As I've begun challenging myself to try new genres of stories, this is the first chapter to my Olicity AU series so if you want to leave any recommendations for possible AU's I could try, I'll gladly accept all of them...so without further ado.
As always, leave a review and tell me your thoughts.
Thanks and enjoy x
"...yes Caitlin, I'm definitely going with you guys, not like I have a choice anyways….yes you can save the extra ticket for me….no I'm not sitting next to Cisco, last time that happened I swore I was going deaf just by listening to him shouting for the tops of his lungs, which for him is extremely loud" Felicity announced over the phone to Caitlin, one of her best friends.
"Oh my god, you're going to love it Liz, I'm sure of it! Anyways got to go, see you at the game" Caitlin giggling to her friend.
"Uh huh, sure, yeah I'm going to love it" Felicity repeated, sarcasm lacing her voice and before Caitlin could respond, Felicity ended the call and groaned aloud while replacing her phone in her bag before concentrating on the path ahead.
"…so much for the brilliant disguise" Oliver murmured to himself, shooting behind a nearby pillar and waiting for his next window.
The second he had stepped out of the restaurant that he had been meeting up with Speedy, his childhood nickname for his sister Thea, the paparazzi had caught scent of him out alone they had trailed after him, intent on sticking to him like glue and right now he was waiting for the right moment before he took his chances and booted it like his trainer, Slade Wilson, had taught him in case of times like these.
"QUEEN!" was all he heard from behind as the blinding shutters of their cameras caused havoc in his wake but he wasn't taking his chances at looking behind him for what the outcome may be.
How the hell was he going to get out of this now?
Whistling away to one of the current songs stuck in her mind, Felicity paused in her tracks when a commotion rose over the rooftops, capturing her attention and causing her to spin towards the source of the sounds.
What the hell was going on?
Dashing round a corner of a street, Oliver came to an abrupt halt as he realised he had nowhere to go where the paparazzi wouldn't see him.
Twisting around to the direction in which he'd just come from, he could hear the distinct sound of shutters of their cameras still going.
Before he could react, hands dragged him into a nearby side walkway that he hadn't seemed to spot and wouldn't be seen by the paparazzi and covered his mouth, ridding his chances of making any sounds. Breathing deeply to drag much needed oxygen to his lungs through his nose before spinning around to look at the person, Oliver took the time to look over the person whom had just saved him from the ill fate of the cameras.
Frowning when he was met by blonde hair, he reached up and dragged her hand down from where it still lay covering his mouth.
"He must've kept going!" one of the guys shouted to the others, leading them further down the path he would've probably had taken if it wasn't for the blonde…speaking of.
"Who are you?" he found himself asking before truly thinking about it beforehand "…and why did you save me? What do you want, an autograph, a picture?"
"…how about for you to shut up…why would I want an autograph or a photo with you?" she shot him a pointed look.
"Wait hold up, do you know who I am?"
"…Mr Queen…" she trailed off, her gaze more intent on watching the paparazzi no longer scouring the current neighbourhood.
"Oliver, Mr Queen was my father"
"Right but he's dead…I mean he died, which you obviously didn't…and not the reason why have to hear me…babble, which will be stopping in…3…2…1…" directing her gaze down at the floor to look at her feet, shaking her head in the process.
"So you know who I am but you don't want anything, then why'd you save me?" ignoring her outburst, Oliver couldn't help but smile at the blonde and how she was the first one to be that honest upfront with him, not bothering to hide it like everyone else did when they spoke about his father's death.
"Alright just because I know who you are doesn't mean I like you or football for that matter, like I have a choice anyways, and saved you because I want something maybe I just wanted for those damn arseholes to shut the hell up, consider that?" backing up a few paces from him "…anyways as much as I'd love to stay and chat, I've got to run, see you" turning on her heel, she went to stride out of the opposite side of the alley but paused when his hand wrapped around her wrist, reeling her back into him and unexpectedly crashing into his chest, his arm resting in the dip of her back to keep her from falling.
"…thank you, for helping me with those paparazzi" by the look on her face, she hadn't expected a thank you from him, making him want to fix that instantly.
"Well, no problem but I'm serious, I've got to go meet up with some friends" ducking beneath his arm and peering out into the road, she turned the corner once more, "…and it looks like you're good to go, the coast's clear" dashing around the corner before he reeled her back towards him once more or before the paparazzi returned, Felicity blended into the crowd leaving Oliver standing in the middle of the alley in her wake, staring after the blonde that had just saved him for no fee…nobody in his life has ever done that before.
Just who was that…mystery blonde and why did the whole thing leave him with a sense of longing?
Ducking beneath the screeching crowd's flailing limbs Felicity, Caitlin, Barry and Cisco found their places, beverages and snacks already in hand, pre-paid before the havoc of the game begun.
"Remind me why in the world I agreed to this again" Felicity shouted over the fans surrounding them to Caitlin.
"Because you love us too much" Barry replied, jumping in before Caitlin could answer but she didn't mind.
Ever since they were younger Caitlin and Barry have had this comfortable friendship that left them acting almost like lovers, they'd deny it if anyone were to question them about it, but Felicity knew Caitlin better than any one of their friends and just knew her friends concerning a certain Allen kid, however for Caitlin's best interests, she kept her mouth shut on the subject knowing her growing fear of her friendship being ruined with Barry.
"Now that my friend is so far of an understatement" Felicity yelled back, rolling her eyes, settling her down as much as she possibly could despite being somewhere she really wished she wasn't.
"I can't believe Oliver Queen is going to be playing tonight and how close we are to the front row!" Cisco cheered, channelling his inner fangirl, causing her to double take.
"WHAT!"
"Yeah, what, didn't you know? I thought I told you, Oliver Queen's going to be playing for the Green Arrows, he is the star quarterback you know" slapping a cold fish across her face wouldn't probably break her line of deep thought as her gaze locked with the field where the man she'd run into earlier that night would be playing in a couple minutes.
Oh what the hell did she just get herself into?
The Green Arrows were Starling City High home team that had become so good they had formed their own fame, of course being coached by none other than the mighty Slade Wilson.
The team consisted of the initial members that had joined when the team had originally been formed back five years ago. Oliver Queen was the captain of the team as he was the force behind their victory; always leading his team to victory every game even more so after his father had perished in a fire at the Queen's home.
The co-captain being Tommy Merlyn, Oliver's brother in arms, probably since birth as they were rarely seen apart unless they were with the gorgeous Laurel Lance and current serious girlfriend of Tommy.
Roy is kind of the like the misfit Oliver took under his wing and guided through the brunt of the blow delivered by life itself, helped also by his younger sister Thea who was his girlfriend to his potential deep dislike, and the rest of the team being made up by Floyd Lawton, Sebastian Blood and Maseo Yamashiro.
The rest of the places on the team had been filled over the years, bringing in the most experienced players that world exceptionally well together as a team, or maybe it was because of Slade's bizarre training methods that enable the team to work almost like parts making up an entire form as one.
As ear piercing whoops and cheers sounded from the crowds along with violent booing, oh something that might want to be added was that the Green Arrows fans were extremely passionate about the game so took it upon themselves to 'scare fear into the hearts of the opposing team and fans' as Felicity heard rumours of, she then knew the two team had made their appearances on the field.
