Platonic Shoulder Holding
Inspired by this post/72873153485/platonic-shoulder-holding-i-now-want-a-fic-of.
Coerced by this post/72913898104/platonic-shoulder-holding-i-now-want-a-fic-of.
Thank you to my wonderful Olicity Beta Rachel
The Arrow cave was quiet. Oliver and Diggle were out scouting the city. Starling City had been "too quiet" in their opinion, so they were taking it upon themselves to ensure there was no "under city plots" afoot.
Felicity sat at her computers, waiting to hear if they needed her to run a search, or remote hack a security system. It was unusual for her to have downtime in the Arrow Cave, so of course she was using her time wisely – she was catching up on Community.
Spending all her nights with Team Arrow – usually with some dire emergency that had her hacking and searching with imperative time restraints and deadlines – left Felicity little time to enjoy her favorite shows. Generally she waited till they were on Netflix and binge-watched the shows in her spare evenings. Or the occasional slow day as Oliver Queen's executive assistant.
It was so quiet tonight, though, she decided to go through her Hulu queue. And she was only using one of the half dozen computers Oliver had installed down here. She could easily swivel over and hack as needed at any of the other five. She even had various security systems and web searches ready to go if her particular skillset was called upon.
Community was one of her favorite non sci-fi shows. Each episode was so random and absurd and safe, and Abed brought in enough science fiction related plot points to keep her happy; she absolutely loved it. A fun escape from the reality Starling City had become.
The crime drama theme of this episode amused her. She giggled at the Dean's antics. She sighed at the tension between Annie and Jeff.
"They just need to make out already," she thought out loud at yet another scene of Jeff offering Annie help against his will and better judgment.
She smiled broadly when the Dean asked the pair what was going on with them. Leave it to Community to call out a potential pairing so blatantly in the middle of an episode. Even the Ass Crack Bandit took a swing at the sexual tension! And the denial! Let's just own up already, guys.
"'Platonic shoulder holding'?" she repeated skeptically. "Really, Jeff? Really? Every time you touch Annie it screams sexual tension!" Felicity was ranting at the computer now. She needed to tone down the fangirling. But she just wanted them to hook up already!
And then Annie's "platonic shoulder holding" followed by Jeff smiling? Totally not for solving the Ass Crack Bandit case. Sexual Tension for 1000, please, Alex.
All the excuses to touch each other, the way they touch each other, the shared glances and long stares, the communication through looks… Jeff and Annie were obviously jonesing for each other.
Felicity didn't pay much attention for the rest of the episode. Her thoughts on Jeff and Annie resonated in her mind something from her life, something prickling in the back of her brain, just out of reach. Jeff and Annie related to her… how?
Her mind kept replaying the platonic shoulder holding scene. The long looks Jeff gave Annie. The only scenes Jeff had a sincere and heartfelt smile were the smiles he shared with Annie – every other smile was fake or manipulative. Why did fake smiles remind her of Oliver at the office? Felicity couldn't think of an instance she saw him give a faux smile in the Arrow Cave. Sarcastic, yes, but never fake.
"Mother's milk in a cup!" she yelled, sitting upright in her chair as the credits for Community rolled over the screen (with a ridiculous Star-Burns infomercial).
Oliver did all those things Jeff does on the show. Every single bloody thing. The touching, the gazes, even the stupid platonic shoulder holding! Frak him! What the frak was he playing at!
"Felicity?" she heard a voice over he headset. Oliver's voice. The current source of her annoyance and the reason blood was pounding in her ears. "Felicity," he repeated. She did love the way he said her name, though.
Taking a deep breath to find her composure, she answered, "Yes, Oliver?"
"I heard a shout, are you alright?" Even over airwaves she could see the intense gaze of his concern.
"Oh." Had the mic been on? What had he heard? Burn me! "Oh, yeah, that was me. Sorry. I was just watching a show," she explained, "and I guess I got a little too carried away with my emotional response to the sexual tension between two of the characters."
She could almost hear him blink patiently. "We haven't found anything," he told her, omitting her rambling on fictional characters and sexual tension. "I still don't like it, but we're calling it a night. Diggle's going straight to his place. I'll be back at Verdant shortly."
