Hungry Eyes
An Olicity FanFic
Chapter one: The first non-platonic date
Oliver pushes his way through the buzzing club, towards the stairs to the basement level.
Every time Oliver walked through this club, he seemed to hate it more and more. He thought he'd love owning a club. He was used to being the life of the party so being around the party all the time seemed like it would be perfect, but it wasn't. The bodies, there were so many people. So many people that had absolutely no idea how to partake in daily hygiene, apparently. The further on the night went, the worse it smelled. It wasn't something that occurred on just some nights. No, he could handle some nights. Instead, it was a nightly occurrence. And don't even get Oliver started on the mess these people made. He was just glad he had other employees to take care of that.
Ever since returning to the island after Tommy's death, it was all he could do to even stand being in the place. He was more than grateful that Thea had decided to take it over, and refused to give it back to him.
He hated the place so much, but he still had to return. The team was in the basement, that's where they'd started and that's where they were now. Well, he would have moved them somewhere else, but after Felicity's revamping of the basement, he couldn't even stomach the idea of telling her he wanted to leave.
So he dealt with it.
The whole purpose of the vigilante, now, was to honor Tommy's memory anyways, so he pushed forth further, towards the stairs, ignoring the stench and constant pressing of bodies around him until he made it to the basement.
It was at this point, at the bottom of the stairs, which he stopped.
Felicity was sitting in her chair, pushing her hands against the desk to move her between the monitors, it looked like she was up to three of them now. He stared at her as she typed away, not even the hint that she was being watched. Even after almost a year of working with Oliver, Felicity hadn't changed. She was still quirky, funny, slightly naive, and as beautiful as ever. She had gotten stronger, Oliver had to give her that, but everything else was the same.
But he didn't mind. He grew to like it more and more every day, and he was reminded of that once more as he looked at her happily spinning in her chair.
She was breathtakingly beautiful.
He took one step away from the staircase, and Felicity jumped.
"God, you scared me, Oliver," she murmured. "Please don't do that!"
"Sorry," Oliver quickly cleared his throat, "Felicity," he began again, "I need you to look at something for me."
Her shoulders shot up; she became attentive. "What can I do for you?" She spun around in her chair to look over at him.
Oliver crossed the room and made his way to her. She smiled up at him as he stood above her. "Could you look over this document and see if you find anything that may connect to the Merlin family?"
Felicity looked at Oliver, concerned, "Are you sure you want to look into that again, Oliver? I know Tommy was your best friend and everything that happened, but –"
"But what?" Oliver said sternly, forgetting about how just moments ago he had been enamored by her.
"But…it's over now, Oliver. Maybe we should just leave it alone." Felicity said quietly.
"And maybe you could mind your own business and do what I tell you to do, Felicity." Oliver barked. Felicity looked up at Oliver in alarm. Her face once concerned, turned towards confusion, and then finally to anger. Oliver looked down at her, also angry, but after seeing her face turn red he sighed. Maybe he should forget what he had planned, and just go home. He hated it when he did this. He was so quick to anger, and it seemed like he couldn't control it. "I'm sorry, Felicity. I didn't mean that. It's just," he sighed again, trying to regain his thoughts so he could explain himself, "Tommy is, was, my best friend, and I can't just stand by and watch his name be ripped to shreds because of his father."
Felicity stood up next to Oliver and replied, "I know this, Oliver, but there's really nothing we can do at this point. We just need to focus on honoring Tommy's memory and show people who Tommy was that way." She placed her hand on Oliver's arm and smiled up at him.
He hated this. She would smile, and he would forget what he was saying. "You're right," Oliver relented, having lost his train of thought anyways. "What were you doing before I came in?" He asked her, changing the subject.
Felicity smiled widely, "Oh you're going to love this." She sat back down at her chair and turned toward the screen. Oliver stayed back a little, letting Felicity do her thing. She looked back at him, waving her had as if to say 'Come here'. He stayed where he was, but continued to look in her direction. She sighed and rolled her eyes. Felicity reached towards Oliver, gently tugging on his hand, prompting him to move towards her.
"I found this on the internet." She smiled up at him, gleaming.
"What?" He asked, not looking at the screen, but looking at her instead.
"It's you." She said. His expressions became confused, but when he looked at the screen, it made sense.
"Is that a children's cartoon about me?" He said slightly amused.
"Yes!" She squirmed giddily. "Isn't that the coolest thing ever!? I mean, it's only local at the moment, but I hear it's pretty popular."
"That is so weird." Oliver gazed at the computer.
"Oliver," Felicity prompted, "This is great. Now you can make a change in kid's lives too."
"I guess so." Oliver shook his head in amazement, "Well, anyways enough hood business. You are coming with me. It's about time you get out of this dungeon anyways."
"Where are we going?"
"On a date," Oliver chided.
"What?" Felicity stumbled.
"I mean, a date where to completely platonic coworkers walk up the stairs and share a drink in the bar that one of the coworkers created but no longer owns." Oliver covered.
"Oh." Felicity said, "I imagined you saying those words under different circumstances," she mumbled, "this time not platonic though."
"What was that Felicity?" Oliver asked.
"Oh nothing, just trying to decide what drink I want this time."
"Right, well no need to choose today. I had Roy make something special just for you." He smiled at her, and gently pushed her towards the stairs.
"It's awfully, late Oliver," Felicity mumbled, "Maybe we should do it tomorrow. I'm a little tired."
"Felicity, its one a.m. and you're never tired yet. Besides, I said Roy was making something special. Just come with me. It's going to be fun. I promise you."
"I don't really like being in the club though, you know this."
"Well maybe today it will change." Oliver smiled, hovering slightly above her.