"Oh…my…god, Lissy, Queen's looking directly at you!" Caitlin giggled, clutching at her friends bicep.
Frowning at Caitlin's words, Felicity guided her line of sight to where Queen stood on the field and her breath caught in her throat. Sure enough there stood beside Tommy was Oliver Queen, feet squared in his team uniform looking directly at her, with a look that would make most girls' knees shake as it was the kind of look that made her heart pound in her chest as if it were about to burst straight out.
Watching as he bent down and bowed her way before blowing her kiss, igniting the fire in her friends but the fire that Felicity never liked for it fuelled the questions that were sure to come flying her way.
This night wasn't going to be ending well for her.
How could someone that he had just met be taking up the majority of his mind right now?
Since she saved him a couple hours ago, Oliver hasn't been able to take his mind off of the image of the blonde that he was never able to catch the name of.
As Oliver led his team out of the changing rooms and through to the field, he was blown away by the passion radiating off of the crowd cheering for them. This…this was one of the things he loved most about football and never grew old of despite the amount of years he'd spent on the field, the amount of energy he and his team build up from their fans, it always left him in awe.
Since he could remember, he had always loved football either being watching it from the comfort of his living room surrounded by his friends and family or being the one on the field getting down and dirty, so his father had allowed for him to continue his passion as long as he upheld his end of the bargain being that he had gotten his grades out of the mud and into the sky. Tommy, of course, had been there with him every step of the way, being his own personal cheering coach, something he could never thank him enough for.
Five years ago when his father had passed away, football became something more than just a passion, it became something that allowed him to still share with his father for it too was his favourite sport. At first it had been too hard for him to simply pick that ball back up from the floor since when he looked to the side lines, his father was nowhere to be seen, his mother and Thea and both tried their best to help him as did Tommy and Laurel but some things just…can never be the same as they once were no matter how much you want them to be.
When he was just ten years old, he and his father and built a treehouse in the back garden still standing to this day, so since the funeral Oliver found himself spending more and more time in that treehouse scrambling to try and remember the memories shared inside, it was there he found his strength to push on and continue what his father wanted him to do with his life, his passion, their sport.
Wiping away the tear that slowly tracked down his cheek at the memory of his unfortunate past, Oliver pulled on his helmet that his father had gifted him one Christmas morning, no matter how big it had been he had refused to remove it for the rest of that day, and ran out further onto the middle of the field and towards his coach. Slowing his pace to a gentle jog, Oliver began waving at their fans, igniting a Mexican wave and a thunderous cheer to emerge but it was the golden light that caught his eye, as if the heavens abruptly opened and graced them all with her presence.
Halting his steps before he could thoroughly think the action through, Oliver found his gaze unwavering from the familiar locks of blonde hair that had befallen his gaze before.
"Oliver! What are you doing, keep moving!" Slade hollered but fell upon closed ears.
She was here watching him….would it be bad for him to be overthinking this right now? Was she actually watching him or was she here for something or someone else?
As her gaze met his own, sparks engulfed his entire being as fire roared through his veins.
Smirking, Oliver bent down into a bow before blowing a kiss her direction, hardly being able to miss the welcoming blush highlighting her dazzling features.
If he heard part of the audience wolf whistling, he didn't say a word.
"Alright lover boy keep it moving" he could hear the smile in Tommy's voice as he shoved him over to his coach where the man in question tightened his hand on his shoulder to keep his focus trained on him.
"Look kid, I don't know what's going on in that head of yours but listen here alright, whoever it is, whatever your reason for wanting to keep her within your eyesight- believe me I know what that's like" Oliver knew Slade was referencing to his wife, Shado, he had the fortune of meeting her once for a BBQ one time for the team and they hit it off instantly- unfortunately for Slade -with stories of Slade, competing for the most embarrassing one of all time and Slade ultimately swearing they will never again meet one another. "-but listen up, you want to impress her, focus on the game. Show her what you're made of and what being Oliver Queen of the Green Arrows means alright?" one of the parts he loved most about Slade being his coach was that he was one of the very few people who actually managed to understand him so helped him in ways nobody else could ever do, mostly providing him with training weekends out to places in the middle of nowhere to focus on him.
"Crystal clear" clapping his coach on his shoulder, Oliver spared her a side glance before joining his team, ready to prove himself.
For the first time in ages, Oliver actually felt the need to truly show his true self off and in result played one of his best games…and all in honour for her.
"How in the world did you manage to get Queen hooked, Lissy? Come on, come on spill!" Caitlin playfully whined in her best friend's ear as they watched Oliver Queen play his heart out, leading another clean victory with such a passion on show it shone as bright as the sun in the night.
"It's no biggie I just saved him from a bunch of paparazzi…that's all, nothing to faint over" Felicity shrugged, completely bypassing her friend's shocked looks.
"Really, so tell me why Queen's personal security detail heading over here then?" spinning on her heel, Felicity spun round to face the man in question.
John Diggle, Oliver Queen's personal security detail, was a very broad man with arms resembling tree trunks that held the image of snapping a bone with mere ease, without even breaking a sweat.
"I'm guessing you're the blonde from a couple hours ago, the paparazzi happening?" his deep voice caught all her focus, calling all her mental control to stop herself from going off on a ramble.
"…um, yeah that's me, I guess….why? What has that got to do with anything?" ignoring Caitlin, who at this point was basically hanging from her arm, Felicity frowned down at the man stood on the steps to the side of her row.
"Mr Queen requested me to give you this message, if you wouldn't mind Miss-" gesturing probably for the rest of her name.
"…Smoak, but please call me Felicity, calling me Miss Smoak makes me feel like my mother and…well, just no" shaking her head at the thought, Felicity accepted the rolled up piece of paper from a grinning Diggle, as apparently his friends called him.
Hi, I would put your name here but unfortunately I didn't catch it.
Firstly again thank you for saving me from the paparazzi early tonight, I couldn't have done it without you. If you're wondering about why I'm having Diggle give you this message, I would like to ask you if you could wait for me after the game has drawn to a close as I would like to meet you again if you wouldn't mind, of course.
Here's hoping you will.
Oliver Queen x
Scanning her eyes over the note once more, Felicity felt her heartbeat pick up speed, sounding as if the music tempo before a crash.
Could she?
A distant memory seemed to scream at her, advising her against it.
"Erm…Diggle, right?" at his nod, she continued "would you be able to tell him that I'm flattered and all but I'm not that type of woman, sorry"
As Diggle returned to Queen, Felicity didn't give herself a chance to watch his reaction as she all but hightailed it out of the stadium as fast as her heels would allow her to, her friends in tow with her step, already understanding her hesitance to get herself back into the 'love business'.
If she had paused in her stride, she would've noticed how much Oliver's face fell when Diggle relayed her response onto him.
She ignored the nagging voice in her head as she slipped the note into her keepsake memory album, full of things she always wanted to remember since now that would all it will ever be, a distant memory.
It had been months since something based on the events between her and Oliver Queen had happened so Felicity had just decided to go with the idea that he had just simply forgotten about her, as he probably did with all those fangirls he has and has ran through like movies on her Netflix account.
