Thank you for reading. :)
LadyG
Oliver stepped out of the back of the expensive sedan Diggle had parked at the entrance to the Botanical Gardens, closed the button of his tuxedo jacket and extended a hand to help Sara out of the car. He would have happily given this event a miss, but his mother had insisted that they show a united family front in lieu of her campaign to become mayor.
"Ollie, slow down!" Sara called, rushing after him. She was holding onto his arm with one hand and keeping her dress off the ground with the other. "How does Laurel walk on these things?" she mused in frustration, glaring at the dangerously high heels she was wearing.
Oliver slackened his pace and smiled at her. "Thank you for coming with me. I know you would have preferred not to."
She didn't contradict him, merely tilted her lips up slightly at the corners. "My Dad's a cop. I know why this is important."
Although Sara would look beautiful in a brown bag, he could tell that she wasn't comfortable. Before that fateful night on the Queen's Gambit, she'd had been the life of every party. She'd loved to drink and dance and socialise. But after everything that she'd been through, her old life and the habits that had once been an innate part of her held very little appeal. He'd felt the same way right after his return, but as time had passed and the expectations of his family name had come calling, he'd slipped back into the role he'd been born to fulfill. Eventually, it had become easier and he hoped the same would be true for Sara.
They still hadn't had a moment to talk about whatever had been troubling her since their afternoon meeting had been interrupted by some urgent Hood business. Since then, things had been a bit crazy for both of them; the pressures of their day jobs, being vigilantes by night and their respective family commitments meant that they had very little spare time left over for one another. He'd thought about asking her about it, but he knew her well enough to know that she'd raise it when she was ready so he'd decided to let it go for the moment.
"Ready?" At her nod, he placed his hand over hers as they stepped inside the brightly lit room. A cursory glance around confirmed his suspicions: The planning and décor had clearly been his mother's idea. It screamed understated elegance, a hallmark that Moira Queen prided herself on.
"They're over there," Sara whispered, gesturing toward the open side door furthest away from them.
Shaking hands with a few senior ranking officials, Oliver followed her lead, spotting his family easily. To his surprise, he recognized Felicity and Adam Donner standing with them. The streak of annoyance that lanced through him at the sight of the DA situated so close to the woman who had his emotions in knots lately, escalated rapidly when he spied the possessive hand Donner had on her waist. The fact that Felicity hadn't shrugged it off wasn't lost on him. Jealously, thick and raw, flooded his system. Not liking it one bit, he dragged Sara toward them, all the while trying to get his feelings under control.
The closer they drew, the more evident it became that all was not well. Felicity stood rigidly, staring at his mother, whose serene outlook hid the malevolence concealed beneath the façade. Donner, on the other hand, looked furious. Sensing that a confrontation was imminent, he lengthened his stride.
Suddenly, Felicity grabbed Donner's hand and pulled him towards the dance floor. Stopping automatically as she walked in his direction, he expected her to a acknowledge him, but was left frustrated when she didn't even look his way. Sara, who he'd momentarily forgotten about, crashed into his back.
"Ollie, dammit!"
Reluctantly moving his eyes away from Felicity, he gave Sara an apologetic look. "Sorry. For a moment I thought my mother and the DA were coming to blows."
"What happened?" she asked, looking around his shoulder in time to see the couple heading away from his family.
"I'm not sure. But the look on my mother's face had me worried." It shouldn't have come as a surprise that there'd be no love lost between his parent and the man who'd tried to jail her.
By the time they reached Thea and Roy, Moira was half turned away from them, deep in conversation with the Police Commissioner. Oliver kissed his sister's cheek.
"Roy, you look great," Sara said, giving him the thumbs up.
He inclined his head, acknowledging her compliment. "This is all Thea. Trust me."
The younger woman ignored the fact that he didn't sound too enthusiastic and patted his arm affectionately. "I have excellent taste," she declared, proudly.
Annoyed at their chatter and sounding more composed than he actually felt, Oliver asked, "What just happened before we arrived?"
Roy spoke first. "Your mother not so subtly laid into Felicity for being here with the DA."
Oliver couldn't hide his surprise. "Felicity?" he echoed, confused. He'd assumed that his mother had been gunning for Donner.
"Yeah," Thea piped up. "She was unexpectedly mean to her and I don't know why. It's weird, but she seemed more pissed off at Felicity than she did with Adam."
Finally it all made sense. His mother blamed Felicity, not herself, for the distance between them lately. Ever since he'd confronted Moira about Thea's real father, their relationship had suffered a great deal. Typical of his mother to lay the responsibility for that at someone else's doorstep. Anger surged through him. Whatever issues they had as a family, the fault didn't lie with Felicity or anyone else.
"What did Moira say to her?" Sara asked, curiosity imbedded in her question.
Roy leaned closer to them, lowering his voice so that it didn't carry. "It wasn't so much what she said, but the way she said it. She sounded," he thought for a moment, "cold. Did Felicity piss her off at work or something?"
Everyone's eyes focused on Oliver. "I don't know," he replied, instinctively. Naturally he couldn't tell them what he really suspected the cause to be.
