Little Miss Sunshine
Oliver jolted awake, the usual way in which he woke up ever since his first tour. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, relaxing his tensed muscles. He opened his eyes again and got out of the bed. It was half past five in the morning, the usual time he woke up for his morning jog. He changed into his running clothes and walked out of his room. He passed by Joanna's open room door and peeked in to make sure she was okay and found her sound asleep and safe in her bed, snuggled up with her stuffed dragon Toothless, who Felicity explained to him was a character from Joanna's favorite movie, and to be prepared that he will end up watching it multiple times. He quietly did a quick sweep of the house, nodding at the night guard on duty as he left for his morning run.
He had found a good jogging route in the area, enjoying the peace and quiet of the early hours and as he tried to outrun his haunted dreams. He returned an hour later, exchanging a few words with the night guard and relieving him of his duty. Taking a deep breath he walked into the house; this was the official start of his first day at the new job.
He was opening the fridge to get a bottle of water when he noticed Felicity coming down the stairs in her pajamas. She looked all sleep-rumpled, her eyes still half-closed as she stumbled a bit. It was frankly adorable, a word he had never really used before for any other women, but was beginning to think would become a frequent part of his mental vocabulary where the Smoak women were considered.
She continued walking right past where he was standing without any acknowledgement and straight to the coffee maker. He wasn't sure if she was knew he was there and was ignoring him for the moment or if in her half-asleep state she was completely oblivious to the fact that someone else was around.
And no, he wasn't going to stand there and analyze why exactly the thought of her deliberately ignoring his presence bothered him so much, or why he found her adorable. No, instead he was going to focus on the fact that she obviously needed some training in awareness of her surroundings.
Oliver watched on as she started the coffee machine and poured herself a cup in a weird blue box-shaped mug, and then as she gulped down at least half of the cup. She then closed her eyes and took a slower sip, moaning at the taste of the rich coffee.
Oliver gaped at her, the sound she made making him a bit uncomfortable- in ways he was not going to think about- and cleared his throat to get her attention. He succeeded. Felicity's eyes popped open in surprise, her lips forming a perfect O shape as she realized she was not alone while she took pleasure in her morning coffee. A bright blush colored her face, but she still caught herself quickly.
"Good morning, Oliver. Coffee?"
Oliver held up his water bottle. "I'm covered."
Felicity nodded. "Okay, then I'm going back upstairs, take a shower. Not that you would have to know that. Although it is good that you know that." Her eyes widened at her words, blushing redder as she scrambled to clarify, "That was not like a suggestion, like a suggestive thing for you to come into the bathroom while I'm showering, I'm not hitting on you, or thinking of you in the shower… Or here! Oh god, what I meant was you look like you could use a shower. I don't mean that you're dirty or stink! You're just pretty sweaty. So you could use a shower, which will be separately from mine."
She broke off abruptly, closing her eyes and counting down from 3 under her breath. Oliver put her out of her misery by asking, "When will Joanna be up?"
Felicity looked at the clock, grateful for the subject change. "I always wake her up at seven. So we're ready at eight o'clock."
She finished her coffee, not meeting his eyes, "I'll go take a shower," she said again and then immediately face-palmed, her eyes scrunched shut tightly as if she was trying to erase this whole encounter from existence. She practically ran out of the kitchen and scurried up the stairs, going out of her way to avoid him.
Oliver decided to do the same, throwing away the empty water bottle, smiling a bit as he recalled her 'not-suggestive suggestion'. At first he was pretty unsure about Felicity's babbles, torn between absolute bewilderment accompanied by some awkwardness and slight amusement. After observing her and being around her for the past two days, he realized that she wasn't trying to overtly come onto him, her amazing mind just tended to move way too quickly for her mouth and often got her into trouble with people who just couldn't think as fast as her. Now he was mostly just amused, well when her innuendo-riddled speech didn't fluster him. On the way to the guest bathroom, he checked again on Joanna. She was still asleep.
"Joanna, honey, wake up!" Her mother's sing-song voice cut through the fog of sleepiness that still held Joanna captive. She rolled over, turning her back to the voice and squeezing her eyes shut, as if that would prevent her mother from pulling her out of her pleasant sleep.
