theyoungestmerlyn

[theyoungestmerlyn]

Well now, Thea was just plain stumped. She’d been sure she’d figured out his motivation for saying such outlandish things and now, with his denials, she was back to square one. While she tried to wrap her brain around this seemingly sudden change in a man she’d known for years, Thea had no choice but to keep dancing, following where Oliver led, guided by his hands where they rested upon her clothing.

“All eyes are on me just for making it back,”

This was unquestioningly true; the presence of paparazzi at this supposedly low-key brunch was evidence enough of that. Oliver Queen, prodigal son, had been a media darling since he first stepped on to the club scene. He was used to the attention.

“So, why drag me into it?” she mused genuinely curious, “I’m quite happy letting you and Tommy bare the brunt of the spotlight.”

Despite what some of the responders to her opinion piece in the paper said, Thea didn’t write or publish it for any attention. She’d written it so that other girls out there could read it and know that they weren’t alone in their decision to set romance and lust to the side. There was so much more to life than momentary pleasure derived from someone else grunting atop you; that you needed no one else to define who you are.

“You're not some conquest of mine. I'm a changed man. I want to be your guy, if you'll have me."

When he persisted in his insistence to convey his change of character to her, Thea was suddenly weary of all the ears who could hear his words. Determined to keep him from saying anything they might regret reading into tomorrow’s paper, the younger woman said simply, “Come with me,” leading him off the makeshift dance floor and out of the room, much to the tittering gossip vine’s utter delight. Was it presumptuous of her to drag him around his own home? Yes, but it was necessary. Judging by the snickers as they passed and even a lascivious wink tossed her way by a real douchebag, (Thea flipped him off) more than one person believed that she was dragging him off for a roll in the hay.

As if she’d spread her legs just because Oliver paid her a moment’s attention. She wasn’t sure which was worse: the fact that the general population looked at Oliver and just assumed any female would just toss her morals away or that a small part of her wanted to. God, how fucked up was that? It certainly wasn’t a good example to set for those girls who read her article about resisting temptations of sex.

While not as familiar with the Queen home as her brother was Thea knew enough to find them an unoccupied sitting room and pulled him inside.  Once inside with the doors firmly shut behind them, Thea asked, “Alright, what’s going on?”

When he just continued to stare at her, Thea became flustered and frustrated, crossing her arms over her chest defensively, unconsciously protecting her heart. “What? Did you piss off an ex-girlfriend? Sleep with the wrong guy’s girlfriend? Trying to deter an unwanted admirer?”

Shaking her head softly, Thea commented, “If you need someone to get that kind of heat off you, why didn’t you just ask me?”

In truth, if he had come and said he’d needed someone to play a part in order to deter someone else, Thea would have agreed. He was Tommy’s best friend, after all, practically part of the family. She would have played along if only he’d warned her. If he needed her to pretend to swoon at his every word, he had only needed to say so; getting into that part wouldn’t have been a hardship for Thea. She would have gotten to fucking bask in the glorious attention that her younger self had so desperately craved.

As it was, Thea was just dumbfounded; her mind distracted with a myriad of: why me, why now, and why me now?

After five years stranded, he had to be dying to get back to the party scene. Why was he trying to fuck with her head? Surely his time was better spent hitting up woman more his speed. Not Thea. Not when last he’d seen her was only twelve and now here, she was seventeen, verging on eighteen, and he immediately proclaimed his interest? There was too much at stake for her to believe he’d realized they'd make the perfect pair: his friendship with Tommy, the relationship between their families. No, something was off. There had to be more to this.

“I want you. I want to be with you."

Thea snorted diversely, “No, you don’t. I don’t what game you’re playing here, Oliver, but I don’t appreciate it, okay? I’m not some floozie at a club to be toyed with. I’m your best friend’s sister, someone you haven’t seen or spoken to in five years.”

@archersquest

He had expected each and every burn. It came with the territory. Years away from the world at large, he his skills had faded. Failed miserably. "Some times, the greatest loves comes from the smallest of pricks," he said, doing his best to recover. Though he doubted, it was working very much at all.

He studied the room around them. All eyes falling on him. Something that always came with the territory. The tabloids would always have a field day with him. No matter which direction, he went in.

They really had no idea what to expect of him.

He moved his hand along her back. Boldly, seemingly reckless. Sliding his hand into her's and spinning her around, capturing her in his arms.

"Thea, I've been away a long time," he said. "Trapped in my own head. A miserable asshole that deserves everything that I have coming."

He pulled her onto the dance floor. Doing his best to show her off to the crowd at large. His lips finding their place at her ear.

"My eyes should have always been on you...and if I have to fight for you. Prove myself. I will."

He lowered his head into her neck, sucking and kissing on it. Showing everyone in the room, who he was after. Who he really wanted. "The only one, I want is you. No one else."

A small sensation similar to that of static electricity dancing across her lower back, Thea startled at the first touch of his hand. Curling her fingers around his when they slid into her palm was instinctive, a base action bred into the fabric of humanity. Widening green eyes lit up as she was spun without warning into his arms, wedge heel of her left ankle boot caused a slight stumble as she came to a halt bracketed in his arms.

Having had no intention being anywhere near this close to Oliver, Thea could forgive herself for the small hitch in her breathing upon looking up into those captivating eyes for the first time in five years. Looking back on her crush over the half decade he'd been lost, the youngest Merlyn had concluded that her younger self had exaggerated his appearance in her memories.

This near though Thea realized her memories were Incredible accurate. The steel-blue eyes, jawline sharply defined by the lowered lights of the room, the lips that had kissed more starlets and wannabes than there were people in this very room. Yeah, he was just as heart-skippingly beautiful as she remembered. Goddamn it.

"[...] that deserves everything that I have coming."

"What do you having coming?" Thea asked as she straightened up from her stumble.