Thea shrugged and looked at the dancing pair. "They do look cute together, don't they?"
Roy guffawed. "Can you imagine Felicity as the DA's wife?"
"What?!" Oliver didn't mean for his response to come so quickly or to sound so impassioned. Was Felicity getting married? The very thought sent his mind reeling and his stomach plummeting to the ground.
Sara looked at him sharply, but didn't say anything.
Startled by his reaction, Thea stared and Roy's mouth gaped open. "Dude, it was a joke. Relax."
Oliver exhaled slowly, trying to slow the rhythm of his pounding heart. In an attempt to smooth over his misstep, he smiled. "You caught me by surprise. I know they aren't that serious."
Thea linked her arm through Roy's and glanced back at the dance floor. "I don't know. They look pretty serious to me." Suddenly distracted, she stepped closer to Sara as Moira rejoined their group. "I've been meaning to ask you…"
His sister's voice trailed away as he, unable to stop, turned to face the couple moving in tune to the music. Felicity had her head resting on Donner's shoulder as though she belonged there. The notion landed like a lump of lard in the pit of his belly, unsettling him. Hating himself for watching and yet unable to pull himself away, he eyes wandered over her halo of hair, tumbling like gentle waves around her face and shoulders. The dress, or more accurately, Felicity in the dress, was flawless.
Donner said something that made her laugh and she moved her head to rest against his jaw as her eyes scanned over the crowd. He tensed as it swept closer to him, knowing he should turn away before she caught him watching her.
He tried.
He failed.
Their eyes locked and hers registered surprise and then something else that she masked so quickly he didn't have enough time to decipher it. He knew that he was playing with fire and Dig's words, spoken just a few short days ago, came back to haunt him. You could do much worse by unintentionally giving her the idea that you feel more than you actually do just because you don't like the thought of having to share her with someone else. That wasn't it though. Looking into the astonishing blueness of her direct gaze, he knew that it was way more than that. Sharing Felicity wasn't the problem. It was sharing her with a romantic rival that was. Despite all his best efforts, he'd landed himself in some hot water. Tearing his eyes from hers, he turned around to face his mother.
"I saw your father as I arrived. He's looking well," she was saying to Sara.
"Mom, can we talk for a minute?" Oliver asked, grasping her elbow, his hold gentle yet firm.
She must have seen the determined glint in his eyes because for once she didn't argue. "Excuse us," she said politely to the rest of their group before allowing him to steer her outside.
The weather was pleasant and there was a few people milling about taking in some fresh air.
"Oliver, what is the matter with you? It's almost time for me to make my speech."
Coming to a halt at the foot of the stairs that lead into the garden beyond, he faced her. "Stay away from Felicity," he said without preamble, his voice cool and detached.
Her eyes flashed briefly. "I don't think I know what you mean."
Oliver gave a humourless laugh. "Oh, I think that you do."
She stood straighter and glanced toward the door where Sara was watching them intently. "I don't trust her, Oliver, and I think you should choose your friends-"
"You don't trust her?" he retorted, fighting to keep his voice even. "You don't have to. Felicity is my friend and she obviously respects me a hell of a lot more than my own mother does."
Moira's face drained of colour. "I've explained to you a thousand times why I didn't tell you about Malcolm."
"Exactly. You didn't tell me, Mother. It was supposed to have come from you. Do you have any idea how it feels to know that after all this time, after all we've been through, that you'd still choose to lie to me about something so important?"
His mother reached for his arm, but he moved away from her. "Oliver, please," she begged. "I did it to protect you and Thea. I ever meant to hurt you. Please believe me."
"Leave Felicity alone," he stated clearly, ignoring her words. "She has nothing to do with any of this and by implicating her in it, you stand to gain nothing." Turning on his heel, he started walking away.
"She's not the one for you, you know." His mother called after him, causing him to falter and stop. He didn't turn to face her, just stood still. "I've seen how you've been looking at her lately. How your eyes follow her around the room. You may have Sara fooled, but I'm your mother, I know you."
He could hear her approaching. "She's sweet and smart, I'll give her that, but it would never work out. You're too different and in the end, even though you would try not to, you'd only hurt her. Walk away, Oliver," she declared, emphatically. "For both your sakes."
His fists clenched at his sides, he turned his head slightly so he could see the shadow of her profile. "Forgive me for not taking the advice of the one woman who's turned lying and manipulation into an art form."
He heard her wounded gasp as he walked away and for a moment, he regretted hurting her. She wasn't the only one who had secrets. So did he and perhaps his mistakes were far worse than hers could ever be, but he'd hated how her words has pierced his armour and reached into his very soul. They were the exact fears that he secretly harboured and refused to acknowledge. If he pretended that he didn't feel them, then maybe he could fool himself into believing that a platonic friendship with Felicity was all he really wanted.
Walking back into the room that had become more crowded, he spotted Sara dancing with her father. Looking around, he watched as Donner turned away from Felicity to join a much older man in conversation.
Knowing better, but throwing caution to the wind regardless, he approached her from behind.
"Felicity, may I have this dance?"