~ Merry Christmas ~
A oneshot featuring friendship and a little UST between our favourite computer whiz and the hood.
Setting: Late Season 1 or post-Season 1.
"Knock knock," Oliver called softly, pulling Felicity's concentration away from the screens in front of her.
"Since when do you knock? It's your lair after all."
"Our lair," Oliver corrected smiling.
Felicity smiled back, she couldn't help herself, sometimes he drove her so mad, the way he looked through her, the way he was uniquely selfless and self-obsessed – an unusual combo for sure. The way he made stupid boy decisions and didn't always open himself up… and yet, despite it, she admired him in so many ways, including a few she didn't much like admitting too.
"Hey I brought you a present," Oliver added, suddenly remembering the bag in his hands.
"You went to a department sore?" Felicity asked with surprise, eying the bag. "And you shouldn't have. I mean you didn't have too."
"I was walking past and I saw it and I thought of you. I know I owe you a lot more than this, but it's a start."
Felicity took the bag from him with rapped excitement and peeked inside. Her face fell. She gingerly lifted the soft cotton t-shirt out of the bag and held it up. Dark blue with blue college lettering spelling 'GEEK CHIC' across the chest, it wasn't bad, I mean it wasn't something she wouldn't have bought for herself to wear at home in front of the TV, but from Oliver? Well it hurt a little because it summed up how he saw her.
"You don't like it? I'm sorry it's stupid, I'll exchange it," Oliver insisted snatching the shirt and the bag away from her. "It's just I was looking for something for Laurel and nothing was right and I saw this and I was thinking about you and how many times you've come through for me this year, it was a stupid impulse, I shouldn't shop, I'll get Thea to pick something out, or Laurel, or just take my credit card, buy whatever you want."
"As tempting as that sounds Mr Queen," Felicity teased, putting emphasis on her boss' last name, "I'm keeping this, the fact you found time to buy something for me with everything you've got going on, that means something," she smiled, and she found to her surprise she actually meant it.
"Are you sure, because you looked kind of... pissed?" Oliver looked uncomfortable.
"Oliver no, no I didn't, I wasn't, I just, I guess I'm a bit self-conscious," Felicity admitted."
"Self-conscious? About what?" Oliver asked gently, puzzled.
"I know I'm not your typical girl."
"No you're not," Oliver agreed. "You're an incredible woman and I'd be dead by now if you weren't."
"I guess sometimes I just wish you could see me as more, normal."
"Normal is overrated," Oliver countered. "You have nothing to be ashamed of. It's a bad gift and I'm sorry if you felt like I was making fun of you but I respect what you do around here, Diggle and I couldn't do this without you and its more than the computer stuff, I see what you do Felicity, you hold this team together. Just because I'm the hood, it doesn't mean I'm the boss around here, you're the read leader. Look at how you got Diggle back, look at all the times you talked me out of stupid ideas or reminded me what was important when no one else could."
"Really?" Felicity asked, blushing slightly but a smile screaming onto her lips.
"Really."
"Oh well now I love it," she grinned.
"The offer to borrow my credit card stands."
"I might take you up on that, not that I couldn't hack into it if I wanted too," Felicity teased.
"Anytime you need to," Oliver smiled. And with that the rare moment of intimacy between them had passed but Felicity was grinning ear to ear and the positioned the t-shirt in its bag carefully next to the monitor she was working at before she resumed her work. Oliver Queen was hard work a lot of days, but he was also the best boss in the world.
A/N: so what do you think? My first time writing Arrow, I was debating buying this shirt for myself and I thought of Felicity and how amazing she is but also how you can tell she sometimes struggles with this – she's a knock out but 99% of the time Oliver just sees the girl with the glasses who is good with computers. Of course it's TV – its fantasy – she's still played by a drop dead gorgeous actress whom most of us wish we could look half as good as but despite that I still love her and the way she's the heart of the hood's team.
