-girl, this is a shell from the shore near my college. So whenever you miss me or we can’t talk, if you hold this up to your ear, you can hear the same sea that I do.” William explains gently and Mia’s expression morphs into complete surprise. It’s as if William’s just blown her mind and when her brother lifts the shell to her ear, that expression only grows.

“That’s the sea?” She asks, looking up at him with wide eyes, and William smiles with a nod as he brushes her hair back from her face.

“Uh huh. Neat, huh?” He asks and Mia grins, nodding her head.

“Isn’t that a wonderful idea, Mia?” Oliver prompts as he walks over, his heart bursting with affection for them both. His son is so mature now, and his love for his baby sister makes Oliver’s heart feel so full.

“You think that might help your heart feel a little better when you miss me, little ninja?” William asks and Mia nods with a small smile, her small hand brushing over the seashell.

“You’re still going to come visit though, right?” She asks and William chuckles, wrapping his arm around her and peppers a few kisses against her face.

“Of course, little ninja. I can’t stay away from you for very long.” He tells her and Oliver smiles, catching Felicity’s teary smile as she watches the two of them affectionately.  

Her seashell becomes Mia’s most prized possession. Whenever she’s sad or annoyed about something, Oliver and Felicity know to find her in her room, holding the seashell tightly to her ear. It’s the only sure fire way to calm her down.

Even when Mia is old enough to understand that the sound is just resonance, she still will hold the seashell to her ear and remember how much she loves her big brother.

Chapter Text

Mia always knew that her mother has an affinity for brightly coloured nails.

She can’t remember a time when a glance at her mother’s hands wouldn’t warrant the viewer a bright pop of red, or blue, or even orange some days. It was a nice reminder to Mia as she grew that some things would never change.

The box of polish that sits next to her mother’s vanity in the master bedroom of the cabin is also as closely guarded as the crate that sits in the garage which contains her father’s old suit and arrows or the panic room where her mother’s computers are kept. Mia knew from a young age that it holds every colour under the rainbow of the gloppy substance her mother enjoys spreading across the smooth surface of her nails.

When she was younger, Mia had assumed it was merely something grownups did, like how her mother also likes to spread a bright colour across her lips each morning, but as she grew, the eldest daughter in the Smoak-Queen household grew to learn just how important her mother’s weekly ritual of painting her nails is both to Felicity herself and their entire family.

A stranger, looking upon the nail polish collection of Felicity Smoak, might ask why there appear to be two of every bottle. Only those worn with long age do not have a pair. But Mia doesn’t need to ask.

Because Mia spends each Wednesday evening in the living room, watching her parents as they go about their ritual.

Her mother settles on one end of the couch, a cloth spread across her lap. She begins by wiping the previous polish from her hands, the faint smell of acetone dancing in the air as she hums or rambles on about this or that. It is then that Mia knows to watch as her mother regards her nails before reaching for the clippers or a file. Felicity Smoak keeps her nails shorter than most and Mia knows it is because her mother hates the idea of having to keep them out of the way as she types. Her mother’s fingers are her weapons and she hates her nails getting in the way of her ability to wield their power.

Once she has finished trimming her nails, this is where Mia’s father comes in. He is always sat at the other end of the couch, maintaining a remarkable distance between he and his wife. Mia has always known her father to be extremely affectionate and it is rare that he sits upon the couch of an evening and is not curled up to one of them.

Wednesdays have always been the exception.

Her mother’s feet are extended into her father’s lap and until this point, that’s as far as his involvement goes. He might rub her feet, his thumbs digging into the arches where Mia’s mother’s affinity for heels comes back to bite her. Mostly, however, he regards his wife with a soft smile, participating in her conversation if there is one or merely watching with a smile if singing is what Mia’s mother has chosen that Wednesday evening.

It is after she has filed her fingers down that she reaches for the bottle of colour she selected before she entered the living room. She passes one to Mia’s father and keeps the other for herself and then they both set to work.

Mia’s older brother, William, informs her that this is a ritual that started when their mother was pregnant with Mia herself. Perturbed by her lack of ability to reach her toes with her large baby bump in the way, their father had found her sulking on the couch one night. When he finally managed to elicit her concern from her, William recalls watching his father chuckle before taking the bottle of polish from his wife’s hands and drawing her feet into his lap.

After Mia was born, the tradition just continued.

Mia has her place in the living room. The large armchair to the left of the couch has long been claimed as hers. It’s in a great position to see the TV, it keeps her close to her family, and it faces William’s preferred seat, which means she can pull all the dumb faces at him that she wants.

Wednesday evenings are the only time Mia will relinquish that seat. She instead prefers to sink onto the rug that covers the floor from the coffee table to the couch, leaning her hand against the couch cushions as she looks up at her parents. It allows her to hear her mother’s singing better and watch the process in more detail.

It’s always fascinated her, watching the determined way both her parents draw the small brush across the nail. She knows her mother struggles more than her father. Her father is used to this slow approach to a goal but the soft, methodical approach one must take to ensure well-painted nails is a far cry from the fast typing that takes up a coder’s days.

Mia asked her mother about it once and Felicity had smiled, reaching out to brush a blonde curl behind Mia’s ear.

“It helps my patience,” She explained in that soft, lilting voice that calls Mia home even when she’s moved far away. “Having to concentrate on something so fully, it helps to clear my mind as well.”

Mia can see that, from her position at her parents’ feet. Whilst her mother will often tell stories if she chooses not to sing that Wednesday evening, it is not time in which her children or husband will ask her advice or even speak themselves. For thirty minutes, they allow merely Felicity’s voice to fill the room.

As she grows, Mia notices that her mother is not even really aware of the others around her as she focuses on the task. When she places the cap back on the bottle and hands it to Mia to place back on the coffee table is when she returns to the room. But as she paints, it is as if her mind is somewhere else entirely.

Her siblings find their own ways to occupy their time, but they will always be there.

William often sits with his laptop on tablet upon his knee, typing away at some code or program. Lucas will take Mia’s usual seat for the night and bury his head within a book, looking up occasionally to smile or participate in a conversation when prompted. Ada is the one of them all who is least adaptable to the quiet situation, little spider monkey that she is, and her position is less predictable. She sometimes will drag a mat into the open space under the bay window and stretch and other times she is content to curl up atop the back of the sofa, half curled around their father in a position that Mia always doubts can be comfortable.

Mia, however, will always take her spot on the rug in front of the couch on a Wednesday evening.

Once the nails are dry, Mia will lay her head in her mother’s lap and delight in the feeling of her fingers in her hair or drawing softly over her cheek. They tease her often, that their mother has an obsession with others’ faces. It is rare for them to be in her company for ten minutes and for her not to have stroked one of them across the cheek. Despite their teasing, Mia and her siblings do adore the feeling of their mother’s warm hand against their skin.

It, like her bright nails, is something that doesn’t seem to change even as time weaves through them.

Through everything, Mia never misses a Wednesday evening in their living room. No matter the argument plaguing the house that week, or the situation at school that is making Mia want to curl up in her room and do nothing but cry, she can always be prevailed upon to sink into the rug in front of the couch on Wednesday evening and watch her mother and father paint her mother’s nails.

When Mia grows and leaves home, stepping out into the world and making her own path, it is the memories of those Wednesday nights that make her heart ache the most. The smell of her mother’s perfume mixing with the distinct scent of the nail polish lingers in Mia’s nose miles away from the cabin on the outskirts of town. Mia can still hear the sound of her mother’s lilting voice as she weaves her way through an old Fleetwood Mac song, her laugh lingering as she gets the words wrong again.

What simultaneously warms her heart the most and provides the strongest yearning to be back in the warmth of the cabin, however, is the memory of her father’s affectionate smile. It is always brightest on a Wednesday evening and Mia can still see that glint of disbelief in his eyes as he takes in his family around him. The way his eyes soften when they land on his wife, still in the midst of her song or story, will forever remind Mia that her parents’ love is the kind to wait for, the kind that lasts centuries, and the kind of love she knows she will be extremely lucky if she ever finds it.

To anyone else, watching someone paint their nails might seem like an odd activity, but to Mia, it is one of the greatest reminders of just how much love flows through the walls of their family home.

Chapter Text

It isn’t until he signs a document just before he leaves the gym that the date resonates with him.

April 23^rd, 2024.

Ten years to the day since he lost his mother, since Slade stabbed her through the chest with his sword.

There are so many things he wishes he could have told her, he wishes that she could have seen. He remembers her telling him that one day, her greatest wish was for him to be a father. He wishes she could have gotten the chance to meet the kids and to see just how much joy each and every one of them brings him every day.

He has no doubt that she would have come around to the idea of Felicity. There’s not a person that has spent extended periods of time with his wife and not become as utterly smitten as he is. He thinks they would have gotten along. He never says it to her because he knows it’s something that would earn him a disapproving glance, but there are times when his wife reminds him of his mother. When she goes full Mama Bear, he can see her shining through.

Oliver takes his time getting home, his movements lethargic as he climbs out the car and walks into the house. He truly doesn’t know how he’s feeling, it’s such an odd thought and the idea of fully processing the emotions he has around his mother still scares him a little.

“Hi, honey,” Felicity calls from the kitchen and Oliver immediately frowns at the takeout containers covering the counter. Wednesdays are the days he generally stays later at the gym because Felicity always takes the afternoon off and can do the school round but he still tends to cook when he gets home. Despite her attempts, Felicity’s still no pro in the kitchen and it’s generally safer if he just takes over all the time.

“What’s this?” He asks as he walks over, looping his arm around her waist as she raises onto her toes to gently kiss him in greeting.

“I saw the date when I finished work. I figured you probably wouldn’t want to cook. One night of takeout isn’t going to kill the kids.” She tells him and Oliver frowns. Of course, Felicity remembered. She knows him better than he knows himself most of the time.

“You didn’t have to do that.” He tells her but she just shakes her head.

“Don’t be silly. I know today is hard.” She tells him and Oliver takes a deep breath as his eyebrows furrow.  

“I just…” He starts but then stops, actually unsure of what he wants to say, if anything. There’s a lot to process about this day and he truly doesn’t even really know where to start.

“Hey, I’m here if you want to talk, you know that, but I’m not expecting you to and I’m not going to force you,” Felicity tells him with a kind smile and Oliver’s shoulders relax, once again astounded at the kindness and gentle heart of the woman he loves.

“Thank you.” He tells her but she shakes her head, rising on her toes to kiss him softly again.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Daddy!” Mia’s voice reigns over the room as she rushes over and Felicity steps aside just in time as the five-year-old launches herself into his arms.

“Hey there, munchkin. Did you have a good day at school?” He asks with a small chuckle, settling her into his arms safely. He kisses her cheek in greeting and her arms wrap tightly around his neck as she hugs him close.

“Uh-huh, it was the bestest! I did the monkey bars super fast and everyone was really impressed.” Mia explains and Oliver chuckles.

“That’s amazing, kiddo.” He tells her and she grins proudly, settling her head against his shoulder.

“Daddy.” Lucas’ little voice is softer than his sister’s but Oliver smiles just as wide at the sound of it as his son bundles into his leg, wrapping his small, chubby arms around it. The father grins and settles Mia into one arm, bending down to lift Lucas to his waist with the other.

“Hi Lou-Lou, did you have a good day?” He questions and Lucas nods, mirroring his sister as he cuddles into Oliver’s other shoulder.

“Cookies.” He says as if that’s all the explanation Oliver needs and the father gasps with a smile.

“You had cookies? Wow, that sounds like an amazing day.” He tells the small boy who nods with a wide smile of his own.

“Alright rugrats, let’s let Daddy get settled. Can you help me set the table, please?” Felicity prompts and the children kiss him simultaneously once more before they scramble to get down. Mia launches herself, bending her knees with practised ease to soften the landing but Oliver catches Lucas before he can imitate his sister, knowing that he doesn’t have the same instincts as her just yet.

Oliver smiles, watching how eagerly his children spring to help. He wonders how long this enthusiasm for chores will last. It’s already starting to flake in Mia every now and again and Felicity has commented in the past that she’s appreciating it whilst it lasts. He thinks about how lucky he is to be here, to be able to notice these small changes within his children, to see them grow.

He just prays he’ll be around to see them become the wonderful adults he already knows they’re going to become.

Blinking to return himself to the room, he watches with a smile as Lucas ‘helps’ Felicity sets the glasses on the table which in reality is Felicity putting them on the table with their two-year-old also holding the glass. Shaking his head with a smirk, he heads down the hallway to his and Felicity’s room. He showers and changes quickly into a pair of cargo pants and a sweater, pulling on his thick socks before he heads back down to his family.

He’s quiet throughout dinner, listening to Mia’s babbling and relying on Felicity to reply to her numerous questions throughout her discussion. He’s normally a fierce participator but the knowledge of what today is is still weighing heavily on his mind. He eats slowly, answering when he’s spoken directly too and maintaining a smile for the kids’ sakes, but he can feel the wish to run growing stronger in him.

And Felicity, the angel that she is, recognises it immediately.

“Go. It’s okay. I’ve got it covered.” She tells him gently when he starts to clear up the plates once they’ve finished and he frowns, looking at her for a moment. There’s a determination in her expression and Oliver knows she won’t back down so he just sighs and nods his head.

“I’m just going to sit outside.” He promises, leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead.

“I’ll come find you before it gets too late.” She promises right back and he nods, leaning into the affectionate brush of her hand across his arm.

“Thank you.” Oliver smiles sadly and kisses her cheek. He bends to kiss both the kids on the top of their heads before he slips into his shoes and heads out the door. He moves his chair around the house until he’s at the other end of the deck, settling down and taking a deep breath as he lets the darkness of the night and the silence wash over him.

He doesn’t know how long he sits there, staring at the treeline and trying not to remember how they’d been in a similar environment when his mother had fallen to her knees to the sound of Thea’s screams.

Of everything he’s seen, his parents’ deaths are the memories that cut the deepest. His mother, in particular, drives deep because it still feels like something he could have avoided if he’d only done more. Realistically, he knows that Slade was always one step ahead but he still has this nagging guilt that he could have done something to prevent it.

It’s that thought that has his eyes sliding shut to prevent the tears slipping down his cheeks.

He’s so wrapped up in his thoughts that he doesn’t hear the soft patter of small feet on the deck but he certainly feels the tiny body as it clambers onto his lap.

“Daddy.” Lucas’ voice greets softly as the small boy cuddles into his chest. Oliver breathes in the scent of him, wrapping his arms around the toddler as he stretches out and pulls him fully onto his chest. He’s still small enough that he fits there, unlike Mia who’s now a little too big.

“Hi, Lou-Lou.” He greets back, keeping his eyes closed as he nuzzles his face into the soft curls on top of his son’s head before he plants a kiss on the top of his head.

“You ‘kay? Mama said no come out but you looked sad.” Lucas tells him in his gentle voice and Oliver smiles, rubbing a hand over his small back.

“I’m just thinking about something, buddy.” He tells him, smiling sadly as he thinks of how his mother would have loved to meet his children, tiny marvels that they are.

“’Bout what?” Lucas questions further and Oliver chuckles. He should have known he wouldn’t drop it, he is Felicity’s kid as well after all.

“My mama,” Oliver informs him and that obviously catches Lucas’ attention as the little boy lifts his head off his father’s chest. Oliver cracks his eyes open to see an adorable shocked expression on the toddler’s face.

“You have mama?” He asks and Oliver nods with a small smile, rubbing his hand over Lucas’ back to coax him back down. He does lie down but he keeps his head tilted up, his eyes locked on Oliver’s as he awaits his answer.

“She’s in heaven. She went there ten years ago today.” Oliver explains, moving his hand into Lucas’ hair as the other moves to balance him on his chest.

“Oh. Daddy sad?” Lucas asks with a frown, his little eyebrows burrowed downwards. Oliver smiles, moving his hand to gently rub his thumb over the crinkle that appears, just like his mother.

“It makes me sad, yes. I’m sad that she never got to meet you or your brother and sister. That she didn’t get to see how happy you guys and your mama makes me.” He tells his son and the toddler nods. Even though Oliver knows the toddler is still too young to fully understand him, getting to speak about it alleviates the heavy weight.

“She nice?” Lucas asks and Oliver chuckles. Nice is probably not a word anyone would have used to describe his mother. He remembers her as being incredibly loving but only towards a select few. That’s definitely too much for a two-year-old to understand though.

“She loved me and Auntie Thea very, very much.” He answers instead with a small smile.

“Like you and Mama love Lou-Lou?” Lucas questions, his sweet voice lightening Oliver’s disposition considerably.

“Yeah, baby, she loved us as much as me and your mama love you.” He confirms, obliging when Lucas puckers his lips in his way of asking for a kiss.

“Lucky.” The toddler smiles as he snuggles back into Oliver’s chest and the father feels a pang through his heart. He’s the lucky one right now, he thinks as he looks down at the little miracle on his chest.

“Yes, I was very lucky.” He tells his son, pressing another kiss to the top of his head.

“You miss her, Daddy?” Lucas asks and Oliver smiles, nodding his head.

“I do, but she’s with me. William has her smile, Mia has her eyes and you have her nose. I get to see her when I look at you.” He explains, bopping him little on the end of the nose when Lucas looks up towards him once more. It makes the little boy giggle which in turn makes Oliver grin.

“Auntie Thea too?” He asks after a moment and Oliver chuckles. He remembers his mother most when he’s around his sister but just like he knows mentioning that he sometimes sees his mother in Felicity is a bad idea, he knows that Thea would most likely not appreciate the comparison.

“Auntie Thea’s a lot more like your Grandma Moira than she’d like to admit, I think,” Oliver replies with a small chuckle.

“She like Lou-Lou?” Lucas questions after another beat of silence and Oliver smiles, cuddling his son as close as his arms will let him.

“Oh, she would have loved you so much, Lou-Lou. Just as much as me and Mama love you.” He promises his son, kissing his cheek where it smushes against his chest.

“Love her too.” Lucas whispers and Oliver’s eyes fill with tears.

“You are too sweet sometimes.” He answers, closing his eyes as he holds his son tightly.

“Daddy want Lou-Lou go?” The toddler questions and Oliver is utterly astounded by his son’s ability to comprehend his emotions. At just two years old, he’s already so aware of how others feel and how his actions may impact on those feelings. That’s something Oliver still struggles with and he’s rapidly approaching 40.

“No baby, you stay right there.” He tells Lucas as he pulls away, stroking over his back.

The small boy settles quickly, his thumb slipping into his mouth as his little eyes flicker shut and soon enough, his breathing levels out. Oliver relaxes back into his chair, listening to the steady breathing of his son and watching the way the stars twinkle over the warm Spring evening.

Ten minutes or so later, he hears soft padding and turns his head to see his wife walking over, smiling at the picture they create.

“Sorry. I heard him leave. I figured he’d found you when he didn’t come back in and I couldn’t see him in the garden.” She explains gently, her hand falling to push Lucas’ curls back from his face. “Want me to take him?”

Oliver smiles and shakes his head, his hand still rubbing over his son’s small back. “No, he’s good. We had a good old chat. Might have a career as a therapist in his future.”

“Oh really?” Felicity questions with a small smirk and Oliver nods with a small smile of his own.

“Hmm.” He nods and the two of them stand there for a moment, looking at Lucas’ sleeping frame.

Oliver wishes he could tell the small boy to stop growing, to stay this small forever but he knows deep down he doesn’t truly want that. He wants to see him grow and learn and change. It’s just also he wishes that his children could stay this small so they’ll always want to cuddle with him.

“Thank you. For earlier. You know me better than I do sometimes.” He finally tells his wife, looking up to see her smiling at him as she shakes her head.

“I’m your wife, Oliver. I know your tells.” Felicity tells him, reaching up to rub her hand over his face.

“You certainly do.” He comments, leaning into her touch when she settles on cupping his cheek. He takes a deep breath. There’s no expectancy in his wife’s expression but he knows she’ll listen if he wants to talk. “I know she wasn’t always the nicest woman but she loved Thea and I with all her heart.”

“She did. She was a remarkable woman.” Felicity comments and her words have Oliver sending her a dubious expression. He knows that she never really liked his mother. “Truly. We didn’t always see eye to eye but I always respected her. I still do. And whilst I hope we will never again find ourselves in those situations, I can see where her thinking was. There are no lengths I wouldn’t go to if it meant protecting our children.”

Felicity’s eyes flick down to Lucas again as she speaks and Oliver knows how she feels. The idea of any harm coming to his children is the one sure-fire way to madden him. Her lying is something Oliver’s had to grapple with over the years but her fierce need to protect him and his sister is something that came into stark clarification the minute he learned of William’s existence.

“She would have loved the kids so much. I bet she would have been the best grandmother. Between her and your mom, we would have had some very spoiled children.” He chuckles as he thinks it through and Felicity nods, chuckling.

“Yeah.” She comments lightly and a pleasant silence settles around them. Felicity drags her hand across his face soothingly before she moves to lift Lucas into his arms. “You want a few more minutes?”

“Yes, please. I’ll be there in a few.” He promises as he helps his wife adjust their sleeping son in her arms and Felicity smiles, bending down to kiss him gently.

“Take as much time as you need. I’ll be here.” She promises and gives him another kiss before she heads back inside, Lucas still sleeping heavily against her shoulder.

“I know you’re watching, Mom. Sorry I never did get the company back. I hope you’re proud. I love you.” Oliver whispers into the dark night, looking out amongst the stars and he swears he sees one of them wink right back at him.

He watches for another long moment, remembering warm smiles and gentle hands from the woman who had seemed so stern to the rest of the world. Swallowing thickly one last time, he takes a deep breath and heads back inside to put his kids to bed, curl up next to his wife, and maybe see if his sister’s free for a phone call.

Chapter Text

The fact that Connor is fully and unwaveringly in love with Mia hits him as he watches her roundhouse kick their foe of the week to the ground. 

It’s not a realisation that he comes to particularly slowly, nor is it one that comes on all at once but as he watches her successfully bring an end to the first mission she’s fully taken the lead on, Connor just knows that this is the woman he wants to spend the rest of his days with. 

To tell the truth, he’s known it for a long time but actually admitting it to himself? That’s a whole other thing entirely. 

This thing with Mia has always been kind of taboo. 

She’s three years younger than him, their parents are as close as siblings, and he’s always felt this pressure to see her as a sibling more than anything else. That’s certainly the way his brother sees her and the way that he looks at her siblings. 

But there’s always just been something about Mia. 

Since they were kids he’s always enjoyed her presence, known that he enjoys being around her. It wasn’t until he was seventeen that he started noticing just how pretty she was getting and that her smile made him want to make her laugh more. 

