So I noticed that there were no Iris/Felicity fics out there and decided that needed to change that ASAP (come on people join me in shipping this wonderful ship join meeee) and I've been wondering what Felicity might've said to Iris after Barry disappeared to do his super-heroing business, and then I thought of this and thought "well why the fuck not."
Give me more ladies x ladies please
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"Just go! I'll cover for you."
It takes a few seconds for Felicity to collect herself, hair still windswept from Barry's abrupt departure, struggling to keep from calling out after him when she knows he's probably already miles away.
It's not cold outside—it's a warm fall night, at a temperature that's perfectly comfortable even in her tiny black dress, and yet she can feel her skin break out in goose-bumps. She blinks twice, still not sure she's ever going to get used to her friend's newfound speed, and turns back around to face Jitters, flattening her hair and smoothing down her dress. She takes a deep, steadying breath, before yanking the door open and stepping back inside.
Iris is in front of her before she can even make it back to their table, eyebrows knitted in concern, looking over Felicity's shoulder for someone who Felicity knows won't be showing up.
After a few seconds have passed and Barry still hasn't reappeared, Iris directs her attention back to Felicity, eyes squinted in that something's-not-quite-right-here kind of way that she has.
"Is everything okay? Where's Barry? You guys kind of just took off after Eddie left and didn't say where you were going."
"Yeah! Uh, yeah, everything is great. Super. Barry, um, had to go. Said he wasn't feeling well…I think he might've had too much of those cappuccinos, you know, probably didn't sit well in his stomach, and, ah…yeah. So that's…that's what's happening there."
Felicity is profoundly grateful that no one, aside from Iris, is here to witness her struggling with this should-be-simple task. 'I'm really good at keeping secrets', yeah, okay, sureee—nice job there, Smoak, she thinks, mentally kicking herself and hoping against hope that Iris won't question her further.
Oliver is easy to cover for—Barry, not so much. Especially when it comes down to lying straight to his best friend's face.
But if Iris finds anything strange about her awkward excuse, she doesn't show it—rather, she suddenly looks annoyed, narrowing her eyes and glaring at a spot past Felicity's head where the non-existent Barry would be standing, had he followed her back inside.
"I can't believe he just bailed. He could've at least like, taken you home or something. Or wherever you're staying in Central City for the time being, I mean."
Felicity is speechless for a moment at the fact that Iris is actually annoyed on her behalf, and a little touched, too.
And then the rest of Iris's words really register, the thought of Barry taking her back to her apartment, or her going back to Barry's apartment, or… whatever… forces its way into her mind because, well, yeah—if this stupid Leonard Snart guy hadn't gotten in the way that's kind of what she had been hoping for.
She was sick of waiting around for Oliver, sick of his wishy-washy feelings and his aversion to commitment. She still had feelings for him, sure—it's not like she could expect them to just disappear overnight. But she wasn't going to wait for him to change when it seemed more than likely that he wouldn't—or couldn't, not even for her.
And fuck it, she deserves better. She deserves to be happy. So it might take her a while to get over her feelings for Oliver, but she's going to try her damn best to do it.
Barry is sweet, he's cute, he's smart and funny and objectively, they're kind of perfect for each other. She likes him—not in the way that she loves Oliver, not yet, but maybe…maybe she could. And there's no harm in trying, in seeing where things go.
It's also become more than obvious throughout the night, however, that Barry, while he does seem to return Felicity's interest (if his blatant showing-off earlier is anything to go by), is hopelessly in love with Iris.
Ironically, it just makes her feel closer than ever to him, seeing that look on his face whenever Eddie and Iris kiss or touch, because she knows exactly how he feels.
She can see why, honestly—Iris is pretty, like, super pretty, she's smart and bubbly and confident and fun and easy to talk to, and in the short time that Felicity has spent with her she's honestly started to develop a little crush of her own. It's impossible not to like Iris.
But she has a boyfriend, and she seems pretty into him, and she and Barry both need to move on, at least for now. And they're both conveniently available.
After a few moments have passed, Felicity feels a steady hand on her arm and nearly jumps, having been so absorbed in her thoughts.
Iris is looking at her in concern, and when Felicity startles at her touch she asks, "Are you okay? You seem a little flustered."
It dawns on Felicity that she hasn't responded to her yet, and she notes that she should probably say something to Iris so that she won't scold Barry later on her behalf for something he really couldn't control (even though she can't exactly explain why).
"Oh, yeah, sorry—I'm fine. Just spaced out for a minute there. But it's uh, not his fault, really. I, um, I said I wanted to stay. You know, maybe the two of us could spend some time together. I haven't had a girls' night out in like…years, honestly. It'd be…it'd be cool to get to know you."
The expression on Iris's face instantly melts from one of worry to one of excitement, and Felicity has to remind herself to breathe when Iris is looking at her like that, with that perfect, toothy, ear-to-ear smile and her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.
"You know what, I could really go for that right now. I'd totally be down for a girls' night. Let me just grab my jacket and we can head back to my place. I don't think my dad will be in tonight and I have some wine that needs drinking and brownies that need eating, and I can't do it all myself."
"I'd be more than happy to help with that," Felicity responds with a smile of her own, and she's really not lying, not this time.
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"No way," Felicity chokes out as she's doubled over in laughter, eyes steaming with tears, feeling pleasantly buzzed from the wine. She briefly thinks about how she hasn't laughed like this in ages—this carefree, this happy, or this much. "You and Barry did what?"
