Summary: Laurel wants to talk to Oliver following her breakup with Tommy, but Oliver's reaction is not what she expected. He really does suck at lying, but once Felicity is pulled into the lie, events escalate.
Disclaimer: Not mine. The words are mine, the characters are not.
I wasn't sure how this story would end (if it went beyond a one shot) but I think I found it. Obviously it can't be a happy ending, because Oliver is in no way ready for a happy ending.
Spoiled through 1x21 (1x23 to be safe). For this story, Laurel never went to talk to Oliver about Tommy breaking up with her, but she did go see Tommy at Merlyn Global, therefore Laurel and Felicity have never met. And Obviously, Oliver rescued Walter a little earlier than in canon.
Chapter 3
The days that followed involved Felicity waking up each morning and googling her name as she waited for her coffee to brew, looking for any mention of herself or Oliver on gossip sites. Luckily, their lie remained secret. But the paranoia built and every time she saw Oliver the first question out of her mouth was when they were going to stage their breakup. If Felicity was uncomfortable with lies, living a lie was sending her stress level through the roof.
After three long days of work (and gossip and endless personal questions) and late night missions, they'd set a date. That Friday, Felicity would reveal to one of her friends at work that she was no longer seeing Oliver as she didn't trust that he had changed and didn't see a future to the relationship. With the complication of his connection to her job, she'd thought it was better if they ended things and just stayed friends. To sell the story, Oliver would show up at the IT department at lunch, asking to speak to Felicity privately. The following conversation (conducted within range of prying eyes) would be tense, and Felicity would walk away leaving Oliver looking regretful.
To set the stage, Oliver sent what was obviously an "I'm sorry, please forgive me" bouquet of flowers on Wednesday morning. Later that day, Oliver showed up to have lunch with Felicity, and she acted both surprised and reluctant for the audience of her co-workers who barely tried to pretend that they weren't avidly watching. She really was surprised, since they hadn't discussed it, nor did he seem to have anything mission-related to discuss.
Returning to Queen Consolidated, Oliver escorted Felicity to her office holding her hand the whole way, casually dropping a kiss on her mouth before leaving. Felicity sat down hard in her chair, feeling her heart thunder away in her chest. It was a good thing that their breakup was near, because Felicity really couldn't handle Oliver's casually affectionate touches. He generally wasn't a touchy guy, and the few times he'd extended himself outside his comfort bubble she'd appreciated it given that in those moments he was offering comfort or emotional support that she wouldn't have needed if he had not involved her in his personal crusade.
That evening at the foundry, they both avoided rehashing their plans, with Felicity working on her computers, refusing to look at Oliver at all after entering to find him shirtless and sweaty, in the middle of a workout.
Arriving at the bottom of the stairs, she'd blinked rapidly as her mind went in a hundred directions, at least twenty of them different ways that she could wipe the sweat off his chest, she smiled awkwardly and rushed to her desk, turning her back on Oliver, even going so far as to put in headphones to block the sound of his movements.
She managed to tune him out altogether, as she dug deeper and deeper into the connection between the Queens and Malcolm Merlyn. So much so that Felicity nearly jumped out of her chair when a large, heavy hand landed on her shoulder. Jerking away from his touch, she tried to cover. "Sorry, you just startled me," she said trying to keep her eyes on his face and not on his still bare, still sweaty, still swoon-worthy muscles.
Oliver smiled slightly, his eyes narrowing as he tried to read her. "Have you found anything?"
She forced a smile before answering. "Tons, but nothing that explains why your father or mother would agree to work with Malcolm to destroy the Glades. I mean, if we assume that they are both good people. Were and are, I guess since your father is..."
"Dead. Yes. We've covered that before."
"Sorry. I mean there are a lot of connections, business ventures, charity contributions, sitting on various boards, supporting political candidates..." She frowned as Oliver's face darkened, recalling what he'd learned about his father and the council member that had attempted to extort a bribe from Robert Queen which then resulted in the accidental death of the council member and send Oliver's father down a road that lead to his death."