Felicity could feel Oliver's hot breath on her shoulders, and she tried her best not to shiver but failed. She looked away from him, nervously playing with her hair.
"Come on," Oliver said. He linked his arm with Felicity's and the ascended up the stairs together. "Okay, Felicity, just remember that I may seem charming on the outside, but when it comes to actually being charming, I may not be the best at it."
Felicity stopped in her tracks, utterly confused. "What are you talking about, Oliver. We're just getting a drink. We've done that multiple times."
"Yeah, but Roy is making you a special drink."
"And…I'm sure it will taste fine?" Felicity answered still confused beyond words.
"Just, keep it in mind." Oliver whispered.
As Oliver and Felicity stepped into the bar, they were struck by a deafening silence. Felicity, instinctively, looked around, and was shocked to find the place completely empty. The bar was normally open all night, and packed full all night.
"It's a little ridiculous," Oliver began, "I took months to build this place, but the moment I want it empty, Thea tells me I have to 'buy it out'. Buy it out, what the hell does she even know about running a bar anyways? I built the place, shouldn't I be able to do whatever I want with the building?" Oliver began rambling to fill the silence, but he eventually trailed off.
The area around Oliver and Felicity was relatively empty, it wasn't until they started walking further into the bar that they began to see it. The bar normally had modern white furniture in places, with very little table seating, but tonight the white furniture was gone, and there were candles creating a pathway of sorts that lead straight to a table for two.
"What?" Felicity stammered, "How did you do this? This place was full of life like two minutes ago. I could feel the pounding of music."
"Thea closed early, and had the staff arrange it."
"I thought we were getting a drink?" Felicity asked, not being able to comprehend her surroundings.
As they walked along the candlelit path, Felicity became very conscious of Oliver's arm that had unlinked with hers and was now placed on the small of her back. She began to feel her heart begin to beat fast. There was a reason she was single. Her tendency to ramble only heightened in situations like these, and she was sure that she would make an ass of herself.
The room was dim and romantic. As they reached the table there were flowers and place settings for the two of them. Roy stood nearby, in a suit, waiting for them to sit down.
"We are." Oliver said, smiling at her. He couldn't believe he was actually doing this. He'd been wanting to take Felicity out, non-platonically, for months now. There were so many complications with Laurel, though, and it'd just stopped him from pursuing anything. He couldn't get his feelings straight about her, but after Tommy's death, it had become crystal clear to Oliver that Laurel wasn't the girl for him. He'd worked so closely with Felicity over the past months; they were a team, Dig, Felicity, and himself. He can't jeopardize that, but lately his feelings for Felicity were becoming more obvious, not just to him but to his enemies as well. At times, he feared that he wouldn't be able to keep her safe any longer, but he would. He had to.
But he decided it was time to stop protecting Felicity as if she were the most important person in his world, and instead to treat her like she was the most important person in his world and that meant to protect her and to love her.
And that's what he was doing here, he was taking that first step.
That first non-platonic step.
It was safe to say he was nervous.
He grabbed Felicity's chair and seated her, like any true gentlemen would do. And then he took his seat, nervously trying to recall what he had planned to say to her.
"I may have lied when I said it was a platonic drink," Oliver blurted out.
Felicity laughed a little, "I gathered, but what is it for, Oliver?"
"It's for you." Oliver said simply.
"I don't understand," she mumbled, "Why me? What happened to Laurel?"
"Felicity, you didn't know me before I landed on that island, but I was a completely different person. Laurel was a completely different person, and we were a completely different couple. I have never been able to tell Laurel the truth about me, ever since I've been back. I will never be the same Oliver Queen that she fell in love with, and honestly, I don't want to be him anymore. I grew up on that island, I survived things that people shouldn't survive. I learned from all the wrong things I'd done, and I learned from my father's mistakes, when I came home. All of this stuff, I came to you with. I came to my team with. Never to Laurel. Felicity, you are the person I came to when I was shot. You are the person who I trust with my life. Just like you trust me with your life every day that you get on that computer. Going to the island the second time made me realize how much I no longer wanted to be alone. I grieved my best friend's life, alone. I grieved by father's life, alone. I grieved Sarah's death, alone. And I realized that I didn't want to grieve alone anymore. I wanted someone by my side for the rest of my life, but I didn't want Laurel by my side, I wanted you by my side. Every day on that island, I thought about you. I missed you. I wanted you. Every day, it was you."
Felicity's eyes darted around the room, not knowing how to respond. "I'm just a computer geek," she whispered. "Why on earth would you want me?"
"Do you not see how beautiful you are, Felicity? How kind hearted you are? How sweet and gentle you are? How funny you are? Even your quirks are something that I'd never want to live without. Felicity, can you not see how strong you are? You are worth so much more than you are giving yourself credit for."
"Why'd you just now see it then?"
"Because I'm an idiot, Felicity. You know that. But I realized my mistake, and I want to make it better. Now, shut up and have dinner with me."
Felicity smiled. Was this really happening? Did Oliver Queen really want to be with Felicity Smoak? Oliver smiled back at her, never wanting to see that fade away. He loved her. He knew he did. He just didn't know how to say it yet, but one day, Felicity Smoak would see how much Oliver Queen loved her, and then, then there would be no going back.
Chapter two: I almost bought it myself.
The first date went as perfect as it probably could have with a guy that had a horror-ridden past and a girl with the knowledge of coding that couldn't even rival that of a genius. But for Oliver and Felicity, the imperfections were what made them who they were.
The night had gone on pretty much exactly how Oliver had imagined it.
