Shared My Body and My Mind With You (That’s All Over Now): Epilogue
Six months ago Felicity did the unthinkable and paid to have sex with the one and only Oliver. Despite being worlds apart they’ve become close friends, but what happens as feelings change, a rival comes into the picture, and a friendship suddenly starts to break? A continuation of a prostitute/client AU, which comes from my one-shot “Taste of Your Poison Paradise.”
A breathy moan escapes her lips, and grinning at the sound of it, he goes back to the same spot on her neck to hear it once more. It never really occurred to him how well he knows her body, but he’s conquered every inch with no mercy, his hard earned knowledge his best and only weapon to use against – or perhaps for – her.
There’s only so much time before they have to go back, but everyone else can wait. After all, it’s his business and second café opening, and he gets to control when he can work . . . and when he and Felicity can spend hours holed up in his office, doing every sinful position they can think of.
He loves seeing her life this: out of control, uninhibited and he knows if someone were to walk in she wouldn’t even notice. Felicity’s always been responsive; it's one of the first things he noticed about her during their fateful appointment. Having sex with her is life coming home – he knows which road to take, which shortcuts to use that’ll cause her to moan wantonly, and which hills makes her ticklish.
Oliver’s fingers are inching up on her thigh, and he swears he can feel the heat coming out of her – that’s how strong it is. He’s planning out how he’s going to devour Felicity when she suddenly pulls away and pushes his hand to the side. “We have to go back and help everyone.”
Her voice is husky, her pupils are dilated, and Oliver’s cock twitches at the thought of making her so desperate right here, right now. Glancing up at her half-hooded eyes, he grins but pleads, “Come on, they can handle it. We’ll only be gone for a few minutes, maybe an hour.”
Felicity laughs and a gust of cold air hits him as she gently pushes him away. Straightening her clothes out and putting her glasses back on, Felicity smiles wickedly at him. “You can make it up to me tonight.”
She knew exactly what this would do to him, because Oliver immediately groans at the thought of making her weak and thrashing beneath him. “Fuck, Felicity. You shouldn’t have worn that skirt if you want me to wait till tonight.
It’s a billowy orange skirt with white flowers on it. The color and shape compliments her, but it’s short enough to leave little to the imagination. She’s worn it before but only for a few minutes until Oliver had her pressed against the kitchen counter, his fingers making her go wild as her hands gripped his shoulders so tight they left bruises.
The memory assaults his mind and he has to restrain himself from groaning aloud once more. “You need to behave,” Felicity admonishes. “The press are coming – you need to be at the counter to help.”
Letting out a breath, Oliver sighs and shakes his head. “I can’t believe you’re going to make me wait for hours until I get to touch you . . .”
His rake over her body, making sure to touch upon every glorious inch of her. Her legs have gotten tanner since the summer started, and he can’t wait to have them wrapped around his legs, preferably in Felicity’s vacation home in the Hamptons where he can have her outside and feel the sun beat down his back.
Oliver doesn’t miss how Felicity’s begun to squirm under his gaze and he can’t help but smirk. “Jesus Oliver, you’re insatiable, you know that?”
“Can’t help it – you make me that way.”
Laughing once more, Felicity smiles brightly before heading towards the door. Turning around, she points a finger at him and says, “Don’t blame me for your crazy sex drive, you nymphomaniac.”
Shaking his head, he winks at her and watches Felicity leave the office. Smiling to himself, Oliver gathers the apron he dropped to the side and ties it around his waist, readying himself for the massive crowd on this fine Saturday morning.
There are some days, like today, when Oliver can’t believe his luck. Just over two years ago he was working as Emerald’s premiere escort, doing a job he didn’t love, and working under a madam who cared more about her profits than the welfare of her employees. Days would blur into months and Oliver aimlessly wandered about, unsure of his future and unwilling to do something about it. He and Felicity met on their fated appointment, became friends, broke up and now they’re, well, together as a couple.
Life couldn’t get better than it is now. His café – Nocking Point – had above average profits in the first year, and Oliver didn’t need to be told twice to open another location. The café has also worked to hire the less advantaged, many young high school dropouts and anyone else who needs an extra hand. Oliver knows firsthand what it’s like to be desperate, and he doesn’t want that situation for anyone else.
Of course, it makes his life all the sweeter by having Felicity proudly standing next to him. Oliver's so lucky to have Felicity – she’s encouraged and pushed him to be the man he can be, and for that he’s forever grateful. Oliver’s always wondered what it felt like to be truly in love, to worship someone that it aches to not be near them. Felicity’s taught him so much about love and being in a partnership, and he swallows it all up, keen on becoming the man Felicity deserves.
The first few months of their relationship was uncharted territory for the both of them. Oliver insisted on doing things the right way – going on dates, keeping his pants zipped, and showering Felicity with all the love he could muster. Felicity, on the other hand, had a few other ways to start their relationship, and naturally Oliver was powerless to stop her.
Regardless, they’ve managed to work past their insecurities and fears of abandonment through countless of hours tucked away on Felicity’s couch, whispering their confessions late into the night. He’s learned to communicate when things are bothering him, as opposed to shoving them away and waiting to explode at the wrong time. They’re honest with each other and after all the hard work they’ve put into their relationship, Oliver just knows there’s nothing which can tear them apart.
Even though Felicity’s begun to travel a lot for her work – being CTO is tough business – and Oliver’s become more focused on his growing business, they find ways to spend as much as they can. He supports Felicity in the same way she supports him, and he wants nothing more than for Felicity to succeed and be happy. It definitely helps living with Felicity in her gigantic house, and every night Oliver genuinely enjoys coming back to their home, curling up to her in front of the fireplace.
He’s worked hard to get to this point, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. He’s learned what it’s like to lose everything – his parents, his money, fame, and sense of worth – only to gain it all back in different, better ways. He’s learned to appreciate everyone in his life, and to take any opportunity to grow from his experiences.
Oliver has everything he ever dreamed of and there’s no way in hell he’s letting this go.
Taking one last glance at his office, Oliver grins and steps out into the café, eager to see what the world has in store for him. And with Felicity by his side, he’s ready to take it on headfirst.
Whew, this is a long time coming! This is the first multi-chapter fic I've finished since 2010, which is so crazy because that's just unacceptable lol. I know it's taken awhile (OK, a long time) to finish, but I can't thank you all enough for sticking with this story. This story's been through the ringer, so I'm absolutely floored you guys have enjoyed it as much as you have. I know it wasn’t as Olicity as a lot of people expected, and there was a lot more angst involved, but I promised you it would all work out. ;D It's been a pleasure to write for you all and I hope you stick around for my other stories.
I can't finish this note without thanking the amazing @curvy-tam for beta-ing this story. She's fixed all my annoying little mistakes, and has provided much needed support when I've been hella stuck. And the wonderful @the-mimi-hiddleston is definitely the BEST cheerleader out there, because she's always there when I need to throw out ideas, and her enthusiasm is unmatched. I'm so glad I got paired up with you two! And thank you for everything!
And last but not least, many thanks to the amazing @awriterincowboyboots for being my second pair of eyes and ears. She's been nothing short of amazing, and I've come to rely on her opinions so much that I can't imagine NOT asking her. She's helped me out even though she's extremely busy, so thank you for taking the time to help poor old me. You're the best <3 Please take a moment to read and review her stories, I promise you'll love them!
Anyway, thank you all once again and I hope to see you soon!
an Arrow Movie Star AU by hannasus for @olicityficbang
SUMMARY: Felicity Smoak’s only reservation about taking a job as script supervisor on John Diggle’s latest film is the lead actor: Oliver Queen. He’s a former teen heartthrob with a reputation for bad behavior and a messy drug habit that ended up tanking his once-promising career. Now, five years after he disappeared off the Hollywood radar, Queen’s looking to make a comeback. But has he really cleaned up his act, or will his attitude problem make Felicity’s life a living hell for the nine-week shoot in New Orleans?