"Focus in on the time leading up to my father's death and the past five years. Something happened to turn him away from Malcolm's plan for the Glades. Something that made Malcolm kill him. If we know what that is and what Malcolm has on my mother that made her agree to work with him, then we might just find out what the undertaking is," Oliver reasoned. "All we know right now is that she's working with Malcolm Merlyn, and they're planning something terrible in the Glades."
"Yeah," Felicity said shortly, turning back to her computers and narrowing her search parameters. When Oliver remained by her desk, watching her over her shoulder, she got tenser and tenser. "Wait, there..." Oliver said, leaning over her shoulder, one hand planted on her desk, his body blocking out the whole left side of her vision. "Malcolm didn't bid on UniDeck Industries, did he?"
Felicity quickly pulled up the bidders registered at the auction that was interrupted by gunfire. "No."
"Queen Consolidated did."
"Yes, and won. UniDeck is now part of QC."
"What was it that they had that made them so interesting? Malcolm researched and invested in them six years ago, about six months before my father died," Oliver wondered out loud.
"Sure, I'll look into that. No problem," Felicity said, flustered by his continued closeness. After five more minutes, she abruptly stood up. "I'm thirsty. Parched really. Dehydration is not good for your body. Well, my body in this case. It can result in lightheadedness, cramping, nausea and vomiting, even heart palpitations."
"I'm familiar," Oliver said matter-of-factly, shutting Felicity up immediately.
"You never talk about the island or before the island but after the boat went down," she said softly.
"No. And you've never asked. Keep working, I'll get you some water."
"I figured you didn't want to talk about it, since you never talk about it, not that you're a big talker in general, but especially about that," Felicity rambled, her fingers entering the new search parameters even as she spoke.
He returned from a small mini fridge and handed her a bottle of water, but didn't return to working out or anything that would involve not hovering over her.
"Thanks," she said, cracking it open and taking a hasty drink. "I think I'll stretch my legs. The search can run while I go... do that. Upstairs."
"If you're restless, we could train for awhile," Oliver offered.
Felicity looked wan for a moment as she considered that the universe might actually be conspiring against her. "No, not restless, just... need to move for a second. Change of scenery. I sit at a desk all day, and now all night too."
~~ARROW~~
Upstairs, Felicity wove her way through the throngs of clubgoers, wondering what lives they all lived that allowed them to be out at a Club on a Wednesday night. Sinking down on an available seat at the bar, she smiled at the bartender, and ordered a drink.
Oliver was all about the mission. She recalled how easily he'd seemed to disregard Diggle's absence following the debacle when Oliver had chosen to help Laurel and left Diggle to try to take down his brother's killer alone. Faux dating Felicity was just another layer in Oliver's carefully constructed public persona. A lie crafted for Laurel. For his family. A lie that when over wouldn't even warrant a second's remembrance on his part. But Felicity knew she'd remember. Every touch, every look.
Even knowing that it was all a show, the lie had wormed its way under her skin. Her crush on Oliver had been well in hand, she assured herself, but now, after playing the role of his girlfriend her feelings were completely unsettled. She needed to get some distance from him, regain her equilibrium.
Admiring his abs would be allowed, since she was just human. But spending long moments thinking about how it felt to have his lips pressed against hers was not allowed. Anymore.
She nodded her head, satisfied with her resolve. No more fanaticizing about kissing Oliver or remembering what it felt like to actually kiss Oliver. Starting once she finished her martini and went back down the stairs to shirtless, personal space invading Oliver.
A hand slid across her back, and the zing of sensation the electrified every nerve ending in her body told her exactly whose hand it was. "There you are," Oliver said in a voice loud enough to be overheard easily. His gaze took in her drink, which she'd almost finished.
