I'm so happy you guys liked their meeting. I had some anxiety because I wanted it to feel as natural as possible and not like I was trying to force to strangers into falling in love with each other (which I am but that's beside the point).
The song for this chapter is Make This Leap by The Hunts. I just LOVE this song! So perfect!
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Disclaimer: I, sadly, do not own Arrow or its characters.
Chapter Three: Make This Leap
"So were you ever going to tell me your last name is Queen," Felicity teased as Oliver navigated the streets. When he'd gotten off the freeway in the Glades she'd had a brief moment of worry that this handsome, nearly stranger was some kind of crazy serial killer. But knowing that he was one of Starling City's biggest celebrities calmed her down to a realistic plane of thought. There was no way he could be a serial killer.
"How did you find that out," he asked nonchalantly but she noticed that his hands had tightened on the steering wheel to the point of his knuckles going white. So he was sensitive about his name. Huh.
"I'm sort of… kind of… a professional hacker. I traced your cell phone number back to you. I don't care, you know. That you're kind of a local celebrity. I don't think who your family is or the name you carry determines who you are as a person." She tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice when she said the last statement but she suspected that she wasn't completely successful because Oliver's grip loosened and he chanced a glance at her full of sympathy.
"If that's true, then you're pretty unique. Of course, I don't know why I'd suspect anything less from one of the most famous MIT graduates who now owns her own tech solutions company." She turned an impressed smirk on him. "Yeah, I Googled you. It might not be as fancy as tracing your name through your cell phone number but I'm not completely inept with a computer," he said with exaggerated smugness.
"Well color me impressed. So what did you find out about me?"
"Your name is Felicity Smoak. You're from Las Vegas. You got accepted early admissions to MIT where you started to make a big name for yourself. After graduating, you worked at a few different places to gain experience, including Queen Consolidated. About two years after graduating, you started your own tech solutions company which is now one of the top companies of its kind in the world. You are contracted with the government. Which I didn't get from Google but that doesn't matter. Now it's your turn. What do you know about me?" Felicity pretended to think really deeply about her answer.
"You're Oliver Queen. You're the oldest child and set to inherit your family's fortune and the oh-so-fun responsibility of running your parents' company. You used to be a wild child but you turned your life around about five years ago. I tried to find out why but you basically went off the grid so I'm guessing… rehab? You have a bachelor's degree in business which I'm very sure was your parent's idea. You don't go out much but you started and run two charities in Starling City and you also personally own some weird gym thing. But that's all stuff anyone could find out about you. Tell me something that doesn't show up on a computer." He smiled.
"That blank period you were talking about, when it was like I went off the grid? I was in Russia," he said before parking the car and getting out to open her door for her. She pulled herself from her shock and climbed out. They were parked in front of an old steel plant. The block looked dilapidated and forgotten. Over the new, reinforced steel door of the building was a simple sign in green, military style font that said Verdant.
"What is this place," she asked warily. She could be pretty game but an old steel mill was hardly her idea of a good first date place.
"This is my gym. We specialize in parkour and archery."
"You brought me to a gym for our first date," she asked dubiously. She recalled that morning when she'd woken up and turned on PiYo and couldn't even make it through one rep of sit ups. She'd gotten, what, five? She didn't know much about parkour. Or archery.
"It'll be fun, I promise," Oliver said, flashing her a confident smile. He took her hand and sort of half pulled-half led her to the door. Her hand felt so small and safe in his large, warm, calloused one that she couldn't think of a clever argument.
"Isn't parkour that crazy thing where you run around pretending you can stick to walls like Spiderman," she asked after a moment, trying to remember. Oliver laughed.
"Kind of. It's a lot of running and jumping and cool flips and stuff."
"Okay," Felicity said. "Here's the deal. I know I look pretty hot and fit. And for the life of me, I do not know why that is. I eat junk food. I like food. Food that is not for rabbits or people who believe meat is murder. I'm the kind of girl who likes a big steak. So while I might look like I hit the gym for several hours a day, I'm not. I'm very uncoordinated. In high school, my teacher promised to pass me if I would just sit and stay out of everyone's way. So these flips and things you speak of? Yeah, I will probably die trying to do one of those. And our first date ending in my accidental –and probably highly embarrassing –death is not how I wanted this thing to go." Oliver listened to her, arms folded, a small smile growing as she became more agitated and her hands gestured wildly.
"Are you done," he asked after she took a few minutes to breathe. She nodded, eyes locked on his biceps as they flexed. "Okay, first of all: I like a girl who has an appetite. I don't trust women who eat only salads and count carbs; I feel like they're starving themselves until one night, they'll just snap and then suddenly I'll be dinner. Like zombies. Second, I don't expect you to be some crazy gymnast. But don't know this till you try it. And thirdly, I don't think this date will end in your death. In fact, I foresee the night ending very differently." Felicity's blush deepened as he started until she was sure she was a bright shade of tomato red. "So will you trust me?" She nodded and he smiled before leading her to the front counter.
"Oliver!" The man behind the counter greeted her date warmly. He was tall and well built, in a black t-shirt. He had a kind smile but there were hard lines on his face that told her that life hadn't always returned the favor. "How are you, man? I didn't know you were coming tonight." Oliver pulled Felicity up to his side.
"I decided to take this beautiful woman on a date," he said archly. "Digg, this is Felicity Smoak. Felicity, this is John Diggle, a very old friend." Diggle took her extended hand and shook it, eyes moving between her and Oliver before his smile grew.