NOTES: This is it, you guys! The very last chapter! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you so much to all of you who've come along on this ride with me and been so encouraging along the way. Special thanks also to my Olicity Fic Bang artist @hackergoddessfelicity, cheerleader @the-silverforked-sky, and beta @iamangstville! And extra special hugs to @machawicket, for holding my hand and talking me off the ledge more than a few times while I was writing this.
Read the latest chapter on AO3 or start from the beginning.
an Arrow Movie Star AU by hannasus for @olicityficbang
SUMMARY: Felicity Smoak’s only reservation about taking a job as script supervisor on John Diggle’s latest film is the lead actor: Oliver Queen. He’s a former teen heartthrob with a reputation for bad behavior and a messy drug habit that ended up tanking his once-promising career. Now, five years after he disappeared off the Hollywood radar, Queen’s looking to make a comeback. But has he really cleaned up his act, or will his attitude problem make Felicity’s life a living hell for the nine-week shoot in New Orleans?
NOTES: Thanks to my Olicity Fic Bang artist @hackergoddessfelicity, cheerleader @the-silverforked-sky, and beta @iamangstville! And extra special hugs to @machawicket, for holding my hand and talking me off the ledge more than a few times while I was writing this. This fic is complete at twelve chapters, and a new chapter will be posted every Thursday.
Read the latest chapter on AO3 or start from the beginning.
Shared My Body and My Mind With You (That’s All Over Now): Chapter 5
Six months ago Felicity did the unthinkable and paid to have sex with the one and only Oliver. Despite being worlds apart they’ve become close friends, but what happens as feelings change, a rival comes into the picture, and a friendship suddenly starts to break? An offshoot of a prostitute/client AU, which comes from my one-shot “Taste of Your Poison Paradise.”
This chapter has a BDSM scene that’s not an accurate representation of BDSM. It was done on purpose, so please keep in mind Oliver’s actions are written carelessly for a reason. It’s nothing too intense (there’s only spanking) but if you prefer not to read it, it starts with “Well … This is new” and ends with “Taking one last look at Clare …”
Once again, I have to give a massive thank you to @curvy-tam and @the-mimi-hiddleston for being wonderful Fic Bang buddies! And many thanks to the amazing @awriterincowboyboots!
I apologize for any mistakes, and thank you all for the lovely reviews!
Chapter 1 // Chapter 2 // Chapter 3 // Chapter 4
The door flies open into Verdant, the sound ricocheting off the club’s walls and jolting the club awake. His blood boiling in rage, Oliver thunders past the bar and heads straight to where Isabel is conducting business. Isabel doesn’t seem to pay any mind to who’s approaching, but the escort she’s talking to immediately stands as soon as she sees Oliver come up. He gives her a quick glance while silently telling her to leave, and sensing something serious is about to happen, she doesn’t waste another second before turning and leaving.
Oliver steps closer to Isabel and towers over her, but she continues to write in her accounting book as if she has all the time in the world. Her indifference indicates she knows exactly why he’s here, and it does nothing to lessen his anger. Fuck her.
“Why aren’t you letting Taiana leave?
After last night’s horrifying events, Oliver took the escort – Taiana – back to his place and made sure she was physically and emotionally fine, at least for the time being. He let her crash in his bed, but come morning Taiana got a call from Isabel asking her about the client. Taiana didn’t say much during the conversation, but after Oliver pushed Taiana to ask Isabel for more details, Isabel said the client who was about to rape Taiana alleged she beat him bloody and he wanted a full refund. And because Taiana allegedly beat a man, she owes Isabel. A lot. The news infuriated Oliver, and here he is, willing to go toe to toe with the Snake of Chicago.
Isabel takes her sweet time to finish her work, her pen moving along the paper in practiced motions. Once she finishes, she calmly puts her books away and relaxes in the couch, sizing Oliver up. Her eyes touch upon Oliver’s bruised knuckles but she makes no comment of it. “Taiana signed a contract, she’s legally bound by it, and she owes me money. I thought you of all people would understand that. And why do you suddenly care about her?”
Oliver ignores her question because he’s too busy fuming in anger. He fucking hates her. She’s so selfish and disgusting. Isabel preys on innocent, lonely girls like Taiana and doesn’t give a thought to what might happen to them if someone like Oliver isn’t around to help them.
Oliver’s walking on a fine line here, but damn it, he can’t let this go. Taiana can’t stay as an escort – it’s too dangerous for her, and he vowed to get Taiana out of this business. He already plans to have Taiana become an employee at Jitters, but if she’s not allowed to leave Isabel’s grasp, then it’ll be next to impossible to get Taiana a legal job elsewhere.
But he has to try.
Read more on Ao3, FF or continue on Tumblr
“Being an escort is illegal. Shouldn’t it make her contract not legally binding, then?”
If looks could kill, Isabel’s would’ve definitely blown Oliver to smithereens. Her eyes form into narrow slits and any trace of warmth she had left in her cold, black soul disappears. She doesn’t move a single muscle as she does so, and the simple action makes her more terrifying than usual. Swallowing thickly, Oliver does his best to stand a little taller and not let Isabel’s icy stare freeze his insides.
“Thomas, if I didn’t know any better I would’ve thought you were a lawyer.” She humorlessly chuckles to herself, as if it would be impossible to imagine Oliver as one. “But seeing as you’re not and taking into account you’re my employee,” Isabel hisses, “you don’t get to question my decisions.”
When Oliver was younger, fighting against authority figures was his way of passing time. It was so easy for him to rile up his parents, teachers, even cops. He enjoyed pushing people past their limit – he wanted to see if they would break, and in return, break him. It was a game meant to satisfy his craving for something dangerous. Of course, it never happened and Oliver continued to live out his life free of any consequences.
But right now, seeing Isabel’s fury brimming just under the surface is a frightening sight for him. He never imagined what it would feel to have someone powerful – someone who could truly hurt him – threaten him, but today he’s gotten his first glimpse of it. And he’s not sure if he wants to play this game anymore.
“I know all there is to know about you, Thomas. Don’t push it.”
His breath catches in his throat while his heart beats thunderously beneath his chest as a tiny, satisfied smirk begins to form on her thin, villainous lips. Oliver starts to wonder if Isabel’s done her research on him but whether or not she’s bluffing doesn’t matter – her confidence shakes Oliver to the core.
Having Isabel as an enemy isn’t a good idea, and if this were yesterday he would’ve apologized immediately but back in his apartment there’s a young girl terrified of going back out as an escort, and he promised himself he would get her out of it.
Oliver’s given up on a lot of things and this won’t be one of them.
Clearing his throat, Oliver does his best to appear apologetic. “I … I won’t bother you again.”
“Good,” Isabel responds curtly. “And I don’t want you to ever disrupt another meeting of mine. Got it?”
She’s got a smug look on her face, and it takes every ounce of strength to stop himself from breaking Isabel in half. “Yeah.”
Satisfied, Isabel swiftly returns her attention back to her books. As he watches her calmly crunch numbers, Oliver feels a hint of a panic hit him, but of a different kind – the one where he knows he’s going to do something stupid, and that it might fail, but there’s no stopping. For once in his life, Oliver actually intends to take something into his own hands.
And destroying Isabel seems to be a good place to start.
~/~
The clock reads fifteen past ten in the morning but to Felicity it feels like it’s well into the afternoon. Her eyes burn with lack of sleep and overall exhaustion, and the only way to function is to drink copious amounts of coffee. She’s well aware of how addicted she is, but until Caitlin or anyone else can find something which will give her a nine hour energy boost, coffee it is.
(Maybe it should be called Velocity 9. The name alone would convince Felicity to buy a twelve pack in an instant.)
Sighing, she leaves her office and heads straight to the kitchen. Since her office is nearby the main conference room, Felicity likes to take a peek as to what’s transpiring in there. Typically it’s empty, but sometimes senior managers meet once in awhile to discuss their projects. Other than that the room is rarely used and collects dust as everyone else goes about their daily business.
But today is a little different – Brian, her boss, and the director of Kord Industries’ R&D are in the conference room with Hartley. They’re all smiling and laughing at something, and she’s suddenly hit with a feeling of intense dread. Her stomach churns and her throat closes up, because the director of R&D never ventures into the IT department.