It started with dinner, accompanied by a red wine, which was one of Felicity's favorites. At first Felicity was confused, because she'd expected some miraculously awe inspiring drink, due to Oliver's obsession with this special drink Roy was making her, but it turned out that wasn't the drink Oliver had been referring to.
The drink Oliver had been referring to came a little bit later in the night, as dinner was coming to an end, and Felicity couldn't have thought she'd ever find herself any happier. Oliver had his hand lightly resting over Felicity's at the time, and he was silently awaiting the perfect moment. Roy had been gone for quite some time now, giving them some privacy and what not, and when he returned, Felicity looked at him in shock. Roy, carrying a drink in his hand, set the drink in front of Felicity, and Felicity scrunched up her nose, in a very confused look. It was a dry martini, it was literally nothing special at all, and here Oliver was boasting about how Roy had this special drink for her. She didn't want to say it out loud, but she was slightly disappointed.
That was until she actually saw the glass in front of her. Dry martinis usually came in a clear glass, but this one was in a light blue glass that almost seemed frothy, from being cold or something. Oliver insisted that she drink it, despite her confusion.
"You'd better not be drugging me, Mr. Queen." Felicity laughed.
Oliver shrugged, "Well you know what they say about having a good night…" Oliver laughed with Felicity as she pushed lightly on Oliver hands. As Felicity continued to drink, she began to see the blue froth disappear, and something else began to appear. She wasn't quite sure what it was, it was something on the glass, and it looked like it was writing or something, maybe a picture.
"What is this?" Felicity asked, pointing towards the cup.
"I have no idea," Oliver said with a smirk on his face.
Felicity laughed at him. She shook her head, remembering all the crazy adventures she'd had with this guy, and how it was finally coming to this. She never thought, in her wildest dreams, that it would be coming to this. She continued to drink her martini, watching as words became more and more visible on the glass. Once she had finished the drink, she looked down at the glass and gasped. Her hand flew to her mouth and she dropped the glass. "Oliver, what the hell?" She whispered with her eyes wide open in shock. "Is that for real?"
Oliver nodded as he stood to his feet. He crossed to Felicity's side of the table, and looked into her eyes. "Yeah, I'm for real." Oliver whispered back. Roy who had been long gone, remerged, this time with his phone pointing at the two of them.
Oliver knelt down, on one knee, next to Felicity. He grabbed her hands and said the four words that he honestly thought he would never say after being on that island. "Felicity Smoak, will you marry me?"
Felicity's hand flew straight to her mouth as Oliver reached into his pocket and pulled out the most breathtakingly beautiful ring that she had ever seen in her entire life. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Felicity." She moved her hands towards her eyes, not being able to even look at him. She couldn't believe he was doing this. What was he thinking?
"Oliver," She said almost completely mute.
"Please, Felicity. I know it is fast, but it's not that fast. We've been partners. We've saved each other's lives. We care for each other. And I can't stomach the thought of ever loosing you."
"I don't want to lose you either," Felicity whispered. She felt tears coming to her eyes as she broke into a wide grin. "Yes. Yes I will marry you, Oliver Queen."
Oliver smiled at her, as he placed the ring on her finger. They both stood up and embraced each other in the most amazing kiss that Felicity had ever experienced. She was so upset that she had to let go of him. Oliver pulled away from her and looked towards Roy, "Did you get that?" he asked Roy.
Roy simply nodded, "I'll send it to you."
"Good." Oliver said as he looked back at Felicity, "Now let's get out of here."
Oliver and Felicity headed out of the club, towards their car where Diggle awaited them. Oliver opened the door for Felicity. Once they were both seated in the car, Diggle turned around and asked, "So, how do you think that went?"
Oliver eyed Felicity and then answered, "I think it went pretty well. What do you think Felicity?"
"I think it went exactly as planned. I almost bought it myself."
Oliver laughed, "That's what I thought! Dig, you should have been there! Felicity almost started to cry! It freaked me out for a second."
"So what's next then?" Diggle asked Oliver as he began to drive.
"Well, now we get married." He looked at Felicity and winked as Felicity pushed him into the window of the car.
Felicity mocked Oliver and said, "I think your plan might actually work for once, Queen."
Chapter Three: Oh, How She Wished it Could All Be Real
The plan began with Felicity and Oliver getting married, which sounded weird when Oliver first proposed the idea, but eventually it made sense. The key here, was that the proposal was recorded and sent to the local news, hence Roy's part in all of this. Oliver Queen was kind of a big deal in Starling City, considering he was a billionaire and his mother just conspired to commit mass murder and all, so Oliver knew that the press would eat this story up, just like he'd wanted them to.
So the next morning when Oliver woke up, he turned on the news, and sure enough, his and Felicity's faces were all over every channel. After Oliver had returned following the quake in the Glades, Oliver wasn't a very popular person in most people's eyes anymore, and after mistakenly taking a trip to the Glades a while back, Oliver had found out that people wanted to avenge the deaths of those who had suffered in the quake. It became very clear that Oliver wasn't welcome in the Glades, and that if he ever returned he would be harmed, and it was for that reason that Diggle, Felicity and Oliver had decided that Felicity would be staying at the Queen's house until this plan was finished with. Besides, they were "getting married" now anyways, and the house was plenty big enough for the four of them, including Thea. Oliver just thought it would all be a lot safer if Felicity was under relatively constant surveillance.
Now that they were engaged, it made sense that Felicity's life could also be in danger due to the city's mutual hatred towards Oliver Queen. Now, Oliver didn't like putting Felicity in danger, but it seemed like it may have been necessary in this situation. For the plan to work, Felicity would be in quite a bit of danger actually. The plan was highly unorthodox, but to catch Deadshot the plan would need to be.
