Love is in the Air
Chapter 3: Turbulence
It was the third time that Oliver had unfastened his seat belt and left his seat to find Felicity.
The first time, she'd been nowhere to be found, and when he had gone looking for her in the economy class cabin, the other flight attendant named Iris had told him that she was in the cockpit speaking to the pilot. The second time he attempted to speak to her, he had found her in the galley; however, she'd been busy tidying up, so he had thought it was best for him to wait in his seat instead of getting in her way. She had asked him if he needed anything, and he did open his mouth to answer, but in his nervousness nothing but "uh" and "uhm" had come out of his lips. Felicity had simply smiled and said, "Well, whatever it is that you need, Mr. Queen, I'd be happy to bring it to you. All you need to do is press the call button. I think you know how it works." They had both chuckled and blushed. Oliver had scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and returned to his seat. Mission so not accomplished.
But as they say, "Third time's a charm." He was determined to get it right this time around. He just hoped that his heart and his tongue wouldn't fail him now.
Oliver unfastened his seat belt and stood up. As he walked down the left aisle towards the galley where he had watched Felicity go to about a minute ago, the middle-aged woman who was the third passenger in first class looked up at him when he passed her and reached for his arm. Tapping his forearm, the kind lady said to him, "You can do it. Just speak from the heart, young man," and then she winked at him. Oliver smiled and nodded, realizing how the fact that he was smitten over Felicity had been all too obvious even to fellow-passengers. "Thank you," he replied, grinning even wider. The woman added, "Well, if it's any consolation, dear, I think she's lovely, too. Go for it!" The woman let go of his arm and motioned for him to get going.
He was about to turn the corner that led to the galley when Felicity ran into him, holding a serving tray with a cup of tea. The edge of the tray slammed into his broad, solid chest, causing the porcelain cup to topple over, spilling some of the tea onto the tray.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" he immediately apologized. "I didn't see you come around the-"
"It's... it's okay. Not a big deal," Felicity replied, setting the tray on the nearest counter top.
"Let me help clean up," Oliver offered, feeling stupid. He was afraid he had just messed up his chances of asking her out, of asking her for anything now.
Felicity took some napkins to wipe the spilled tea as he watched. "Oh, that's really not necessary. It's part of the job. No worries," she assured him, cheerfully. "Was there something you needed, Mr. Queen? Cause I can't help but notice that you're making a habit of coming to the galley personally instead of pressing the button in your screen," she asked, the tone of her voice betraying the fact that she was actually teasing him. As she finished cleaning up, she turned to look at him, eyebrows raised, and clearly expecting an honest answer.
Thankfully, by some miracle, Oliver finally manned up and spoke. It must have been the encouraging look in the beautiful blue eyes behind those glasses that motivated him. "Uhm, actually there is." He smiled at her. "But it has nothing to do with this flight, or your job." He shifted from one foot to another, looked down.
"I don't understand."
He looked up and said, "Felicity- It's okay if I call you Felicity, right?"
She smiled and nodded. Her eyebrows were still up; she was expectantly waiting for whatever it was he wanted to say. He smiled back and sighed in relief.
"Well, I was wondering if-"
Oliver barely got the words out when suddenly, the plane shook from side to side. Felicity lost her footing and would have fallen backwards if Oliver's reflexes weren't quick enough. His arms reached forward and caught her by the waist, pulling her towards him to keep her from falling. Just as he was about to set her back on her feet, another strong jolt knocked them both off their feet. "Whoa!" they both cried, gasping for air. They stumbled backwards a few steps and landed on the flight attendant's seat by the door of the plane near the cockpit. It took them both a couple of seconds to realize that Felicity was actually sitting on Oliver's lap, with her arms around his neck, and his arms around her waist. Talk about awkward.
Neither of them wanted to let go, though, and it wasn't just because the plane continued to shake violently, losing altitude as it dipped a few feet, causing them and almost all the passengers to gasp (or squeal) in fear. Another sudden jolt made Felicity remove one of her hands from behind his neck, but it swiftly landed on his chest. Oliver was taken aback, but he did not mind it at all. Not even when she gripped his dress shirt into a fist when the plane dipped a few feet once again. Their gazes locked, and though they knew that there was some degree of panic and fear in their eyes due to the situation, they also sensed the peaceful comfort that their proximity to each other brought. At least, that was how Oliver felt. He felt as if time stood still, and in that moment, he didn't really mind the turbulence. He only hoped that Felicity felt the same way, especially considering that she wasn't letting go of him like he wasn't letting go of her.
The voice of the captain over the comms, telling everyone to buckle up until the "fasten seat belt" light is switched off again, ended their moment.