"Felicity, you do realise that you can't keep avoiding him like this, right? He's going to find you somehow, if you keep continuing to go to great lengths to avoid him especially" Barry spoke to her and judging by the static-y sounds in the background, he had the phone on speaker.
A couple days ago her ex-boyfriend, Cooper Sheldon, had made a sudden reappearance in her life, bringing along with him some secrets of her past she would prefer to stay in the past, hence the reason for it being called somebody's 'past'.
So this morning Felicity had decided to do something productive, so went out shopping for….ice cream, okay fine maybe not that productive but still she was getting out of her house, which Cooper hopefully didn't know the location of.
"I do know that but how can I go face to face with him if I don't even trust him anymore? Besides he's the one stalking me, I'm moving on with my life like I'm supposed to and here he is- the one who broke things off with me -trying to follow me around like some lost puppy or something. He needs to learn how to back the hell off and leave me alone….oh crap" freezing in her tracks, her eyes trailed over to the opposite side of the street to where a man with spiky short brown hair stood leaning against a nearby wall, luck being on her side and not currently standing in his line of sight but she wasn't sure how long that would last for.
"What, are you alright? Hold on….it's Cooper isn't it, here's near you?"
"I got to go guys, talk to you later once I've ditched him, love you" saying in a rush, Felicity hung up and ducked into an alleyway just before Cooper turned his gaze down the street where she was walking.
Striding quickly through the alleyway, Felicity for the life of her couldn't seem to stop looking over her shoulder in case Cooper had seen her and was coming after her, it wouldn't be the first time he would've done something like this.
Before she could stop the events from rolling out, she felt her body collide with an extremely hard surface and as a weight wrapped around her waist, she feared it was Cooper and somehow he had gotten a head start on her and had caught up.
"…no! Let me go!" not making a move to cease her flailing limbs, hoping something hits somewhere vital- heck with it being a cheap shot and all -so she can use it to give her a running start.
"Hey, hey, hey, Felicity stop, it's alright, it's just me" a familiar deep voice halted all of her attempts at freedom, moving to rest her forearms on his hard chest as he ran one of his hands up and down her back to try to provide comfort. Breathing deeply, Felicity opened her eyes that she just realised had somehow closed during the thought-it-was-real-but-actually-not-very-true fight to see the two deep blue orbs of Oliver Queen staring back down at her, the fact washing over her like a safety blanket. "Hey, are you okay, you're shaking and look like you've just seen a ghost" tightening his hold on her, Oliver frowned, peering deeper into her eyes as if he would be able to pry out the necessary answers.
"…I guess you can say I've just seen a ghost from my past that I'd never thought I'd see again"
If one of her friends were right there with her then, they'd say that was an understatement as they all believed Cooper to be dead for she had been told that he had hung himself before facing his trial.
Upon hearing rushed footsteps, she couldn't help the way her entire body tensed up, head snapping in the direction she had just ran from before going to break away from Oliver's hold but didn't expect him to tighten his arms around her, if that were even possible, rendering her unable to tear herself away from him.
Frantically searching around her current position, turning her head to face the sound of incoming footsteps, glancing up at his features and the confusion behind them, Felicity began pushing both herself and Oliver into one of the dark alcoves hidden away from prying eyes or more importantly the man bounding round the corner.
Fastening her eyes shut once again to somehow focus her mind away from the thoughts haunting her, Felicity bypassed Oliver's tight, but not painful, grip around her waist as his once soothing and comforting voice filled the alley, now nothing more than nails against a chalkboard.
"You know you can't run from me forever Felicity…I will always find you, no matter where you go or who you're with. Now I know you remember how it used to be between us…all of it" what he was implying didn't go unnoticed by either Oliver or Felicity, who shuddered causing goosebumps to scatter across the top of her skin, her head turning to the side with an urge to empty her stomach. "…I hope you know I'll never stop Felicity…you are mine until I say otherwise, you cannot escape me" his sounding footsteps decreasing as he jogged through the remaining section of the alleyway, hopefully well away from them.
Backing herself up- almost -out of Oliver's embrace, it didn't dawn on her as to just how much she was shaking until one of Oliver's hands encased one of her own as the other reached to cup her cheek, guiding her gaze to his.
"…I-I-I can't ask you to include yourself in this…" Felicity trailed off, refusing to look at him, trying once more to leave the quarterback's arms but just like her past attempts, she didn't get very far.
"I'm not asking you to, I want to" her eyes shot open and darted to his at his answer, now that she hadn't been expecting.
"Why?"
"Because I care about you and I don't want him to hurt you, I refuse to let him hurt you" cupping her face in his palms, Felicity looked deep into both his eyes and saw the genuine truth staring her back. "Felicity, look I know you don't properly know me yet, but you can trust me. If it's alright with you of course but how would you like to come and stay with me in my penthouse for a couple days…just until your ex clears off and/or we get rid of him…alright? Just let me help"
"…thanks Oliver, although typically I might say it'd be too much trouble for me, I think Cooper may know where I live so…"
"And I don't really feel comfortable letting you take that risk"
"...alright"
"Huh?"
"Alright, I'll stay with you for a couple days just I'm not telling my friends otherwise I'll never shut them up"
"Best idea"
Ignoring the electricity cackling through her hand when Oliver took hold of her hand and guided him to his car, a sheath black Mercedes Benz, Felicity trailed behind him- like she had the choice though.
Was it really though?
Her first night there with Oliver went too quiet for Felicity's likings, since she had a curse of rambling, so she had spent the majority of her time exploring what would be her bedroom for the next few days.
The main people in Oliver's life knew of the altered living arrangements, those of whom being; Diggle, Slade, Shado, Tommy, Moira, Thea, Roy and Laurel, he wasn't all too sure about the rest of the team though but it was mainly the ones that passed through Oliver's penthouse daily or every other day.
The guestroom was downright breath taking.
In an air of golden light, the room was as big as Felicity's bungalow altogether. Half the walls were decorated with wooden tiles, leaving the rest as white as the moon, almost matching the colour of the cream-coloured carpet.
The bed took up most of the room, commanding the space with a posh little footstool at the foot, a padded headboard pinned against the wall above her head while she slept. On the right side of the bed stood a cute mahogany bedside table with a lamp and single drawer, for random assortments of objects to fit inside- she decided to keep her glasses there -while the other solely housed a larger lamp.
On the far left wall stood a floor to ceiling window balcony with crimson red curtains draped to the sides, clearing the path for a stream of sunlight to pour through, she'd fallen in love with the sight of the balcony as soon as stood outside looking out at the view of the heart and soul of Starling City.
Sat on the opposing side of the room to the bed laid two chests of drawers with a lamp and vase of a variation of flowers on each a wide screen HD TV hanging between in the space.
That evening they ate in silence in each other's company, Felicity tempted to run back to her room, so instead transferring herself to the couch with a mug of hot chocolate, ushering him over to watch a movie with her.
"What do you want to watch?" Oliver asked gaze locked onto the screen.
"Why don't you choose?" snapping his head her way, shocked into oblivion that she asked for nobody he knew would ever allow him to choose, despite warning her on this she remained adamant that Oliver choose the movie, so choose he did.
His choice though turned out to be one of her all-time favourites, 'The Avengers'.
