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“I’m going to set this suit on fire when I get home.”
Felicity smiles at Roy’s comment. He looks like he’d rather be tortured by the Arrow right now and she would almost agree with the sentiment if she had a high enough pain threshold for that. She doesn’t, getting shot is her limit when it comes to pain which normally would sound really cool but she can’t go around telling people she’s taken a bullet for a vigilante and few people would believe her if she told them anyway.
“You should try walking in these heels.”
“You always wear heels Blondie,” he points out.
“No, I wear sensible heels Roy,” she corrects. “These are not sensible heels.”
Thea glides up to them. “They look fantastic though and I have another dress in mind they would go fantastic with for the next social event.”
“Sorry Thea, Roy and I are planning a bonfire tonight and we’re sacrificing our outfits to the fire god.”
“That’s a Game of Thrones reference isn’t it?”
“You could watch it with them,” Tommy takes a flute of Champaign off a passing waiter.
“Just because you’re tactless enough to interrupt their movie nights doesn’t mean I am.”
Tommy gives her a wounded expression. “Ouch that’s painful Thea. I am not tactless.”
“Really? Katrina? Alyssa?”
“I was tactless. Past tense, there is a difference Speedy.”
“Oh we’re really going down that road Tommy?”
“Guys?” Roy cuts in. “Incoming?”
Felicity turns around and quickly sees Max Fuller coming towards them. Tommy goes still and Thea looks as if she is preparing for battle. She doesn’t quite understand Thea’s reaction but she chalks it up to sibling solidarity. Roy edges closer to her as the proximity between their little group and Max lessens. It doesn’t take long for him to breach their perimeter and Felicity can’t help but scan the room looking for Oliver.
“Max,” Tommy greets curtly.
“Tommy it’s been a while. Thea it has been even longer,” Max turns to Felicity. “I don’t believe I have met you before, I’m Max Fuller.”
“Felicity Smoak, you’ve probably met my friend here before but since he isn’t a trust fund baby I’ll reintroduce you to him, his name is Roy Harper and he’s Thea’s boyfriend.”
Tommy chokes on his drink and Max gives a fake smile. “It’s good to see you again Roy.”
Roy scoffs. “Yeah sure.”
“I’ve heard many things about you Miss Smoak, would you like to dance with me? I would love to have the chance to talk to the person behind the current survival of Queen Consolidated.”
Thea quickly steps closer to Felicity. “Well I was going to-”
“Sure,” nods Felicity.
Felicity locks pinkies with Roy for a quick moment before handing him her drink. She follows Max out to the area where couples in expensive evening clothes are dancing to a slow number. It doesn’t take Max more than a few seconds to draw her close and she doesn’t know if she should give him points for not being sleazy at a high profile social function.
“You’re an interesting person Felicity,” Max said. “I don’t think anyone has ever done that to me before.”
“Done what?”
“Pulled me up on a social faux pas. It was rude of me to ignore your friend.”
“You aren’t the first. I’ve housetrained Thea and Oliver, Tommy’s a work in progress but I’ll get there. You might be billionaires but you aren’t any better than Roy or any other person in Starling City and if you remembered that more people would like you.”
Max laughs. “You’re jarringly honest.”
“No I just put my foot in my mouth a lot. You should see me when I get on a roll. There was this one time Walter asked me up to his office and I worked myself up and thought he was going to fire me and I stormed in and started ranting about how moronic a notion it was and how he would regret losing me as a employee.”
“You are on first name basis with Walter Steele?”
“He actually directed Oliver to me and that’s how we met,” Felicity tells him. “But yes we are on first name basis. I love Walter. Not love love but he’s such a lovely man and his accent and I’m going to stop now before you get the idea that I’m somehow in love with my boss’ mother’s ex husband.”
“I promise I don’t think you’re in love with Walter Steele.”
“Oh thank God. Walter is brilliant though and very kind. He was a great CEO not that Oliver is a terrible one but Oliver barely rarely shows up to meetings on time and his paperwork skills make me want to cry sometimes.”
“You’ll have to tell me how you managed to keep Queen Consolidated above water because we both know Oliver isn’t CEO material.”
