Down dog Part 2

Budget meetings were a slow hell that Felicity had considered, more than once, as a possible information extraction technique.

Because sitting through one certainly had her considering spilling her most intimate secrets in hopes the torture would end.

But like every week since she'd taken the helm at Palmer Tech, she survived. Thank goodness for the bagels because without her phone to distract her from the VP of Marketing's dull presentation deck she would surely have drifted off. Of course, working both night and day to keep the city safe and residents with jobs would strain the attention span of even the most dedicated employee.

So when the meeting finally concluded and she was once again back in her office and her phone back in her hand she was surprised to find a slew of notifications and texts. All of which had one common thread – Oliver.

Inwardly she cringed wondering what the man had gotten himself into this time. Or perhaps more accurately, what his dear sweet sister had signed him up for – the yoga class a prime example. After the incident at the Y and the increasing press coverage of what the Gazette had labelled "The Grand Misadventures of Mayor Queen", Oliver had a long talk with Thea and her penchant for placing him in situations that only heightened his press moniker.

In her future sister-in-laws defense, Felicity had been quick to point out Oliver's own culpability surrounding Miss Suzie and the Rockets game. The result had been a pouty Oliver.

The briefest thought of the dolphin never failed to put a huge smile on her face, remembering the rather graceful way her fiancé had flipped into the water and the sheer glee the mammal had shown at her own cleverness. An animal after her own heart. It wasn't all fun and games however, after the trip to the emergency room and the bitching from Oliver over the stitches that had almost brought out her loud voice.

Felicity shrugged off the trip down odd memory lane and turned her attention back to her phone and the numerous alerts. Scrolling through, she frowned at a text from John suggesting she go easy on Oliver which by itself should've triggered warning bells but it was the headline on the Star City Journal alert that caught her attention.

She tapped the article link and read. Not believing what she was reading, she pressed play on the accompanying video and watched.

She hit refresh and watched it again.

And again.

Sometime during the third re-watch Curtis sauntered in and started talking, something about the T-Sphere but she heard only snippets through white noise buzzing in her head. She hit refresh again.

After the fourth viewing she grabbed her purse and stalked straight past her yammering employee. The hand she held up to stop Curtis from asking too many questions failed her when she was stopped halfway through the glass office doors by him excitedly wishing her congratulations. For his sake, she acknowledged him with only a narrow eyed look before barreling from her office.

She wasn't about to let Curtis in on how she was feeling at that moment. Oh no, that privilege was solely for Mr. Oliver Queen – former playboy billionaire, island cast-away, green leather-wearing crime fighting vigilante turned Mayor. The man who'd promised her months ago, after nearing losing his life to Darhk that he was done with secrets, that blindly making decisions that affected her were a thing of the past, the man she had promised to stand beside when he'd proposed again…the man she saw on that video couldn't possibly be the same.

Nope.

Denial wasn't just a river in Egypt.

She didn't want to believe it. Granted the current situation was a far cry from hiding an illegitimate child, but the principle was the same.

Felicity doubted Oliver would see it the same way.

As she wove through the late afternoon traffic she found herself smacking the steering wheel and babbling to herself.

"He wouldn't do this, just…take a dog home without discussing it with me first. I mean, sure, she's kinda cute, but c'mon, Oliver, what were you thinking?"

She deepened her voice, mimicking Star City's fearless vigilante. "Fel-li-ci-ty…There wasn't any other choice to make."

Maneuvering around a tractor she continued on, switching to her own voice. "There's always another way, Oliver and perhaps asking the woman who, you know, is wearing your ring, the one who's stood beside you through your too-numerous-to-count bad decisions, who has a permanent dislike of the month of May thanks to the continuous parade of big-bads, might be a good idea. Me, Felicity Smoak, CEO and all-around bad ass who thought things like this were behind us. I mean…what…" Her last words trailed off as the frustration that had been building since hearing Oliver had walked out of the animal shelter this afternoon with Fifi tucked under his arm came out in a final whoosh.

And she realized she was parked in front of Oliver's old campaign office. How had that happened? Was it wrong that she barely remembered anything since leaving Palmer Tech? If she'd hit something she would've known, right? This kind of mindless driving came only from too much practice of navigating the same route year after year. Considering it had only been a year since lair 3.0 came online, it was either an impressive feat that she made it from Palmer Tech in a fog or she'd been too distracted by her own frustration over Fifi the fido and her fiancé.

Felicity chuckled over her own alliteration of Oliver's latest disaster. But her mirth quickly died when a face appeared in the office window, one she knew as well as her own. And one that looked decidedly sheepish, boyish and all together hopeful at the same time.

Oliver smiled tentatively at her and even from the care she could detect a hint of his dimples which she knew would be on full display in hopes of diverting her from the matter at hand.

Oh, he had to know she knew. And he had to know she was stalling sitting in the car as she was.

