Chapter 2
City of Love and Kicks
Oliver's plans for a day in Paris go awry
In the course of two months a lot had transpired since Oliver and Katie left Starling. They overcame the perils of the first trimester, and were now tackling the second which both agreed was far more easier. This was when Oliver really decided to do as much as he could to get Katie to once again trust him and to some how get back to where they were. That's how they ended up here. Paris, France. The city of love, which Oliver hoped would help his efforts.
The man stood on the balcony of their room, looking out the cityscape, the Eiffel Tower which he sure will look better tonight. He had it all planned. They would do some site seeing during the day and then he would surprise her with a nice dinner when they return.
"Son of a bitch!" Oliver was swiftly torn from his thoughts before turning and heading back into their room. The man headed to Katie's bedroom, still a bit disappointed that at this point they still were in separate bedrooms. He was glad that she agreed to the double room so he wasn't too far from her just in case something happened. He walked over to her door, about to walk in, but he stopped and knocked first.
"Is everything alright?" he asked and he heard her groan from the other side. "Twinkie-"
"I'm fine, I'm just not happy at the moment." she replied.
"Can I come in?"
"I would rather you not, I'm a mess right now."
"Maybe I can help."
"You can't, just go away." Oliver let out a sigh, knowing he should probably follow her wishes, but for the life of him he just couldn't. He couldn't just walk away after hearing how upset she sounded. And so he grabs the door knob, and walks into her room to find her standing in front of her mirror. When she turns to him, he notices the button on her pants is gone. "These were my last pair of skinny pants! My last pair." the man fights to keep the smile from his face as his eyes look down to her belly that seems to be growing everyday, poking over her pants. "This is not funny!"
"I didn't say it was." Oliver replied with holding up his hands. "It's just, Twinkie you're pregnant. You knew at some point you were going to get-" he stopped because the glare on her face only got darker.
"Say it. I dare you to say it."
"You know what I will say it. Bigger." she groaned turning back to the mirror and lifting her shirt looking down to her round belly. "Twinkie, that's how this works. You being the medical professional know that better than anyone." The man walked over to stand behind her, still smiling down to her belly. "Babies grow, and your body has to grow with them."
"I'm turning back into chubby Twinkie." Katie said with a shake of her head before turning and stalking into the bathroom. That's something that hasn't changed. The woman went through multiple emotions and Oliver was just trying to keep up.
"Twinkie." the man said walking over to the bathroom door. "You're the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."
"You're lying!"
"I promise that I'm not. It's true. You're beautiful, and you're sexy, more now then I-" the man let out a sigh as he dropped his head to the door. He missed being with her, being able to touch her, but he knew the road back to their lives would be long. "You have no idea how glad I will be when I can just touch you again." the man lifted his head to the door, but the woman didn't say anything. "Twinkie?" the woman pulled open the door, and she gave the man a smile. "Feel better?"
"A little." she replied before walking back out and heading over to the closet. "Now I have to go shopping, and I hate shopping."
"It shouldn't take us long to find you some clothes." Oliver said and Katie turned to him. "What?"
"I wasn't planning on going shopping with you." she said and the man quirked a brow. "I just don't see you as the type who likes to shop for women's clothing."
"I become the type when you're the woman." Oliver replied firmly. "I thought we both agreed to stick together, especially with so many eyes looking for you right now."
"I understand that, but I doubt anyone will snatch me from a clothing store." Katie replied with a shrug. "Oliver I hate shopping so much because it takes me forever to find things I like to wear. I don't want to put you through that, and I don't want to have to deal with your complaining."
"I don't complain."
"You're actually really impatient." Katie replied walking back into her closet.
"You know given our current circumstance, I would say I'm the most patient guy in the world right now."
"Is that your way of telling me you're tired of waiting for me?" Katie asked, not turning to him. "Because if that's the case, we can part ways in Paris." she glanced over her shoulder to the man.
