Author's Notes: This one is based on a Tumblr prompt from brebabbles — "Felicity finds a keepsake Oliver has of her, like a hair clip, a pen etc…"
As always, I'd love to hear your feedback!
Felicity Smoak was clumsy enough all on her own, so the last thing she needed was an overgrown vigilante leaving his stuff all over the place. She promised to remind him of this, again, when she walked into the foundry to find his leather suit in a pile next to her desk.
"Really? Right here?" she said to no one in particular. "Why are you undressing at my desk anyway?"
Felicity closed her eyes and shook any and all thoughts of naked Oliver Queen from her mind, "3..2..1.."
She glanced toward the training mats where Oliver and Roy were practicing hand-to-hand combat and sighed before reaching down to grab his gear.
Her hand closed around the soft green leather of Oliver's jacket, and she felt something small and hard within the lining. She flipped the front of the jacket open and noticed a tiny silver zipper and what looked like a pocket. She pulled the small zipper open, reached her fingers inside the pocket and was surprised to find the industrial bar that, until very recently, she'd worn every day for the past four years. The one she removed two months ago, before they infiltrated and blew up the Applied Sciences division of Queen Consolidated, because she was afraid it would snag on her ski mask. She set it on her desk that night and forgot about it until the next day, but it was gone when she went back for it. She figured it was knocked off the desk and lost during the fight with Slade.
She looked toward Oliver again then back down at the silver bar in the palm of her hand. "Why would he have this? He listened to me go on about this stupid earring for two days, and it was in his pocket the whole time? He probably found it on the floor, and put it in there with the intention of giving it back but forgot," she surmised to herself.
That was really the only explanation she could come up with, but it just didn't make sense. Oliver wasn't the type to forget things, and Felicity knew him well enough to know that if her earring was in his pocket, it was there for a reason.
Because curiosity always got the best of Felicity, she found herself moving toward the training mats. "Um.. Oliver?"
He let out a grunt, but doesn't look up as Roy attempted to land a blow to his mid-section. He easily slipped behind him, and in one swift motion Roy was on his back, and Oliver was hovering over him with a smug smile on his face. Grabbing a towel from the floor, he said, "You're getting faster. But you're still not focused enough."
Roy sat up and pointed in Felicity's direction. "I think you better redirect your focus. Blondie looks like she's about to have an aneurism over there."
Oliver turned around and cocked an eyebrow at Felicity, who was standing at the edge of the mats with his leather jacket hanging off one finger. Her other hand, the one holding her industrial piercing, balled into a fist. "You ok?" He asked, hesitantly, unable to get a read on her expression.
Felicity blinked a couple of times. Words, tons of them, were swirling in her head, and she willed her brain to form coherent thoughts, ones that she could actually say out loud without embarrassing herself.
She squeezed her hand around the piercing, and watched Oliver for a moment before deciding that she doesn't need to know why Oliver kept it. He must have a reason, and something inside her was telling her to let it go. Luckily she still had a reasonably valid excuse as to why she was standing there with his jacket in her hand, looking like a crazy person. She raised her arm and shook it the hood toward him.
"I thought I was clear when I said I wasn't your maid, you mother or your wife," she said, not really feeling as irritated as she was trying to sound. "If you're going to leave your stinky Arrow gear all over the place at least keep it away from my computers."
Roy snickered and Oliver shot him a look before turning back to Felicity's expectant stare. He almost couldn't help the smile that formed on his lips and he tried as hard as he could to school his features. "I'm sorry. Here, give me that," he said, reaching for the jacket. "I'll go pick up the rest of my mess, and then I'll swing by Big Belly so you don't have to make another trip out.
Felicity pulled the jacket out of Oliver's reach. She had to somehow get the earring back into its pocket without him noticing. "No. Just.. I'll do this. You, go get dinner."
She turned and walked back toward his pile of clothes, and when she was far enough away, placed the earring back into the pocket and zipped it closed. Felicity could feel his eyes on her, and when she turned around he was still standing at the edge of the mat, hands on his hips, an amused smile pulling at his mouth.
"I thought you were going to feed us." She said, pushing her glasses back up on her nose. "Or are you just going to stand there all night looking sweaty and hot and distracting?" She groaned in embarrassment as soon as she said it, clamping a hand down over her mouth.
Oliver laughed and grabbed his tee shirt from the back of her computer chair before making his way up the foundry stairs.
Felicity thought she'd imagined it when, two days later before heading out on patrol, she saw Oliver touch his hand over the spot in his jacket where she knew her earring was hidden. She watched him curiously for the next couple of days and eventually realized that the earring was a source of comfort for Oliver. More specifically, she was a source of comfort. Each time he put on the suit he would feel to make sure Felicity's earring was still there. And when he was satisfied that it was, his body would relax ever so slightly and he was out the door.
"Oliver, why are you staring at me?" she asked from her desk a couple of weeks later.
"Your industrial piercing," he said, gesturing toward her ear. "You haven't been wearing it."
Felicity's cheeks flushed, and she wondered if he knew about her discovery. "Oh, right." She said touching the shell of her ear. "I took it out a while back and must have lost it."
"That's why I got you this," Oliver said holding a small black box out to her.
Felicity eyed him skeptically, but took the box from his palm. She pushed back the lid, and failed at stifling her laughter when she saw what was inside. "Really, Oliver? Because that's not at all obvious." She said, holding up the tiny silver arrow earring.
He shrugged. "Maybe it's a little obvious, but I like the idea of knowing you've always got me with you."
Felicity's eyes shot up to his and she suddenly felt bold. "You're not the only one."
Oliver smiled knowingly and plucked the arrow from her fingers. He set to work inserting the small piece of jewelry into her ear, his touch sending a shiver through Felicity. When he finished he leaned in closer and whispered, "It suits you."
Felicity reached up to touch the earring, her fingers brushing against his, and she swallowed hard. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, and she was sure it was loud enough that he could hear it. She mentally shook the feeling away and smiled up at Oliver, who looked pleased with himself. "Thank you," she said.
He nodded once, and hesitated before taking a step back, "You're welcome, Felicity."
She watched him retreat toward the foundry stairs, pausing in front of the glass case that housed his suit. He reached in and pulled her earring from the pocket, twirling it between his fingers.
"Hey, Oliver," she called, unable to help herself.
"Hmm?" he asked, not looking up from the piece of jewelry in his hand.
"Do me a favor?"
He turned back around to face her, and closed his hand around the earring.
"Try not to steal this one," she said with a bit of a challenge in her tone and glint in her eye.
Oliver looked taken aback for a moment, and Felicity saw his hand tighten around the small metal bar. He recovered quickly and tossed a wink in her direction. "No need to steal yours. I've already got my own."
