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olicitysecretsanta · 5 years

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True identity

Happy Holidays to @smoakmonster. Hope you’ll enjoy some nice Smoak-Queen-Clayton holiday goodness.

Summary: It’s time for the holiday’s and William is quite nervous to introduce his new significant other to his family.

Rate: G Genre: Future Fic

William stops at the threshold of the kitchen and smiles at the site before him. His father is at the stove cooking what he’s sure is another delicious meal, while his little sister and stepmother are at the dining table icing sugar cookies. It’s an image he misses seeing.

He’s been living at Ivy University for almost four years now, yet he still feels like that little boy who was sent away to boarding school anxious about his family’s safety. That’s why every time he sees them well and happy, he always breathes a sigh of relief. It’s irrational considering his parents are literal superheroes that are more than capable of protecting themselves. But that constant feeling of worry never truly goes away, no matter how much has changed in the past few years.

William hasn’t been back home since that one weekend back in October when he surprised his baby sister with a visit for her birthday. Before that, it was during summer vacation. Since it’s his last year and trying to wrap up his senior year of college, he’s busy as ever. He didn’t even have time to come home during Thanksgiving, something his family was disappointed about but understood.

That’s why he’s making as much of an effort to be with them now. After all the crap they’ve been through, William has developed a sort of separation anxiety when it comes to his family, especially after his baby sister’s born. He’s learned to grow out of it… mostly. But not seeing them for that long has made him want to spend time with them whenever he can.

Also, he wants this feeling of being with his family before… well before everything changes between them.

His little sister’s the first one to notice him. She looks up from the cookie she’s decorating and her face lights up.

“Will!” she squeals, immediately jumping off the chair and runs over to him, tackling him with a hug.

“Hey there monkey.” he says affectionately, lifting her up.

“Mia, be careful not to get any icing on your brother.” Felicity says warningly as she wipes her own hand with a hand towel.

“It’s okay, i don’t mind.” he truly doesn’t. His baby sister is one of the many joys of his life and he will take every tackle hug he can get from her.

Their lives in the past ten years have been a roller coaster to say the least. It’s been filled with so much tragedy and heartache; his baby sister being born had been like a light shining down on them, giving them the hope they needed to move past everything. For him especially. He’s experienced so many losses in his life that having this baby, representing the love of his family, has become his saving grace.

His baby sister is still clinging on to him, both of her legs wrap around his torso as her arms wrap around his neck. It’s easier now since her limbs have grown a couple of inches. It’s amazing how much she has grown since the last time he’s seen her. Mia’s only seven and she’s already growing at a rapid pace, it’s enough to make him feel homesick.

“Still, Mia needs to learn manners, even if you are her brother.”

Mia immediately shakes her head, burying her face on the crook of his brother’s neck. She’s just as needy for her big brother. Felicity sighs, knowing no amount of scolding will get her daughter to separate from him.

“How are you, honey?” she asks her son, kissing his temple and ruffling his hair, something she always did ever since he was a kid. “Are you feeling all better now?”

“Yeah i’m good, I guess I just needed the rest.”

“What’s going on? You’re never usually this tired after your trip. Is everything okay, hun?”

William tenses for a moment, wondering if his stepmother has caught on to what’s been brewing in his head. But when he sees the genuine worry on her face, he realizes it’s just her being concerned and he relaxes a little.

“I’m fine.” he croaks out, giving her a timid smile. “Really, I think this semester is just starting to get to me.”

Felicity smiles at him warmly “I’m sure you’re doing great, sweety.”

“I hope so.” he sighs. Though the pressure’s of his last year in college is always looming in the back of his mind, it wasn’t exactly the reason why he’s so nervous.

“Will come help decorate the cookies with us!” Mia suddenly pipes up, pulling her head off the crook of his neck. “Please, please, please!”

“Hey what about me?” Oliver’s voice pipes up from the stove, looking at the three of them with a feign pout on his face. “Why’s nobody helping me?”