Letting herself be led out onto the makeshift dancefloor, though it was really just an empty space in the center of the area that the brunch guests had moved to after filling their gullets. Feeling oddly on display as the first two to break from the general milling, Thea grasped his right hand tightly before moving his other hand to her slightly above her ribs so they were in proper position to dance, as the quartet tucked into the room's corner transitioned seamlessly into a melody more suited to a languid ballroom dance.

Meeting his eyes as they took the first steps of the waltz, she commented loud enough for his ears alone, "I hope you know what you're doing, Oliver."

"My eyes should have always been on you."

A puzzled frown turned her lips downward, a little crease appearing between her eyebrows. Assuming that was an attempt at a joke, Thea giggled in good humor, "No, that would have been really weird." For God's sake, he'd been an acquaintance for her entire life, so long in fact that Thea had no memory of ever meeting him. He'd just always been part of her life, albeit peripherally.

"[...] if I have to fight for you. Prove myself. I will."

Now, she was just plain flummoxed. What's he talking about? Fighting? Proving? Her confusion only worsened when he leaned into some and proceeded to kiss her neck. What the fuck? She jolted, only for the motion to be used to change their ballroom dance into a much closer slow dance. Her heart, which had ramped its a speed up a notch at the first touch of his lips to her flesh, kicked into high gear as he began to gentle suck on her neck. The sensation caused a flush to descend from the top of her head all the way to her toes in ankle boots. In spite of herself, a soft exhalation tumbled from her lips.

"The only one, I want is you. No one else."

Her head was spinning. What the hell was happening? She'd started her morning feeling like an interloper, an accidental invite, and now, she was seemingly hit upon by her brother's best friend. "I-uh-" suddenly regretting the mimosa she'd sipped, Thea tried to figure out what was going on.

"Is this a joke? A challenge, maybe?" Thea asked in a tone that was a mix between sadness and a hiss of frustration, "I thought someone might 'test' my beliefs after I put them out so publicly, but not you. Aren't you a little too old to go after the one 'forbidden' woman just because she is? That's juvenile shit; I expected better from you."

#brunch together #verse: revenge is best served sweet

[theyoungestmerlyn]

@archersquest

He had expected each and every burn. It came with the territory. Years away from the world at large, he his skills had faded. Failed miserably. "Some times, the greatest loves comes from the smallest of pricks," he said, doing his best to recover. Though he doubted, it was working very much at all.

He studied the room around them. All eyes falling on him. Something that always came with the territory. The tabloids would always have a field day with him. No matter which direction, he went in.

They really had no idea what to expect of him.

He moved his hand along her back. Boldly, seemingly reckless. Sliding his hand into her's and spinning her around, capturing her in his arms.

"Thea, I've been away a long time," he said. "Trapped in my own head. A miserable asshole that deserves everything that I have coming."

He pulled her onto the dance floor. Doing his best to show her off to the crowd at large. His lips finding their place at her ear.

"My eyes should have always been on you...and if I have to fight for you. Prove myself. I will."

He lowered his head into her neck, sucking and kissing on it. Showing everyone in the room, who he was after. Who he really wanted. "The only one, I want is you. No one else."

A small sensation similar to that of static electricity dancing across her lower back, Thea startled at the first touch of his hand. Curling her fingers around his when they slid into her palm was instinctive, a base action bred into the fabric of humanity. Widening green eyes lit up as she was spun without warning into his arms, wedge heel of her left ankle boot caused a slight stumble as she came to a halt bracketed in his arms.

Having had no intention being anywhere near this close to Oliver, Thea could forgive herself for the small hitch in her breathing upon looking up into those captivating eyes for the first time in five years. Looking back on her crush over the half decade he'd been lost, the youngest Merlyn had concluded that her younger self had exaggerated his appearance in her memories.

This near though Thea realized her memories were Incredible accurate. The steel-blue eyes, jawline sharply defined by the lowered lights of the room, the lips that had kissed more starlets and wannabes than there were people in this very room. Yeah, he was just as heart-skippingly beautiful as she remembered. Goddamn it.

"[...] that deserves everything that I have coming."

"What do you having coming?" Thea asked as she straightened up from her stumble.

Letting herself be led out onto the makeshift dancefloor, though it was really just an empty space in the center of the area that the brunch guests had moved to after filling their gullets. Feeling oddly on display as the first two to break from the general milling, Thea grasped his right hand tightly before moving his other hand to her slightly above her ribs so they were in proper position to dance, as the quartet tucked into the room's corner transitioned seamlessly into a melody more suited to a languid ballroom dance.

Meeting his eyes as they took the first steps of the waltz, she commented loud enough for his ears alone, "I hope you know what you're doing, Oliver."

"My eyes should have always been on you."

A puzzled frown turned her lips downward, a little crease appearing between her eyebrows. Assuming that was an attempt at a joke, Thea giggled in good humor, "No, that would have been really weird." For God's sake, he'd been an acquaintance for her entire life, so long in fact that Thea had no memory of ever meeting him. He'd just always been part of her life, albeit peripherally.

"[...] if I have to fight for you. Prove myself. I will."

Now, she was just plain flummoxed. What's he talking about? Fighting? Proving? Her confusion only worsened when he leaned into some and proceeded to kiss her neck. What the fuck? She jolted, only for the motion to be used to change their ballroom dance into a much closer slow dance. Her heart, which had ramped its a speed up a notch at the first touch of his lips to her flesh, kicked into high gear as he began to gentle suck on her neck. The sensation caused a flush to descend from the top of her head all the way to her toes in ankle boots. In spite of herself, a soft exhalation tumbled from her lips.

"The only one, I want is you. No one else."

Her head was spinning. What the hell was happening? She'd started her morning feeling like an interloper, an accidental invite, and now, she was seemingly hit upon by her brother's best friend. "I-uh-" suddenly regretting the mimosa she'd sipped, Thea tried to figure out what was going on.