"Mmkay," Felicity replied, rolling over to the computer that had his and Diggle's GPS pulled up. "Have you considered maybe the bad guys are just taking a hiatus from crime?"
"No." Oliver would never trust that peace could come to Starling City.
"Alright, well, traverse the rooftops carefully. I'll see you when you get back."
The silence following gave Felicity time to ponder her Oliver problem. How to get Oliver to admit his feelings was a significant question. And she was going to make him do just that. Now that the connection had been made, it was clear that in the Greendale-Starling City crossover, he was Jeff and she was Annie. And clearly, the writers of their lives wanted them to be together. Frak, Diggle was probably screaming for them to make out already.
But how to have him admit it…
If he watched the show it would be easier. Felicity could just tell him to watch how Jeff treats Annie, notice anything familiar?
Felicity paused, frowning to herself. Did he even need to know the whole show? Could he just watch the one episode? Oliver was very adept at reading people (special thanks to five years on an island where being unobservant meant death).
Pursing her lips slightly, Felicity turned toward the computer with her Hulu account on screen. She smiled. Now to convince him – trick him – to watch the episode.
Not too much later (did he sprint the entire length of the city?), Felicity heard the door clang open and shut, and sat up in the chair, clicking play on the last minute of the Community episode, "Introduction to Teaching". She looked up as though interrupted. "Oh, hi," she said pushing her glasses up her face carelessly. "How was patrol?"
"Quiet," he answered, hanging up his bow and setting his mask beside it. "How was it here?"
"Quiet," she echoed. She indicated the computer. "Decided to catch up on my TV watching." He nodded solemnly. "I only have one more episode, would you want to watch it with me?" she asked slowly. She tried to give her most innocent I-don't-have-a-hidden-agenda look as Oliver quirked his head to one side as though considering. Felicity decided she was either really good at this, or really terrible.
If it got her the desired outcome, she really couldn't give a gorram.
Oliver stared at her for a moment longer before seeming to come to a decision. "Let me change," was his only response.
Felicity blinked. What in the Light did that mean? Did that mean he was going to watch it with her? Because he would have to change from his Arrow outfit anyway to leave Verdant and not be IDed the vigilante. So changing clothes wasn't really a definite answer for her. Should she pack up to go and start shutting down the computers?
She spent so much time speculating on what "let me change" meant, Oliver returned without her noticing, until he rolled next to her in a second chair. "Do we get popcorn?" he asked smiling. He was very close.
"Do you even have a microwave here?" she retorted, returning his smile. So close she could smell his cologne.
"There might be one upstairs."
"With popcorn?" She wanted to bury her face in his neck.
"Fair enough," he said, looking from her to the computer. "What show is this and will I be completely lost not having watched it from the beginning?"
"It's called Community, it's about a group of friends at a community college, and I doubt it. There are some continuing jokes but they're not really vital." She leaned forward and clicked play for "Basic Intergluteal Numismatics". "I think you'll like this episode," she added. "They solve a 'crime'." She included air quote to illustrate the mockery of the plot.
As the episode played, Felicity watched Oliver almost as much as the computer, trying to gauge his reaction without him noticing, particularly to the Jeff and Annie interactions. What she noticed first was how he seemed to relax almost instantly. Even though he was leaning forward staring at the screen, his shoulders didn't seem hunched and tense, he didn't seem as ready to spring into action and fight for his life. And he was laughing! Real, genuine laughter! It was so nice to witness, Felicity couldn't help but smile.
"Are those two together?" he asked, nodding to Jeff and Annie fighting in front of vending machines and jolting her from her admiring observation of Oliver.
"They made out at the end of the first season," she answered, "but that's about it."
"Even the dean thinks they're together," Oliver commented later. "And the Ass Crack Bandit! It's like the producers are playing toward the fan base."
After the "platonic shoulder hugging" scene, Oliver frowned at the computer screen. "Are you sure they're not dating?"
"Yeah, why?" she asked. "You think they should be together?"
