A special thanks to a post by emilybuttrickards on tumblr for inspiring this fic :)
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Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot and any original characters that may be added in later. All rights over characters of the TV show Arrow belong to CW Television and DC Comics.
Tommy stands in line at Jitters with his phone pressed to his ear, waiting for his order to be ready as he continues his conversation with Felicity. "Are you guys ready for the party tomorrow night?" he asks, casually looking around the coffee shop. He recognizes some people as regular customers, which technically he could consider himself with how much he frequents the small café. It is just around the corner from the studio City in Smoke and some of his other clients have been using to record and is just a few blocks from Merlyn Music Management. And while getting coffee can be listed in Curtis' job description as his executive assistant, Tommy likes to get outside when he's frustrated or just starts feeling a little stir crazy. Like today for instance, having spent the first few hours of his day stuck in meetings.
Shuffling can be heard on the other end before Felicity speaks, "Yeah. Thea is picking out what she wants me to wear right now. It's thrilling."
He lets out a chuckle, knowing how the younger Queen can be. "Just do what she says and I promise you'll make it out alive."
"Well, thank you for the advice," she chuckles and he can hear Thea's voice mumbling in the background. "Hey, I gotta go. Are you gonna be at the final sound check before the party tomorrow?"
"Yeah, Ollie has something else he has to do so he gave me the keys to Verdant. I'll see you then." Tommy hangs up after she returns his goodbye, switching to check his emails when someone lightly nudges against his arm as they move past him. Lifting his chin, his eyebrows immediately draw closer together, "Laurel?"
The brunette's head snaps towards him, her eyes slightly widened in surprise, "Tommy. Hi."
"Hi," he shakes himself out of his reverie, eyes taking her in. "Wow, I haven't really seen you since," Tommy's gentle smile falls and he immediately regrets starting that sentence.
Realizing what he's getting at, Laurel raises a brow and finishes for him, "Since Oliver broke up with me?" He presses his lips together in a thin line, and she decides not to let him feel bad for too long, breaking the awkward tension with a light laugh, "Yeah, I know. But it's good to see you."
"Yeah," he breathes out with a laugh of his own, falling into the familiar easiness they had acquired as kids. Because their families are long time business partners and friends, Oliver and Tommy have been best friends since they were babies. During their childhood, they were essentially inseparable. Tommy spent many nights as a kid staying at Queen Manor to avoid his own home situation, especially after his mother passed and his father became distant and emotionally abusive. When the Lance family moved to Starling City in middle school, Laurel had quickly become friends with the pair of boys. The three spent almost every weekend hanging out and come high school, Tommy realized that the crush he had on Laurel wasn't just a crush, but actual feelings. When he'd finally worked up the courage to ask her out on a date, he came to school to find that Oliver already had. And they'd been dating ever since, albeit on and off, and Tommy could never do that to his best friend. But his feelings had never really gone away, at least not completely.
Remembering where they are, his brows crinkle in confusion, "What are you doing here? Isn't your apartment like, on the other side of Starling?"
Laurel visibly stiffens, and he can tell that she is contemplating her words carefully. He is about to speak up and tell her that she doesn't have to answer when she opens her mouth to respond, "It is, yes. I was actually… I just came from an AA meeting. It meets just down the block and their coffee is awful."
He is taken aback by her honesty before softening his features, sending a small smile to his old friend, "That's really great, Laurel. I'm proud of you." A genuine smile lights up her entire face at his words and she feels an odd weight lift off her chest at the lack of judgement. She is about to speak when the barista calls out Tommy's name from behind the counter. Turning around, Tommy offers the young girl his signature grin as he grabs his coffee before facing Laurel again. "It was great running into you, Laurel. If you… If you ever want to talk, about anything, you can call anytime."
Her smile softens, remembering that his mother's death was due to her alcoholism, and she sends a slight nod, "Thank you."