Without having a list of names to bring justice to, Oliver was now free to bring justice to any sorry criminal that came into Starling City, and his chosen one was Deadshot, the man that had murdered Diggle's brother. Deadshot was hard to find and even harder to capture, but one thing he couldn't resist was a hit, after all he was a hit man. Right now, the hit wasn't Oliver's concern, he had a wedding to plan in the meantime.
Oliver went downstairs to start making breakfast; with Walter gone, Oliver was the head of the house now, and he wanted to make life as comfortable and easy for Thea, and now Felicity, as he could. Oliver decided he was going to make Thea's favorites this morning, chocolate chip pancakes. As Oliver began working, he heard footsteps approaching him. He didn't take the time to see who it was, but he found out when Felicity acknowledged him with a, "Hey Fiancé." She laughed at her own "joke," as she would have called it, and took a seat at the bar behind Oliver.
Despite the plan, Oliver couldn't help but smile at her. Her laugh had always made him smile.
"Whatcha cookin', good lookin'?" Felicity asked Oliver, once again laughing at her own play on words.
"Chocolate chip pancakes," Oliver answered as he turned towards Felicity to throw her a friendly smile, "Thea's favorite."
Felicity smiled at the mention of Thea; she was proud of the brother that Oliver had stepped up to be when his mother had been arrested. It was exactly what Thea needed. "I love those too," Felicity whispered quietly as she continued to think. Felicity cleared her throat and spoke up this time, "So what is on our wedding planning agenda for the day?" She asked.
"Well, first things first, we have to tell my mom. She's obviously not going to hear about it where she is, and I don't want her to be left out, despite the fact that she's in jail." Oliver thought, "Then, I guess we can go from there. I'm not really sure how one goes about planning a fake wedding." He admitted.
Felicity laughed, he is such a guy. "Leave it up to me."
He turned around to her and smiled, "That's what I was hoping you'd say."
"So, uh when did she start spending the night?" Thea came into the kitchen and pointed towards Felicity.
"Well, sis. Remember when you told me to let someone in? That I had to let someone in? Well, I chose Felicity, and now we are getting married. That's when she started spending the night." Oliver answered. It was a lot easier to tell Thea than he thought it was going to be, and he was very grateful for that.
Thea looked at Oliver shocked, "I kind of meant me or mom, when I said that." She said stiffly. "You just got back in town, and now you're getting married? That's a little weird," Thea said. She turned towards Felicity and smiled, "But welcome to the family! I've always wanted a sister."
Felicity smiled. Thea had always been a little rough around the edges, but Felicity guessed she would come around eventually. "Thanks," Felicity answered simply. "Oliver is making your favorite, chocolate chip pancakes," Felicity replied, smoothly changing the subject.
Thea clapped her hands lightly, "The perfect way to start off the day before having to tend to some boring club business." Thea made her way to Oliver, giving in a little squeeze of a hug, popping a kiss on his cheek, "You're the best."
"Now, to tell mom." Oliver mumbled.
The rest of the breakfast passed quickly and peacefully. Dig eventually made his way down as well, and Thea seemed to quickly adjust to having Felicity around. Oliver secretly thought that Thea enjoyed Felicity's quirks as much as he did. He also thought that having Felicity around had given Thea a sense of more structure around the house that had been severely lacking since their mom had gone away. If all of this were real, Oliver would have been a very happy man. A beautiful fiancé, a gorgeous sister, and a supportive best friend: wasn't that the most anyone could ask for? He occasionally found himself having to remember that it wasn't real, though, and that as soon as they caught Deadshot, there would be a huge uproar over Oliver and Felicity's sudden "divorce" and that they'd all go back to just being a simple team. He could enjoy what bliss he did feel though, right?
After breakfast, Oliver and Felicity made their way to the prison that Moira resided in. Felicity and Oliver waited on a bench as the guards went to get Oliver's mother. Felicity was so nervous she wouldn't stop twiddling her thumbs. Oliver continually tried to sooth her, but it didn't seem to be working much. Oliver eventually gently placed his hands on top of her hands, and her thumbs instantly stopped moving.
"Look at me," he whispered. Her head obediently rose to see him intently staring down at her. "Calm down, Felicity. It's going to be fine. Let me do most of the talking." Felicity nodded instinctively. "Breath," he instructed her.
Felicity shook her head, "I can't. I just can't. We're lying to your mother, Oliver. It's not all going to be okay because we are lying to your mother's face."
Oliver soothed her some more, rubbing circles around her thumbs, "She's never going to know anything about what we have planned. She's just going to see that we are elated to marry each other, and then she will find out that it just didn't work out in the end. It's really going to be fine. Please listen to me." Felicity practiced breathing deeply a few more times, and eventually began to feel a little bit better.
Moira came to their table and gently kissed Oliver on the cheek, smiling at him. Then she turned towards Felicity, "Hello, and Felicity, correct? You worked for Walter?"
Felicity nodded swiftly, "Yes, I work for Oliver now." She said quickly.
Moira smiled at her, "So, what's the reason behind such a pleasant surprise?"
"Well," Oliver began, "Felicity and I have some exciting news." Oliver looked at Felicity and smiled. He reached down for her hand, once again, and squeezed it lightly. "Felicity and I are engaged, Mom." Oliver took a deep breath, and softly planted a kiss on Felicity's head as he closed his eyes. "See, not that bad," He whispered ever so quietly to her. He heard Felicity let out a sigh of relief. She lifted her left hand out onto the table, showing Moira the ring, and then, surprising Oliver, she launched into the story of how he proposed.