But those were feelings he desperately had to shove away, deep down. God, if either his dad or heaven forbid, Oliver, found out he’d been thinking about how pretty Mia is… 

Yup, there’d be nothing of him left to find. 

He never thought about it, forced himself not to, until her sixteenth birthday when she shoved him up against her bedroom door and kissed him herself. 

That’s Mia for you, always taking the initiative. 

It’s been a tough couple of years for the two of them. Connor was pretty insistent they keep things quiet for a while and that they didn’t progress past kissing until Mia was eighteen. He is still three years older than her and whilst Mia’s… well, Mia… she did finally come around to his way of seeing things. Although, it was only after he told her that if they did come clean, it would probably end in an open door policy and a lot of adult supervision. 

Sue him. He knows her and her perchance for being contrary too well. 

They made it almost a year but her dad caught her sneaking back in through her window a few weeks before her seventeenth birthday. 

Turns out he wasn’t wrong. 

Open door policies became their lives and whilst their parents weren’t quite as on the nose as making sure they were always supervised, there was somehow always one of Mia’s siblings lurking around. 

Connor’s pretty sure his dad and Oliver were bribing them in some way or another. Ada never could resist Hershey’s Kisses. 

Then Mia graduated and moved into the city to dedicate her time to her father’s old mission. 

Just around a year ago, she finally spoke to her parents about not wanting to go to college and instead focusing on taking over her father’s legacy. They were surprisingly open to the idea, although Connor knows that they’d give her the world if she wanted it. His honorary aunt and uncle have raised very humble and well-adjusted children but it’s no secret that Oliver is a complete pushover. 

Connor, Mia’s brother, William, and their childhood friend, Zoe, have been heading up the team for the past couple of years. Connor’s brother, JJ, wanted no part in this section of their parents’ legacy so Connor got passed his father’s mantle of ‘Spartan’, something he wears with pride. William is tech-based and was bestowed his step-mother’s secret identity of Overwatch a few years ago as well (although Felicity states that it is simply on loan). Zoe uses the Black Canary mantle, having trained with her honorary aunt, Dinah, who was one of the women to wear the mask in their parents’ heyday. 

The city is nowhere as riddled with crime as it once was but it’s still a large city and it still faces its issues, which is where their team comes in. 

Despite the three of them coming together and the Green Arrow being the legendary hero of Star City, it’s always been a mantle none of them have ever thought of touching. It’s been clear since Mia was tiny that the green hood was always going to be hers to take up. 

It’s something else entirely being out in the field with her. Both exhilarating and heart attack inducing. He’s fully aware of her ability to handle herself but Mia’s as reckless as her father, a comment she would probably take as a compliment, and every so often, she does something that has his heart in his throat. 

Tonight, however, she’s been absolutely incredible. She moves as lithely as a panther, swinging through the rooftops of Star City as if they were treetops in a jungle. Her tiny frame means that often attackers will underestimate her but she uses that to her advantage, getting beneath them and using all her strength to bring them to the ground. Connor watches from his position down the corridor as she finally brings the gang leader they’ve been chasing tonight to his knees. 

“Piece of cake.” She grins happily as she turns to face him, letting go of the unconscious man three times her size. He falls to the floor, his face slumping against the carpet of the abandoned high rise they’ve chased him to and Connor knows he’s going to be feeling more than just the carpet burn when he wakes in the morning. “What?” 

Connor blinks, frowning at Mia’s question. “What do you mean, what?” 

“You were staring at me all dazed. What’s wrong?” She asks with her brow furrowed and her tone accusatory. He knows that she probably thinks he’s about to tell her what she did wrong so he quickly schools his expression, shaking his head. 

“Nothing. You were fantastic tonight.” He tells her honestly and he cannot stop the smile that spreads across his face at the way she just lights up. Mia has this incredible way of going from a deadly fighter who you truly don’t want to get on the wrong side of, to the most adorable cupcake in mere seconds. 

It has always baffled Connor but it still makes him smile in the way it did when he was little. 

“Yeah, you absolutely killed it, team leader.” He winks and Mia chuckles, moving away from their assailant to tuck herself underneath his arm so that they can head out. 

“Well, that’s only because my team members followed directions so well. You know, I could get used to this being in charge business.” She grins up at him, her hand snaking around his waist as she wiggles her eyebrows up at him and Connor chuckles, arching one of his own eyebrows. 

“Oh really? We’ll have to see about that, Troublemaker…” 

“Okay, big brother still on comms so if you could stem the flirting for just another ten minutes, that would be fantastic.” William’s voice suddenly sounds in Connor’s ear and he freezes, honestly having forgotten that the line was still open. He just got so caught up in how wonderful Mia had looked out in the field and how well she handled herself. 

He kind of forgot they were more than a team of two. 

“Psuedo-big sister to both of you also still on comms and seconds that statement,” Zoe adds in and Connor winces. Mia just scoffs and rolls her eyes, walking a few steps away from Connor’s frozen body. She stops too when she realises he’s still stood and turns to look at him with a reproachful scoff. 

“Oh come on, they’re only teasing. Annoyingly.” She emphasises, speaking into her comm unit before she closes off her part of the line. She sends that smirk his way, the one that sends a shiver down Connor’s spine and the level of his affection for the woman in front of him hits him tenfold all over again. “C’mon. Race you back to the bunker?” 

That grabs his attention. 

He and Mia have been racing since he can remember. To the end of each of their gardens, on the beach on the vacations their families shared, and more recently, back to the bunker after they’ve both been out on a mission. This kind of racing is a lot more fun than the races they had as kids. Anything’s in play and Mia has a tendency to really enjoy swinging across the rooftops of the city. Connor’s long legs give him an advantage in speed and jumping but he’s no match for Mia’s stealth and agility. 

He nods and immediately takes off, ignoring the indignant sound that Mia makes at his lack of warning. She’ll catch him up no problem anyway so he doesn’t really see the issue. 

They’re not too far from the bunker so it doesn’t take too long for them to reach it but sure enough, Mia rushes past him at the last minute, swinging down from a nearby rooftop to just dash in front of the garage entrance. 

“Dirty tactics and you still lost. Sucks to be you, Hawke.” She smirks cheekily and Connor smiles, rolling his eyes. 

“C’mere Troublemaker.” He catches her arm and tugs her towards him, ignoring her teasing to instead kiss her thoroughly. He’s been wanting to do it since the high rise but he thought in front of an unconscious man might be a little uncouth, even for the two of them. 

It takes everything in him not to spill out his new revelation right there and then. Everything within him is screaming I love you but he knows it’s not the right time. His father always taught him to be aware of his surroundings and read a situation before you act. Connor’s not sure it was meant as relationship advice but it works well nonetheless. 

“Aww, are you proud of me?” Mia grins as they pull back, tilting her head as she teases. 

“Always.” He tells her honestly and she freezes before a smile spreads across her face. 

“Let’s go debrief and then we can get some food. How’s Chinese sound?” She questions as she catches his hand and starts to drag him into the bunker. Connor groans at the thought of takeout and a night cuddled up with Mia. It’s becoming his norm now and he loves that it is. 

“Like the best idea you’ve had in a while.” He tells her honestly and she grins as they enter the main area of the bunker to see William and Zoe on the raised platform. 

“There you crazy kids are,” Zoe smirks, her arms crossed across her chest and Connor ignores her, used to their teasing by now. Both her and William love to poke fun at the two of them but it comes from a place of sibling affection. Even if Zoe isn’t technically related to them, she was always around when he and Mia were kids owing to the fact that she and William were best friends. 

Connor knows his dazed look is back as he watches and listens to Mia succinctly round up the mission. She really has come so far in such a short period of time and whilst he never doubted that she’d make an excellent leader of this team, he’s still so proud of her for proving them all right. 

Zoe bids them goodnight when Mia finishes and William mumbles something about wiring as he wanders off as well, leaving just Mia and Connor stood on the centre platform. He’s briefly aware of the fact that Mia’s talking but all he can compute right now is her bare shoulders in the tank top she was wearing underneath her suit and the way in which the lights of the bunker are dancing in her hair. 

Everything just hits him again, all at once, and it just comes tumbling out. Loud and clear. 

“I love you.” 

Mia freezes, having been interrupted mid-sentence and she slowly spins on her heel to properly look at him. 

“I’m sorry, what did you just say?” She asks, her eyebrow arching as complete and utter shock registers on her face. 

“I… um… nothing?” Connor immediately backtracks, his voice rising embarrassingly quickly and Mia huffs, her arms crossing over her chest. 

“Connor.” She levels him with a look that rivals those of her mother’s. Wow, put that in with the list of things he should never say out loud to his girlfriend. 

“Okay, no, it wasn’t nothing. It was something. But I would like to know if you are agreeable to that something before I say it again?” He tells her and he swears he has never been this nervous before. His stomach is fluttering terribly and he feels like an absolute fool. 

“Connor,” Mia repeats but there’s the starts of a smile mixing in with her unimpressed look. 

“Yeah, that doesn’t really help.” He tells her with a frown and Mia huffs, shaking her head. 

“Tell me what you said again.” She asks and Connor frowns, taking a deep breath before squaring his shoulders. 

“I love you?” He tries, his voice rising unintentionally at the end. That has Mia full-on smiling as her hands drop down to her sides. 

“Is that a question?” She asks with a smirk as she steps towards him and Connor frowns. 

“No?” He tries to state but he inflects again, making him frown. “I know that it’s fast but I just… seeing you out there tonight, doing so well leading everyone. It just made me realise that this truly is what I want to do for the rest of my life and I want to do it with you by my side and I…” 

He’s so caught up in his rambling and his sudden inability to stop talking that he doesn’t even realise how close Mia has gotten to him until her rough hands cup his cheeks and tug him towards her. Then all of sudden, he can’t speak because her lips are pressed against his as she leads him in the most glorious of dances, her lips curved upwards in a smile against his. 

“What was that for?” Connor asks as they pull away, blinking as he attempts to force himself out of the slight daze her kiss has put him in. 

“You know that my mother has claimed cute rambling as her thing. She might even have a trademark on it at this point.” 

“I… what?” Connor questions at her statement, his brow furrowing as he looks down at her smirking face. 

“I love you too, Connor,” Mia tells him and everything freezes for a long moment. 

She loves him too? That’s…

That’s excellent news, right? 

Yes. 

She loves him too. 

Wow. 

“I… really? It’s not too fast?” He manages to stutter out and Mia scoffs, shaking her head with a laugh. 

“Connor, I first kissed you over two years ago! This has been the complete opposite of fast!” She tells him incredulously shaking her head and Connor frowns. 

He hadn’t thought about it like that. 

“You might have a point there.” 

“You’re entirely too adorable when you’re nervous. You know that, right?” She asks him, her hand reaching up to gently clasp his chin and Connor frowns as he fully computes her words. 

“You’re the only person who ever calls me adorable, Mia.” He tells her with a scoff and Mia frowns, rising onto her toes. 

“Missed opportunity.” She tells him before she kisses him gently again and Connor’s heart feels entirely too full as he realises that she’s kissing him and she loves him. 

He truly is the luckiest guy. 

“I love you.” Mia’s voice is softer than before as they pull apart and Connor grins, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist as he pulls her as close as he can, just wanting to feel her against him. 

“I love you.” He replies just as softly, their eyes meeting in the bright, artificial light of the bunker. Mia’s eyes look so brilliantly green underneath it and Connor can immediately see a future for the two of them here. 

“Excellent. Everyone loves everyone. Now can you two please get away from my computers? I have things to do!” 

William’s voice makes Connor jump and he turns to see Mia’s older brother watching them. His expression is half perturbed, half annoyed and Connor immediately recoils at the idea of being caught in such an intimate position. It’s not that William particularly cares, he knows that Mia is an adult, but he’s still her big brother at the end of the day. 

“Sorry William, didn’t realise you were still here.” Connor blushes but Mia clings to his side, refusing to let him pull away. 

“Clearly. If you’re going to do that, can you do it somewhere else? I love you both but I do not need to see your hands all over my baby sister.” He comments as he walks back over to his computers and Connor blushes deeper.

Mia, on her part, just scoffs, letting go of Connor so that she can collect her things. 

“Ugh, you sound like Dad.” She comments to William as she picks things up and Connor immediately knows that was the wrong thing to say when the older man turns to face his baby sister with a smirk. 

“Get out of here before I call him.” William threatens with a smirk but Mia still gasps, her eyes narrowing as she glares at him. 

“You wouldn’t!” 

“You know I would.” William snaps back and Mia huffs, shaking her head. 

“You’re the worst. Come on, Connor.” She tells him, reaching out for Connor’s hand. He follows her, knowing there’s no point getting in between the two of them. They don’t really mean it anyway; Mia and William have always enjoyed winding each other up. 

“Love you too, baby bug,” William calls after them and Mia immediately groans as she always does at the sound of her brother’s childhood nickname for her. 

“Worst nickname ever!” She calls back over her shoulder, her fingers interlacing with Connor’s as she does so. 

Even Mia and William’s bickering can’t wipe the smile off Connor’s face as they step onto the elevator. 

She loves him. 

Like legitimately loves him. And he loves her. 

This is the best day ever. 

“C’mon, dork. Your place or mine?” Mia asks him with a smirk when the elevator doors open and Connor shrugs as he gives her a dopey grin, knowing that he’ll go anywhere.

As long as it’s with her. 

Chapter Text

Oliver hates it when his wife has to go away.

It’s not that they have an unequal input into the rearing of their children or the upkeep of their home and that he hates having to take on her responsibilities when she’s away on business.

In fact, it’s the complete opposite.

They’ve gotten so good at splitting responsibilities over the years, working as a team, that Oliver feels like he’s missing a limb when his wife isn’t there.

Not to mention the fact that he misses her something awful and all the kids are miserable because they miss her too.

This last business trip has been particularly hard going because it’s three weeks long. They discussed it to death when the board had first put forward the idea of their CEO travelling to their mainland Europe headquarters in Germany and their UK headquarters in London in one trip. They claimed that it would be easier for them as an organisation and for Felicity herself, to get more of her necessary travelling out of the way for the year.

The two of them had weighed up the pros and cons over a bottle of wine one night and had finally come to the conclusion that the appeal of her not having to travel to Europe at least for the rest of the year was worth the three weeks she’d have to spend away.

Oliver groans as he wakes two and a half weeks into his wife’s absence. Unconsciously, he throws an arm over the body lying in the bed next to him before his brain computes that it is far too small to be Felicity. Cracking an eye open, he smiles at the sight of his five year old.

Oliver and Felicity thought they’d circumvented the curse of the bad sleeper. Mia and Lucas were both incredibly good at sleeping through the night and sleeping in their own beds and Ada was too as a baby. Then when she turned three something seemed to switch and most mornings, they would wake up with a snoozing child between them. Two years later, she’s gotten much better but at times, especially when one of them is away, it’s still routine practice for Ada to make her way into her parents’ bed during the night.

“Little monkey, I don’t think this one’s your bed.” Oliver groans, wrapping his arm properly around his daughter and pulling her into his lap as he sits up. Ada smiles at him sadly and leans her head on his chest, her little hand fisting in his t-shirt.

“I missed Mama so I came in here but she wasn’t here.” She explains softly and Oliver sighs, running his hand through Ada’s messy curls. All three of their youngest have Felicity’s hair texture to varying degrees and Oliver has to admit that he loves it. There’s just something uniquely adorable about messy bed curls on his children. Mia and Ada especially with their blonde hair look so much like their mother in the morning that he can’t do anything but smile.

“I told you last night, baby, that Mama’s gonna be home in three days.” He reminds her and Ada lets out a long sigh, expressing far too much melancholy for a child of her size and stature.

“That’s so long!” She huffs and Oliver smiles, dropping a kiss to her hair.

“I know, sweetheart, but then you’ll be extra glad to see her, huh?” He tries, bouncing Ada a little on his lap but all it gets him is another long sigh and a little head that furrows deeper into his chest.

“I guess.” She comments quietly and Oliver holds in a sigh of his own, rubbing a comforting hand over her back.

“Daddy?”

Lucas’ voice is accompanied by a light knock on the door and Oliver looks over at the sight of his son, smiling at him.

“Hey, morning Lou-Lou.” He greets and Lucas smiles, climbing up onto the bed next to his father.

“Good morning.” The bubbly nine-year-old greets, settling back against the headboard with his tablet in his lap. “Can we look at the weather forecast in London?”

For Lucas, who has always been a planner, knowing exactly where Felicity is and what she’s doing is the best way to ease his anxiety about his mother being away. Before she leaves, Felicity always talks through what’s she going to be doing in language that their nine-year-old can understand and they draw out a map of where she’s going to be travelling when. Then, whilst she’s gone, Lucas likes doing small things like checking the weather where his mother is and, if she’s in a country that speaks a different language, teaching himself a few phrases in said language.

Oliver nods in the affirmative and keeping an arm around Ada, he undoes the child lock on the Smoak Tech kid’s tablet. Lucas grins and opens the weather app, typing in London and frowning at what he sees.

“Did Mama pack an umbrella, Daddy? It’s going to rain today in London.” Lucas asks and Oliver smiles, brushing some of Lucas’ own messy hair out of his eyes.

“She did, baby, I made sure she had an umbrella and a coat with a hood.” He promises and Lucas nods, worrying his bottom lip. “Hey, why don’t we get the colouring things out and you two can draw Mama a picture to give her when she gets back whilst I make breakfast?”

“I can draw Mama next to Big Ben!” Lucas grins and Oliver nods, a smile crossing his face. He remembers the time Felicity spent with their youngest son before she left researching the sites and landmarks of the places she’s travelling to.

“That’s a great idea, Lou-Lou. What about you, little monkey? Do you want to draw Mama a picture?” He asks Ada, gently tugging her back from his chest.

“I’ll draw a picture of our dance party.” Ada confirms, nodding her head and Oliver smiles. Dancing around the living room with his kids is something his teenage self would have been mortified to learn is one of his favorite pastimes. 

“That sounds amazing. I think Mama will love both of those. Why don’t you get the supplies and I’ll wake up your lazy big sister?” Oliver chuckles and the kids laugh, jumping off the bed and heading towards the door. He heaves a sigh and follows them out the door, stopping on his way down the corridor to knock on Mia’s door.

“Too early!” Her groan immediately sounds through the door and Oliver laughs, cracking open the door just an inch.

“Too bad sweetheart, you’ve got school to get to.” He tells her, chuckling a little at the way she sites up in bed and glares at him. She looks more and more like Felicity everyday and right now, it’s practically uncanny.

“I have strep throat.” She claims and Oliver raises an eyebrow.

“Unbelievably clear voice you’ve got there for strep throat, honey. You must be making a miraculous recovery and that means you can go to school.” He smiles, shaking his head when Mia huffs a sigh and throws her covers off. “Breakfast in fifteen minutes.”

“You got it.” She mumbles and Oliver smiles, shutting the door and heading into the kitchen.

Lucas and Ada are already at the table, happily drawing and colouring away so Oliver heads straight for the cupboards and pulls out what he needs to make pancakes. He’s almost done flipping when Mia walks into the kitchen, dressed and tugging her hair up into a ponytail.

“Have you got your stuff ready to come to the gym after school?” Oliver questions and Mia frowns, turning to look at him.

“About that…” Mia starts in that voice that tells him she’s about to try and skirt around this. He’s not having any of it, not whilst Felicity’s away. He needs the kids at the gym if William’s not available to sit, which he isn’t this time around.

“No, no about that. You know when your mother’s away, you come to the gym after school.” He tells her, levelling her with a no-nonsense look. He has a bit of reputation with his kids for being a pushover but Oliver draws the line, even if he just does it a little further away than his wife would.

“But Carly said that if I don’t go to the mall with them all after school then I can’t hang out with them anymore!” Mia immediately whines and Oliver is sure she’d stamp her foot if she wasn’t more aware of how childish it would make her appear. Her arms still flail by her side though as she immediately gets defensive.

“And you didn’t think to mention this before this morning?” Oliver asks with a sigh as he fully turns to look at his eldest daughter.

“We arranged it last night!”

“Lord, I miss the days before instant messaging.” Oliver sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers before he sighs. “Okay, is Carly’s mom going?”

“No, of course not. We’re not babies.” Mia scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest with a roll of her eyes and Oliver resists the urge to sigh. This age between child and teenager has been the hardest he and Felicity have faced yet and whilst they’ve tried their hardest to make sure that her feelings are valid and her fears are okay, it has been very testing.

Plus, he has a sneaky suspicion Mia may have organised this whilst Felicity is away for a reason. 

“Well, how are you getting there?” Oliver questions and feels his frustration rise when his daughter, who is very much still a child in his eyes, just shrugs her shoulders.

“I assume the bus from town?” She starts and Oliver sighs, turning to face her. They’ve already discussed this and it’s clear that Mia is trying to push his buttons.

“Which you know we said we needed to think about allowing you to get by yourself seeing as it’s almost an hour away.” Oliver reminds her but that just seems to anger Mia.

“I won’t be by myself!”

“Other twelve year olds don’t count, young lady, and you know it.” Oliver levels her with a another look, knowing that he needs to put his foot down now. “What do you need from the mall?”

“I don’t need anything. That’s not what it’s about.” Mia whines, her lips pouting in a way that does not endear Oliver to her cause of acting like an adult.

“That’s silly.” Lucas speaks up, looking up from his colouring as he gazes his sister with a frown.

“You don’t think the mall is fun?” Mia questions, turning to look at her little brother with a raised eyebrow and Lucas ponders for a moment before he nods.

“Well yeah, when Mama takes us, we get ice cream.” Lucas explains and Oliver chuckles, shaking his head.

“And ice cream sundaes!” Ada speaks up, grinning excitedly at her sister and Mia turns to face him, gesturing to her siblings as if it were the explanation he needed.

“Yeah, those aren’t the people I need to consult with on this, baby girl.” Oliver chuckles with a shake of his head and Mia huffs.

“Ugh, everyone else is going. I can’t be the only one who doesn’t!” She insists, pulling out her one last trick. Oliver must admit, puppy dog eyes are something he struggles to resist. Mia looks so much like her mother and he truly struggles not bending to her will but he knows that he can’t cave at every stumble. Mia will never learn that way.

“Well, can you get Carly’s mom’s number and maybe I can speak to her about it all?” He begins to compromise but even that doesn’t seem to land well with Mia as she does stamp her foot with a groan.

“Ugh, you’re the worst! You’re ruining my life!” She cries and rushes back towards her room, the door slamming loudly behind her.

Oliver sighs, quickly schooling his face and smiling at a frowning Lucas and Ada. He places the large stack of pancakes in front of them as well as plates.

