G/T One Shots

Manipulation | 3

Thea froze at that. Five years? She'd been with Simon for that long?

She swallowed thickly as she realized that they were looking at her almost expectantly, and she squeezed her eyes shut as a hand moved closer to her. A strangled whimper escaped her and she shrank away, flinching as a finger ran gently on her head.

"You're safe now," the rumbling voice above her told her. Roy, she remembered.

Safe? They took her away from Simon. Simon...

Who didn't really love her. He'd taken other girls before her. She wasn't special. He'd obviously done it before, and she'd known it from the way he'd held her.

Too careful to be the first time. And for some reason that made a sob rip it's way out of her throat.

Thea's eyes opened and she covered her mouth. Don't cry, don't cry, they don't want to you cry. Idiot.

But the crinkle in his forehead didn't seem to be annoyance or anger. It seemed to be concern.

She opened her mouth and quickly close it, immediately freezing up again. Years of learned behavior made her stay stock still as the hand around her shifted.

But it was just for a finger to gingerly brush her tears away. A murmur of reassurance met her ears as that finger hesitantly ran over her arm.

She shivered.

"It's okay, Thea. You're not there anymore."

That was the other voice. The girl with glasses by the laptop. Felicity. She seemed to be a bit nervous, but she was try to reassure Thea despite that. But the girl seemed to know, in some capacity, what she was going through.

The gravity of the situation hit Thea, and it hit her hard. She suddenly felt disgusted with herself. Disgusted for being so complacent and thinking that Simon was the best part of her life.

Maybe that was how Stockholm worked.

She just felt confused, and she cleared her throat hesitantly, feeling a bit emboldened at the encouraging looks she was getting.

"I..." She winced at her hoarse voice, raspy from not being used for so long. "What...um...What are you going to do to me?"

Maybe it was a risky question, and it made her heart hammer as their wide eyes looked between themselves in a silent conversation. She didn't know if she even wanted to know the answer, but they seemed to pick up on her nerves.

"We just wanted to help," Roy assured her, his breath washing over her. He pulled her in closer, making sure she wasn't squirming away as he held her against his chest. "Are you okay?"

His voice reverberated through Thea and she felt herself growing less tense as a soothing and gentle pressure travelled along her spine. Silence stretched for a moment and he shared a glance she couldn't see with Felicity as the latter stood to leave the room, closing the door with a click.

Her brows pinched in confusion and she felt him chuckle at her expression.

"She's giving us space." He told her softly, though they hadn't even had a conversation. Maybe they just know each other that well.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?"

~~~~_~~~~

Months later, she'd grown more accustomed to her size. She still tensed up sometimes, when a ginger finger would brush against her, but she found that she trusted Roy.

They'd discussed what would happen to her, and they ultimately decided that it was best to stick with him and Felicity (even if she wasn't around much as she researched a way to solve Thea's issue) rather than go back home like this.

So even though she'd been manipulated before, and she was beyond wary of it happen again, she found herself sinking into a sense of security around him. Sinking into his gentle touches and murmurs.

Being herself around him.

She'd slowly gained some confidence back as well.

Thea flinched as his finger gently poked against her shoulder, and she whipped around with an apologetic smile. He just shook his head slightly, grey eyes soft and mouth quirked in that adorable little grin.

"No need to apologize, Thea." And she could tell he meant it, that giant face so earnest and kind. "I just wanted to see if seafood was alright for dinner."

"Oh, um, sure." She looked up at him as then shook her head slightly. "Actually, do you think we could have some fried rice and stuff?"

He snorted a bit at the change, smiling nonetheless. She was getting better at telling him what she wanted rather than just accepting what he asked at face value without argument.

"Sure thing, T. Come here and help me pick out a good place?"

Thea looked at the proffered palm in front of her. She knew it was a question, and that it was fully up to her. He wasn't going to make her.

She knew that now.

And she trusted him enough to clamber into his palm and relax as he brought her closer. Even if she was minuscule, he wouldn't forcefully manipulate her to be anything other than who she was.

She could just be Thea.

Hey y'all! It's been about a month but life got in the way. I hope this is good even if it's a bit short.

I need to do some vent writing so you may or may not see that soon. It'll mostly depend on if I feel like posting it after the feelings dissipate a bit.

Thanks for the support! Even the smallest thing brightens my day and I hope y'all know I appreciate every single one of you, even the ones who don't comment or vote.

Thank you.

~Em