"Is this a joke? A challenge, maybe?" Thea asked in a tone that was a mix between sadness and a hiss of frustration, "I thought someone might 'test' my beliefs after I put them out so publicly, but not you. Aren't you a little too old to go after the one 'forbidden' woman just because she is? That's juvenile shit; I expected better from you."

#t: brunch together #verse: revenge is best served sweet

[theyoungestmerlyn]

After brunch had been consumed and dishes cleared away, Thea found herself aimlessly wandering around the room, hearing pieces of stories, snatches of scandalous gossip, whispers of unofficial business and off-color jokes. It was all a noise to Thea, who really found all of it rather tedious. Everyone in the room, with the exception of paparazzi, was somebody; all the showboating and backhanded deals were a waste of breath (not to mention time.)

Sometimes she was embarrassed to be part of this world.

Stopping for a moment to grab a mimosa from a passing tray. Looking over the room at large, she wondered, is this what my life will be? Just a soulless businesswoman with no qualms?

The thought made her stomach roll.

She was so engrossed in her observations that she failed to notice the man of the hour coming up behind her. The sound of his voice made her jump slightly.

“My how your flower has bloomed. You're the most beautiful rose in the room and I can't take my eyes off of you."

Oliver. The name popping into her head with the intensity of neon lights at the first syllable of his statement. Memories played themselves out in a moment in her mind, the (ironically) rose-colored memories clearly those of a young girl first noticing the other gender at first, then tinged beneath the lens of first crush, unrequited & unacknowledged as it was.

In the here-and-now, Thea was neither of those girls. Yet still, her heart beat just a little faster in response to his voice.

“The most beautiful rose has the most sharpest of thorns,” Thea mused, turning to look at the man of the hour, “you’d be better off looking elsewhere.”

“What must I do to woo you?"

Startled surprise widened her eyes, “Woo?” genuine giggles tumbled from her lips, “God, that line is ancient.”

Meeting his eyes for just a moment, still the beautiful blue she remembered, Thea said, “You’ve been out of the world for a while, but it hasn’t been that long, Oliver.”

Of course, he was still gorgeous, perhaps even more after years of grueling isolation, and he looked practically model perfect in his brunch outfit. This brunch event was about him getting a chance to reintegrate into his social circle. Why was he talking to her?

That was undoubtably the thought also occurring to the people watching them, most of them behind the camera lens.

“Perhaps, we should dance? If you'll have me?”

Thea debated internally on her answer. Instinctively, she wanted to point him towards another dance partner, knowing better than to be the first chosen to dance with the guest of the honor. It implied that there was something of note between them, making her the envy of every woman in the room. But was it not rude to turn down an invitation from the man of the hour?

“Perhaps,” Thea agreed, “but I’d hate to start a trend that you won’t be able to break.” Leaning forward slightly, dropping her voice to a whisper, “You’ll be expected to dance with every woman here. That’s an awful lot of getting your toes stepped on, Ollie. Do you really want to risk it?”

Brunch Together: Oliver Queen & Thea Merlyn

Thea Merlyn barely resisted rolling her eyes in irritation at the expectant look on her father’s face. He had a habit of declaring things, making pronouncements, and expecting Thea & Tommy to hop into line like toy soldiers. Did it not coccur to him that both of them had wills and lives of their own to live? They weren’t dolls to be placed wherever he wanted them.

Biting back on the ‘no,’ that wanted out of her vocal cords, Thea asked instead, “But, why do I have to go?”

“You were invited.”

Thea cocked her head to the left, raising an elegantly shaped eyebrow, “You and I both know that just because the cardstock said, ‘the Merlyn family,’ only you two are the intended recipients.” A brunch to reintroduce the prodigal son to Queen Consolidates’ wider business network (clearly the first step in a larger plan to bring the man back into the family business.) As Tommy was the brunch honoree’s best friend and Malcolm was valued business associate, they fit the attending bill to a ‘T.’

Thea, on the other hand, was just a seventeen-year-old recent high school graduate; she had no connection to Merlyn Global and Thea’d been only twelve when Oliver disappeared. While she embarrassingly remembered her brother’s brother-from-another-mother quite well, she was absolutely positive that she’d just been background noise to their epic bromance. There, but invisible. When she factored in the probability that his mother’s secretary crafted the invite list, Thea was willing to assume that she wasn’t an intended invitee.

“People will be expecting us to show support for the Queens as a family. You are coming, Thea.”

Thea had to fight on her instinctive stubbornness, if only to avoid getting into another screaming match with Malcolm now. It was far too early in the morning to use her voice like that.

Relenting without uttering another word, Thea returned to her room and opened her closet doors. What the heck did one wear to a ‘welcome back to the world’ brunch? Was it a sort of formal thing? Or more casual like the word ‘brunch’ implied?

Picking up her iPhone from the end of her bed, Thea sent a quick tet to her girl squad with a quick Snap of her closet. After a flurry of message, a choice was made and Thea donned a full-length coat, complementing high-waist black shorts with a pair of shimmering nude-colored tights and a sleek crop top with ankle boots with slight wedge heels.

“Thea,” Tommy’s voice called out from the direction of the foyer, “let’s go.”

“It’s a brunch, Tommy,” Thea reminded him as she climbed down the stairs, “not a medical procedure. We can be a few minutes late; it’s fashionable.”

As it turned out, they’d arrive to the Queen mansion only ten minutes after the printed time and were neither the first nor the last to arrive. Tommy had immediately ventured over to embrace his childhood friend and catch up about the week that had passed since the only child returned home. Malcolm had been pulled into whispered discussions about God only knew what. Thea didn’t really care to know what her father had gotten himself into. She’d learned long ago that it was in her best interest to be ignorant of his schemes.

She milled about among the other brunch guests until the hostess, Moira, asked everyone to take a seat. Finding a seat between Malcolm and Tommy at the table, Thea let the mumble and murmur of the thirty or so people’s conversations at large wash over her, taking it all in, but staying quiet herself. She passed various dishes in various directions as the mountain of breakfast foods were distributed and exchanged simple pleasantries in the process. Just when she was beginning to think that she could get through this awkward brunch by simply embracing her fly-on-the-wall state, someone addressed her.