"…okay, I'm going to ask you the hardest question of all…who is your favourite Avenger?" Felicity turned her complete attention to Oliver as the introduction and names of the stars included, bringing herself to sit on the couch beside him at an angle, her foot beneath her left thigh.
"It's definitely got to be Hawkeye, how about you?" Oliver replied, also turning his attention to her.
"Black Widow, obviously"
"Obviously?"
"Well yeah, she's the only female on the team and completely kicks arse if need be...like a lone wolf, just surviving" the awing smile leaving him blinded in a way he has an extremely difficult time comparing to, "…ooh, it's starting"
Chuckling at the blonde beside him, Oliver too settled down for the movie but that didn't stop him from stealing glances over at Felicity and popcorn when he'd settled a bowl on the coffee table in front of them, receiving countless glares and jabs at his side in punishment.
Felicity, god he's missed her, her light that he'd rapidly become addicted to all those months ago, they felt like years. Offering the choice for her to stay here with him was quite possibly the best thing he'd ever said in his life, she was just so…different from everybody else he'd ever come across.
He craved her light and even if it killed him, he'd do everything in his power to make the most of life with her while it was still present to him…and, if possible, convince her to stay with him for as long as he could.
If only she knew what she did to him, who knows what could happen between them.
Days turned into weeks that passed in the blink of an eye, soon Felicity found herself having stayed at Oliver's penthouse with him for three weeks and to Oliver's comfort, she was so comfortable in the space she'd so recently almost called home.
She had been forced to call her friends when they'd began worrying when she never returned home after that evening she had called them about Cooper, them fearing he had taken her.
To say they freaked out would be a major understatement.
However, things seemed to remain casual around the lot of them, Felicity even going so far to socialise with Oliver's friends and family, interest in the blonde who had rescued him from the claws of the paparazzi then he in return helping her escape her ex. They all quickly fell in love with the babbling blonde as Oliver had, just not nearly as much as him though, and soon Thea and Laurel were calling sleepovers with Felicity, kicking Oliver out of his penthouse, which just made Felicity laugh.
After she had told them all about Cooper, her boyfriend from MIT she and her friends thought to be dead for five years, reappearing from the very depths of hell, Diggle had in secret offered her self-defence classes as he too became 'Smoaked' as her friends called it.
Once Thea and Oliver had been in the middle of a giant fight, over something practically microscopic Felicity had felt slightly sorry for Thea as she burst into tears when Oliver had stormed out because she hated fighting with him, so what she had done to put a smile on her face, Felicity had found a certain video of the team of 'Green Arrows' being flat-on-their-arse drunk….pole dancing, and very badly too.
When Oliver returned with Tommy, Laurel, Moira, Shado and Slade, probably them convincing him to fix the fight they had, they all found Felicity and Thea in Felicity's room flushed red with laughter, clutching their stomachs, Thea on the floor having fallen off the bed, making them both laugh harder and even more when the rest of them saw the video. Felicity received a lot of warning glares which she hardly even considered as she was laughing way too much, literally to the point where she couldn't breathe and it certainly didn't help that everybody else in the room were all laughing as much as she was, except from Oliver…damn spoilsport.
That day would never be spoken of again.
Felicity couldn't look Oliver in the eye for days. It made the team laugh at how much he pouted.
Lightning cracking across the expanse of the sky, thunder rumbling the earth beneath and lighting up the top of the City woke Felicity with a start, her breaths left stuttered and gasping.
Ever since she was younger, she's never liked storms, mostly because of the bad experience she had when she was younger and it didn't help when Cooper had come after her and had forced her to run out into the middle of a storm, having to experience the duration in a place where she could hear every…single…sound created by the thunder and lightning.
Padding across the floor of her room Felicity wondered what she should do, either stay in her room and suffer through the storm alone or…do something every ounce of her- apart from an annoying voice nagging in her ear -told her that she knew she needed.
Taking a stuttered deep breath, she leisurely strolled over to Oliver's bedroom door and double guessed her decision of whether or not to actually go through with this.
The sound of lightning crackling across the sky again made the final decision as she flinched, pushing through into the room and freezing.
There on the bed in the centre of his room laid Oliver Queen, shirtless, and with the bedding twisted around his lower waist and legs, a frown plastered on his face, a look of pure discomfort seemingly sown onto his features.
He was having a nightmare.
Swallowing down her words rising in her throat, Felicity began considering returning to her room, this was a bad idea, an extremely bad thought-through idea.
But of course things for her can't seem to just solely end on that note…no, life has to be a bitch and make it all the more worse.
As a clash of lightning struck the skies and thunder shook the earth, and apparently the nightmare tormenting his thoughts, Oliver threw himself out of the lying position. Hunched over, Felicity could see the deep breaths he was attempting to drag down the necessary oxygen, eyes glazed over as they focused on a point of his duvet.
"…Felicity?" his concerned, and very confused, voice broke her out of her train of thoughts and over towards the man in question "…what's wrong?"
Should she tell him the truth? That she's scared by the thunderstorm going on outside or should she use his nightmare as a white lie?
"…uh, you uh…I think you were having a nightmare..." alright so she doesn't have the stomach to tell him the complete truth but can you really blame her?
"…sorry, did I wake you?" rubbing his hand down his face, she could tell the level of his weariness from where she currently stood in the room near the entrance.
"…not really, I was already awake…I don't really like storms to be honest, they just…well let's just say that I've had some bad experience with them"
"Oh, are you okay now?"
"…yeah I…uh, should be good, just wanted to check in on you…but since you're okay, well as okay as you can be with the thunderstorm and all, not saying that I think you're scared of storms- even though I wouldn't really blame you -but who knows you could be….and…3…2…1, I'm just going to shut up and go now, so night" retreating back to the door as fast as she could without making herself seem as if she wanted out right there right then, even if she did.
"Wait, Felicity…could you, stay for a while? Maybe the storm won't seem as bad if we're both not alone" the logic behind his offer shining clear.
"…sure" stepping towards the bed, Felicity hesitated before biting back the voice saying how this isn't a good idea, instead focusing on the fact of providing some sort of comfort for Oliver. "…if you want to, do you want to talk about it?"
"…five years ago…" taking another deep breath, Oliver stared up at the ceiling of his room, needing something to focus his spiralling thoughts on, "…five years ago…there was a fire at my childhood home…none of us know how it started…"
Thinking back to the events of the fire, Oliver couldn't help the shudder that coursed through him. Out of natural instinct to comfort, Felicity placed her hand over Oliver's, who took it as an open invitation to tighten a hold of her hand, anchoring him to her, to reality.
That in itself gave him a sense of courage he'd forgotten all about, a strength he last felt on that night.
Smoke wafted through the rooms as Oliver's voice screamed as loud as he possibly could for any member of his family but nothing met his ears, the fire roaring in his ear being the sole thing he could hear.
Trying again whilst ignoring the potential mild smoke inhalation in his lungs, Oliver called out desperate for anything, anyone to respond, then….
"OLLIE!"
"THEA!" his feet subconsciously moved him in the direction that the voice of his sister had reverberated, growling low in his throat as he brought out his rugby player status to his advantage, harshly shouldering through the door to his sister's room, bypassing the plaster and wood exploding around him before catching alight and joining the rest of the house.