Something’s up and it makes Felicity beyond nervous to see everyone act friendly with each other. Hartley’s a simple researcher – how is it possible he’s having a meeting with such important people?
Her stomach still churning, Felicity continues to walk towards the kitchen but she’s suddenly not in the mood for coffee. She’s about to turn away when she spots Caitlin and the IT Department’s secretary, Jerry, talking by the counter. Caitlin notices Felicity and beckons her to come over and despite the fact she has to know what’s going on Felicity reluctantly joins.
“Hey, do you guys know why Hartley’s speaking with Brian in the conference room?” Felicity inquires.
This appears to be news for Caitlin since her eyes immediately go round, but Jerry seems to have known beforehand as he nods solemnly. “Mr. Schaeffer’s secretary called me up today to block off time in the conference room.”
Felicity’s heart beats loudly beneath her chest as she prepares herself to ask Jerry the most important question of all. “Do you know why?”
Glancing out the hallway then between her coworkers, he leans forward and says low, “He’s being offered the Senior IT Consultant position. If it were up to me, I would’ve fired him a long time ago.”
A sudden wave of nausea hits Felicity as her stomach drops to the floor and her head spins in circles. She can hear the blood thunderously pump inside her ears – she’s briefly aware of Caitlin asking Jerry for more details, but Felicity can’t bother to stand here for another minute. She has to leave. Now.
Pushing past the two, Felicity runs straight back to her office, making sure to avoid looking at the conference room. Her heart beating wildly and not caring about office etiquette, Felicity slams her door shut and stops in the middle of her office. Her body can’t handle the onslaught of emotions – her legs are shaking and she feels like she might throw up.
With an unsteady breath, Felicity sits down in the nearest chair and tries to control her panicked state. Taking in another breath, she attempts to rein in her emotions and assess what just transpired. It appears, of all people, Hartley Rathaway was offered the Senior IT Consultant position at Kord Industries. And based on what she saw on her way to the kitchen, it looks like he accepted the offer.
What. The. Frack.
Hartley’s been working for the same amount of time Felicity’s been at Kord, yet he’s been given the job Felicity’s been working towards ever since she got there. He’s an entitled asshole who barely spends time in the IT department – no one likes him, not even anyone in R&D. How did he get this offer when Felicity’s worked overtime, spent her weekends working and slaving over every detail to make sure it’s perfect?
But she already knows the answer: Felicity’s a woman and women don’t get to move up in the business world.
All of a sudden Felicity’s nausea and dizziness subsidizes, and she sees red everywhere. Her skin burns with adrenaline and anger, and she has the urge to knock over everything on her desk.
Except she doesn’t.
Instead, Felicity swiftly heads over to her desk and grabs her cell phone, immediately scrolling through her call log and searching for the person who could make this a thousand times better. Her hand shaking, Felicity almost dials Ray’s number before stopping and second-guessing herself.
She has no doubt she’ll have a conversation with Brian about why Hartley was hired as opposed to her, and Felicity imagines a scenario in which she tells him to fuck off and burns the whole building down (after escorting out innocent people who had nothing to do with this situation, of course). But no matter what Brian says, Felicity knows she was overlooked because she’s a woman, and the thought alone boils her blood. Felicity can’t possibly stay at a company where she’s treated like a second-class citizen and looked over for any senior position she’s clearly qualified for. Kord Industries should be begging on their knees to keep someone like Felicity in their company, but it seems they could care less about having a certified genius and dedicated worker around.
Yet, calling Ray up and asking for a position at Palmer Tech will mean she’ll move to Star City and leave her life behind in Chicago. And Felicity loves Chicago – she loves the food, the people, the Midwestern charm mixed in with an aggressive city attitude, the stunning architecture and her friends. In the past three years Chicago has become her home, and Felicity doesn’t want to let it go.
Or maybe she doesn’t want to let go of someone.
***
“Well … This is new.”
His client, Clare, laughs and shakes her head. “Am I supposed to be proud I’m your first client to not orgasm and tell you to stop?”
Oliver can sense she’s a little self-conscious right now and quickly tries to remedy the situation. “You’re not the first client to not orgasm on the first try. You’re not alone.”
“But I feel like it.” Clare buries her face in her hands and groans loudly. “I love sex! Or at least I used to. Why is this happening?”
Two weeks ago Oliver got an appointment request by Clare and thought nothing of it. It wasn’t until he met her today he realized A) this appointment was set up by her husband, and B) she was a lot more complicated than she appeared. Her appointment is supposed to last an hour plus extra thirty minutes if need be, but thirty minutes into this session and she’s ready to give up.
Oliver’s not fazed – he’s had clients who would have to dump a gallon of lube in order to make things smoother, and he’s had clients who never even knew what an actual orgasm felt like. Clare’s story isn’t unique, and unfortunately it’s a common problem among women.
Currently, they’re sitting on opposite sides of the bed completely naked. Clare doesn’t seem the least bit awkward right now, for which Oliver is grateful – he doesn’t get very many clients who are comfortable with their bodies. “Maybe after having my first kid my body decided orgasming wasn’t a thing.”
Oliver suspected Clare had just given birth considering the stretch marks and the scar on her abdomen, but he didn’t ask her in fear of being insensitive. “That’s not possible – it’s got to be something else. Kids don’t just –”
“Kill your sex drive? You’d be surprised. Wait till you have to wake up every two hours at night to get them to stop crying.”
He laughs tiredly and tries to mask how disinterested he is in this appointment. Although Clare is much more tolerable than his other clients, he can’t stop thinking about Taiana going back to prostitution, and his bruised knuckles reminding him of last night’s events. Typically he’s willing to solve a conundrum like this but he’s not in the mood. Still, Clare came to him for a specific reason and he doesn’t want to let her down.
“Have you been stressed?”
She shakes her head. “Ever since I had my daughter I stopped going to work, so I have nothing else to worry about besides her.” Fiddling with the blanket she adds, “My husband and I are in a good place – obviously, since he suggested I come to you – and financially we’re doing fine. I really don’t know what the issue is.”
Perplexed by this enigma, Oliver searches his brain for any kind of solution. “Have you tried role playing?”
Clare looks at him curiously before bursting into a fit of giggles. “Like Fifty Shades of Grey? No thanks!”
The mere mention of that horrid book almost causes Oliver to almost vomit, but he manages to hold it in. “Fifty Shades isn’t what I had in mind. Although …”
Come to think of it, maybe Clare is having a hard time orgasming because she’s not being stimulated in the right way. In the thirty minutes they were having sex, they tried various positions but none of them did anything for her. No doubt she was aroused, but it wasn’t enough to send her over the edge.
But what if she has a fetish she doesn’t know about? Often times, people don’t venture into these avenues because of the stigma attached to it.
“Have you tried BDSM?”
“BDSM?” Her eyebrows furrow in concentration. “I mean, the closest we get to that is when we do doggy style and the like …”
Shaking his head, Oliver tries to rephrase his question to make it more understandable. “When I say BDSM, I mean tying you – or your husband – down, spanking, things like that.”
“Oh.”
Clare cheeks redden slightly and Oliver assumes she’s probably thought about it but felt embarrassed voicing her desires. What a shame.
“I don’t think I’m comfortable with that. And I’m a feminist. Spanking is – no.”
Oliver bites the inside of his cheek to hold back a smirk. “You can be a feminist and still enjoy spanking. The two aren’t mutually exclusive.”
Sighing with exasperation, Clare shrugs and rubs the nape of her neck. “I … I don’t know, it feels a little degrading.”
“I get it.” It’s painfully obvious Clare wants to venture into the world of BDSM, but she’s too shy to step into the rabbit hole. If Clare voiced a desire to try BDSM, Oliver would’ve canceled the appointment and referred her to Emerald’s seasoned BDSM experts. Instead, it seems Oliver will have to coax it out of her until she feels comfortable admitting it’s what she wants. He knows he’s not entirely qualified to give Clare an entire BDSM experience, but he feels he can handle a little precursor to the world of BDSM.
“We could start small – nothing too intense like actual BDSM.” He hopes this suggestion will make Clare less uncomfortable.