“Because you’re a control freak in the kitchen, hon.”

“Only because my options for sous chef is our 7 year old daughter and… well you.”

Felicity looks at him offended.

“Oh come on, honey, let’s not pretend here. You’re amazing at a lot of things, but cooking is not one of them.”

“But I want to decorate cookies with Will!”

“Hey little monkey,” Will says to his sister gently. “How bout you decorate cookies with mom and i’ll cook with dad. I’ll be right behind you the whole time.”

Mia continues to pout but nods nonetheless. Her hold on his loosens and Will lets her down gently. He walks over to his dad by the stove, welcoming a hug from him before he’s put to work, helping with chopping the vegetables.

The whole counter is filled with all sorts of food, prepped and ready to be cooked. In six hours from now, their whole friends and family will arrive for their holiday dinner. Their family alternates every year on who hosts the Christmas dinner. It just so happens that this year, not only is it their turn, but Christmas Eve is also the first day of Hanukkah so their menu also includes all of Felicity’s favorite Hanukkah food. Even the holiday cookies Felicity and Mia are decorating are more Hanukkah themed than the usual red and green Christmas theme from before.

Normally they would have a small dinner on the first day of Hanukkah as it usually falls separately from Christmas. The 25th would be when their whole extended family and friends join them for a big feast. But on those years when the two holiday’s combine, they always turn it into a big celebration. Needless to say the food prep this year is insane and Oliver can only do so much on his own.

“This is a lot. It seems a lot more than last time.” Will notices.

“It’s a special year.” was all Oliver says as he stirs the pot.

“Are any of these for the homeless shelter as well?”

“No, Dig’s already dropped those off today.”

“So why so much food. How many people are coming this year?”

“Just the normal lot. Your Uncle Dig’s family, Rene, Curtis, Dinah and their family. And of course, your Alex.”

At that, William’s breath hitches.

“We weren’t sure what food Alex likes so your father thought to just cook everything,” Felicity adds.

He looks at his parents, expecting them to grill him some more, but both Oliver and Felicity are in their own little world. His father stirring whatever’s he’s cooking and Felicity frosting the cookies with Mia. They are still none the wiser.

He and Alex have been dating for a couple of months now though they’ve known each other for years. Ever since sophomore year of college when he became Alex’s tutor, the two have been friends. The beginning of this school year, they finally took the plunge and started dating.

Now Alex is coming to their Holiday party and officially meet his parents and William is absolutely terrified of the outcome. It’s the first time he’s brought someone home since… well since his high school girlfriend and that one didn’t count since his family already knows her. It’s a pretty big deal for his family and for him too, but for completely different reasons.

“I’m sure Alex will like anything you guys make.”

“Still, we want to make sure Alex feels at home here.” his father says sincerely.

William swallows a large lump in his throat. It almost makes him want to break down at his father’s words. He doesn’t know how much those words mean to him and only hop they still hold true when Alex comes.

“So when is Alex getting here?” Felicity asks.

“Uumm… any minute now.” he checks his SQ Smart Watch for the last message letting him know the ETA. “Zoe went to pick Alex up at the train station, they’re already on their way here.”

“Isn’t it a little bit strange that your ex-girlfriend is picking Alex up?”

William shrugs. “I don’t think it is. Zoe’s known about Alex since before we got together and she’s cool with it.”

“I don’t mean about Zoe.”

“Alex’s fine with it too.” he assures his father. “Alex knows how important Zoe is to me and everything we went through. Well not all the gory details, but, you know.”

Having experienced trauma like he and Zoe did, it was something that brought them together in their teenage years. They leaned on each other whenever their city and family were being terrorized. Zoe’s his best friend, the one person outside of his family he would go through the end of the world for. His love for her never went away, it only grew. Though it didn’t grow into romance like they expected it would, neither did her love for him, but what they have now is special.