"Joanna!" Felicity's voice was very close to Joanna's face now, and before she could hide away again, the blanket was pulled away and fingers danced over Joanna's belly. She shrieked with laughter as her mother tickled her without mercy, wide awake now, Joanna tried to fight back. After five minutes of a tickling battle, a truce was declared. Felicity sat up and pulled Joanna up as well. "Come on, honey, time to get ready."
Joanna ran over to her wardrobe and pulled out a white dress with black polka dots, a band around the waist with a bow. "Can I wear this, Mommy?"
Felicity nodded. "Of course you can."
She herded Joanna into the bathroom for a quick shower, making sure her school bag and bag for ballet class was ready. After helping Joanna wash her face and fixing her hair, Joanna's bed was made jointly, Toothless returned back to his regular daytime spot, before they headed downstairs for breakfast.
Joanna hopped the stairs down, her white hair bow bouncing along with every step, with her mother following right behind her carrying Joanna's two bags along with her own purse. When they got to the kitchen they saw Oliver dressed in a suit and seated at the table. He was looking through his phone while sipping his coffee. Joanna hopped onto a stool beside him, wishing him a good morning.
"Mommy, I would like the cereal with the little cookies, please."
Oliver put his phone aside and observed the interaction between mother and daughter. Felicity grabbed two bowls from the cupboard, and put one in front of her daughter and the other directly across from Joanna.
"What can I get you, Oliver?" Felicity asked as she put the box of cereal in front of Joanna, who eagerly reached for it and filled her bowl.
"Nothing. Thanks for asking." Oliver answered her. She shot him a look- one he'd already seen her use on Joanna- and he breathed out a little laugh, "I'm okay for now, really."
Felicity nodded and poured some milk into both the bowls and then turned back to Oliver, "If you want something in particular for breakfast, we can stop by the supermarket to get it after work."
Joanna who was already devouring her breakfast, blinked innocently up at Felicity, "Mommy, can we get chocolate pudding?"
Felicity gave her a stern look. "Nice try missy, but you still have your stracciatella-yogurt, which you have to finish first."
Joanna pouted and grumbled in her cereal, making Oliver smile. "That's not necessary, Felicity, but thank you."
Oliver navigated the SUV smoothly through the morning traffic, while Joanna hummed along to the radio in her car seat in the back, Felicity was in the passenger seat alternating between muttering somewhat angrily at her tablet and carrying out a cheerful conversation with Joanna. He parked in front of the school and opened Joanna's car door. Joanna seemed to be having difficulties unbuckling herself, so Oliver moved towards her. "Do you need help?"
Joanna determinedly shook her head and tried it again and again, but after a few minutes she looked at him helplessly, shrugging her shoulders. "Can you please help me, Mr. Queen?"
Oliver unfastened her seat belt. "There, now you're free." He grinned and stepped to the side, to let her out of the car.
Joanna grabbed her school bag and jumped out of the car, "Thank you, Mr. Queen." She then ran towards her mother, who was waiting for them.
Oliver, moving towards them at a more sedate pace, was about to respond when Joanna ran off all of a sudden.
"Joanna!" Felicity called after her, her voicing raising in volume and shifting to a sterner tone, that made the younger girl stop in her tracks.
"But Mommy, Marly's over there."
Felicity walked over to her daughter, "We talked about the new rules this weekend." Her tone indicating that she expected an answer.
Joanna replied promptly, "No running off or going anywhere without you or Oliver."
"That stays the same anywhere you go, is that understood? Plus you know you're not supposed to run when there are cars around." Felicity added.
Joanna nodded and looked apologetically at Felicity, "Sorry Mommy. I just wanted to see Marly, can we please go there now?" She continued, drawing out the syllables in her 'please'. Felicity shook her head exasperatedly, grabbing her daughter's hand, as they both started walking towards the school entrance.
Oliver had stood at a distance, observing his surroundings keenly, to atleast try and give the mother and daughter some semblance of privacy. He felt a little awkward being privy to his young charge getting scolded, albeit for a good reason. It also brought along the realization that he would be intruding on many more personal moments and would be exposed to a lot of the tricky situations that came along with raising a young child. But he appreciated that Felicity made the effort to simplify and enforce new rules, it would make things a lot easier for him when dealing with Joanna.