Despite the story not being planned, Oliver was happy that Felicity had shared it with his mother, she deserved to be as big of a part of this process as was physically possible. Felicity looked so genuinely happy as she beamed at the ring and continued telling the story. Oliver found himself imagining what a life with Felicity would look like, if they were actually getting married. Huge business CEO husband, an IT managing wife, plenty of money to provide for a wife maybe even a few kids, and then at night they would fight crime together, and then go home and spend glorious nights together in their big house as the children slept softly in their own nursery rooms… It all sounded too good to be true, but was it? Wouldn't that be their life if they were actually getting married? He would hope that it would be so.
Oliver was quickly pulled from his thoughts when his mother nudged him, "Oliver. Pay attention, your fiancé is talking to you."
"Oh," Felicity stumbled, "I was just telling Moira about all the different planning we had to get done today." Felicity turned towards Moira, "We're wanting a pretty quick wedding."
Felicity was wearing a smile across her face that probably couldn't have gotten any bigger. She beamed up at Oliver, gazing softly at him. "I wouldn't want to wait too long, and risk the possibility of someone else snatching him away from me," She whispered. Oh, how she wished it could all be real. She was acting in this "love story" she and Oliver had created, but the further into the day she went, the more she realized that she wasn't acting but was simply living out a fantasy. A fantasy in with Oliver Queen, the most prominent man in all of Starling City, becomes her Prince Charming, her Knight in shining armor; he sweeps her, the lowly IT worker, off her feet and they run off into the sunset, happily ever after. Oh, how she wished it could all be real.
Chapter Four: The Wedding Festivities Begin
Felicity had never planned a wedding; she'd really only seen movies about it. You know, the romantic comedy crap where the boy falls in love with the wedding obsessed woman and then they run off into the sun set, exactly how the wedding obsessed woman imagines it? Well, Felicity had basically assumed it would be like that, a little cake tasting here, some dress shopping there, maybe add in some floral arrangements and a bridal shower, but other than that, she didn't really have any idea how to plan a wedding, and of course neither did Oliver so he was no help in the matter.
It'd been about two weeks since the proposal, and the press was still going at it. They were up to date on every single detail of the extravagant wedding, and it seemed that sometime they knew more about the wedding that anyone in the family even knew about it. But Felicity kept pushing through, she'd watch videos and read books on wedding planning; she hadn't even been into work a single day this week, but considering she worked for Oliver that wasn't much of a problem. Oliver continually asked her if she wanted to hire a wedding planner, but Felicity refused. She wanted to do it all on her own; it was something she'd always looked forward to as a little girl. She just didn't know it would be this much work at the time. A week into the engagement she'd asked Thea to be her maid of honor, both for Oliver's sake and from the realization that she didn't have many friends outside of Oliver and Dig. After that realization hit her, she reluctantly asked Laurel to be a bridesmaid which everyone knew was extremely awkward, but Felicity didn't feel like she had much of a choice. Dig was obviously Oliver's best man. After putting some more thought into it, Oliver asked Walter to be a groomsman. Despite Walter and Moira's obvious falling out, Oliver still looked at Walter as somewhat of a father figure. Oliver could trust Walter, and for that he valued Walter's place in his life.
They both decided to stick to two wedding party members, considering they both were mostly out of options. Felicity wanted to keep the wedding small, but with Oliver being the CEO of Queen Consolidated and the local billionaire, they both knew that wasn't going to happen. In the past two weeks, Felicity had arranged a venue, a little place in the town over that was just the right size to hold hundreds of people Felicity had never met before. She had chosen her color scheme, coral and sea foam green, and she had become the process of dress shopping. She tried to involve Thea in as much as she could; however, Thea's interest in the wedding was very minimal. Felicity didn't really want to call on Laurel for much of anything, but she'd found herself so pressed for time that she may have pulled her in for a few things…like right now.
They were dress shopping at the local Bridal Galleria, both for Felicity's dress and for Laurel and Thea's dresses. Felicity was more of a simple girl, but she couldn't decide whether or not she wanted to go with a simple dress or something more chic, with so many people watching her she just wanted to make sure she looked perfect. She found herself wondering what kind of dresses Oliver would like on her, but she came up blank for answers, having not a single clue.
Felicity was sure that her dress consultant thought she was insane and completely bipolar. She continuously asked her to bring in multiple different styles that changed every single time she left.
"Laurel, I have no idea how I'm going to find a dress." Felicity said, feeling like she was ready to admit defeat. She'd just get married in a white t-shirt and white shorts. That sounded ideal to her.
"Don't be like that," Laurel tried to soothe Felicity, "We are going to find something. Has Oliver mentioned anything that he might like?"
Felicity sighed, "No, I've barely even seen him this whole week because I've been so busy doing all this stuff!" Felicity plopped her head into her hands, not knowing what to do. "It's just like I don't look good in anything." She honestly wanted to cry. This is why she never went shopping. She'd try on an outfit that looks absolutely adorable on the rack and then the moment it's on her body it just never fits right.
Felicity's consultant spoke up, "How about I go pick something that I think might suit you well?"
Felicity looked up, "That would be great."
The consultant disappeared into the abyss that was Bridal Galleria, and Laurel and Felicity were left alone.
"So, are you excited?" Laurel asked Felicity.
Felicity smiled, thinking about her answer carefully, "Of course I'm excited. You know before Oliver was the CEO of Queen Consolidated, he would come to me, in the IT department, with the strangest requests. He would want me to decrypt random computers or flash drives or run drug tests for energy drinks, and that was when I first met him actually. I think a lot of people are wondering how we even got engaged because most people probably thought we'd never met each other before, but we had. We actually spent a lot of time together before any of this even happened, and we have a lot of fun together. I just can't imagine what kind of fun we'll have once we get married. We'll live together, and I can see him every day. I can't wait for that, that's what I'm excited for, more than for this wedding." Felicity nodded to herself. That seemed like a suitable answer.