“I finished my picture, Daddy.” Lucas comments and Oliver smiles, ruffling his son’s hair. He knows Lucas’ tactics, acting sweeter than usual when his sister's being decidedly the opposite but he can often use it to his advantage so he just chuckles. He looks down at the picture and smiles, Lucas' depiction of his mother is clearly wearing both a raincoat and holding an umbrella to protect her from the rain he's drawn all over the page and she's half the height of the tall building of Big Ben next to her. It's very sweet however and Oliver cannot help but grin.

"It's wonderful Lou-Lou, are you done too, Ada?" Oliver smiles, looking at his youngest who too has put her pencils down. Ada nods and turns her paper around so that he can see. There are a few distinct blobs, some taller than others but Oliver is glad that he knows what it's supposed to be. "Oh it's beautiful, baby girl. Mama's going to love them. Can you put them somewhere safe and have some breakfast for me please?"

Both of them nod and scramble to do as he's asked, packing away their pencils and things. Oliver is glad that they're both taking the opportunity to suck up as he grabs a few pancakes and drizzles them in syrup the way that he knows Mia likes before heading down the corridor towards her room.

"Go away!" Mia immediately yells in response to his knock and Oliver shakes his head.

"No can do. Either you let me in or I stay here until you do and you and your siblings all miss school. You'll be the one explaining why to your principal if that happens." Oliver responds clearly and calmly. Even though it's been a while since William could have been considered a teenager, he remembers this stage very distinctly.

There's a very loud huff from within the room and loud footsteps slumping over towards the door before it flings open to reveal an entirely unimpressed Mia. "You wouldn't make me do that."

Oliver smiles. He knows his reputation with his kids is as the pushover parent. He's the one more likely to concede to a good pout or plead but he's also learnt to fortify himself against it over the years. He was terrible for it when Mia was a toddler but he knows to be selective with situations now. This is not something he's going to budge on.

"Oh but I most definitely will. Eat some breakfast please." He hands Mia the plate and she stares at it for a long moment. There's a critical look in her eye as if she's trying to discern something about the food but Oliver knows she's just trying to figure out whether it will hurt her argument to eat her favourite breakfast. Finally she slumps over to her desk and starts to eat.

Oliver says nothing whilst she does so, sitting on the end of her bed and waiting patiently for her to finish. Mia views him with a sceptical eye a few times but mostly concentrates on finishing her food. Eventually her cutlery hits her plate with a clank and she turns to look at him properly.

"I know what you're doing." She tells him with a bravado only a twelve year old can possess. Her eyes narrow and she squares off her shoulders, obviously fully prepared to stand her ground.

"Oh you do?" He questions, staying calm and allowing her to nod her head proudly.

"You think if you're all nice and everything that I'll just concede and say I don't want to go." She states as if it’s fact and Oliver chuckles, leaning back on his hands as he looks over at the girl who seems to be growing three inches every day. She’s very nearly almost taller than Felicity.

“That’s not what I think at all. I want to have a conversation about this, Mia. If you want to be going off and doing adult things, then we need to talk about them like adults.”

“You don’t believe that at all. You think I’m just a kid.” Mia scoffs as she rolls her eyes and Oliver shakes his head, a soft smile drawing across his lips.

“You are still a kid, baby, and you will be for another six years, but you will always be my kid and that’s why I need to make sure you’re safe.” He explains to her and he knows he’s hit the right nerve when she practically melts in front of him.

“I only want to go to the mall. It’s not the city.” Mia tells him with a sigh, looking at him as if he’s practically elderly. He knows that he’s got long years of being severely uncool ahead of him but he thought he might have a little more time before his baby girl started pitying him.

“It’s still a long way on a bus by yourself. I’m sorry, darling, but the answer to that part of your plan is no.” He tells her and Mia frowns.

“But I… wait, what do you mean that part of the plan?” She catches herself, looking at him curiously and Oliver smiles slightly as he sits up.

“Let me check that your siblings are both in classes at the gym and I will drive you and your friends to the mall. I’ll even let you walk around it on your own as long as you are back on time to an agreed meeting spot.”

Oliver can hear Felicity berating him in the back of his head but the smile that spreads across Mia’s face is worth the pushover talk he knows is coming from his wife.

“Really?” Mia asks, her shoulders rising in anticipation and Oliver chuckles, nodding his head.

“Yes baby.” He nods and laughs as almost immediately, her small body crushes him in a hug.

“Thank you, Daddy, you’re the absolute best!”

Yes, he may have just played himself, pulled back when he was finally about to drill the point home, but Oliver knows there isn’t much he wouldn’t do to make his children happy.

Hearing that happiness in Mia’s voice is all that Oliver needs, even if he knows he may have just opened himself up to far more manipulation from her in the future.

But then, he supposes, what’s the fun of being a parent if you don’t get to spoil your kids every now and again?

“Daddy?”

“Hmm?”

“Can I have twenty dollars to spend at the mall?”

Two days later, Felicity returns home to a roaring welcome party from them all. Lucas and Ada present her with their pictures which are received with much praise and thanks and Mia, despite claiming she didn’t miss her mother ‘one bit’, wrapped her up in a hug that lasted almost five minutes.

Oliver is very grateful to see her presence once more in their bedroom once the kids finally go to bed. Three weeks is a long time to have been without his wife and, whilst she’s exhausted from the flight, he’s very happy to know that he will get to sleep with her by his side once more.

“How was it? Any major meltdowns?” She asks him as she changes out of her business clothes. Her heels were discarded the minute she walked through the door, along with her blazer, but her skirt and shirt also look rather constraining.

“Only one.” Oliver replies honestly. For the most part, the kids have been absolute angels.

“Ada?” Felicity guesses well. Their youngest can be quite particular but she hasn’t been too bad in the weeks of her mother’s absence.

“No, Mia.” He explains and Felicity freezes, turning to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “Turns out she’s realised that I’m the pushover.”

“Oh honey, she’s known that from day one. What did she want?” She chuckles affectionately, shaking her head at him much in the same pitying way that Mia had.

“To go to the mall on the bus with her friends.” Oliver relays and Felicity’s brow furrows.

“Oh…”

“Yeah, so that didn’t happen.” He tells her calmly, not giving too much away. Oliver’s planning on telling Felicity, it’s just that he knows he’s about to get fully dragged by his wife.

“Did she throw a huge fit?” Felicity asks and Oliver smiles.

“She did for a while until I told her that I’d drive them.” He explains and she freezes for a moment before she chuckles, shaking her head. She finally pulls his old t-shirt over her head and walks towards where he’s sat on the bed, standing between his legs.

“So you were a pushover?” Felicity questions with a soft smirk as her arms rise to settle around his neck.

“I was not! I didn’t let her go on the bus, did I?” Oliver defends, his voice rising until Felicity laughs and moves a hand to stroke over his beard. It’s a sensation he’s dearly missed since she’s been on her trip and it calms him practically instantly.

“No but you’ve also just signed yourself up to be the personal chauffeur to our twelve-year-old and her friends.” She laughs and Oliver frowns.

“I have not.”

“She’s already asked you to do it again, hasn’t she?”

“I need a couple of things from the mall next weekend anyway.” He states defensively and Felicity laughs properly this time, shaking her head.

“I’m sure, honey. One of these days you might learn to say no to her pout.” She smirks, tapping him affectionately on the end of the nose.

“Doubtful. It’s your pout.” Oliver grumbles under his breath but Felicity still catches it as it sends her into another bout of laughter.

“Exactly, that’s why I’m immune to it. I invented it.” She whispers slowly as she bends down to softly kiss him. “Speaking of…”

“Cocoa?” Oliver chuckles as they pull away, watching as her lips form said pout and her eyelashes flutter a little.

“And a couple of those cookies please?”

“You’re lucky you’re cute.” Oliver huffs as he leans down to peck Felicity’s soft lips once more before he turns to head back towards the kitchen.

“Me and Mia both.” His wife’s voice trails down the corridor after him. He raises his middle finger over his shoulder at her in response but all that gains him is the lilting sound of her laughter.

Chapter Text

Climbing out of the window in her bedroom is second nature to Mia by the time she’s sixteen.

Truly, if her parents were really looking to avoid such a situation, they really shouldn’t have given her the bedroom with such an easily accessible tree. It’s a few metres to a very substantial branch that can more than take her weight. In her mind, it’s really on them.

Getting out the window is the hardest part of her task and she hikes her bag higher on her shoulder as she jumps the familiar dance across the branches that lead her around the back of her family’s cabin towards the back road. She knows the route by heart now, knows exactly how far she needs to jump to reach the next tree and when she needs to head out a little further in case her parents are in their bedroom.

It only takes her a few minutes to reach the final tree that brings her to the long road that leads out of Bloomfield and back towards the city. Glancing down, she feels her heart skip at the sight below.

“Hey there, Troublemaker.”

Mia can’t help the grin that spreads across her face at the sight of Connor, leaning up against the pickup truck he insisted upon. It’s the most ridiculous thing he’s ever asked for and the obnoxious bright red colour does not make it any better in Mia’s opinion. She knows it took some extensive begging on his part, far more than the flutter of eyelashes she had to do at her father to gain her the 4-wheeler sat in the drive on the other side of the treeline. (It was a deal that she wouldn’t take her wages from the gym for a while but Mia doesn’t really count it as work so…)

“You still look like such a wanna cowboy with that thing,” She comments as she deftly swings down from the tree and makes her way over to him.

“You say that every time you see it," He comments with a smirk and Mia shrugs.

“Point still stands.” She smirks, rising onto her toes as she links her arms around his neck to tug him into a kiss.

“Mia!” Connor pulls back with a hiss, his eyes immediately darting towards the tree line as if her parents are somehow going to miraculously appear. She huffs and rolls her eyes, brushing off the rejection as she heads to the passenger door.

“You know what, you’re not a cowboy. Cowboys have more guts,” She tells him with another huff as she opens the door and jumps into the seat. Connor levels her with an unimpressed look as he climbs behind the wheel.

“Mia, we’ve been through this. I just don’t want to anger your parents. You’re still only…” He starts but Mia huffs, tired of his explanation already. It’s one she’s heard far too much recently.

“Sixteen, I know. I’m well aware of my own age, Connor. You’re only three years older than me. Plus, you’ve been around forever, they trust you,” She tells him with an unimpressed look, moving to pull her seatbelt across her body when he levels her with a look.

“Mia… can we not have this argument again? I thought we were just going to have a nice night.” Connor sighs, looking at her from the driver’s seat with the softest of looks that Mia knows if she was in any other mood, would make her melt.

“I just don’t get it. I’m not a little kid! I’m old enough to make my own choices!” She huffs, crossing her arms as she sits back in the seat and listens as Connor takes a deep breath that’s bordering on a sigh.

“I know you are. But in the eyes of the law… not so much,” Connor points out for the eight-hundredth time and Mia rolls her eyes, drawing her eyes away from the tree line to look over at him.

“It’s not as if we’re doing anything like that…” She reminds him, looking at him with an unimpressed raised eyebrow, and Connor shudders with a smirk before his eyes close with a shake of his head.

“Hey, I don’t think you’re a kid. I just think it’s best that we keep things between us quiet for a little while.”

“We’re not doing anything wrong,” Mia insists, feeling like such a broken record at this point.

“I know we’re not.” Connor shakes his head again, reaching across the console for her hands but Mia shakes her head, scooting back towards the passenger door. She wishes she could just get a yes or no, this in-between is the worst thing in the world.

The stricken look that briefly crosses Connor’s face almost makes her reconsider but she stands strong, levelling him with an unimpressed look.

“You’re the best thing in my life, you know that? And when it’s the right time, I’m going to scream about it from every rooftop I can find. But the minute we tell our parents, it’s going to be all open doors and supervised visits,” Connor implores, his face melting as he reaches out towards her once more. Mia sighs and shifts a little but doesn’t relent fully.

“Let’s just forget about it. You’re right, I don’t want to argue tonight,” She tells him, shifting to look out of the windscreen and Connor sighs, sending her a dubious look, but he does start the engine and drive off.

Mia’s mood improves on the drive as Connor turns up the music and starts dancing around in the way that never fails to make her smile. This is what she adores, just the two of them together.

It seems like it’s whenever they step away from their little bubble of just the two of them that everything seems to go wrong and she hates it.

“C’mon,” Connor smirks as he puts the car in park and gestures her out of her seat. Mia frowns, looking around at the empty fields around them. They’ve travelled further away from the city, into the country past Bloomfield. It’s silent around them, just the occasional whoosh of the light breeze through the crops and Mia gasps as she rounds the truck to see Connor filling the tailgate with blankets.

“Connor…” She starts, unable to stop the grin that spreads across her face. Connor looks up, smiling at her.

“I haven’t even shown you the best bit yet,” He tells her and dives back towards the driver’s seat. Mia frowns but he’s back in just a few seconds, brandishing a bag of Big Belly Burger over his head as if it were the food of the gods.

Which… well, Mia’s not entirely sure that it isn’t.

“Best. Night. Ever.” She states as she easily hops over the side of the tailgate to settle into the bed of blankets Connor’s created. He chuckles and climbs on as well, revealing a Double Double meal and handing it over to her with a flourish.

Mia grins and happily digs in. It’s been so long since she’s had Big Belly; she and Mom complain about it only being in the city. Her dad tries his best to ‘recreate’ it but he’s a bit too obsessed with everything being healthy that it doesn’t quite contain all the grease that makes Big Belly so damn good.

“Happy?” Connor asks with a laugh after Mia has practically demolished the burger and moves onto her fries and milkshake. Mia nods with a full mouth and Connor shakes his head with a laugh. He lifts up his arm where he’s sat settled against the side of the truck and Mia eyes him for a second before she ducks underneath it, curling into his side.

This is all she wants. Just the two of them.

They sit in comfortable silence for a long while, the breeze whistling around them. Mia revels in the feeling of Connor’s arm around her. It’s rare that they get to be like this, just the two of them away from the world.

“I can’t wait until I’m done with school and every night can be like this. You and me in Star City, fighting crime like our parents used to. It’s going to be the best,” She comments after a while, smiling at the thought of getting to spend all of her nights like this.

The long pause Connor leaves until he answers immediately sours her mood, however, and she wishes she hadn’t spoken.

“You’re still sure that’s what you want to do?” He asks and Mia sighs.

“Connor,” She states as a warning, praying that he leaves it there and lets them enjoy the rest of the night.

“No, I know, I know. It’s your decision but Mia… you’re so smart. Are you sure you don’t want to go to college?”

“What’s the point? There’s not exactly a college course in vigilantism.” Mia huffs, sitting up and swerving away from him when he tries to reach for her again.

“But you like science or English? You can’t live off of being a vigilante. It doesn’t exactly pay,” Connor reminds her and Mia rolls her eyes. Why does everyone think she’s such a childish idiot? She’s well aware that she can’t just be a vigilante.

“Then I’ll cage fight,” She states as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world and it is to Mia. To her, all that matters is that she can help people, that she can carry on her father’s legacy and save their city. She’ll find a way to do that. No matter what.

“Because that will go down well with your parents.” Connor scoffs, shaking his head and Mia rolls her eyes.

“I’m not living my entire life off of what makes them happy,” She tells him, her voice rising and her words coming out harsher than she meant them.

“Mia, you don’t mean that.” Connor gasps as he immediately checks her. It makes her freeze.

Of course, she doesn’t. She loves her parents with everything in her. They’ve given her absolutely everything they can and she’s so grateful.

But she also does have to make her own way. Do what she wants.

Her parents will be supportive of that… right?

“Well no… I just… I’ve tried so hard, Connor, to think about going to college and getting a job at Mom’s company or teaching or something and I hate it. I can help people. I’ve got all this training. What’s the point if I don’t use it?” Mia laments, sighing heavily as she levels her voice back down to a normal volume. Connor sighs as well, shifting closer to her.

“I don’t mean to make it sound like I’m not supporting you because I will, Mia. I’ll be right there beside you whatever you chose. I just want you to be sure that this isn’t something you’ll regret later on,” He explains, his voice softening as he reaches out towards her but Mia ignores his hand as her brow furrows.

“How can I regret it? It’s what I’ve always wanted to do. Plus, I’ll get to be with you properly,” She explains, not being able to understand why he just can’t understand. This is the decision she’s made, why would she suddenly change her mind.

“Oh, Mia…”

“Don’t do that!” Mia immediately counters Connor’s soft, sympathetic tone. She hates it. She hates it so much. Why can’t they see that she knows what she’s talking about? That she knows what she wants?

“What?” Connor questions, looking utterly confused and Mia huffs.

“Condescend me, like I’m a kid or something.” She grimaces bitterly and Connor shakes his head.

“Just think about it. I know you’ve thought about it already but think about it some more. And Mia?” Connor asks, his voice softening towards the end.

“What?” Mia bites angrily, her jaw tight as she blinks back the tears in her eyes.

“Think about it with me out of the equation. If we weren’t a part of it, is this still what you really want to do?”

“Yes! I would really appreciate it if you would stop looking at me like I’m a child who’s caught up in some romantic fantasy. I know not everyone’s like my parents. I’m not an idiot.”

“Hey, I didn’t say that you were,” Connor states and sighs, extending a hand. “Will you please come back over here?”

“Only if you promise not to talk of it again tonight. I didn’t climb out my window to fight.” Mia clenches her jaw as she inches closer. Connor chuckles and nods, looping an arm around her shoulders again when she gets close enough.

“Promise,” He tells her and Mia hates the way she practically melts when she feels him plant a kiss in her hair. “Although, you are the one who brought it up…”

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”

They spend another hour or so together and Mia thinks she might just be able to forget about the conflict from earlier. That is until they get back to the road behind her house and they say goodnight.

“Goodnight Mia.” Connor turns to her with a smile as he kills the engine and Mia smiles, soft and relaxed off the feeling of being wrapped in his arms.

“Night,” She tells him and leans in, just wanting one kiss to say goodnight. She knows she might not see him for a while in this capacity and she just wants the memory of a completely innocent kiss.

Connor, however, cups her face and plants the kiss on her cheek instead.

“Mia…” He tries when she pulls back, the tears from earlier stinging her eyes once more.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll see you soon.” She swallows the lump in her throat as she holds her chin up and undoes her seatbelt, reaching for the door. Connor grabs her wrist, trying to gain her attention, and Mia hates the way her stomach flips at the apologetic look on his face.

 “I’ll call you,” He tells her and Mia nods, trying her best to fake a smile.

“Okay.”

With that, she nods and pries her wrist from his fingers. Jumping down from the car is an easy feat and she quickly scales the tree that will take her back across the lining of the property. What she doesn’t realise, through the tears that are still slightly clouding her vision, is that someone has spotted that she’s gone and shut her bedroom window.

Huffing, she drops down the story to the ground and sneaks around the front. She taps in the code for Archer, silencing the security system to try and hide her return but it’s a fruitless activity for stood in the kitchen making tea is her mother.

“Mia… you know this whole sneaking out thing is rather counterintuitive, if you just asked us, most of the time the answer will be yes, I… honey?” Felicity starts, not looking up from her mug to begin with but she freezes when she takes in the sight of Mia and the tears still bubbling in her eyes.

“I’m fine,” Mia insists but in the very act of it, and perhaps just the presence of such a usually comforting figure like her mother, the tears spill over.

“Oh baby, you are obviously not. What’s wrong?” Felicity frowns as she rounds the kitchen island, reaching out to hold Mia’s shoulders as she takes her in.

“I…” Mia tries but chokes on the sob that rips through her throat. Felicity immediately frowns, all thoughts of reprimanding Mia’s sneaking out flying out of the window.

“C’mere. Oh, it’s alright, baby. Everything’s okay.” She soothes and tugs Mia into her embrace, rubbing a soothing hand over her back.

“It’s not.” Mia sniffles into her shoulder as she shakes her head and Felicity frowns.

“Mia, what’s wrong?” Her mother asks, stepping back to look her in the eyes.

“I can’t…” Mia frowns with a shake of her head, sniffling fruitlessly.

“If you don’t tell me, I don’t know what I can do to help,” Felicity reminds her, her warm hand pushing hair away from Mia’s face and the teenager sighs, burrowing into her mother’s embrace.

“You can’t help. Unless you can stop boys from being stupid, noble idiots.” Mia sniffles into her mother’s shoulder with an angry shake of her head.

“Been trying for over twenty years on that one, darling, and I’ve still got your father.” Her mother chuckles as her hand rubs soothingly over Mia’s back. She tries to resist leaning into it but the familiar comfort of her mother is too warm for Mia to refuse right now. “Hey, come on, let’s sit down. Tell me what’s going on.”

Mia knows that she shouldn’t, she knows that Connor’s probably right about keeping things quiet for a while but the burn of him pulling back from all of the kisses she initiated tonight is still clear in her mind. One look at her mother’s concerned and caring face has the sixteen-year-old spilling all.

Her mother watches with her usual smile. It’s the one that tells Mia she’s trying not to reveal anything but also that she wants her to know that she cares and she’s listening. When Mia finally comes to the end of her explanation, sniffling and teary as she reveals how she’s feeling to her mother, she’s shocked to hear a small chuckle leave her mother’s mouth.

“Mom! This is not funny!” She gasps, horrified at the thought that her mother found any of that amusing. Felicity is quick to shake her head, a small smile still tugging at her lips.

“No, it’s not, Mia. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh. It’s just… you’re so much like your father, I never thought you’d end up on my side of things.” Felicity chuckles, reaching out to softly cup Mia’s cheek and Mia frowns as she processes her mother’s words.

“What do you mean by that? Your side of things?” She asks. As far as she’s always been aware, her parents are the most stable couple she’s ever met. The way her parents’ friends tell it, they were essentially together for years before they made it official.

“That’s possibly a little mean. Don’t tell your father I said that.” Felicity frowns as she obviously considers her own words but that just confuses Mia more.

“Mom?”

“There was about a year after our first date where your father told me we couldn’t be together because it was too dangerous, because he was worried I would end up hurt. He told me that I didn’t know what I was getting myself in for, that he was too damaged,” Felicity explains with a small smile, her hands brushing through Mia’s hair by her face.

Mia frowns. She’d had no idea that her father had placed her mother in such a lockdown. That’s what it feels like to her now, to know that Connor wants to be with her but feels like he can’t.

“How did you convince him otherwise?” Mia questions, tilting her head and leaning into the soft touch of her mother’s hand.

“I didn’t, not really. We… you know we went travelling that summer?” Felicity chuckles, shaking her head as she gets a wistful expression on her face.

