Runaway Groom
An: I do not own Arrow
Summary: Oliver has a complete breakdown at the altar and he does what he had always done best in his relationship with Laurel, he runs.
It was a perfect clear day, a perfect day to get married, his mother said but he thought it was a perfect day to take the convertible out, put the top down and drive. He didn't care where the destination was as long as it wasn't there. That should have been his first warning sign.
It was easy to get dressed. The photographer came in, took some pictures and left. His mother and sister left to go prepare with the bride. Soon he was corralled into the limo with his groomsmen and taken to the church. He oddly noted that the groomsmen seemed happier than him. The wedding planner said he had to arrive half an hour before the bride. The outside of the church was filled with paparazzi trying to get pictures of the wedding of the century. He ignored them and headed inside. He had a half hour to wait.
The closer it came to the time of the wedding, the heavier the weight on his shoulders became. He started pulling at his collar. It felt too tight. Tommy kept slapping his hand away from his collar saying Laurel wouldn't approve. Quite frankly, Oliver didn't care what Laurel thought, it was his wedding day too and he wanted to be comfortable. That should have been the second warning sign.
Word quickly spread of the arrival of the bride and the weight on his shoulder multiplied. He started to sweat. As she started to walk down the aisle towards him, the blood started pounding in his ears. He tried to focus on her but it was too hot. Tommy handed him a handkerchief that he used to distract himself with. Suddenly the priest was looking at him to say his vows. They had written their own vows or at least Oliver had paid some famous poet to write his vows for him. He couldn't remember the words though. He felt worse than his most killer hangover, he had plenty of those during the years, but he needed to say something. He opened his mouth but instead of words, his breakfast came out all over her white dress. There were gasps all around the church. He knew then he needed to get out and get out he did. He sprinted out through the back entrance leaving a stunned bridal party behind. He ran until he saw a cab.
Jumping into the cab, he gave the address of the mansion, not the shared apartment with Laurel. He knew now that he would never go back there. He had just left her at the altar. There would be no forgiveness for this but this time he didn't want forgiveness. He was certain now he couldn't do the whole marriage thing with her. It made him physically sick. He should have realised when he slept with that cocktail waitress the night before his wedding that he definitely wasn't ready. Maybe that should have been the first sign.
The staff was surprised to see him. He ignored them, going towards the safe in his father's study and gathering some money. He paid the cab and then went straight to the garage to the convertible. He tore out of the garage and drove. He thought of his life up until that point, his relationship with Laurel, why he proposed, he had basically let his mother manipulate him into it. His parents were going to be pissed. They would threaten to disown him. He wasn't stupid. He knew he couldn't survive without their influence. They would not tolerate anymore of his shit. He knew he was going to have to make some serious promises to them and stick to them this time but marriage was definitely one he wasn't going to agree to.
The next day the headlines on the newspapers said Runway Groom. After the night away, he was ready to face his parents who spent the entire day yelling at him. To make up for this travesty, it was agreed by all parties that he would complete his college degree and start working at the company. He would not be allowed to party, drink or enjoy women until his degree was finished. He knew he needed to talk to Laurel but he knew he wasn't capable of having that conversation yet. Tommy appeared that evening and left after he had given Oliver a black eye.
He gave up the partying, drinking and women. That was why it was night time and he was sitting in his father's conference room with only the glow of his laptop keeping him company. He had a paper due. If he wanted to pass that class he needed to get it done that night. He was interrupted when the ding of the elevator distracted him. He closed the top on the laptop making the conference room completely dark. He watched through the glass as a cute blonde with glasses walked down the corridor with files in her hand. He had never seen her before and he knew she couldn't see him. She went into his father's office and laid the files on his father's desk.
She walked around the desk and looked at the picture of Oliver and his father on the desk, "You're cute. Too bad you're a womanising jerk,"
Oliver smiled and watched the blonde walk away. He walked over to his father's desk to look at the files which she placed there. They were the plans for the new Applied Sciences Division that Walter Steele, his father's best friend, was developing for QC. She must be a part of Walter's team.
Three months later, he was leaving work late, when he saw her walking to her car alone in the parking garage. The week before an employee had been attacked in this very same garage and they increased the security. A memo was sent to staff asking staff working late to take a security escort with them to their cars. He decided to approach her. As he was close enough to touch her, she spun around and fired her taser at him.
He felt the two prongs hit him and the current flow through him. He also noted her shocked face.
"Mr. Queen I'm so sorry," she said as she bent over him.
When did he get on the ground?
"Here let me help you." She said offering him her hand.
"I would prefer if you get these prongs off of me first,"
"Oh," she fumbled with the taser and accidentally set it off again shocking him.
"I am so sorry," she said when she got the gun off.