Felicity sighed one last time and checked her rear-view mirror, making sure her face looked appropriately stern and hadn't fallen prey to the dimpled hotness that was Oliver Queen. Satisfied she exited the car, purse in hand, eyes locked on her target and entered the lion's den. Or more appropriately, the dog den.

"Hey," he greeted leaning down to kiss her but she purposefully deflected offering him her cheek to peck instead of her pink painted lips. Oliver frowned.

"Any particular reason you're waiting for me up here instead of downstairs training or fighting or whatever it is you do with those stick-y things of yours?" Going on the offense with Oliver was sometimes the only way to deal with things. Meeting situations head on was her modis operandi whereas Oliver had a tendency to live in the land of deflect and deny.

His frowned deepened making the lines that'd appeared on his face over the last year more prominent. Hands in pockets, he shuffled from one foot to another in a weird sort-of move that always made Felicity wonder if his "I don't dance" proclamation was a load of hoo-ha. Those hips of his sure could sway and do fantastical things when he put his mind to it. Granted those moments always occurred while he was dressed in leather and tying people up or in their bed with her doing the tying up and him in the buff.

"Ugh," she groaned, "stop that, Felicity." She smacked herself in the head in an attempt to clear her head of the sexy path her thoughts had taken her.

Damn him, she cursed silently. Damn him and that jaw of his. Damn him and that sexy stubble.

Felicity growled at herself and ignored the puzzled look and shaking head of the man standing beside her. Remember Fifi, she told herself and visualized the news video and the way the white ball of fluff and strutted her stuff beside Oliver looking far too pleased with her canine self. Remember the dog and how Oliver had unilaterally decided they had to add the complication of a pet to their already chaotic lives.

Remember she loved this man, she told herself, breathing deep. But try as hard as she could a smile just couldn't come to her face. Instead she felt her eyes narrowing and suddenly her nostrils felt twice their normal size.

"I take it you saw the news," he said matter-of-factly and looking grim for the first time since she'd arrived. "Look, I know what you're going to say and there was no other choice to make."

A sarcastic laugh threatened to bubble past her annoyance. Hadn't she said the very same thing to herself in the car?

"Yeah, no." She shook her head. "No, Oliver, you don't get to play that card with me."

Felicity didn't give him a chance to respond, instead deciding to stomp away, her high strappy heals angrily clicking across the deserted campaign office to the secret elevator. She didn't have to look behind her to know Oliver was following in her wake, his own shoes barely audible in that sure footed way of his. Her mind drifted from the matter at hand and remembered all the times he had stealthily snuck up on her. There was that one time in Bali when she'd been in the shower and he'd come from behind all grabby hands and –

"Felicity?"

Irritated at her train of thought she side-eyed him as she stepped on to the elevator. Didn't he know she was trying to keep up her anger? Didn't he know she was annoyed and every related synonym over this dog? Didn't he know how damn adorable he looked being attacked by a barely there dog?

Why was it so hard to stay angry with this man?

"Don't think this changes anything," she huffed. Where had that come from?

Oliver remained tight lipped as they rode down to the lair. But she could practically hear the wheels turning in his head. What was she talking about, he was asking himself. Oh, she knew this man and if she really thought seriously about what had happened that afternoon at the animal shelter she knew he'd only done what he thought was best for the dog, a dog he himself had rescued from an alley way. A dog whose progress he'd kept tabs on since through the newspaper articles.

Felicity's annoyance was melting away with every second and she virtually talked herself out of a good mad at Oliver scenario. Grimacing she snuck a look at him as they stepped off the elevator. With his hands in his pockets and downcast head the last of her resolve to be upset left her.

He looked very much like a kicked puppy at that moment and she didn't have the heart to kick him figuratively over a literal puppy.

"Felicity, I know I should've – "

She pressed her hand to his mouth cutting him off. She sighed, resigned. Perhaps a dog would be a good test of their relationship. Maybe a pet was just what they needed, giving them something else to focus on besides their careers, their vigilante lifestyle, their relationship…

Nothing worthwhile was ever easy.

"You did what you had to do," she said and watched as he visibly relaxed, his shoulders dropping in relief. His mouth curled into an adorable Oliver Queen smile that never failed to make her think of cute baby animals and dirty panty-dropping silk sheet moments. "But we should consider changing her name. I mean, Fifi? What was the shelter thinking? French breed, fou-fou name? Ugh, not as long as she's living with us." She tilted her head in consideration. "What about FTP?" She turned up her nose at the thought. "Too long. Who wants to go around with a name like File Transfer Protocol? Can you just see us at the park calling her? Oh!" She exclaimed excitedly with a sudden epiphany. "What about –"

Oliver chuckled his head shaking in disbelief over her. He moved quickly and pressed his lips to hers, taking the kiss she'd denied him earlier. She lingered, savouring the taste of coffee and love on his lips.

He pulled back but his hand that had crept into hers during the kiss remained there and she loved the way he squeezed reassuringly. "You can name her whatever you want," he said softly.

