Inspired by a tumblr post.
Coerced by a tumblr post.
I need to get a stronger resolve.
This took far too long to write.
And then I forgot about it.
Rachel is the best beta.
"I have a present for you," came Oliver's deep voice in her ear as she typed – hacked – at the computer in the Arrow Cave.
Hands pausing on the keyboard, Felicity spun around in the chair to face Oliver. His hands went to the chair arms, stopping her momentum in front of him, their faces inches apart. "I do like presents," she grinned at him.
"Do I at least get a 'hello' first?"
"You're the one who opened with presents," she countered. Smiling at his contrite expression, she ran her hands around his neck. "Hi," she said softly, pulling his face to meet hers and kissing him.
He returned the kiss and she enjoyed the feel of his lips on hers. She could almost sense Diggle rolling his eyes exasperatedly at them and elected to thoroughly ignore him. She pulled back as he tried to deepen it and looked at him expectantly. "So where's my present?"
Felicity thought she heard Oliver growl at her abrupt end to their hello, but didn't think on it; she just wanted her present. They could make out later.
Arching an eyebrow at her, Oliver pulled a small white box from his pocket. Excited as a kid on Christmas, Felicity took it from him and pulled the top off quickly. She gasped when she saw the titanium industrial piercing resting on the gauze. "Oh, it's beautiful," she told him.
It was a deep green, the color of Oliver's leathers, the color of the forest that forged him, the color of various pieces of lingerie she now owned. Nearly an inch and a half long, it was an exact miniature of one of his trademark arrows. "Oh, it's perfect!" she exclaimed. "I was just thinking of getting a new industrial earring!" Felicity pressed a kiss to Oliver's lips. "Thank you, I love it!"
Diggle coughed behind her and it sounded suspiciously like a laugh.
Oliver grinned at her. "I'm glad you love it." He kissed her cheek. "It, uh," he began, moving to lean against computer desk, "it actually serves dual purposes."
Felicity paused in admiring the earring and glanced at Oliver over her glasses. "What other purposes does it serve?" she questioned dubiously.
Scratching behind his ear, he avoided looking her in the eye. "Well, in addition to looking absolutely beautiful on you, it says you're mine and I care a great deal for you and I want everyone you're the Arrow's girl without saying you're the Arrow's girl."
She frowned at him, not buying his attempt to send her on a tangent, despite the wonderful compliments. Arching her eyebrows, she asked, "What else, Oliver?"
He sighed and shifted on the table. She noted he had moved out of arms reach. "It also contains a small tracking device in the arrow head," he said very quickly and quietly. It took her a moment to process his words. And then another to fully understand the statement.
She blinked. "You put a tracking chip in the earring you gave me," she repeated, testing the words for comprehension.; they just didn't translate properly. "They can make tracking devices that small, for normal people to purchase?"
"Well I'm not exactly normal," Oliver commented.
"Understatement of the day," Diggle muttered.
"Oliver!" she screamed, anger setting in. "I am not a pet! You cannot put a chip in my ear!"
"I know you aren't," he said quickly, "I just want to know where you are all the time!" Blinking, he paused under her glare. "That came out wrong."
"Pi gu!" Felicity muttered angrily under her breath. It was a Chinese phrase she liked from Firefly; in this context it meant 'ass', or 'asshole'.
"Hey," Oliver commented, sounding mildly offended yet amused.
She glared at him. "It's well earned."
"I just want to be sure you're safe," Oliver tried to explain.
"By Lo-Jacking me?" Felicity interjected hotly.
"It's just a precaution!"
"I'm just going to be the devil's advocate here," Diggle said placidly, "but the only reason we found Oliver when Merlyn kidnapped him was because of the GPS he has in his boot. Just sayin'," he added, holding up his hands in surrender as she rounded on him.
"Thanks, Digg," Felicity glared at him, her voice as flat and sarcastic as possible, "really helpful." It had zero effect as he walked up the stairs to Verdant leaving the lovers to their quarrel.
"For me," Oliver grinned. His smiled faltered under her stare. "It's just a precautionary measure," he argued again. "In case I'm not with you. You do value your independence!"
"Not helping," she told him, shaking her head.
"It wouldn't be transmitting all the time!" he continued. "Just when I activate it." He paused again. "That sounded much better in my head."
"Oh, when you activate it?" The biting sarcasm in her voice made Oliver inwardly cringe. "So I'm out with the girls and forget to check in you're just going to show up randomly to see I'm okay? Yeah, not happening, Oliver."
Sighing deeply, Oliver resigned. "Okay. In all honesty," he said, sitting in the chair and pulling her to his lap. She sat stiffly, wary of the change of pace. "It's for my piece of mind." Felicity blinked slowly waiting for him to continue. "If I'm not with you, I worry constantly that someone will discovere I'm the Arrow and will be after you. And let's be honest, Oliver Queen CEO has pissed off his fair share of semi-powerful people," he added.
Felicity sat quietly, waiting for him to continue.
"I just-" he began, "I just care about you so much I need to know you're safe. It's part of my adorable controlling nature."
She closed her eyes, fighting a smile. The tracking device did fit his obsessive quirks. How… passionate he could get was one of the reasons she admired Oliver.
"Feel free to contradict that last part at any time."
"I'm not going to deny what's true," she said, turning to look him in the eye.
His arms were wrapped around her waist, his hand ghosted up her side, sending shivers of delight through her body. "If you wear it, he whispered softly in her ear, "I'll rub your back."
Felicity tilted her head. If he's moved to negotiations, she could probably make a sweet deal. "How many?"
Oliver blinked, stunned. "How…many?" he asked.
"How many back rubs?" she repeated. "If I'm going to sell out to be Toddler Tagged, I'm going to get more than one back rub." Leaning her mouth close to his ear, she added huskily, "And you know how I get when I get a really good back rub." Oliver wasn't the only one who could play this game.
Clearly his throat, Oliver shifted in his seat. Not that shifting did any good since she was still sitting on his lap. Felicity one, Oliver zero, she thought smugly.
"You win," Oliver mumbled almost incoherently.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Felicity asked.
Turning his head to look at her, Oliver repeated slowly and clearly, "You win," and Felicity smiled victoriously. "I'll give you ten backrubs."
"You must really want me to wear this if you're starting with ten," she mused.
Pulling her closer, Oliver whispered, "I just want to keep you safe."
Felicity wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling enticingly. "You could always keep me safe by staying with me as much as possible." The kiss that followed gave the full meaning of her implication.
Oliver hummed against her lips. "We can start working on that plan tonight."
"That, Oliver Queen," Felicity said between kisses, "is the best idea you've had all day."