The pre-wedding picnic and another chance encounter. What is it about Felicity Smoak that Oliver finds attractive? I don't think even Oliver knows what it is. Only time will tell.
Over the next month Oliver had been dragged to every wedding planner in Starling city. Everyday seemed to meld into the next. Laurel was a bride on a mission, and Oliver was along for the ride.
The only escape he had was at work and then when Tommy would show up at the house once a week to take him out for "guys night."
Oliver had asked him to join them on one of the pre-wedding meetings. After seeing Oliver sit there, Tommy felt his pain and insisted that he and Oliver needed to have at least one night a week together to keep their testosterone levels up. They seemed to end up at smaller bars where attention was not drawn to them, and they could sit and play pool for hours until the bar closed. Tommy would grab his "guest" for the night and then drive Oliver home. Needless to say, Oliver lived for those nights.
Late one afternoon, Oliver sat in his office, staring out his window at Starling City's skyline. He tapped his finger on his temple when his secretary walked in and interrupted him. "Mr. Steele is here to see you, Mr. Queen. Shall I send him in?"
"Yes, Meg. Thank you," Oliver stood up and buttoned his suit jacket. He walked around his desk to greet Walter.
"Oliver son, how are you? " He extended his hand to shake. "We haven't seen much of you at the manor with all the wedding planning and preparations."
"Yes well, it has been a bit time consuming. It's more time consuming than I had anticipated," he admitted to Walter with a head shake.
"Yes well, I learned that from your mother, never get in the way of what the bride wants," Walter joked.
Oliver chuckled. "I suppose you're right about that." He sighed and shook his head. "I wasn't expecting a meeting today. Can I help you with something?"
"Ah yes," Walter went into business mode. "As you may know, we are making some major changes to the IT department and integrating it with the applied science portion of the company. These changes will begin next week, and I wanted to set up a meeting with the department head to go over the impending changes."
"Of course, Walter," Oliver agreed. "I'll have Meg add it to my calendar for next week."
"Smashing. I'm so pleased," Walter clasped his hands together and smiled. "You know, Oliver, I must say, I'm very impressed at how you've really stepped up and taken some control with the company. I know it's a big adjustment from the lifestyle you had, but I'm so glad to see you embracing what you are so fortunate to have."
Oliver half smiled. "Well you know how mother is, there wasn't much of a choice. First the company and now the wedding. Everything is moving so fast my head is spinning." He admitted, his tone a bit melancholy.
Walter walked over to him and put his hand on his shoulder. "Oliver, I know things seem to be moving at light speed right now, but it won't be long before it all starts to slow down and the pieces will fall into place. You never know how things will turn out." Walter patted him on the back and turned to head towards the door. "Besides, the engagement picnic this weekend should put you at ease. Your friends and family will all be there to celebrate with you." Walter nodded as he left closing the office door.
"Shit!" Oliver swore brining his knuckle to his forehead. He had completely forgotten that his weekend was the engagement picnic that Laurel had planned. It was another way of her showing her friends and family just what she was going to have and they couldn't have. Her own way of rubbing it in just a little bit more.
He thought about the picnic and sighed putting his hands in his pockets. One more deep breath and he looked at the clock in his office. He'd better get home since he knew he had dinner plans with Laurel. This was going to be a very long night.
When he arrived at the restaurant, he spotted Laurel already at the table scrolling through her phone and jotting things down on the note pad she had brought with her. Oliver put on his best smile and walked to the table. He leaned down to give a peck on the cheek.
"Oliver, please," She gasped, slightly surprised. "We have so much to go over before Saturday. Hurry up and sit down."
Oliver pressed his lips together and inhaled. He walked to the seat across from Laurel and sat down. The waiter quickly approached him and asked him what he would like to drink.
"Scotch neat," He stated.
"Oliver, I've already ordered a bottle of wine. You can drink that instead. He doesn't need any drink, thank you. Oh, and waiter, we'll both have the chicken piccata," Laurel ordered as the waiter filled Oliver's wine glass. She looked at him as if to shoe him away so she could get back to planning.
"Laurel, I was actually hoping to have the filet mignon tonight," he said, irritated, as he sipped the wine and made a face. He was not a white wine drinker, and Laurel had picked a particularly sweet one that made Oliver purse his lips.
"Nonsense, Ollie. You eat entirely too much red meat. It's just not good for you and we need to talk about your sweet tooth as well. Thea told me you had breakfast for dinner the other night." She scolded. "Waffles are hardly a suitable dinner. I don't need you getting fat on me. I mean the camera adds ten pounds, and we are going to be in front of them a lot this year."