The barrier blocking his way to his sister momentarily halting his movement before his attention caught hold of another voice.
"OLIVER, THEA! PLEASE ANSWER ME, WHERE ARE YOU!" his mother's distinct voice came from behind him, down the main corridor and before he knew it her figure was visible through the fumes of the smoke.
"MUM!"
"OLIVER!" stumbling over to his position, he grabbed her by the hips to pull her towards him and away from the oncoming piece of rubble that once was their ceiling of the upper floors. "…Thea…" from as close as he was, Oliver could hear how hoarse his mother's voice had become, probably from the consistent screaming.
Heavy footsteps thundered from behind them as his father joined them but apparently wasn't planning on sticking around as he forced himself through the flaming archway and into Thea's bedroom, dodging flames left and right to get to his daughter.
"Hold on Thea I'm almost there, just hold on baby" even from his voice, he could tell how much he was fighting through the fear of losing one he held precious. "…come on Thea, run" reaching for both of his family, Oliver pulled his entire family together physically before all but pushing them towards the rapidly diminishing staircase, fire hissing at them from where the wooden bannister had caught alight.
Forcing them down the last few stairs as another considerable-sized piece of rubble flew from the top of the house and Oliver's quick reaction timing actually saved their lives and giving them all a more significant time distance between them and the fire when out of the blue….disaster struck them.
Falling straight ahead of them, Thea screaming in response as she launched herself back to avoid the flames, rubble fell upon the entrance to the mansion, blocking them all in with nowhere to go.
Darting his eyes around the room, Oliver locked on a possible exit route and before he had time to think the action through logically, he rushed at a solid wooden wall, tucked his head in like Slade had taught him and went crashing through the surface, crafting a clear path for the remaining Queen's.
Leading the rest of his family through towards the comforting coldness of the bitter night, the only thing that made him falter in his movements was when his father released an agonising cry of pain, spinning around on his heel Oliver saw how his leg had been caught beneath a part of the broken bannister, still alight and trapping him beneath the brunt of its weight.
"DAD!" Oliver roared, trying to get to him in time, taking into account the parts of rubble still teetering on the edge above them all. Fire feasted at the wooden bannister, trailing along the length like a spark about to ignite a bomb.
Adrenaline surged within his veins as the desperation returned immensely, growling in effort as he attempted to lift the section of the stairs that had fallen upon the body of his visibly weakening father.
"OLIVER! Oliver, listen to me…I need you to run, take your mother and sister away from here and run as far as you can alright…I want you to leave me behind and not look back for me, do you understand me?" Oliver knew that tone of voice like the back of his hand, it was the one where he knew his father was holding strong while he still could, not to falter beneath the gaze of his wife and daughter, the one where he-he knew what exactly was going to happen.
"Dad, I-I can't leave you here like this, I won't leave you here like this, don't make me…don't…"
"Oliver, you're the captain of our rugby team and you know when to make the correct choices and when to walk away from something. Be the captain I know you are and lead our family to safety son, you're in charge of them now, to protect them, to defend them as I know you've always been more than capable of…I trust you son, don't let me down, run…run far from here to safety…now go…GO!" Robert shouted when Oliver made no move to leave his father's side, tears tracking down his face. "You'll always be the hero to me, now prove me right…promise me, son, promise me you'll always be the hero, no matter what lies ahead of you or what obstacles may block your path…never back down, never give up"
That look of such strength and courage, honour, on his father's face was something Oliver would never forget, along with his words. Words that carried over more meaning than his father could've ever said to him.
"….I promise dad, I promise you I won't ever let you down…I love you…I…" moving his right fist across his chest, resting above his heart, Robert's last display for his son was their signature move.
Nodding his head reluctantly, Oliver turned and grasped his mother's and sister's hands before dragging them out behind him, doing his best to ignore their protests and cries to rescue their father, their husband.
The level of reluctance Moira and Thea showed was proving to be a disability for Oliver so without glancing too long of a look at the house, at his father, he threw both women over his shoulders and carried off towards the miniscule forest that stood tall on the sides of the lawn of the Queen Mansion.
When he was positive that they were a significant distance from the house, Oliver released his grip of the rest of his remaining family before lifting his eyes to where his childhood house, the house that stored so many memories for them all was deconstructed, burnt to the ground and along with it went his father.
As Moira and Thea broke to their knees and burst out into tears, Oliver stood squarely as his rank typically requested of him and brought his right first across his chest and heart, a sign of honour to the fallen as a lone tear fell down his face.
Never in all of the years could he remember had he ever told another living soul, besides his mother and sister who already knew of course, the true story behind what had happened to his father.
Tears flooded his vision as all the memories of how cold and cut off he had forced himself to be for the benefit of his family, to provide them with a sense of strength and comfort when he refused to allow himself any means.
"…I-I-I could hear his voice in my head….h-he was disappointed in me….I-I'd become a failure, I'd failed him, I'd failed my father…" when Felicity banded her arms around him, Oliver wasted no time in burying his face in her neck as he somehow had brought her to rest in his lap.
For someone who looked so delicate, how could one be so strong?
All tension from his body was released when his sobs had quietened down but still she made no move to relinquish her hold of him so neither did he; his body still wrapped around hers as he brought them both to lie on their sides.
"What you see in nightmares isn't the pure truth, it's the words you fear he would say to you but I don't believe your father could see a single reason to hold you to such disappointment. I believe if he were here right now, he'd be saying how he couldn't have wished for a better son to lead your team to victory" whispering into his ear, Felicity stroked a steady hand down his back and nape of his neck.
In all the time she'd been in Oliver's bedroom, not once did either of them notice the thunderstorm above them subside until they woke in the morning, still wrapped in one another's arms beneath his covers.
"So that's it, he's gone?" she practically breathed into her phone, relief and shock that it's potentially all over.
"Yeah Felicity, he's gone, Barry called Joe and he found him, arrested him and personally escorted to a prison that guaranteed him that Cooper will never be getting out in his life again, he's got an 80 year sentence and by the time he actually gets out, he'll be too old to do anything besides there's no guarantee on that that he'll stay healthy enough to even live that long Liz, you're safe to come back home" Caitlin squealed in joy, obviously on speaker as Felicity could hear Barry and Cisco along with her, over the phone.
"Oh my god, it's finally over…I can't believe this, no more" laughing in astonishment, Felicity held her hand across her mouth, trying to hold back the tears. "…well, I'll be home tonight, thank you guys"
"Anytime for you Liz, see you when you get back, we're so going to be throwing a night just for the four of us…oh, I'm bringing pizza!" chuckling at her friend's antics, Felicity hung up just as she heard the front door open, Oliver walking in.
"Oliver! It's over, it's finally over!" she giggled as she rushed into his barely opened arms, embracing him in a hug, arms thrown around his neck and legs locked around his waist. If she had looked at their position, she probably would've flamed up at the insinuation of what they looked like.
"What's over?" doing his best to ignore how his body roared when he felt her strong thighs wrap around his hips, thankfully pressing away from his obvious excitement for the new position, Oliver returned her embrace, also making sure she wouldn't fall either, confusion masking any other emotion.