“The pictures are everywhere, Mom.” Mia chuckles, rolling her eyes.

“Yes well, that’s… it’s hard to admit because we were so happy but we weren’t really ready for each other then. Your father had told me that he couldn’t be the Arrow and be with me so he gave up being the Arrow. I got so swept up in how romantic I thought it was that I didn’t realise that being the Arrow was a part of who your father was, it still is to some extent,” Felicity tells her and Mia’s brow furrows deeper. She understands what her mother’s saying but what she doesn’t get is…

“I don’t really see how that applies to me and Connor.”

“It doesn’t directly, honey, but what I’m saying is there’s no magic word to convince him. You have to show him. And maybe he will keep his distance until you turn eighteen but then you’ll know if you still feel as deeply for him then as you do now that it’s been worth it.” Felicity smiles softly, her hand coming to cup Mia’s cheek and the girl sighs.

“How did you deal with Dad condescending you about your feelings for him? Telling you that he was too damaged for you to love him?” She asks after a moment’s silence. That’s what hurts the most, it’s what makes her feel the most like a child, when Connor tells her that he wants her to be sure that he’s what she wants. As if she’s currently incapable of understanding her own feelings.

“Not well,” Felicity states with a chuckle before she looks at Mia and smiles, shaking her head. “No, I knew deep down that what I felt for him was real and what really proved it was the fact that despite his pig-headedness, I still loved him.”

“I almost wish he’d just cut it off, even though it would break my heart. The maybe of it all is the hardest thing,” Mia states, the tears stinging at her eyes once more and Felicity’s face melts as she lifts her other hand to fully cup Mia’s face in her hands.

“Oh my sweet girl, I know exactly how you feel.”

“And it’s not even the other thing, even though that’s dumb.” Mia scoffs, looking away. There’s still a weird taboo about discussing what she’s insinuating with her mother. More because her mother has been known to rant about sex positivity and that’s just embarrassing to Mia.

“It’s a maturity thing, sweetheart. You might not know it now but you are going to change so much over the next three years. So much so that when you look back when you’re nineteen, you probably won’t even recognise who you are now,” Felicity tells her with a soft smile but Mia hates that argument. So what? Why can’t they just grow together?

“But it’s not even that! I just want him to stop pulling away every time I kiss him!” Mia huffs, pulling away from Felicity with a disgruntled sigh.

“Have you told him that?” Felicity asks, looking at Mia with a raised eyebrow. It’s a valid question, Mia knows. She has a tendency to keep her feelings to herself, despite her mother’s attempts to convince her of the benefits of opening up. This time, however, she’s been clear with Connor and it’s still been entirely unfruitful.

“All the time! He just smiles that dumb smile at me and I’m stuck. He said tonight that I need to think about what I want to do and to make sure I’m not thinking about it like some romantic fairytale because it’s not. But I know that! I know what you and Dad have is rarest of the rare, but Connor makes me happy in a way that makes me think I might be able to achieve even just the slightest piece of that.”

“Oh, honey…”

“How do I make it better, Mama?” Mia asks, her eyes widening as she looks over at Felicity. Her mother’s face melts but even as she cups Mia’s cheek in her hand, Mia knows she doesn’t have the simple answer she’s looking for.

“I don’t know, sweetheart. I’m sorry,” Felicity confirms and Mia sighs, turning her head away.

“That’s not how this works, Mama. You’re supposed to give me an answer.” Mia grumbles and Felicity chuckles, shaking her head.

“That’s a little harder to do when your questions aren’t as easy as they used to be. This isn’t in the same league as ‘Mama, can I go outside and climb that tree with Daddy’s knife in my hand for practice?’. The answer to that one is still no, by the way,” Her mother tells her, raising a finger to point at Mia and the simple gesture makes Mia smile as she’s taken back to all the dangerous things she used to beg her mother to do when she was younger.

“You’re no fun.” She pouts and Felicity chuckles again, shaking her head as she scoots closer on the couch.

“Baby, this is something you need to find the answer to on your own because the thought process will give you your answer. But if you ever need to talk, you know I’m always here,” Felicity reminds her as she loops an arm over her shoulders and Mia takes a deep breath, leaning into the comfort as she processes everything her mother’s just told her.

“I guess I’ve got some thinking to do,” She decides and Felicity hums, turning to press a long kiss into Mia’s hair.

“I guess you have.”

“Honey, are you…?” The two women on the couch jump at the sound of Oliver’s voice, turning to see Mia’s father stood in the doorway with a frown on his face. He’s obviously come in search of Felicity, her prolonged absence confusing him, but his face distorts at the sight of his girls on the couch. Mia can tell the moment he takes in the tear tracks on her face from the way his face completely melts. “Oh, what’s going on? Are you alright, baby girl?”

“I will be. Thanks, Mama. You always know what to say.” Mia nods, swallowing as she takes a deep breath. She’s glad she spoke to her mother, even though she was scared to in the first place. She does always know exactly what Mia needs to hear.

“What I’m here for, baby,” Felicity replies with a grin, accepting her long hug and kiss on the cheek.

“Night. Night, Daddy.” Mia sighs, heading towards the hallway. She stops to rise onto her toes and press a kiss to her father’s cheek and Oliver smiles, ruffling her hair.

“Goodnight, baby girl.” He smiles and Mia hears him move towards her mother as she heads down the corridor. “Is she really alright?”

“She will be. Now come on, take me to bed, I’m exhausted,” Felicity replies and Mia shakes her head as she hears the following giggle whatever her father does elicits from her mother.

There are some things about her parents that she truly doesn’t need to know.

As she curls into bed, however, Mia goes to sleep with a better outlook on things. She knows she has a lot to think about but speaking with her mother really has helped her understand Connor a little more, as well as what they might need to do in order to be able to move forward.

Chapter Text

Ada really doesn’t know how she got here.

The music’s loud, the room’s too dark to see anything and she’s had to step around like four couples making out in the past thirty seconds. It’s just… when the new girl showed up at her studio, everyone started acting like she was the best thing since sliced bread and Ada didn’t want to be left out of that.

Which is how she somehow ended up at a high school party, when she doesn’t even go to high school…

Yup, this is really not the place for a fourteen-year-old, Ada realises as she dodges out the way of yet another couple attached at the lips. Biting her lip, Ada takes a deep breath considering her options.

Option 1: She can find a dark corner and hide there until the party’s over.

It means she’ll be away from everyone but there’s an equal chance of another couple trying to use her corner and there’s still the issue of getting home at the end of the party.

Option 2: She can call her parents and ask them to come and pick her up.

Nope.

That’s entirely too terrifying.

Ada really has no idea to how her parents would react to finding her at a party instead of at the studio and the street outside Jacob Carver’s house really isn’t where she wants to have a screaming match. She may not know most of these kids but she’s pretty sure it would spread to the middle school gossip circles pretty quickly.

That leaves Option 3.

Battling her way through the crowds of people gathered on the stairs, the light of the bathroom finally glistens and Ada darts into the small space. There’s a loud shout of protest from behind the door as she shuts and locks it and she figures she may have just cut a line of some sort. Shaking her head, she closes the toilet seat and sits atop it, digging her phone out of her pocket.

“Come on, come on, pick up…” Ada prays as she winces at the sound of someone banging on the bathroom door. 

“Go for Mia.” Her sister’s voice finally sounds through the phone and Ada lets out a sigh of relief.

“Oh thank goodness!” She huffs out, wondering whether she can shimmy down the drainpipe next to the bathroom window.

“Ads? Are you okay? I need to head to the bunker soon.” Mia answers and Ada curses herself for forgetting that it’s Mia’s night for patrol. “Ada? Where are you? I can hear music and banging.”

“Jacob Carver’s house.” Ada winces and she hears Mia gasp.

“Seth and Henry’s little brother? The notorious partier? What on earth are you doing there, Ada?” Her older sister asks and Ada sighs at the judgment she can hear in Mia’s voice.   

“Olivia said she was going and that we were all invited and then she said that anyone who didn’t come was a baby and I can’t be pushed out by everyone at the studio, Mia! I just can’t! But I couldn’t tell Mom and Dad because they’d never let me so I kinda snuck out and…”

“Okay, okay, breathe, Ads, it’s gonna be okay. I’ll come get you, alright? I’m heading to the car now.” Mia’s reassuring voice rings out and Ada takes a deep breath. She nods her head before she remembers she’s on the phone.

“Thank you, Mia.” She says quietly, wincing when the knocking starts again.

“What are big sisters for, eh? Now, important questions and I promise I won’t judge, have you had any alcohol?” Mia questions and Ada is reassured by the sound of movement in the background. There’s no judgement in Mia’s voice, which Ada is grateful for, she knows that her big sister is just trying to discern if she’s safe.

“Jacob gave me a cup of beer when I got here but I could only drink like half of it. That stuff is gross.” Ada wrinkles her nose as she remembers the bitter taste of the substance

“Sure is, kiddo. Don’t worry, Will and I will teach all the right ways when you’re older. I’m not doing it before you get your freaking driver’s permit though.” Mia’s voice remains light and without judgement but her words still have Ada freezing. This is so unlike her and she really doesn’t have any idea of how she’s going to explain any of this to her parents.

“Sorry…” She mumbles under her breath, staring down at her feet.

“No, Ada, I’m sorry. You called me so I wouldn’t Mom and Dad out on you, so I won’t. I know you know this was a silly idea.” Mia’s heavy sigh travels down the line from the other end and Ada sighs too, biting her lip. 

“I do.” She replies and hears Mia hum.

“Alright, I’m twenty minutes away. Do you think you can meet me outside or do you want me to come in?” Mia questions and Ada is grateful for the suggestion. She doesn’t however, want to be the kid who crashes a high school party. She’d just like to get out of here.

“No it’s fine, I’ll just stay in here until you get here. Could you text me when you’re outside?” She asks nervously.

“Of course, I can stay on the line if you want?” Mia offers and Ada bites her lip as she thinks for a second before she shakes her head.

“No, it’s okay. Concentrate on the road.” She nods, even though Mia cannot see her.

“Alright, I’ll be as fast as I can. I love you, Ads.” Mia tells her softly and Ada smiles, feeling as if there’s a weight lifted off her shoulders. She made the right call, Mia really is the best.

“Love you too Mia. Thank you so much.” She replies and prays that her gratitude comes across in her tone.

“No problem at all. As I said, this is what big sisters are for.”

“What did you do, then?” Ada asks after a moment as she squints, and she hears Mia laugh.

“I have a big sister. William.” Mia reminds her and the usual teasing tone of her big sister’s voice calms her as Ada giggles as well. “Alright, see you in a bit, okay? Call me back if you need to.”

“Will do. Thanks again, Mia.”

Mia makes a sound as if she’s blowing Ada a kiss and then the line goes dead. The sounds of the party rush back into Ada’s ears and she pulls her knees towards her chest to curl up on top of the toilet seat.

Resting her head on top of her knees, she manages to pass fifteen minutes before the knocking and shouting outside the door gets too much and Ada knows she’s going to have to venture out before one of the high school actually considers knocking the door down.

Heaving a deep sigh, she stands and wipes at her face before unlocking the door and stepping out to the sound of relieved sighs from the queue that has only grown during her occupation of the bathroom.

“Finally! Damn girl, what were you doing in there?” The guy nearest the door asks, raising his eyebrow at her. He’s tall and is built broadly, Ada thinks it’s likely that he’s a football player or something.

“It’s free now, isn’t it?” Ada bites back before pushing her way past the line and down the stairs. She finds her jacket buried under a mountain of others and she’s almost made it to the door when the sound of her name causes her to stop.

“Did anyone see where Ada got to?” Lucy, one of the girls Ada’s own age at the studio asks. She doesn’t know her too well, Lucy’s only just moved up from the intermediate classes to Ada’s more advanced ones. She looks a little of place herself and Ada feels bad for having darted off.

“Oh, who cares about that little nobody. The only reason she has the lead is because I missed auditions for Kitri.” Olivia, the new girl who dragged them all here, bites back and Ada freezes, frowning. She knew that Olivia wasn’t happy with her role in the show but she didn’t think she was that mean.

“Ada’s the only one in our studio who can dance the Act III variation.” Lucy stands up and the guilt for leaving her alone grows in Ada as she sees the girl stand up for her so fiercely.

“As if. I’m sure Olivia could do it. My mom says the only reason Madame Sokolov loves her so much is a combination of her gold-digging mother throwing so much money at the studio and fear that her ex-vigilante, dried up father will beat her up if she doesn’t favortise Ada.” Jackie, a girl stood next to Olivia speaks up, and the way she simpers up to Olivia as she finishes speaking makes Ada roll her eyes. She truly wishes her studio didn’t have so much politics attached to it, all she wants to do is dance.

“It’s sad really. I’ve been here two months and I don’t think I’ve ever seen either of her parents. Her brother drops her off or she gets the bus. I guess that explains all of the money her family throws at the studio. Classic absent parent technique.” Olivia sighs and Ada feels the rage bubble up in her. Her mom and dad care so much. Lucas drives her because he’s heading that way after school and it’s easier for her to get the bus when Lucas can’t drive her than drag her dad out of the gym for a twenty-minute car ride. Her father has already assured her that he’ll drive her to the studio next year when Lucas goes off to college.

They’ve never missed a show. They drive her to every audition. Her mom will spend an entire evening with Ada in their home studio, watching her do the same move over and over again, helping her to get it right.

“Don’t you dare talk about my parents! You know nothing about them!” Ada hadn’t even realised that she moved until she’s stood in front of Olivia, squaring up to her face.

“Oh, sweet little Ada does have a backbone. Who knew?” Olivia smirks and Ada growls.

“Maybe if you spent a little more time working on your dancing than you do gossiping, you’d have a bigger role. Sure, you missed lead auditions but you made it to others than the ensemble but that’s where you ended up. I’d be happy to help you out if you’d like,” Ada growls, the words flying out of her mouth before she even realises what she’s saying.

“Shut up!” Ada gasps as Olivia’s drink is thrown from her cup, all down her front. The beer is sticky and it smells disgusting. The cup was practically full and Ada’s drenched now but Olivia keeps going. “I don’t need your help! Why are you even at the studio anyway? I thought your whole family just becomes murderers… oh sorry, vigilantes.”

“My family are heroes!” Ada growls, pushing her sticky hair back from her face as Olivia scoffs and crosses her arms.

“They’re killers and the fact that they’re allowed to walk around free is ridiculous.” The older girl comments just as Ada’s phone vibrates in her hand. It’s Mia, letting her know that she’s outside and the presence of her sister washes over Ada like clean water. She takes a deep breath and steps back.

“You know nothing, Olivia, and I’m sorry that you’re bitter about not getting Kitri but that’s really not my problem. I can’t believe I skipped class to try and impress you, you’re clearly not the sort of person I should be trying to impress. So I’m going home. You want a lift, Lucy?” She asks softly, turning to the other girl who freezes, looking between Olivia and Ada.

“You’re not going to drive, are you?” Lucy asks and Ada chuckles a little, shaking her head.

“No, my sister’s outside.” She assures her and Lucy nods her head, standing up tall.

“Oh okay, then yes please.” She smiles and Ada does too, nodding her head.

“You’ll regret this, Queen!” Olivia calls after her and Ada smirks, turning around as she reaches the door.

“Will I?” She asks with a raised eyebrow before she ushers Lucy out the door.

Mia’s car is on the curb and her sister waves out of the window, frowning at the sight of Ada.

“What happened?” Mia asks, looking her up and down and Ada shakes her head with a sigh.

“Seems like maybe I got some of that Queen temper after all?” She shrugs and Mia rolls her eyes with a smirk.

“Get in, I’ll hear the whole story when you tell Mom and Dad.” Her older sister huffs and Ada smiles, turning to Lucy.

“Could we maybe also give Lucy a lift too? Please?” She asks and Mia smiles, turning to face the other girl.

“Of course. Hi, I’m Mia. I’m Ada’s big sister.” Mia greets and Lucy smiles shyly, waving.

“Thank you for this, Mia. God, my parents are going to murder me! I’m not even allowed to walk from the dance studio to the car without my mom when it’s dark. She’s going to have my head.” Lucy groans as they climb in the car and Mia and Ada share a look.

“Do you think it might be easier if you come back to mine and I get my mom to call yours?” Ada asks and Lucy frowns.

“You’d do that for me?” The other girl asks and Ada smiles.

“Of course. What are friends for?”

Lucy grins at her.

“Is that alright, Miss Queen?” Lucy asks Mia and Mia chuckles a little.

“Please, Lucy, call me Mia and yes, that’s fine with me. You’re up when it comes to talking to Mom and Dad though, Ads.” Mia warns her and Ada nods her head.

“I know. Thanks again, Mia. It’s a long drive into the city.”

“I figured its penance for all the times I made Will do this for me,” Mia smirks and Ada huffs, relaxing back into her seat.

“I’ve never done anything like this, ever! You were sneaking out of the house when you were half my age!” She laments and Mia snorts, glancing over at Ada with a smirk.

“In my defence, they were playing the Muppets movie at the cinema and Mom and Dad wanted me to wait until the weekend to go see it.”

“You were seven.”

“Point still stands,” Mia smirks and Ada rolls her eyes as she sighs. She knows her parents won’t fully flip out on her but she’s still only fourteen. “Listen, Ada, you’re like a child sent from heaven. You’ve never done anything bad in your life. In fact, we were starting to wonder if you were adopted for a minute there.”

“Funny.” Ada bites, looking over at her sister with an unimpressed look but only gaining a grin. She’s truly appreciative of Mia going out of her way to come and collect her but she is a little annoyed at how much enjoyment her big sister seems to be getting out of this.

“Listen, just explain to Mom and Dad what happened and accept the consequences they give. They’re always fair. If anything, they’ll be proud of you for getting out of there when you did. Although the getting into a fight thing…” Mia trails off, looking over at Ada’s clothing which is in a state of complete disarray. It’s sad, Ada really likes this top but it looks like it might be a lost cause at this point.

“You literally cage fight for money.” She deadpans back at her sister who snorts.

“And Daddy threw an absolute fit when he found out. He threatened to lock me in my old room.” Mia reminds her as she turns the car into the familiar driveway and pulls up next to Lucas’ pickup. “Alright delinquents, we’re here.”

Ada curses at the fact that the living room light is still on. She’d be expecting it of course but there was a little hope in the back of her head that is squashed when she spots the figure of her father at the kitchen window, frowning at the sight of Mia’s car.

“Mia?” It’s her mother who opens the door, stepping out onto the porch and wrapping her cardigan around her to protect her from the chill. “Ada? Is that you? Shouldn’t you still be at the studio? Who’s that you’ve got with you?”

“Alright, let her answer the questions before you ask another one, Momma,” Mia smirks, practically skipping up the steps to throw her arms around her spitting image. Felicity chuckles and wraps her arms around her eldest daughter.

“Aren’t you supposed to be patrolling tonight?” Felicity asks quietly, glancing over at the stranger to check she doesn’t hear.

“Oh yeah, but I got Connor to cover me when Ada called,” Mia explains but that only has Felicity raising her eyebrows as Oliver steps out the front door. “Let her explain. Hi Daddy!”

She throws herself into Oliver’s arms and he chuckles, squeezing her tightly and planting a kiss to her temple. “Hey, baby girl, what brings you by at ten o’clock on a Thursday night?”

“Proof that Ada and I are actually related.” She grins vaguely before she pushes past her father and heads into the kitchen. “You got any cookies?”

“Alright, everyone come inside and let’s figure out what’s going on.” Felicity sighs and ushers her youngest daughter and her friend into the house.

“Um, Mom, Daddy, this is Lucy. She dances with me at the studio.” Ada introduces quietly and Felicity and Oliver share a look before the former paints a smile on her face.

“Oh Lucy, I remember. You danced one of the princesses in Swan Lake last Christmas?” She asks and Lucy smiles, visibly relaxing.

“Yes, ma’am. You and Mr Queen have a lovely home.” She stutters nervously and Oliver smiles.

“Please, call us Oliver and Felicity. Although we would like to know what you’re doing in our home at ten on a school night?” He asks, no judgement coming into his voice and Ada takes a deep breath, wondering if maybe this will actually be alright after all.

“Is that… beer I can smell?” Felicity frowns, sniffing the air and Ada flushes.

“It’s a funny story, actually…” Ada starts but she stops when Felicity raises an eyebrow.

“Don’t make it hard Ads, just tell the truth.” Mia mumbles around a mouthful of cookie and Ada turns to see her older sister perched on the island with a bag of cookies in one hand and a can of soda in the other.

“Mia, could you go phone your brother and let him know that Ada’s already home, please?” Oliver asks sweetly, smiling at his eldest daughter who nods. She jumps off the counter with more vigour than necessary and heads through to the dining room, the sound of her phone dialling.

“Alright, why don’t we go and sit down and you can tell us what happened, hmm?” Felicity prompts and Ada nods her head, ignoring the feeling in her stomach as she and Lucy follow her parents over to the couches in the living room.

“Whenever you’re ready, sweetheart.” Oliver prompts and it’s the kindness and trust in his voice that makes Ada completely lose it, everything comes tumbling out in a mess.

“Well, you know that new girl at the studio, Olivia? Well, she was going on and on about this boy at the high school, Jacob Carver. Do you know Mrs Carver’s youngest son? He’s Henry and Seth’s younger brother and well he’s got a bit of a reputation for partying and Olivia was talking about how he invited her to a party tonight and all of her friends could come too and she wanted us all to ditch variation class and go with her. I wasn’t going to go, I really wasn’t! But then she said that anyone who didn’t go was a baby and I don’t want to be known as a baby! So we snuck out the back of the studio and walked the five blocks to the Carver house. It was awful! I mean, there were way too many people there and the music was so loud and people were being gross all over the place. I was there for half an hour max before I called Mia. I’m really sorry and I know I’ve lost your trust but I’ll never do anything like this ever again and for what it’s worth, I had an awful time and…”

“Ada, breathe.” Felicity prompts and Ada stops, taking a deep breath. “First off, are the two of you alright?”

“Yes, Mrs. Queen.”

“Yes, Mom.”

“Alright, next thing. Did you have any alcohol?” Oliver asks and Ada flushes, looking down at her lap.

“Maybe half a cup of beer. It was gross.” Ada wrinkles her nose and she looks up in shock at the chuckles that her parents release.

“I told her that beer was the worst thing to start on. It’s truly disgusting.” Mia’s voice sounds and Ada turns to see her sister snatch her soda off the island before vaulting over the arm of the armchair to settle in with her legs tucked up underneath her.