He angrily pulled the cords off of himself and threw it at her. If Yao Fei, his martial arts instructer, ever heard this story he would be the laughing stock of his dojo. Shortly after re-entering the educational institution he now fondly refered to as his own personal hell, he remembered that school was frustrating. Since he couldn't do any of his favourite past times, he needed a new avenue to vent his frustration. That avenue was martial arts. During his first few months there he felt like the beating dummy for all the other students. He had come close to quitting so many times but Yao Fei always knew exactly what to say to make him stay. The discipline he had learnt there had slowly trickled into the other parts of his life. He supposed that was why he didn't mind staying late at QC to study for an exam the next day.
"I said I'm sorry, are you going to take my hand or not?" the girl asked.
He reluctantly accepted her hand.
"Gosh you're heavier than I thought," she said as she had to plant her feet more firmly because she almost came crashing forward into him when she was helping him up.
"Are you calling me fat?" Oliver asked looking down at her.
"Nope, I would never do that Mr. Queen. Again, I'm so sorry but you shouldn't sneak up on people."
"You should have had a security escort." Oliver pointed out.
"And where is yours?" she retorted quickly.
"I am a trained martial artist," he said to her.
"I have a taser," she said before realising she probably shouldn't have said that.
"I noticed," he responded dryly.
"Are you going to fire me?" she asked.
"I don't have the authority to fire staff," Oliver reminded her.
"Ok, well I'll just be going now before I embarrass myself further in front of the boss's son," she turned around walking to a red mini cooper. Oliver wondered how people could drive those small cars.
The next time they met each other was for a meeting to discuss the location of the proposed Applied Sciences Division. Oliver may or may not have begged Walter to join his team. She had been very surprised to see him. He chuckled when she babbled about him having more muscle under that suit than one would suspect. That had drawn everyone's attention to them.
"You two know each other?" Walter asked with a raised eyebrow. He was well aware of Robert's stipulations on Oliver.
"No," Felicity answered.
"Yes," Oliver answered.
Walter stared stoically at the two.
They rushed to correct themselves.
"I meant yes," Felicity said.
"No," Oliver said at the same time.
Walter glanced between the two, this time Felicity piped up before Oliver, "We've bumped into each other but I do not know Mr. Queen."
"I'm hoping here that bumped isn't a euphemism for something else Oliver," Walter looked sternly at him. He didn't want the boy messing with his brightest employee.
"It isn't sir," Oliver said. He preferred not to elaborate about the taser incident. He further added "I do not even know her name."
Walter eyed them carefully, "Felicity Smoak, this is Oliver. Oliver this is Felicity,"
"Pleasure to meet you Ms. Smoak," Oliver grinned at her.
"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Queen," she smiled back at him.
The closer the project came to implementation the more time they spent together. They slowly started talking about things other than work. He confided in her about his deal with his parents. She told him about her life growing up in Las Vegas. It reached the point where he was walking her to her car every night. He found himself looking forward to every night when they would be alone at QC. He had taken to studying in the server room while she worked. It was quite and the sound of her fingers flying over the keys relaxed him. She also helped him when he couldn't understand something.
On the day of his graduation, he asked Felicity to have dinner with him at the new Italian restaurant downtown. The deal with his parents was over and he wanted her to be his girlfriend. It was easy to transition into a relationship with her. When he thought back on it, the only thing they had been missing before was the intimacy. Now he got to hold her, kiss her and chase off any other suitors.
A time came for him to stand in the front of the church but this time not as the groom, as the best man for Tommy. It was a bit awkward because Tommy was marrying Laurel. This time when she walked down the aisle there was no heavy weight in his chest, only happiness for Laurel and Tommy. She looked beautiful in her Vera Wang dress and he realised that he couldn't remember the details of her first walk down the aisle. Perhaps he should google it to refresh his memory.
Later at the reception, he was sharing a table with Felicity and some of the bridesmaids, who kept making snide comments about the first wedding disaster.
"Felicity I would be wary of marrying him. He's a runaway groom," one chided her.
Felicity had had enough at that point.
"What happened at the previous wedding was unfortunate but it was a good thing. It was good that he realised it then that he couldn't do it. Would you have wanted him to walk out when Laurel was pregnant or when they had two kids? Laurel and Tommy have their happy ending now because Oliver walked away. They have all mended their friendship and it is much stronger than it was. There is no need to keep making jabs at him. And don't worry about me. I'm not looking for a husband or marriage. What I want is a partner, a partner at home and in life. It's even better that we work together. Now if you'll excuse us, the dance floor is open and I would very much like to dance with my partner,"
Despite Oliver's no dancing policy, he eagerly guided her to the dance floor. He had discovered that if Felicity was the one asking, he had not problem obliging her and that was true of almost anything she had ever asked him.
"I hope that's not judgement on your face," Felicity said as he took her in his arms.
"No pride, no one has ever defended me like that," he admitted.
"Well get accustomed to it Mister, I don't plan on going anywhere," she said to him reaching up on her toes to kiss him softly.
Oliver realised that the marriage thing may not be for him, he stills gets that panicked feelings when he thinks about it but he could definitely do the partnership deal as long as Felicity was his partner.