"Cooper, everything with Cooper, he's gone, no more of him stalking me! Joe, I guess you can call him Barry's foster dad, found him and personally escorted him to a prison that guaranteed us that he won't be getting out of. So I can also return home as well"
At the thought of Felicity leaving a penthouse he's begun to consider as theirs made his insides clench painfully, he didn't want her to return to her home, he wanted her to stay here with him but that wasn't his choice to make, so he forced himself through a fake smile for her.
"…I'm glad for you to finally have shaken him" lowering his face to gentle nuzzle the side of her neck, delighting in the shiver he caused, Oliver embraced the everlasting memory of her…everything; her smell, her voice, her warmth, her light.
"I just wanted to thank you for doing this all for me, for helping me…you've been a real friend for the past few weeks" forcing herself to put on a front for him, walls blocking his view of how much she was truly suffering inside, she didn't want to leave him…what she had so shortly considered their penthouse, the comfort he radiated so much of.
Lowering herself back to the ground once again, not hearing Oliver's slight whine at the loss of her around him, Felicity still kept the embrace.
"I'd do it again in a second for you Felicity, you don't have to thank me" the passion behind his words overwhelmed her, smiling before she pecked the corner of his mouth- note: she was aiming for his cheek but her foot 'slipped' -then turned to leave to gather her things from her room before he could respond.
Oliver couldn't find it in him to move, routed to the spot where her lips had graced his own.
Geez, he was such a goner.
Bypassing the sound of their fans crying out for his team to find victory, he knew the chances were little as they were losing the game badly.
"Kid, listen to me, you've got to pull your head free and get it back into the game, we're all counting on you now" Slade growled at him but it just fell on deaf ears as his head was clouded with thoughts of Felicity and his empty penthouse that hadn't felt the same since it now returned to how it once was. "Kid! Are you listening to me, Oliver!" ignoring the combined voices of his team, Oliver sat on the bench with his head in his hands, resting them both atop his knees.
Abruptly his thoughts singled out a lone voice that led the crowd into a chant, a chant that had his head shooting up at them all.
Then Oliver saw her.
Her light brightening the current midnight sky, drawing his concentration instantly as a lone tear fell at her stance.
Standing feet shoulder-width apart, left hand by her side and right fist across her chest and resting above her heart, Felicity stood chanting along with the crowd.
'Never give up. Never back down'
His father's last words.
Smiling when her gaze locked with his own, passion flooded from her entire body and she swayed from side to side as someone from within the audience blared from their phone.
She was cheering for him.
Feeling a newfound strength surge through his veins, Oliver turned to his teammates and led them deep into the game, their fans cheering them on, not halting with his father's last chant.
Not once during the last part of the game did Oliver ever feel himself begin backing down as his light cheered him on from the side lines, even the opposing team topped with Palmer couldn't break him down as he tackled one of the players, giving Tommy enough leeway to go sprinting for the line.
The score soon went toppling over as they broke through Palmer's defence time after time with different shots each time.
Receiving the ball, Oliver spun in mid-air, shooting off along the length of the field like a bullet from a gun, the combined voices of his father and Felicity fuelling his power, immersing every part of his very being to make him feel invincible as no other players managed to come within striking distance of him, breaking from the pack with tremendous speed.
As his lungs drug much needed oxygen into his lungs, Oliver glanced over at the scoreboard lit up to display the Green Arrow's had completely annihilated the Atom's score, his remaining teammates rendered him helpless to a dog pile, the sound of the crowd roaring from the stands.
Time passes him by seemingly in slow motion as his team boost him up to their shoulders, carrying him back to their coach, who is erupting in joy as Shado is the victim to his 'love attack's' as they all call them but all Oliver can see is the golden light in the middle of her own half dog pile as her friends all embrace one another.
He can't hold back the urge he's wanted to give into since he had initially met her.
Bounding from the shoulders of his brothers, Oliver soared across the rest of the field towards the stands, towards Felicity, and didn't even show a glimpse of hesitation as his lips fused with hers, one hand reaching to the nape of her neck, the other coming to the dip of her back to keep her flush against him. When she responded in full by banding both arms around his neck he began devouring her mouth as the crowd around them cheered them both on, the big screen focusing on them.
Pulling back when the need for oxygen became too great, Oliver lowered to her lower half and brought her down to sit atop his shoulder, bracing his arm around her legs to hold her up as her hand came to grip his other shoulder, material bunching up beneath her grasp, and walked back off towards the team.
Welcoming her with open arms, literally, Tommy took up her other side beside Oliver, balancing her like pros between them as Roy handed her the trophy which she held up above her head igniting the fire in the crowd as green lights set the field alive in victory and triumph.
"Own very own good luck charm!" Roy acclaimed as Floyd, Maseo and Sebastian all began wolf-whistling before they earned themselves smacks over the back of the head from Slade, growling at them, he passed Felicity her very own dark green jersey with 'Smoak' already on the back beneath the number 1, Oliver's number, light green running down the sides with a light green arrowhead highlighted on the front.
"We thought you may need this! Welcome to the team Smoak!"
Tightening his hold on her legs when she slipped her clearly over-sized jersey on over her tank top, he knew it was the beginning to many sweet dreams.
"Queen, you're holding onto this one if I have to make you myself!" shouting at the captain, Felicity along with the rest of the team just simply laughed.
"Believe me, I hold no intention of letting her go!" glancing up at her with a look that left her gasping, she felt her insides clench again but this time it wasn't out of pain at all…it was completely different.
As the crowd all came down on-field to praise their team, a chant soon made itself known of 'Smoak'.
Laurel soon came racing across the field from where she had stood alongside Moira and Thea towards Tommy, springing into his open arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and diving into their own series of kisses.
Lowering her to the ground in front of him, Oliver held her flush against him as Felicity sparked another passionate kiss between the two of them.
"…he'd be so proud of you right now, his hero, you kept your promise to him" she whispered, Oliver shocked that she remembered that night when he had told her.
"He would've loved to meet you, you would've liked him"
"I already do, he helped make and saved you, how can I not?"
"…I mean it though. I'm not letting go this time, I'm not letting you walk out that door without me"
"Then it looks like we in agreement" not bothering to ignore the urge flaring in his gut, Oliver responded with an overwhelming kiss that made her toes curl and insides clench once again but this time in anticipation.
"I love you...I love you so much"
"I love you with every breath I take"
"Does this mean I'm getting a sister now?" Thea's distinct voice spoke from behind Felicity as the couple looked to Thea and Moira standing with giant smiles lighting up their faces. Not waiting for a reply from either of them, Thea took Felicity in a bear hug that left a smile perched on her face, not having the heart to wipe it off before Moira too took her up in a mothering hug as they then moved to Oliver while whispering, 'If your father could see you now".
"This all is for him, every time I play he's with me" Oliver announced to his family as he spread his hand out against his helmet, still raring to go since he had first got it for that Christmas all those years ago.
"He wouldn't have wanted anything else for you"
As they all departed from the field, Oliver turned once more to a now vacant stadium he had once dreamed of playing in as a kid, a watery smile embraced him as the silhouette of a male figure stood in the stands beside where Felicity had stood.
His father had never left him, just as he had never left his thoughts.
The promise to be his hero, honouring his memory as it stood.