“Not helping, Mia.” Felicity prompts but the young woman just shrugs, taking a swig of her drink and Oliver chuckles, rolling his eyes with half a smile. “Lucy?”

“The same.” The other girl states and Felicity nods her head.

“Alright. Did you spill the rest down yourself or did something else happen to get you covered in beer?” She asks and Ada takes a deep breath. Lucy, however, starts talking before she can explain.

“Ada was so cool! Olivia was being awful, she basically said that you guys paid for her to have the lead in Don Quixote and she totally called her out on it. Olivia was so shocked and then she was even more awful about you having been vigilantes in the past which like, old news so whatever… but Ada handled that amazingly as well!” Lucy grins, perking up in her seat as she explains but as she finishes, she realises how many eyes are on her and she sinks back down, a blush painting her cheeks. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright, sweetheart,” Felicity assures her with a smile.

“Ada, is that true?” Oliver asks and Ada nods, looking up at her dad with a nervous expression.

“I walked away pretty much as soon as she threw the drink. I didn’t fight her, I promise.” She tells him quietly and Oliver smiles, shaking his head.

“No, you’re not your sister.” He quips, making Ada smile.

“Hey! Right here!” Mia complains and Oliver chuckles, looking over at his eldest daughter with a smirk.

“Am I wrong?” He asks and Mia pouts, making Oliver laugh before he looks back to the teenagers on the couch. “Is there anything else we should know?”

“No, Daddy.”

“No, Sir.”

“Okay. I’m glad you’re both alright.” He tells them and Ada takes a deep breath.

“Mom, do you think you could maybe call Lucy’s mom for her please?” Ada asks softly and Felicity frowns, looking at Lucy in concern.

“Is your phone dead, sweetheart?” She questions and Lucy flushes.

“Um no but my mom is going to lose it. I… well we thought maybe…” She stutters and Felicity smiles, shaking her head and holding up a hand to stop her talking.

“You thought she might take it better from me.” She finishes and Lucy nods with a blush. “Okay, come with me. We’ll get this sorted.”

Felicity smiles warmly and stands, directing Lucy through to the dining room.

“You want me to leave too, don’t you?” Mia asks, looking at their father who smiles.

“Give us a few minutes?” He asks and Mia smirks, standing from the armchair and giving a mock-salute.

“You got it, Sir. Good luck Ads. I’ll be in my old room.” Mia winks before heading up the stairs.

Ada takes a shaky breath before looking nervously over at her father.

“Baby, c’mere.” He prompts and Ada walks over, sitting down a few feet away from her father. “Oh, are you too old for a cuddle with your old man now?”

“Daddy, I’m covered in beer.” Ada reminds him with a dubious look but her father just shakes his head.

“I’ve cuddled your sister when she’s been covered in a lot worse, I promise,” Oliver reassures her and Ada gives him a final raised eyebrow which he counters with a smile before she cuddles into his side.

She loves her father’s hugs. There’s just something about them that makes her feel so safe. She knows nothing bad will happen to her when she’s in his arms.

“I’m proud of you for the way you reacted tonight,” He tells her, pressing a kiss onto the top of her head and Ada scoffs.

“I never should have gone,” She sighs and feels him chuckle before she hears it.

“Maybe, but you learnt something from it and I gather you’ll think twice before doing anything similar again,” Oliver replies calmly, his voice level, and Ada snorts.

“You can say that again.”

Lucy’s mom arrives shortly to pick her up, quite a bit calmer than the girl herself imagined she would be, and once she leaves, Oliver and Felicity convince Mia to stay the night rather than drive back to the city this late.

Ada heads to bed an hour later with the knowledge that she’s banned from social activities for a week and she’ll have to spend her weekend cleaning the studios at her dad’s gym. Despite that, she’s extremely grateful for her parents, who were extremely patient with the situation and realised that Ada had already come to the conclusion that it was a mistake to go, and for her sister, who literally dropped everything at her phone call to drive out of the city and pick Ada up.

Her mom’s words ring in her ears as she settles down in bed, finally free from the sticky, beer covered clothing.

“There’s no point lingering on mistakes, baby girl, the important thing is that you learn from them and we can see you’ve already started that process. We just want you to know that we love you and that next time, you can call us directly.”

Her heart glows at the thought of her wonderful parents, she knows she’s so lucky, and she hopes that she can learn from this in the way that they want to and make them proud going forward.

Chapter Text

“Come on Mia, Daddy made some real delicious bananas. Bananas, come on baby girl, who doesn’t like bananas?”

Oliver smiles as he watches, leaning against the island. Felicity has pulled one of the chairs from the dining table up to Mia’s high chair and is waving the spoon of bananas in front of their daughter’s face. Mia is having none of it, however, shaking her head and her cries echo around the room with Felicity’s frustrated groans.

“I tried the bananas yesterday. No go.” Oliver finally speaks up and Felicity looks over at him, huffing loudly as she places the bowl and the spoon on the high chair’s little table.

“Well you could’ve told… you did tell me, didn’t you?” She asks, her face falling and Oliver chuckles with a small nod, pushing off the island and heading over to her.

“I did but it was somewhere in between the three hour screaming fit and your videoconference with the board. I would’ve forgotten too.” He assures her, placing a soft hand on her shoulder and pressing a kiss to both her and Mia’s heads. His daughter pouts and reaches up towards him through her tears. Oliver stands by the fact that he will never be able to resist a Smoak pout and he pulls her out of the high chair, still amazed at the way she curls around him. Her little hands grasp at his t-shirt and her head leans against his neck, in the exact same spot that her mother loves to bury her nose in.

“I swear Mom brain is about ten times worse than pregnancy brain.” Felicity huffs, shaking her head as she gathers up the plastic bowl and spoon to head to the sink. “Is Will still asleep?”

“Yup. Still out cold. You know how he is when he’s on vacation.” Oliver chuckles, bouncing Mia a little as she continues to cry.

“Rene’s going to be here with Zoe in a half hour.” Felicity sighs and Oliver frowns, having forgotten that their son’s friend was coming round today.

“Oh, okay, I’ll go take him his favorite alarm clock.” He smirks and bounces Mia again, making Felicity laugh. “Go take a shower, honey, I’ll give this one a bottle once we’ve woken her brother up.”

Felicity sighs, looking at Mia with a frown and a tilted head. “It feels like she’s never going to eat proper food.”

“She’ll get there. She’s just taking her time.” Oliver assures his wife with a smile before looking down at his daughter with a wider one. “Good thing we didn’t stay in Star City, huh? I don’t think Mia’s cut out for the fast paced vigilante lifestyle.”

“Not yet at least.” Felicity smirks, giving him one of her not-quite winks before she disappears down the hallway with a giggle. Oliver freezes for a second, his grip on his baby girl tightening just a little before shaking it off with an eye roll and an exaggerated smile to Mia.

“Your momma’s determined to give me a heart attack, I swear.” He coos and heads towards William’s room. Mia’s settled in his arms but she lights up as Oliver pushes open the door and reveals William fast asleep in his bed.

Mia adores William. It took Oliver a week to stop tearing up when he saw his two children together but the emotional reaction gave way to his heart warming at the sight. Even now, when Mia sees William’s passed out form, her little limbs start to wriggle and she reaches out for her big brother.

Oliver is quickly learning that saying no to his baby girl is an impossible task, god help him when she starts talking, so he places her down on the bed carefully next to William’s head. She gargles happily and her little hands claw at her brother’s face gently, causing the teenager to let out a long groan as he’s pulled into the land of the living.

“Ugh, morning Mia.” He grumbles and Oliver cannot help but chuckle at the obvious torment going on in his son’s mind. Mia has proven to be quite the helpful alarm clock when it comes to her big brother because William finds himself torn between being unable to be mad at his baby sister and not enjoying being forced to be awake.

“Morning bud.” Oliver comments, smiling as Mia wins once again and William sits up, scooping his baby sister close to his chest. “You’ve got a half hour before Zoe gets here.”

“Ugh, tell me why I have friends again?” He questions and Oliver snorts, shaking his head. “Thanks for going with the baby and not sending Fliss in with her singing.”

Oliver cannot help but laugh at the thought of his wife’s other very effective way of waking up their teenager. She likes to burst into his room singing ‘Good Morning’ from ‘Singing in the Rain’ at the top of her lungs and opens his blinds so he’s exposed to the daylight. It’s almost as effective as Mia but William enjoys it far less, which only makes it more amusing for his parents.

“Well you know, I figured I had to be nice to you every so often.” Oliver smirks and William chuckles, letting out a long yawn.

“I guess I better get up.” He comments and lifts Mia off his chest. He smacks a kiss to his baby sister’s cheek before handing her back to Oliver, who quickly diverts her pout at being separated from her big brother with a rattle left on William’s bookcase.

“A half hour.” Oliver reminds him as he heads out the room with an amused shake of his head. Mia jiggles the rattle happily and the noise makes Oliver smile. “Alright baby girl, I suppose I better feed you now that I’ve used you as an alarm clock.”

He deftly finds a bottle in the fridge and places it in the bottle warmer, playing Mia’s new favourite game of trying to touch everything in her reach and having to be stopped by someone before she hurts herself whilst he waits. By the time it takes, Mia is extremely frustrated of being denied and Oliver’s grateful for the distraction. He tests the milk temperature and flicks the coffee machine on before heading outside to the deck with Mia still tucked safely in his arms.

It’s the moments like this that he adores. Quiet ones, looking out over the peaceful morning with his baby girl in his arms. It’s the sort of thing he never imagined he’d be able to enjoy, even when Felicity and William were settled and he felt like they settled down into the cohesiveness of their little family. It’s the moments that were just not cohesive with the fast-paced nature of their lives in Star City.

Here in Bloomfield, however, with his hood safely stored in his trunk in the garage…

Mia lets out a soft little hum, her lips closed around the bottle and Oliver stares down at her, still in utter awe that she’s here and she’s this perfect.

“Mia, everything the light touches is our kingdom…”

Oliver turns to see his wife stood a few feet away, a grin on her face as she finishes quoting in a bad accent. With the morning light behind her, she looks practically ethereal and the addition of two coffee mugs in her hands only adds to the picture.

“Lion King references, really?” He asks with a grin on her face and Felicity shrugs her shoulders, placing the mugs down on the small table before she slides into the chair next to his. Leaning over the arm of the chair, she smiles down at Mia, brushing her knuckles gently over her soft cheeks.

“Sweet as an angel now, huh?” She chuckles and Oliver does as well, smiling up at her.

“Excuse you, she’s always an angel.” Oliver comments, looking down at their little girl and Felicity scoffs amusedly, shaking her head.

“You heard her crying earlier, right?” She questions, raising an eyebrow, and Oliver merely shrugs.

“She’s just not ready for solids yet.” He excuses indignantly and Felicity laughs, shaking her head.

“Lord help me when she’s throwing herself off of counters and you can’t discipline her because she’s too cute.” She sighs, leaning her head on his shoulder and Oliver pouts.

“Hey, you know I’ve always got your back.” He frowns and Felicity chuckles, shaking her head.

“I know, you numpty.” She huffs with an affectionate smile, stretching up to gently brush her lips against his.

Oliver sighs happily as they pull apart, Mia settling happily against his chest as Felicity hands over his coffee. He sinks back into his chair, smiling at his wife who smiles affectionately at them. The soft silence settles back over them as the three of them enjoy the quiet morning. The day breaks around them and they stay where they are… Oliver’s constant in an ever-moving world.

They’re dragged out of their momentary bliss by the door crashing through it and William tugging his hoodie over his head.

“I’m ready, I’m ready, I’m here.”

Oliver and Felicity share a look as they both hide their smirks from the teenager. He still looks as if he just rolled out of bed and Oliver knows he probably did only get up about five minutes ago.

Their attention is drawn away from him however by the sound of wheels against the gravel of their driveway. It seems that William’s timing is spot on as Rene pulls up next to Oliver’s Prius, Zoe grinning excitedly in the front seat.

“Zoe!” William grins, practically flinging himself down the porch to reach his friend as Zoe zooms out of the car as well. They meet at the bottom of the steps in a hug and Oliver smiles at how tightly the friends cling to each other.

Zoe and William’s friendship was the last thing Oliver expected to come out of he and Felicity’s partnership with Rene but the kids are the same age and it turned out that Zoe was a wonderful lifeline for Oliver’s son just after he moved to Star City. The two have been close ever since.

“Hey Will. Your hair looks weird.” Zoe comments as they pull away and Oliver hides a snort when William’s face contorts in confusion. He and Felicity stand and moves closer, Oliver adjusting Mia so she’s safe in his arms.

“Peanut!” Rene admonishes, finally catching up with his daughter. He smiles in greeting at Oliver and Felicity who nod their greeting in return.

“What? It does!” Zoe huffs, frowning as she looks up at her friend’s hair. William frowns and runs his fingers through it in an attempt to cull it but it’s a futile exercise.

“She has a point.” Felicity pipes up with a smirk and Oliver can’t stop his laugh at the indignant look on William’s face as he whirls around to look at his step-mother.

“You’re supposed to be on my side, Fliss.” The teenager pouts but Felicity just chuckles, shaking her head.

“I’m always on your side but you need to remember what a hairbrush is for.” She tells him with a discerning look and William blushes, reaching up with his hands again.

“Alright Hoss, now that we’ve sufficiently teased the kid… Do I get my baby cuddles?” Rene asks, walking up the steps to where Oliver is stood with Mia. The father reaches out eagerly and Oliver chuckles, adjusting her carefully and taking the now empty bottle from her before placing the baby in his old teammate’s arms.

Mia’s not a fussy baby in particular. She’s never fully happy unless she’s in Oliver, Felicity, or William’s arms but she doesn’t stress too much in others. She does just that now, sitting comfortably in Rene’s hold but her expression is extremely neutral.

“My god, she’s gotten so big!” Zoe squeals, moving round her father so that she can bend down to the baby’s level. Mia lights up at the sight of Zoe, who is one of her other favourite people, and Oliver watches with a smile as the teenager grasps the baby’s hands and wiggles them around.

“Like I’m chopped liver.” William huffs, wriggling his way in-between Oliver and Felicity and Oliver snorts, wrapping an easy arm around his son. He settles happily, listening to the way Zoe makes Mia giggle.

He never thought his days would look like this but he thanks every deity he can think of that they do. This life he gets to spend with his beautiful wife and two incredible children… he wouldn’t change it for the absolute world.

Chapter Text

February 5th, 2037

William Clayton-Queen is freaking out.

It’s not an uncommon happenstance. In fact, William’s sister, Mia, says that she thinks William must have at least five freak-outs a day and she’s probably not wrong. He likes to panic but he never tends to freak out about this.

This being men, dating men specifically.

William knows he’s amassed a slight reputation in the media. According to the press, he’s ‘living up to his father’s less honourable legacy’ and ‘cavorting in the way only rich, young men know how’.

He takes a lot of issue with this, though there isn’t much he can to combat the narrative. He’s not a playboy in the sense that he’s a douche when it comes to dating or that he doesn’t call back. He’s always polite and respectful but he just hasn’t found anyone he can really connect with yet. And sure, maybe he does date a lot but that doesn’t make him a playboy.

That’s the thing though, it seems the media can’t quite fathom how a 30-year old successful CEO isn’t in a relationship if he isn’t in some way morally corrupt.

It’s gotten so bad that he had to ask Felicity to turn off her alert for his name in the press, assuring her he has one of his own. There are some things you just don’t want your stepmother reading about you, even if you know they’re not true.

But the media isn’t why William’s having a freak-out today at least.

No, that is all down to Jack Harris, new Head of Applied Sciences at Clayton Consolidated.

William was devastated when Jaclyn handed in her resignation. She’d been with him since the launch of the company and he trusted her with all their projects. He’d insisted she found her replacement before she left and she’d assured William that Jack, who was transferring from a rival company, was the best of the best.

What she failed to tell William, however, is just how goddamn attractive Jack is.

It’s his first day today and William is honestly struggling to not stare. He knows he shouldn’t, especially in a professional environment, but the man is practically an Adonis. He’s a few inches taller than William, he thinks he must be at least six foot, with curly hair neatly styled on top of his head in a brown as deep as chocolate. His jawline is sharp and emphasised by just the right amount of stubble and when he smiles, his light brown eyes sparkle as if he’s sharing a secret with only you. His voice is slow and smooth, he’s extremely methodical as he explains himself, and William has to stop himself from leaning in on several occasions during their first meeting, just wanting to hear more.

He truly doesn’t know what’s wrong with him. He’s a professional businessman who respects and cares for his employees. There’s just something about Jack Harris, however, that has him feeling like a teenager with a crush.

And then, of course, he only goes and makes it worse.

He’s in the executive floor break room around a week after Jack’s first day, making a cup of coffee on his lunch break when Jack walks in, a surprised smile spreading across his face at the sight of him. William notices that he gets these small dimples in his cheeks when he smiles and he’ll be damned if that isn’t the cutest thing he’s ever seen.

And he then forces himself to un-notice that because it causes his stomach to flutter in a way he’s sure he hasn’t felt since he was 15 and he asked Thomas Jackson to the movies for the first time.

“Not often you find a CEO making their own coffee.” Jack comments, smiling at him and he heads to the shelves they keep fully stocked and picks out a bag of nuts.

“Oh, well, Jason’s on his lunchbreak and so am I. Plus, you know, perfectly capable of making a coffee, despite what my ex-boyfriend says.” William rambles before he can stop himself but he freezes as he realises what he’s said and he takes in the slightly surprised look on Jack’s face. “Oh, you definitely didn’t need to know that, I’m sorry. That was extremely unprofessional.”

He scrambles to apologise but that stomach-fluttering smile merely spreads across Jack’s face once more as he waves William off. “No, you’re fine. Actually, my ex-boyfriend claimed I couldn’t make an omelette to save my life so looks like we’re two for two on douchebag exes.”

William can’t deny the way his heart leaps a little at the term ‘ex-boyfriend’. Not that, you know, he’s planning on doing anything with the information that his extremely attractive co-worker is also into men. It’s just good information to know.

“I don’t know, I suppose that depends what your omelettes and my coffee are actually like.” William manages to finally get out, feeling a sense of pride rise in him as Jack chuckles.

“True.” The taller man smirks, nodding at William before he pops a few of the nuts in his mouth. William waits for him to finish his mouthful before he speaks again.

“Are you settling in? Got everything you need?” William questions, raising his eyebrows hopefully. It was a risky move, leaving a company as well established as the one Jack was at to join William’s relatively new venture, and William wants to make sure they’re making a good impression.

“I think so. Although my computer is running a little slow.” Jack comments nonchalantly as if it’s not a big deal but his words make William freeze.

“Well, that’s not a good impression for us to be making. I can take a look if you’d like?” He immediately offers, not thinking twice about it until Jack frowns.

“Isn’t that a little below your jurisdiction?” He asks, raising a dubious eyebrow at William who furrows his brow. It might be but he doesn’t mind and he lets Jack know that but he only gets halfway through his sentence when Jason appears in the break room doorway with a panicked expression on his face.

 “Mr Clayton-Queen, I’m terribly sorry, Sir, but there’s been an issue down in marketing.” His assistant informs him and William sighs, sending Jack an apologetic smile as he scoops his coffee off the counter.

“Alert IT and I’ll have them expedite it. We can’t have you thinking we’re running slow computers on your first week here.” William offers in place of looking at it himself and is grateful to see it makes Jack smile and nod appreciatively.

“Thank you, Sir.”

“William, please, Mr Harris.” He corrects. He’s always had a rule that all the executives call him by his first name. He wants them to feel like colleagues, not boss and employees.

“Then you must call me Jack.”

“Mr Clayton-Queen.” Jason insists and William sighs, turning to nod at his assistant to assure him he’s coming.

“I’ll see you around.” Jack smiles and William ignores the way his stomach flips at the words.

“Catch you later.” He replies and follows Jason down to marketing, only realising how mortifying his parting words were once Jack’s out of sight. “Catch you later? What is this, 2009?”

Good lord, he needs to pull himself together.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Zoe. I don’t get nervous around guys normally.” He laments later to Zoe as they’re sat in their local bar, each nursing a glass of the house wine.

Their parents always laugh at them when they tell them they still come to the old dive bar around the corner from the bunker. It’s not the place anyone would expect to find a CEO or a city official but it holds so much history for the two best friends and neither want to find somewhere new. It’s where they both bought their first (and their first legal) drink and it’s where they’d been when William told Zoe he was going ahead with launching Clayton Consolidated. They can also certainly afford to drink something better than the house wine but it reminds them both of sitting here in their early twenties, talking about what they wanted to achieve too much to change it now.  

“That’s because you don’t date, my friend. You’re not used to this.” Zoe snorts and William frowns.

“I date!” He states indignantly, furrowing his brow, but his best friend merely shakes her head.

“Hooking up with someone on a dating app is not the same as dating.”

“Pedant.” William sighs, rolling his eyes before nodding at Zoe. “And hypocrite, by the way. It’s not like you date.”

“That you know of,” Zoe smirks, making William roll his eyes. He knows she’d tell him if she actually were dating anyone and that she’s only winding him up but sometimes he feels like she’s got a far better grasp on this whole thing than him.

They may be fully grown but he’ll always remember how nervous he’d been to come out to her, worried it would ruin their friendship forever, only for Zoe to shrug and steal the bag of Skittles he’d been holding for himself as she stated confidently “Oh cool, me too”.  

“Anyway, I’m not the one half-drunk off cheap wine in a bar lamenting to my friend about how dreamy my new Head of Applied Sciences is,” Zoe smirks, drawing William back out of his head and into the conversation.

“I’m not lamenting, and I never said he was dreamy!” William defends, his brow furrowing as he sits up. Zoe merely raises her eyebrow at him, holding his gaze for a long moment before huffing and rolling her eyes.

“Grow some balls, Clayton-Queen, and ask him out. The worst thing he can do is say no.” She reminds him but that does nothing to calm the storm raging in William’s mind.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m afraid of.” He reminds her, lifting his glass to take another long swig. “God, I wish we were straight, then we could just marry each other and be done with it.”

Zoe snorts, lifting her own glass up to take a drink before raising an eyebrow at William over the rim. “Yeah, but then we’d be straight.”

“True.” William shudders and all it takes is a few seconds before they both descend into laughter.

It takes a full month for anything to happen and when it does, William is not the initiator. When he relays this to Zoe later, she assures him that she is not at all surprised and Mia says the same when he tells her even later. (The addition from Ada that he’s a slowpoke who needs to understand his feelings better cuts a little, he admits, but he thinks she might just be quoting from some Disney show).