Oliver sat back in his chair feeling like a child who was just caught stealing a cookie before dinner. He was a grown man, he thought to himself, and could eat whatever he pleased for dinner. With that he made a mental note to eat in his car so that Thea wouldn't catch him and tattle anymore.
"Are you listening to me, Oliver?" Laurel snapped, breaking his train of thought.
"Yes, of course I am." Oliver lied.
"Good, then it's agreed that the caterers will be serving grilled chicken with vegetables this weekend," she smiled widely.
"Laurel," Oliver began stretching his hand to set it on top of hers. He was about to speak when the waiter brought their salads. He smiled patiently as she took her hand back to pick up her fork and knife.
"Laurel," he began again. "I was thinking that since this is a picnic we could do some normal picnic foods. You know hot dogs and hamburgers, some potato salad and such."
Laurel looked at him her mouth agape. "Really, Oliver. You are a Queen, and Queens do not serve potato salad and burgers. What would the mayor think if you handed him a hot dog with relish to eat on the lawn at the Queen manor?" Laurel scoffed.
"Maybe he'd ask for mustard." Oliver tried to joke and make light of the situation. Laurel was not amused. "I'm simply saying that I think we should try to keep at least a few things simple instead of going hog wild."
Laurel looked at him and sighed. "Look Oliver, I know what you're saying, but a girl dreams about her wedding day for as long as she can remember, and well, if you want to change things to the way you want them, then I guess that'll be fine." She sighed and sniffed putting on her best pout and looking down.
Oliver pressed his lips together and inhaled. "You're right." He caved. "This should be the way you want it, and I'm sorry for suggesting something different."
"Good then!" Her smile quickly returned to her face. "I knew you'd see it my way."
She snapped back quickly and monopolized the dinner conversation with picnic and wedding plans. Honestly, Oliver couldn't tell you a thing she was saying. He tried to listen and pay attention he really did, but he was lost in his own daydreams of all the fun he and Tommy used to have. Thankfully Tommy would be at the picnic so he could at least count on having some fun.
The rest of the week felt like a blur. Oliver sat in meetings at work every day and then the dinner table every night, tuning into what felt like endless wedding conversations. He swears they kept repeating the same thing over and over again, just worded differently.
Maybe this was just cold feet. Maybe if he sat in his chair in a different position he'd be more comfortable and then he would pay better attention. He shifted in his seat and tried to concentrate. He looked over at Thea who was busy texting.
He looked at her and made a face. He hoped that she would talk to him about something, anything. No such luck. Thea gave him an evil grin and stood up. "I had better get to the club. Roy is waiting for me and I have to do some inventory before we open. See you in the morning." She turned and quickly exited.
Oliver sighed and turned back to his mother.
"Of course, once the list is complete we will have to arrange the seating chart," Moira said, matter of factly.
That was all Oliver heard before he drifted off again.
"Well ladies, I think I'd better go upstairs," Oliver stated. "I've got some reports I need to go over, and I won't have time this weekend I want to go over them now."
Moira cocked her head and raised her eyebrow. She knew full well Oliver was not telling the truth, as paperwork was the last thing he ever wanted to look at.
"Alright, darling. We will see you in the morning," Moira stated instead.
"Goodnight, mother. Goodnight, Laurel," he leaned down to give her a kiss on the cheek.
"I'll be up soon, dear," she said before turning back to Moira to talk about table covers.
Upstairs, Oliver put on his pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. He turned on the TV and started to look over his reports. He quickly lost interest when he heard theme music playing. He looked at the TV and saw the words scrolling up the screen. "A long time ago in a galaxy far far away…"
The reports quickly went by the way side and ended up on his night stand as he got engrossed in the movie. It seemed like it had been forever since he saw it and why not watch it now. He crossed his hands and rested them on his chest. This was just what he needed. He smiled and laid back to relax.
Just as the rebels were about to take over and defeat the empire, Laurel walked in and interrupted him.
"Uh. So much work to do. I really need to go over so many things with the wedding planner, I can't believe it," she huffed in exhaustion. "Ollie, what are you watching? Really! What are you, five?" She took the remote and quickly changed the station.
Oliver sat up and looked at her. He took her hand and pulled her down to sit on the bed. "I can think of something better to do," he said slyly.
"Oliver," she snapped. "I really don't have time for this now. I have to get up and get ready for the party. The stylist and makeup are arriving early and I have to be ready. Now let's go to bed."
