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Prompt: FF#28: That's Vegas, Baby!
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the scars of your love (they leave me breathless)
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"Remember how days into our road trip, you told me all about how you'd actually seen me talking to myself in your mother's office? Which, if I'm going to be completely honest with you, is still very embarrassing." Her question and light babble had been asked almost out of nowhere in the dark of their latest hotel room, as she and Oliver cuddled on the bed.
"Yeah," was his one word response, and Felicity felt his chest rumble under her head, fingers never stopped rubbing her back. "And it shouldn't embarrass you, it was cute. But what brought this up again?"
"Well, I didn't want to say," Felicity hedged with a nervous chuckle and her fingers toyed the material of his shirt anxiously. She continued quickly once Felicity felt Oliver tense under her. "That first day you came to me with that laptop—and that terrible excuse, your coffee place was in a bad neighborhood, pfft!—wasn't actually the first time I'd seen you either."
Felicity was proud of herself in that moment; she'd noticed a long and off topic babble was starting, and stopped it on her own. It was one of the few times Oliver hadn't needed to put pressure on her should then say, "Fe-li-city," the three syllables dragged out in that oh-so patient tone.
"Really now," said Oliver, and those two words mixed with the tone, told Felicity more than any long winded ramble ever could. She laid still, having bit her bottom lip to keep silent as he'd gotten his thoughts together. "When did this happen?"
She huffed out a relieved breath. "It was the spring of 2007. One of the many 24 hour diners in Vegas."
Oliver's whole body had stilled, much in the same way when he'd assess a threat or situation, leading Felicity to rightly assume him to be digging through his memories. Looking back to the days he both loved and hated—time before the island, when he'd been the ungrateful party boy.
"I—I can't remember it."
"You were pretty drunk. Both you and Tommy were," she said, voice getting to a hushed whisper by the time she'd mentioned Tommy's name.
"I'm sorry that I can't remember, but would you tell me about it?" his voice had been regretful in his apology and turned wistful at the end.
Quickly and gently, she placed a kiss under his jaw. "Of course I can."
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Going to Denny's on Saturdays, before going back to her house, had become a weekly ritual for Felicity and her best friend Josh Howard in their junior year after they'd turned seventeen. The restaurant was open 24 hours, perfectly on the way back to their neighborhood from Felicity and Josh's other good friend Mike's house.
At that moment they sat across from each other in the non-smoking section; each sipping on their milkshake, while sharing a large plate of fries. It might not have seen like great fun to most teenagers, but it was heaven for Felicity—a night of video games with her guys, then a snack and sleepover with her openly gay best friend.
"My only disappointment is that you're not coming with me to MIT in the fall," Felicity told him, twirling the straw in the thick chocolate treat. "I want you to escape this town too, Josh!"
"'Licity," he said her childhood nickname—having lived next door to each other their whole lives—with a wealth of amusement. "College of Southern Nevada isn't a terrible school. I'd never get the kind of scholarships or loans for MIT. We'll just have to have you come home some breaks and I could come visit you on others."
Felicity gave him her cutest pout as she started to eat a fry. "I know, I know. It's just… Everything is going to be changing in a few months. Like how Mike is going to Stanford University; none of us are going to be in the same school or state! My life is going to become a complete mess without the two of you—seriously, have you ever met me? I babble and always, always say something inappropriate and then whoever is around gives me those where-did-she-escape-from looks!"
Before she'd even finished her rant, Josh's barking laughter echoed loudly in the restaurant, as he held his sides. Usually Felicity hated to be laughed at; but if it was Josh it made her smile, because his laughter was never cruel or mocking.
"Holy hell, doll! Did you even breathe this time?" Josh asked after his laugh died down, having left him short of breath.
As she'd opened her mouth to give him a witty retort, Denny's doors opened allowing the cold air to escape and a bit of the Nevada heat to enter. The first sound to reach Felicity's ears had been loud obnoxious giggles, the kind that made her think of the ditzy blonde female classmates who popped bubblegum and aspired to become a cocktail waitress in some nice casino. Next was male voices that were deep and slurred, but carried a strong air of arrogance. Still she didn't turn around to look until Josh's wide-eyes and open mouth caught her interest.
Having looked to where the server was leading the group of two men and four females to their table, it was then she realized who the males were. Oliver Queen and Tommy Merlyn; the two were famous for being born trust-fund babies and the trouble they caused everywhere they went—if the information in Josh's gossip rags were correct. To Felicity though, they were nobodies, neither of them were technology gods, or music or movies stars she liked, they had just been born lucky and were wasting the opportunities available to them.
"Do you see them?" demanded Josh in a harsh whisper that came close to her ear as he'd leaned almost over the whole table.
Her response came swiftly in an unimpressed look.
"Oh, sweetie, I know they're douchebags," Josh said, waving he main complaint away, "but they're known as two of the most handsome and eligible bachelors in Starling City. The perfect playboys, aloof and rich."