Felicity let go first, but Oliver spoke first. "I... I guess I should get back to my seat now and let you take yours." "I guess you should," she replied, still not breaking eye contact. "Here, let me help you up," he said. With his hands on her waist, he helped her get back on her feet. He held on to the edge of the seat, helping her sit down and fasten her seat belt. "I'll see you later," he said, to which her reply was, "Okay."
The "fasten seat belt" light was switched off twenty minutes later when the turbulence stopped. Service resumed in the last hour of the flight, but Oliver was no longer able to find the right opportunity to continue what he had started especially since Felicity and the cabin crew were busy preparing for descent and landing. He was afraid he had lost his chance.
The plane landed smoothly and taxied on the tarmac. The door was opened and the passengers began to file out one by one. Oliver was the first one out, soon followed by his bodyguard, John Diggle, who had been seated in economy class. Felicity smiled and thanked him for flying with them, and he had nodded and smiled to acknowledge her. He even looked back to have a good look at her one last time. And even when he saw her smiling at the other passengers that were exiting the plane instead of him, he was still awed by her. It was unfortunate that he had only gotten to know her for five short hours. He didn't even get the chance to find out what her surname was. He could find out some other way, since his family owned the airline, but the idea of looking at her employment record for personal reasons did not sit well with him.
From the moment he stepped out of the plane until he got out of the tube, Oliver contemplated that perhaps he and Felicity were not meant to be. "Fate" seemed to have intervened just in time.
Maybe it was for the best. Maybe a long distance relationship wouldn't work out. Maybe this was just a stupid crush that he was old enough to get over by the time he reached his hotel. Maybe Felicity was even in a relationship that he didn't know about. Maybe he was just getting sidetracked from the purpose of his business trip. Maybe he would forget about her by the time he laid down to sleep tonight.
Nah. "Stop dangling maybe's," Oliver reprimanded himself. "This girl is special, and she's worth giving it one more shot."
Felicity Smoak and the rest of the crew emerged from the tube and walked out of Gate B6. Oliver Queen was right there waiting for her, standing not too far away beside the drinking fountain just outside the nearby restrooms. As soon as he saw her, he straightened up and stood tall. When he was sure that she had spotted him, he approached tentatively, watching her face and body language whether or not she welcomed his presence. Her eyes met his, and what he saw in them gave him hope and made him smile.
"You've gotta be kidding me," Felicity said out loud, shaking her head in disbelief, as he closed the distance between them. He'd heard it, but he knew she wasn't shutting him down. There was fondness in her eyes and a blush coloring her cheeks. She slowed down her gait and turned to her friends, saying, "You girls go on ahead. I'll catch up with you at the shuttle stop." The pilot, copilot, and her fellow flight attendants waved goodbye and went on ahead, leaving her and Oliver (and Mr. Diggle, who stood a few meters away from his boss) behind.
Felicity stopped walking and straightened up her carry on, locking its wheels. She then looked up at him and bit her lower lip, smiling adorably. He stopped right in front of her, just a couple of feet away.
"Please don't tell me you want more pretzels. I'm all out," she remarked, teasing him once again. He shook his head, smiling back at her. She laughed softly and shrugged her shoulders. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, narrowed her eyes at him, and asked, "Then what is it that you want, Mr. Queen?"
"You. I want to get to know you."
Felicity took a deep breath and grinned. She bit her lip again and stared deep into his eyes. Dropping her arms to her sides, she replied, "I thought so."
He laughed softly this time, pulling his hands out of his pants' side pockets. He looked at his gold watch and then looked up at her. "Well, I have a couple of hours before my business meeting starts. Coffee?"
"Haven't you had enough?" she asked.
Oliver chuckled. And then he looked straight into her eyes and told her sincerely, "No. I don't think I'll ever have enough of you."
The smile she flashed at him because of that was the sweetest he'd ever known. "Well then, coffee it is," Felicity said affirmatively.
He took her carry-on bag in one hand, and her hand in his other hand, and they strolled out of the airport grinning like love-struck idiots. John Diggle had absolutely no idea how that happened.
THE END
A/N: My latest plane ride was the scariest, worst flight of my life so far. Perhaps the only nice thing that came out of it - other than that we breezed through immigration and customs because I was wheel-chaired out of the plane for being so dizzy and sick due to severe turbulence that lasted for more than 30 minutes - was that I found the inspiration that I needed for the final chapter of this fic. Haha! I hope you enjoyed this, and I sure hope you'd let me know that you did. Thanks for reading!
Please bear with any typos and errors as this hasn't been proofed. They could be due to either jet lag or good old-fashioned haste. ;-)