"That's not what I'm saying, I just-" the man let out a heavy sigh. "I don't feel comfortable not being able to be around you in a foreign country. You and foreign countries don't seem to mesh well. The last time you were kidnapped by Russians, and before that you were kidnapped by government agency and the League of Assassins." Katie grabbed a yellow sundress, before turning to the man. "I would just like to be present, as to avoid any of that from happening."
"You're gonna hate it." Katie says looking over to the man and he just shrugged.
"I love all my time with you Twinkie." the woman just rolled her eyes before pushing the man out of her room so she could change.
Oliver knew he was going to hate it. They'd been shopping for over two hours and every store they walked into looked exactly the same as the last. The man always finds a place to sit with all the bags and just waits for Katie to tell him that's she ready to go. He usually just sat, keeping his eyes scanning the area for anyone who looked out of place, or who seemed to watch them for too long. At this point, they seemed to be in the clear and he was glad. This was really starting to feel like a real vacation, maybe even a real life without the craziness of arrows or masks. His eyes turned to the woman who searched through the rack of clothes and Oliver couldn't help but smile. Even though he was bored out of his mind, he couldn't help but feel that this is what normal people did. She was so focused as she picked up a pair of pants, and rolled her eyes as she looked at their size. She glanced over to him and nudged her head to the dressing room and he simply gave a nod before watching her grab some clothes and head over to try them on.
"Oliver?" a voice said and Oliver turned to see a woman who looked vaguely familiar. "Oliver Queen." as the woman got closer, it suddenly hit him.
"Stacey." the man said standing to his feet.
"I can't believe I'm running into you in Paris." the woman said bringing her arms around the man in a hug he didn't quite expect. He glanced over to the dressing room, making sure this exchange wasn't something Katie would see. "What-" she pulled from the hug with a shake of her head. "What are you doing here?"
"Uh, just needed to get away for a while." the man said. "What about you? I haven't seen you since-"
"That night we got kicked out of that club in Bludhaven." Stacey laughed with a shake of her head. "That seems so long ago. I'm actually here for work. I'm a fashion designer for a small magazine here, and I was just grabbing a couple of pieces." the woman glanced around the store before turning back to the man. "Is this how you pick up women now? Hanging out in boutiques?"
"Uh, no." he laughed, his eyes looking up just in time to see Katie now standing there watching them. "I'm actually here with my girlfriend."
"Oh, so you're seeing someone?" the woman asked and Oliver glanced back over to her with a nod before looking back over to Katie who was speaking with the store clerk. "That's great. I would love to meet the woman who was able to wrangle you in."
"Right, she-" Oliver looked up, but this time he didn't see Katie. He narrowed his eyes for a moment, before scanning the store. He walked over to the clerk he'd seen her speaking to. "Hi, um, do you speak English?"
"Oui." the woman replied. "How can I help you?"
"Uh, the woman who was just here, do you know where she went?" Oliver asked.
"Oh, she wanted me to bag up her clothes while she went to the rest room." the woman said.
"And the bathrooms are-" the woman simply pointed across the store and Oliver turned and gave a nod.
"Hey is everything alright?" Stacey asked walking over to the man.
"Yeah, I just-" Oliver shook his head because he knew how silly he would sound if he actually said that he was worried that Katie had left. "It's nothing. So it was nice running into you. We should catch up sometime."
"We should. How about tonight." the woman suggested, and Oliver didn't respond right away. He thought when people suggested that they catch up some time, that usually just meant never. "You can bring your girlfriend and I'll bring my boyfriend and we can like have a double date." Oliver definitely had different plans for tonight, and it definitely didn't include having a double date with Katie and a woman he used to sleep with. "C'mon it will be fun."
"What will be fun?" Katie voice suddenly said from behind Oliver and the man almost jumped out of his skin. He moved aside to see the woman, a smile on her face as she turned from him to Stacey.
"Hey, Katie, uh this is Stacey." Oliver said and the woman shook hand. "We're like old friends from forever ago."
"And then some." Stacey laughed turning back to Katie. "I was actually inviting you and Oliver to dinner tonight with me and my boyfriend. It's been so long, I have to catch up with this guy." she turned back to Oliver. "So what do you say?"