He followed along behind the pair as they made their way to a tall, dark-skinned man next to his daughter who was in a wheelchair. When they were closer to the two, Felicity let go of Joanna's hand, who took that as her cue to skip over to her friend with an excited squeal. She was greeted with an equally excited and high-pitched sound, the two girls already chattering away, as Felicity greeted the man.
"Oliver, that's my vice president and close friend Curtis Holt. Curtis, this is Oliver Queen, Joanna's bodyguard." Felicity introduced, once he caught up to her.
"It is nice to meet you." Curtis held out his hand to Oliver, giving Oliver a pleasant smile and what looked like a once-over.
"Likewise" Oliver said to Curtis, shaking his hand firmly.
Felicity continued her round of introductions. "And that's Marly, Curtis' daughter and Joanna's best friend, if that wasn't already obvious," looking at the two hyperactive girls amusedly.
She then lightly touched Marly's arm, getting the little girl's attention, smiling at her. "Hi, kiddo! Marly, this is Oliver Queen. He's Joanna's bodyguard, which means he's supposed to protect her, so he'll be around a lot. And sometimes he'll drive the two of you to daycare as well, okay?"
Marly nodded and then looked shyly at Oliver, he smiled gently at her and said "Hello, Marly, it's nice to meet you." She gave a small answering wave in return with a soft "Hi."
Felicity clapped her hands together. "Alright now that everyone's met everyone else, let's go inside. We still have to fill out the paperwork and register Oliver for picking you guys up from school."
Oliver had drawn up a routine which he had instructed Joanna on, over the weekend. He would enter the room first, scanning the room for possible threats, and only when he gave the okay could she enter the room. Since it was the first day, he had a quick chat with the teacher while the students settled down, after which he left the room so as to not disrupt their lessons.
Right before the recess, when the kids were let out to the playground, Oliver went out and carefully surveyed the area. As per Felicity's instructions, he kept a discreet eye on Joanna while she was outside, to prevent hindering her interactions with her peers.
At the end of the school day, Oliver waited outside the classroom door for Joanna and Marly. While, on the days the girls didn't go to daycare, they were to usually wait for Curtis, Felicity had messaged him a while back that there was an emergency at the office and requested that he take Marly along with them to Joanna's ballet class. Oliver informed the girls, who were absolutely ecstatic over the prospect of spending more time together. As Joanna regaled her friend with tales from her ballet classes, Oliver set up the extra car seat for Marly.
He loaded both girls into the car and made a pit-stop to grab some snacks for the three of them, then he drove straight to ballet studio.
He let Joanna get out of the car first and she waited patiently next to him while he released Marly and got her into her wheelchair. They entered the studio, Oliver introducing himself to the ballet teacher.
She shot him a friendly smile in return, "Miss Smoak has already informed me that you would be present during the class."
Oliver surveyed the premises and examined the layout of the studio before giving his okay to Joanna, who immediately disappeared into the locker rooms.
Slowly, the room filled with pink tutus while Oliver and Marly sat in the waiting area which had a window for observing the class. For a few minutes Marly kept herself busy with some children's books that were placed on the table, but then she put them aside and wheeled herself closer to the window to watch the class. She had a smile as she watched Joanna dance, almost like she was in awe of how graceful her friend was, but as she moved her gaze to all the other little girls jumping around and having fun, her expression changed to one of wistfulness. Oliver stood up and walked over to her.
"Hey Marley. You okay?"
Marley nodded sadly, but turning away from the window. She looked at him hesitantly, like she wanted to ask him something. He smiled at her and looked at her encouragingly. She swallowed, and then a little louder asked, "Can you tell me a story? My uncles always tell me one when I'm sad."