"Tough day?" He asked as if they hadn't spent the last 90 minutes downstairs together. She noticed that he had dressed in a well fitted dark blue suit, which showed his breadth of shoulders and made his eyes bluer, even in the dim light of the club.
"You have no idea," she groaned, forcing herself to smile up at him and look happy to be near him. Which was both the truth and a lie.
~~ARROW~~
The following night, Felicity left the foundry happy to get away from Oliver. Her resolve from the previous night hadn't lasted more than five minutes after Oliver had touched her. To him it was a casual touch, playing the part of newly (maybe) reformed playboy. To her it was like touching a live wire.
Entering her condo, she moaned softly kicking off her shoes, dropping her purse and keys to the table by the door and then twisting her arms behind her back to unfasten her bra and slip it off under her shirt.
A male voice sounding from the kitchen startled her so bad she tripped over her own feet, tumbling to the floor. "I should probably stop you there," Oliver's voice sounded loud in the darkness.
"Oliver!" she shouted, her fright barely subsiding. "How did you… I just left you at the… Why are you here?"
"You clearly had no intention of ever inviting me in, and I was and am still concerned about your security." His eyes darted to the bright orangey-red lace bra that was now lying on the floor next to her. Her home was not unlike her clothing, bright decorations and splashes of color over a solid core. The brick walls and scared wooden floors gave the space character, the industrial kitchen and complicated audio/visual set up spoke to modernity. It was very Felicity.
As he spoke her alarm system started to beep, warning her that the 30 seconds allowed to enter the code was quickly coming to an end. He glanced at her again, then entered the code before reaching out a hand to help her up.
"I'm not even going to ask," she said in complaint.
"You need a longer code. The alarm system is good, but your window and door locks need to be upgraded."
She glared at him. "I'm on the eighth floor. Who is going to come in the window? Besides the obvious."
"I used the fire escape, no special skill required. Anyone who really wanted to could get in here." She disregarded his assessment, picking up her bra with a light blush and marching back to her bedroom. Seeing her shiver a little, Oliver walked back over to the window by the fire escape, pulling up short."Felicity," he called loudly. "I didn't know you had a cat."
"I don't," she said walking back into the room, twisting her hair up into a messy bun on top of her head. "He's a stray, I feed him, he hangs out on my fire escape."
"I could call animal control."
"Don't you dare," Felicity hissed, opening a can of cat food and placing it on the window sill. The mangy cat approached purring happily, and arching his back into her touch before narrowing his eyes on Oliver and hissing.
"He doesn't seem friendly." He watched as Felicity left the cat to his meal, turning and opening her refrigerator before taking out a box of Chinese takeout. Popping it in the microwave, she rubbed her shoulders, trying to ease some of the tension there. "You should wash your hands."
"He's clean," Felicity said with a derisive look. "I wash him every three months."
Oliver glanced from her to the dangerous looking cat. "But he's not your cat. What's his name?"
Felicity sent him a baleful look. Oliver waited, staring her in the eye, knowing she would break long before he did. "Gato, alright? I call him cat. That's not really a name."
His eyes narrowed in on her hand, still rubbing at her neck. "I have the number of a good masseuse. I can make you an appointment," he offered.
"Is that a perk of being the fake girlfriend of a billionaire?" she sassed, taking her chow mien out and slumping down at her kitchen table to eat directly from the box with a pair of chopsticks.
"Has it been rough?" he asked, walking over to her and brushing her ponytail over her shoulder before setting his hands on her shoulders, beginning to kneed the sore muscles there. Felicity froze for a moment, then melted under his firm touch.
"I kinda got used to everyone staring, and conversations just ending the second I walk into a room. But Thea has been calling and emailing every day."
"You shouldn't have given her your contact information."
"Oh, as if you're so good at saying no to her," she said with a dry look. "Isn't that how we got into this whole mess?"