"Well I don't know, we've sort of planned out the trip." Oliver said turning to Katie who furrowed her brow at the man. It was obvious he didn't want to have dinner with this woman and because she was curious, she just had to figure out why.
"I mean plans can change." Katie replied before turning back to Stacey. "What are the chances of such old friends running into each other, in Paris of all places." she looked over to Oliver, giving the man a smile. "Dinner could be fun."
"Yeah, sure-" he turned back to Stacey, pulling a fake smile. "Why not."
"Oh, I like you already." Stacey said turning back to Katie. "I could never get this man to agree to anything that didn't include one or both of us being naked." the woman laughed with a shake of her head. Katie quirked a brow, before turning to Oliver who looked like he wanted to curl up and die in this moment. "Alright, there is this great restaurant called Le Bouillon Chartier. Have you heard of it?"
"We could probably look it up." Oliver replied.
"Great. Tonight at eight o'clock?" the woman suggested and Oliver gave a nod. "Great. We will see you there." Stacey turned back to Katie. "It was so great to meet you. I can't wait to share some very scandalous secrets about your guy here."
"I can't wait." Katie replied before watching the woman turn and walk from the store. "Scandalous, huh?"
"Twinkie-"
"Oh, no." the woman said with a shake of her head. "I'm still processing the the whole not agreeing to anything that didn't involve nudity. Should be a very interesting dinner." Katie walked away from the man.
"So are we done shopping for the day?" Oliver asked and the woman glanced over to him and shook her head.
"Well I have to find something to wear for tonight." the woman replied before walking from the store.
An hour of more shopping, and then they returned back to their room where Katie didn't even speak to the man before retreating back to her room and closing the door. This just had to be the worse timing ever. Just when he was trying to win the woman back, an ex-girlfriend just had to pop up and put a wrinkle in his plans.
That night, after getting dressed for dinner, the man walked over to Katie's door, and knocked.
"Twinkie, are you ready?"
"I'm not going!" she called from the other side of the door. "I have nothing to wear." Oliver looked at the door in confusion.
"You know I would be inclined to believe that if I wasn't the one who carried all of those shopping bags all day." he replied. "Not that I'm complaining. It's just-" he let out a sigh. "Twinkie what's really going on?"
"I'm just not going." she replied. "I'm not going to dinner with your gorgeous, blonde, long legged ex girlfriend looking like a beach ball." Oliver shook his head before grabbing the door about to walk in, but this time when he tried, the door was locked.
"You locked the door." he said a bit surprised.
"I did. Maybe I want you to come in, when I actually let you in." Katie replied from the other side and Oliver dropped his head against the door. He thought they were actually moving forward, but apparently they weren't.
"Twinkie, if you really just don't want to go to this dinner tonight, then that's fine. I would actually rather not go either, ,but if you don't want to go because you think some other woman will look better, than that's where I have to refer to my earlier speech. You remember the one about you being beautiful and sexy. That still hasn't changed because of Stacey."
"Why did you break up with her?" Katie asked unexpectedly and Oliver lifted his head.
"It just wasn't right between us. All we did was party when I was supposed to be in school. When I got kicked out of another school, my dad made me come back to Starling, and I guess me and Stacey just drifted apart."
"So you're not secretly lusting after her?" Oliver couldn't help but laugh.
"I can't secretly lust after anyone when I'm blatantly lusting after you." Oliver replied. They were silent for a while before Oliver once again spoke. "Can I come in?" he waited for a moment before hearing the door unlock. The woman finally pulled open the door, and Oliver actually forgot how to breathe when his eyes met her. He wished she could see her the way he did in this moment. She wore a simple yet beautiful, black cocktail dress the stopped just below her knees and her hair fell over her shoulder in curls.
"So you've been staring, quietly for a while." Katie said and the man looked up meeting her eyes. "What's the verdict?"
"Uh-" Oliver was speechless. Only because what he wanted to say and what he should say were two very different things. So instead of telling the woman how much he would like to stay home, and tear that dress off of her, he simply went with something safer. "You're beautiful."