She finally let herself smile and let the last piece of her irritation that had started at Palmer Tech fade away. Oliver turned and led her up the stairs to the raised dais and her workstation. She was suddenly eager to meet the dog that'd turned her into a pet owner.

But her bad mood returned with a vengeance once she saw the dog sitting, proud as punch on Felicity's chair, tail wagging excitedly at the return of her saviour. The precious ten-pound ball of fluff must've suffered from a severe anxiety attack after Oliver had left to meet Felicity upstairs.

For her once precious computer chair, the one she had spent months getting used to, the one whose mesh back and seat cover comforted her, cradling her stiff back so well…had been ripped to shreds.

Felicity snatched her hand from Oliver's and rounded on him. "You are so buying me a new chair, buster!"

Fifi barked back, a high pitched sound that echoed off the concrete walls of the bunker. Felicity spun towards the dog who continued to pant and drool expectantly, not fazed by her raised voice.

"And you," she pointed at the dog, who suddenly closed her mouth, tail going still. Fifi held Felicity's gaze. "If you even think of chewing on any of my shoes I'll have you back at the shelter living in a cage."

Time stood still while dog and woman conducted a strange sort of a Mexican stand-off.

She willed herself not to blink.

She'd taken down mirakuru men and verbally gone one-on-one with Ra's al Guhl. One small dog would not get the best of her.

Fifi continued to keep eye contact with her.

"Do we have an understanding, dog?" Felicity demanded. She still hadn't moved her eyes from the canine.

Fifi cocked her head to the left as if she understood then pushed herself off the chair with her back legs. Once on the ground she laid on her belly and using her front paws crawled towards Felicity stopping mere inches from her patent-leather toes. The dog dropped her head onto her outstretched legs and regarding Felicity mournfully.

Felicity sighed and couldn't resist bending down to pick up the dog whose big eyes looked sad and regretful much as Oliver's did whenever he'd done something wrong.

She was such a sucker.

"Don't think this makes up for destroying my chair," she admonished the dog who clamoured towards Felicity's face, her pink tongue ready and waiting to attack. "Just for that I should name you Hacker."

Fifi answered with an excited lick of her cheek.

CITY HALL EVACUATED AFTER BRING-YOUR-PET-TO-WORK-DAY GOES AWRY

Lucy Emmerstein, blogger

Huffington Post

Posted: October 17, 2016 15:38:17

Bring Your Pet to Work days have gained traction and popularity over the past few years with companies such as Google, Etsy and Amazon. Following their lead, Star City Mayor Oliver Queen announced last week that his office would offer the same perk to all city hall employees. A new and first time pet owner himself, Mr. Queen quickly took the opportunity to further foster love and camaraderie with his staff by allowing them to bring their beloved pets to work as part of a trial program.

In hindsight perhaps the Mayor should've been more clearly defined the term "pet".

If he had, perhaps one particular city worker would not have been responsible for immobilizing half the police force, two fire stations and animal control.

Mr. Dirk Cooney, a member of city's IT staff and reptile enthusiast, took Mr. Queen's offer to heart bringing his pet boa constrictor Reggie to work, and while a snake at City Hall would hardly constitute as unusual, a literal snake was not something the Mayor had planned on.

Particularly after the animal managed to escape his cage and enter the building's ventilation system.

Once it was discovered that the snake was on the loose, the fire alarm was pulled by another staff member and the building quickly evacuated. The pandemonium that ensued, after news of the reptile's prison break spread, was described as "disgraceful" by Fire Chief Brody who had strong words for the Mayor's animal initiative.

"Perhaps Mr. Queen's enthusiasm for his new dog overshadowed his sense of responsibility to his employees," Mr. Brody said to the press following the incident this morning at City Hall. He went on to say that "while I applaud the Mayor for his forward thinking practices" and "doesn't want to discourage animals in the workplace", perhaps "limiting the option to cats and dogs would be preferable if he chooses to engage in this kind of fool-hardy behaviour in the future".

The Mayor, who did not directly address the Fire Chief's statement did make one of his own, however taking responsibility for the incident and saying that all non-essential City Hall staff would receive the remainder of the day off with pay. In a show of solidarity with their beloved Mayor, all but a few staff returned to work once the building was cleared for re-entry.

Two and a half hours after the evacuation began, animal control managed to corner and capture the rogue snake who was found inside the 5th floor staff room refrigerator. Unfortunately for Mr. Cooney, Reggie was deemed a safety hazard and was taken into custody by the authorities. There is little hope he will regain ownership of the pet.

In related news, Mrs. Carrigan of the city's Human Resources department is seeking your help in discovering the whereabouts of her cat Snickers, who went missing shortly before the evacuation began.

Mr. Queen has offered a reward for the return of the feline and anyone with information on Snickers is asked to call City Hall or the Star City Police Department directly.

The snake incident is partially based on an actual event that happened at my workplace several years ago. While the snake never got loose, a co-worker did bring in his boa constrictor to show to other employees. How he never got fired, I will never understand.

Hope everyone enjoyed this! I would love to know what you all thought of it.

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