A green light shone against where his father had stood to see it now empty and the figure gone.
Smiling again, Oliver headed back towards where his girlfriend waited for him near his bike, still jersey clad, his number on the back spiking a slight hint of possessiveness running in his bloodstream.
Sliding his broad arms around her waist and pulling her flush against him, her own arms wrapping around his neck.
"That penthouse had been feeling incredibly empty without you there"
"…well, we can't have that can we" smiling, Felicity pushed her upper chest against his abs, smirking as his breath stuttered before turning to a growl.
"No, we can't have that"
"Who would've known that to get you to completely thrash your opponent with an opening score like that…" she trailed off, Oliver getting the gist of it already, his hands travelling down to grip her arse, bringing her hips hard against his own.
"Well there's always another way you could persuade me…"
Lifting to the tips of her toes she brushed her lips against his ear, coming exactly level to his ever-growing adoration for her to whisper "…what are we waiting for then"
Grasping both hips, Oliver immediately lifted her to the back of his bike, swinging over his leg to straddle the machine, groaning as Felicity brought her entire body as close as possible to his, arms wrapped firmly around his waist.
Shooting off towards his penthouse, he wondered how he didn't break any speeding laws at his pure desperation to get them both to the place across the damn City as soon as possible.
The part he loved most about being on the penthouse level of the block of apartments was that once they got past the last level of apartments, it was all solely him left, nobody else to bother him so it gave him all the more reason to trap Felicity against the wall of the elevator and his hard body, arms on either side of her head.
"Six months…I've been waiting six months to get my hands on you. Do you have any idea what it's like for me to watch you, knowing I couldn't touch you without wanting to take you from behind? Force you against a wall and listen as you screamed my name over and over again? Do you have any idea what you do to me Felicity?"
Biting her lip to stop a moan from escaping past her lips as he spoke to her, electricity cackled through her entire body he nuzzled his nose against her neck as his lips ghosting over her skin but never touching it.
Words failed her as Oliver brushed his very hard body against hers, fusing their lower halves together.
"…so what are you going to do about it then?" murmuring into his ear, receiving a growl in response, his hands trailing down the sides of her body until they reached her arse, lifting her effortlessly against the wall, Felicity needing no other incentive to wrap her legs around his waist.
"You're playing with fire Felicity" he growled into the skin of her neck when she brushed her front against his, forcing her to fight the shiver in response.
"…well then it's a good thing Smoak is my last name"
"Do you know how much of a mistake you made when you wrapped these legs around me in that moment? Do you know how much I wanted to take you straight to my bed and ravish you until I branded you in a way that no other man will ever manage, mark you in ways you can't even begin to imagine?" digging her nails into his shoulders in response, Felicity threw her head back against the wall as her breathing exhaled erratically.
As the elevator dinged for his floor, it seemed to cause a chain reaction as Oliver's mouth merged with hers so deep and so full Felicity was left unable to feel any part of her body untouched by Oliver.
From that point on her mind became blurred so how they managed to make it from the elevator to Oliver's penthouse still remained a mystery to her.
"You remembered" Oliver whispered into her skin as they both laid on their stomachs, bed sheets tangled around their lower half as his fingers traced gentle circles on Felicity's bare back, her eyes fluttering shut in pleasure.
Remaining silent for a moment to wonder on what exactly he was talking about when it clicked, the chant last night…well technically this morning but who is counting it?
"Obviously I remembered, why wouldn't I?" when his soft touches unexpectedly stopped, she couldn't help but frown as she peered open one eye to see Oliver's eyes glazed over with a look that would've probably knocked her on her arse if she wasn't currently lying down.
"What did I do to deserve someone as remarkable as you, Felicity?" continuing then his caresses up her back and between her shoulder blades, skating his fingertips delicately down her arm that lay beside her, bent at the crook to fist the bedding within her grasp.
"…mmm…beats me, although it could be when you saved me from my psycho of an ex"
Hearing his deep chuckle before she suddenly found herself on her back with a heavy, though comfortable, weight atop her, her eyes both shot open to reveal Oliver staring down at her with a look of contentment plastered across his face.
"No…I do believe it was when you saved me from those paparazzi sharks, although I do have to thank them for they guided me to you so how could I possibly wish for anything more?"
"Don't get sappy on me now, where's the tough-hearted Captain I've been hearing about…also the one I got a personal first-hand experience of last night?" smirking at the sudden darkened look that possessed his features, Felicity couldn't really find it in her to hate how his hands were now encased around both wrists, forcing them both above her head as he leaned down and laid a heated kiss on her.
"…only you Felicity, only you gets to experience him" slipping his hands down her arms so their hands rested palm to palm, Felicity entwined their fingers.
"So…six months, was it worth it?" grinning deviously up at him at the question, she made an effort to keep down the laugh that was battling its way to get out.
Lowering his muscular and oh so very broad chest onto her slim form, Oliver growled out the words while nipping at her ear lobe, "…never in my life will I stop trying to return to you what you made me go through during those six months but I hope you know I also won't be able to stop touching you for an endless amount of years though"
"That, Mr Queen, almost sounds like a promise" releasing the laugh that shook both of them, she couldn't help but laugh at the thought of him actually promising on remaining by her side for an 'endless' amount of years as she bent her knees to cradle his hips, the bedding sheet though blocking any further action…didn't say anything about ceasing her teasing though.
"Hell yeah it's a promise, I mean it Felicity…I've never felt anything like this before and it's slightly frightening. Felicity, when I was growing up I believed in not trusting somebody so fully, for then you begin to rely on them to an extent that you can't even operate properly without them and revealing yourself to vulnerability…but with you, Felicity, I don't care if I come across as vulnerable, I don't think I can picture a place where I'm not with you"
"…don't get sappy on me Oliver" she repeated her earlier words but this time her tone was highlighted by the tears brimming behind her eyelids, which made Oliver only smile more and lean down to gently kiss her as if she were such delicate and fine china "…I love you"
"And I love you"
During the months following the event of that one particular match, to say Oliver's life changed significantly was a clear understatement to anyone present.
When in games Oliver usually looked to the side lines, searching for where his father used to stand, cheering him on, he now automatically scanned the crowds for his familiar sight of golden blonde hair and crystal blue eyes that lit up his day like a thousand fireflies. As Oliver had done during his first game after meeting Felicity, he made a continuous ritual of bowing and blowing a kiss to Felicity who usually either stood in the audience whenever her friends were in town or besides his mother and sister near Slade, although he personally preferred the second option for it made it that much easier when he ran and kissed her no matter the score.
The games they played all were played with such a raw passion it honestly felt like his very first game in which after his entire life seemingly lit up with such ecstasy, Oliver honestly felt like a kid again whenever he suited up in his uniform,
His mother and sister were so genuinely happy with the new changes to his life, that he finally had that someone he could rely on as much as he used to with his father but in this case, even more so.
Quickly welcoming Felicity to the family, Moira and Thea thanked her for everything she's done for their son/brother because she basically saved him from himself.
However, Felicity would never be able to ever be able to forget that Friday.