Sending her one last grin, Tommy moves around her and heads out of the coffee shop, the smile never falling from his face as he makes his way back towards his office for the inevitably mind numbing meetings planned for his afternoon.
The flash of some girl's phone camera momentarily blinds Felicity as she poses for a selfie with a fan before stretching her fingers lightly and going back to signing pictures of herself and the band from various photo shoots. The strobe lights illuminate everything in flashes in the otherwise blue-tinted darkness of the club, the music from the house DJ pumping through the speakers. It seems as though hundreds of people have come to Thea's party, most of them being high schoolers with the occasional person probably in their twenties. Tommy stands on the other side of the bar, chatting with some long-legged brunette with his classic, ever-so-charming grin plastered on his face. After signing a few more autographs, Felicity smiles and excuses herself, leaving the mass of fans with Nyssa and Roy. She spots Thea across the club talking to some friends and makes her way over, gently touching the younger girl's arm to get her attention. "Hey, Thea."
"Hey!" Thea says, a wide grin pulling up the corners of her mouth as she pulls her into a quick hug, the strobe lights bouncing off her sequined dress with every one of her movements. "Thank you guys so much for being here."
"Of course," Felicity smiles. "When do you want us to go on?"
"In a few minutes would be great, actually."
Felicity nods and heads back towards the bar to tell her bandmates to start setting up their instruments when she collides with a large, rock hard chest, warm hands flying up to grasp the tops of her bare arms and steady her. Raising her eyes, she releases a breath and can't stop the effortless smile from gracing her face, "Hi."
Oliver returns her smile as he gazes down at her, her heels still not making her tall enough to erase the gap between them. "Hey," he greets and doesn't even try to prevent his eyes from scanning her from head to toe, "You look incredible." And honestly, that is the understatement of the century, what with the gold velvet dress hugging her curves in all the right places and the half-up hairstyle framing her delicate face perfectly. At the teasing spark in her eyes, he clears his throat and adopts a stern expression, "Y'know, in a strictly platonic, professional way."
"Mmm," she gives a small nod, pressing her crimson painted lips together in an attempt to suppress a smile, "Strictly professional, of course."
"Of course," he agrees.
She gazes up at him under long, dark lashes, lifting a hand to tuck a fallen strand of lavender hair back behind her ear and admiring the way his suit jacket stretches across his broad shoulders. "Well, in a strictly platonic, professional way… You look pretty incredible yourself."
A smirk tugs up the corners of his mouth, "Thank you."
Her eyes lock on his and she can't help but melt at the warmth and affection clear in the pools of blue. His thumbs stroke across her smooth skin where his hands are still settled on her arms, and that is when she realizes how close they are actually standing to one another, causing her to inhale deeply through her nose. The sharp intake of breath makes her chest move to brush up against his and she holds her mouth open for a few seconds, searching for words. Noticing that he has probably come to the same realization of their proximity from his expression, Felicity forces a laugh and takes a small step backwards making his hands drop from her arms. She lifts an arm at the elbow, pointing a perfectly manicured finger over his shoulder, "I should get ready to perform."
"Good luck," he bids with a grin as she moves around him and towards Nyssa and Roy. The smile doesn't fall from his face as his eyes follow her to the stage until he turns back around. He barely makes it a few steps before feeling a glare on him and he raises his chin slightly, eyes landing on the source of the heated look. "Mister Diggle," he greets with a small nod.
He narrows his eyes at the younger man, keeping his arms folded across his chest, "Mister Queen." When Oliver doesn't back down after a few seconds locked in a staring match, Diggle takes a threatening step towards him so that he can be better heard over the music. "Even though she tries to hide it, Felicity is a good person. You hurt her, they'll never find your body."
Still refusing to back down, Oliver makes sure that his eyes convey how serious he is, his voice stern, "I would never hurt her."
After holding his gaze for a few moments longer, Diggle finally nods, "Good." With that, he maneuvers his way around Oliver and through the crowd until he is settled in a protective stance beside the stairs to the stage.