When Felicity suddenly realized that she was rubbing her cheek against the back of Oliver's hand as it worked out the kinks in her shoulders, she stood abruptly. "It's late, I think you should go."
"Did I do something wrong?"
"Go, the door is that way. Oliver, go."
"Felicity… If I-"
"If you what? If you railroaded me into this lie? If you made me the numero uno topic of conversation in my office? If you… you know what? Just go."
"We can talk about this."
"No," she said pushing him towards the door, but he didn't budge.
"I'm sorry."
"First you offer to talk then you apologize," she said waving her hands round. "Clearly I am not the only one who is at their wit's end. Please, Oliver, just go. I want to be alone, in my apartment where I don't have to lie to anyone. I know none of this matters to you-"
"You matter to me," he said quietly.
"Then do this for me. I need to decompress, and I need more than four hours of sleep tonight."
~~ARROW~~
The morning of their planned breakup arrived, and felicity dressed for the occasion, wearing her most flattering work outfit a royal blue sheath dress. But for once the gossip at QC wasn't about her, focusing instead on the news that Walter Steel had moved out of Queen Manner, without his wife. "Did you know they were having troubles?" Felicity's closest work friend, Kamilah asked.
"Walter was kidnapped and held captive for six months," Felicity said in a non-explanation.
"Do you think he'll leave the company?"
Felicity froze, not having considered that possibility. "I hope not, Walter... Mr. Steel has been good for QC. He's a wonderful man."
"Does that mean you're not a fan of your boyfriend's mother?"
"I've only met her once. Twice. I didn't really-" Felicity blustered.
"That means you don't like her. Is she a total society bitch?"
"No. She's not. And I am not discussing Oliver's family," Felicity said shortly.
Two hours later Felicity was just about to go to the break room to refill her coffee cup, when Thea Queen appeared in her office. "Oh thank God, I found you. I thought I was going to have to ask for directions. Or an escort. This place is like a maze."
"What are you doing here?" Felicity asked, wondering if it was a trait of the rich or just the Queens to pop in whenever they felt like it. "I was about to go get some coffee."
"Perfect. There is a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf across the street, or do you have a café that you like nearby?" Thea said, linking her arm with Felicity's.
"I was just going to the break room."
"No, we're going out. No offense, but you look like you could use some sun, and I could use someone to talk to... if you don't mind," Thea said, her voice losing strength towards the end.
"I'm sorry, about Walter and your mom..."
"Yeah, me too. I know it's not the same, but it feels like losing..."
"Your father again. A father. Walter has been a father to you, you don't need to feel bad for... feeling bad."
"See! This is why I came to you, I knew you'd understand," Thea said with a grim smile, pulling Felicity down the hall towards the elevators despite her claims as to being lost earlier.
Outside QC's doors the press was waiting in droves, shouting questions at Thea despite the fact that she was a teenager. To them she was a public figure, a Queen, and fair game. Thea and Felicity rushed down the stairs to the sidewalk, slipping inside the waiting car, the door closed behind them by one of Diggle's contemporaries.
~~ARROW~~
When Oliver arrived for their scheduled breakup he found Thea happily ensconced in Felicity's office. Thea looked up from her fashion magazine to find him sharing a meaningful look with his girlfriend. "Oh, hey Ollie. Just in time. Lis said that you were coming so we ordered you a burger too. I know you love Big Belly Burger, and I for one need comfort food today."
Oliver's eyes shifted from Felicity to his sister, easily folding his arms around her as she moved into his hold without hesitation. "Sorry Thea. I know you love Walter."
"At least you're here. Gain a brother, lose a stepfather. I guess nothing comes for free."
"Do you need to talk?" Oliver asked, his hand stroking her hair.
Thea pulled back, looking up at him incredulously. "With you? As if. Don't worry bro, no need to strain yourself. I talked to Felicity, and despite the rambling and very odd occasional tangent, she's very good with the talking."