"It's obvious their characters both have more than friendship feelings for each other," he analyzed. "It's obvious the feelings are mutual. So why aren't they together in the show?"
Staring straight at the computer screen and taking a deep breath, Felicity took the plunge. "Maybe because of the life that he leads, he just thinks it's better to not be with someone he could really care about," she supplied.
She watched his reaction in the computer reflection. It was rare that Oliver was taken by surprise. And though he hid his emotions very well, Felicity knew him well enough to see he was caught off guard. She watched him blink and collect himself.
He turned to look at her. She could see him staring at her profile in the monitor, his head cocked slightly. "Maybe he thinks she deserves better than him," he finally replied, his voice soft and deep, and Felicity knew neither were talking about Jeff and Annie anymore.
"Maybe she doesn't care, and she just wants him." She turned to look at him, her heart pounding in her chest. "Because of the man that he is."
"Felicity," he sighed and her heart skipped a beat at the raw emotion inundating her name. "I don't want to put you in danger."
She stared at him levelly. "Am I in any less danger as the Arrow's Girl Friday?"
Oliver closed his eyes, and Felicity could see him trying to set his resolve. "Oliver," she said quietly, gently taking one of his hands in both of hers, "everyone knows the Arrow's new stance on killing. Everyone knows the Arrow killed the Count because the Count was threatening to Vertigo me to death. Everyone knows the Arrow killed to protect me," she explained bluntly, added emphasis on the last sentence. She looked down at her hands covering his. "Shouldn't you be happy?" she asked bringing her eyes up to his face.
As the words died on her lips, Oliver opened his eyes to meet hers. Felicity inhaled sharply at the stark emotion gazing back at her. The mask he used to hide his feelings was gone and she stared in amazement at the desire and affection and devotion she recognized. And then he pressed his mouth to hers and the world seemed to standstill.
She gasped at the suddenness, her lips parting under his and she fell into the kiss as his hand came to cradle her cheek. Oliver deepened the kiss and Felicity swore she saw fireworks. His lips moving gently against hers, his hands cupping her face and running through her hair, her hands resting on his firm chest, in the Arrow Cave where she first came to know who he truly was and where she began to fall in love with him… It was a more perfect first kiss than she could have dreamed.
"You're right," Oliver breathed against her lips, his forehead resting against hers. His voice made her feel grounded, made this experience so much more real. "You're always right."
"Can I get that in writing?" Felicity asked, smiling up at him. She laughed as he effortlessly pulled her into his lap, arms wrapping around her waist and lips finding hers once more. Everything was so right; she didn't want this moment to end.
There were more questions and explanations, more discussion on this progression in their relationship, but that could come later. Right now, they enjoyed each other, enjoyed being together in this beginning of love.
"And, I mean, if we're dating," Felicity said later, smiling slightly, her hands around his neck, "you'd be around me a whole lot more to keep me safe."
"You raise an excellent point," Oliver murmured against her neck. He pulled back and looked at her a teasing glint in his eyes. "You think your Jeff and Annie will ever get together?"
"Only if they're lucky," she smiled. "Well, they do in the Darkest Timeline, but they're evil, so I really don't think that counts, but if they producers are following the public influ-"
"Felicity," Oliver broke in. "You're rambling."
"Oh." She stopped and looked up at him, a smiling spreading on her face. "There are other things I can do," she told him, pulling his lips to her.
Cultural references: Netflix, Hulu, Community, various slang terminology, Jeopardy, Wheel of Time, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly/ Serenity.
Community episode 5x03 "Basic Intergluteal Numismatics" referenced at length and the initial inspiration for this story.
Thank you to whoever posted the one minute of Oliver breaking Felicity's heart in the Olicity tag on tumblr so I could get the quotes just right.
I really feel like Felicity would swear like various sci-fi or fantasy worlds.
For reference:
Mother's milk in a cup: Wheel of Time
Bloody: Wheel of Time, but also fairly British.
Frak: Battlestar Galactica
Burn me: Wheel of Time
Gorram: Firefly/Serenity
Light: Wheel of Time
I like the Wheel of Time.