“So, Thea, I read your opinion piece in the newspaper, I was,” Thea’s attention snapped to Moira, green eyes widening slightly in surprise, “surprised to read such a refreshing opinion from someone of your generation.”

It had been a nerve wrecking choice, deciding to let her opinion be known so publicly, but she’d figured someone had to say it aloud if there was any hope of changing attitudes away from the desire for love and lust. Someone had to encourage women to think with their heads instead of their pussies.

“I know taking a pass on romance, and focusing on other connections, seems strange to some, but I stand by it. The world would be better off, I think, if people put all the romantic notions aside and paid due attention to the other connections in our lives.”

A woman seated a couple seats down from Thea’s snorted derisively, “That sounds like the arguments made by someone not getting any.”

Thea steeled herself and straightened in her seat, “Just thinking with my brain and not my heart. Think of how many tragedies in the world could have been avoided if love wasn’t so highly valued. No scorned lovers driven to murder. No heartbroken suicide. No love triangles gone wrong.”

 “You’ve got quite the head of your shoulders,” Walter Steele chimed in with a nod of agreement.

“Thank you.” A soft blush tinged her cheeks a pink color.

The conversation transitioned once again to another topic and Thea returned to simply listening as the conversation & brunch around her.

@archersquest

#verse: revenge is best served sweet #t: brunch together

[theyoungestmerlyn]

Brunch Together: Oliver Queen & Thea Merlyn

Thea Merlyn barely resisted rolling her eyes in irritation at the expectant look on her father’s face. He had a habit of declaring things, making pronouncements, and expecting Thea & Tommy to hop into line like toy soldiers. Did it not coccur to him that both of them had wills and lives of their own to live? They weren’t dolls to be placed wherever he wanted them.

Biting back on the ‘no,’ that wanted out of her vocal cords, Thea asked instead, “But, why do I have to go?”

“You were invited.”

Thea cocked her head to the left, raising an elegantly shaped eyebrow, “You and I both know that just because the cardstock said, ‘the Merlyn family,’ only you two are the intended recipients.” A brunch to reintroduce the prodigal son to Queen Consolidates’ wider business network (clearly the first step in a larger plan to bring the man back into the family business.) As Tommy was the brunch honoree’s best friend and Malcolm was valued business associate, they fit the attending bill to a ‘T.’

Thea, on the other hand, was just a seventeen-year-old recent high school graduate; she had no connection to Merlyn Global and Thea’d been only twelve when Oliver disappeared. While she embarrassingly remembered her brother’s brother-from-another-mother quite well, she was absolutely positive that she’d just been background noise to their epic bromance. There, but invisible. When she factored in the probability that his mother’s secretary crafted the invite list, Thea was willing to assume that she wasn’t an intended invitee.

“People will be expecting us to show support for the Queens as a family. You are coming, Thea.”

Thea had to fight on her instinctive stubbornness, if only to avoid getting into another screaming match with Malcolm now. It was far too early in the morning to use her voice like that.

Relenting without uttering another word, Thea returned to her room and opened her closet doors. What the heck did one wear to a ‘welcome back to the world’ brunch? Was it a sort of formal thing? Or more casual like the word ‘brunch’ implied?

Picking up her iPhone from the end of her bed, Thea sent a quick tet to her girl squad with a quick Snap of her closet. After a flurry of message, a choice was made and Thea donned a full-length coat, complementing high-waist black shorts with a pair of shimmering nude-colored tights and a sleek crop top with ankle boots with slight wedge heels.

“Thea,” Tommy’s voice called out from the direction of the foyer, “let’s go.”

“It’s a brunch, Tommy,” Thea reminded him as she climbed down the stairs, “not a medical procedure. We can be a few minutes late; it’s fashionable.”

As it turned out, they’d arrive to the Queen mansion only ten minutes after the printed time and were neither the first nor the last to arrive. Tommy had immediately ventured over to embrace his childhood friend and catch up about the week that had passed since the only child returned home. Malcolm had been pulled into whispered discussions about God only knew what. Thea didn’t really care to know what her father had gotten himself into. She’d learned long ago that it was in her best interest to be ignorant of his schemes.

She milled about among the other brunch guests until the hostess, Moira, asked everyone to take a seat. Finding a seat between Malcolm and Tommy at the table, Thea let the mumble and murmur of the thirty or so people’s conversations at large wash over her, taking it all in, but staying quiet herself. She passed various dishes in various directions as the mountain of breakfast foods were distributed and exchanged simple pleasantries in the process. Just when she was beginning to think that she could get through this awkward brunch by simply embracing her fly-on-the-wall state, someone addressed her.

“So, Thea, I read your opinion piece in the newspaper, I was,” Thea’s attention snapped to Moira, green eyes widening slightly in surprise, “surprised to read such a refreshing opinion from someone of your generation.”

It had been a nerve wrecking choice, deciding to let her opinion be known so publicly, but she’d figured someone had to say it aloud if there was any hope of changing attitudes away from the desire for love and lust. Someone had to encourage women to think with their heads instead of their pussies.

“I know taking a pass on romance, and focusing on other connections, seems strange to some, but I stand by it. The world would be better off, I think, if people put all the romantic notions aside and paid due attention to the other connections in our lives.”

A woman seated a couple seats down from Thea’s snorted derisively, “That sounds like the arguments made by someone not getting any.”

Thea steeled herself and straightened in her seat, “Just thinking with my brain and not my heart. Think of how many tragedies in the world could have been avoided if love wasn’t so highly valued. No scorned lovers driven to murder. No heartbroken suicide. No love triangles gone wrong.”

 “You’ve got quite the head of your shoulders,” Walter Steele chimed in with a nod of agreement.

“Thank you.” A soft blush tinged her cheeks a pink color.

The conversation transitioned once again to another topic and Thea returned to simply listening as the conversation & brunch around her.