Oliver looked over his shoulder at Felicity who smiled awkwardly. There would be no breakup that day, understanding passing between them.
"Lis?" Oliver questioned lightly, letting Thea go and moving around the desk to kiss Felicity lightly, maintaining the ruse of a relationship. When his back was turned to Thea, he mouthed "sorry," earning an understanding smile from Felicity.
"Felicity is a lot of syllables. If she's going to be around, she needed a nickname. I offered Fizzy, but she declined."
~~ARROW~~
That night in the foundry, they focused on the undertaking, neither bringing up their relationship status.
"We know my mother has been working with Malcolm Merlyn. We know that whatever the Undertaking is, it's going to happen in the Glades. We need to figure out what it is, when it's going to happen and how to stop them."
Felicity arrived home that night to find new locks on her door, for which the keys had been slipped onto her keychain without her notice, as well as new window locks and a note on her alarm reminding her to change it from a three digit security code to one that was seven or more.
Sighing in tiredness, she punched in the new code, calling the security company to advise them of the change. "Do you have a way to remember the code, Ms. Smoak? Often when people change their codes to one with over five digits they have difficulty."
"8725225277," she said with a smirk. "Numericall jackass."
The security tech laughed, then cleared his throat hastily. "I suppose that would be easy to remember."
~~ARROW~~
In the days that followed the media tore apart every detail, every appearance and every bit of history between Moira and Walter, rehashing it all for the public. Thea became a regular visitor to Felicity's office, dropping by every other day or so, sometimes on her way to or from work, and once after she'd had lunch with Walter.
Oliver worried over the growing closeness between his sister and Felicity, but didn't have to heart to discourage either of them. Thea needed a woman to talk to, and relations between Thea and her mother were decidedly frosty, and Felicity didn't seem to have many close friends, and honestly seemed to enjoy Thea's company even if the younger girl overwhelmed her on occasion.
The media finally caught wind of Felicity and Oliver's "relationship," snapping a picture of Felicity at lunch with the Queen siblings, Oliver's hand on her leg. She thought she took it in stride (crashing their web site for six hours) and diverting web traffic that searched for "Oliver Queen + girlfriend" to a generic internet access error page. Thankfully no one had identified her to the press yet, and neither Oliver nor Thea had made any comment except to say that Oliver was seeing someone and that Thea heartily approved.
~~ARROW~~
That Thursday, Thea dropped in after having lunch with Walter again. "I love summer. Good weather, no school, no teachers, just free time," she mused, slumped comfortably on the couch that lined one wall of Felicity's medium sized office.
"Enjoy it while it lasts," Felicity advised, still focused on some code she was troubleshooting. "Coffee?" she asked absently.
"Yeah. Sure." Thea looked around Felicity's office with idle curiosity.
After walking to the nearby café that Felicity liked, the two slight women wandered back into the city part that fronted Queen Consolidated. "So, I think you finally like me," Thea said casually.
"What?" Felicity asked, looking up and pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. "Of course I like you, why wouldn't I like you?"
"Well, you know how the media portray my family, and I've definitely made some mistakes…"
"I hang out with your brother, I'm not really a judgmental type," Felicity said dryly causing Thea to laugh.
"There is that, I just meant we managed to have a whole conversation without you going into one of your verbal tangents," Thea said. Felicity blushed, looking down, but held her tongue despite the need to burst into speech. "So I was thinking… It's time for our night out." Felicity's face fell. "And we should go shopping. I think we need something to really knock Ollie's socks off," Thea said with a devious look.
~~ARROW~~
The next day, Oliver came upstairs from what Felicity alternately called his layer or the ultimate man cave to find Laurel drinking coffee at the Verdant bar.
"Hey boss," the daytime manager said. " Was just about to text you."
Oliver nodded and walked towards Laurel. He hadn't seen her since lying to her about being in a relationship. "You look tired, too much work?" he asked after searching her face for a clue why she was there.