Contemplating for a moment, Clare shakes her head and looks down on the bed. “I’d probably laugh the whole time or something.” Glancing down at the bed, Clare mumbles, “Maybe you could be a …”
He’s straining his ears at this point, and once she trails off Oliver clicks his tongue in annoyance. “Now’s not the time to be shy – I’ve had a lot of odd requests. Trust me when I say nothing will faze me,” he assures her.
Taking a deep breath, Clare takes a moment to compose herself while Oliver waits in anticipation. “Could you be a little … rough? Just, you know, hair pulling and ordering me around …”
Now that is certainly the tamest request he’s ever had. “Yeah. Anything you want.” Oliver shifts on the bed and asks, “Do you have anything you don’t want to do? I think it would be good if you made a list of what you want and don’t want.”
Clare’s eyes widen then she shrugs. “I guess … no crazy stuff? I don’t know. I don’t want anything that’ll make me gag or leave me with bruises.”
“Right – so no hard kinks,” Oliver clarifies. She simply nods, as if she’s a student in math class who’s slightly confused, but after reviewing notes she’ll catch up soon. “I can work with that.”
“OK.”
There’s an awkward pause and Oliver can tell Clare’s getting nervous. He knows she won’t initiate anything, so he takes it upon himself to do so.
Getting into the right mindset, Oliver seductively leans forward and gazes into Clare’s eyes, imitating a form of lust only films can conjure. He notices Clare’s a bit intrigued but still on edge – he’ll fix that soon enough. Bringing a hand up to her cheek, Oliver cups her face and gently beckons her forward. Kissing her lightly, Oliver lets Clare lower her guard before biting down onto her lower lip just enough to give her a pause.
Pulling back, Clare seems slightly affronted but there’s a spark in her eyes, and they shine with curiosity. Grinning, Oliver goes to kiss her once more, but she pulls back again with a glint in her eye.
It appears Clare wants a challenge. And he’ll give that to her.
With his hand still cupping her face, Oliver drags it down a little lower and tucks his fingers beneath her jaw and earlobe, while gently massaging the nape of her neck with his remaining four fingers. Clare’s eyes flutter for a moment, her guard once again lowering, but Oliver has other plans. Clare gasps as Oliver yanks her head towards him and crushes her mouth against his, punishing her mouth in all the ways he can think of.
Moaning loudly, Clare’s hands come up to wrap around his broad shoulders but he doesn’t let her. Still kissing her, Oliver let goes of her face and traps her hands, preventing them from moving anywhere.
Needing some air, Oliver pulls back and breathes harshly, but he doesn’t miss Clare’s eyes glossing over and blackening as her arousal increases. There’s a fire burning in Oliver too – he can feel some sort of tension coiling up inside of him, begging to be let out.
Taking one last look at Clare’s and letting go of her hands, he hoarsely orders, “Lie on your stomach.”
She hesitates for a split second, but as Oliver narrows his eyes and silently commands her to obey him, Clare gets the hint and slowly rolls over. Positioning himself behind her, Oliver gets a nice view of her backside – he can tell she’s working on getting back to her former shape pre-baby.
Leaning forward, Oliver goes to kiss her shoulders but ends up gently biting her – Clare gasps but holds still, while her hands clench the pillows in front of her. Smiling to himself, Oliver gently laps at the area of impact before moving to the other shoulder. From the way Clare’s shoulder’s have tensed, Oliver can tell she assumes he’ll bite her there, but he doesn’t want to give her the satisfaction of knowing what’s coming next.
Instead, he grabs a fistful of hair and slightly yanks her head back, watching as Clare’s lovely neck becomes elongated and practically begging to be kissed. Clare lets out a tiny yelp, but he swallows it by leaning over and kissing her unashamedly. She’s not the best kisser but she’s a fast learner – pretty soon, Oliver’s starting to enjoy making out with her and hums his approval.
He abruptly pulls back, leaving Clare breathless and wondering what he’s going to do now. Craning her neck to the side, Clare tries to get a better glimpse but Oliver clicks his tongue.
“No peeking.”
“But –”
“And no talking.”
Clare seems a little taken aback, as if she’s not used to people ordering her around. Figures – she’s a socialite with a daddy who owns half of Chicago. (Naturally, Oliver did his research on her.) Having a prostitute tell her what she can and can’t do might be throwing her off balance.
But he doesn’t care. He has a job to do.
Swallowing her pride, Clare turns her head back around and Oliver goes to lift her ass up to him. She willingly obliges – maybe too much – but it lets him know she’s enjoying this moment.
She’s soaking wet at this point, but Oliver has to stimulate her more and needs her begging before he’ll give her what she’ll want. Palming her ass, Oliver kneads it for a moment then dips his fingers between her folds. Moaning wantonly, Clare practically sinks into the bed and lets Oliver’s fingers fuck her in any way he wants. He goes slow at first, focused on getting her comfortable and finding all the ways she likes to be touched. His fingers gently brush over her clit and she pushes back against him, but the action causes him to abruptly remove his fingers out.
Clare clicks her tongue in annoyance and she turns her neck to see why Oliver stopped. Shaking his head, Oliver leans back and leaves a large amount of distance between them. “What did I say about peeking?”
Huffing in annoyance, Clare turns her head back around and settles onto the bed. Although she’s not used to people ordering her, Oliver notices a rosy flush beginning to form on the apples of her cheeks and her pupils dilating more with each passing second. If Clare wasn’t able to orgasm before, she certainly is now.
Seeing how willing she is, Oliver decides to up the ante. “I want to add one more thing on the list of things you can’t do: moving around.”
Clare immediately moves her neck to possibly roll her eyes at him but stops short of doing so. Good girl. He can see her steeling her resolve and trying to come to terms with the fact that she’s enjoying the hell out of being ordered around. Some people have kinks they otherwise wouldn’t dare explore, and Clare’s one of them. Today is her lucky day, Oliver muses.
Once she’s settled into her respective role, Oliver comes near her and leans forward, putting his mouth close to her ear. She shivers at the contact, and Oliver almost laughs at how easily he’s able to make her into a puddle of obedience. “Remember: no peeking, no talking and definitely no moving.”
She then steadies herself, positioning her body so that Oliver can take her from behind as smoothly as he can. He stalls for a moment, waiting to see if she’ll turn impatient and ruin this whole thing. Instead, she surprises him by keeping still and biting her tongue back.
Slowly, Oliver sinks into her even though she’s been introduced to his size before – he just wants to see how she’ll react to his excruciatingly slow process. His hard-on is beginning to be an issue as well, since he just had to take Viagra, and he wants to get this appointment over with so he can relieve all the pressure.
Oliver quickly builds up the pace, grabbing onto Clare’s hips and slamming into her without a care in the world. His pelvis slaps against her bum, and the sound of it mixed in with the heady smell of sex spurs him on. Clare doesn’t move an inch, look over her shoulder or speak, but he sees her fisting the pillows in front of her and can hear her holding back her cries of pleasure.
As Oliver builds up a furious tempo, Clare suddenly says, “Wait.”
Breathless, Oliver stops immediately and worries he might have been too vigorous in his fucking. “Something wrong?” If he accidentally hurt Clare or displeased her, there’s a chance she could tell Isabel, and Isabel doesn’t take bad reviews too lightly.
“No, no I – actually … Can you…”
“Yeah?” As much as Clare has been a better client (compared to many others), his patience is kind of wearing thin. And he knows it’s his job to be as attentive as possible, but right now he’s got so many other things on his mind – Taiana, Isabel’s wrath, and even Felicity blowing him off every chance she gets. Clare’s orgasm problems and her indecisiveness aren’t making matters any better.
Craning her neck to the side, she breaks another one of Oliver’s rules and softly whispers, “I changed my mind.” Oliver stays put, unsure if he should pull out or wait till she explains the situation further.
Swallowing thickly, Clare takes a deep breath and Oliver anticipates what comes out of her mouth next. “Can you … spank me?”
That was expected. “Sure, I can do it.”
“But – but don’t go right to it, if you know what I mean.”