@archersquest

#verse: revenge is best served sweet #t: brunch together

[theyoungestmerlyn]

archersquest​:

Touching her was an addiction. One that he couldn’t get enough of. “Outer space, huh?” He laughed. A smile forming on his lips with ease. “Naughty just for you.”

He pulled back from her slightly. The fact that they had made love multiple times now was just setting in. Their relationship was becoming a solid reality. Not that the media likely already hadn’t had a field day with it.

“No, I can’t keep my lips…or my hands to myself. Especially when my dream girl is around.” His words came easier now more than ever. He had come here to escape. Not to find his true love. Yet, the reality of it had happened and they were already evolving.

He kissed her cleavage just a bit more. Knowing damn well, he was teasing her. “What kind of dreams, Gorgeous?”

It was the first time, he had called her something else besides Speedy. Something more akin to a lover.

“Oh, you know,” Thea said in a seductive tone, “all kinds of dreams really.”

Guiding his head up from her chest, she locked eyes with him and marveled at the brilliant shades in his irises. Sappy though it might be, she could stare into his eyes for hours. Most thrilling of all was the love reflected within. How lucky was she to care and be cared for; not everyone got that in life.

“From the mundane, everyday things to... well,” She leaned back to smirk at him for a moment before leaning in to whisper one of her naughtiest dreams in his ear. How refreshing it was to be able honest with him, to give voice to such a private thought without fear or embarrassment. It was novel.

“What can I say?” Thea said as she left his personal space, “I’m a dreamer.”

After a couple of hours more of sun & fun, the duo returned to the Merlyn mansion with sun-warmed skin and eager hands. They were barely through the door before Thea was pushing him up against a wall and kissed him breathless. She might have been a little hesitant to express her affection on the beach with cameras clicking away, but they were in private now and their intimacy was theirs again. “Mmm... that was a fun day at the beach.”

#t: morningafter

[theyoungestmerlyn]

archersquest​:

The prospect of getting away from the world, that they were familiar with seemed nice. A way to just find a stronger groove together. It still blew his mind on some level, that they couldn’t really keep their hands to themselves anymore. The world knew they were together. The rest was their world to make.

He kissed her back in kind. His tongue pushing against the seam of her lips. Wanting to savor the flavor of her beautiful mouth. “For the longest time, I was jealous of anyone that got to…kiss you,” he said, just looking into her eyes. “To be able to do it. To be together is a dream come true.”

He lowered his head down to her neck, sucking and letting his tongue caress the flesh. Leaving an obvious love bite for all the world to see. In the distance, he could see the photogs snapping photos of them. He truly didn’t care. His lips made their way down to her breasts, landing firmly on her cleavage. Much as he had with her neck, he started to make a mark on the curve of her bosom.

“I love you, Thea,” he whispered. “Can’t imagine a single day, without you.”

The mention of jealousy conjured up memories that she’d almost forgotten. Watching from the front-facing window of her bedroom as Oliver and Tommy walked up the long winding driveway of the Merlyn mansion. Each men had a drunk club girl on his arm and the four of them were chatting about something that Thea couldn’t hear, but she didn’t really need to. Their conversation wasn’t important; no, what mattered was their actions.

The fair-haired blonde dangling from Oliver’s forearm was laying the charm on thick. Leaning into his personal space, the woman was soon swept off her feet in a show-off kiss from an inebriated Oliver, Thea’s stomach rolled at that sight, her heart sinking as an ugly feeling took hold in her chest.

At 11, Thea hadn’t quite understood what she’d been feeling in that moment. With benefit of hindsight, she knew that ugly feeling was jealousy, The mere idea that Oliver had felt any jealousy over her was almost hysterical; there’d been nothing for him to be jealous of. Not really,

“No,” Thea disagreed playfully as he dipped his head to her neck again, “this is better than a dream, Ollie... and I’ve had plenty of dreams.”

Giving up on any attempts to behave in front of the watching paparazzi, she carded her fingers through the shorn little hairs on the nape of his neck as he sucked a hickey onto her skin. “Nnghh, you naughty boy,” she whispered laughingly, stroking the sides of his neck with her thumbs, “just can’t keep those beautiful lips to yourself, huh?”

His head descended lower, his lips traversing the curve of her chevage for only a few moments before he once more decorated her flesh with a hickey. “Okay, okay, stop that now, enough, enough,” Thea said in peals of laughter, pushing playfully at his bare, sun-kissed shoulders, “you’ve made your point. I’m taken, and now, people in outer space know it!”

Her heartbeat stuttered in her chest as he uttered those four words, ‘I love you, Thea.’

“I love you too, Ollie.” It still felt so weird being able to say those words aloud, to not be concerned whether her feelings were showing through. It was wonderful.

#t: morningafter

[theyoungestmerlyn]

archersquest​:

It wasn’t something that was out of the question. He had little doubt, that they would be followed by the paparazzi one way or another. He shifted against the towel, moving his arm around her. His hand moving against the warmth of her skin. Teasing gentle circles and trails along her arm.

His lips finding their way back to her neck. Sucking on the mark, he had already left. “Can’t say I’ve been,” he said. He could recall an endless list of places to travel but Greece had been among them. He had always considered it too much history for his taste. With Thea, that could certainly change. “I think maybe we should chart one of my father’s jets and go. Maybe get an expensive room under aliases and just find some place romantic to get away to.”

He should have been focused on their picnic but his eyes always kept finding their way back to her cleavage. Amazed that he could stare, without issue now. Knowing their relationship was truly real.

“Maybe we can actually get in a dance, without cameras on us.” He brushed his nose against her’s. Playfully teasing a kiss.

“maybe we should chart one of my father’s jets and go. […] just find some place romantic to get away to.”