"You don't look to bad yourself." she replied reaching up to straighten his tie. He couldn't tear his eyes from her, wanting so badly to just grab and kiss her. But he would wait, for as long as she needed. She lifted her eyes to his, her hands falling to rest on his chest and they just stood there, both feeling that same need in the air between them. It was Katie who cleared her throat before dropping her hands to her side. "Let me grab my purse, and I will be ready to go."
Dinner with Oliver's ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend wasn't as bad as Katie thought it would be. All old stories the woman told of the man were pretty tame. Mostly drunken nights of a young Oliver Queen. It was actually pretty nice having a semblance of a normal evening with people who had normal lives and jobs. Ever so often during dinner, Katie would glance over to Oliver who she caught looking back to her, and a smile would pull at her lips.
"You two are adorable." Stacey said and they both turned to her. "No, just sitting here looking at you two, I can really see how in love you are. So with a baby on the way, are there any plans to tie the knot?"
"Well-"Oliver started glancing over to Katie who looked back to the man. He knew marriage was a topic the woman wanted to stray away from, and he never pushed the topic.
"Yeah." Katie said with a smile. That surprised the man looking back at her. "It is definitely a plan I'm interested in. How about you?"
"I've thought about it once or twice." Oliver replied and Katie lightly chuckled as she turned away, back to the couple across from them. Stacey once again started on another story, and Katie felt Oliver take her hand that rested on her lap. She glanced over to him, and he looked back to her, and a silent promise passed between them.
That night after dinner, Oliver and Katie strolled down the streets of Paris, his hand still holding on to hers. This night wasn't what he planned, but it was turning out better in his opinion. He could actually feel things slowly returning back the way they were. They soon found themselves standing at the base of the Eiffel Tower, looking up to the beautifully lit monument.
"So how are you enjoying Paris so far?" Oliver asked looking over to the woman who still wore a smile.
"It's not bad." Katie replied turning to the man. "So Liver, where are you whisking me away to next on this Twiver world tour?"
"Is that what Felicity's calling it now?" Oliver laughed.
"It is. And now that I remember-" the woman fished her phone from her purse, before grabbing Oliver's arm and bringing it around her and holding up her phone for a picture. Oliver's hand, slid not missing his chance to feel her belly. "Felicity made me promise to take a picture in front of the Eiffel Tower. So smile-" Oliver didn't even look to the camera, as his hand slid across her stomach. "Oliver-" she laughed. "Look-" both looked with wide eyes down to Katie's stomach before turning to each other.
Felicity Smoak stood in the newly rebuilt lab of Palmer Technologies, dried tears fresh on her cheeks. She felt an arm wrap around her, and she fell into Bruce's arms.
"I still can't believe he's gone." the woman said and the man simply placed a kiss on top of her head. "How am I supposed to do this by myself? I mean Ray lived and breathed this company, it was his life that made this place great. I don't know if I can do that."
"Well I do." Bruce replied. "Felicity you underestimate yourself. I have no doubt that you will do anything less than great when it comes to this company." Felicity heard her cell phone vibrate and she walked over to grab it.
"It's a text from Katie." she said with a sigh. She'd been holding off telling Katie of Ray's death, knowing the couple really did need the vacation. She knew she would have to soon, especially since she was sure they would read about it or see it on television at some point. Felicity took a seat on the edge of the table, before opening the text to see a picture of Katie and Oliver in front of the Eiffel Tower, their eyes wide looking down to Katie's stomach. A message soon appeared underneath the picture and Felicity couldn't help the smile that came to her lips. "Oh my gosh." Bruce walked over to see what had the woman smiling. "The baby's first kick." the woman then decided to send a text to Oliver. "And now I must send an angry text to Oliver for robbing me of yet another baby Twiver moment."
Bruce simply shook his head before grabbing the woman's phone.
"How about not Ms. Smoak." Bruce said before turning and leaving the lab.
"Bruce!" she called after the man. "It won't be long. Just one hundred characters, and only a couple emojis." she rushed after the man. "Bruce!"
Author's notes
Awwww, first kick and Oliver and Katie are seeming to be getting closer in the course of their little tour. I so love this cutesy stuff.