I absolutely adore Quentin and Felicity scenes and this season is really lacking on that department, so, here it is, a bit of Papa Lance.
Btw, Oliver and Felicity are together in this one, but I burrowed a bit of a scene from next episode with Cupid.
Like a real dad
Quentin opened the door to his house and let the blonde woman, following him, enter first. She looked around, surprised at his house's decoration. It was much more homey than she thought it would be and Felicity wondered if this was still the same decoration from nine years ago, when there was a happy family living here.
"It's funny, we've known each other for a while and I never visited your house…" Felicity said, trying to evoke a smile, but failing tremendously.
"Miss Smoak, I bet you know where I lived and my social number and even who my date for the high school prom was…" Quentin replied, closing the door and waving towards the bed.
"It's Felicity, not Miss Smoak, and I have to say you were rather dashing in that tux, Captain!" Felicity sat on the couch, while Quentin, laughing at her words, ran to his kitchen and grabbed a pot of coffee.
He sat beside her on the couch and Felicity started squirming, playing with her skirt and looking at the floor.
"Now, are you going to tell me why I found you at two a.m. in the middle of the street, walking all by yourself?" Quentin asked. "And by the way, it's Quentin, not Captain, I think we already overlapped the formalities…"
Felicity bitten her lower lip, grabbing the cup of coffee to stall for a few moments.
"Felicity, I'm not your father, but finding a very beautiful woman walking alone at night, with tears running down her face is not a good sight…" Lance continued and Felicity understood why he was so careful with her in the way in and how he looked and looked her clothes in search of any clues.
"I was not attacked, Cap… I mean, Quentin… Okay, it's a bit weird…" Felicity scrunched her nose and Lance sighed in relieve. "I… I had a fight with someone… and…" she stuttered and Quentin smiled fondly.
"What did Queen do this time?" he saw her rise her head, the question dancing in her eyes, but seeing his who else could it be? expression, she didn't ask.
"Today, there were some hard choices to make and… Oliver was not very happy with the ones I did…" Felicity answered, evasively, knowing the less Quentin knew about their missions the better he could deny when someone accused him of working with the Arrow, even if now, he was seen as a hero and not a pariah. But she knew how quickly that could change and even if Quentin Lance was a loyal man, she wanted to keep him in the dark about a lot of their missions as long as possible.
"I can't believe you did that!" Oliver yelled when they reached the foundry.
"Well, if you mean, save your life…" Felicity replied in a just as loud voice.
"You put yourself in front of a moving train! What the fuck were you thinking? Did you want to end like Sara?"
Felicity gasped when he played the Sara card. It was a low blow and he knew it, but he was too angry to really think logically.
"You don't get to bring Sara into this. She was killed in the most despicable way, he was a coward! What I did was simply the logical decision. Roy was too far, John was not with us, what did you want me to do? Stand there and watch you being made into a pancake?" Felicity yelled back and they heard the foundry's door open and close, signaling Roy's arrival and quick departure at finding them fighting.
"What if you couldn't get the right key? What if you were killed?" Oliver growled and Felicity put her arms in the air.
"So what? I would have died saving someone. If that is not an honorable way to die then what is?" she asked and Oliver saw red.
He grabbed her shoulders and made her look at him.
"You were stupid and reckless. You could be dead right now. If you don't want to stay in this foundry forever then you will think about what you did." Oliver said in a cold voice, that hurt more than his anger, because he was shutting her down.
"I'm not a child, Oliver. You already put your life in danger to save mine, why can't I do the same? We protect each other, we are a team…" Felicity said, her eyes shining and Oliver stepped back.
"Maybe we shouldn't be, if you keep doing this…" he said and Felicity felt like he punched her on the stomach.
"What do you mean? The Team Arrow or Us?" she asked and Oliver didn't answer, leaving her feeling empty.
She turned on her heels and stomped out of the foundry, not caring where her feet would take her, only needing to walk, to feel the cold air of the night wake her up. She yelled at some trees and kicked a lamp post and then let the tears run. She knew why he was acting like that, it was clear as water, but it still hurt and it still made her effing mad at him. Yes, it was really, like really really scary, seeing the train approaching and fumbling around in search of the keys for his chains. She could remember his panicked expression, yelling at her to run, to leave him behind, but how could she do that? How could she leave the man she loved behind? It was unthinkable. She could have said she thought about the city and how it would suffer without him, but the truth was, a world without Oliver Queen was not a world she wanted to live in.
And that's how she felt a car pull up beside her and the voice of Captain Quentin Lance call her name.
"And he said some thoughtless things… I don't blame him, but they hurt…" Felicity said, quickly wiping her cheeks where her tears were running once again. She hated crying in front of someone else, why she always uses the I need some air when she feels like her emotional side is winning the battle. However, this time, she couldn't do it, not with Captain Lance looking at her like that…
Felicity tried to understand his expression, it was caring and worried at the same time, but not the same that Oliver uses with her… And then, with a gasp, she realized he was looking at her like a father whose daughter just arrived home, crying. Felicity felt a pang in her chest, when she realized why it took so long for her to understand it and the shock of the situation was enough to stop her tears.
