Snuggly and Smart
Oliver didn't realize he'd been holding his breath until he saw Felicity emerging from the back door of Pizzano's restaurant. The alley behind the restaurant was dark and she didn't see the uneven patch of pavement until it was too late.
She stumbled, and as she readjusted her black high-heeled pump, a bomb went off in the restaurant behind her. Dust and debris rained down around her. She straightened up and ran as fast as her heels would let her toward Oliver. He was dressed in full Arrow gear and anxious to leave.
"Dammit, Felicity. Hurry up!" Oliver waved his hand toward the back of the Ducati.
"Coming!"
Felicity looked down at her tight, black pencil skirt and pumps. And stopped short. Oliver revved up the engine in an effort to move her. Thinking she might as well be an 80s hair band video girl in her outfit atop a motorcycle, she inched the skirt up – and up—and up some more until it was high enough for her to swing her leg over the seat and settle in behind Oliver.
Oliver, seeing her dilemma, had a dilemma of his own now, but he mentally pushed the thought of Felicity's-bare-legs-in-black-pumps-straddling-him-on-his-motorcycle to the back of his head. He had to get them to safety.
He rounded the corner and made it through the first traffic light. Good, he thought, maybe we caught a break. Gunshots sounded behind them complete with a speeding car looming in the Ducati's sideview mirrors.
"Felicity – hang on tight!" and Oliver kicked the motorcycle into a higher gear trying to lose the tail.
He didn't have to tell Felicity twice. She held on for dear life and squeezed his hips with her legs. Tucking her helmetless head into his shoulder blades, she signaled that she was ready.
Oliver zigged. And zagged – racing down the length of the major city street looking for the right timing of traffic lights and cars.
It happened. A light turned yellow and there were cars in the double turning lanes on the perpendicular street ready to go. He stayed in the far right lane until the last possible second and then crossed two lanes weaving between cars to nestle in front of a large SUV as it was turning left. The SUV blasted its horn as both vehicles made the turn under the reddening traffic light.
The car chasing them had no choice but to continue in the far right lane. As it crossed the intersection, the large SUV blocked the driver's view of the Ducati. Oliver had effectively lost the tail. Still, he kept swerving and taking side streets, and even back tracking a little, before reaching the Arrow Cave.
Felicity was frazzled. Beyond frazzled really.
If Oliver couldn't tell from her hair, poking out in all directions from her ponytail and in generally a big mass of tangles, he could certainly tell by her wide eyes and stuttering.
"All . . .all I ca' . . . can say is . . . thank God for heat shields," Felicity said rubbing the insides of her legs as they got off the bike by the back door of the Arrow Cave.
"Wha – are you burned?" Oliver's face worried with concern as he knelt to inspect her legs. Her very long, very toned legs.
"Huh? Oh, no – I'm fine. Promise." Felicity squeezed her eyes shut tight as his hands gently glided over her silky skin.
Oliver got up after being convinced that she was okay.
"I never should have taken you out on the field tonight."
"Oliver, you needed my expertise with extracting those self-destructing files. You had to have proof that the Pizzano family was trafficking for Laurel's case."
"Still . . . and Digg's gonna kill me."
"Um, and me." Oliver gave Felicity a tight smile.
"Yeah, well, he'll definitely tell you to take off your heels next time."
"Ha – Diggle's pro tips. He should write a manual," Felicity giggled at herself, but as she started walking to her computers, she stumbled. Oliver, still nearby, caught her, guiding her to the nearest chair.
"Felicity, you're shaking."
"Like a leaf in a cold winter wind, no less," she admitted.
"Stay."
"'Kay – not goin' anywhere," she shivered as she adjusted herself in the chair. "At all."
A few minutes later Oliver came back with a blanket and some Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Herbal Tea. Felicity took the mug and was yet again thankful that she talked him into getting a Keurig for their late night stings, strategy sessions, and debriefings in the Arrow Cave.
Oliver gently wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. After taking a few sips of her tea, she tried to run her fingers through her hair.
"Ouch!" She would have been more successful trying to thread a microscopic quilting needle with a piece of heavy-duty yarn. "I'm gonna need a rake."
Noticing Felicity's plight, Oliver reached over and grabbed her purse, rummaging around in its inner depths. "Aha!" he said, pulling out a wide-toothed comb and holding it up high.
"Oh, no – absolutely not, Oliver. You'll yank every hair outta my head!"
"Au contraire, Ms. Smoak – don't forget I have a younger sister. A younger sister who had hair down to her butt when she was little. I'd have to comb the tangles out all. the. time."
"You should add that to your résumé, Mr. Queen," Felicity smiled and took another sip of her tea.
Oliver placed his hands on her shoulders and guided her to sit up a little. He started to work on the outer most tangles in her ponytail. At first, Felicity was going to scan the files she'd just lifted off Pizzano's hard drive. That was her intention. Really. She even had the external hard drive in her hands, but Oliver's hands proved to be more relaxing than the tea. And the tea was good.
She gave into the rhythm his hands started with the combing. He could not have been any gentler. She took off her glasses, closed her eyes, and let her arms fall to the armrests of the office chair. And she stopped shivering.
Oliver cut the hair tie in the back and continued to work his magic, both on Felicity and her long blond hair. He tilted her head back and ran his fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp gently as he made sure he'd gotten all the tangles. Felicity was sure her toes would curl any moment.
"There," he smoothed her hair a final time. "You're tangle free."
Felicity didn't speak.
"Felicity?"
"Hmmmmm . . . oh, yeah. Right." She turned in her chair and looked up at him. "Oliver – I don't feel like going home tonight. That was a bit much for an IT girl, and I feel much safer here. Well, except when your crazy psycho ex-girlfriend stops by or when psyco island buddy visits or – "
"Felicity –" he looked down at her.
". . . or when Roy goes over the deep end or –"
"Fe-li-ci-ty – point made," he said, rolling his eyes.
She shrugged out of her pumps and stood up, making her way slowly to the alcove of their lair where she had put a few pieces of furniture from IKEA for long nights. She reached in a bin from a square cubicle she'd built herself when they first brought the furniture in only to remember that she hadn't brought any clothes to store in it yet. She looked in another bin and pulled out a white t-shirt and some track pants. Both articles of clothing would be way too big, but she figured she could at least pull the drawstring on the pants. Stepping over to the attached bathroom, she changed clothes and brushed her teeth. She had, thankfully, remembered to bring toiletries.
When she finished, she came out and noticed Oliver had changed as well and had unfolded the futon. "Oh," she said.
"Well, you're not staying here by yourself all shaken up still," he motioned to the futon, taking in the sight of Felicity in Diggle's extra workout clothes and smiling. "Which side do you prefer?"
She walked over, lying down on the nearest side. As she settled, Oliver unfolded a blanket and tucked it around her. He climbed over her to the other side, lying down on top of the blanket.
"Thank you," she murmured. "G'night, Oliver." Felicity was dog-tired, and the soft humming from the computers and other electrical equipment in the lair provided soft background noise, and the monitors served as perfect backlighting for the alcove. She was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow,
Oliver watched her for a few minutes and then, sure that she was asleep, ran his hand down her hair again admiring his handiwork from the detangling. The futon was a bit small for two adults. He couldn't help but shift his weight a bit and ended up spooning her body form to his. His arm wrapped around her body, and he leaned his head, nuzzling her hair, something he'd wanted to do ever since he started combing it out.
His lips brushed against her blond hair. "My Felicity – snuggly and smart . . ." And, he too, was soon fast asleep.
A/N: Awwwwwwwww, the Olicity of it all - a bit fluffy but fun to write! :)