A/N: Thank you, all of you, for your overwhelmingly positive feedback on this tiny little story. I think they stayed alive in my head because of your good juju, so really, you gave this to yourselves. XD
The 1369 Coffee Shop quickly became his new favorite go-to place for his daily latte. He stopped by there most days for his caffeine fix, usually in the early afternoons after he woke up. It was always a quick in-and-out visit, sometimes with a friend, most times not. If he gave thought to Felicity Smoak at all, it was in the back of his mind. He didn't expect to see her there, but there was always a tiny part of him that hoped. He had enough distractions, however, so that the tiniest disappointment in not seeing her quickly fell by the wayside.
It wasn't until about a month later, on his routine caffeine run, that he finally saw her in the coffee shop. A smile spread across his face reflexively, and his heart beat just a little bit faster. She was sitting at a table against the window, her nose buried in a book, and a steaming cup of something in front of her. She looked as gorgeous and alluring as she did the day he met her.
He went to the counter to purchase his latte, and took his drink slowly to her table. He sat gingerly in the seat across from her, careful not to interrupt her, but she didn't look up once. He smiled tenderly, just watching her getting lost in her story. He watched as her eyes darted back and forth across the page, her brows furrowing slightly at some interesting plotline, her lips open and relaxed.
He continued watching her as if he was hypnotized, when she finally lowered her book to reach for her drink and noticed him with a yelp. He jumped a little in his seat at her violent response.
She clapped a hand over her heart, breathing heavily. "You scared the shit out of me!" she exclaimed. "How long have you been sitting there?"
"Only a minute or so," he replied nonchalantly. "You look very nice today."
She rolled her eyes at him. "Still at it, pretty boy?"
He grinned happily. "You remember me!"
She snorted. "Hard to forget you. First time I saw you, you were naked."
He chuckled, and turned on his sly charm. "So you're saying I'm unforgettable?"
She shook her head at him. "You're relentless."
He shrugged. "Some would say persistence is a virtue."
"Mm-hmm," she replied skeptically, raising an eyebrow. "Those same people probably see nothing wrong with stalking, either."
His mouth dropped open. "I'm not stalking you!" he protested adamantly. "I come here all the time."
She raised both eyebrows.
"For the lattes!" he emphasized.
She grabbed her drink and brought it up to her mouth. "Sure," she teased, before taking a sip. "Keep telling yourself that."
He shook his head and laughed. "You think you have some kind of hold over me that I'd stalk you? Please," he added, smirking at her.
"Don't I?" she asked with a coy grin. "Why else would you be sitting here?"
He suppressed a grin and shrugged. "To thank you for introducing me to this little piece of heaven," he replied, waving his arm to gesture at the coffee shop interior.
She smiled into her mug. "It is nice in here."
There was a beat of comfortable silence between them.
"So, can I ask you something?" he ventured cautiously.
She nodded. "Please."
"What's your deal?" At her raised eyebrows, he rushed to clarify. "I mean, why the goth thing? Don't get me wrong, I think it's hot, but people usually have a reason for going that dark. What's yours?"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Who says I need a reason? Maybe I'm just trying on different styles to see what I like."
He raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Trying to find yourself? Isn't that a little clichéd?"
She shrugged. "What's wrong with clichéd if it's true?"
"See, I don't think that's the whole picture," he remarked, leaning closer.
She leaned in as well, putting her book in her lap and placing her elbows on the table, cradling her mug between her hands. "Well, pretty boy," she challenged, "why do you think I'm doing this 'goth thing'?"
He held his chin in his hand, considering her. "You had overprotective parents who never let you do anything, and you went to M.I.T. because it's far away and you're embracing your rebellious nature in the most extreme way possible to get back at your parents." He finished with a cocky smile, sure he had gotten at least some of those details correct.
She shook her head at him slowly. "The only thing you got right is that this school is far away from home. Everything else is a big negatory."
He snapped his finger. "Damn, I thought I had you pegged."
"Your pegging skills are sorely lacking," she stated dryly.
He chuckled. "I have it on good authority that my 'pegging' skills are far above average."
"Oh yeah?" she teased. "That's what your frat brothers say?" She giggled at her own joke.
His mouth dropped open and he huffed indignantly. "Fine, show me your pegging skills."
"Your kind of pegging skills?" She shook her head with a smile. "No thanks."
He bit his lip, holding back a smile. "The other kind, Elvira."
This time her mouth dropped open. "I'm not even gonna acknowledge that terrible attempt at a joke. Fine, I'll show you my pegging skills." She sat back in her seat, studying him. "Rich kid. Didn't get into Harvard based on merit. Probably an overbearing father who wants you to graduate from an Ivy League for his own reasons, but you're not interested in that."
His face fell, and all the humor of their interaction vanished. He cleared his throat. "Pretty spot on. I'm impressed." He took a sip from his latte and looked out the window.
Her hand fell on his arm, drawing his attention back to her. She had a sincere look of apology on her face. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "I hit a sore spot, didn't I?"
He shrugged it off, pretending her words didn't pierce through the veil. "Nah," he scoffed. "Old news."
"Except it's not," she observed accurately. She rubbed his arm in a manner that was meant to be soothing, but it was only further breaking down his walls and bringing his complicated emotions to the surface. He wanted nothing more than to withdraw his arm and shut down this line of conversation, but he didn't want to lose contact with her hand. He opted to remain still and stoic.
"I'm sorry," she said softly. "You probably don't want to talk about it. You barely know me, and some things are just too raw to talk about." Her voice broke on the last part, making him look up at her curiously.
"You speak from experience?" he asked quietly.
She nodded slowly. "For what it's worth, I think you should do what makes you happy, not your dad. You only get one life, and your dad should stick to running his."
He stared into her eyes, transfixed by the wisdom he saw in them. She was an old soul, and with only a few words, she managed to reach a part of him no one had been able to get to, not since…
"You're pretty wise for such a young kid," he remarked.
She smiled sadly. "I had to grow up pretty fast."
For some reason, that broke his heart. That such a beautiful young creature went through something that forced her to grow up early, that seemed like a crime.
"You're not who you pretend to be," she observed.
The last of his walls fell down with her words, and he felt completely vulnerable with her. It was fitting, in a way. She had seen him physically naked when they met, and now she was seeing him emotionally naked in their second meeting.
"Nobody sees past the pretense," he replied hoarsely.
She squeezed his arm. "You should be with someone who does. You deserve to be seen for who you really are."
He hung onto her words as if they were the very air he breathed. "And who am I?"
She stared into his eyes, looking for his essence. "I don't think you know who you are yet. You're lost. And as long as you keep pretending, you're never gonna find your way home."
He stared intensely at her, suspended in this little moment in time. He heard her words and received them into his heart, letting them plant themselves in his subconscious to bear fruit at another time. "I'm really glad I met you, Felicity," he whispered.
She smiled at him. "I'm glad I got to meet the real you," she replied. "That guy is much more interesting."
He smiled fondly at her.
She leaned back into her chair with a sigh. "Well, I hate to break up this love fest, but I have some coding to do." She picked up her book and mug, draining the rest of her drink. She gave him one last considering look. "Remember what I said. You deserve to be happy, your own way."
He nodded solemnly. He watched her walk away before calling out to her again. "Wait!"
She turned to look at him, nearly at the door.
"You still haven't asked for my name."
She smiled coyly. "I've been calling you Pretty Boy in my head. That's good enough for me." She winked at him and left the café.
He laughed to himself, shaking his head. No, he wouldn't forget her anytime soon.
A/N: I forsee maybe 2 more chapters. One more of playboy!oliver and goth!felicity, and probably one re-write of episode 1x03.