Defeated, Oliver watched her walk off in a huff to the en suite to change and get ready for bed. Not that they were heating up the bedroom very much well before their engagement. It was an occasional event that was few and far between. It was more like an obligation or a feeling that they should just do it since this was what they were supposed to do.
Oliver shifted to lay his head down and watched her nightly ritual. After her makeup was removed and moisturizer applied she nervously rubbed lotion on her arms and hands. She ran a brush through her hair repeatedly as if she was counting the strokes in her head. Then she opened her night stand and pulled out the hair clip she used every night pulling her hair back. She would then get up and laid her satin robe on the chair gently as if it would come apart if she mishandled it. She got into to bed and turned her back to him flicking off her lamp and nestling into the bed.
He didn't initiate a good night simply because he didn't want to disrupt her nightly routine and she didn't make an attempt either. Oliver wondered what it would be like to actually lay in bed and watch TV with someone. To decompress as they shared their stories for the day. Was this what it was like for everyone? Maybe after the wedding and all its pressures things would change, he thought. He sighed and rolled over for the night.
Morning came early and Oliver woke alone. Laurel had already gotten up and was probably awaiting her hair and makeup artist to arrive if they already hadn't.
He stretched and rolled out of bed running his hand over his face and hair to wake himself more. He got up and made his way downstairs. There were people everywhere pulsing through the house to ready things for the picnic. When he got to the kitchen it was full of servers being directing on what they would be doing for the day. It was a maze of people to get through and all Oliver could think of was coffee.
Oliver weaved his way through the people and made it to the counter where Raisa stood. She caught sight of him and smiled. "Good morning, Mr. Oliver."
"Good morning, Raisa. Can I get some coffee?" He asked with a smile.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Oliver, there isn't any left. Everyone was up early and had breakfast already, but if you wait a few minutes I can make some.." she started to say, but he cut her off, raising his hand to stop her.
"No. It's ok. I really don't need it. I'll just take a shower and get ready. It looks like it's going to be quite a day." He turned and made his way back upstairs, dodging the people that were surging through the house. He made it to his bedroom and shut the door and leaned against it. He closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath and opened his eyes, then smiled at himself in the mirror, looked at his watch and saw that guests would be arriving soon and he should go find Laurel and the rest of his family.
He went to the back lawn and found his mother there giving final orders to one of the staff. She turned to him. "Oliver dear, so nice to see you finally down here. Is that the outfit Laurel chose for you?" She raised her eyebrow while looking him up and down.
"No mother, it's not, and I am perfectly able to pick out my own clothes," he declared.
"Ollie!" Thea said, taking his hand and leading him away, leaving their mother, who turned and walked to where Walter was standing.
"What's up, Speedy?" He smiled. "Thanks for the save by the way."
"You're welcome, sadly I won't be able to save you from the rest of this day. This is really a bit much, don't you think?" She said, looking around at the tables and their decorations.
"Yeah, I would say so. This is not what I pictured a picnic to be like, but this is what Laurel wanted and…"
"Blah blah blah," Thea interrupted sarcastically. "I'm eloping just to avoid this mess." She looked at Roy as he walked over to her.
"Hey Oliver," Roy said, putting his hand out to shake. "Congratulations."
Oliver took shook his hand. "Thanks. By the way, has anyone seen Laurel?"
"Yes, she's just finishing with the photographer actually. Some fashion magazine was here to take pictures." Thea pointed to where Laurel stood posing. "Ugh. Good luck," Thea said, rolling her eyes. She took Roy's hand and walked to get a drink at the bar.
Oliver knew Thea really didn't care for Laurel much, but she tolerated her for Oliver's sake. To Thea, Laurel was what put a space between her and Oliver. Seeing Laurel forced Oliver to grow up and with that leave her behind. There were no more stupid movie nights, where they would purposely find a horrible movie and force themselves to watch it so they could say how awful it was. In Thea's eyes fun Ollie was dead and all that was left was boring old stuffy Oliver. Even though she was down the hall, he really missed his sister.
He turned and looked at Laurel, who was now heading towards him. "Ollie, our first guests are arriving, we need to go greet them." Laurel took his hand and they walked to the entry area where Moira and Walter stood and the picnic began.
Within an hour, the majority of the guests had arrived. Oliver felt like a puppet, greeting and shaking hands of just about everyone there. He stood alone, his head was spinning and he pinched the bridge of his nose to ease the stress.
