It's Felicity's birthday in a few days, and Oliver is determined to get her an amazing gift. It can't be perfume—no, he likes how Felicity smells—like lemon and lavender. He considers clothing, maybe a blouse or a jacket, but he doesn't know enough about that—and he can only imagine the teasing he would get from Thea if he asked for her help. Then he wonders about jewelry—it's a bit clichéd, but he does know that Felicity wears earrings. He does know that whatever he gets her, it must be bright.
Felicity is all color, from her sunshiny hair to her occasionally garishly printed clothing, to her bright lips—where Oliver admits he spend an lot of time looking. Oliver is very partial to the pink of her blush, and even more so to the clear blue of her eyes. Yes, Felicity is all color, and he appreciates that about her.
At first, he goes to expensive jewelry stores, the ones that sell engagement rings and diamond necklaces and such. But it all just seems so artificial, without any character at all. Sentimental, maybe, but there is no life in the sparkling gems. He walks around the city then, just window-shopping, waiting for something to catch his eye. Eventually, he passes a store that seems like a vintage explosion, and it reminds him of Felicity—all over the place, but charming and eccentric in a good way. He sticks out like a sore thumb with his tailored suit, but knows he's more likely to find something for Felicity here than at Kay's. The clothes are all disorganized, shoes lining the tops of the racks, but he goes to the jewelry display up front on the wall. The girl at the register, with winged eyeliner, two nose rings in one nostril, and dyed grey hair, looks him up and down for a moment, and then returns to the manga that she'd been reading. She probably expects that he'll leave sooner than later.
There is no specific order to the jewelry, and none of the high society women that Oliver generally associates himself would be caught dead with any of it.
But then he finds the perfect earring. It should (to the best of his knowledge, which admittedly, isn't very extensive) fit perfectly in the cartilage of her ear where the twisted bar usually is. The earring is quirky and bold just like her. And it's better than diamonds any day.
He takes it down from the wall and walks over to the counter.
The girl barely hides her surprise at his choice, and tells him the price. Oliver, feeling practically euphoric as he pictures Felicity's reaction, can't resist messing with the shop girl just a little.
He grins. "Can you break a hundred?"
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Felicity, who clearly wasn't expecting a gift from him at all, stared at the wrapped box in her hands. He'd thrust it in her face as she worked on finding a weapons delivery truck for Diggle to "take care of" (they weren't going anywhere for a while), and her expression of disbelief had been comical.
"It's not much, but… Happy Birthday, Felicity."
"How did you even know it was my birthday?"
"Your personal files at work. I remembered from when I was deciding if you were trustworthy or not."
"Ignoring that breach of personal information, I am a Virgo—we're super trustworthy. And industrious, methodical, efficient…"
Oliver interrupts her with a fond exasperation. "You are all of those things, and much more I'm sure. Now open your present."
She obliges him, tearing the wrapping paper apart, but setting the bow aside carefully. He'd asked, to his embarrassment, his mother to help with the wrapping, because his always turned into messes.
When she finally opened the white box (Oliver had thought that the typical velvet box might give her a heart-attack) she grinned, and then snorted at the irony. "Oh, Oliver… I love it. I bit inconspicuous, but I appreciate the thought." She reaches up to her left ear and takes out the twisted bar from the top of her ear, switching it with the earring in the box.
"Here," Oliver says, taking his gift and helping her put it in, since there's no mirror. She reddens a little, but allows him to help (albeit a bit clumsily). He's never been prouder of a gift before, because somehow, seeing Felicity wearing their symbol brings a smile to his face.
A golden arrow fits perfectly through the two holes in her ear.
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I kept seeing those arrow earrings on pinterest and tumblr, and I thought it would be fitting for Felicity to wear one. Don't be afraid of the review button, guys!