His words inspired her imagination to kick into high gear. Scenarios playing out in her mind: the two of them boarding one of his father’s jets, sitting together on one of the opulent bench seats, her wrapped in his arms as they talk about anything and everything. Holding hands as they explored the scenery wherever they ended up, just an average young couple among the masses. Being surrounded by strangers, but only having eyes for each other. Spending all night together, talking, getting to truly know each other on a deeper level and making love. 

…If reality was anything like what her brain was conjuring, Thea would be a happy girl indeed.

 “Let’s do it,” Thea decided with a warm smile, “a vacation with you sounds wonderful.”

As he ducked his head inward, brushing the tip of his nose against her own, Thea’s heart skipped a beat. Bunny kisses were such an innocent gesture, so simple. Maybe it was just her, but she believed the little things that spoke the loudest. His bunny kiss spoke volumes: she was cared for.

Bridging the small distance between their lips, Thea bestowed a gentle, slow kiss on his mouth. She hummed a soft ‘mmm,’ as she pulled back from the kiss, “I’d love to dance with you, Ollie.” Pausing for a moment, she clarified with a teasing wink, “both in actuality and as euphemism.”

#t: morningafter

[theyoungestmerlyn]

sarchersquest​:

The sun was offering so much needed warmth. It was a far cry from Starling and the coldness, that it offered. This whole had started out as an escape. In the end, it had just revealed buried truths to him. Feelings that needed to be shared and truth be told, he was devoted to Thea.

He probably shouldn’t have spent as much time as he did worshipping her breasts. They did have the privacy of their own homestead but he couldn’t find it in himself to stop. He took his time before capturing her lips in a tender kiss. Savoring the flavor of her lips once more.

“Could live here,” he said proudly. “This is kind of peace, I’ve needed for a long time.” He smiled softly and dug back into the picnic basket, pulling out their salads. Healthy wasn’t the first thing on his mind. Still, he was about new beginnings and they were so tasty.

“Thinking maybe we should take a trip somewhere. Any place you want to escape to?”

“Any place you want to escape to?”

“A trip so soon?” Thea inquired in teasing lilt, smirking just a little, “someone’s eager to get me alone.” Pausing only for a moment to let her humor sink in, she briefly pondered his question in earnest, “Hmm, well, I’ve always wanted to go back to Greece. Particularly Santorini. It’s positively beautiful there. Have you ever been?”

Taking yet another bite from the apple that she still held, Thea chewed and swallowed it before asking, “What about you, Ollie? Where would you want to go?”

#t: morningafter

[theyoungestmerlyn]

archersquest​:

He instinctively licked his lips. God, why did she manage to drive him so crazy? He could never have enough of her. Even if he wanted to. Between the kisses and all the shared intimacy. He was truly happy. For once in his life.

He kissed her back. Doing his best to keep himself in check. Even with prying eyes. He did his best to keep himself restrained. The sight of her in a swimsuit was always going to be an instant turn on.

“Truly, Eve,” he whispered, leaning back over to capture her lips once more. His lips pulling back slightly to kiss along the curves of her breasts. Leaving little love bites on her cleavage. He didn’t give a damn if the images would be all over the internet by the afternoon. No one was going to take his happiness away from him.

He lifted his head back up and captured her lips again. He reached into the basket and pulled out their sandwiches before just fully moving himself against her, cuddling up. His hands rubbing against her body, teasing her nipples and bare flesh. “Nothing compares to being right here with you.”

Oliver was a temptation beyond measure simply by existing, but then he had to go and turn her insides into mush. The way he looked at her, as though she was special, and the way he spoke to her lit up her brain in a way that only he can. He made her consciously abandon her common sense, throw caution to the wind, and embrace her truth: that she was desperately, undeniably in love with him.

Was it way too early in their relationship for her to be thinking that? Hell yes. But that didn’t mean she could stop herself for thinking it though. She was in love with him. Denying that, even to herself, was no longer possible. For years she’d been assuming that what she felt for him was just a crush that lingered on, but just a day into their romantic tryst and she knew that she’d been wrong all along: it wasn’t just a crush. It was love, and it always had been.

She leaned back onto her palms, accepting the kisses and love bites that he peppered across her cleavage. The social norms that her father instilled in both she and Tommy were hard to silence, especially with the paparazzi’s camera shutters clicking behind them, but she managed it.  His attentions were worth far more to her than analyzing her every action knowing that someone was always watching.

“You’re telling me,” Thea joked with a smile, leaning into his side with ease. She shivered under the touch of his hands, “I haven’t felt this relaxed in ages.”  

#t: morningafter

[theyoungestmerlyn]

archersquest​:

He nodded. His hips meeting her’s. Eagerly. Determined. It didn’t matter how many times they did this. He wanted her. Desired her. “Count on it.” He loved her. Worshipped her. “Every chance I can get.”

He didn’t relent. Couldn’t. Didn’t want to. “Well, you are.” He couldn’t help but blush. Thea and his mother were the only two people capable of making him do just that.

He held her tightly. Doing his best not to lose his balance. His body spasming hard. His cock softening inside her. Still, faintly twitching after release. He kissed her back just as softly. His hands eased off of her ass, squeezing a few more times.

Once on shore, he leaned his head against her and kissed her deeply. Their make out session was available for the world. This kiss, he knew, would prove how off the market he truly was.

“I’d say with you,” he said playfully. Flirting with her just a bit. He wasn’t going to eat her out in public. That would come within the safety of their own home. He reached into the basket. “Apple?”

He was doing his best to be cute with her. Showing her how much he truly loved her. “I’m never going to get tired of kissing your lips, you know. One kiss is never going to be enough.”

Reaching for the red apple, its skin gleaming even between his fingers where they curved around the bottom of the fruit, Thea surprised Oliver by lurching forward to give him yet another kiss as she took the apple from him. His lips taste slightly salty, an artifact of their time in the ocean’s grasp, but Thea didn’t mind at all. Kissing Oliver was far better than, you know, not kissing him.