Clare’s facing the headboard back again, but Oliver can tell she’s psyching herself up for his upcoming punishment. But he understands what she wants – a gentle precursor to the world of spanking.
“Gotcha.”
Still inside of her, Oliver pulls out and immediately begins to knead her bum. He debates whether or not he should continue order her around, but since she hasn’t said otherwise he’ll do what she previous asked. Maybe he’ll throw in some dirty talk.
“You’ve been a bad girl, haven’t you?” Still massaging her ass, Oliver tries not to snort at his horrible dirty talk and attempts to control himself. He’s really bad at it, but considering Clare hasn’t said anything maybe she does enjoy it.
“You can nod if you want.” Clare nods vigorously, and her silent answer is all he needs to know in order to continue this appointment.
“Good girl,” he cooes as he continues to knead her ass. Clare’s still bracing for impact as her muscles are naturally tense, and he knows she won’t loosen up anytime soon. Lifting his hand from her ass, Oliver puts all the pressure on his fingertips and smacks her, knowing the impact won’t be too hard on her.
As a reflex, Clare gives a tiny gasp and moves away from him, but Oliver grabs her hips to hold her still. “What did I say about moving?”
Forgetting about Oliver’s rules, Clare scoffs loudly and almost says something before realizing she made a very big mistake. Oliver doesn’t hesitate – his palm forcefully connects to her ass and the sound pierces the air. His hand stings from the attack, but he can only imagine what Clare feels like. Her ass has a big, red imprint of his hand, and she’s tensed up a lot more now. Oliver worries he was too harsh on her, but she surprises him when she doesn’t say a word and slightly pushes her bum back, silently begging for more. Clare doesn’t respond or move a muscle, but the slickness coating her inner thighs lets Oliver know this is exactly what she needed the entire time. And if she handle this much, she can handle more.
“And that’s what happens when you break the rules. So next time control yourself.”
He goes on to play with her folds, teasing her just enough to make her relaxed once again, then abruptly spanking her, his hand stinging from the impact. Clare holds on tight and doesn’t move an inch. “Atta girl.” Leaning forward, Oliver comes up to her ear once more and whispers, “If you’re a good girl maybe I’ll let you come. And trust me, after I’m done with you … you will.”
Clare closes her eyes in lust and at the idea of finally getting a chance to orgasm; meanwhile Oliver’s excited at the prospect of getting this appointment over with. Bringing up his hand again, Oliver smacks her bum, harder than last time, and Clare takes in like the champ she is.
One spank turns into three, and something begins to stir inside Oliver. He’s feeling anxious, angry and confused all rolled into one horribly shaped emotion ball. He’s barely able to keep it in. His vision narrows and he’s only focused on his turbulent emotions and his hand connecting with Clare’s ass like a well-oiled machine.
Tianna lying underneath the man with her clothes ripped of …
Smack!
Isabel’s satanic face …
Smack!
Felicity blowing him off …
Smack!
Not being good enough for Felicity, his sister and parents …
Smack!
Being a complete failure and a prostitute …
Smack, smack, smack –
“Ow!”
Oliver’s hand stops midair, frozen in time and space. It takes him a moment to register what he’s done, but once Clare’s word sinks in and he sees her bum completely red from his hands, he thinks he might vomit.
Breaking from his trance, Oliver crumbles and hurriedly tries to create some distance between them. A rush of adrenaline hits him and he can’t even see straight. His heart beats erratically and the full realization of what he’s done hits him like a ton of bricks.
“I – I’m sorry, I shouldn’t –”
Shit! There’s no way to ignore this – he genuinely lost control in the middle of an appointment. His vision blurs and he shakes his head as he tries to reconcile with what he did. As bile moves its way up to his throat, Oliver can’t believe he injured a client when he explicitly knows he shouldn’t have done that. And to make matters worse, he genuinely forgot to ask Clare for a safe word.
What’s wrong with him? Oliver’s a professional – he’s supposed to be better than this. Spiraling out of control during an appointment is unbecoming of him. It shows he’s not strong enough to keep his emotions in check, and the realization makes him dizzy with frustration. Mentally kicking himself on the head, Oliver’s self-loathing reaches at an alltime high – being an escort is the easiest job in the world and he can’t even do that.
With shaky legs, Oliver unsteadily stands up and closes his eyes in disgust. He’s the epitome of the word pathetic, and he can’t stay here a minute longer.
“Wait – I still want –” Clare turns around and her eyes go wide once she sees Oliver gathering his clothes. “What are you doing?”
“I should leave.” Refusing to look at her and with trembling hands, Oliver tries to put on his clothes as fast as he can.
“Thomas, wait.” Clare sits up on the bed and beckons him over. “That wasn’t –”
“Clare, I’m sorry but I – I should really go.” He’s put on all of his clothes now and swiftly checks to see if he’s left anything else behind. His legs are still unsteady and he’s unsure if he’ll be able to make it out of the door.
“What the hell …” Clare throws her hands in the air and angrily asks, “Can’t you tell me what went wrong?”
Taking a deep breath, Oliver gathers enough courage to look at Clare for a split second. “Look, I won’t charge you for this.”
“I don’t care about that.”
Oliver takes a peek and sees that her arms are folded, while she peers at Oliver with equal parts concern and annoyance. He wishes he could tell her what went wrong, to even how he’s fucked up his life, but he can’t. No one wants to hear a prostitute tell their sob story, especially not after he hurt them.
Taking one last look at Clare, he mumbles “I’m … sorry” and opens the door to leave, ignoring Clare’s protests as he hangs his head in shame.
~/~
It’s been nearly a month since Felicity’s seen Oliver in person, and she hopes tonight’s movie night will make up for her absence. Although they text, it’s not enough to fill the void of not seeing him in month. She hopes he doesn’t think she was blowing him off, which can’t be further from the truth. Tonight is going to be all about getting back together like old times, and she wants it to be as perfect as it can be.
Unfortunately, she’s been in a horrible mood since she found out Hartley got promoted instead of her, and no amount of candy, wine and food will calm her down. Hopefully Oliver’s presence and a lighthearted film will do the trick.
As Felicity sets up the food, she ponders whether or not she should take Ray’s offer for a position at Palmer Tech. Moving to Star City will naturally give her a better job and overall atmosphere than at Kord, but it will put her a short plane ride away from her mother and Felicity can’t possibly have that. And most of all, she’ll be leaving behind her friends, this lovely city and Oliver. But is staying in Chicago for friends and good food worth it when she could have a lifetime of opportunities at Star City?
She doesn’t want to be the kind of girl who sits around for an opportunity to fall on her lap while hundreds go by her, but for some reason she can’t shake this off. Felicity had never intended on becoming a chief officer – she thought becoming senior manager or director would satisfy her until she retired. But this is uncharted territory for Felicity and she doesn’t even know where to begin. The amount of money and exposure she’ll get from becoming CTO will be astronomical, and she’ll actually get a chance to make a real difference.
What Felicity really needs is a definitive answer from the person who matters to her most, because she ultimately wants someone to tell her what to do. However, she has to keep in mind what she wants may not be the best thing for her. Maybe what she needs is a change of scenery, coworkers and a job title that’ll allow her to change the world.
A loud knock interrupts her thoughts and excited at the prospect of seeing Oliver, she happily opens the door, but her cheery mood is shot to hell after seeing Oliver’s uninterested expression.
Well … This is odd.
He looks dashing, of course, with a leather jacket and white shirt underneath, but she can tell something’s off. His eyes are not as warm as they used to be and his lips are in a thin, neutral line as opposed to a smile. Upon seeing Felicity, he feigns happiness by giving her a tight smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.
In order to dispel whatever tension there seems to be, Felicity gives him a warm smile and greets, “Hey! How are you?”
Oliver’s face goes from indifferent to slightly less indifferent, and at this point Felicity’s beyond confused as to why he’s behaving this way. “Hey. I’m good,” he says gruffly, as his eyes wander inside the apartment. “Mind if I come in?”
He doesn’t waste time, does he? “Uh – nope, not at all. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” Felicity attempts to joke. The joke does nothing to alleviate Oliver’s cool attitude towards her – he simply gives another fake smile and pretends it’s the most normal thing in the world.
