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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.
Felicity stares down at the onesie in her hands, thumbs smoothing over the soft, pale blue fabric. A small smile tugs at the corners of her lips as she reads the curly letters saying 'the sky is the limit', the ending tapering off into a flock of flying birds. It's cute, she has to admit, and picturing her daughter's little legs kicking in the outfit sends her thoughts back to the other night when they'd finally told Oliver's parents about wanting to keep their baby.
Trying to take in a deep breath, Felicity pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and gnawed on it. Her stomach fluttered, and this time it wasn't from her daughter moving or kicking, but from the nerves bubbling up inside her. She didn't even notice the presence moving to stand beside her until a warm hand encased her own and squeezed. Exhaling in relief, she tilted her head to the side until her eyes met Oliver's reassuring ones.
"Are you ready?" he asked with a single arched brow.
"Yes." When he took a step forward to lead her into the living room, she stopped him with a tug on his hand, "N-no. Nope." He exhaled a laugh. "How are you so calm?" she breathed out. "It's taking everything in me not to start babbling about how good that shirt looks on you and how the color brings out your eyes." Her eyes widened, and her cheeks flushed with heat, "Crap."
Oliver chuckled softly at her words before he shifted to stand in front of her and squeezed her hand again, "I'm not worried because no matter what they say, I know that this is the right decision."
A small smile graced her face, "Yeah? How are you so sure?"
"Because we're in this together, Felicity. I'm not going anywhere."
She stared up at him in amazement, not truly being able to believe the promises he was making to her, because how could he be telling the truth? How could he, Oliver fracking Queen, actually want to be there for her in a way that no one ever really has before? But looking into his mesmerizing eyes, she couldn't help but believe every word he was saying to her, and that scared her to death.
To say that Oliver's parents reacted negatively would be the understatement of the century. His mother, much more than his father, had freaked out, albeit in a completely composed manner that only Moira Queen could uphold in such a situation. It took a lot of convincing from both teens, and surprisingly, Robert, to get her to calm down enough to even consider the idea of the two of them keeping their baby. In the end, it was the point Robert had made about the baby being a Queen, being family, that convinced her. It would be better in the long run for the baby to be raised in their family and with their help than the possibility of someone in the future trying to pursue the Queen fortune. That idea being the deciding factor didn't sit well with Felicity, but it was better than nothing – it meant she got to keep her baby, and that was what really mattered.
Thea's voice pulls her from the memories and she lay down the onesie back on the table before turning her head. The younger girl is walking towards her with a wide smile on her face and some sort of stuffed animal in her hands, "Lis! Look at how cute this is! We are totally getting this for the baby."
She grins at the nickname she's begun to get used to and it isn't until the girl is in front of her that Felicity can make out the animal as a light purple stuffed monkey, which is extremely adorable. A laugh bubbles past her lips as she takes it in her own hands, fingers running through the short fur, "This is pretty cute."
"Well, we're buying it. I want the first stuffed animal the baby gets to be from her favorite Auntie Thea," she coos.
"Technically speaking, you're her only Auntie Thea."
Thea rolls her eyes, "Her favorite Aunt, then."
The blonde tilts her head, "Again, technically you're her only Aunt since I don't have any siblings."
"Her favorite Aunt even out of all her unofficial Aunts. There, does that work?"
Felicity chuckles, "Sure. But you're gonna have to break it to Iris, Caitlin, and Sara, because they've all already claimed the status of 'Favorite Aunt'."
"No," Thea gives her a stern look, pointing a finger in front of her face, "I will fight them for it if I have to."
She arches a brow, "Sara knows karate."
Opening her mouth to respond, Thea pauses to think it over for a moment before cocking a hip, placing her hand on it a flipping her hair over her shoulder, "I can be feisty."
Shaking her head with a chuckle, Felicity goes back to shopping, both girls pointing things out to each other and chatting for about twenty more minutes before heading to the checkout counter. Thea insists on paying since she ended up picking out most of what they're getting, which turns out to be a few outfits, blankets, and the stuffed monkey. Since this is only the first time going shopping for the baby, Felicity doesn't want to buy too much and none of the big items, like furniture and decorations for the eventual nursery.
Taking two out of the three bags, Thea leads the way, chatting about how they should head to a maternity store next to get her some cuter clothes, causing Felicity to laugh before nearly colliding into the girl's back when she suddenly stops walking.
"Laurel!" she squeals in excitement before jogging a few feet across the mall and throwing her arms around a very surprised Laurel Lance. After a few seconds of taking in the situation, she hugs her back, a smile appearing on her face.
