Make a Man Out of You (Mulan)
A/N: This is a modern adaptation of the story of the Disney version of Mulan. It won't follow the plot of the animated films per se, just the overall theme and basic premise. I hope you enjoy this one, too.
Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow or Mulan and its characters, just the idea for this fic.
Chapter 1
"Excuse me?!" Felicity protested.
Everybody in the briefing room knew that she wasn't asking their team leader a simple question for clarification. Her loud voice was proof enough. The way she held her ground, with her hands planted firmly on her hips, said as much. Posturing just a few feet in front of her six-foot-tall superior, she looked as if she could take him on if the confrontation escalated from a heated argument to a more physical one. The rest of the team faded wordlessly into the background as they witnessed the stare down.
In all fairness, they were well aware that by now, Agent Smoak had acquired the necessary skills to physically put up a good fight against Agent Queen if she needed to. In fact, she might even win, like she did in some of their sparring sessions. None of them dared to get in her way when she was provoked and infuriated this way. None of them risked getting caught in the middle of a Queen-Smoak scuffle. So, they all trickled out of the small, cramped briefing room without actually being dismissed. Being the last person to leave, Agent Diggle gave his best friend one last glare – a fair warning, so to speak – before shutting the door behind him.
Obviously, Agent Queen had infuriated his female team member with the decision he'd made concerning the mission that was to go down later that night, a mission that barely included her, even if she had volunteered for it. He now faced the consequences of that decision, which he had already announced to the team. His next mistake was not heeding his best friend's warning.
"Agent Smoak, you are not going on this mission as bait, and that's final." He looked down at her with an unperturbed gaze of steel. He hated it most when she was being stubborn, even when she was right about things (most of the time). "Now stand down," he added.
The redness of indignation crept upwards from her neck to her face as she glared back at him with the same measure of adamancy. "No, I won't!" Felicity yelled. "Not until you tell me why you can't treat me like one of the guys in the team. I've worked really hard to get to where I am, Oliv— Sir. I've been training with Agent Diggle, and with you, for almost a year now, and I can hold my own. This won't be my first time in the field, and you know it. I am not a porcelain doll, for crying out loud!" She was crying out loud.
"I know you are not a porcelain doll or damsel in distress, Felicity. But the Star City Slayer… He's the most dangerous serial killer the Bureau has ever had to go after. I am not that desperate to risk sending you out there when the chances of catching this unsub are almost nil."
"Why? Because I'm a woman? That is so old school! Agent Queen, just in case you hadn't noticed – but I'm sure you have, since you were the one that profiled him – this unsub targets women, blondes specifically, which makes me the perfect, most logical choice for-"
Exasperated, Oliver interrupted her furious rambling. "It's not about you being a woman, nor is it about the color of your hair. It's because it's you!" he yells, louder than ever. It startled Felicity and rendered her momentarily speechless.
He shut his eyes and pressed his lips together, regretting his excessive outburst. It took him a few seconds to get back some semblance of composure, and then he spoke again, this time with a bit more restraint and with a pleading tone. "I can't… I can't lose you." It was a whisper, almost like a prayer.
Oliver tried to reach out to her, but Felicity flinched. She blinked, and then she looked down, sadness written all over her face.
Somehow, deep down inside her, Felicity had suspected that this was about them. But she did not want to admit it, much less confess it. She did not want to have to accuse him of being so selfish that he would rather let another family lose a loved one than allow himself to lose her. Tears began to cloud her vision, and by the time she looked up at him, a teardrop had escaped her eye.
"Oliver…" She decided to drop the formality and call him by name. "You can't make decisions on the job based on your feelings or personal reasons. You ought to know better. We talked about this, remember?"
She took a deep breath. "Maybe this… us? Maybe this is a mistake."
Somewhere between the first day they'd met when she had been assigned by Director Michaels as the technical analyst for the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI, Oliver's team, and the day they had decided to break all the unofficial and unspoken rules about on-the-job relationships at the Bureau, Oliver and Felicity had fallen for each other. It could be attributed to several factors, really. One in particular was Felicity's weakness for the heroic type of guy that was willing to make sacrifices for the greater good. Of course, it had helped that Oliver was just as attractive and appealing as he was heroic. Another was Oliver's affectionate appreciation for the brilliant and headstrong type of girl that did not get easily intimidated by assertive leaders like him, and whose endearing sense of humor and light disposition constantly drew him out of his brooding episodes. Of course, it had certainly helped that Felicity was just as kinesthetic and physically fit as she was intellectually – a very desirable quality that Oliver had discovered up close and personal during the times when they'd started training together after she had been injured with a gunshot wound to the shoulder during her second stint in the field.
In time, they had discovered that they were each other's light. They could no longer deny the feelings they had for each other. Deciding to take the leap of faith, against the advices of some of their closest friends and colleagues, they had started a romantic relationship alongside their professional one, determined to prove that they both had what it took to make it work.
Except, now they both felt like it had been a bad idea.
"You're right," Oliver conceded easily. "This is a mistake."
He bowed his head, unable to look further at the woman he loved so much. How did this happen? He had intentionally declined the plan to use her to draw out the Star City Slayer because he was afraid to lose her in the process, yet it seemed he was still going to lose her anyway.
By the time he looked up to see how Felicity was taking this new development in their relationship (or not), she was gone.
Oliver Queen is the leader of the BAU and Felicity Smoak is a member of his team as their technical analyst. They are both FBI agents who have agreed to carry on a romantic relationship alongside their professional one. Everything goes according to plan until Felicity volunteers for a mission, which Oliver vehemently refuses. She thinks he is being stubbornly unreasonable because she is the only woman on the team, but for Oliver, it's goes much deeper than that. [Olicity fairy tale AU inspired by the Disney animated movies Mulan 1 & 2]
A/N: This is how I thought the Cast of Characters to be:
Felicity Smoak = Fa Mulan
Oliver Queen = Li Shang
John Diggle = a different kind of Mushu
Roy Harper, Rory Regan, and Rene Ramirez = Ling, Chien-po, and Yao
Lyla Michaels = the Emperor & the Matchmaker