Counting backwards from three, Felicity takes a deep breath and tries not to blow up on Oliver. Ever since this morning’s events she’s been walking on pins and needles. She graciously invited him to her apartment – the least he could do is act excited about it.
Once Felicity shuts the door behind him, she quickly walks over to the kitchen counter and points to all the food. “I don’t think we’ve had Korean yet, so I bought a whole bunch in case you didn’t like a particular dish.” She smiles again and adds, “Obviously I’m not a cultured or adventurous eater, so you’ll have to tell me if something is worth trying.”
Oliver simply nods and Felicity can practically feel the disinterest roll off of him in waves. Why does he have to act like this? They haven’t seen each other in so long, and he’s ruining their get together – again – due to his moody attitude.
Felicity soldiers on while she tries to ignore his horrible behavior.
“So anyway, I have major news to tell you.”
“Oh yeah?”
It seems like his interest has piqued, and Felicity takes it as a good sign that his cold demeanor is slowly thawing. “But it’s not good news.”
“Oh. Yikes,” he deadpans. He sits on one of the dining chairs and opens a bottle of water, waiting for Felicity to explain. He might as well put on headphones and tune her out, and it takes every bit of strength to not roll her eyes at him.
“Hartley got promoted as a Senior Consultant.”
Immediately, his nonchalant façade breaks and eyes go wide with shock. “What the hell?”
“Right?” Felicity happily sits leans against the counter, because now she feels like they’ve reached a common ground – that ground being their mutual hatred against Hartley. And on the plus side, she now has a chance to vent.
“I saw him, my manager and the director of R&D talking in the conference room, and after I asked around I found out the truth. It’s almost as bad of a twist as Ned Stark dying.”
Well, that’s debatable.
Oliver blows out a breath. “What are you going to do?”
There it is: the moment of truth. She considers telling Oliver about her plan, but she needs to know what he thinks of it. In some weird way, Felicity feels as if she needs his approval before joining Palmer Tech. Whether it’s due to his odd (unknown) feelings towards Ray or how much she’s come to rely on Oliver for everything, Felicity feels she can’t make a proper decision until she hears what he has to say.
Taking a deep breath, Felicity looks at Oliver square in the eye and steadies herself. “I was thinking about taking the job offer from Palmer Tech.”
That does it – the atmosphere shifts from slightly normal to downright unbearable, and Felicity’s positive this night is completely ruined. Instead of being happy for her, Oliver’s face pales and his eyes narrow in contemplation, while Felicity’s heart beats thunderously beneath her chest. Swallowing thickly, Felicity holds her guns steady and does her best not to let Oliver’s response – or lack thereof – upset her.
After a tense few seconds, Oliver finally opens his mouth and asks, “Why?”
The real question is why wouldn’t she consider taking Ray’s offer? She was looked over for a senior position at a job she’s given so much to, and he’s actually wondering why she’s thinking about getting a job – a job she doesn’t have to apply for – at Palmer Tech? Ray said she could have any position she wanted, even CTO, which is more than she can ask for. His offer is astronomically better than what Kord Industries’ is giving her, which in case Oliver forgot, happens to be nothing.
Scoffing, Felicity shakes her head in disbelief. “Don’t you remember Ray offering me any position at Palmer Tech?”
“Right. I … forgot.” Oliver simply nods and takes a sip from the water bottle, acting as if he would rather watch the paint dry than hear about Felicity’s prospects and work drama.
She’s getting pretty frustrated now. It’s as if she has to defend why she would go to Palmer Tech, never mind the fact that Palmer Tech is one of the most profitable companies out there with amazing benefits packages. Furthermore, Palmer Tech strives to be a leader in affordable green technology, philanthropy, and helping the American economy by making its products in the States. They’re a socially conscious company, and Felicity’s values fall right in line with Palmer Tech. The company would be a perfect fit for her, but it seems Oliver feels she doesn’t deserve to be there.
Lifting up her chin, Felicity unintentionally slips, “Ray even said he would personally make a public bid to the Board of Directors in order for me to get a chief officer position.”
Frack – she hadn’t meant to let that spill. Although she and Ray have lessened their talking and unofficial dates, they still chat from time to time. After hearing about how wonderful Palmer Tech is – and based off what she’s read online – it seems like Palmer Tech might be the place for her. Plus, if he can convince everyone to let her on board, she might as well.
“You’ve been talking to him a lot, haven’t you?”
Where did that come from?
A lump forms in her throat, preventing her from breathing normally, and her heartbeat increases tenfold. Her mind doesn’t want to overthink what he just said … except it can only mean one thing: he’s jealous of her and Ray talking.
The realization makes her head spin in circles, and her brain tries very hard to justify this doesn’t necessarily mean he has feelings for her. But maybe he does – maybe he’s not happy with her possibly going to Palmer Tech because that would mean she’d have to move. And –
No. She can’t get into such dangerous territory. If – and that’s a big if – Oliver likes her, so what? She’s not going to put her life on standby for Oliver who has yet to express any interest in her. It’s entirely possible Oliver’s upset with her talking to Ray because he thinks she’s been blowing him off for Ray, which is clearly not the case (well, except for one time).
Although, she has thought about what would happen if they were actually boyfriend and girlfriend. She has no doubt he would spoil her with his amazing food and random gifts, and since they’ve been friends for a few months they’re past the phase of getting to know one another. Yet, she doesn’t know a lick about Oliver and would wager he wouldn’t open up even if they got together. Not to mention, Oliver’s a prostitute and Felicity’s not comfortable with telling Oliver to quit his livelihood because she can’t handle sharing him. And that’s a problem for her – relationships are built on communication, honesty and trust.
Their friendship is already on fragile grounds, and forcing a relationship built on lies would surely make things worse. And Felicity can’t begin to imagine how she would introduce Oliver to mother and friends. There’s a reason why Felicity hasn’t told anyone Oliver’s her friend, because she knows their friendship wouldn’t go too well with people in the real world. What they have is unique and weird – unfortunately she knows their tentative friendship won’t be able to handle what real life will throw at them.
Besides, they’re on completely opposite spectrums – while Felicity’s life continues to move forward because she hustles every day, Oliver’s stays stagnant and it’s entirely due to his own volition. Being in a relationship would undoubtedly fail due to their conflicting personalities, as well as their varying future personal and career goals.
And Felicity has to wonder whether these feelings she’s been repressing for awhile are a product of her slowly falling in love with Oliver, or Felicity simply projecting what she wants in a relationship into a friendship.
She realizes now she’s been holding back on Ray’s offer because she’s been hoping Oliver liked her, and not in the platonic way. Felicity liked the idea of she and Oliver, but reality is much different. Unfortunately, pursuing a relationship with him will only make things worse, and more importantly, all the seeds Felicity planted many years ago are finally taking hold – at this point, she would be incredibly stupid to not take Ray’s offer for a potentially tumultuous relationship.
With a heavy heart, Felicity decides once and for all to join Ray at Palmer Tech and leave Chicago, Oliver and everyone else, behind.
It physically pains her to put her friendship aside for her career. Her friendship with Oliver has given her something to look forward to every Sunday and Wednesday, and she doesn’t want to be the kind of person to ruin relationships for the sake of money and a job title. But she has to admit – it’s holding her back from making an important decision, and she has to do what’s best for her, even if it hurts herself and others in the process.
She still needs time to process her decision and let Ray know she plans on leaving Kord Industries for his company, so in the meantime she won’t tell Oliver until things are final. And considering how awful his attitude been since he got here, she definitely doesn’t plan on telling him anything right now.
Focusing back on the matter at hand, Felicity finally says, “Yeah, we have been.”
He looks mildly interested in her answer, but it disappears under a cool expression. “Well, I hope he’s not offering to support you in front of the Board because you two are dating.”
A chill runs down her spine – not in fear, but in anger and complete shock. She feels like she’s had her throat punched, thrown off a building and taken an arrow to the knee. Her breathing rapidly increases, and she fears she won’t be able to handle the torrent of emotions overtaking her.