Nyssa watches as Felicity offers a smile to some of the fans before walking away from the small crowd that has gathered around them. She signs a few more pictures before also excusing herself, in desperate need of something to drink. Moving the few steps to the bar, she leans an elbow against the countertop and grins at the bartender making her way over.
"What can I get for you?" the blonde asks.
"Whiskey," Nyssa responds with a warm smile, unable to ignore how beautiful the other woman is.
"I'm Sara," she introduces herself as she pours a glass of whiskey and slides it along the bar, "You're Nyssa, right? You're in Felicity's band."
She nods, lifting the glass to her lips to take a sip and grinning around the rim, "Ah. So you're the Sara I've heard so much about. Felicity speaks very highly of you." The younger woman chuckles, and she swears a light blush flushes across her cheeks.
Pouring a few other drinks, Sara slides them to other customers before looking back towards the brunette with a tilted head. "Yeah, we've become pretty fast friends. I'm a big fan of your songs. Especially the ones with drum solos," she flirts easily with a twinkle in her eyes at the familiar feeling stirring in her stomach that comes whenever she meets someone that intrigues her.
Catching on to her flirtation, Nyssa's grin widens, "Well I'm a big fan of your drinks." She takes the opportunity to down the rest of her whiskey, setting it back down on the bar with a flick of her wrist. Sara returns her smile and their eyes lock for a few seconds, the spell only broken by a soft touch on her arm and a familiar voice saying her name.
"Hey, we have to get ready," Felicity informs her with a nod of her head towards the stage, Roy already walking towards it. Noticing the tension in the air, her eyes flit between her two friends and a slow smirk tugs up the corners of her mouth, "What's going on here?"
"Just talking," Sara responds with a shrug of the shoulder before lightly slapping her hands down on the bar. "I have to get back to work. I'll find you later," she promises before walking off, not entirely sure who she was talking to.
Nyssa's eyes linger on the blonde's retreating form before she turns and raises a brow at the look Felicity is sending her, "What?"
"Nothing," she says with a shrug of her own before heading off to the stage. Sighing, Nyssa begins following her, peering back over her shoulder to find Sara already gazing at her. They exchange easy smiles before both going back to their tasks at hand, and Nyssa desperately tries to suppress the grin on her lips as she readies her drum set.
I'm a wanderess
I'm a one night stand
Don't belong to no city
Don't belong to no man
I'm the violence in the pouring rain
Come and fade me
Come and fade me
I'm a hurricane
Cheering and applause erupts as they finish off the last few notes of the song and Felicity smiles, eyes scanning over the crowd in front of her. "Thank you guys so much!" The noise dies down into faint mutterings, and she takes a deep breath to control her bubbling nerves. "Now, we're gonna change things up a bit and play some of our new stuff. Is that cool with you guys?" She lets out a chuckle at the screams from the audience, hearing Nyssa and Roy laugh from behind her. Adhering to the ritual she had somehow adopted over the years, Felicity wraps both hands around the mic and closes her eyes, sucking in another long breath through her nose before letting it out. She turns her head to the left in a barely noticeable signal to Roy and he begins strumming his fingers along the strings of his guitar. Silently counting along to the beat in her head, Felicity breathes in again and opens her eyes.
You were dancing in your tube socks in our hotel room,
Flashin' those eyes like highway signs.
Light one up and hand it over, rest your head upon my shoulder.
Just wanna feel your lips against my skin.
White sheets, bright lights, crooked teeth, and the night life,
You told me this is right where it begins.
But your lips hang heavy underneath me.
And I promised myself I wouldn't let you complete me.
She scans the club and everything is in a haze, the lights creating halos around the numerous fans. But as her eyes sweep across the room, they somehow focus in on one thing amidst the crowd: Oliver. His intense gaze is already locked on her, entranced by the sound of her voice and the words she wrote. A tingling feeling bubbles up in the pit of her stomach, something that she has experienced more times in the last few months than she has in her entire life. Oliver Queen affects her in a way she doesn't understand, and it scares her so damn much because the last time she even considered letting someone in, it blew up in her face. All anyone has ever done is leave.