"Wow," Laurel said, "I didn't know that. I figured you guys met at his bar randomly or something," Laurel chuckled.
"Oh, God no. I hated that bar. Parties are not my thing. Honestly, Oliver doesn't like the bar much either, recently. He's definitely glad that it's Thea's business now." Felicity answered.
"Why would he not like it?"
"Well, he will say it's because he doesn't like the party atmosphere anymore, which is partially true. He doesn't like that atmosphere near as much as he did when I first met him. The real reason though, the reason he wouldn't tell anyone, is that it reminds him of Tommy. They had so many good times there, getting the place ready to open. Then they had so many fights there, and after Tommy died, I think, all that Oliver really remembered were the fights, and he doesn't want to remember that. He doesn't like to remember that his best friend hated him for some of the things he'd done."
"Tommy didn't hate Oliver," Laurel began.
"Yes he did, Laurel." Felicity answered, "I know that you dated Tommy, but there were things that Tommy knew about Oliver that you didn't know, and those things that Tommy knew made him hate Oliver." Felicity sighed, "We're in the bar a lot though, and Oliver hates every second of it. I think he stays there though because he thinks that's where I want us to be."
"Do you tell him that you don't like it?" Laurel asked.
"No," Felicity answered as she played with her fingers, "It's where we've always been; I can't imagine us going anywhere else."
The consultant came bustling back into the room carrying the poofiest piece of fabric that Felicity had ever seen in her life. She internally cringed at the thought of putting that one. She began to refuse the dress, but the consultant insist that she needed to try something with the exact opposite effect that she thought she wanted, often it was the exact effect that someone internally, secretly wished for. The only way that Felicity could think to describe this dress was Cinderella's wedding dress. As she slowly slipped the dress on, with her eyes closed, she could feel her consultant slowing edging the zipper all the way up her back. She heard behind her, her consultant let out a little giggle, and Laurel let out a small gasp. Felicity turned towards Laurel, "Come on, is it that bad?" She asked as she turned around to look at the huge mirror.
"Oh my god." Felicity whispered, "I think I might cry."
Felicity was absolutely right by saying it looked like Cinderella's wedding dress, in fact it may have been Cinderella's wedding dress. She looked like true royalty, even without a tiara. She'd never felt more beautiful in her entire life. Felicity turned to Lauren, "Do you think Oliver would like it?"
Laurel laughed, simply shaking her head at Felicity, "Girl, you look like a queen. If Oliver doesn't like you in this than he is insane and you shouldn't be marrying him! I've never seen a more beautiful bride."
Felicity took her glasses of because she had in deed began to cry. She wiped furiously at her eyes, not knowing what to do. "Laurel…" She whispered. "I'm getting married." She walked over to Laurel and hugged her, awkwardly at first but eventually Laurel warmed up to her. "I'm going to marry Oliver Queen." At that thought, Felicity began to cry even more.
She eventually pulled away from Laurel and took a look at herself in the mirror. She placed her glasses back on the bridge of her nose and gently pushed them upwards. "I'm going to marry Oliver Queen." She whispered under her breath. She gently reached around the dress, searching for the price tag. When she saw it she gasped slightly. "How far do you think a billionaire's pockets run?" Felicity asked.
"I think that as long as you are happy with the dress, Oliver would pay for anything."
"I can't imagine spending this much money on a dress though, Laurel."
"Felicity this is your day! Let yourself indulge for once."
Felicity took over the dress, and got dressed. She browsed the store for a while longer deciding whether or not to buy the dress or not, but she really couldn't come to a decision.
"Oliver, talk to her," Felicity heard Laurel say on the phone.
Laurel handed Felicity the phone and Felicity answered, "Oliver?"
"Laurel says you found a dress that you like?" Oliver answered.
"I think it's too expensive," Felicity began.
"Felicity, what's my name?"
"Oliver Queen?" She answered unsure.
"And what's my job?"
"Day time or night time?" Felicity answered quietly.
"Day time," Oliver sighed, trying not to laugh at her.
"You're the CEO of Queen Consolidated."
"And how much do I make there as CEO?"
"A lot," answered Felicity.
"So buy the damn dress. You deserve it. I want you to feel beautiful on our special day. I want you to be the most beautiful bride I've ever seen in my life. I want you to take my breath away, and I know you'll do that no matter what you are wearing. If this is the dress that you want though, I want you to buy it. I don't care if it's one hundred dollars or if it's one hundred thousand dollars. I want you to buy the dress without being concerned with cost."
"But Oliver—"
"No, buts, Felicity. Buy the dress. I'll see you at home, okay Sweetie?"
"Okay." Felicity sighed as she hung up the phone. "Let's buy the dress!" She exclaimed to Laurel.
Laurel jumped up and down giddily as she clapped her hands. "I'm so excited! Let the wedding festivities officially begin!"
Chapter Five: I'm afraid.
Felicity sat in her chair in the basement of Verdant updating the software on her computers. It'd been a while since she'd been down here, mostly because Oliver hadn't really righted any justice due to the long term plan they were executing at the moment to eventually catch Deadshot. She'd kind of missed it. Somehow, despite living with Oliver at the moment and working for Oliver, she felt like she hadn't really been with Oliver much lately. Bringing justice to bad guys was like their thing and not doing that, honestly, made her feel like her life didn't have much of a purpose anymore. Before the hood she had been perfectly content fixing broken computers at Queen Consolidated, but after that day when Oliver came to her when he was shot, her life had a different purpose, a real purpose. She was helping a city when she was with Oliver, and she loved that feeling of making a difference. Without that, now, being Oliver assistant (she'd been "promoted" to assistant when Oliver became CEO in order to make communication about night plans a bit easier) seemed mundane and purposeless. Getting Oliver's coffee just wasn't fulfilling.