Felicity stands stock still, eyes widened in both shock and fear at seeing the girl whose boyfriend she essentially stole. Though, it's not like she is actually dating Oliver, so did she technically steal him? But she did have sex with him while he was dating Laurel, and he is no longer dating Laurel, so does that mean she did steal him? She is having his baby, so… She shakes her head, physically needed to clear her mind of the confusion before hearing her name fall from Thea's lips, realizing that she's been noticed.
She sucks in a sharp breath at the hard glares Laurel and her friends – Joanna and… she can't think of the other girl's name – send her way. It takes a few seconds of babbling for Thea to realize the sudden tension, her words slowly tapering to silence. Clearing the nervousness from her throat, she manages an uncomfortable smile, "Hi, Laurel."
"You, uh," Thea tries to ease the awkwardness, "You remember Felicity, right?"
Laurel scoffs lightly before forcing a smile, "How could I forget?"
"Right, well, like I was saying, we were just starting to buy some stuff for my niece. I found the cutest stuffed monkey ever," Thea gushes, immediately forgetting the strain between the two girls and reveling in being able to talk to Laurel again, having once thought of her as a friend, nee, a sister. "It's purple, and it is totally gonna go with the jungle theme that I'm planning for the nursery."
Felicity interrupts with a weird twitch of her head, "Thea, I don't think she really wants to talk about this."
"No, no. Please! Tell me all about yours and Oliver's baby. I'd love to hear every single detail," Laurel sasses. "Y'know what? Start from the beginning! Why don't you tell me all about the night you slept with my boyfriend!"
"Okay," she tugs on Thea's arm, "We should go."
Laurel nods, folding her arms across her chest, "Yeah. You should."
"I – I'm sorry," Thea stutters with wide eyes. "I forgot about… I just miss talking to you."
The other brunette's eyes soften and her stance relaxes, arms falling to her sides. "I know. I miss you too, Thea, I do. It's just," her eyes flick towards Felicity before falling back to the youngest girl, "It's just hard."
"Yeah," Thea nods sadly. "Yeah, I get it. I'll… I guess I'll see you later." She gives a small wave before turning, letting Felicity lead her away.
Seeing the forlorn expression on her new friend's face, though, Felicity stops and takes a deep breath. She spins back around and starts speaking before her brain catches up to her mouth and she changes her mind. "I'm sorry."
Tilting her head over her shoulder from where she was facing her friends, Laurel furrows her brows in confusion.
Felicity takes her silence as a chance to continue. "Look, I know you hate me. And this might make you hate me more or less – it'll definitely make you hate Oliver more – but I didn't know. I didn't know that you were dating him. I mean, I knew – everyone knew. What – what I mean is that, he told me that you were broken up. Otherwise, I never would've," she pauses, shifting uncomfortably, unconsciously smoothing a hand over her noticeably protruding stomach, "I never would've done what I did. What we did. I thought you were broken up, but clearly you weren't, and I am so sorry for how this whole situation has hurt you. And this probably doesn't mean anything to you, but I know that Oliver is sorry too. He really cares about you and he's an idiot for doing what he did, and he knows how wrong it was. And I'm sorry, but honestly? I'm glad he did it, because now I have my baby and I love her more than anything. And I know that sucks for you and – and this is probably making everything worse and…"
She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath to stop her babble and center herself before starting again, "What I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry for hurting you, but I didn't know. And whether or not that makes you hate me less, it's – it's whatever. Just… Please don't hate Thea for being friends with me. Or Sara, for that matter. They both love you. And… And I guess that's it." Felicity exhales a long breath of relief, feeling a heavy weight lift off her chest that she didn't realize was there, her guilt easing at having at least tried to apologize. Whether or not Laurel accepts it isn't her problem, she just feels better knowing she explained herself. "Okay," she sighs out and turns to Thea, hooking their arms together at the elbows, "Now we can go."
"So, are you going to Carter's on Friday? Most of the team is gonna be there," Tommy asks, popping a potato chip into his mouth, "Don't worry, Max won't be there."
Oliver rolls his eyes and sets down his water bottle, shaking his head, "Nah, I can't. I promised Felicity that I'd let her tutor me. She wants to help me get my grades up."
After a few moments of staring at his best friend with narrowed eyes, Tommy turns to face him more fully, "Okay, what's the deal with you two?"
Dragging a hand over his face, he contemplates what to do next. A part of him wants to tell his friend the truth about keeping the baby, while the other part of him is afraid of what his reaction will be. Though, he remembers the last time he kept a secret from Tommy – the fact that Felicity was pregnant to begin with – and how hurt he'd been, even though he tried to hide it. Deciding on what to do, Oliver sighs, "We decided to keep the baby and raise her together."
He arches his brows in surprise, "Seriously?"
"Yeah," he responds with a firm voice, ready to defend himself, "And don't even –"
"That's great."
"—say," Oliver pauses, "Wait. What?"
