So this one is much shorter than the others. It's also totally in canon (just out of sight). This was actually my first thought after the episode the other night (I've been theorizing about how much Felicity will factor into Slade's endgame and Isobel being on his team I think definitely increases the probability). So this is what came about.
Also there's a lot of techy, Felicity stuff that I think makes sense (but I watch too many spy movies, so who really knows?) I've touched upon the whole "Felicity not wanting to be taken care of" thing in some of my other fics, but I wanted to try something new (because she's a badass.)
Thanks as always to everyone who reads my stories (you rock my world). Enjoy!
Oliver shot up in his bed with a start. His chest heaved as his mind tried to pick through the fragments of the nightmare that had awakened him. He was missing something. Something huge.
It had been two days since Slade had returned Thea, and Isobel had taken over the company. He and Felicity were officially jobless. A snarky email had been waiting for the blonde when she arrived at the Foundry the morning after. She hadn't allowed him to read it but he'd heard her mumbling about false accusations and dirty rumours.
Rumours.
Oliver's jaw snapped shut and he leapt out of bed. Sara stirred but he was already halfway across the room.
Slade Wilson knew just about everything about his life nowadays. But he hadn't mentioned Felicity when he'd threatened Oliver. So Oliver had assumed, hoped really, that perhaps she'd escaped his notice.
He grabbed his helmet, ran up the stairs and jumped onto his bike.
There was the slightest possibility that Felicity had escaped Slade's notice.
But Isobel had certainly taken notice of her. She'd done nothing but snap at the blonde and made barely concealed innuendos about how Felicity had gotten the job. She had outright accused him of sleeping with her and more than once hinted that she believed there was not only sex but a relationship between the two of them.
Isobel Rochev thought that he was involved with Felicity. She might even believe that he loved her.
And she was working with Slade.
He parked his bike at the curb and sprinted up the steps to her condo. He quickly picked the lock and let himself inside her home. He locked the door behind him and promised himself that he'd work on a better alarm system for her in the morning.
If he didn't put her on a plane to nowhere tonight that is.
"Oliver?"
Lost in his thoughts, he hadn't noticed the blonde sitting on her couch. She was wide-eyed as she stared up at him, her tablet in her lap.
"What's wrong? Oh my God. Did something happen? Oliver, please tell me Digg is okay. Or is it Roy? Oh shit, I knew we should have talked him into staying and –"
"Felicity! I'm sorry, no one is hurt." He did his best to reassure her even as his panic from before increased as she rambled.
What if something happened to her and he was never treated to a Felicity Smoak ramble again? His heart clenched and his fists balled.
"Then why are you here?" She asked quietly.
He quirked his head to the side at her question. There was confusion and shock in her voice and he couldn't quite figure out why. He glanced around the room for the first time. The walls were pale grey but her personality was reflected in the colourful pictures and accessories that filled her home.
He'd never been here before. He knew where she lived of course. Her home was a part of his nightly patrol, even if it took him twenty-three city blocks out of the Glades.
But he'd never been inside her home before. Felicity was by his side every day and night but he'd never been in her home before. And he'd just broken in, in the middle of the night.
"Oliver?"
He shook his head and stepped forward. "I just, the thing is that-"
But he wasn't quite sure what to say. Because he'd woken up aware of the fact that she was in danger, kicking himself for not seeing it immediately. But now he was here and he was feeling infinitely out of his element. Because the fear that he'd felt for her and the plans he'd half-made in his head were decidedly not friendly. He'd been thinking like her boyfriend. And he wasn't her boyfriend.
She tilted her head to the side for a moment before smiling tiredly. She patted the couch next to her and he moved forwards and fell into it. She turned her body so that she was facing him as she waited for an explanation.
"I've been so caught up the last two days. First Thea was in danger and then Isobel stole the company." He blew out a breath and ran a hand over his face. "But I missed something. Something so important and I panicked I guess. So now I'm here."
He looked over at her in time to see her wrinkle her nose. "Is that something the realisation that Isobel thinks you and I are sleeping together?" He tensed. "And she happens to be working with the guy who wants you dead, and/or suffering. Which makes me a target."
He sighed heavily. Of course she'd figured it out already. She was way ahead of him.