The quicker she could get this wedding business over with, the sooner she could get back to feeling like she was making a difference.
It was going pretty quickly though, it'd been a little over a month since the engagement and the invitations had been sent out yesterday. All the reservations were made: catering, venue, photography, etc. At this point, it was just a waiting game. Oliver didn't want the wedding to be too quick. He didn't want people thinking he was having a shot gun wedding with his assistant because he knocked her up or something, but he also wanted to get it done in a timely manner. They had come to the decision of a three more months. The official date was set for December 15th, around four and a half months after Oliver's proposal. It was quick, but not too quick.
Her computers were up to date, and she was about to leave when she ran into Oliver as she was turning off her computers.
"What are you doing down here?" She asked Oliver suddenly.
Oliver answered that he was simply checking up on 'the plan' as they called it.
"Oh, any changes?" Felicity asked.
Oliver shook his head, "I've just been thinking about it a lot lately, is all."
Felicity had finished turning off the computers. She stood up and walked a little closer to him, "Thinking about what?" She asked, looking up into his deep blue eyes.
Oliver stared back at her, wanting to answer her, but finding it difficult to find words. Her stare was so intense, and he wasn't sure she'd like what he was about to say. "I'm just worried that it isn't the best idea." He let the words come out. "It's not safe, and I just…" he sighed. He could barely even admit the words to himself, much less say them out loud to her.
Felicity took a step towards her fiancé and gently placed her hands over his crossed forearms. "You're not getting cold feet before the wedding are you?" She cracked a smile, trying to lighten the mood a bit, seeing that he was clearly having some troubles with whatever he was internally fighting.
As much as he wanted to smile at her, he couldn't. "Felicity." Her name came out of his mouth and sent a chill down her spine that left her with a tingling sensation in her entire body. He was worried about her, but she wasn't quite sure why.
She pulled him, but his forearms, towards her so that their bodies were touching. "Oliver," she whispered, "We don't keep secrets from each other." She tried to look into his eyes, but he was refusing to look at her. "What's got you so worried?"
She could feel him as he swallowed, trying to force himself to speak, almost coming up short again. "You." He said barely audible.
Felicity's hands, still on his forearms moved across both arms to grab his hands, "Oliver, what are you talking about. We are planning a wedding, there's nothing you should even be worried about right now."
He gripped her hands tightly, as if clinging to her life. "I made a promise to Diggle that I would protect you." He finally looked down at Felicity. "It was a long time ago, after you went in to play poker and almost got hurt. He said that I was getting you in a little too deep, that I was causing trouble, but I promised that we, that I, could protect you. That I wouldn't let anything happen to you."
His eyes looked so sad, and she just couldn't understand why. "I'm right here," Felicity answered. She placed her right hand gently on his cheek, like he had done for her so many times. "I'm right here; you do protect me. I don't see what the problem is. You haven't let anything happen to me."
"I'm afraid that I won't be able to protect you this time," Oliver choked out. He looked away from Felicity, not even being able to live with himself. Deadshot was going to be so difficult to catch, and this wasn't something he was going to be able to have the police help him on. It was going to be Dig and Oliver against him, and Oliver honestly wasn't sure they were going to be able to take him. The even bigger problem was that the only way the three of them had thought of a way to lure Deadshot out of hiding was to create a hit on someone. They, like anyone trying to catch a criminal, were completely against involving any innocent citizens, and considering that Dig and Oliver were the fighters, and that Felicity had very limited fighting skills, that only left her. Oliver was going to create a hit on his future wife, Felicity Smoak. And he wasn't sure he was going to be able to save her this time.
Chapter Six: And This Time it was Real
Felicity had decided to sleep in Oliver's room that night (with plenty of space in between the two of them that is). It had taken Felicity quite a long time simply to get Oliver calm enough to get him up the stairs. Frankly, Felicity was scared too. She wasn't scared until she'd seen how scared Oliver was, really. She'd been so caught up in wedding details that it was as if she'd forgotten the ultimate plan in the first place.
Oliver seemed so frightened though. Felicity assumed that he wasn't even really aware of how scared he was until he actually said it out loud though, and then after that it was as if he wouldn't even let Felicity out of his sight. And that's how she had found herself in Oliver Queen's bed. Dear God, his bed was so comfortable. The pillows, there were so many of them. It was like she could be suffocated by them all, and the comforter was like a soft blanket of heaven. None of that was the best part though, the kicker was the scent. It wasn't a fresh clean scent or anything like that. No, the entire bed, comforter, sheets, pillows, and all smelt just like Oliver. Now Felicity honestly hadn't really noticed Oliver having much a "scent" before, probably because of all the life threatening situations they'd been in together, but now…now she knew that Oliver had the most amazing masculine, musty scent that was now imprinted in the outmost layer of her brain, leaving a heavy weight of pleasure over her entire body. She was sure, in all her days, that she would never forget that smell.
When they woke up the next morning, Oliver insisted that she come into work with him because he didn't want to leave her alone. She has obliged simply to please him. How could she not please him after spending a heavenly night in his bed? In the most platonic way possible, of course.
So they went to work together, like any normal working couple would.
