by AlexiaBlackbriar13
“So uh… you can’t lie?” she asks warily.
Oliver grits his teeth. “No.”
“So I could ask you anything I want and you would be compelled to answer?”
“Felicity,” he groans, and then, clenching his jaw shut, is forced to admit, “Yes.”
~
a post-s2 ficlet, for the prompt 'truth serum friends to lovers'
Words: 3361, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English
Fandoms: Arrow (TV 2012)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Categories: F/M
Characters: Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak
Relationships: Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak
Additional Tags: Post-Arrow (TV 2012) Season 2, Pre-Relationship, Canon Compliant, Truth Serum, Island Tea, Humor, Light Angst, Nightmares
These have all been posted to my AO3 account discoveriesofbishmont (AlexiaBlackbriar13).
I will continue to add to this masterlist with every fic posted.
testing boundaries - Set during 1x07. Finally understanding how Diana's spellbound magic works, Matthew is convinced she needs to learn how to utilise it to defend herself. A self-defence lesson consisting of a vampire antagonising, annoying and scaring her to no end until she lashes back out at him is not how Diana pictured spending the morning.
grocery shopping - Set during 1x07/1x08. Diana had no idea when she agreed to go grocery shopping for Em and Sarah what would happen by letting Matthew accompany her. (Prompt from @begins-with-an-absence-of-desire)
restless - Set during 1x04. Matthew is mid-phone call with Hamish when he hears the shouting coming from his tower. After learning about the circumstances of her parents' deaths, Diana suffers from a nightmare and her vampire comforts her. (Prompt from @kuningatarmirka)
fire foretold - Set during 1x08. Diana begins suffering from nightmares about accidentally hurting Matthew with out of control witchfire, that she soon believes to be visions of the future.Although Matthew, Sarah and Em try and ease her worries, she's still terrified of harming him. It's impossible to run from the future, after all. (Birthday/holiday gift for @dianasmatthews)
ride on high - Set during 1x04. Diana and Matthew take on a cross-country horse jumping course out in the forest behind Sept-Tours, atop Rakasa and Balthasar. It's only inevitable that things turn playfully competitive. (Holiday gift for @blackcanarydinah)
past is prologue - Set after The Book of Life. Diana timewalks Matthew, the twins and herself back to 1981 to meet and spend a weekend with her parents. Rebecca and Stephen are delighted to have the chance to properly get to know their daughter's husband and children.On top of the tension wrought by the fact they have to try not to distort the timeline in any way, Diana's spellbinding hangs over the family like a shadow. Spoilers for all 3 books in the All Souls Trilogy, but not Time's Convert. Part 2/3 Posted
Now might be a good time to tell everybody I do take prompts! I have a busy life so can’t guarantee I’ll be able to write and post them immediately, but I’d love to hear people’s fic ideas!
alexiablackbriar13 replied to your post “Accepting Prompts!”
pregnant olicity fluff would be extremely welcomed right now xxx
fun fact: I’m behind on Arrow so I found that out on tumblr...so here’s a quick dialogue fic thing:
“I’m not ready.”
“Felicity...”
“No. I’m seriously not ready for this. The crib isn’t set up. The room isn’t painted and we haven’t even baby-proofed the house. Oliver! We haven’t even unpacked the kitchen. And what about William? Who’s going to pick up William?”
“Felicity, honey, I think you’re in labor.”
“No, Oliver, I can’t be in labor. It’s not possible. There’s still too much to do.”
“Honey, I’ve already talked to John. He’s gonna get William. They’ll paint the room and set up the crib, but now, you and I have to go to the hospital. Oh, god, you’re in labor. The baby’s coming...”
It's late but whatever. To celebrate here are a few of my favorite fics I've enjoyed recently: some old, some new, all amazing (everything is Arrow/Olicity unless marked otherwise)
Oliver Queen, H.M.N. by somewherelse
WIP. Oliver is a nurse working in the Glades and Felicity keeps ending up on his table with injuries correlating a little too well with the Vigilante's excursions. So cute! Protective but Understanding!Oliver, Badass Adorable!Felicity (potential medical squicks/triggers)
Award: Need Me a Freak Like That
An IT Girl's Guide to Shapeshifting Vigilante Dragons by @alexiablackbriar13
Currently 1 pt WIP. In which Felicity Smoak, a blonde IT girl who wants to do some good in the world, falls in love with Oliver, a shapeshifting dragon vigilante, and together they save Starling City. The HTTYD AU no one knew they wanted (mentions of past psychological and physical abuse)
Award: I Don't Care I Love It
Blindspot by MachaSWicket
WIP. A woman wakes up on a busy street with no memories and a body covered in tattoos. Who is she? How are her tattoos connected to crime happening around the city? And why does Oliver feel like he knows her?