Iris is laughing too, and it must be the alcohol getting to her head because Felicity thinks she's never seen anyone look so radiant, so beautiful, and even just the sound of her laughing is wonderful, and it's like…she never wants it to stop.
"It's true. I swear, ask him. We were some pretty strange kids."
They've been sitting on this couch for…god, probably hours now. She's kind of lost track of time—it feels so easy to lose track of time when she's talking to Iris—and they've been chatting, getting to know each other, and exchanging stories like this, dumb and funny and embarrassing stories about things they did when they were younger (and God knows Felicity has more than enough of those to go around) as they pass the bottle of wine back and forth and some romantic comedy they absentmindedly picked out on Netflix plays out on the TV in front of them.
Felicity really likes Iris, like really likes her, and it seems like Iris is genuinely enjoying her company, too.
Also, for the first time in a long time, as she's been sitting here, drinking and laughing and talking and really enjoying herself, Oliver Queen hasn't crossed her mind once.
(Okay, well, maybe just that once, but it was in reference to how great it feels that she hasn't really thought about him tonight, since she's been sitting here with Iris, and she wasn't thinking about him in that way, so technically it doesn't really count. At least that's what she tells herself.)
"Your turn! Let's talk about something…deep. I'm in the mood for deep," Iris says, straightening up and putting her hands on Felicity's shoulders and trailing them down her arms, staring intently into her eyes.
Among the long list of things Felicity has learned about her tonight, one of the most obvious has been that Iris is very touchy when she's tipsy. Very touchy, with a very limited sense of personal space, and Felicity finds that she really doesn't have a problem with it. It's distracting—in a good way.
"Deep? Um…okay, well," she thinks for a minute, and decides she doesn't want to delve into her mommy issues and absent father problems, so instead she opts for her complicated love life.
"I fell in love with a guy who didn't love me back, at least at first. And then he did, or at least he said he did, and things were looking…optimistic, and then there was this explosion, and he said we couldn't be together because it could put me in danger, and he's got this whole twisted idea that he's got to be alone forever, and I'm not willing to wait around for him to change his mind anymore, so…"
Felicity finishes her rambling with a shrug before what she's just said really catches up to her, and when it does she realizes this was probably not the kind of deep that Iris meant, or wanted to hear, and honestly why does anyone ever let her talk. She glares at the almost-empty bottle of wine between them, silently blaming it for making her run her mouth like that—although it's probably just as much the fact that she's kind of a mess. A big, loveable mess.
And fuck, now she's thinking of Oliver again. There goes her one-night streak.
"Oh," Iris finally responds, eyes wide and full of concern, and Felicity worries that she's ruined everything—they were having so much fun, and now she's probably made it all serious and uncomfortable.
But Iris just covers Felicity's hand with one of her own, and cups her cheek in the other.
Her hands are warm and reassuring, and for the second time tonight, Felicity feels her skin break out in goose-bumps. And it's still not because she's cold.
"Felicity Smoak," she speaks slowly, "you listen to me. You are a strong, beautiful, smart, amazing woman, and trust me when I say that it's entirely this guy's loss. Anyone would be lucky to be with you."
And then Iris gives her one of those smiles, one of those literal-sunshine smiles, and Felicity feels herself melt into her touch.
She doesn't know what makes her do what she does next—maybe it's the way Iris is looking at her, the feeling of her hands against her skin, the way her gaze briefly flickers to her lips, the fact that there is barely any space between them, the wine blurring her better judgment—but she does it.
She leans in, closing the small space between them, and kisses her. Her first thought is that Iris's lips are soft and warm, that everything about Iris is warm. Her second is that Iris isn't pushing her away, that she's kissing her back. And she can taste the wine that's staining her lips, and she knows they shouldn't be doing this, but it feels really good, and she can't bring herself to care.
When they finally break apart, they stare at each other in mutual shock and a tad of confusion, both breathing heavily and looking flustered, and Felicity gives Iris a small, embarrassed smile. Iris is about to return it, when suddenly she gasps, eyes going wide.
"Wait…you were in an explosion?"
"Oh, uh, it's a long story…" Felicity responds, fighting to keep a straight face, and then somehow they're laughing again, really hard, clutching each other and giggling until they're practically falling off the couch.
They don't bring the kiss up again, but it's there. It happened. It should be weird, it should be uncomfortable, but somehow it's not. Once they've caught their breath, once they've finally stopped laughing, they resume their conversation as though it's a completely normal thing to kiss a friend who you've technically just met— and who has a boyfriend, no less.
They talk and exchange stories until their eyes grow heavy and until they physically can't stay awake any longer, and Iris falls asleep with her head on Felicity's shoulder.
Felicity drifts into sleep, too, with a smile on her face, wondering if they'll talk about this tomorrow— or ever, for that matter. And thinking about how lucky she is to have made a friend like Iris West, even if she is just getting to know her, and how lucky Barry is to have known her for so long.
She doesn't think about Oliver.
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This is going to be a multi-chapter thing I think, and I'm still deciding whether to keep it just Iris/Felicity or make it Barry/Iris/Felicity because I love Barry/Iris and Iris/Felicity and Felicity/Barry all a lot and have ideas for both but I'm not sure...lemmee know what you think and maybe help me decide! (if you want, that is)