But they weren't normal. They were so far from it, and yet they continued to put on this façade that they were the same as everyone else in the office. So they walked into the towering skyscraper hand in hand, as if they were the happiest couple in the world, and as if their lives weren't at stake literally every night they conducted their business.
They began work as usual though, a few meetings here, a coffee there, and intermediate glances towards each other probably a bit more than should be considered appropriate for an office.
"Felicity," Oliver phoned Felicity through the speakers that went into her office, "Could you get me a coffee?"
"Oliver," Felicity said tightly, "I've gotten you three coffees already today. And we've only been here for an hour and a half. I think you've had enough."
"Felicity. I need a coffee."
Felicity looked up, glaring at Oliver through the class doors that separated them. "No. You don't." Felicity retorted.
"Darling," Oliver spoke through gritted teeth, "I really need you to do your job right now. I'm having a bit of a stressful day."
Felicity pushed herself out of her chair ever so dramatically, as if to make the point that she really, really didn't care to be getting the man his damn coffee, but she obliged if only because it was Oliver. Felicity could feel Oliver's eyes intently following her as she walked across the floor towards the break room. Once in the break room she felt the constant pressure of his hawk eyes relieved, and then the moment she left she felt the pressure return. She sighed heavily. As she entered into Oliver's office, she began to mentally prepare a speech.
She set the cup down on his desk with some force and sighed.
"Oliv-" Oliver cut her off before she could even get his name out.
"No, Felicity come here." Her face was somewhat confused, mostly because he was sitting behind his desk and there wasn't much room for two of them without getting in a somewhat awkward situation. Granted, to the outside world it wouldn't look awkward because they were believed to be engaged and in love; however, for them it would be very awkward considering they were neither engaged nor completely in love, although it had become clear to both of them that there were quite a few emotions they harbored for each other that they simply refused to acknowledge.
Felicity walked to the other side of the desk where Oliver sat in his bulky chair. Oliver sat up a little bit and reached out for Felicity's hand. "I'm sorry." He stated simply.
Felicity kept quiet for a while, not quite sure what to say. She wanted to ask the usual "for what?" but she knew what it was for, and she wasn't sure he really was sorry. He was being an overprotective prick, as if she was a delicate flower, and she simply wasn't a delicate flower anymore. They'd been doing this thing for a long time together. She had learned a lot. She could protect herself. She knew she was going to be okay, and yet he still insisted on babying her. He wasn't sorry for it because he knew deep down inside he'd never stop babying her. She was his Felicity, and Felicity is what brought the entire team together and made them, well, a team. Without Felicity, Oliver really couldn't do anything to save this city. He had to keep her safe, and the only way he knew how to do that was to baby her. He had trained her a little, and she'd gotten better. He just preferred to not train her because training her meant that she actually needed it, that she was in situations all the time where she would have to protect herself. While this was true, he hated to admit it, so he trained her to a decent point and then "gave up" because she wasn't "catching on."
"Okay," Felicity answered half-heartedly.
Oliver reached out for Felicity's other hand, "No, I mean it. I really am sorry." He sighed, tugging her just a bit closer to him. Oliver looked up at Felicity as she stared deeply at him. "I'm not treating you like you're a member of the team, I'm treating you like you're an unprotected civilian. You aren't unprotected; Dig and I will put our lives on the line for your protection, but sometimes it's difficult for me to willingly let you go out into a fight without one hundred percent assurance that you're going to come back to me when it's all over. With this, with Deadshot, I won't have that assurance. We will all be busy doing our own part of this fight, and that leaves no one to specifically watch after you. And I'm not okay with that."
"Oli-" Felicity started to interrupt.
"Not yet," He once again tugged her even closer to his chair. "I know you think you can protect yourself, but there is never a one hundred percent guarantee that anyone can protect themselves through everything. I simply do not want to take any more chances with your life. I can't stomach the idea that one day you might not come home to me simply because of my existence as the Arrow."
Felicity shut her eyes. She brought one of her hands up to her eyes as if to hide something, tears perhaps. "Every day that you leave me," Felicity began softly, "I think 'what if he doesn't come home to me this time?' or 'what if this is the time that we can't save him ourselves?' and every time that you leave me I have to stomach the idea, as I sit at my computer helplessly, that the coming morning I could never see you again. And just the thought that I would have to live a life, a day even, without Oliver Queen right by my side, well, it kills me, Oliver." Felicity's lips became to tremble as she slowly sunk down to the floor, squatting in front of Oliver's chair, her hands now resting on his knees. "I think about it every night that I go home alone. I lie awake wondering, never knowing when I may not see you again." By this point, tears were slipping out of Felicity's eyes uncontrollably and she looked helpless. "Oliver, you didn't get in this business because it was easy, and neither did I. No one willingly goes into a war thinking that it's going to be rainbows and sunshine. We knew it was going to be hard. And we knew it was going to be dangerous. I simply chose to disregard the danger in order to focus on the possibility of saving people every day. I suggest, no matter how hard it will be, that you do the same thing for me. When we leave, after we're married, and there is a hit on my name, you need to keep your head in the game." Felicity began to speak with more inflection now, "Do you hear me, Oliver?" She rose her hand to his cheek to direct his face so that they were at eye level. "You keep your thoughts on Deadshot, and ruining him. Don't think about me because if you think about me, that's when bad things can happen. And I will take care of myself. And at the end of the day?" Felicity leaned in towards Oliver, "We will come home to each other."
Oliver's hand gently rose to Felicity face, his thumb slowly making its way to her pink lips. Then, as if in a trance, Oliver nodded and repeated her, "We will come home to each other." He leaned further into Felicity, his stomach doing flips the entire way, and ever so softly places a kiss on her pink lips. And this time, it was real.