Award: Best Mystery
Of the Wretched by therewasagirl
2 part series Incomplete (give it some love and who knows). Au in which Donna married Malcolm Merlyn and Felicity grew up with the Merlyns and the Queens. Oliver "died" on the island but was really taken to Nanda Parbat. Kinda dark (emotional, psychological and physical abuse and brainwashing)
Award: Best AU Felicity
Echo by mrpotterlovegood
Incomplete. Oliver comes from a long line of pure-blooded dark wizards and is set to take over one he leaves Hogwarts. Felicity is a Muggle-Born genius who just wants to get into Ravenclaw Tower. Adorable star-crossed lovers and painful secrets. (Torture, psychological abuse)
Award: The Genre DJ
Felicitas by Jess_S
14 pt series WIP. Felicity is an Immortal (Highlander au/fusion). She's been in the game for thousands of years and she plans to continue that streak. Unfortunately, she always was a sucker for a good fighter with a heart of gold. Follows events of s1. (Semi graphic depictions of death and torture)
Award: Super Trooper Writer
Wake Verse by foreverfelicityqueen (stydiasredstring) and holysmoaksoliver
3 pt series WIP. After the events of 3x14 flashbacks, Tommy meets Felicity and recruits her into helping him find Oliver. As the search progresses they end up way in over their heads. Three years later, Oliver returns and they all have to face the consequences of what’s happened since. (very light Flommy, canon typical violence)
Award: Holy Canon Divergence Batman!
No Good Deed by @smoakmonster
Incomplete. Oliver can’t die but anyone he touches will. Felicity can heal even the sickest with just a brush of her fingers but it might just kill her. Soulmate? Let’s hope so. (mentions of death and illness)
Award: Hungry for the Touch Starved
strangers in the night (passing in the shadows) by SmoakScreen (midwestwind)
WIP. Felicity’s a vigilante. So is Oliver. Neither knows the other’s secret. Won’t it be interesting once they do? (canon typical violence)
Award:
The Christmas Con by @spaztronautwriter
WIP. To avoid being cut off, Oliver decides he needs to bring a “steady” girlfriend home for Christmas. Felicity needs the money and she’ll save some unsuspecting girl’s heart in the process. Because Falling in love with Oliver Queen is never going to happen. Right?
Award: Best First Meeting
To Live Again by BookofLife
Complete. Felicity’s won. But at what cost? Everyone dies au. Super Angsty. (major character death, suicidal thoughts)
Award: Sobbing at 3 a.m.
We’ll Never be Those Kids Again by @felicityollies
Oliver takes to the street at night, fighting crime with a bow and arrow. The only problem is he’s in high school and a girl from his class is just to close to figuring it out. Baby vigilante AU starring our two favorite dorks.
Award: I’ve Got a Notebook Dedicated to You
Napping by @wardenroot
Complete. Mini Smoaking Canary College AU. Adorable
Award: Best Tooth Rotter
Matched by @spaztronautwriter
Complete. You want soulmates in love who don’t think they’re soulmates? Here you go (mentions of death)
Award: My Favorite Idiots
Monsters in the Mirror by @thatmasquedgirl
15 pt series Complete WIP. Felicity hunts the criminals of Starling at night with a mask and a sword. Or another of masque’s first meeting AUs this time with deathstroke!Felicity and hearteyes!Oliver. (torture, semi graphic depictions of violence)
Award: Wouldn’t Up this Fic if I Was Held at Sword-point
Thats all for now but if you need any more recs hmu I have plenty
DIALOGGUEEEE "Your fly's been undone for the last two hours but I didn't want to tell you because I've been enjoying the view, sorry."
“Your fly’s been undone for the last two hours but I didn’t want to tell you because I’ve been enjoying the view, sorry.”
“Two hours?”
“Yeah, wide open.”
“Did you see-?”
“Anything at all? Oh yeah.”
“Oh God.”
“Really glad I bought you those green boxers. I thought they were a little cliche but without the bright color I might not have noticed the open zipper.”
“Felicity-”
“That’s a lie. I look at your crotch so often I was bound to notice eventually.”
“You let me go collect the mail like this.”
“I did. I was trying to figure out if you knew or not.”
“Why would I be walking around with my fly undone intentionally?”
“I thought it was a subtle way of trying to get some sneaky afternoon sex going.”
“If I wanted that I’d be undoing your pants first.”
“Not necessarily. Remember that time in Aruba-”
“Not the same as what’s happening right now.”
“Although speaking of that time in Aruba...”
“What? Oh. OH.”
“Mmmhmm.”
“Now?”
“I’ve got nowhere to be for three hours.”
“I can do a lot of things in three hours. Especially you.”