When he first started liking Alex, she’s the first person he called. They were already broken up, but still remained close friends. Whenever there’s something going on in his life that he doesn’t want to talk to his parents with, Zoe’s always that person he turns to. Knowing he has her support has made this whole thing easy.

“Oh come on, honey, it’s not like it’s the strangest thing in the world for his ex girlfriend and current boyfriend to be friends.” Felicity says with a snort. “Do you realize how many of your ex-girlfriend I’m friends with. And how many of my ex boyfriends you’re friends with.”

“As I recall, it’s only the one.” Oliver retorts. “Just Sara… and your ex-boyfriend Ray.”

“What about Laurel and Barry?”

“Laurel doesn’t count, she’s a doppelganger-”

“Yeah but I was also friends with our Laurel. She was gonna be my bridesmaid for pete’s sake.”

“And Barry also doesn’t count, you two went on like one date.”

“We went on a couple dates only, I admit that, but it was enough for you not to like him at first.” she says, giving him a teasing look. “And now he’s one of your best friends. Just like i’m sure Zoe and Alex can be friends too. Besides, they kind of have to be because it’s not like Zoe’s gonna be out of our lives any time soon, right hon?”

She looks over at her son with a beaming smile, as though this is one of those moments when they gang up on Oliver together. Though all she sees is her son, his face pale white and his eyes widen in shock.

“Are you alright Will? Why are you -” then she gasps and clasp her mouth. Her eyes widen, looking back and forth between her son and husband. She realized her slip up. “I’m so sorry, i didn’t mean to spill the beans.”

“How… how did you…” Will stammers, his hand starting to shake.

“Here, let me take that.” Oliver says gently, taking the cauliflower in his hand and putting it on the chopping board. “Mia, why don’t you go play with the tablet in the living room?”

His daughter immediately whips her head around to look at him, a scowl on her face. “But i’m decorating the cookies, Daddy!”

“I know, but your mom and I need to talk to your brother for a minute.”

“Why can’t I stay and talk too?”

“Cause this is grown up stuff we need to talk to Will first.”

“Is this about his boyfriend? I already know about that.” the young girl rolls her eyes.

“Moira Elizabeth Queen,” Felicity says in her sternest mom voice. “Listen to your father please. We just need a moment to speak to your brother.”

“Fine.” the young girl sighs and steps off the chair. “But I’m watching Doctor Who on the tablet.”

“One episode.”

Mia didn’t respond, which probably means she’ll try to download more than one episode. Right now Felicity can’t really manage her daughter’s watching habits as she needs to make sure her son is alright first. As soon as their daughter is out of sight, she turns to her son.

“Oh honey, i’m so sorry.” she says apologetically. “I didn’t mean to take this away from you. I know you wanted to tell us on your own terms.”

Her hand rubs his arms in a comforting manner, the way she always does whenever he’s feeling anxious. The feel of it made William feel a little bit better, but his head is still wrapping around the fact that his parents know.

“How did you… know? That Alex is… ” he couldn’t finish the sentence.

He feels his mouth going dry and his eyes burning with unshed tears. He didn’t think this is how it would happen. He had mentally prepared for this, gone over in his head how he wanted this to go. He expected to sit down his parents and break it down to them slowly. Never did he expect for them to already know.

“A boy?” Oliver finishes for him. “We’ve known since you told us you were dating him, Will.”

“But… How?”

Felicity shrugs, looking over at her husband. The two share a look, one that Will has seen a million times before. It’s the one where it looks like they’re exchanging words with just a look. Will has never been able to decode it, and now he’s even more nervous knowing the subject they’re most likely communicating about to each other.

“We just knew.” Felicity says simply. “We knew something about you had changed. And the way you talked about Alex, it was different. Besides, you also mentioned Alex before and you definitely referenced him as a boy.”

“I did?”

