More Simple Times

Summary: Set pre-series. Oliver spends some time with his best friend and his little sister
Warning(s): Some spoilers for Arrow; implied drunkenness (more like tipsy behaviour)

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Oliver drained another shot down and grinned across the table at Tommy, ignoring the way his vision blurred and the dryness that filled his mouth. The music was loud enough that he could feel his loose shirt pulsating against his chest. There were more shots on the high table between him and his best friend. Just under half of them were empty. He gestured towards the filled shot glasses that were on Tommy’s side and had to raise his voice to be heard over the thumping music. “It’s your turn!”

“No, I don’t think so,” Tommy responded. “I think you’re the one who should drink next. Fairly sure it’s your turn.” He frowned. “I’m slurring my words,” he announced abruptly. “Fairly sure I’m drunk.”

Oliver snorted, waving a hand dismissively. “You’re not drunk. If you’re drunk, I’m drunk. And I don’t feel drunk.” He frowned. “Feeling pretty thirsty, though. I’m gonna go up to the bar. Get a tap water. Or iced water. Something like that.” He pushed himself up off the stool, then had to brace his hands on the wooden surface in front of him as he swayed dangerously. “Whoa. Feel like the room’s spinning.” He shook his head and began to slowly edge his way around the table, gripping Tommy’s shoulder to help him balance. “You notice that the room’s spinning?” he mumbled.

“Come on, Ollie.” Tommy stood up and grabbed one of Oliver’s arms, draping it around his shoulder. “I think we should call a cab.”

“Or I can call my driver to come pick us up,” Oliver said brightly, reaching into his pocket to grab his cell phone. He stared at the lit screen and then mumbled, “No signal.”

“Yeah, but your driver’s gonna report back on our condition.” Tommy began making his way towards the door, weaving his way in and out of the crowd of people. By the time they reached the door, he was almost carrying Oliver.

“Might get a lecture from our parents, but that’s about it.” Oliver put his phone away anyway, though, leaning heavily on Tommy’s shoulder. “You know they don’t care what we get up to, so long as the police aren’t involved.”

“Yeah. But still, I don’t want a lecture.” Tommy guided Oliver out into the night.

The cold air hit him like a slap in the face and he flinched, raising his hand to shield his face. “Should have brought a jacket.” The bitter wind did one thing right, though. It sobered him up pretty quickly. “Hey, you know what? I think I could do with at least one more shot. You think if we go back inside, our glasses will still be there?”

“Probably tampered with,” Tommy answered. “Anyway, don’t you think we’ve stayed out late enough? Didn’t you promise Thea you’d be home early enough to spend a bit of the evening with her before bed?”

“Shit.” Oliver fumbled in his pocket once more for his phone, pulling it out and pressing the speed dial for his driver. “Don’t worry about getting lectured, Tommy. I’m pretty much sobered up now. No one’s gonna get lectured tonight.” He changed the tone of his voice as the driver answered, quickly giving directions so that he and Tommy could be picked up before disconnecting the call and leaning back slightly against the wall of the club. “You want to sleep over tonight?” he asked his best friend.

“You sure Speedy’ll be okay with that?”

“Of course.” Oliver shrugged. “She loves you. You’re like her second big brother.” He paused. “I wish we hadn’t wasted those shots.”

“We’ll get them next time,” Tommy responded.

“Yeah.” Oliver pushed himself away from the wall as his car – well, really, it was his mom’s car and driver, but it might as well be his – pulled up next to the sidewalk. He moved over to the side of the black car and pulled open the door, clambering across the backseat so that Tommy could get in the same side. He buckled his seatbelt as Tommy closed the car door behind him and strapped himself in too.

“Back to the Queen Mansion, sir?” the driver asked Oliver.

“Yeah.” He sat back and leaned his head against the headrest, allowing his mind to drift as the sound of the engine lulled him into a sense of comfort and security.

The drive back to the mansion was in silence. Oliver didn’t stir until they’d parked outside and then he undid his seatbelt, reached out and opened the car door and got out onto the grounds. It was dark, but he could see well enough from the lights outside. He ran a hand through his hair, then retrieved a pack of mints from his pocket. He put one in his mouth and then held the open packet out to Tommy. “So we don’t get any lectures.” He grinned.