Oliver ran his hand through his hair, rubbing at the back of his neck. He wasn't really knowledgeable about any kids stories and as his sister always teased him, he was pretty behind on the latest popular culture too. And he really didn't think any of his personal stories would be appropriate for a seven year old. The real reason, though he tried to bury it down most days, was that he still felt off-balance with kids. It had been a while since he'd come back from the war and he had managed to relearn how to interact with people and to cope with everything he had been through. But somehow he couldn't get rid off that feeling that he had to protect people from himself, from all the violence within him and all the things he had done. In his darkest and most introspective hours, he acknowledged that more often than not, he was terrified that people who interacted or knew him would be terrified of him, and it was this fear that he shrouded as a protective instinct. That fear was most intensified around kids, who somehow managed to see through layers of bullshit down to the very core of the person you were, and he was afraid that he would be the monster in their nightmares. While he had been slowly working through that fear for Thea and even learning a new normal with Baby Sara, he was still unsure and hesitant around other kids. Which is what led him to answer, "Marley, I'm not really good at telling stories."
Marly lowered her head in disappointment, her little face still painted with intense sadness, eyes watering with tears. And God, he felt like such a tool, what kind of asshole was he that he couldn't bring himself to tell some funny story and let go just a bit in order to alleviate some of her sadness. He needed to suck it up, he'd be damned if he made her cry when he could do something to make her feel better. So he quickly added, "Or how about we make up a story together?"
She looked at him quizzically. "How would that work?"
He thought for a moment before answering, "We can take turns and um continue from what the other person said? Like if I start with: Once upon a time ..." He knew he sounded more questioning and uncertain than as if he knew what he was doing it, but what the hell he might as well just go along with this. So he looked searchingly around the room for some inspirations, his gaze landing on the image of a carrot in a framed, self-painted picture of a rabbit. "... there was a bunny who was looking for the most delicious carrot. He searched and searched in his homeland, but he did not find it. So he left his hometown to search all over the world. So now it's your turn."
Marley had a concentrated expression on her face, her tears and sadness disappearing, as she tried to come up with something to continue the story. So, mission accomplished!
Later that evening as Felicity was putting Joanna to bed, Oliver sat at the kitchen counter, hunched over his laptop, seemingly absorbed with working on something. When Felicity came down the stairs, she just stopped and took in the man her daughter couldn't stop talking about. It was a wonder that Joanna hadn't demanded that Oliver do a"build-it-yourself story" with her, the second-hand encounter all she heard about from Joanna in the car ride home. Sometimes she marvelled at the way Joanna and Marley managed to immediately and fully communicate their newest experience to each other.
Oliver finally shut his laptop and pushed it aside. He looked up directly at her, surprising her, he apparently hadn't been as absorbed in his work as she thought or he had some kind of ninja awareness that was always on. Being on and alert all the time like that couldn't possibly be easy and she wondered if it didn't take a toll on him. He looked at her expectantly as if he was waiting for her. Right, they were supposed to debrief- which was totally innocent and not anything related to taking off their clothing. It was about his mission, well not mission- his job, which was being a bodyguard for her six year old. Yeah, it didn't escape her exactly how ridiculous that sounded sometimes, but it was necessary. And they should get back to that, her being his extremely professional employer who is not thinking about debriefing in any way other than related to the job. She heard Oliver clearing his throat, probably to get her attention, since she got lost in her thoughts once again. Great, he probably thinks she's a nut job now, hopefully she didn't voice any of her weird mental babbles aloud; his face wasn't giving her any indication that she did, so she moved on to their pending discussion.
"She's finally asleep. You would think all that dancing and then playing would tire her out, but she still refused to fall asleep. She thinks you're totally awesome though, so that's a win." She sat down opposite him. "Did she behave? Any problems?"
Oliver leaned back in his own chair, "She was great, much better than I expected from a kid that age." At Felicity's questioning look, he clarified, "Let's just say, my sister was more than a handful at that age. She was like a tornado, still kind of is."
Felicity nodded with a smile, but before she could continue to ask him about the security. Oliver looked at her contemplatively, "Can Marley walk?"
Felicity looked at him in surprise. Realizing that he may be overstepping, he kind of backtracked and tried to explain his question, "Sorry, I don't mean to overstep or anything, it's just that when she saw Joanna dancing, she looked so sad. So I was just wondering if it was a recent injury, if it's permanent or temporary."