I'm tryin' not to let it show, that I don't wanna let this go.
Is there somewhere you can meet me?
'Cause I clutched your arms like stairway railings.
And you clutched my brain and eased my ailing.
You're writing lines about me; romantic poetry.
Your girl's got red in her cheeks, 'cause we're somethin' she can't see.
And I try to refrain, but you're stuck in my brain.
And all I do is cry and complain because second's not the same.
In her head, she knows that things would end the way they always ended, but somewhere deep inside her heart, she aches with a hope that this time things could be different. Oliver could be different; he already is different, different than anyone she's ever known.
I'm sorry, but I fell in love tonight.
I didn't mean to fall in love tonight.
You're looking like you fell in love tonight.
Could we pretend that we're in love?
I'm sorry, but I fell in love tonight.
I didn't mean to fall in love tonight.
You're looking like you fell in love tonight.
Could you pretend that we're in love?
The music slowly tapers off and Felicity holds in a breath before the audience slowly erupts into a clap, not as boisterous as earlier, but enough to satisfy her nerves and allow her to continue with two more songs. Throughout the performances, she finds herself forcing her eyes to scan the crowd instead of remaining on Oliver, unable to deny how drawn to him she is. Every single time they land back on his strong features, his face is still stoic, his eyes having never left her for a single moment. It's in these moments where she questions every choice she has made, everything that has happened since the night they met. Why did Oliver happen to choose to drown his sorrows at the bar in the hotel she was staying in? Why did she invite him up to her room? Why did he go? Why did she let herself be so vulnerable as to spend the night, sleeping in his strong embrace? And why the hell did she come to Starling City?
Suddenly, a few of Verdant's workers walk out from the back holding a giant three-tiered birthday cake with sparklers and the number eighteen in candles. They lead the guests into singing 'Happy Birthday' to Thea, the younger girl grinning widely at the love and attention she is receiving. Her smile doesn't disappear even as she blows out her candles and friends swarms her in hugs, employees cutting pieces of cake and setting them onto the bar from everyone to enjoy.
A small chuckle escapes past Felicity's lips as she tilts her head back forward, her eyes once again landing on Oliver only to find him no longer watching her, but talking casually with a beautiful woman. Her smile falls and a pain stabs through her chest, questions that she doesn't know the answers to once again racing through her mind. Why did Oliver want her? Why did he care? What was stopping him from abandoning her like everyone else she'd ever loved? She is nothing; she is no one. And he deserves so much better than someone like her. But at this exact second, she doesn't care. She doesn't care about the pain or the hurt, because all she can think is one thing: why is she still lying to herself?
One hand still wrapped around the microphone as the DJ's music plays in the background, Felicity, for once in the past twenty years, ignores everything in her head and lets her heart guide her actions. "Oliver!" she calls out as she moves to step down the stairs, the mic just barely catching her voice as she moves away causing his head to snap in her direction. Marching towards him, she pushes her way through the half-oblivious crowd with determination before losing her nerve.
Oliver furrows his brows in confusion as she nears him, "Felicity, wha -"
His words are interrupted when her lips crash against his in a heated kiss, her arms immediately raising to thread her fingers through his hair. It takes him a moment to realize what is happening and once he does, his eyes slam closed and his arms band around her waist, pulling her body tightly against his. Her tongue brushes across the seam of his lips and he opens his mouth to her, battling for dominance. When the need for air becomes too intense, Felicity pulls her head back slightly, completely uncaring of the numerous cell phone cameras around them, as Oliver gently places her back from where she is suspended a few inches from the ground. A small smile tugs up the corners of her mouth as she gazes up at him under long lashes, "I don't want to be professional anymore."
His mouth forms into a wide grin before he dips his head and connects their lips in another kiss.