"I'm sorry." He told her, and he really meant it. "I should have realised sooner. And I put a target on your back by making you my EA. There were rumours but I didn't think it would be a big deal and now…" He closed his eyes. "And now you're in more danger than before. And part of me wants to put you on a plane to anywhere that isn't here but he'll find you."
Her soft hand covered his and she swiped her thumb across his knuckles until he opened his eyes and looked at her.
"Oliver, I knew what I was getting into, you know. I knew there would be danger. I mean, Jesus, I had a bomb collar wrapped around my throat on our first mission together! I knew there was danger. I chose this life, Oliver. So stop apologizing please." She smiled at him as brightly as she could.
He shook his head. "Fine, I won't apologize, but we need to keep you safe Felicity. I just picked your lock and walked right into your home. You think that Slade won't do the same to take you?"
Felicity laughed and he glared at her. "This isn't funny, Felicity. I can't, I won't lose you to him. Please take this seriously."
She tapped the screen on her tablet and handed it to him. His brow furrowed as he stared at the screen. It was a video of him running up her steps and quickly picking the lock. The camera angle changed as he entered the house and it followed his progress into her living room. He turned to her with a raised eyebrow.
"I've been working on it for a few weeks. But we've been so busy that I haven't been able to give it my full attention. As of yesterday, I'm unemployed. Which sucks, even if I didn't love being an EA. But it also gives me the time I need to work on catching Slade and on this." She pointed at the screen again.
"And what exactly is this, Felicity?" She knew he didn't understand more than basic technology.
She grinned at him and jumped to her feet. She started pacing as she explained it to him. "I started thinking about the fact that I'm vulnerable here. I told Dig not to waste his time outside. He's a target out there and he needs to be watching his own back and Lyla's. Obviously I'm not a physical threat to Slade Wilson, but I am smarter than him. So I designed this new system." He almost chuckled when he saw the smug look on her face. "You just walked in because I've programmed the system to allow you to, Oliver."
He watched the video of himself picking the lock again before raising his chin towards her in question. She shook her head and laughed. "It's not just a camera. But I do have those. Lots of them. All over the house and outside every window and door. The cameras are high-tech and so small you can't detect them. They're also fitted with facial recognition and retinal scanners."
She paused and he blew out a breath. "I'm impressed, though I shouldn't really be surprised."
She nodded and her grin widened. "That's not all. The system is foolproof. Only those I have inputted into the system beforehand can enter my home. Which is why you were able to pick the lock and walk right in."
Oliver's earlier panic began to fade. She could take care of herself. "What would happen if Slade were to walk up to your front door, right now?"
Felicity rubbed her hands together. "He'd be hit with an elephant's dose of tranquilizer gas. I explained this to you with Cyrus Gold, that the bone density of a mirakuru-enhanced super-soldier is about 1000 times that of normal human. So I placed a scale beneath the stairs that measures bone density. Therefore anyone who has been injected with mirakuru will get the appropriate amount of tranq gas. This ensures that I don't accidently kill a paper boy…" She trailed off with a grimace.
"Wow." There were no words. She never ceased to amaze him.
"There's also a failsafe, because this is Slade Wilson we're talking about. The moment that security has been breached, an alert will go off on your phones and in the lair." She tugged on her ear lobe. "I've also placed a tracking chip in one of my earrings that will ping your cell phones. Just in case."
He stood quickly and pulled her into his arms. She settled against his chest and he simply breathed.
"You can stay if you'd like." She mumbled against his chest and he could almost feel the heat of her blush through his cotton shirt. "I mean not like that, obviously. You can stay the night in a platonic way. I was thinking about watching a movie. Not making a movie, or porno, because you know there are cameras everywhere and, Oh, my God. 3, 2, 1." She pulled back and he grinned down at her red cheeks.
"Sounds great." He agreed with a chuckle.
They settled back on the couch as Felicity controlled the TV from her tablet. At some point during the movie her head ended up on his shoulder and his hand covered hers. He slumped against the couch and closed his eyes.
Sleep began to take him and his last thought was that he was quickly running out of reasons to push her away. She'd more than proved that she could take care of herself.
I hope you enjoyed it! The response to this series has been so amazing. And I still have ideas! How great is that? Thanks!