There was a danger in kissing him, though, because she found him to be the human equivalent of Lay’s potato: she couldn’t kiss him just once. He was rapidly on his way to becoming an addiction for her. It took all of her Herculean willpower to pull back from his oh-so-tempting self, but she managed it.  

Leaning back out of his space, holding the fruit in her nondominant hand, she made a soft musing noise, “An apple,” she mused, bringing the shining apple like up as if it were a diamond that needed inspection for the four c’s, “a temptation that Eve couldn’t resist. The forbidden fruit.”

With a teasing wink to Oliver, she brought the brilliantly-red-skinned fruit to her lips and took a bite. As the apple’s juice dripped down her chin, forcing Thea to use her right wrist to hurriedly wipe the sticky liquid away. There goes any sexiness, she thought regrettably before laughing at herself a little. “Getting some sun feels good, doesn’t it?”

#t: morningafter

[theyoungestmerlyn]

archersquest​:

The water seemed like so different than the pool, where they made love for the first time. Yeah, he had gotten himself in over his head the night before but things had truly worked out between them. They found their place together.

His tongue slid against her own, dancing it’s own kind of dance. He pulled away for merely a moment. Whispering against her lips. “I wanna eat you out, when we get back home.”

He wasn’t used to being so able to this direct with her. So willing to just let loose. He kept his momentum going. Not stopping. Her touch burning him far more than anything than the sun could do. A touch he yearned for every day.

“Did I ever tell you, you’re the most beautiful woman in all the world?” It wasn’t a question, he was putting out in jest. He meant every single word.

“I wanna eat you out, when we get back home.”

Thea chuckled once in surprise. She certainly hadn’t expected him to say that. In her experience, men wanted to receive oral sex, but they weren’t ever really eager to give. The notion that he was willing and wanting to go down on her was certainly exciting for the young college student. “I’ll take you up on that offer, you know...”

A soundless gasp tumbled from her lips as he continued to fuck her beneath the waves, “Oh, yes. Ollie. Fuck, that’s good.”

 “[...] you’re the most beautiful woman in all the world.”

She shook her head good-naturedly, “No, you’ve never said that, but then no one has.” Looping her arms around his neck again, Thea flexed her inner muscles around his cock, making excellent use of her kegel exercises. “But I appreciate the sentiment, Ollie. It means alot coming from you... the most handsome man in the universe.”

After that the two of them ceased talking and focused instead on reaching that peak of pleasure together. When Thea came, she stifled her cry of bliss in his shoulder. She shuddered as he came inside of her, the feeling of his cum filling her sex.  Giving him a gentle kiss as he softened and slipped from her depths, Thea pulled her bikini bottom back up onto her hips and covered herself back up.  Once Oliver had secured his swim trunks again, she took his hand and they swam back toward the shore. Ignoring the paparazzi completely, they settled back onto the beach towels and started to unpack their lunch.

“Where do we start?”

#t: morningafter

[theyoungestmerlyn]

archersquest​:

No matter how many times, they made love. It always felt like the first time to him. Despite the fact that this was the third time. On some level, he felt like he would never get used to this level of euphoria with her.

He half growled and half groaned as her nails dug into his skin. He hardened in her at the simple contact. He thrusted into her creating what he could manage as a steady rhythm. Fighting the current just a bit. His feet gripping the sandy surface as tightly as possible.

He captured her lips hard and passionately. His hands squeezing her ass harder than normal. Wanting nothing more than to know she was loved by him. Worshipped as his Goddess.

He made such invigorating sounds during their lovemaking! If ever she doubted that he was pleased with her… affections, the groans and moans were confirmation that indeed he did. She clung to him out of both necessity and delight at the feeling of him hardening a little more inside her; it was a strange, yet marvelous sensation.

They bobbed in the water as the tide rose and receded, though his thrusts certainly helped her motion too. She smiled into Oliver’s passionate kiss, letting her tongue tangle with his. His flesh was warm from the sun’s ray and gritty with the salt from the sea when her hands slid up & over to rest on the curve of his broad shoulders. Giggles tumbled from her mouth as he grabbed her ass hard, grinding their lower halves together even more.

“Oh God, Ollie…” She groaned, “Yes, that’s so good, just like that.”

#t: morningafter

[theyoungestmerlyn]

archersquest​:

It was hard not to be in her presence. Lately, he felt like a damn teenager all over again. He totally faulted her in a great way.

Reality seemed to blur around him despite it all. Maybe he had in the past. If he had, it hadn’t been about love. If anything it had likely been a stupid risk. A play at some club girl that wanted to go to the extreme with him.

His lips never strayed far from her’s. He was always thirsty for her. In any form. He shifted enough that his shorts remained around his legs then guided himself into her. His cock instantly finding itself at home in her. Thrusting into her steadily.

“Love you,” he whispered against her lips.

Thea grinned brilliantly as he reached down to push his swim trunks down slightly. She knew this because she could feel the material moving with the ocean current, the displaced garment making contact with her thighs below the water’s surface.

As he slid into her sex, Thea clenched her teeth to suppress a groan of delight. Fuck. That felt so good. Her fingers curled slightly against the base of his neck as she held on tighter to him as the sea moved around and between themselves.

“I love you too,” Thea whispered, nipping teasingly at his lower lip.

#t: morningafter

[theyoungestmerlyn]

  archersquest​:

The list of locations, where he had sex were various. Whatever list he had recalled vanished from his mind, the moment her legs wrapped around his waist. His cock hardening at the mere contact alone.

A gasp escaping his lips as her lips met his throat. His hands cupping her ass, pulling her in tighter. “No…” He couldn’t recall if it was true or not. It didn’t matter. Not now. His focus was on her. Them.

His lips reconnecting with her’s. Desperate and needy. His tongue pushing into her mouth, rubbing against her tongue in kind. His hands pushing into her bottoms, squeezing that perfect ass of her’s harder.

Thea grinned at tell-tale hardness between his legs, pressing against her nylon-covered mound.  "Well, hello there, Sailor!” Thea teased with a little salute and a cheeky smile. "Boy, someone's ready to go.”