“Oliver needed a friend and promoted me without asking because trust me, I don’t see being his Executive Assistant as a promotion. I made it pretty clear I wasn’t going to be getting him coffee and after that it was just making sure Oliver didn’t make any terrible decisions. Walter really helped though; he was always there to give me advice if I needed it. Oliver and I were doing paperwork into the night and I called Walter without looking at the time and it wasn’t until we’d finished talking that I realized it was three in the morning. I felt so bad about it but he never mentioned it afterwards.”
The conversation turns to idle chatter and when the song ends Felicity bows out with a confession that her heels are evil. Max laughs and walks her back to where Roy, Thea and Tommy are watching them like hawks. Felicity can tell because despite their seemingly casual positions they aren’t being subtle at all on the way their eyes are trained on Max’s hand low on her back. It should be a gesture she knows well because of Oliver but there is a glaring difference and it takes a lot of self-control not to move away in front of everyone.
“I would love to talk to you again sometime, we should have dinner.”
Felicity smiles at him. “Yeah that won’t be happening. Ever.”
Max blinks. “What?”
“You really thought I’d fall for your charms? I know what everyone here thinks of me, that I got to where I am on my knees. I also know Oliver slept with your fiancé, add that to your less than subtle comments about Oliver and its clear why you want me to go to dinner with you. Using me to get back at Oliver is trashy and there is nothing Oliver could do to me that would make me want to hit him bellow the belt by sleeping with you.”
“I-”
Tommy laughs and Roy puts distance between Felicity and Max. “Back off, she said no.”
“That’s not-”
Thea steps forwards and smiles at Max. “Did you really think that would work? Even if she wasn’t loyal to my brother she’s so far out of your league that you should have known better. Go find your date and pray that my brother doesn’t find out you tried to sleep with his friend.”
Max nods sharply and retreats. Felicity giggles and quickly slaps a hand over her mouth, looking around. Thea grins at her toothily, out of place in such a pretentious event. Tommy wipes tears from his eyes, smirking at an old woman covered in jewels who sends him a dirty look for daring to make such a scene.
“I can’t believe you said that Thea.”
“You didn’t grow up with her,” grins Tommy.
Thea shrugs. “I’ve never liked Max. He gives me elevator eyes and I’m like ten years younger than him, it’s gross.”
“Who gives you elevator eyes?” Oliver interrupts, sliding in between Roy and Felicity.
“Max Fuller,” supplies Roy.
Felicity bites her lip. “Suck up.”
“I think we should go talk to Max about staying away from Thea.” Oliver tells Thea.
“You should probably also tell him that he shouldn’t try and get into bed with Felicity again too,” adds Roy.
“He what?”
Felicity smiles sheepishly. “I may or may not have let him down hard.”
Thea laughs. “It was awesome.”
“I’m going to kill him.”
“I don’t know how to hide the body but between us we should be able to figure it out,” offers Tommy.
Felicity lets Oliver mother hen over her and when he deems her to be perfectly unharmed he follows Tommy away from their group to presumably track down Max. She looks away when she finally loses them in the crowd and turns back in time to see Thea poke Roy in the side.
“You’re such a suck up!”
“I prefer to call it staying on your brothers good side. Even being Felicity’s best friend doesn’t stop him from glaring at me occasionally.”
“It’s true,” admits Felicity. “Sometimes I stick post it notes to Oliver’s computer at the office reminding him that Roy isn’t the enemy. It’s a work in progress but honestly I’m pretty sure nothing I do is going to stop him from remembering the fact that Roy has sex with his sister.”
Thea kisses Roy. “I promise to bury you in that stupid red hoodie you love so much if he kills you.”
“Great,” Roy rolls his eyes. “That makes me feel so much better.”
“Speaking of,” Thea notes, “I think my brother is about to feel so much better in about ten seconds.”
“Which one?”
“Well both but Oliver looks like he’s about to punch Max.”
‘That’s my cue,” Felicity sighs. “Wish me luck.”
“Good luck,” offers Thea cheerfully. “Lover Boy it’s time to dance.”
Felicity watches Thea drag Roy towards the dance floor and picks up a flute of champagne before letting out a deep breath and walking towards the source of most of her troubles: Oliver and Tommy. They were a pain in the ass but at the end of they day they were her pain in the ass. If she didn’t rein them in no one would and that was a terrifying thought.