That was extremely uncalled for. She’s hurt and livid, and she can feel a bead of sweat break on her forehead due to the heat emanating off of her. How dare he insinuate she only got an offer because Ray’s sweet on her, or worse, because he thinks she and Ray have been sleeping together? Oliver knows how hard she’s worked to get where she’s at – she’s never begged, thrown someone under the bus or taken an easier path, and she doesn’t plan to for the foreseeable future.
But for Oliver to mention, let alone think, she got this offer because of her relationship with Ray makes her blood boil. Many years ago Felicity vowed to make a name for herself using her wit, hard work ethic and intelligence. After several sleepless nights, heartaches and one blow after another, she’s done exactly that and couldn’t be prouder. What Oliver said is the biggest insult anyone’s ever told her, and for it to come from someone as close as Oliver hurts her deeply.
Making the decision to move to Star City just got a lot easier. And really, screw him for even saying that.
“Why are you being such a jerk?”
Clearly taken aback from her comment, Oliver immediately masks his confusion by clenching his jaw and getting defensive as well.
“I’m not.”
If only Felicity could roll her eyes at the back of her head, she would. He’s lying and they both know it. “Really? You’ve been nothing but standoffish and rude since you got here.”
“I haven’t.”
“Your,” Felicity begins as she waves her towards his general direction, “everything says otherwise.” She’s not letting him off so easy, and her body shakes with agitation mixed in with a dangerous dose of adrenaline.
Oliver scoffs and she can tell he’s getting riled up too. Whatever. “I’m sorry I’m not throwing confetti at you, if that’s what you wanted.”
“Throwing confetti?”
It appears underneath the charm, his niceness and awesome cooking skills, Oliver is a typical privileged douchebag. She can’t believe she wasted all this time with him. As a friend – as someone she’s dedicated everything to – all she wants is Oliver to be happy for her. She doesn’t want or need him to throw a party. He should know that about her. So why does he think Felicity expects him to dance around her apartment singing “Kumbaya?”
“I just want you –”
“I’m – I’m only wondering why someone like you needs someone like Ray to vouch for them to a Board of Directors when you can sleep your way to the CEO’s bed.”
All the air in the room gets sucked out and is replaced by burning hot gas. It prickles her skin, makes her see red, and she knows after what he said they definitely can’t come back from this.
This is their first real fight as friends, but it’s an ugly one and she can tell there are a lot of unsaid things underneath the horrible words. But she’s so fucking angry, and she’s not in the mood to be a mediator and the only sane one in this argument. She’s had enough of men thinking she should sit quietly and let them treat her like a second-class citizen, and Oliver is no different.
“Funny, because I thought it was your job.”
She immediately feels guilty for what she said and she can see the hurt on Oliver’s eyes. There’s a part of her that wants to apologize and end the night on a good note, but she’s been a human volcano since she found out about Hartley, and she’s sick of taking the high road every single time. Oliver needs to know she’s not the kind of person to always let people trample over her without any repercussions.
He opens his mouth to say something – whether it’s to apologize or say another mean comment – but she doesn’t let him.
“I think you should leave, Oliver.”
Folding her arms, Felicity glances down at the ground and does her best to convey that she doesn’t want him here anymore. Tonight has been … too much, and she can’t sit through another second in this toxic environment.
For the first time during the entire night, Oliver’s face shows real emotions rather than being an expressionless mannequin. Leaning forward, he pleads, “Felicity, I didn’t –”
“I know Oliver, but please.”
She’s so tired right now. Even if he’s willing to apologize Felicity needs to process what happened. And although this may be completely horrible, perhaps it’s best if she completely cut ties from Oliver when she moves to Star City. Trying to hold onto something that wasn’t there in the first place simply complicates things. Felicity needs a fresh start, and she’s no stranger to leaving everything behind in a moment’s notice.
Steadying her resolve, Felicity firmly says, “We need some time to cool off.”
It seems like a solid minute before Oliver moves from the chair – she can sense he’s disappointed, but she doesn’t let it get to her. Once he moves, Felicity can’t muster the courage to look at him as he leaves. It hurts knowing how bad things are ending, but she has to do what’s best for her.
The sound of his heavy shoes echo loudly off the walls, and as he nears the door Felicity can feel Oliver looking at her. It takes every bit of strength to not turn around to run to his arms, but she controls herself and straightens her back in steely resolve. This is it.
After a moment, the door slowly opens but she doesn’t hear it close. She stands that way for awhile, staring straight into the kitchen and trying to process the numbness overtaking her. Robotically, Felicity turns around and almost expects Oliver to be standing there like nothing happened, but instead she finds her door firmly shut and Oliver already gone.
And a life without Oliver, which seemed impossible only a few minutes ago, is now a thing of reality.
~/~
Every curse word known to man rings through Oliver’s mind, and yet, it’s still not enough to fully capture what he’s feeling. There’s a mixture of anger, confusion and guilt all wrapped in one uncontrollable emotion ball. His hands shake as he walks down the street, and his vision blurs from rage and the fear of the unknown.
Tonight was an epic disaster, and he doesn’t know how it spiraled out of control so fast.
When he woke up this morning, Oliver had intended to strong-arm Isabel into letting Taiana go and hoped to go along his appointments as if nothing happened. Instead, Isabel showed him her true colors and it put him in a sour mood the rest of the day, which led him to completely ruin an appointment, and now apparently, destroy his friendship with Felicity.
He had been on edge all day – coming to Felicity’s was supposed to be his time to relax and be with a friend he hadn’t seen in forever. Yet, when he opened the door, he couldn’t put up a friendly front when he knew the poor girl hiding in his apartment would have to go back to prostitution. It plagued his mind the entire day, and no amount of good food and company could alleviate his dark thoughts.
Unfortunately, it was a very big mistake to come over to Felicity’s since he wasn’t in the right mindset. When she had told him about her office drama, Oliver couldn’t help but be annoyed by the frivolousness of her drama. Her problems paled in comparison to his. Whether or not she wants to admit it, Felicity’s life is much easier. She’s not walking with her head peering over her shoulder, convinced she’s going to get caught, thrown in jail and have her face smeared in papers. Oliver lives his life like he’s got everything to lose, and it isn’t too far from the truth. He simply can’t relate to her anymore – in fact, he never did. Felicity was his escape into the real world and now it’s not enough.
Things took a turn for the worse when he found out Felicity might be joining Palmer Tech and has been keeping touch with Ray Palmer himself. There’s a large part of Oliver that feels betrayed – the entire time he thought Felicity was too busy with work to hang out with him, when instead she was cozying up to his biggest rival. She ditched him multiple times to be with an egotistical jerk, and Oliver can’t believe she expected him to be all right with the reveal. Not only did Ray take his family’s company, but also took Felicity from his side.
Well, Felicity was never really his property to begin with – she’s her own, strong, independent person, but Oliver resents how smarmy Ray weaseled his way into their friendship and disrupted their delicate balance they spent hours working on. For so long it’s been them and no one else. Oliver liked having just the two of them sitting together, watching movies and talking about silly things. It was light, easy, and gave Oliver something to look forward to.
Finding out about Ray made him inexplicably jealous and angry. He was tossed aside for a better, well-educated, rich version of himself, and Oliver’s deeply hurt by it. After hearing the news, Oliver couldn’t possibly pretend it didn’t affect him at all, when in fact he felt he’d been injected with a drug that magnified every bit of emotional pain he was already feeling.
Then of course, realizing if Felicity actually goes to Star City, it would mean she’d be gone from his life and makes his days lonely and pathetic as they were before he met her. And in his angry, jealous, betrayed, panicked state, Oliver essentially called Felicity a slut, couldn’t put his selfishness aside to be happy for her job prospects, and made the night a thousand times worse.
He could be a major asshole sometimes and tonight was no exception.
Despite what transpired tonight, Oliver does want Felicity to have everything, and that includes a chief officer position at Palmer Tech. He wants her to succeed and become something that’ll reward her for her intellect and all the hard work she’s put into things.