She ducked her head to smother giggles in his shoulder at the feeling of his strong hands on her ass. He seemed to be an ass man, which was fine by Thea.  She was well aware that, as far as feminine assets went, she was sorely lacking, particularly in the chest area. If he was indeed an ass man, then Thea stood a chance of keeping his attention.

“No.”

Thea very much doubted that was the truth, but she’d let it pass by unchecked.  She had simply posed the question to put the idea out into the universe. It worked, a mere second later he was kissing her as if they might never kiss again, Thea poured her heart into returning the kiss while left hand dove under the water to push her bikini bottoms down only a little. The last thing she wanted was to lose her bottoms to the sea. Reaching out, she cupped him through his bathing suit briefly before loosing the tie on his shorts. “Let’s change that, shall we?”

[theyoungestmerlyn]

archersquest​:

He couldn’t recall the last time, he had truly enjoyed the beach. Maybe it was with her? Things tended to blur with his life style. If not partying about endlessly or struggling to understand the business world. He was just active. Traveling. Escaping the world as much as he possibly could.

He smiled proudly at her. They could take all the pictures that they wanted of them. Wouldn’t surprise him if they were on some front page first thing in the morning or scattered about the internet.

The water seemed to engulf them. Pushing them tighter together. Not something that he had issue with in the slightest. His hands exploring her back, her ass and everything he could touch. “Home,” he whispered into her ear. Her. She was truly his home. There was no sense in denying it.

The sea was comforting. Relaxing. Sure, it wasn’t the pool, where things had first started but he could recall looking at on this beach. Seeing her in a bikini for the first time. Doing his best not to drool in front of her.

“So good,” he said, lowering himself into the depths before finding his way to her lips. Happy to be with her. Happy to be at peace.

Home. Such a simple word with a depth of intention. Having him whisper it in her ear made it feel even more intimate and personal. Thea smiled softly, sucking her bottom lip into her mouth a little as she tilted her head up some slightly to look into his face. With the warm sun high in the sky, he looked even more beautiful, the blue surface of the water that moved around them made his blue eyes pop even more.

“Home,” Thea echoed, pressing a small series of kisses on his jawline. Now that they were safely hidden from prying eyes, she gleefully wrapped her legs around his waist. “...so, Ollie, have you ever had sex in the ocean?”

#t: morningafter

[theyoungestmerlyn]

archersquest​:

“We could find time,” he said with a laugh. His lips still nipping, sucking and leaving marks on her breasts. it was simple, yet, so affectionate. Little ways of his attempts to show her how much, he wanted her. How much he wanted the world to know.

He laughed a bit harder. “Wonder if they want a show?” It was a playful joke. He could easily go down on her right then and there. Sure, it was pushing boundaries but it was something that they both lived with each and every day. Prying eyes constantly following them. Popular because of their family’s wealth.

He could so easily kiss a trail down further. Bury his head between her legs. Watch her squirm, relish in pleasure and release upon his lips. His tongue and lips unrelenting sucking at her until he could taste nothing but her.

He was tempted to give them the finger. Something that would be added to the scandal pages. No matter how much it mattered, whether it was an invasion of their privacy or not. He would face the blame for it.

“They may want a show, Ollie,” Thea replied, just imagining the field day the photographers and local news hosts would have. Sex sells, after all, and two (briefly related) billionaire heirs, one of whom has a rather scandalous past, blatantly fucking on the beach? That was ‘sex scandal’ gold. Yes, it was a private beach, owned by her family no less, but private was just a word. The media vultures were circling while still  being very careful and deliberate not to ‘trespass on private property.’ “but they won’t be getting one.”

It was easy for Oliver to suggest that they ‘give them a show,’ he was the man. People would say he was just being a man, an Alpha-type, but Thea? Thea would be labelled as a slut, a whore. She wasn’t about to give anyone ammunition to use such words to describe her.

“Come on, handsome,” she said, taking his hands as she stood up from the beach towel once more, “the sea is calling.”

With his hand in her own, Thea ran towards the ocean, both of them soon surrounded by the sea’s waters, too far out for the paparazzi to waste space on their memory. She smiled at him as they held onto each other in the bobbing ocean. Planting a series of kissed to his jaw and neck, Thea whispered, “This is more like it.”

[theyoungestmerlyn]

archersquest​:

He captured her lips once more, giving her a hard and deep kiss. His hands wandering her body once more. “I’m all yours,” he said playfully. He couldn’t help himself. Couldn’t help but smile.

He lowered his head into her cleavage, nipping and sucking. Carefully, leaving one of his bite marks. “Promise, I’ll kiss it all better later.” He leaned in further and captured her lips again.

In the distance, he could tell the paps were taking photos of them. He didn’t care. He wasn’t going to put on a show for them but he was damn well going to show the world, that he was taken.

“Well, I don’t like to share you either.” Thoughts of the previous night rushed through his head. His jealously over anyone else touching her. He had to fight himself. Fight his own hard on. 

“I could kiss you forever…”

She’d been living with an unrequited crush on her brother’s best friend for so long that Thea could scarcely believe her luck. Never had she given it considerable thought that Oliver might return her feelings. She’d just assumed that he saw her as a child, having known her almost her whole life, or at the very least like a little sister. There’d been not even an hint to suggest that he’d seen her any other way... until that party the other day, that is. But here they were, and every little touch that Oliver bestowed upon her felt like a dream and that was just fine by her.

A small, gentle smile curved her lips upward as his lips dropped to her chest, nipping and sucking lightly, following the soft curves of bosom. It was slightly scandalous, especially given the paparazzi watching them like vultures, but Thea found that in the moment she didn’t give a damn what they might write about them. She was happy and in love; Thea wasn’t about to let anyone steal that glittering, beautiful feeling from her. “Forever, hmmm?” she whispered against his lips, “that could certainly be arranged, but...” she mused teasingly, “then how would we eat?”