"Just not sleeping well, I've been confused about you… and Tommy. I don't know what happened. Things were going well, great even. Then… Tommy packed up and left without warning, and I ran straight to you. Just like he said. I don't know what that says about me…" she said looking upset.
Oliver's mouth pulled tight as he shook his head. "It doesn't say anything about you. We have a long history, I know. I know that it can be confusing. But you and Tommy, there's something there. Something good. You deserve that. You both deserve that."
"Maybe he just got cold feet, like you did," she said. Oliver looked regretful. "Oliver, you don't sleep with your girlfriend's sister unless you're looking to blow up the relationship." Oliver remained silent, not sure that there was anything to say. It was true. Laurel looked up, her expression solemn. "Have you talked to Tommy? Did he say anything to you?"
Before Oliver could answer, Felicity appeared from the back room. "Oliver I need to show you…" she said, her tone full of purpose. "Oh, Laurel. Hi." Felicity gestured back and forth between the two old friends, old lovers. "You two were talking, and I just totally interrupted… a thing. Right? Sorry. I…" she waved her hand in a circle, obviously flustered. "I'll talk to you later, Oliver. Laurel, nice to see you."
"Felicity, don't go. Can you just give me a minute?" Oliver stopped her retreat. She bit her lower lip, appearing undecided. "Please," he entreated, ducking his head and shooting her a long look.
"Yeah," she said quickly, rubbing her neck, her shoulders hunched. "Of course."
Felicity scurried away, and Oliver turned back to Laurel who had stood up and hitched her purse onto her arm. "I'm sorry, I should go."
"I haven't talked to Tommy much since he quit," Oliver picked up their conversation, wanting to fix some of the damage he'd done to his best friends' relationship. "Laurel, if you still want to be with Tommy, do what we should have done, talk to each other and be honest."
"That's probably good advice. I'm… happy you found someone, Oliver. You deserve something good too." She took a few steps towards the door, and then paused turning back. "I thought Felicity worked for your family's company?"
"She does. But Walter was kind enough to lend her professional services to me for the morning. She is working on upgrading the club's web security."
"Is that what she does at QC?"
Oliver frowned, not wanting to encourage Laurel's curiosity about Felicity. "No, but she is a genius, a literal genius," he smiled softly. "She can pretty much do anything with a computer and the internet."
"Smart and beautiful," Laurel said softly. "The reason I came by actually… Thea invited me on a night out. Here. With her and Felicity. I wanted… to make sure that wouldn't be awkward."
Oliver smiled brightly. "No, of course not. Why would that be awkward?"
"Good, then I'll see you on Friday night."
"Saturday," he corrected. "Felicity and I have plans for Friday, if she'd changed her mind, she would have told me."
"Oh, right, what am I thinking. Saturday. I'll see you then," Laurel corrected herself, mournfully thinking of her Friday night plans that included working late and cheap take-out.
"Looking forward to it," Oliver said with a tight smile, obviously not looking forward to his ex-girlfriend having a night out with his fake girlfriend.
~~ARROW~~
As Oliver stood along a dark wall in Verdant that Saturday night watching as Roy delivered a tray of drinks to Thea, Felicity, Laurel, and Laurel's friend and co-worker Joanna, he realized that he really didn't know how to say no to Thea. No to her meeting Felicity, no to hiring her boyfriend, no to what was bound to be a disaster of a night.
Straightening himself upright, he approached the quartet, smiling widely at all of them before dipping his head down to nuzzle Felicity's neck. "How's it going?"
"Great she said with a bright smile, but the hand that threaded its way into the short hair on the back of his head was sharp, her nails digging in lightly.
"Sorry," he said softly, taking a deep breath of the fresh slightly citrusy smell of her skin.
Felicity dropped her hand and arched an eyebrow at him. "I'll let you make it up to me later," she said without thinking, then blushed looking at Thea and Laurel. "That is not what I mean, or how I meant it, I just meant that..."