“Mh-hm. We listen to you, Will. He’s the boy you tutored two years ago, right? You wouldn’t stop talking about him back then. Whenever we spoke to you on the phone it was always Alex this and Alex that. Back then I swore you had a crush on him. I guess i was right.”

Will blushes at that. He didn’t realize how transparent he had been. “You guys knew back then?”

“We suspected it.” Oliver says. “We didn’t know if you were just admiring your friend or if there was something more. But then you came home and we can tell it was different.”

“When you talked about Alex, your face would light up. It reminded me a lot of your father.” Felicity looks at her husband lovingly before looking back at her son. “Your Nana Donna would say the same thing about me too, whenever I talked about Oliver. So it was easy to recognize that it was more than just an admiration of a friend. You liked him.”

“So you knew even back then that I liked him and you didn’t say anything?”

“It wasn’t our place to say. Also, we didn’t think if you realized it yourself; we were just waiting for you.”

“But then you stopped talking about Alex.” Felicity continues. “At first we thought maybe you two had drifted apart and that we were wrong about our assumption. But then when you came home last summer, you didn’t look like someone who fell out of touch with a friend, you looked heartbroken.”

“Yeah he, uh… he starting dating this guy and I… it took me a while to figure out why it didn’t sit well with me. Why it hurt so much to see him with someone else.”

“Oh honey.” Felicity immediately pulls him in for a hug, which Will gladly accepts. “I know how much it hurts, seeing the person you love with someone else.” her eyes meets Oliver and they have that silent conversation again.

“I didn’t even realize I loved him. And when I did I got scared. Scared of what it meant that i was in love with a boy.”

“I’m so sorry Will.” Oliver says.

“What are you sorry for?”

“That you had to go through that alone. I wish we could have been there for you and i’m sorry if we ever made you think that we wouldn’t accept you-”

“No!” he immediately interjects, even jerking himself away from Felicity’s embrace. “It’s not that at all!”

Felicity still has her hand on “Then how come you didn’t come to us?”

“Because I was still confused. When I realized what my feelings for Alex were, I got scared and didn’t know how to deal with it. It took me a while to finally accept who I am, I talked to Zoe about it so many times.”

He still remembers the countless conversations with Zoe during the summer about his sudden realization of his sexuality and the feelings he harbored over Alex. She was his rock during that time, she still is. If it wasn’t for her support he didn’t think he’d come to cope with who he is so easy.

“I wanted to figure it out myself and when I did, when Alex and I finally got together, I don’t know. We were just in our own little bubble and I didn’t want that to be ruined, not just yet.”

The past four months have been the best of his life. He feels like he’s thriving more academically than he ever did in the past three years at school. His group of friends at school are the ones he knows he can lean on for years to come. Then there’s Alex, beautiful, amazing Alex. Being with him has given him a sense of happiness Will hasn’t felt in a long time.

“Did you think we wouldn’t approve?” Felicity asks gently.

“No.” he sighs. “I know you guys would love me no matter what.”

“But you were still scared to tell us.”

“I knew that once I told you it would be real.”

He’s only ever been honest with himself since the summer. He still needed to take some time to get use to his sexuality.

“Are you still confused about your sexualtiy?”

“No, not anymore. I finally know who I am and i’m finally comfortable with who I am. I like girls.” he states simply. “And I like boys too. And I also happen to be head over heels in love with a boy and I want you two to meet him and love him too.”

Felicity practically beams at his confession. “We will. If he loves you as much as you love him, then we will love him too.”

“He does, he loves me. I still can't’ believe someone as amazing as him loves me. And i’m so in love with him too.”

“And he makes you happy?” Oliver asks. “He treats you right and respects you?”

“He is never anything but good to me, dad.”

“Good. that’s all we ever want for you, son. For you to be happy.”

“I am. I really am.”

“Come here, buddy.”

Oliver pulls his son closer as his wife also moves in and soon enough the three of them are wrapped in each other in a tight hug. They spent a moment, the three of them, locked in the embrace as William takes in the love and support from his parents. He’s always known his they would be supportive, but it’s still a scary thing to coming out to your parents.