Escorting her from the stands where she had been planning on watching the game in her gifted jersey alongside her best friends, Diggle placed her hand in the crook of his arm as he walked them both out to the field- thank you for reminding her to wear flats at the championship -there was a weird utzy- as she called it -feeling in her stomach as they walked deeper on field, attempting to cover a grin with his usual poker face.
Remind her to remind him to work on that.
As the marching band began their backing track she hadn't heard before the team, escorting a certain boyfriend, jogged towards her in pairs?
What the hell was going on?
Coming to halt before her and Digg, the entirety of the Green Arrows unexpectedly split themselves down the middle, creating an aisle running down the middle of their positions. Green lights shone in front of them, a spotlight illuminating the ground before them, highlighting a path towards…oh God.
There at the end of the aisle, stood centre field, was her boyfriend clad in his typical jersey and helmet, ready for a game.
Before Diggle could walk her all the way to Oliver, Slade yelled something as he hurtled a ball over the tops of all their heads right into Oliver's hands. Stepping forwards, Diggle fell away from her side, ushering her into the arms of the quarterback.
Slipping out a small package from the small slit in the seam of the ball, Oliver handled the small red velvet box with such care it was as if he thought it may break any second- or explode…either option probably.
Smiling before reaching up to remove his helmet and tossing it to the side at Tommy, who was also wearing a smirk as he in exchange tossed him the microphone, Oliver once again returned his gaze to hers and if she noticed he held her the least bit tighter, she never uttered a word.
"Felicity, a year and a half ago I first met you and to say you intrigued me would be an obvious understatement. For the past year I've been able to enjoy learning all the things about you that I never thought possible, to get a sweet glimpse of what life by your side would be like and baby, I want that…I want to wake up every day and be able to call you mine, to be able to remain by your side for the rest of my life, learn everything about you, even the things that I know you hate which just makes me love you all the more. Felicity you're stunning, smart, witty, strong-minded, kind-hearted and one of the most gentle people I've ever met. You live life as it comes, taking life and what it has to offer without fault, finding another way to problems that would most likely leave me stumped, try not to respond to that-" sending her a pointed look causing her to slap a hand across her mouth, getting the audience laughing "-but most of all, what I love about you is that you don't care about somebody's faults, you take them as they are…just as you did with me, something I feared nobody could ever do but you did. Six years ago, I lost my father to that fire that claimed the initial Queen home along with my childhood and confidence…since then I become so cold towards the outside world that I refused myself to believe in happiness and a future besides football but since meeting you, you turned my life upside down and made parts resurface that I couldn't even remember I had. My father would've loved to meet you and to most likely thank you for knocking some sense into me, as he always said-" as the audience laughed, Felicity tried her best to hold back the tears for she knew how much talking about his father hurt him, "-but nonetheless, I've finally allowed myself to believe and hope for a future, and I want it to be you. So, Felicity Meghan Smoak, will you do me the honour and become my wife, my home?" watching him take a small step back from her and kneel down on one knee, box open to reveal a breath taking vintage emerald cut diamond engagement ring, simple yet so elegant just like she had always wanted, damn Caitlin and most likely Moira and Thea too.
For once in her life, Felicity found herself utterly speechless so did the next best thing…she began frantically nodding her head before eventually being able to gasp out 'yes' before Oliver rewarded her in a watery smile, slipping on their ring before standing to gather her into his arms and begin swinging her around, chuckling as the team exploded with joy for their teammate and his fiancée.
Shutters ricocheted, waves of flashes blinding her as the team stood decked out in Armani suits to the side of where she currently stood, wearing a long elegant red dress that crossed over her chest and wrapped around her neck, leaving her back entirely bare, flowing behind her like silk ribbons.
Thea soon came to embrace her in a hug, paparazzi scrabbling to snap a nauseous amount of pictures, showing her sister-in-law her strapless sparkling silver long dress, her back also being left bare except the straps that criss-crossed to the dip that covered her arse.
"You look amazing!"
"Likewise! Thea that dress is a sparkling monstrosity" laughing while swinging her sister in front of her with Thea giggling away in response.
When she felt warmth to her side, Felicity didn't need to turn to see who it was for she already knew it was her husband as he laid a light kiss to her temple, arm banding around her waist, Roy also taking to Thea's side as cameras snapped photos of the four of them.
Felicity couldn't help but smile up at Oliver as his hand came around to lie protectively across her stomach where their own special miracle grew.
Cameras snapped dozens of photos of them as Oliver smiled genuinely down at her before kissing her passionately as he once had but nothing could ever beat the kiss she received from him that game all those years ago.
If you would've told her four years ago that she would slowly fall in love with Oliver Queen, quarterback for the Green Arrows, and later proceed to accept his proposal she probably would've told you that you needed to see someone.
Now she couldn't see her life any different from the path it's taken as everyday she finds herself falling in love with her husband all over again and it wasn't much different from Oliver's POV either.
No matter how many years passed, the image Thea had taken of the pair of lovers with their son, Robbie, bundled up in Felicity's arms, Oliver gazing down at his son with tears present in his eyes would be one of Felicity's personal favourites. The other being the one taken at their wedding where they stood wrapped in one another's arms as they shared a passionate and heated kiss, the love for one another being present in every inch of their beings captivating whoever glanced at the photo now stood stoic above the mantelpiece.
Ten years later Oliver watched as his son lead his team to victory, wearing his helmet that his father had gifted to him that Christmas and which Oliver had passed down to his son when he had decided to retire now instead becoming a football coach and passing his vast knowledge of football onto younger players.
Laughing as his twin daughters, Mavi and Every, played with a very pregnant Thea, Oliver couldn't help but smile at how truly incredible his life turned out and all thanks to a very special blonde he didn't know what he would've done without. Turning to his side to glance at his wife as she cooed down to their youngest son, Conner, the smile plastered itself across his face without him having any control of it.
Moving up behind her, Oliver wrapped both arms around her waist and peered down at his son's smiling face as he blew a mini saliva bubble.
"Soon Daddy can teach you football, huh Conner, would you like that?" making a funny face down at him, relishing in the giggle Conner responded with, Felicity brought him to her chest, eye level with her face.
"You have no idea what Daddy's saying, do you Conner, you're just laughing because of his funny face aren't you?"
"As always" resting his head atop her shoulder, Oliver shut his eyes for a second and just listened to all the laughs from the members of his family.
"Just wait until they all reach teenage years, then you're screwed" Moira's voice made him crack open an eye as she came to stand by his side, looking out across the field to where most likely she remembered Oliver out there with his father.
"I'm looking forward to the girls' first date, I'm debating whether or not to help Oliver out or get him to handle it himself" Felicity grinned at the thought as Oliver growled in response to the thought.
"No kid is ever going to be good enough for either of my little princesses"
"Well with Ollie as their father, God help those two poor buggers when the time comes" Tommy's cheery voice teased as he and his wife Laurel made their way onto the field with their two year old son in Laurel's arms.
"Now that is a clear understatement" they all laughed at Felicity's response as they turned their attention to the cheering of the mini Arrows.
One of the many undying qualities about Felicity that he loved most of all was the sheer power of belief she held for him, so whenever they both went to bed Oliver would always smile like a schoolboy who just scored a date with their crush when she still wore her jersey the team had gifted to her.
Especially not the fact that it spent quite some time on the floor though...