"That Oliver has been neglecting you and you will make him your sex toy later? It's OK, I'm well aware of his sexual exploits," Thea said with teasing gravitas.
"Thank you Thea," Oliver said, easily taking the cup she held out of her hand and sipping it.
"It's soda, and you could have just asked," she said haughtily.
"Hi Ollie," Laurel interjected not wanting the siblings to devolve into an argument. "Looks like you're doing good business here."
"Yeah, but it's mostly the staff, and Tommy. I just pay the bills and make the rounds," he deflected her compliment. The song changed and Thea grabbed Felicity's hand dragging her to the dance floor. Oliver watched for a few moments, letting his gaze roam over Felicity's outfit. While all three of the other women had chosen to wear dresses, black dressed, Felicity was in a short multi-colored striped sequin skirt, black stockings, and a silvery grey tank top that left most of her shoulders and back bare, occasionally exposing the edges of a black lace bra.
Oliver turned back to Laurel and Joanna, but was happy to see one of his staff standing behind them, obviously wanting his opinion on some problem that had popped up. Oliver made his excuses, happy for once to be asked to trouble shoot what would be one of a hundred little problems that occurred each night. It had been Tommy's job, and Oliver really needed to find someone to take it over, but for now, it was his responsibility.
~~ARROW~~
Later that night, Laurel returned from dancing with Joanna, smiling and feeling lighter than she had in months. Thea had been right, for once, Laurel needed a night of fun. Even if it was with Oliver's new girlfriend. She looked around the club, looking for his familiar form, and found him at the bar, standing next to Felicity, his arm extended casually around her back. When a group of college aged guys crowded up the bar, Oliver exerted a bit of pressure on her hip, pulling her closer.
Felicity smiled up at him, not objecting to his closeness, her gaze slightly unfocused. Laurel briefly wondered if it was because she'd been drinking or because she wasn't wearing her glasses that night. Felicity had confessed that she didn't need them for most things, but that since she worked on computers all day, she wore them almost all the time.
Laurel couldn't help but like Felicity, even if she felt like the other girl was constantly redacting her sentences. And Oliver seemed happy. Laurel's heart clenched a bit at the thought of him being happy with someone else. She hadn't really minded when Oliver had been dating Helena, even at that horribly awkward dinner, or when he'd taken up with Mckenna. But somehow with Felicity it felt different, like she saw the real Oliver, knew him. Knew him in a way that Laurel had previously thought only she had known him. But since his return to Starling City, he'd been different.
Actually, if she was being honest, he'd never been the person Laurel had thought she knew. No way had the man she'd loved suddenly decided to cheat on her with her sister after agreeing to move in with Laurel. And in the years that Oliver had been gone, thought dead, his secrets had come out. If Laurel believed the rumors, and she was wont to considering what she knew now, he'd cheated on her for years, including their last few months together.
~~ARROW~~
Sometime later, Laurel approached Oliver as he made (painful) small talk with a few customers. The women looked to be in their early 30s and were definitely on the hunt. Oliver gently declined their invitation for an after party, and turned to face Laurel who was standing behind him.
"Excuse me ladies," he said. "Laurel, are you having a good night?"
"I am, the music is great, Thea is all grown up, Joanna is having a good time, for the first time since her brother died, and Felicity is... she's great Ollie."
Oliver nodded, walking with her back to the empty VIP booth that they'd been using as home base for the night. "Where is she?" he inquired.
"Dancing. She and Thea are by the DJ," she pointed out. Oliver smiled seeing Thea and Felicity both in high spirits, gave him hope that they could win the coming battle and retake their lives.
"I can see why the club is booming. Good music, nice décor, beautiful people. Congratulations."
"It was easier when Tommy was running things," Oliver said.
"Tommy's a good guy."
"Yeah," Oliver agreed.