"You know if you are so stressed I know a sweet little lady that can rub the tension right off of you. Honestly there isn't much she won't rub," a male voice joked behind him.
Oliver laughed and turned around smiling. "Tommy!" he smiled giving him a man hug and a pat on the back. "Where the hell have you been?"
"Ha ha. I had to pick up my date," Tommy said with a big grin. He handed Oliver a beer. "Here - drink this, quick. You look like you need it and if you need something stronger, just say the word." He winked. "Where's Dig? I figured he would have saved you by now."
Oliver finally felt like he could breathe. "I am so glad you're here. I feel like a show pony surrounded by cronies." He joked. "Lyla was having contractions and the Doctor said it could be any time."
"Well you looked like you needed rescuing," Tommy took a swig of beer.
Oliver looked down and smiled. "Thanks." Oliver then laughed. "Wait, did you say date?"
"Um, yeah. I brought a date," Tommy said proudly.
"Wow. I'm shocked," Oliver said, grabbing his heart. "Is that why you backed out on guy night this past week?"
"Yeah well, maybe," Tommy answered, looking down coyly.
"So where is this mystery lady?" Oliver said and looked up, scanning the area.
"Alright, alright," Tommy smiled and put his hand up in a stop motion. "I'll go get her, but Ollie, she's not like the other girls. She really is different. She's…nice," Tommy said a little whimsically. "I'll be right back."
Oliver watched Tommy walk off to find his date. "Nice" to Oliver meant that Tommy hadn't slept with the girl yet. To him, it meant Tommy was trying to charm her into his bed. It was a terrible game, but he had seen it before. It was a terrible game that they normally didn't have to play. Most girls would just hop right in their beds, but this one must be a fighter. It was always more fun when you had to fight for it.
He only saw the back of her head when Tommy walked over and put his hand on the small of her back and whispered in her ear. Blonde waves flowed down the back and reached the top of the white floral sundress she was wearing.
His stare was interrupted by Mr. and Mrs. Whoever as they were shaking his hand in congratulations. Wow, this was turning into a long day.
Magically, Tommy appeared behind him. "Oliver Queen, you remember Felicity Smoak."
Oliver froze as she appeared before him. There she was, standing right in front of him again. Their eyes met, and it felt like time stopped for a minute. Her hair blonde hair looked like it was glowing in the bright sunshine and her bright pink lips staring him right in the face. The lips he came so close to tasting at the club that night. His hand took the one she had extended out to shake, and he held it for a little longer than he should have, but he almost couldn't let go when she pulled it back.
"Hi," was all he felt like he could blurt out, but then he shook his head and came back to reality. "Glad to see you could come." He felt like a blathering idiot looking at her. Neither of them looked away.
"Thank you for letting Tommy bring me," She smiled. "You have a lovely castle, I mean, mansion, I mean, house. Well technically it's not just a house since a normal house is more like my little townhouse and this, well this is.."
"Home," Oliver chuckled. "Thank you for coming."
Tommy interrupted with "Sara and Nyssa are over there, Felicity. It looks like they are waving you over." Tommy pointed with the hand holding the beer.
Felicity blinked, breaking the gaze with Oliver. She turned to where Sara and Nyssa stood. "I'd better go and see what's going on. I'll let you two get some male bonding in." She turned and walked towards the other girls.
Oliver watched the sun dress flowing behind her. He shook his head and turned to Tommy.
"I know, right," Tommy smiled, putting his hand on Oliver's shoulder. "Come on. Let's go sit down and eat."
They all sat down at one of the large round tables outside just as Moira stood up and made an announcement for everyone to sit down. Laurel walked over to the table as Moira began her speech. At the table sat Oliver, Laurel, Sara, Nyssa and Tommy and Felicity, Two chairs sat open for Thea and Roy to join them.
"So Felicity, how are you enjoying Starling City so far," Laurel questioned.
"It's pretty good so far. I'm still learning my way around, but I have a pretty good tour guide." Felicity said, looking at Tommy with a smile.
Tommy took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Hey, how's the wedding planning going?" He asked, turning to Oliver.
"It's going well, actually," Oliver said, looking down.
"Oh Ollie," Laurel interrupted. "It's going beyond well. We have the best wedding planner, and she has so many fabulous ideas. It's so exciting." Laurel began to go over some of the things she was planning when she spotted Felicity do a slight yawn. She turned and glared at her.