Tommy shook his head, but took one of the mints and popped it into his mouth. Then, the two of them headed up the front steps and to the main door.

It was opened almost immediately by Thea, who looked at her brother and then at Tommy. “I heard the car outside.”

“Hey, Speedy.” Oliver grinned and stepped through the door, wrapping his arms around his sister and hugging her tight. “Tommy’s gonna be spending the night here. Hope that’s okay with you. I haven’t run it by Mom and Dad yet.”

“Mom and Dad went out for the evening,” Thea answered. “They told me not to wait up for them. I think they’re going to a gala or something.” She shrugged. “We’ve got the place to ourselves. Maybe we can watch a movie?”

“Sure.” Oliver grinned at her and then motioned with his head towards Tommy. “Why don’t we go through to the kitchen? Microwave some popcorn. Grab some chips and other snacks.” He wrapped his arm around his little sister’s shoulders and headed in that direction. “Maybe we can bring some pillows and blankets downstairs with us. Make a fort in front of the TV.”

“I’m too old for forts, Ollie.” Thea rolled her eyes.

“Really?” Oliver teased. “Wasn’t it only last week that we were building a pillow fort down here while we were watching a movie? If you’re worried that Tommy won’t want to join in, I’m sure he’d tell you otherwise.” He grinned at his best friend over his shoulder and then opened the cupboard above the stove, taking out one of the packets of popcorn. He opened a separate cupboard and took out a large bowl that he poured the kernels into before opening the microwave, putting the bowl inside and setting the timer.

“I can stand to build a pillow fort,” Tommy commented. “It would be a nice way to end the evening.”

“See, Speedy?” Oliver reached out and ruffled his sister’s hair. “No one here is too old for pillow forts.”

“You don’t have to try and entertain me, Ollie,” Thea replied. “We can just watch a movie and eat popcorn.” She opened the fridge and took out a can of soda.

“Bit late in the night for that, isn’t it?” Oliver commented. “How about some warm milk instead?” he teased. “I could get you some cookies to go along with it.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.” Thea popped open the can and drank about half of it. She held the half-full can in both hands and looked between Oliver and Tommy. “But if you two really want to build a pillow fort, I’ll go along with it.”

“That’s very generous of you, Speedy.” Oliver hid a smile.

The microwave’s timer pinged and Tommy moved over to open the door, taking out the bowl. He then turned to Oliver and Thea with raised eyebrows. “Are we going to share one whole bowl between us? Or do you want me to portion this out into three separate bowls?” He grabbed a bit of popcorn and put it in his mouth, chewed and swallowed, then made a face. “Actually, scratch that. Before we decide on sharing it out, it needs butter and salt.”

“We’ve got caramel sauce in the cupboard, too,” Oliver said, grabbing it out and handing that to Tommy along with the salt. He then got the butter from the fridge and handed that to his best friend, too. “I think we can stand to all share one bowl.” He smiled.

Thea shrugged as she watched Tommy prepare the rest of the popcorn. “Yeah. No need to use more.” She looked at Oliver. “Do you want me to set up the movie?”

“And I’ll grab the pillows and blankets for our fort.” Oliver looked at his best friend. “Grab a selection of drinks for us too.”

“Whatever you say.” Tommy walked over to the fridge and opened it, while Oliver left the kitchen and headed upstairs to grab blankets and pillows and Thea went into the main room to set up the movie they were going to watch.

It didn’t take long for the three of them to gather on the couch. Thea settled in between Oliver and Tommy, the bowl of popcorn on her lap, as the titles began to roll on the screen in front of them.

Oliver wrapped his arm around his sister’s shoulders and caught Tommy’s eye from the other side of her. He grinned at his best friend and settled back. “A movie with two of my favourite people. It doesn’t get much better than this.” He reached over, grabbed a handful of popcorn and shoved it in his mouth, eating.

“Hush, Ollie, it’s about to start.” Despite her words, his little sister nestled in close against his side, into the arm he’d wrapped around her.

Obeying Thea’s directions, Oliver fell silent, determined to just enjoy the movie and the company that went along with it.

The End