"Can I ask you a favor, Ollie?" Laurel asked, drawing his gaze back to her.
"Shoot."
"Can you please go talk to Tommy for me?"
Oliver hesitated. "And say what?"
"He thinks that you're still in love with me, that we're not over. He clearly hasn't seen you with Felicity. So please, just go talk to him, tell him you're not still in love with me. Maybe he'll listen to you."
"I… I can do that. Tommy hasn't really wanted to see me or talk to me, but I think it's time to mend this rift."
"Thank you Oliver."
"I really do want you to be happy, Laurel, it's what I've always wanted for you."
She smiled, ignoring the fact that her heart beat irregularly, a dull pain spreading through her chest. "Me too."
~~ARROW~~
Oliver had never seen Felicity drunk before, not even a little tipsy. He found her to be even more amusing when she was. She grinned in that happy, hazy way that inebriated people had, sharing a joke with Thea and giggling like the 24 year old woman she was instead of the IT professional, or the Hood's sidekick.
When they settled onto two available barstools, Oliver watched with a hard enigmatic expression as the bartender drifted their way and stopped to flirt. Oliver relaxed when his employee poured Thea a coke, and slide a glass of water with a slice of lemon to Felicity without being asked. A raucous conversation seemed to ensue, with Thea apparently trying to convince her two companions that she could hold her liquor better than Felicity despite issues of age and illegality.
Laurel and Joanna joined them, their bags and wraps with them, obviously intending on cutting out soon. Laurel leaned against the bar, looking over the thinning crowd, her thoughts obviously turned inward. Oliver couldn't help but compare them. Both were smart, confident (though in different ways). Both had made their way in the world under their own steam, choosing their lives and making it happen. Oliver's betrayal and his supposed death hadn't derailed Laurel from becoming a lawyer. Felicity had left home at 15, attended college alone, gone to Gotham, a dangerous city at 18, and hadn't been put off by Oliver's appearance bloody and battered in her car after months of lying to her.
Oliver had held Laurel close to his heart while on the island, always thinking in the back of his mind that when the mission was done, he could, he would win her back. But Tommy had changed that. Tommy, his best friend since kindergarten, had fallen in love with Ollie's girl in his absence. Tommy who was innocent of Oliver's greater failings. Tommy who was ignorant of his father's dangerous dealings. Tommy, who had looked at Oliver in horror after finding out his secret. His best friend had judged him, and had not given Oliver a chance to even attempt to explain in the weeks sense.
Laurel had been open to the possible good of the vigilante at first. But she'd quickly changed her mind, preferring to operate within the law.
For most of his life (pre-island), it had been Oliver, Tommy and Laurel. Now Laurel had no idea who he really was, and Tommy didn't want to know. Instead Oliver found himself with Felicity and Diggle at his side, and he wasn't sure that he would change that even if it meant getting Laurel and Tommy back.
~~ARROW~~
The following Monday morning, Felicity was hard at work in her office, when an unfamiliar voice called her name. "Felicity Smoak?"
Felicity looked up from her desk to see four uniformed police officers standing in her office. "Yes?"
"Please stand up," one of the officers, the eldest of the four requested as two other officers circled her desk pulling out her chair and standing over her.
"What's happening?" she asked, panic edging her voice, imagining something awful happening to her family. Or Oliver or Thea or Dig.
"Felicity Smoak you are under arrest for carrying a concealed weapon and being in possession of stolen property?
Her mouth fell open as she looked from one officer to the next, expecting them to suddenly smile or laugh, revealing this all to be a bad practical joke. But they didn't. "What are you talking about?"
"Please put your hands behind your back, ma'am, I don't want to have to charge you with resisting arrest as well."
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While I know where this story is going now, and how it will end, I can't help but think that the first chapter is so different from the rest. Maybe there was a lighter place this story could have gone, somewhere bright and fluffy and happy. Maybe it will come to me some day and it can become a "choose your own adventure" story.