FALLING FOR YOU

Disclaimer: Arrow and its characters belong to DC, the CW and Warner Bros., not me.

This chapter is written in two parts, the first in Oliver's POV, and the second in Felicity's POV.

Inspired by my family's recent trip to Niagara. Hope you like this!

Chapter 1: Niagara Falls

He'd passed by her a couple of times already during his morning run. As a first impression, he thought she was pretty, even if he'd only seen part of her face from an angle. Actually, it was her wavy blonde hair flying in the softly blowing wind that caught his attention.

Oliver hadn't been sleeping well lately. And by lately, he really meant the last couple of months. He still couldn't decide whether to follow his own dreams and venture into business on his own, or to stay on course and fulfill the expectations of his parents that he eventually take over their Fortune 500 company. He'd made a list of pro's and con's countless times in his head and on paper, but he still could not bring himself to make a definite choice. He had thought that going to Niagara for the weekend to support his younger sister, who was representing her school in a junior high academic competition, was the perfect excuse to get away from the pressure in the workplace without his parents asking too many questions. He still hadn't had much sleep last night, so he had gotten up early and gone on a run down by the Falls where he could jog from one end of the park to the other and enjoy the fantastic view that nature offered.

It was pretty early, so most of the shops were still closed and there were hardly any tourists in the area yet. There was just a handful of people walking and sitting about, mostly locals who knew better that this was the best time of the day to enjoy the amazing vista in peace and quiet. The sun was already up, having risen from the horizon about an hour ago, but it wasn't shining too brightly yet. He easily noticed her the first time he'd passed by. She hardly moved; he would have thought she could pass for one of those wax figures in Madame Tussaud's, had he not seen her breath a heavy sigh when he passed her. She had looked like she was in deep thought, with her arms crossed on top of the secure railing as she looked down at the churning waters as if she was mesmerized by it. He had wondered if she was from there or from out of town and had just gotten up earlier like him to enjoy the Falls before other tourists started flocking into the area.

The second time he'd passed her, she still hadn't moved from the same spot, but her head was up, and even from afar he could see her smiling. She scanned the panoramic view from right to left and then back again, her face bright and hopeful as she basked in the breathtaking view from the Canadian side of the Falls. Just as he passed her, she had looked up, closed her eyes contentedly, and breathed in the fresh, morning air. At that moment, he had thought that there was nothing more beautiful than the sight of her, not even the majestic view in the background. He would have stopped jogging right then and there to greet her, but he had had second-thoughts. He didn't want to interrupt her moment, for she was clearly enjoying being alone at the time. He would have rudely intruded into her space.

But this time, when he saw that she was still there, Oliver thought, "Why not give it a try?" He thought there was nothing to lose and everything to gain by greeting, and possibly meeting, this pretty woman. Especially since she was now awkwardly (and dangerously) tiptoeing over the railing in an attempt to get a selfie with the waterfalls behind her, and she looked like she badly needed help.

He slowed down his pace, and as he approached her, she tried to climb even higher on the rock mound that held the metal bars together in order to capture the view behind her better. When she raised her arm overhead and tried to angle her phone to take the selfie, she lost her balance. She squealed in panic as she wobbled. Good thing she was already within his reach, and he caught her just in time. With both his hands on her upper arms, he pulled her back in and saved her from falling headlong down the rocky edge and into the raging waters below. Unfortunately, her phone didn't make it.

She would have considered the fate of her phone absolutely tragic due to her passion for gadgets and all things tech-related. However, the loss had gone unnoticed, for she was staring straight into the most captivating pair of blue eyes of her rescuer, whose face was just a few inches away from her panic-ridden one. They were frozen on the spot, gazes locked onto each other, wondering what in the world had just happened. She did not want him to let go of her just yet, because she wasn't finished taking in the features of his beautiful face - his perfectly chiseled jawline, his charming scruff, the mole at the corner of his pinkish lips. What had she done to deserve this rescue? She wondered.

She had woken up that morning with a myriad of thoughts crisscrossing in her mind. She was supposed to be focusing on the competition. Her alma mater had asked her to coach this year's team for the annual competition, and she did not want to let her students down, especially because she and the school officials considered them the most promising group of young minds to bring home the championship trophy since the last time her batch did it in 2003. But she found it really hard to focus because of her own issues that cluttered her brilliant brain.

Felicity had been working in the IT department of a huge tech company on the other side of the country for close to five years now, but promotion had been slow. Her misogynistic supervisor made sure of it. She had been receiving job offers from other companies in the city and elsewhere - some lucrative, and some not so - but her heart couldn't seem to find its home in any of them so far. She knew she could make it on her own, maybe start her own IT company and build it from the ground up, but she was much too frightened of failing. Her mother thought she was crazy thinking that way, avoiding a daring career move in favor of keeping her old job and staying in her comfort zone when she could do so much more with her life and expertise and succeed in it.

So, she had gotten out of bed, changed into her running outfit, and headed to the Falls where she intended to shake off her apprehensions through physical exertion. Only, the beauty and intensity of the Falls had captured her fancy, and she had totally forgotten what she had set out to do. So much for distracting herself from her worries. Good thing the soothing sights and sounds of this wonder of the world had achieved the same purpose. At first, observing the Falls had caused her to ruminate and reflect on her life so far. But eventually, the natural grandeur around her made her relax and simply find pleasure in the moment, forgetting her cares and concerns.

Losing her footing while taking a selfie and landing in the arms of a handsome stranger had snapped her out of her moment. Normally, an unintentional stunt like that on her part would have humiliated her utterly. But this was far from normal, so she cut herself some slack and allowed herself to not wallow in embarrassment, and instead enjoy this sudden yet favorable intrusion into her personal space. After all, her rescuer (whoever he is) was a very gorgeous guy. She wouldn't mind him not letting go of her anytime in the near future. She hadn't heard him yell out, "Careful!" as he reached forward and grabbed her. But now as he held her close to him, she could hear him breathing heavily in panic out of concern that she had almost fallen to her death. She could feel his chest heaving against hers. She didn't know how to feel about his nearness, except that she did not want for the moment to end just yet.

Yet, it did. He took a deep breath and said softly, "It's okay. I got you." He slowly set her down on the ground.

This time around, she heard him, and it dawned on her that she really needed to thank him for saving her life. But like in most cases when she was nervous or anxious or stressed, her brain-to-mouth filter malfunctioned once again. Instead of saying 'thank you' to her handsome rescuer, what came out of her mouth was, "Uhm, you're really sweaty."

She immediately realized what she had said, a split-second too late. For some unfathomable reason, the gorgeous guy grinned at her instead of scolding her for her inappropriate, ungrateful response. He wasn't just strong and handsome, he was also kind enough to overlook her flaw, she thought. She groped for the right words to redeem herself, but he spoke once again before she could.

Offering her a handshake, he smiled sweetly and said, "Hi! My name is Oliver Queen."

She took his hand and immediately her cheeks were colored with a deep shade of pink. She wondered if he too felt the same electrifying warmth as soon as their hands made contact. "Hello, I'm Felicity, Felicity Smoak," she said. She was amazed at how the touch of his hand had managed to calm her down so quickly.

"It's nice to meet you, Felicity."

"Well, it's nice to meet you too, Oliver, life-saving I might add."

He chuckled and then dropped his gaze the same way she did as she bit her lower lip.

When they both looked up at each other again, he asked, "Would you... would you like to have coffee with me or something?"

Nodding, she replied, "Yes, I'd like that."

Thank you for reading! I would love to know what you think of this "first meet cute" Olicity AU fic.