Felicity swallowed, wondering what to tell him, before she answered, "Marley lost her parents when she was three in a serious car accident. But her spine was severely injured. Paul- that's Curtis' husband- was her godfather actually and they both decided to adopt her. They've been trying different therapies and treatments occasionally, some of them have worked a bit- since she's young and heals fast- but nothing miraculous, you know. She's an incredibly strong kid, though, and so loving too. It makes me incredibly happy to see the way she bonded so strongly with Joanna, like she's her support system you know?" Oliver nodded thoughtfully. "That kind of friendship is kind of rare between kids, but I'm glad Joanna could find it. And I think Joanna was really great for Marley too. The first time they met was a few months after the accident, Marley was still scared and not really too communicative, but then Joanna talked at her- as you've seen my daughter is prone to do- and she was the first person to make Marley smile. Joanna was so proud of herself for that, she still regards it as her biggest accomplishment. After that, once the two of them started talking, they haven't stopped. They have daily scheduled phone calls too." She laughs a little at that, surprisingly Oliver laughs too- well it's more his approximation of a laugh she guesses, a heavier breath with this cute smile and oh dimples right there. She doesn't think she's seen him laugh since she's met him, and she's struck for a moment at the picture he presents, wonders what it would be like to hear and see him really laugh, how devastatingly beautiful he would look. She shakes those thoughts away, also realizing the huge rambling explanation she unloaded on him. "Sorry, you probably didn't want to know all of that. I tend to talk a lot, as you probably may have noticed."
Oliver shook his head, seemingly dismissing her apology, "No, it's fine. It is nice to hear about such an amazing friendship, and I think both the girls will definitely be better for it." Hearing about the kind of bond Marley and Joanna had, reminded him of two other children with an equally strong bond, the kind of friends that would do anything for each other; and the kind of friendship where losing the other would completely leave the person adrift. Maybe that was what had struck him so much when watching Joanna and Marley interact. Why he had the feeling that Marley was as important to keep safe as Joanna, and why he so readily integrated it into his job. Along with that also came that pang of longing and sorrow that was ever present since… No, he wasn't going to go down memory lane, not right now. He had a conversation to finish and an important question to ask.
He turned back to his laptop, opening it and showing her the page he had pulled up. It was a page dedicated to activities for children with disabilities, specifically physical activities. "Do you think Marley would be interested in wheelchair dancing? I think maybe she might enjoy it, and Joanna could do it along with her too. And its conducted by the veteran's association so it would also be a pretty safe location. What do you think, would it be okay to show this to Curtis and Paul?"
Felicity was staring at him, no it was straight out gawking. He started to feel a little self-conscious, rubbing his fingers against each other, and was about to renege on the whole thing, when she seemed to finally find her voice. "Yeah. Oliver, that would be a great idea. Really, it would be amazing. Marley would love it, I know that she really wanted to learn how to dance and was so excited for Joanna when she joined ballet."
Oliver sighed in relief, looking a little sheepish, he asked, "I'm not too sure how Curtis would receive this coming from me, so I was hoping you could help out with that?"
Felicity excitedly nodded her head, a huge beaming smile on her face. And wow, he'd seen that smile on Joanna earlier today, now he knew where she got it from. And if he thought the copy brought him this unexpected and innate sense of content- at seeing so much happiness reflected in her little face- he was absolutely unprepared for the feeling the original brought out in him. He felt his breath leave him, finally letting himself think what he had been trying to avoid since he first met her. Felicity Smoak was breathtakingly gorgeous, the kind of beauty that grew the more she let you into her life and opened up to you. A dangerous kind of beauty if there ever was one.
He looked away, having to do so in order to pull himself together. He didn't know what was up with him today, why he was so emotional and allowing all these feelings, he usually kept under tight control, to be dredged up. He needed to get it back together, he couldn't afford to be swept under the current of his stronger emotions and long repressed memories- be it happy or sad. He had a job to do, make sure a sweet young kid, had the best chance of making it through whatever was threatening to hurt her. And something within him told him that he would not be able to forgive himself if anything happened to her, because of Joanna as well as because of her mother, who looked at him like she was trusting him to protect her whole world, the center of her universe. And he could not fail either of them.