Prompt: WILLIAM SEEING OLIVER'S SCARS FOR THE FIRST TIMEEEEE.
Trying To Be Brave
William hadn’t left his room in four days.
Each time Oliver had tried to coax him out, offering food and hot beverages and full control of the Netflix queue, he’d been met with silence on the other side of the door. He wondered whether William was feigning sleep, or engrossed in the comic books he kept in his backpack, or perhaps lying on his bed staring at the four walls and wishing he were anywhere but where he was.
It had been three weeks since Samantha died. Since he’d had to look his ten-year-old in the eye and tell him his mother hadn’t survived the final attack on Lian Yu, since he’d bought an apartment with an extra bedroom and had William’s things shipped from his old house to Star City because Oliver was the only family he had left now.
Guilt and worry gnawing at his stomach, Oliver had spent more time thinking about William than he had focusing on the day-to-day duties of being Mayor. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Adrian Chase aiming a gun to his own head. He went over those hours over and over again, racing through the wreckage to find his friends; Dinah, a deep cut on her head that had matted her long hair with blood; Rene, concussed and suffering from two fractured ribs; Curtis, having sprained an ankle while trying to run from the explosions; Felicity, minor burns on her hands and arms, the ends of her hair singed, a nasty bruise on her stomach from a fall onto jagged rocks.
Diggle, unconscious and not breathing, a neck wound that left a trail of blood and Oliver’s desperate attempts to perform CPR in the middle of the burning forest when his best friend’s heart stopped.
And he always circled back to William, the frightened boy whose entire world had been turned upside down all because his father was Oliver Queen.
There had been one thread of hope, however; on day three of William not leaving his room, Oliver had left a glass of orange juice for him outside the door. When he returned later that evening after a meeting, it was empty.
Done with the tasks required for the day, Oliver decided to head home and check on William, and see if he was perhaps up to talking or eating. On the way, he stopped by a small bakery that he and Felicity had often frequented, due to their cinnamon buns being, in Felicity’s words, “the best damn baked goods in the entire tri-state area”. He picked up a couple of the said buns, still warm from the oven, in the hope that something sweet and wonderful-smelling might cheer his son up, at least for a little while.
“William?” he called out as he stepped in the door. “I’m home!”
Nothing. Loosening his tie with one hand, he put the warm buns on the kitchen countertop and quickly checked his phone for any new messages - there were none - before switching on the coffee maker. It was a habit he’d picked up since they’d returned from Lian Yu and Felicity was coming over more and more often, and they’d act like shy teenagers on their first date as they held hands and shared tentative kisses, re-discovering what it was they’d lost between them over a year ago. It was wonderful, and exciting, and felt new even though they’d been in love with one another now for almost four years.
It wasn’t something Oliver thought would ever get old.
With the coffee maker revving up, his discarded his jacket and tie and headed for the bathroom, intending to take a shower before Felicity inevitably showed up. Before he did, he knocked on William’s door.
“William, there’s some cinnamon buns in the kitchen if you want them,” he called. “Just help yourself, okay?”
Again, no answer came, but he heard the creak of bedsprings and some shuffling from inside the room. He thought he heard a book being snapped shut and the rustle of pages, or perhaps he wanted to hear them because he needed to know the poor boy was at least moving around and doing something, even if he didn’t want to be in his company right now.
It was hard knowing how to help when they were both so new to the father-son arrangement. And with William’s mother gone…
Shaking his head to remove those kinds of thoughts from his mind, he went to the bathroom, undressed, and jumped in the shower, letting the almost-scalding water soothe him and take away some of his worries for a short time. The grime of the day washed down the drain and he took himself away from thoughts of City Hall and instead focused on the plans for that night’s patrols, which he, Felicity, and a bed-bound Diggle had decided on earlier. Dinah and Rene wanted to train before heading out, so Oliver would arrive at the bunker earlier to meet them, Felicity, Curtis, and Thea following later.
He must have stayed under the water longer than he’d realized, as it had turned from almost too hot to just warm, his skin lobster pink, bringing out the angry lines of the scars that littered his body. The newer injuries stung slightly under the spray, his muscles still a little achy and stretched tight.
Shutting off the water, he climbed out and reached for a towel, wrapping himself in it and padding across to his bedroom. He didn’t need to go out again until much later; wearing starched, pressed suits all day made him feel claustrophobic, the fabric of his formal shirts compressing his chest, like he was wearing a noose around his neck. Being able to step out of the constricting costume of a Mayor and into something he actually felt comfortable in always improved his mood and helped to take some of the edge off the thoughts that plagued his mind.