"Felicity, it is an absolute pleasure," he said kindly and Felicity smiled back, charmed by his easygoing nature.
"The pleasure is mine," she said. "How do you two know each other?"
"Digg used to be my bodyguard," Oliver said. "After I cleaned up my act, he stayed on as the Queen family's head of security. He oversees things here a few nights a week."
"So, you'd be the one to ask about why Oliver was in Russia for five years," Felicity asked slyly. Diggle shook his head, a polite smile on his face.
"I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you," he teased and while Felicity laughed, she also felt like he wasn't entirely joking. This was a man who had clearly seen death and probably even delivered his share of deadly shots.
"I'll just have to settle for my own imaginings then," Felicity said. What does the son of a billionaire do in Russia for half a decade that he can't tell anyone about?
After Felicity had changed into some clothes from the gift shop –he hadn't realized the capris and tank tops they were selling were that tight –Oliver lead her to the archery range. He grabbed a bow and a quiver of arrows and guided the target back to a position that was easy for him but would probably give his date some trouble.
"So the whole thing about archery is how you hold yourself. The way you hold your body determines how you hold your bow." He showed her by taking his stance to fire the bow. His feet were slightly apart and his back was straight. He brought the bow up and used his mouth to anchor his hand as he drew the arrow back. He took a deep breath and released the arrow. It flew straight into the center of the target, burying itself deeply in the bullseye. "Now it's your turn." Felicity stood nervously, using one foot to scratch her other leg as she bit her lip, eyeing the target. She stepped up and took the bow from him, nocking the arrow and then pulling the bow up. He burst out laughing.
"Hey, I never claimed to be Robin Hood," she said.
"No," he said between chuckles, "but you're holding your bow like Errol Flynn in Robin Hood." She was surprised by the classic movie reference. "Here, relax your shoulders. Now turn your hips a bit." He grabbed her hips and turned them slightly. Her breathing sped up and she felt like his hands had burned where they made contact with her. She could feel tingles crawling up her spine and she closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on what he was telling her. His hands moved up to her shoulders, moving along her arms to position them properly. "Now take a deep breath and when you exhale… release." She could feel his warm breath on her skin and goosebumps erupted on her skin. She released the arrow and watched in a fog as it flew…
And promptly fell to the ground, several feet from the target. She bowed her head in defeat while Oliver snorted into his hand, trying very hard to give the appearance of composure.
"Oh look, I do archery about as well as anything but computers," she said sarcastically and he gave up all efforts at concealing his amusement. He began to laugh deeply and for a moment she stared at him before she began laughing too.
"Okay, so you need work. What do you say we try running around a bit," he offered and she nodded, setting the bow down carefully on the table behind them. She followed him towards the large room filled with green boxes, half walls and various equipment. "Just do what I do," he said and he immediately began to run, jumping over several hurdles, hopping up onto a box and then promptly jumping and flipping in midair to land on his feet. Felicity gave him a dubious laugh and he cocked his head to the side and just smiled at her.
"Don't say I didn't warn you," she teased. She began to run, surprised as she sailed over the hurdles. She sped up to launch herself on the box. Her foot hit the side and she felt herself falling before she landed solidly on her back. Oliver's face came into her vision, trying to hide a big smile. "I didn't fall," she wheezed out.
"No?"
"No," she said, accepting his offered hand and allowing him to help her to her feet. "I just wanted to do a trust fall with the floor." He began to laugh and then turned to her sheepishly.
"Bad first date," he asked ruefully. She considered for a moment and then smiled.
"No. Seriously, this has been fun so far. I mean, it wouldn't have even made the list for things I would have thought to do with you. But it's been fun and I like seeing you in this environment. I feel like this is how you spend a lot of time."
"It relaxes me. When my family or all the responsibilities of being a Queen starts getting to me, I come here and just let it go."
"That sounds nice. I don't really have a stress relief routine. I'm pretty fond of raspberry cheesecake ice cream."
"Raspberry cheesecake. I'll have to remember that." She felt a thrill at the promise of more dates and his eagerness to learn about her small, inconsequential habits.
"Felicity?" Felicity turned at the familiar voice and then froze.
"Lyla?" Her friend slash work liaison stood, a baby on one hip, looking at her in confusion.
"What are you doing here," Felicity asked in surprise, pulling herself from her shocked state.
"My husband works here," Lyla said, still not over seeing her top hacker at Diggle's gym.
"You're married to Diggle," Felicity asked in surprise. Lyla smiled.
"Yeah. This is our daughter Sara. Oh, hey Oliver," Lyla said, looking past Felicity and giving a little wave.
"Hey, Lyla. How do you two know each other?"
"Felicity is our top contract computer specialist. She's been an invaluable asset," Lyla said and Felicity blushed. "Oh, I meant to ask, have you heard anything from social services? I called everyone I knew and told them to get the process started and how great you are. Did they get back to you?" Felicity mentally cringed as she saw Oliver's face morph from happiness to confusion.
"Um, not much. It's still a process although thank you so much for pulling strings," Felicity said, feeling awkward.
"What's going on," Oliver asked politely.
"Felicity found a baby and we're trying to get the state to let her adopt her." Felicity mentally begged for Lyla to stop talking as she watched Oliver's eyes widen and glance at her. Thankfully, Diggle chose that moment to approach his wife and lead her away for his dinner break. Felicity felt cold seeping into her bones and began to bite her lip nervously.
"So you're adopting a baby," Oliver said and Felicity felt a deep wave of regret at what was likely to be the death of what had seemed such a promising relationship.
Stick with me.