Jack is fantastic at his job. He’s smart, thinks on his feet, and always has a solution practically as the problem arises. He and William have been working on a new operating system for their tech. It’s a mammoth task but a needed one and William is glad to see Jack is as enthusiastic about it as he is. It’s nice to speak to someone outside of his family who understands tech the way he does.

And by his family, yes, he means Felicity and Lucas.

The office has diminished around them this night, more and more staff heading home until it’s just them and security left in the building. William has assured Jack at least three times that he’s welcome to go home and they can pick it up on Monday but Jack shakes his head each time, assuring William he wants to stay until this portion is done.

It’s 10 o’clock by the time William declares that they at least need a break and they slump onto the couch in the corner of his office as they wait for their food delivery to arrive.

William throws his head back against the couch with a long groan as his muscles cry out in protest. He knows his dad would be freaking if he knew how long he spent hunched over a computer today, always on about ergonomic working environments and looking after your body.

“Is this your mother?”

The question startles him and William frowns, turning his head to see that Jack is gesturing to the collection of photos on the sideboard. He’s specifically pointing at one of William’s mother, which sits in between a picture of him with his family at his MIT graduation and a picture of him with his siblings at the beach the previous summer.

The photo was taken about six months before she died, where they were living under their new aliases after they’d left Central City but before Chase had found them. William can’t remember much of the day he took the picture but he does remember laughing with her as they messed around with a disposable camera she’d bought from a small shop.

When the ARGUS agents had delivered his possessions to his father’s new apartment in Star City after the island explosion and her death, the camera had been laying in the top of the box.  

Most of the photos had been blurry, incoherent messes but this one was perfect. Samantha Clayton sits in the middle of the frame, her eyes bright and her smile wide as she laughs. Her eyes are filled with affection as she looks at the boy behind the camera and to this day, William is grateful of a photo that somehow manages to capture her essence the exact way he remembers her.

“Yeah, that’s her,” William answers, his voice thick as he sits up and smiles, keeping his eyes on the photo.

He really should either move it closer to his desk or make more of an effort to come over here to look at these pictures. There are more on his desk, a picture of him and his mom and one of just him, Oliver and Felicity, but he loves these, and he really doesn’t look at them enough.

“She’s beautiful.” Jack comments and William’s smile grows, as he searches over the picture once more, taking in every detail he can.

“She was,” William answers with a soft sigh, his eyes tracing the veil her long hair marks across her shoulder and remembering the way the soft strands felt against his cheek when he hugged her.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.” Jack frowns softly and that finally prompts William to look away, smiling at the tender look of concern on the other man’s face.

“No, you didn’t. It’s been almost twenty years. It still hurts the same way, but it doesn’t hurt to talk about like it did.” William hastens to assure him and their eyes lock as Jack nods in understanding. William cannot stop himself from attempting to memorise every detail of the way they sparkle before Jack turns away to look back at the photos. His gaze drifts and William has to force himself to breathe as a bright smile spreads across his face.

“These are your siblings?” Jack questions, pointing to the beach photo and William chuckles, looking at it himself. He has Ada by the ankles in it and his youngest sister is grinning brilliantly as he swings her upside down. Mia is on Lucas’ back next to them and both are also grinning at the camera. It’s one of William’s favourite photos of the four of them.

“Yeah, that’s Mia, Lucas, and Ada.” He explains, pointing them all out and Jack chuckles. “Rascals, the lot of them but they’re good kids and I love them a lot.”

“They look it.” Jack chuckles, smiling at the photo before he turns back to look at William.

“So, do you have any siblings?” William questions once he manages to calm his brain from freaking out at just how attractive the man in front of him is.

Jack seems to have no grievance for his sanity however, as he chuckles, looking down at his lap as his smile fades to an extremely fond one. It’s clear he’s remembering something, and William realises with a shuddering jolt that he’d quite like to put that sort of smile on this man’s face one day.

“One, a sister. Her name’s Kaitlin. She’s only two years younger than me but she works in New York so I don’t get to see her a lot.” Jack explains, his eyeline rising once more and he reaches up to run his fingers through his messy hair.

“I’m sorry. I have to admit, I’m lucky with that lot. Mia will for sure stick to Star City and Lucas will probably go to work for Felicity, Ada’s the only wild card in that regard.” William chuckles, gesturing back to the picture on the sideboard. He hasn’t given it much thought, to be honest, his siblings are all still children in his mind, despite Mia being almost 18. He can’t imagine not seeing them every few weeks.  

“It’s okay, we talk every day. She’s probably my best friend truth be told. I, um… I don’t really talk to my parents, we don’t see eye to eye, so she’s my only family really. I’m lucky to have her.” Jack stumbles a little, looking nervously over at William as he explains about his parents.

William doesn’t know what reaction Jack’s expecting from him but his heart tugs. Everything he’s grown to know about this man indicates a kind and loving soul who cares deeply for those around him and the idea that his own parents struggle to recognise that saddens William.

“I’m sure she’s lucky to have you as well.” He replies gently and Jack’s eyes snap to his in shock before they melt and he nods with a gentle smile.

“William, can I ask you something?” Jack asks after a few beats of comfortable silence and William frowns, but nods.

“Of course, anything.”

It worries William, the way Jack shifts uncomfortably in his seat, a stark contrast to his easy smile of a few minutes previous. “You’ll tell me if I’m completely off here?”

“Is that your question?” William asks, trying to diffuse the tension and it seems to work a little as Jack lets out an exasperated huff and levels him with a reproachful look.

“No, I guess I had two.”

“I’ll tell you.” William nods with a soft smile and Jack takes a deep breath as if steeling himself for something.

“Would you perhaps like to go and get a drink sometime?”

That makes William freeze.

He was so sure his feelings were one-sided, that nothing would ever come of them. It was honestly a large part of why he’d ignored Zoe’s advice of just asking Jack out himself.

But here Jack is, fumbling nervously as he asks him for a drink and William truly doesn’t know if his heart has ever felt so light.

“As in a date?” He hastens to confirm, not wanting to appear a fool if he’s reading this all wrong.

“Is that really unprofessional of me? I’m sorry, I just thought…”

“No!” He hastens to interrupt, before wincing at his loud volume. He takes a breath and speaks again, more softly this time. “No, I’d love to.”

“Really?” Jack questions, his nerves still written all over his face.

“Really,” William repeats certainly, his smile bright and wide on his face. As Jack’s own grows to match his, William settles back against the couch with a contented smile.

Maybe he needs to send Jaclyn some flowers.

Chapter Text

Oliver feels like death warmed up.

He swears he never used to get sick and that the years on the island strengthened his immune system to the point that it was near indestructible. But then he stopped running around in the middle of the night in the freezing cold as the Green Arrow and it seems that has lowered his defenses somewhat.

Who knew catching a bug off his four-year-old that his son picked up at pre-school would’ve been what does him in?

And now he’s sick.

He knows it’s nothing serious, just a bad head cold that he’ll get over with a few days of bed rest, but logic is something that’s failing him somehow at the moment. Felicity reassures him that it’s just because he hasn’t really been sick in a while and he’s forgotten how awful it can feel. Oliver knows that technically she’s right but also, he feels terrible and he can’t imagine that anyone has ever felt this sick.

He is with it and sympathetic enough to reassure Felicity that he’s fine and that she doesn’t need to sit with him. The last thing he wants is to get her sick also, especially with the baby. She’s around six months now and whilst catching a head cold wouldn’t have any serious ramifications, it’s something he’d rather avoid.

That, however, leaves him alone in their room with absolutely nothing to do but blow his nose and wallow in his own self-pity.

When the door creaks open (he should really look at that when he’s feeling better), he assumes it’s Felicity bringing him some more water. She’s been an absolute angel all day, making sure that he’s staying hydrated and bringing him some plain food that he might be able to stomach. He knows that she’s juggling doing so, trying to get some work done from home, and keeping an eye on the kids, all whilst being six months pregnant, and that makes his heart glow in affection for her.

Looking up, however, it’s a far smaller figure that’s tiptoeing their way into his room. All blonde curls and wide eyes glancing back behind him, Lucas is clearly trying his best to stay quiet but is doing an awful job as he bashes the door into the chest of drawers with a loud clang. Oliver can’t help but chuckle when his son’s eyes blow comically wide before he runs the last few meters over to the bed and flips himself up onto it.

Despite feeling incredibly lethargic and gross, Oliver can’t help but feel lighter at the sight of Lucas moving with such energy again. It’s always very worrisome for Oliver and Felicity when Lucas gets sick, given his health issues just after he was born, but he’s bounced back from this cold like the little trooper he is and it makes Oliver smile to see him so clearly energetic once more.

“What are you doing, little guy?” Oliver questions, his voice croaking as his throat screams at him for trying to talk too loudly, but it’s worth it to see the way Lucas’ face lights up as he looks up at him.

“Daddy! You’re ‘wake!” The small boy grins, righting himself so he’s the right way up as he grins over at Oliver. The sight of it makes Oliver’s heart skip a beat. They playfully argue about it a lot, but Oliver swears all their kids have Felicity’s smile purely based on the way they make his heart skip a beat every time he sees them.

“Uh-huh, but you shouldn’t be in here, Lou-Lou. Daddy’s sick.” Oliver explains, his eyes widening as Lucas rolls his eyes and bats his hand in a manner that is so Felicity and not at all four-year-old.

“I know! But Mama said to Mimi that I no get sick again if I see you because I been sick already.” Lucas explains with a wide grin, clamoring up to lay on Oliver’s chest, and his little hands reach up to grasp his father’s face.

Oliver has to snort at the idea of Felicity explaining immunization to their seven-year-old and their four-year-old understanding it. It’s times like these when he remembers that his kids are definitely Smoaks.

“You still shouldn’t be in here, buddy. Daddy’s not a lot of fun at the moment.” He tries, reaching out and brushing Lucas’ curls away from his face. Lucas smiles and nuzzles into his touch, tracing his small fingers through Oliver’s beard.

“I know but you and Mama sat with me when I was sick. Shouldn’t be lonely when you sick.” Lucas comments absentmindedly, his little head slumping down onto Oliver’s chest as he cuddles closer to his father. Oliver’s hands still for a second, once again taken aback by the incredible levels of empathy Lucas is capable of at such a young age. He’s such a sweet boy and Oliver is so thankful for him every day.

“That’s very kind of you, baby,” Oliver whispers back, pressing a kiss into his curls and rubbing a hand over his back. Lucas looks up at him again, grin still wide on his face.

“We can watch ‘toons!” He suddenly exclaims and jumps up from his position, clambering off of Oliver to reach for the SmoakTech tablet sat on the bedside table.

Oliver chuckles. That’s more like the behavior he expects from his four-year-old. Lucas always has been incredibly empathetic and kind-hearted but he’s also still a kid and he thinks all his interests are shared by those around him.

As Lucas hands the tablet over for Oliver to unlock and nestles himself under the covers to snuggle up to him, Oliver finds that he really doesn’t mind that at all. Cuddling with his baby brings him such peace that he really doesn’t mind one of Lucas’ cartoons is playing in the background. He’s just grateful that he gets to be here and to hold his baby at all. After all that they’ve been through, he knows how precious that chance is.

So Oliver settles in and pays half-attention to the dinosaur cartoon that has Lucas enraptured. He runs his fingers through his curls, smiling at how unruly they are and how much it reminds him of Felicity’s hair when she doesn’t tame it. He knows he’s got a limited time left of his kids wanting to spend all their time with him, Mia is already beginning to think he and Felicity are ‘lame’ to spend her time with and so Oliver’s clinging to these precious moments whilst his babies are still small and he can.

A few episodes in, Lucas slumps against him, having fallen asleep and Oliver smiles, pressing a kiss to his forehead before switching the tablet over to the hockey game he missed yesterday. Lucas sleeps peacefully next to him, his little chest rising and falling steadily against Oliver’s side and Oliver finds that he forgets about how awful he feels with his baby next to him.

It's another twenty minutes or so when there’s a knock at the door and it squeaks open to reveal Felicity stood there, smiling at him. Oliver presses his finger to his lip before she speaks too loudly, gesturing down at the sleeping boy, and his wife’s face melts into a soft smile as she approaches the bed. “There he is. I told him not to bother you.”

Her voice is far softer than her words might imply, the smile still on her face as she reaches across Oliver to brush Lucas’ curls away from his face. Oliver watches with a smile of his own; there’s something extra special about seeing Felicity interact with their babies. She’s the most incredible of mothers, not that Oliver’s surprised by that, and it warms his heart to see the people he loves most dearly in the world express their love for one another.

“He’s fine. He hasn’t been bothering me at all. We watched some ‘Ossie the Oviraptor’. It’s very stimulating television.” Oliver comments, gesturing to the tablet where the game is now playing on mute and Felicity grins.

“I’m sure it is.” She snorts softly with a shake of her head. She turns her attention to him, brushing her fingers across his forehead as she checks his temperature and Oliver leans into her with a soft groan. “How’re you feeling?”

“Better.” He tells her honestly and she smiles, making Oliver groan as she gently tugs on his hair in the way that she knows he loves.

“I’m glad.” She hums, her other hand landing on his leg to gently rub circles with her thumb through the layers of blankets and his sweatpants.

“How’re the other little munchkins?” Oliver questions softly, resisting the urge to sink into the blankets and her tender touch.

“Mia’s in the garden practicing her parkour.” Felicity comments with a snort and Oliver grins as well.

Seven-year-old Mia has quite the attachment to taking over the Green Arrow mantle when she grows up. She’s constantly taking MMA classes at the gym as well as begging Oliver to teach her certain moves. She wants him to teach her to use a bow as well but they’ve managed to agree that that one can wait until a full-sized bow isn’t bigger than her entire body, for Oliver’s peace of mind if nothing else.

“And this little one seems to be sleeping soundly which I am very grateful for.” Felicity smiles serenely, lifting her hand from Oliver’s leg to rub a hand over her protruding belly. Oliver hums contently, reaching out with his own free hand to gently caress where their baby is sleeping. He’ll never quite be over how gorgeous Felicity looks whilst pregnant and he’s savoring every last moment of it this time around seeing as they’ve pretty much decided this will be their last.

William doesn’t believe them but Oliver and Felicity know that if this one is anything as rumbustious as Mia and Lucas, three will be their limit.

“Hmm, thanks for being nice to your mama, little one,” Oliver speaks directly to their baby, his thumb caressing gentle circles into Felicity’s bump. They found out the gender with both Mia and Lucas so they’ve decided to let this one be a surprise and Oliver is very excited to meet their fourth little miracle.

“I love you.” Felicity’s soft voice makes him look up from the soft round of her stomach and Oliver smiles gently at her tilted head and eyes tearing up with affection.

“I love you too.” He answers just as softly, winking softly in place of kissing her. No matter how much he wants to, he really does not want her to get sick right now. Felicity sighs softly, tugging on his hair gently again in response to his wink with a smirk.

“You want me to take him?” She asks after a long beat, diverting her eyes to look down at Lucas. Oliver is grateful for it, knowing that he wouldn’t have been able to stop himself from kissing her had he stared into her beautiful eyes for too much longer.

“Nah, he’s fine. It’s nice to have the company.” Oliver smiles, looking down at the still sleeping boy with an affectionate smile.

“Alright, let me know if you need anything, okay?” Felicity questions as she stands, bending to brush a gentle kiss over both his and Lucas’ foreheads. The small boy twists gently in his sleep before snuggling closer to his father, making his parents share an affectionate smile.

“Thank you, baby.” He tells her softly as she stands fully and Felicity chuckles.

“Consider it a pre-emptive making up for how insane I’m going to drive you when this little one comes out.” She snorts, rubbing her hand over her belly and Oliver shakes his head.

“You could never drive me insane.” He tells her truthfully, smiling up at her and she raises an obviously dubious eyebrow.

“Even if I almost break your hand again like I did with Mia?” She questions with a smirk but Oliver just keeps his gaze on her, shaking his head.

“Even then.” He promises and watches as Felicity’s face melts into an affectionate smile, swallowing thickly as she stares at him. Oliver reaches up and clasps her hand, squeezing affectionately. He tries not to groan as Felicity draws her lower lip into her teeth.

“Mama!” Mia’s loud call cuts into the sudden tension and Felicity sighs, dropping his hand.

“That’s my cue.” She chuckles, bending to kiss his forehead once more before she sweeps out of the room in a flurry of warmth and the distinct smell of her perfume. Oliver smiles after her, sinking back down into the bed. His smile only grows as Lucas cuddles closer to him in his sleep and Oliver sighs, thinking that if he has to be sick, he’s glad he has his beautiful family around him whilst he is.

Chapter Text

Building the studio in the backyard was a great idea. It means that Oliver can get his morning workout in quickly in a space with everything he needs without having to fully leave the house.

Plus, it means he and Felicity can work out together and well, that’s an experience Oliver enjoys a lot.

Recently, Oliver’s had a companion for his morning workouts and it’s not his wife or his teenage son. (The latter of those claims that he does enough exercise walking around school which Oliver is dubious about but he’s not one to argue).

No, it’s his toddler daughter.

Mia has always been a great sleeper. After the first few months, she’s always slept through the night and gone down with very little fuss at all. Felicity claims that it’s the Smoak in her and Oliver agrees that his wife certainly does value her sleep immensely.

This does, however, mean that waking Mia up in the morning is just as hard as waking Felicity. That is to say, it’s a task that is practically Augean.

Oliver has spent many a morning with Mia clinging to him for at least forty-five minutes after they wake her up, tiny head buried in his shoulder and refusing to lift it for hell or high water. She’s practically a tiny zombie for the first hour.

Or she was.

Until she discovers that Oliver works out in the mornings before he wakes her up.

Mia has been a daddy’s girl from the moment she was born. She loves Felicity and seeks them both out for comfort but in the everyday, she gravitates heavily towards Oliver. At only three years old, she heavily idolizes her father and wants to do everything that he does.

So when she finds out that her father is spending an entire hour in the gym without her every morning, Mia wants in on the action.

It’s an incredibly adorable sight to Oliver, walking downstairs to head out to the studio to see Mia sat at the kitchen table. She’s dressed herself in leggings, a t-shirt, and her tiny little sneakers, blonde curls a mess around her head and the ragged teddy bear William bought her when she was born still clutched in her hands.

“Good morning, baby girl. What are you doing down here?” He questions lightly, heading over to her and lifting her when she holds her arms up in prompt.

“I help Daddy work out.” She states decisively, leaning her head on Oliver’s shoulder with a long yawn as she does so. Oliver notices with a smile that her t-shirt is on inside out.

“You sure, Mia-bear? You can go back to bed?” He offers, knowing that being up this early is not want Mia considers fun.

“No! Mia help Daddy!” The toddler insists vehemently, her hands fisting in his t-shirt as if he was trying to place her back down. Oliver chuckles, bouncing her a little as he presses a series of kisses to her temple to reassure her.

“Okay. Well if you’re going to help, we better get you properly ready. What’s the rule about hair at the gym?” He questions and Mia huffs. It’s slightly unfair, he realizes, to question a toddler who’s just woken up about rules but Mia rises to the challenge, climbing off of him and onto the table.

“Back! But I no can do it so I brought this!” She proclaims, snapping a hair bobble Oliver hadn’t noticed off of his wrist and handing it to him. He smiles, both impressed and proud of her ability to remember the rules from ‘Green Arrow Fitness’ where she takes the toddler classes twice a week.

“Well remembered, baby girl. Let’s get you all sorted.” He tells her, taking the bobble from her and gesturing for her to turn around.

Oliver quickly ties her hair back and grabs two bottles of water before taking her out to the studio.

It’s hilariously adorable the way that she copies absolutely everything he does. It does mean that his workout is slightly less intense than normal, because he’s keeping an eye on her and making sure that she doesn’t go overboard and exhaust herself, but he can’t bring himself to care all that much when it means he gets to spend more time with his little munchkin.

He’s also extremely impressed with Mia, she keeps up with him remarkably well, already adjusting what he does to what she already knows are the toddler safe versions. As he does pull-ups, she swings herself across the makeshift bars like a little monkey with incredible agility and as he uses the leg machines, she stretches quietly and contently on the mats.

The only time she grumbles is when he moves to start doing push-ups.

“Ugh, Daddy, I don’t like push-ups.” She states with a stamp of her foot and Oliver looks up from the mat, raising an eyebrow.

“Don’t you want to get those arms big and strong?” He questions, nodding to her but, in a move that is all Felicity, Mia simply rolls her eyes as she crosses her arms and cocks her hip.

“Daddy, my arms are big and strong.” She tells him as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world and Oliver has to resist the urge to snort at how adorable she is.

“Alright then, you can help Daddy do his then.” He relents but Mia keeps her dubious expression. There are some moments when the toddler just looks so much like her mother and it’s utterly hilarious to Oliver.

“How?” She questions and Oliver knows that she’s wondering if this is a trick to actually get her to do push-ups. She’s very clued into that sort of thing for her age, it’s practically impossible to get anything past her.

“Come sit on my back,” Oliver instructs and that makes Mia light up like it’s Chrismukkah.

“Like Lord of the Rings!” She exclaims as she rushes over and Oliver has to snort at that one. Felicity introduced Mia to Lord of the Rings a few weeks ago (with the majority of the orc scenes omitted so as to not traumatize her) and the three-year-old has been obsessed with the idea of riding an eagle ever since. All three of Oliver, Felicity, and William have been subject to her whim and have ‘flown’ her around the house or the garden numerous times.

“Sort of, baby. You stay really still, okay?” Oliver instructs as she clambers onto his back, settling cross-legged and fisting her hands into his t-shirt for grip.

“Okay, Daddy!” Mia proclaims and Oliver smiles, slowly lowering himself down to get used to the idea of the extra weight. He soon finds a far better rhythm and as he speeds up, Mia starts to laugh. Her joy radiates around the room, the sound of her giggles bouncing off the walls and Oliver pushes through the pain when his arms start to ache, purely intending to continue to make his baby girl happy.

The two of them are so wrapped up in their workout/game that neither hear the door opening or the footsteps making their way into the studio.

“Hey Oliver, have you seen… Oh, there you are, baby girl.”

Oliver looks up at the sound of Felicity’s slightly panicked voice to see her stood in the doorway. Her frown morphs into a wide smile, her eyes relaxing in that sentimental way.

“Hi, Mama! I help Daddy!” The weight on his back shifts and a slight turn of his head tells Oliver that Mia has thrown her arms up in excitement at the sight of her mother.