"Excuse me," Felicity said apologetically. "I was up late last night watching one of my favorite movies. And I think I stayed up a little too late, but I couldn't help it. It was Star Wars, for Pete's sake."
Laurel laughed. "Oh it's fine. I understand. Oliver was watching that movie, too. I just never saw the big deal about it."
Felicity bit her lip to stop from snapping back. It was Star Wars and in her mind still one of the greatest movies of all time.
"Oliver and Laurel," They all turned to hear Moira say. The guests clapped and Moira asked them to stand, both obliging to her wishes. The two waved, thanking their guests.
"Thank you for joining us today and please enjoy your meals and this beautiful day." Oliver said raising his glass and nodding. He sat back down next to Laurel as the server proceeded to bring the dinner salad.
Laurel smiled and continued on with the wedding details as they began eating. Thea and Roy joined the table. She started going over some details with Sara and Thea. Colors and flowers seemed to be a major issue in the planning.
Felicity's phone buzzed and she excused herself. "I have to take this. I'm sorry." She stood up from the table and walked towards the house.
As dinner started Laurel continued planning "The wedding of the year" as she called it, Oliver's phone buzzed. He excused himself from the table and walked closer to the house to take the call.
The call was from Diggle, one of Oliver's good friends from Oliver's and Tommy's big clubbing days. He owned the security company after coming to Starling from Vegas and employed many of the bouncers at multiple clubs they attended over the years. He was their best and only consideration when they opened Verdant.
"Hey Dig, How's it going? How's Lyla?" He asked concerned.
"Everything is fine, but we're heading to the hospital as a precautionary check-up. I just wanted to keep you in the loop. How's the party?"
"It's ok. My mother and Laurel seemed to be enjoying themselves. I guess that's what's important, right?" Oliver sighed.
"Oliver is everything ok?" Diggle asked, concerned.
"Yeah. I don't know," Oliver shuffled his feet. "Maybe I'm just wishing this was all easier. Everything is just so crazy right now. I feel like everything around me is moving at light speed and I'm standing in the same place."
"It sounds like you have some cold feet happening. Look Oliver, it will get easier. You just need to relax and let it happen." Dig tried to reassure him. "Now go back and celebrate with your family. I'll talk to you later."
"Thanks Dig, and I'll talk to you tomorrow and let me know if anything happens with Lyla, ok?" Oliver said and hung up the phone. He turned to walk back to the picnic when suddenly a face collided right into his chest. Oliver looked down to see Felicity take a step back and look up at him.
"Oh I'm so sorry," She apologized. "I got lost trying to find my way out of the garden and then I bumped into your abs, I mean, chest. It's a hard chest by the way. Anyways I was just trying to get back to the party and …"
"Felicity, it's ok. I'm sure you aren't the first person this has happened to, and I know you won't be the last. I swear I saw one of the caterers wandering around trying to find their way out a few minutes ago." He joked with a large grin.
Felicity took a breath and smiled. "Thanks, Oliver. I hope I didn't interrupt your phone call or anything."
"No, not at all." Oliver stated. "It was a friend that couldn't make it today. Nothing that was uninterruptable." He smiled. So you were watching Star wars too?"
"Yes!" Felicity beamed. "I can't seem to not watch it when it's on. It just seems wrong to change the channel or shut it off. It's like George Lucas would be disgusted with me if I did." She laughed.
"I know what you mean. I wanted to be Han Solo when I was a kid." Oliver smiled.
"He was my favorite. Such a scoundrel," She laughed.
They both laughed and before he knew it, Oliver found himself staring at her. It was almost impossible for him to look away. She bit her bottom lip.
"Well, we should probably get back. I'm sure Laurel will be missing you," she stammered. "And Tommy, too."
"Yeah, you're probably right." He said, either of them breaking their gaze or moving.
Felicity's phone buzzed again. "It's a text from Tommy," she said holding the phone up for him to see.
She fidgeted nervously. What was it about Oliver Queen that was making her a nervous wreck? She was sure he noticed that she was starting to sweat.
Oliver bit his bottom lip. She really is beautiful. He took a deep breath.
"Hey," Roy interrupted. "Laurel and Tommy are looking for you, and your mother wants to take some pictures before everyone leaves."
"I'd better get back." And Felicity rushed off.
Oliver took a deep breath and looked up at the sky and then at Roy. "Let's go," he said to Roy as they headed back to the table.
What was it about that woman that seemed to stop him in his tracks? This was his second meeting with her and he couldn't believe the effect that the petit blond had over him. There was just something about Felicity Smoak.
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