"Felicity…" Quentin said, softly, taking her hand. "You can tell me anything you want, you know that, right? This might seem stupid, but during these last years I watched you grow from a shy, even if babbling girl, into someone that fully found herself and is now a splendor to look at… Sometimes I feel like a proud father… And if you need anything from me, you just ask, okay, honey?" Quentin offered and Felicity bitten her lower lip, to stop her emotional stuttering from making an appearance.
She nodded silently and surprising Quentin, hugged him fiercely.
"I never said this, but I'm really sorry for Sara. She was more than a heroine and she helped me growing up more than I could realize at the time." Felicity whispered and Quentin swallowed his own pain. He hugged her back, squeezing her back and Felicity, in that moment, felt like she wouldn't trade this hug for her own father's.
This man, this father, accepted her for who she is and was proud of the person she became.
"And I'm sorry for keeping that from you… And for the pain you felt and…" Felicity's sobs rose from her throat and mixed with Quentin's, they kept each other above water, telling stories about their lives and about Sara.
Until Quentin's phone ringed and he rose with a groan from the couch. He sighed when he saw the caller and looked at Felicity, that was still observing some photos from Sara's childhood.
"Yes, Queen?" he asked and Felicity looked up.
"Is Felicity with you?" he asked, his voice panicked and fearful.
Quentin smiled at himself and shook his head in disbelief. This man, that never cowered in face of danger was in a mess because of his own feelings towards the brilliant woman in his living room.
"Yes, she is…" Quentin said simply and he heard Oliver sigh.
"Thank god. She left her phone here and I called Dig and Roy and Thea and Laurel and even Barry and his friends and no one knew where she was… We fought and…" Oliver was babbling and Quentin thought that Felicity was probably rubbing on him too much.
"Well, she is with me, but you messed up big time. Now get your head out of your ass!" Quentin bellowed and hanged up the phone. "So, how intimidating was I?" he asked and Felicity chuckled softly.
"Father-like…" she whispered, too low for him to hear.
When Oliver knocked on the door, five minutes later, Quentin opened it and stood on the threshold, while Oliver tried to peak over his shoulder and see Felicity. Both of them knew Oliver could knock him out of the way, but both knew as well he would never do it.
"I don't know what you said or did, but that woman in there is the best you will ever have, while you will have to keep fighting to be the best she has, okay? God knows what she saw in you…" Quentin sighed, letting Oliver pass.
He ran towards Felicity and kneeled in front of her. Quentin was far enough that he couldn't hear what was being said, however, he could see Oliver's pleading eyes and Felicity's pained ones. They were talking, moving their arms around and then, suddenly, they stopped and stood there, looking at each other, like they could read each other's minds. Lance thought it a very complex phenomenon, especially when they moved forward at the same time, without any visible indication, and started kissing each other.
Quentin shook his head in mirth and turned around to walk into his kitchen.
A few moments later, he heard footstep behind him and turned to see Oliver walk into the room.
"Thank you." Oliver said, humbly. Quentin nodded.
"I don't know what you said to make her forgive you, but I hope you don't have to say it again…" the Captain threatened subtly and Oliver nodded in understanding.
"I told her the truth. That I'm a stupid man that fell in love with a brilliant woman, and sometimes my stupidity gets the better of me, and I'm always so afraid of losing her, of seeing her hurt or worse, that when she puts herself in danger to save my worthless live, I get so mad, at her, at me, at those criminals that put her in danger…" Oliver babbled and Quentin couldn't unify this man with the almighty Arrow. "And I just don't know what to do…. Just the thought of seeing her getting hurt breaks my entire being. I no longer know how to function without her…" Oliver started pacing the kitchen mid-rant and was now stopping suddenly in front of Quentin. "I don't know how to function without her…" he repeated slower this time and Quentin saw a slow, weird smile appear in Oliver's face.
Oliver looked at Quentin like he wasn't there, like he was seeing something else and the next words that left his mouth made the Captain jump.
"I'm gonna ask her to marry me!"
"What? Like right now?"
Oliver's smile fell when he realized what he really was going to do.
"No, she deserves better than a rushed question… But first, Mr. Lance, I would like to ask your permission…" Oliver asked and Quentin looked at him like he was nuts. "You are like a father to Felicity…" he said simply and Quentin felt another lump rise inside his throat, seriously, what were this kids on, making him all emotional.
"You have to promise that you will put her happiness in front of all of your decisions! She is a precious woman, there are not a lot like her and she deserves everything in the world! And remember, if you hurt her, I know how to use a gun." Quentin said, trying to look tough, but a fond smile appeared in his face. "Make her happy, Oliver." He whispered and Oliver nodded seriously, turning around and walking out of the kitchen.
Quentin waited until Felicity appeared to say goodbye to leave the room and watch the two of them walk to his bike.
"Be careful with that deathtrap!" he yelled and Felicity looked back before putting her helmet, with a caring smile on her face.
Quentin waved at them, while Oliver drove carefully away from his house. The man sighed, before closing the door and letting his eyes fall over a picture of Sara.
"You got yourself some very good friends, kiddo." He whispered to her, letting a last tear fall, before touching her face softly and walking back to his living room.
So, how was it with Papa Lance's feelings? I have to confess the last scene with him watching Sara's photograph makes me a bit emotional myself. Yup, I'm not even close to be over her death. I'm still desperately waiting for a Lazarus Pit to appear on the show and bring her back...
I know we didn't have baby Olicity in this one, but Quentin Lance is really worth, right folks?
Please review and tell me what you thought!