"Don't you worry, Candi," sounded a loud and arrogant voice, dripped in false sympathy. "You'll get your turn back at the hotel, remember my buddy Tommy wants to play with, umm, Alice? Anna? Ashley?"
"It's Amber, silly!" thrilled a syrupy sweet voice with matching giggle.
"Yeah, they're a real catch," Felicity said injecting as much sarcasm as possible, before pausing to take a drink from her melting shake, humming thoughtfully around the straw. "Guess mom would love for me to introduce myself."
Josh gave what he'd call a delicate snort. "Would Donna ever! Rich, gorgeous and just visiting, everything you should want in a one nighter."
Felicity huffed a surprised laugh, not shocked in the least that he knew her mother so well. "Doubt they'd let me in their little harem, I don't have a name like a stripper."
"There's enough Tommy to go around for a threesome, ladies." The less deep, but no less arrogant voice carried, Tommy Merlyn, she assumed to gain the pleased and drunken giggles for the four women.
Her best friend gave a mocking giggle with a sneer. "You could tell them your name is Crystal," he told her with mock excitement, "because, let me tell you, none of those girls have given them their real names and those dicks? They don't care."
Their conversation was once again interrupted by the party table, and it was beginning to annoy Felicity enough that she wanted to leave to escape the coming headache.
"Hey sweetheart, you wanna join us?" asked the one she'd assumed to be Tommy again, and Felicity couldn't help but feel sympathy for his intended prey.
"Honey? He's talking to you," quickly added one of the cloying female voices; to her they all sounded the same.
It wasn't until Josh poked her mouthing, "Oh. My. God!" that Felicity realized the trust-fund brat and his sugar baby were talking to her.
Turning in her seat, Felicity looked the table over. She could honestly admit to herself that Merlyn was good-looking guy, cute even; and that Queen would be truly something to look at if it hadn't been for that horrible hairstyle. Though what Felicity couldn't figure out was what either of them wanted her for—the four girls at their table were blonde, dressed provocatively with matching heels, and wore ample makeup, who looked like Barbie dolls. While she had dark-brown hair, wore a tank and denim shorts and zero makeup.
And, if Felicity were to have been the slightest bit tempted by their invitation to a night with either of them, the thought of becoming her mother and raising a child herself while being a cocktail waitress, would scare her off. It had forever been her goal to escape that kind of life.
"No thanks," Felicity said before biting her lip then counting to 3 in her head to stop from babbling to these strangers. "Josh, lets pay and go back to my house," she finished quietly to her friend, who stood before she'd even finished talking.
They walked off after leaving a tip and ignored the chorus of voices coming from the other table, then calmly paid, only to burst into disbelieving laughter once outside the building.
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Oliver covered his face with the arm not wrapped around her in embarrassment, and moaned a quiet, "Oh God."
"Oh, yes," Felicity retorted back humorously, trying not to coo at how adorable he was when embarrassed. It wasn't something often seen by anyone.
"And—I—uh, what was I doing when Tommy invited you to join us?" he asked voice muffled by his arm, but Felicity could detect a slight fear in the tone.
Her body shook with a silent laugh. "Nothing. You gave a quick leer, then returned your attention to two half-naked women on each of your arms."
"Oh God," he moaned again, sounding as if in pain, "I am so, so sorry, Felicity."
"For what? I thought it was a great laugh, one that never failed to leave me and Josh in hysterics on a bad day. And it's not like you did anything terrible to me or my friend."
Though, Felicity was pretty sure what the apology was really for—the behavior of pre-island Oliver was usually a sore subject, and to find out that she had seen him like that, mustn't be making him too thrilled.
He gave a dark chuckle. "How can you even…?"
"What? Have worked with you? Fall in love with you?" she demanded of him, shooting the questions with a rapid fire. "Because, the man who introduced himself that day, while being a crappy liar, held very little of the cocky attitude that I'd seen before. Honestly? I never knew 'Ollie', just sat across the room from him. But the man who returned from that island? You, I got to know very well, watched you transform from vigilante to a hero. How could I not love you?"
"Fe-li-city," was all Oliver said, but like always the emotion in the syllables told Felicity how much what she'd said meant to him. Probably more than she would ever understand.
"Besides, the fact that we've both seen the other before actually meeting them, tells me one thing," she said flippantly, only to continue when Oliver looked down at her with his brows raised in question. "That we're obviously meant to be. Duh!"
Suddenly both Felicity and the bed were shaking with the force of his laughter—the kind rarely heard from Oliver until this trip, a deep rumbling belly laugh. It was delicious and she kind of wanted to live in the carefree sound. And once the sound tapered off, in a swift movement, Oliver had rolled her under him, and placed gentle closed mouth kissed to her lips.
"What would I do without you?" Oliver asked rhetorically between kisses, most likely said out of amusement to her silly idea.
Giving a flirty smile she said, "Crash and burn," when he'd moved down to kissing her neck.
All Oliver did was grunt his approval, while pulling the blankets over them to block out the dull yellow light from the lamp. Felicity knew verbal conversation was over, it was time to let their bodies talk for them, because Oliver was always better at actions than words.
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[End]