“I can see that.” She replies softly, moving her gaze from Mia back to Oliver with a gentle smile. She rubs her hand over her baby bump, tilting her head as she regards him. Oliver finds his chest filling with both pride and affection as he realizes this is the look she gets when she gets sentimental about how good of a father she considers him to be. They're expecting their third child in a few months and they're so excited to welcome the newest member of their family. Mia is so excited to become a big sister and William is very much looking forward to having a baby in the house again. “I’ll leave the two of you to it then.”

With a nod and a kiss blown to them both, she turns and leaves the room with that smile still playing on her lips.

From that morning onwards, Mia joins her father in his morning workouts. She grows to like push-ups, finally admitting that they will help her improve her upper body strength, but until she moves out, Oliver still finds the strength most mornings to complete a few push-ups with his eldest daughter on his back.

He tells himself it’s because it’s a good exercise but it’s mostly because even when she’s grown, it still makes her laugh the way she did when she was small; loud, lilting and with abandon. In those early hours, the only thing that matters is the time Oliver spends with his girl and, once she’s grown and moved out, he misses her presence each morning something awful.

Chapter Text

(all photos used belong to their original owners)

Chapter Text

It seems like a totally normal Monday to Oliver for most of the day.

He wakes up early, kisses his still half-asleep wife until she batters him away, and heads to the studio to work out. He feeds their dog, Tommy (who is not a replacement due to the fact that all their kids are grown and moved out, thank you very much Lucas) and then gets to start on breakfast. Felicity appears and he greets her with a proper good morning kiss and a cup of coffee. They both eat breakfast, get ready, kiss each other goodbye, and Oliver heads to the gym for the day.

His day there is very much as it usually is, looking over budget proposals and updates to their equipment. He even manages to teach a couple of classes.

Nothing is out of the ordinary until he’s collecting his stuff to head back home. He’s going slightly earlier on account of the fact that Mia and Connor are coming over for dinner, having just got back from a vacation in Bali. Oliver’s just thinking through the recipe he’s planning to cook to work out whether he needs to stop at the store on the way home when his phone rings.

“John, hey.” Oliver frowns as he picks up the phone. It’s not that he’s not happy to hear from his brother, but they’re both men of habit and tend to call at the same time each week.

“Hey, Oliver. We’re just leaving the city now. Did you want us to bring anything for dinner?” John’s voice sounds through the phone and Oliver frowns, freezing his movements.

“Dinner?” He questions, his utter bafflement shining through his voice. He’s expecting Mia and Connor, but there was no mention of John and Lyla.

“Yeah, Mia said you invited us,” John replies, his voice indicating his clear confusion too. Oliver sighs at his words with an affectionate roll of his eyes.

It’s just like Mia to invite people to a house she no longer lives in. The cabin will always be all of the kids’ home, there’s no denying that, but an indication of guests is always welcome.

“Of course she did. My daughter did not give me that memo.” Oliver chuckles, shaking his head as he puts his laptop in his bag and starts to head to his car. He waves goodbye to his staff as he passes the main desk and exits the building, righting a frame that’s crooked just by the door as he does so.

“Oh. We can just stay here?” John frowns and Oliver does too. It’s not that he doesn’t want to see John and Lyla. They’re family in all but legality (though Oliver’s sure Mia and Connor are going to fix that at some point in the future) and he’s always happy to spend time with them.

“No, don’t be silly. We’d love to see you. We were expecting the kids so we’ve got more than enough food.” Oliver reassures his brother as he climbs into the car.

“Alright, I suppose we’ll see you in an hour or so. Did you need us to bring anything?” John questions again and Oliver thinks through what he has in the pantry.

“No we’re good I think. Looking forward to it.”

“See you soon, Oliver.”

They hang up and Oliver smiles, shaking his head as he pulls up his eldest daughter’s number to text her.

Were you going to tell me that you invited extra guests to a house you no longer live in?

In my defense, The Diggles are family.

You’re lucky I panic bought.

Daddy, I know you. I knew you were going to panic buy.

Still would appreciate a heads-up next time, baby girl.

Noted!

What’re you making?

Your favorite.

Cannelloni? You’re the best!

Can’t wait to see you, baby.

Me neither!

Oliver chuckles with a shake of his head, starting up the car so that he can head home and get started on the dinner which will now have to double in size.

“Hi, honey!” He calls as he enters the house, bending down to pet Tommy as the Alsatian bounds towards him in greeting. After receiving a few very wet kisses from the excited pup and giving a few of his own in return, he straightens to see Felicity stood by the island, holding a glass of wine with an extra already poured for him. Oliver hums at the beautiful sight, approaching her and tugging her into his arms for a slow kiss. “How was your day?”

Felicity groans as he pulls away, rolling her shoulders back. “Hmm, good, tiring. I’m getting too old for this.”

Oliver chuckles, looking over at her with a grin. The signs of the both of them aging are evident on their faces and they’re both less agile than they once were, but Felicity is still every bit as beautiful to Oliver as she was the first time he saw her. She turned fifty-seven on her birthday last month, and she claims she celebrated it with a whole host of new grey hair. Oliver had chuckled at that, pressing a long kiss to the top of her head.

“You don’t look a day over thirty-five to me.” He responds with a teasing smile, earning him a derisive snort.

“Sure, and I’m the Queen of Sheba.” She states blankly with a roll of her eyes. She then catches his look and smiles, that familiar affection that still warms Oliver’s bones spreading through him. “How was your day?”

“Usual. I think we’re going to look at expanding the main section of the gym into the studio and cutting back some of the space in the closet on the other side.” Oliver comments as he moves to the fridge and starts pulling the ingredients he needs out.

“That’s a big project,” Felicity comments with a frown, hopping up onto one of the stalls at the island and petting Tommy as he stretches to lay his head in her lap.

“The numbers show that it’s where the majority of the footfall is though.” He explains, looking up at her to see her frown disseminating as she thinks it through.

“That makes sense I suppose.”

“Have you heard from Mia?” Oliver questions, although he knows it’s doubtful their eldest daughter would have called to tell Felicity when Oliver had to text her once John informed him.

“Only to say that they landed last night and in reply to my good morning text. Why?” Felicity questions with a worried frown.

“She invited John and Lyla. They’re on their way.” Oliver answers with a smirk. Honestly, he thinks they should be used to Mia’s antics by now but she always seems to find a way to surprise them.

Felicity freezes for a moment before she shakes her head amusedly. “Of course she did.”

“We did say she was always going to keep us on our toes,” Oliver smirks, thinking of how they knew from the moment Mia could walk that they were going to have a lot of trouble keeping her under control.

“They all do,” Felicity smirks affectionately and Oliver knows she’s thinking that they wouldn’t have it any other way. Their kids are all wonderful, even if they were a bit of a nightmare to actually parent. “Oh, Ada called by the way.”

“I missed her?” Oliver stops, a small pout crossing his face at the thought. With Ada being on the other side of the world, the chances to talk to her on the phone are limiting and sparse. Oliver misses his baby something crazy and getting to talk to the 18-year-old is something he really looks forward to.

“She said she’d try again before it gets too late here so she could talk to you. But she’s happy and safe.” Felicity smiles sadly with a sympathetic tilt of her head and Oliver sighs, hoping that he does get to talk to his youngest.

“How’s her ankle?” Oliver questions, thinking of how when they called a few days ago, Ada was complaining of a slight twinge in her ankle from falling off her pointe shoe.

“Says it’s totally fine,” Felicity replies as she takes a sip of her wine with a shrug and Oliver frowns.

“Hmm.” His brow furrows as he mentally notes to ask her whether she followed the advice in the links he sent her. He’s so caught up thinking about that he doesn’t notice Felicity move to wrap her arms around his waist from behind, standing on her toes to press a kiss to the back of his shoulder.

“You can grill her on it later, worrywart.” She chuckles, pressing another kiss to his neck and Oliver smiles, sliding his hands over her arms as he leans back into her embrace.

He lingers there for a long moment before he sends Felicity out of the kitchen with a bag of chips, her glass of wine, and Tommy for company. It’s far safer to keep her as far away from the food as possible when they’re feeding as many people as they are tonight and Oliver also knows he’d lose about half of his now precious resources to her fingers throughout the cooking process.

He’s just constructing the pasta shapes around the filling when the sound of tires on the gravel outside sends Tommy into a frenzy. The dog is quickly settled by Felicity as she stands and moves to the window, a bright smile crossing her face.

“They’re all here.” She grins as she moves to the door to open it and Oliver frowns, confused by what she means as he follows her. He frowns at the sight of not two but three extra cars in the driveway but recognizes William’s black Civic immediately as the third. Mia and Connor jump down from Connor’s truck, Mia looking especially tanned, and Lucas also appears from the back seat of William’s car. Oliver can only blink when Sara and JJ also climb out the back of John and Lyla’s car.

With the exception of Ada, they are all here.

His measly portion of cannelloni is so not going to cut it.

“Hi, Daddy!” Mia grins as she skips up the steps, throwing herself into his arms and Oliver catches her just in time, hugging her tightly even as he frowns.

“You didn’t think to mention earlier when I texted you that you’d invited the entire family?” Oliver questions, blinking rapidly a few times to get his head around it.

“I figured you knew!” Mia grins and then she’s flinging herself into Felicity’s arms with a cry of ‘Hi Mama!’.

“In my defense, I tried to tell her to tell you,” Connor comments as he shakes Oliver’s hand and Oliver snorts, shaking his head.

“If you thought you had any control over her, I’d be worried.” Oliver chuckles and Connor does too.

“Hi, Dad. We brought food, don’t stress.” Lucas comments as he rises the steps to the cabin and sure enough, he and Jack are both carrying large Tupperware tubs.

“Oh thank goodness, I thought you were going to have to eat us out of house and home. Oh wait, you did that already when you were a teenager.” Oliver chuckles, ruffling his youngest son’s hair and earning himself an eye roll.

William pushes past both Oliver and Felicity to catch up to Mia who he’s clearly in the middle of a discussion with and Jack smiles awkwardly. “Hi.” He comments before following his husband inside and Oliver and Felicity share a look before they both laugh. Sara and JJ say hello before joining the other kids inside, leaving John and Lyla with Oliver and Felicity on the deck.

“I’m getting the impression from your overwhelmed faces that there were a few other people Mia didn’t tell you about,” Lyla comments with a chuckle and Oliver sighs.

“I’m just glad Lucas, Jack, and William had to foresight to bring food or we’d all be eating a plateful of nothing.” Oliver winces, making the others laugh.

“Mama! Daddy! Come on!” Mia calls from inside and the four parents all share a confused look before they head inside.

Their living room looks insanely crowded with all of the kids gathered there. Mia is stood behind the coffee table, fidgeting nervously on her feet which immediately sends Oliver’s alarm bells off. Connor is stood next to her, their hands entwined, looking outwardly calm as ever but Oliver can tell that he too is nervous about something by the way his knee is twitching.

The other kids are far calmer, spreading over the couches and chairs. Lucas is batting Sara away from fiddling with his hair and JJ is looking at something on Jack’s phone with William. It’s funny, the noise is overwhelming after so many months of just he and Felicity, but he loves having the house full again.

Tommy too is loving it, in the midst of it bouncing from person to person and being showered in affection by them all.

Mia nods decisively when the four of them reach, Felicity sliding onto the arm of the chair Lucas and Sara are squeezed into. John and Lyla slide onto the end of the couch, leaving Oliver to perch on the arm of the couch next to William.

“Lucas, call Ada,” Mia states loudly, bringing the rest of the conversation in the room to a stop and the younger brother frowns.

“You do it!” He calls, gesturing towards her with a sigh and Mia huffs.

“Just call her.”

“Fine,” Lucas grumbles but pulls his phone out, video calling his younger sister. She answers on the second ring, her face appearing on the screen with a frown.

“I have ten minutes, talk quick!” Her sweet voice calls and Oliver finds himself immediately grinning and gesturing for the phone. Lucas hands it over with a sigh and a roll of his eyes, leaning into Felicity’s side as she wraps an arm around him.

“Hi, baby girl.” Oliver grins at Ada through the phone, twisting it to show her William waving at her. She’s in a hallway, most likely at school, and her hair is pulled back into a neat ballet bun, indicating that she’s in-between classes.

A bright smile spreads across her face at the sight of Oliver and she waves excitedly. “Hi, Daddy! Did Mama tell you I spoke to her earlier? I’m going to try and call properly later but I don’t want to do it too late. When are you-“

“Do this later! If you only have ten minutes, Ada, listen up!” Mia suddenly calls and Ada stops talking with an amused smirk, very used to Mia’s antics eighteen years into being her sister.

“Okay, okay, bossy. I’m listening.” Ada calls and Oliver chuckles, turning the camera around so that it’s pointing at where Mia and Connor are stood.

“Okay so you all know that Connor and I went on vacation last week but it wasn’t just a vacation.” Mia starts, twisting nervously and Oliver frowns, starting to get worried as to what she might be about to tell them. She doesn’t look hurt.  

“Yeah, um, we wanted to something special for Mia’s birthday and well, we’ve been talking about it for what feels like forever so we just figured we might as well go ahead and-“ Connor explains but it appears Mia just wants to get straight to the point as she interrupts, untangling their hands to lift her left one. Something sparkles on her fourth finger and Oliver frowns.

“We eloped! We’re married!”

The room explodes into a cacophony of noise.

The kids, Felicity and Lyla are all screaming and even Ada’s excited shouts can be heard through Lucas’ phone. Oliver and John appear to be the only ones remotely shocked by the news and Oliver catches his brother’s eye with a baffled look. John shakes his head disbelievingly, reaching up to rub his hand over his face, and Oliver understands him so well.

Of all the things Mia could’ve told them, this was not what he was expecting.

Oliver knows Mia’s not a kid anymore, she turned 27 last week for goodness’ sake, and it’s not as if her and Connor getting married is that huge of a surprise. Whilst they haven’t really spoken about it in any real way before, they’ve been together for over ten years now and Oliver knows that the quiet and kind boy his best friend adopted all those years ago is the love of his daughter’s life.

That was clear before they even got together.

No, the fact that they’re married isn’t the surprising thing. It’s how they did it.

Mia’s spontaneous. She often doesn’t think before she acts; it’s a trait she’s inherited from Oliver himself. Connor, however, tends to balance her out, to make her think. It’s part of what makes them such a good couple. He always thought that Connor would stem this kind of spontaneous behavior from Mia.

Oliver knows that Mia was probably never going to have a traditional wedding. She’s been obsessed with the story of Oliver and Felicity’s own elopement since they first told her to it. She grilled William about it when Oliver and Felicity weren’t available and she’s always found it incredibly romantic. She’s also made it clear over the years that she finds traditional weddings stuffy and superfluous.

So maybe this isn’t completely out of the blue… but Oliver still would’ve liked to be able to celebrate with her. It’s a big thing after all and…

Maybe now he gets why Donna still hasn’t forgiven he and Felicity for their elopement.

“Daddy? You okay?”

Oliver frowns, looking down at the phone to see Ada frowning up at him worriedly. He must have tapped the screen to turn the camera back around because he can see his own face in the corner of the screen.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good, baby.” He swallows thickly before smiling at his youngest.

“Okay, well I need to go. Can you pass me to Mimi?” Ada questions, looking totally unconvinced but she’s clearly in a time crunch before her next class starts.

“Right.” Oliver blinks, standing up and making his way over to where the elated group is. “Mia? Your sister needs to go.”

“Oh.” Mia frowns, looking at him for a long moment before she takes the phone, smiling as Ada lets out a long scream.

“Sir?” Connor asks, a clearly nervous look on his face and Oliver sighs, turning to smile at the boy he supposes is now his second son-in-law.

“Connor, please. It’s always been Oliver.” He reassures Connor, shaking his head with a smile. Connor deflates in obvious relief and Oliver feels bad that he’s caused him any stress and worry. He’s a good kid and he’s good for Mia.

“Thank you. We’re going to have a party, celebrate with you all. Just like you and Felicity did.” Connor tells him, chancing a look over at Felicity with a small smile. Oliver follows his gaze and smiles at the sight of Felicity wrapped up in a hug with William and Jack, the latter tearing up of clear joy.

The news that they’re having a reception calms Oliver considerably. He’s glad to know that they will have the chance to celebrate such a momentous occasion with them.

“Did you know before you went?” Oliver asks as he turns back to Connor, the question spurting out as he thinks of it and his son-in-law frowns, shaking his head.

“No, it was totally spur of the moment. You know what she’s like.” Connor chuckles, glancing over to where Mia is hanging up the phone with Ada with an affectionate chuckle.

“I do.” Oliver chuckles himself, thinking of how this really is quite par for the course with Mia. He offers his hand out to Connor but pulls him into a hug when the boy takes it. “I’m really happy for you. You’re very good for one another.”

“Thank you, Oliver. That means a lot.” Connor smiles as they pull away, clearly far calmer, which Oliver is grateful to see.

“Daddy?”

Oliver turns to see Mia stood next to them, rising and falling nervously on her toes. It’s a nervous tick she’s had since she was little and seeing it now causes his heart to clench, unable to see anything but the little girl who would ask him to throw her as high in the air as was safe because it gave her ‘the t’rill, Daddy!’.

“C’mere baby. I am so happy for you.” Oliver grins, tugging her into a tight hug and Mia freezes for a moment before she relaxes into the hug.

“You are?” She asks and the worry in her voice cuts through Oliver far more painfully than Connor’s did.

“Of course! You make each other happy and that’s the most important thing.” He reassures her, cupping the back of her head and pressing a long kiss to the side of her head. They pull back from the head and Oliver is far happier to see a grin on Mia’s face instead of the trepidation that was there before.

“We’re going to have a reception and everything. It just felt right to do it there and then, we didn’t want to wait.” Mia explains, reaching for Connor’s hand and the look she gives him makes Oliver smile. He knows that look, he wears that look every time he looks at Felicity, and Mia’s words take him back to a park in Central City almost 30 years ago now.  

“I know the feeling.” Oliver smiles, unable to stop his gaze slipping to Felicity over Mia’s shoulder. She turns her head from where she’s chatting to Sara and smiles at him warmly, making him grin.

“You’re really okay with this?” Mia questions, drawing his attention back to her, and Oliver smiles.

“I really am, Mia. I love you.” He promises, leaning forwards to press a kiss to her forehead.

“I love you too, Daddy.” Mia grins and she stretches to press a kiss to his cheek before she tugs Connor back towards their mothers and siblings.

Oliver watches how happy she is as she moves towards Felicity, falling into a hug with her and causing a smile to spread across Felicity’s face too. At the sight of them all so happy, Oliver knows he could never be angry for Mia for this. Not when it clearly brings her so much joy.  

“I guess we’re brothers now.” Oliver turns to see John stood next to him and he chuckles, shaking his head.

“We always were. Now it’s just official.” He confirms and John chuckles with a nod of his head. The two of them smirk and Oliver can’t imagine what he would’ve said thirty years ago if you’d have told him that this would happen.

The night passes in celebration, the food that the kids brought is certainly appreciated, and Oliver is grinning as he waves the cars off as everyone leaves in the early hours of the mornings. They offered the kids their old rooms but they all refused, it being a weekday and them all having work in the morning in the city.

Felicity joins him on the deck as the lights of the cars disappear through the trees and Oliver wraps his arm around her, tugging her close.

“Can you believe two of our kids are married? If I didn’t feel old earlier, I certainly do now.” Felicity comments as she leans her head against his shoulder and Oliver smirks.

“Oh, I don’t know about that.” He starts, smirking down at her, and Felicity frowns.

“Hmm?”

“If we were old, could we do this?” He grins, watching her confusion only deepen before he swoops her into his arms and carries her back inside.

“Oliver!” She screams before her laughter echoes through the house as he carries her straight through to the bedroom.

Chapter Text

Ada knows that it’s a bad idea from the moment it sparks in her brain.

She doesn’t do this, she’s the angel child, she doesn’t get into trouble. Mia was a seasoned professional at sneaking out when she lived at home and Lucas has his rebel moments too.

But Ada?

Nope.

She doesn’t sneak out, she certainly doesn’t miss ballet class, but her head is spinning and she has no idea what else she can do.

Before she knows it, she’s on a bus to Star City. She gets a few strange and concerned looks from the other passengers. She’s small for her age after all and even a thirteen year old riding a bus into the city alone is a little suspicious. She ignores them though as she gets wrapped up in her head, the events of the previous day and her perceived consequences playing on her mind in a loop.

She’s not even sure where she’s going until she’s outside William and Jack’s apartment complex and scaling the side of the building covertly to slip in through the open window (because yes, whilst Mia’s the actual vigilante, they all can do the vigilante things).

She’s shaking like a leaf, feeling like her whole world is collapsing around her, when she literally runs into Jack as she rounds the corner from the bedroom she climbed into.

Her brother-in-law lets out a loud scream, obviously not expecting anyone else to be in his house but as he goes to grab her, Ada screams too. “It’s me, Jack, it’s Ada!”

Her voice makes him stop, the fight slumping out of him with a long sigh, and he tilts his head as he looks at her, clearly confused as to her presence. “Ada? What are you doing here? How did you get here?”

“I…” Ada tries to explain, but the words don’t come. Instead, her eyes fill with unshed tears and her shaking only worsens as the gravity of what she’s done in running away begins to sink in.

“Good lord, you’re shaking like a leaf, come on,” Jack frowns, wrapping an arm around her and leading her through the apartment to the living room. He guides her down onto the couch, wrapping a blanket around her shoulder before he hands her a glass of water.

“Thank you,” Ada whispers after she’s taking a few sips, allowing the liquid to slide down her throat and calm her a little. Once she takes a few deep breathes, looking up at Jack with a small yet nervous smile, her brother-in-law smiles at her and sits a few feet away from her on the couch.

“Okay first things first, do your parents know you’re here?” Jack questions quietly, his voice gentle and supporting. Ada bites the inside of her cheek, the worry over that side of the situation growing.

“No,” She comments under her breath but Jack doesn’t react, merely nods his head, and keeps that gentle smile on his face.

“Okay. We’ll deal with that later,” He tells her softly with no judgment in his voice, and Ada sighs.

“I’m sorry,” She replies, her eyes filling with tears as she thinks of how much trouble she could get in for getting the bus into the city without letting her parents know.

“Hey, it’s okay, I’m glad you came here. You’re safe, it’s okay,” Jack smiles, shifting a little closer to her and rubbing her shoulder comfortably.

“It’s not that I’m not safe at home, I just…” Ada trails off, shaking her head as her head continues to spin. The whole situation is messing with her head and she can’t help but think that being 13 should not be this hard.

“You know you can talk to me, right, Ads? You’re my sister, that’s kind of how this works.” Jack tells her with an encouraging smile, sliding his hand down her arm comfortingly and Ada takes a deep breath, nodding her head.