Now that his family finally knows the truth, he feels all this weight lifted from his shoulder. It felt wrong to keep something so big like this from them and now that they know, he feels such relief.

“We will always love you, Will.” Oliver whispers in his ear. “No matter what you go through in your life, whether it’s girlfriends or boyfriends or school or work, we’re always going to be here for you.”

“We love and support you no matter what.” Felicity finishes.

William finally sheds the tears he’s been holding in. he feels so much love for his family and the fact that they love and accept him means the world to him. He knows he has it easy, most people in his situation couldn’t even get half the support he has now. Which is why Will knows he will never take for granted the amazing family he has.

Now that he’s told his parents, he’s not so scared to tell the world about who he is and who he loves. It’s such a liberating thought.

The three finally separates from each other, thought Felicity is still clinging on to her son.

“Now that that’s out of the way. Tell us a bit more about Alex? How did you guys get together?”

“When we met up again after the summer and he wasn’t with his boyfriend anymore, we finally talked. He told me he was never in love with the guy and that he was with him to get over me. He didn’t think I was into him, or into guys at all for that matter. When I told him I was, well… that was that.”

“Oh, that’s so precious.” Felicity places a hand over her heart, her face scrunching up as she tries not to tear up. “I’m happy that you’re happy, WIll.”

“Yeah, that’s all that matters to us.” Oliver agrees.

“Thanks you two. And, actually, Alex is doing an internship here in Star City, which means we’ll most likely come visit more often.”

“That’s even better!” Felicity squeals, pulling him in for another hug.

“Okay, mom, too tight.”

“Ooops, sorry, got way too excited there.”

“Come on, we should get back to the food so Alex can have something to eat.” Oliver says, already moving back to the pot.

“I heard mommy screaming, can I come back now?” Mia’s voice comes from the threshold of the kitchen.

William, giddy from his coming out, immediately scoops his baby sister into his arms. “Come here you monkey.”

“Aaahh!” Mia lets out a squeal of her own as her brother starts tickling her. “Will stop, stop stop!”

“Will, come on, let’s get back to work.” Felicity says, trying to get her kids back on track.

“Does your boyfriend like menorah cookies, Will?”

“I’m sure he does. He’s part Jewish.”

“And he’s Jewish too?” Felicity cries, clutching her heart, her face beaming with pride. Then her face falls. “Oh god, I’ve turned into my mother.”

Oliver chuckles behind her.

“It’s not funny, i’ve officially turned into my mother!”

“Come here honey.” he pulls her in for a hug, kissing her forehead.

“Does your boyfriend also like Doctor Who?” Mia asks his older brother.

“Oh yeah.” Will nods. “He’s obsessed with Doctor Who. probably more than you and mom.”

Mia gasps. “No one likes Doctor Who more than mommy!”

“I don’t know, Alex might.”

“Do you think he’ll watch it with me?”

“Oh definitely.”

“Yay! I when is he coming! I want to watch Doctor Who now!”

“He should be here any minute.”

Just as he spoke, the doorbell rang.

William smiles. “I think that’s him right now.”

“Yay! I’ll go get it.” before he could stop her, Mia has already jumped off her brother.

“Mia don’t open the door by yourself!” Felicity calls after her daughter. “Will…”

“I got her.”

Will rushes after her sister and was able to catch up to her before she could reach the door. He didn't’ even care that Mia is wiggling in his arms, trying to get off as she’s too excited by their guest. He is too.

In fact he’s freaking happy. His family finally knows about him, well, they’ve known all along. But everything is finally out in the open. He’s free to be himself and be with the love of his life. Speaking of, he’s on the other side of the door right now.

William couldn’t wait. He’s already deemed this to be the best Christmakkuh ever.

#arrow #olicity #olicity fic #olicity secret santa 2018 #submission

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