He still heard no noise or sounds of activity from William’s room, so he headed straight for the closet and started to change. Perhaps, he thought as he reached for a pair of soft pants, he should just let him work through his grief privately for now. Oliver didn’t want to push him into something he didn’t feel ready for, and if William was isolating himself from him, he didn’t want to provoke an adverse reaction by forcing him to communicate. From past experience, he knew that hunkering down against any attempt at intervention was usually the response to feeling pressured to share; he’d done it himself countless times, a protection mechanism against the pain and fear and anger and hurt that he knew would come pouring out if someone gave him the opportunity to talk.
It was only as he went to grab a shirt that he heard the squeak of wooden floorboards and a sharp intake of breath coming from behind him, a noise of surprise and horror that made his stomach twist…and then drop.
William was standing in the doorway, barefoot, his hair in disarray, one cheek creased with pillow marks where he had been lying on it. He gripped the doorframe tentatively, as if worried he might not be allowed to touch it, and was staring straight at Oliver’s chest with huge eyes, his face pale and greyish.
“What are those?” he gasped, pointing at the scars that marked his father’s body. “Why are they so big? How did you get them?”
Oliver was at a loss for words. How to even begin to explain the jagged lines and misshapen marks of knife wounds, bullet holes, arrowhead piercings, and burns he’d accumulated over the years? How to explain to someone who was still a kid what human beings were capable of doing to one another?
Then, a tiny squeak, almost a whisper, left his son’s lips.
“Did he give them to you?”
He. William meant Adrian Chase.
Oliver didn’t see the point in lying. Twisting his shirt in his hands, he braced himself. “Some of them, yes.”
Memories shoved themselves up to the surface of his mind; being held in chains for days, no food or water, lashes brought down on his bare skin and Chase laughing, grinning, his otherwise handsome face twisted with rage and hatred.
The blowtorch searing his chest where the Bratva tattoo was, his nostrils filling with the smell of his own burning flesh. Semi-consciousness from the pain.
More of Chase’s laughter, his taunting.
Showing him pictures of his friends, his family. Felicity’s glasses.
William’s picture from his elementary school.
A brutal kick to the ribs.
A small hand rested on his elbow. “Dad?”
He came out of the memory and realized he was shaking, his knuckles white where they gripped the item of clothing in his hands.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his voice hoarse. He thought he could taste blood at the back of his throat. “I’m sorry, William.”
Sniffing, William gripped his arm tightly, pressing his face into his skin. He could feel the tears that dripped down his son’s face, wetting him anew.
“I never wanted anything like this to happen to you,” Oliver said. “You do believe that, right?”
Without looking up, William nodded. Then, he let go of his arm, moving his hands to the scars on Oliver’s chest, touching them tentatively. He stopped for a moment on the pink line under his ribs, then the gash on his lower stomach. He opened his palm and placed it flat on the burn where the Bratva mark once was.
“Does it hurt?” he asked, his voice thick with tears. “It looks like it hurts.”
Oliver shook his head. “Not so much anymore, but when it first happened…” he lowered his voice conspiratorially, “it hurt like hell.”
William giggled wetly. “Mom said I’m not supposed to say those words.”
“Well, you shouldn’t,” Oliver agreed. “But since it’s just us, I think we can make an exception.” He managed a small smile. “Only in the house though, okay? I don’t want to get a letter from your new teacher telling me you’re repeating bad language at school.”
….which is why it might be a good idea not to let Rene do any extensive childminding, he made a mental note for himself.
“Okay,” William said.
Oliver crouched down in front of him, taking his son’s small, white face in his hands, just as he had when he’d pulled him from Adrian on the boat. That time, he had been checking for physical injuries. Now, he was taking care of emotional ones.
“My scars….I know they’re scary, but you don’t have to be scared. I haven’t told you a lot about what I do, about the things I’ve done, but I will, because you deserve to know. But for now, you’ve had a lot of things happen to you and not a lot of time to process it, and if you feel like you need to talk, or want some space, or….you want to tell someone about your Mom, please, talk to me.”
Oliver swallowed thickly around a lump that had suddenly risen in his throat. He stroked William’s cheek instinctively with his thumb, wiping away the residual tears there.
“Do you understand?” he asked.
“Mmhmm,” William nodded quietly, blinking rapidly. Several more tears spilled over onto his cheeks, and Oliver wiped them away, like a father would.
Like the father that he was.
After a moment, Oliver stood up, stretching. “Okay. I’m gonna finish getting dressed, and then we can get something to eat. There’s some pastries in the kitchen if you want.”
“I know,” William replied, and a faint light came back into his eyes. “I can smell them.”
Oliver smiled, clapping him gently on the shoulder. “Help yourself, kiddo. I’ll be right behind you.”
William turned to leave, and Oliver finished pulling on his shirt. Before he reached the doorway, however, he turned back around.