“I kissed a girl.”

Even saying the words makes her wince. Admitting the action fills her with such an intense guilt and she doesn’t know why. William and Jack are some of her favorite people in the world and she’s been raised to be inclusive of everyone. It’s not the fact that she might possibly like girls that’s the issue to her… it’s that she doesn’t know exactly what it means. If she can’t understand who she is, how is she ever going to be perfect?

“Okay, did you like it?” Jack questions, his eyebrows wiggling as he smirks and Ada narrows her eyes, glaring at her brother-in-law.

“Jack,” She reprimands and Jack smiles, holding his hands up in surrender. Despite her outward annoyance, the moment of levity does help to ease her anxiety a little.

“I’m sorry,” He sighs, leveling her with a smile before he runs a hand through his hair. “But seriously, did you?”

His expression turns far more serious and Ada bites her lip with a wince. She takes a deep breath, trying to organize the thoughts she’s been having into something that makes sense.

“I… yeah. I think I’ve been crushing on her for a while? I don’t know… she’s just so pretty and I thought that was like an admiration thing but then we were talking after ballet last night and she leaned in and it was just instinctive.”

Ada’s mind goes back to the previous night, thinking of how Lucy’s eyes had sparkled in the light of the studio and how Ada had felt unable to do anything else but kiss her.

“Yeah?” Jack questions gently, not expressing any judgment or even reaction except to encourage her to continue talking.

“Yeah. She wasn’t into it but she was polite about it. Said that she thinks I’m really cool but that she’s straight,” Ada shrugs, honestly not cut up about the rejection.

“I’m sorry, Ads,” Jack frowns, rubbing her arm once more but Ada just shrugs again as she shakes her head.

“No, it’s okay, it’s not that which has me scared, it’s…” She trails off, struggling to find a way to put her mess of a brain into words.

“You’re rethinking every interaction you’ve ever had with a girl, ever?” Jack questions as his smile turns into a knowing smirk and Ada sighs.

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, been there, girl.”

“And I can’t figure it out. Because I still think Chris at school is like so cute but then also Emma’s really pretty and I don’t know what that means and it’s all so confusing.”

Ada shakes her head, it still spinning as she tries to figure it all out. She doesn’t like it. School is easy, there’s a way to do things that means she maintains her high-grade average. Ballet is the same. It’s all about technique and she knows that if she holds her core and thighs, her turn count will increase. But all these feelings? She can’t work it out. There’s no logic to it.

“Hey, I know it feels like someone’s just hit reset on your entire worldview but it’s okay. It doesn’t have to make sense right away, it doesn’t have to make sense ever. You don’t ever have to label yourself if you don’t want to. Labels are more for others to understand us than they really are for ourselves,” Jack explains gently and Ada frowns, taking a deep breath as she listens carefully to what he’s saying.

“Right, that’s it, because I don’t know which one I would be but I just want to be me,” Ada swallows thickly, nodding her head. She’s so grateful to hear Jack’s words and even though she didn’t come here totally intentionally, she thinks perhaps her subconscious knew her big brothers were exactly what she needed.

“And you are you and who you are is so incredible, Ada. Whether you like girls, or boys, or the entire spectrum of the human race, you’re still Ada, and Ada is beautiful just as she is,” Jack tells her with a warm smile, his hand rubbing over her shoulder.

“I…” Ada starts but as her brother-in-law’s words process, she freezes. It’s a little too much for her and the tears that have been threatening to spill over stream down her face and her lips quivers before her shoulders shake with a sob.

“Oh sweetie, it’s okay. C’mere,” Jack whispers, scooping her up into his arms and tugging her towards him. Ada collapses into his arms, sinking into the feeling of comfort that she’s been secretly wanting since last night. The stress from the last few days seeps out of her body as she shakes with the power of her sobs and Jack rubs his hand over Ada’s back comfortingly.

“I’m sorry,” She swallows thickly as she pulls back, smiling in appreciation as Jack produces a tissue from seemingly nowhere so that she can wipe her eyes.

“Don’t you dare apologize. You have nothing to be sorry for. I know I’m not your brother by blood but you’re my baby sister and I am here for you, always,” Jack tells her with a smile and an honest expression. Ada takes a deep breath, mustering the best smile she can.

“You are my big brother, blood or not,” She replies just as honestly, squeezing his hand.

Just as they share a smile and Ada starts to feel her turmoil ease a little, the door opens and Ada freezes as her oldest brother’s voice sounds through the apartment.

“Hey babe, I got takeout from that place on… Oh! Hey, little star,” William freezes as he rounds the corner as sees Ada and Jack sitting on the couch. His face contorts into a curious frown, tilting his head as he clearly tries to assess what’s happening, before a small smile spreads across his face.

“Hi,” Ada answers nervously, smiling softly as she waves at her big brother.

“Dad and Fliss didn’t say you guys were coming into the city,” He frowns as he dumps the bag of takeout on the peninsula and crosses the open space to sink down on the other side of Ada. He looks around as if he’s looking for their parents and Ada takes a deep breath, looking back at Jack and allowing his comforting smile to fortify her.

“They’re not… I…” She struggles for the words once more, the panic starting to grip her heart and chest once more. William, however, takes it in his stride, shifting a little on the couch and tilting her head as he regards her with that expression that always makes Ada feel like he’s looking straight through her. Ada’s always used it as evidence that her theories about older sibling powers are true.

“I see. Everything okay?” He questions gently, clearly wanting to encourage her but not push her.  

“I…” Ada flails, turning back to look at Jack. He raises an eyebrow in question and Ada knows he’s looking for permission so she takes a deep breath and nods. Jack smiles warmly at her, his arm still wrapped around her in comfort.

“We’re having a little bit of an identity crisis but it’s okay, we’re talking it through, remembering that no matter who we love, we’re beautiful and those who love us will accept and appreciate that,” Jack explains succinctly and Ada watches as understanding crosses William’s face.

“Oh Ada-girl, it’s okay,” He soothes and reaches for her, tugging her into his lap and hugging her tightly.

Ada goes willingly, seeking the comfort that her oldest brother has always provided. A hug from William has always been like a hug from her parents, his arms are one of the few places in the world that Ada feels completely comfortable and safe. Jack was incredible, but William helps Ada to completely relax, the tension finally leaving her body for the first time in almost 24 hours. His hand rubs over her back in the way he’s calmed her ever since she was a baby and she melts into his arms, finally feeling like maybe, everything’s going to be okay.

“I’m not entirely sure what it means. I’m pretty sure I still like boys as well…” Ada whispers as she pulls back, taking a deep breath and biting the inside of her cheek as she looks at her big brother. He smiles at her, tucking a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear, and Ada sighs.

“That’s okay, Ads, and you know we’re always here, whatever you need or want,” He reassures her and Ada knows, taking a deep breath as she forces her brain to take his words in and process them.

“Yeah, you’ve got yourself two queer guiding angels right here,” Jack smirks, wiggling his shoulders and his eyebrows as he gestures between himself and William and it has the desired effect, both William and Ada bursting into laughter at the action.

“Thank you,” Ada smiles at her brother-in-law before the last niggling thought in her brain starts to take over her mind and she turns back to look at William with nervous eyes. “Do you think Mom and Dad will be mad?”

“About you not being straight? Ada…” William sighs with a shake of her head but Ada just shakes her head.

“No. Not that, I know they’re cool about that, clearly. It’s um… they don’t exactly know I’m here,” She admits with a wince and William nods as understanding crosses his face.

“Ah, I see,” He tells her before he takes a deep breath, clearly thinking about their options. After a long moment, he smiles, tucking her hair behind her ear when it falls in her face again. “Well then I think you need to give them a call, we’ll wat up that takeout whilst they’re on the way and we’ll figure out what you want to tell them, okay?”

Ada nods, her heart filling with gratitude for her brothers. She knows she’s got a lot to figure out and a lot of hard conversations to have with both herself and those around her, but she knows that with a family like William and Jack, she’s going to be okay, no matter what.

“Thanks, guys,” She tells them with a smile and leans into William when he presses a kiss to her temple.

“Always Ada-girl.”  

Chapter Text

William is stressed. 

Not much new there but it’s a truth nonetheless. 

Junior year is really kicking his ass, he really has no idea how his step-mother managed to do college in as little time as she did because he seems to have no time as it is. His course is stressful but then his extra-curriculars are also demanded a serious portion of his time and attempting to have a social life through all of it is practically an impossible task. 

He's trying his best to stay organized, but it doesn’t always work out the way he’d like and today is just one of those days. 

He thinks he’s got everything together and then his phone alerts. 

Where are you? This guest lecture starts in like ten minutes and it’s compulsory. 

Emails are always his downfall. He never remembers to check them but that’s where their teachers will let them know of class changes and compulsory extra classes like this one today.

That he somehow has completely missed. 

Which is exactly how he finds himself stumbling out of bed and rushing across campus in sweatpants and last night’s t-shirt to make sure that he makes it to the lecture theatre on time. Because of course, it’s being hosted in a building all the way across campus from his dorms. 

He checks his watch as he slips into the building, heaving a sigh of relief when he checks his watch to see that he’s not actually late… not yet anyway. He’s got one whole minute to scan in and find a seat. Rushing over to the scan-in point, he taps his student card against the fob and heads into the room, wincing at the sight of the packed lecture theatre. 

“William!” He strains to hear over the bustle of students and faculty settling down into their seats but he spots Rachel, his savior this morning (with her text) waving at him from a spot at the back. William grins when he spots that she’s saved him a seat and that she’s sat with Ella, James, and Benji, their other friends. 

“Look at this, the prodigal child practically late,” Ella smirks as William slides into the spot next to Rachel, and William rolls his eyes at her, tugging his water bottle and laptop from his bag. 

“Let’s face it, Clark, the real shocker is the fact that you’re here on time,” William counters to the redhead who smirks with a shrug. 

“Like she’d miss this, I’m just surprised it’s this of all lectures you’d dare to show up to late, Clayton. I know you’re not exactly a kid anymore but she could probably still put you in time out,” James snorts, inciting laughter from their other friends but merely leaving William baffled. 

“What are you talking about?” He questions as he boots his laptop up, seriously regretting his lie-in, mostly because it means he hasn’t had a chance for coffee this morning. 

“You really didn’t read the email, did you?” Benji presses with a surprised raised eyebrow but William merely shakes his head, turning to focus on his laptop to enter his password. 

“Nope completely missed it,” He comments absentmindedly, wondering what on earth it is that has his friends acting so strange. 

“Oh Clayton,” Rachel laughs with a shake of her head but before William has a chance to question what’s so funny, their head of department is clapping his hands to pull their attention to the small stage at the front of the lecture hall. 

“Okay, can I have your attention please everyone? Thank you for dragging yourselves out of bed this early in the morning,” The small man calls across the room without the aid of the mic. It had surprised William, the first time he heard him speak on a campus tour he attended with his parents but Felicity had merely laughed and confirmed that the tiny Professor Maddox had a booming voice even when she’d attended MIT almost twenty years ago. 

“Like we had a choice,” Ella comments under her breath, sending a small whisper of giggles around the area where they’re sat, through the students who had heard her. 

William is more concentrated on trying to work out why the blonde, unfamiliar woman sat in the front row looks so familiar. He can only see the back of her head and she’s at least 40 feet away down the swift slope of the tiered seating area but there’s something so recognizable about even just the back of her head. 

“We are utterly delighted to introduce this month’s guest speaker in the department of computer science and technology. I’m sure she’s a familiar face and name to you all but we’ll give her a proper introduction nonetheless. Please join me in giving a very warm welcome back to MIT alum, CEO of Smoak Technologies, Felicity Smoak-Queen!” 

William’s eyes blow wide as the woman stands and walks to the front, everything suddenly clicking into place as he recognizes her. It’s his stepmother, the woman who got him through teenagerhood, the mother of his siblings… Felicity. 

Why didn’t he know about this? 

She shakes hands with Professor Maddox and smiles out at the crowd, her eyes twinkling in the familiar, warm way when she locks eyes with William just for a moment. He knows that he probably looks hilarious, shock and excitement all over his face, but he can’t bring himself to care as the familiar feeling of home begins to spread throughout him. He hasn’t seen his family since winter break and even though this year, Cambridge is starting to feel like home more than ever before, he can’t deny that he misses Bloomfield and his family something awful. 

Felicity begins delivering the lecture and William rushes to start making notes, the subject the latest innovative tech that they’ve been developing at Smoak Technologies. Luckily for William, he was heavily involved in the project when he interned there last summer so he’s doesn’t have to pay as rapt attention as his friends next to him, and he’s also used to the way Felicity presents information, having had her tutor him since he was 12. He falls into the rhythm of the presentation for the next hour and a half, smiling as he remembers how it was Felicity who really got him into all this tech stuff just after he moved in with his dad and it’s nice to just settle back in and listen to her ramble. He knows they’re at his school and she’s giving a professional lecture but to William, he could be quizzing her about it at the dinner table whilst the kids rush around their feet and Dad finishes the food in the kitchen. 

It feels like home and it’s such a relaxing feeling. 

He’s relaxing into it so much that he almost doesn’t notice when a figure slips into the last seat left on the row just as the lecture is starting to come to a close. 

“Guest lecturer’s quite the looker, huh?” A voice whispers and William jumps, his eyes widening as he realizes that the voice and the figure are just as familiar as the woman giving the presentation at the front of the hall. 

“Dad?” William questions with wide eyes as he takes in the figure of his father, dressed in casual clothes and grinning at him. 

“Hi buddy,” Oliver smirks, reaching up to ruffle William’s hair before he leans over him and reaches out to shake Rachel’s hand and wave at the others. “Hi, William’s friends. Oliver Queen.” 

“You… you’re the Green Arrow,” Benji blinks in shock for a moment, simply staring at him and Oliver smiles as he rights himself in his seat. 

“ Was the Green Arrow, I’ve been retired for quite some time now. See the grey hair?” Oliver corrects with a warm smile towards them all. All their eyes are wide as they stare at him, their attention clearly diverted from Felicity. 

“What are you doing here?” William questions in a hushed tone, not wanting to distract as Felicity continues to wrap up her talk. 

“Well, your stepmother’s giving a guest lecture. Goodness Will, it’s like you haven’t been listening for the past hour and a half,” Oliver chuckles in a whisper of his own, gesturing back to the front of the hall with a grin on his face. William rolls his eyes, the snarky response par for the course with his father nowadays. Honestly, if you’d told Will when he was 12 that his father would become a dad-joke-connoisseur after he turned 40, he’d never have believed you, but here they are.

“And you have?” He counters, looking around the hall to see where his father may have been watching from that he hadn’t spotted. 

“Nope, I was outside with your siblings,” Oliver answers simply, though his answer makes William’s eyes blow wide once more. 

He’s wracking his brain to think if he missed something on their last call last night but both his dad and Felicity had been talking about work and the kids as if everything was as it usually is. They’d given no indication that they were in the process of flying out to Cambridge with Mia and Lucas in tow. 

“The rugrats are here too?” 

“Sure are, currently hanging with Digg, Lyla, the twins, and Connor,” Oliver smiles and William resists the urge to flail his limbs as his father drops yet more surprising information on him. 

“Oh, so our entire family’s outside? What’s the special occasion?” William questions, his surprise pushing him over a whisper and it’s then that Felicity’s attention snaps to them. A warm smile crosses her face before she quickly schools it into a more reprimanding expression. 

“I would appreciate it if I had your full attention for the last few minutes!” She calls up towards them and William sends her his best apologetic look. 

His dad, however, just smirks, nudging William in the side as he asks, “Whoops! Think she’ll call me to her office if I keep misbehaving?” 

“Dad,” William groans, shaking his head and glaring at his friends as they laugh under their breath at his words. 

His father, thankfully, remains quiet as Felicity wraps up her talk and releases the students. He does, however, burst into a round of thunderous applause as students begin to stand and exit the room, complete with cheering and whooping. Both Felicity and William flush bright red, though the former does so with an affectionate smile spreading over her face. 

The students begin to clear and William follows his father down the steps towards where Felicity is talking to Professor Maddox with a polite and warm smile on her face. William’s friends follow too, clearly intrigued by the morning’s turn of events. 

“Oh excuse me for a moment,” Felicity smiles at the department head when she spots that they’ve landed on her level and she spins to look at them. The professional look falls from her face and William finds himself looking purely at his stepmother; the woman who burns water, who teases him about every boy he talks about dating on the phone, who can make him smile and laugh like almost no one else in the world. The brightest grin spreads across her face and William finds a matching one hitting his own features as she spreads her arms wide and calls out, “Will!” 

Within seconds, he’s wrapped up in her arms and the two of them are swaying back and forth happily within each other’s embrace. William has truly missed his whole family but Felicity has always been such a kindred spirit, going months without her is especially hard. 

“Oh, I missed you so much, my sweet boy! Look at you, so grown and put together!” Felicity squeals as they pull apart, reaching up to cup his face in her hands. William flushes at her words, hearing the snickering of his friends over his shoulder. When Felicity releases him and he steps back, he looks over at them to see all four of them smiling at him affectionately. He blushes a little deeper as he realizes that he had no need to be embarrassed, they all have parents who love them after all and they’re all old enough to realize that it’s something to treasure instead of cringing at it. 

“I missed you, Fliss. I missed you both,” William smiles warmly at her, gripping her hand with both of his, and he turns to his father as well with just as affectionate a smile. 

“We missed you too, buddy. The house just isn’t the same without you,” Oliver smiles, reaching over to gently clasp his shoulder in his hand and William grins, that familiar sense of home rising in him once more. 

Professor Maddox thanks Felicity for her talk and excuses himself, smiling warmly at William before he rushes across campus to make it to his next class on time. William introduces his friends to his parents; they met Rachel and Ella when they visited Star City last summer but Benji and James are very excited to be introduced properly to both the legendary Green Arrow and Overwatch, as well as the renowned tech mogul Felicity Smoak. 

William’s just about to suggest they head outside to see the kiddos and the rest of their family before walking to a small restaurant just outside of campus that he and his friends frequent when the doors to the lecture theatre slam open and five small kids flood down the stairs like the cutest tornado you’ve ever seen. 

William’s siblings are the ones leading the charge, with Lucas trailing just behind Mia. When the small blonde realizes that her brother is matching steam with her, she picks up the pace before she slows a few steps from the ground. Lucas continues to run past her, clearly thinking he’s got the upper hand when Mia executes a perfect standing double twist onto the floor. 

William grins as he watches all his friends’ mouths drop open at the sight of Mia’s tiny body flying through the air but she sticks the landing perfectly and before he knows it, William’s arms all full of his sweet little seven-year-old sister. 

“Will!” She exclaims joyfully, her arms throwing around him and William feels a pang through his heart at the fact that she’s now able to reach all the way around his frame. He loves watching his siblings grow and develop their own little personalities, but good lord, he misses the days when they were sweet little babies as well. 

“Hey, monkey! Oh, I missed you, little ninja!” He grins, scooping Mia in close as he hugs her in an almost suffocatingly tight grip that he’d be worried about if the little beast wasn’t clutching him back just as tightly. 

“Will!” Another small voice calls as he feels a weight land on his back and he grins as he realizes that Lucas has launched himself up to join the embrace. He’s very used to being used as the kids’ personal climbing frame so he’s unfazed as he carefully shunts the four-year-old around so he’s balanced on his hip. 

“Lou-Lou!” He exclaims now that he can see his brother’s face, amazed at how much bigger he looks even since he last saw him. They’re still so small and changing so much every day, it pains William to be so far away from them when they’re at this stage but he knows how important school is. 

He introduces his friends to his siblings and the Diggle children, all of whom charm the college kids with their sweetness and vibrant personalities. William is so grateful to have so many wonderful people surrounding him and he’s feeling truly socially fulfilled as his friends bid them all goodbye to uphold their promise of a day spent studying in the library. He tells them that he’ll catch up with them later, before they all head to the restaurant William was thinking of suggesting earlier. 

William delights in hearing all their updates. Mia rambles on about being in the 2 nd Grade and Lucas tells William all about his new nursery and how much he’s loving it. He listens with rapt attention as his father explains the new classes they’re offering at the gym and Felicity explains her ideas for new Smoak Tech projects, as well as to Diggle and Lyla as they discuss their plans for getting Knightwatch off the ground a bit more. 

“As wonderful as this is, what’s the occasion? I get Fliss being here for the lecture and maybe even Dad coming with you, but all of you? What’s the big news?” William asks, his brow furrowing as he looks at his parents curiously. 

“We do have something to tell you actually, to tell you all,” Oliver smiles, reaching for Felicity’s hand as they turn to face the table. 

“Knew it,” Sara tells them from her spot down the table and William chuckles at the pre-teen. 

“We wanted to be together with all of you when we told you but… we’re having another baby, I’m pregnant!” Felicity grins and William’s jaw drops open as the table explodes into noise. 

John and Lyla start giving their immediate congratulations, backed up by their own three children. Lucas immediately jumps into Felicity’s arms, babbling away asking questions about whether the baby’s in her tummy and when it’s coming out. Mia turns to Oliver and starts giving him her approved list of names, which makes his father burst out laughing as he kisses her hair. 

“Will? You okay?” Felicity asks after a moment, righting Lucas on her lap with a concerned frown. 

“Of course, this is amazing news! I’m so happy for you,” William assures her, smiling at both her and his dad. He loves his siblings with everything in him, to add another little rugrat to the mix will be a wonderful adventure. 

“We’ve booked a trip for your spring break, you don’t have to come if you’ve got plans with your friends but we’d love to spend some time just the five of us before the new little one arrives,” Oliver explains, smiling at William from over Mia and Connor’s heads. 

“I’d love that,” William grins, happy to put aside his spring break plans of studying to spend some time with his family. 

“We love you, kid,” Felicity smiles and William does too. 

“Love you too, all of you.” 

“It’s definitely going to be a girl, Connor!”

William laughs as Mia and Connor’s argument grows louder, the two kids glaring at each other from their spot between William and Oliver. 

“Nuh-uh! Why would they want another you?” Connor retorts and William resists the urge to snort as Mia huffs, rolling her eyes with as much drama as a seven-year-old can muster. 

“You just can’t handle that I’m better at hand-to-hand combat than you.” 

“Who’s to say this new baby won’t be better than you?” Connor pushes and they all chuckle as Mia gasps loudly, pushing at his shoulder with a frown. 

“Shut it, Connor!” 

William grins as he catches his dad’s eye, knowing that his expression says everything he doesn’t need to. He loves his family so much and he’s so excited to welcome another new sibling into the world. He knows they’ll bring just as much light as his other two have.