A small smile tugs at the corners of Tommy's mouth, "I said that's great, because I think it is. I mean, I was freaking out a bit at first when I found out but… You've changed a lot over the past couple weeks, and I think this could be a good thing for you."
"Really?" he asks in slight disbelief.
He chuckles, clapping a hand on his shoulder, "Yeah. I like the new Ollie. I mean, I liked the old Ollie, too, but… I don't know, I'm just proud of my best friend."
A grin slowly forms on his face and Tommy rolls his eyes, "You love me, don't ya, buddy?"
"Shut up. Now I'm not happy for you anymore."
A hearty laugh bubbles past his lips, his head falling back slightly.
"Hey, isn't that Felicity?" he points out the blonde sitting alone at a table across the cafeteria, head buried in a book.
Tilting his head, Oliver furrows his brows in confusion when his eyes land on her tiny form, hunched over in a way that cannot be comfortable, "Yeah. She usually eats with her friends, though." He thinks it over for a few seconds before standing, gathering up what is left of his lunch, "I'm gonna go sit with her." Abandoning his friends, he starts heading over to her table when he feels someone walking beside him. Looking over, he arches a brow at his best friend.
Tommy shrugs a shoulder, "What? I figure I should finally meet her. Officially." He shakes his head in amusement as they shuffle up to her table and sit down, startling her out of her reading.
Felicity's ponytail swings from side to side when her head shoots up, eyes wide behind her glasses, before she immediately recognizes them and relaxes. She sends them a wide smile, setting down the carrot she was munching on, "Hi."
"Hey," Oliver matches her expression, eyes meeting hers of their own accord, almost like it's a natural reflex to search out the pools of sky blue.
Glancing between the two, Tommy interjects, feeling as though they completely forgot he is even there, "Hi."
Breaking eye contact, Felicity greets him, "Hi."
"Uh," Oliver clears his throat, "Felicity, this is my best friend, Tom –"
"—Tommy Merlyn. I know who you are. I mean, obviously. I've been to your house," she babbles."
"Ah, yes. You had sex with Oliver in my bed."
Her eyes widen, cheeks flushing pink at his words, while Oliver whips his head towards Tommy and smacks a hand against his chest, "Dude!"
"It's true," he shrugs. "But what's done is done. Clearly." He tilts his chin down towards her stomach before chuckling at his own joke, shaking his head.
Oliver glares at him, "Ignore him." His face softens as he glances back towards Felicity, wanting to change the subject to alleviate some of her obvious embarrassment. "Where's Caitlin and Iris? They're usually sitting with you."
"Uh, they had to study for a test so they're in the library. Is that why you came over here?"
"I didn't want you to sit alone," he smiles, watching as her own spreads to match his and he becomes lost again. Tommy watches them stare at each other and rolls his eyes, a small smile of his own tugging at his lips at the sight of his best friend so happy.
Lifting his hand, Oliver knocks lightly against the wood before he can talk himself out of it, waiting patiently as he can hear footsteps on the other side of the door. He smiles when he sees Felicity standing in front of him in cute little plaid shorts and fluffy socks. "Hey," he breathes out. "I didn't wake you up, did I?" It's late, just a few minutes past midnight, but she mentioned earlier during their tutoring session that the baby has been keeping her awake lately by moving nonstop. So, while he wants her to be able to sleep, he was hoping that she was still awake.
"No! No, I was up." She opens the door fully to let him inside, closing it behind him before leading him further into her room. A hand falls to caress her stomach and she chuckles, "Peanut won't stop moving because apparently, she hates me and doesn't want me to sleep at normal hours of the day."
"Peanut?" he arches a brow, hands stuffed into the pockets of his sweatpants.
"Yeah," Felicity shrugs a shoulder, tucking a curl behind her ear a bit sheepishly, "I didn't want to keep calling her 'the baby' and I remember that you said at the first ultrasound that she looked like a peanut and I –"
"—I like it," he interrupts. "I'm sorry that Peanut isn't letting you sleep."
She grins, "It's okay. Um… So, what's up?"
"I, uh… I couldn't sleep. I don't know, I guess…" Oliver stammers a bit, scratching the back of his neck before huffing a laugh, "I guess I don't really have a reason for coming over here."
"Ah," she tries to suppress a smile. Lifting a hand towards the television, she takes a step back towards her bed, "Well, I was watching some old movie if you wanna watch with me."
He nods, unable to stop the wide smile stretching across his face, "Yeah." In a matter of minutes, they are settled next to each on top of her bed, shoulders just brushing against each other. Felicity only makes it halfway through the old, black and white movie, before she falls asleep curled up against his side with her head resting on his shoulder, hands resting on her stomach and her breaths evened out peacefully.