And God, he’s irrevocably in love with her – there’s no denying it. He loves the way she laughs, smiles, cares about other people, how passionate she can be, and how dedicated she is to make the world a better place. He knows when she’s upset she throws herself into work, loves fried food and hates heights. He loves her laugh and how her nose scrunches up in happiness. The world could go permanently dark and he would still be able to recall every inch of her glorious body, down to the last hair.
Loving Felicity made him forget how much he hated himself. But if he loves her that much, he needs to respect her decisions.
He almost turns around to run back to Felicity and apologize, but stops himself short. She had asked him to leave, and the one thing he can do right now is honor her request. He doesn’t want to end the night on a bad note, but he has to process everything that happened tonight. They’re both on edge right now – coming back would certainly make the situation worse.
Groaning in frustration, Oliver stops walking and takes a deep breath to calm himself down. He feels so agitated – his legs are shaking but he feels he could run all along Lake Shore without breaking a sweat. There’s been a fair share of Oliver Queen’s Best Fucked Up Moments, but he knows he’s never fucked up this bad, and he wants to make right as fast as he can. Patience is never his strong suit, but he has to reel himself in for Felicity’s sake.
The buzzing in his pant pocket shakes him out of his dizzying thoughts, for which he’s thankful for. He doesn’t recognize the number but his gut tells him to answer the phone.
“Hello?” His voice cracks, and Oliver clears his throat to mask how tired and defeated he sounds.
“Is this Thomas Jones?”
His heart skips a beat because only a handful of people know his alias, and he doesn’t recognize this person’s voice. Straining his ear, he can tell the person is calling from someplace busy – there are phones ringing, people yelling, and there’s general chaos surrounding them.
It sounds like a hospital. And Oliver’s been to enough to know what an emergency room sounds like.
Without warning, his stomach drops to the floor and his throat closes up, making it harder for him to breathe. He can tell this isn’t a regular social call – something’s very wrong.
Taking a moment to collect himself, Oliver breathes in deeply and tries not to convey how much he’s dreading this conversation. “Speaking.”
“Mr. Jones, this is Kathy speaking from Holy Cross Hospital.” She stops for a second and Oliver can hear some papers rustling. “I’m … very sorry to call you at an hour like this, but your brother is currently in the hospital.”
All the nervousness Oliver was feeling a minute ago suddenly disappears and is replaced by confusion. Oliver tries to think of someone who would know his Emerald alias, and why they would give his number to a hospital staff, but comes up short. Realizing this might be a long conversation, Oliver steps to the side and leans against the wall. The bricks poke through his jacket and gently stab into his shoulder blades, but he welcomes the pain.
“My … brother,” he replies in a half statement and question, hoping it prompts Kathy to tell him who has his number and escort name in the first place.
“Uh – Yeah. Roy Harper.”
No.
Everything Oliver’s been feeling and repressing – from tonight to the last eight years – tumble forth, causing him to crumble right on the sidewalk. His knees buckle beneath him and he tries to steady himself as he lands on the ground, not caring who’s walking past him and how much it hurts to be sitting on a pile of tiny rocks. His throat closes up and for a moment he feels he might vomit, but a chill washes over him and the feeling disappears.
In the back of his mind Oliver’s aware he’s in shock, but he feels separated from this world. His here but not really, much like how his existence is vast but empty. A bout of dizziness hits him, and closing his eyes, Oliver takes several deep breaths to stop it from spiraling out of control.
He can’t go through this again. He can’t live his life knowing he didn’t get Roy out of his bad habits and being directly responsible for his …
The very thought of the word death causes Oliver to dig his nails into his palms, and a series of images flash through his mind – his father’s dead and cold body, rotting two weeks after being halfway around the word, and his mother’s, lying on her back with arms wide open like a disgraced angel redeeming herself in the end.
Roy wasn’t supposed to turn out like this – he was supposed to be better and be alive. And it’s entirely Oliver’s fault.
He’s vaguely aware of the person asking if he’s on the line, and as he slowly comes back to his senses Oliver manages to croak out, “Y-yes.”
“Mr. Jones, I really do apologize for how I started the conversation, but you’re listed as his brother on his emergency contact information card found in his wallet –”
A flash of anxiousness hits him and he can’t bear the thought of having to listen to her talk. He needs to know now. “Yeah – I – how – ”
“He overdosed, Mr. Jones. “
Please… Why couldn’t it have been anything but that?
All Oliver can do is bow his head down in guilt and desperately try to hold his tears back. Ordering Roy around, lecturing and eventually shaming him for his behavior did absolutely nothing. Oliver should’ve kept Roy at his apartment, where he could keep an eye on him and prevent him from seeking out drugs that wouldn’t be readily available in Oliver’s neighborhood. If only Oliver had done more to save Roy from this fate, he would still be alive.
“But thankfully he was found in time. Your brother is a lucky man, Mr. Jones.”
Roy’s alive. He’s not dead.
He repeats the mantra over and over again until it sinks into him that Roy’s is breathing and living. Once it does, the sheer amount of joy Oliver feels is immeasurable, and choking back a sob, Oliver buries his face in his hands to succumb himself to the feeling. His phone falls and shatters on the ground, but Oliver’s only aware of his chest nearly bursting from relief.
Life has a funny way of reminding people what’s at stake. And if tonight is any indication, Oliver knows it’s time to fully appreciate the people in his life.
Shared My Body and My Mind With You (That’s All Over Now): Chapter 4
Six months ago Felicity did the unthinkable and paid to have sex with the one and only Oliver. Despite being worlds apart they’ve become close friends, but what happens as feelings change, a rival comes into the picture, and a friendship suddenly starts to break? An offshoot of a prostitute/client AU, which comes from my one-shot “Taste of Your Poison Paradise.”
Chapter 1 // Chapter 2 // Chapter 3
A/N: Thank you all for the lovely reviews! I hope enjoy this chapter. Many thanks to @curvy-tam, @the-mimi-hiddleston and @awriterincowboyboots for being amazing! You three are the best.
"Excuse me, but I didn't order this."
Oliver does his very best to not roll his eyes in front of the lady and manages to maintain a neutral façade when he looks at her. "What did you originally order?"
"I ordered a mocha latte." The woman is clearly annoyed a lowly employee ruined her pitiful day with a wrong order, and Oliver grits his teeth to prevent him from biting back at her. Customers can be so rude.
Sighing quietly, Oliver doesn't even bother asking her for the receipt because he's in no mood to dispute her claim. Today's been a busy Sunday and he's only had a small break during his shift, so he's not in the mindset to prove the customer wrong.
"If you don't mind waiting, I'll get you the mocha latte, okay?"
The woman seems a little shocked by his niceness, but she nods silently and patiently waits by the corner. Glad he avoided a potential disaster, Oliver starts working on her latte and dodges his fellow co-workers. As he goes to place a cup under the machine, another employee stops by his station and greets, "Hey, Oliver. How are you?"
The person in question is Iris, a student getting her Master's in journalism at Northwestern University. She's a smart, talented and gorgeous woman, and they've flirted a lot during their time at Jitters. They've never gone on a date or hooked up since Oliver has a strict no-dating policy (it doesn't really apply to Felicity although it probably should), but it's always nice to talk to Iris and have shifts with her. They work well together and she makes his difficult shifts a little more bearable.
Oliver smiles at her. "Hey Iris. I'm good, what about you?"
She rolls her eyes as she ties her apron around her waist. "Oh you know, excited for work and all."
Grinning knowingly, Oliver goes back to preparing the latte when Iris asks, "By the way, what happened to your friend? I haven't seen her in awhile."
Now that stops Oliver in his tracks.
Read more on Ao3, FF, or continue on Tumblr
Today is the third Sunday Felicity has cancelled on their coffee hangout. Typically he wouldn't mind but she also cancelled on their Wednesday movie nights, and he's starting to think maybe Felicity doesn't enjoy his company as much as she's led him to believe. He can't resent her for wanting to take a break from him – they've hung out plenty of times, and it's always healthy to spend a couple of weeks away. They text constantly and Snapchat each other, but nonetheless he misses her like crazy. The selfish part of him is hoping Felicity hasn't found a friend to replace him, but perhaps in the meantime he should get new friends instead of relying on Felicity.
Facing Iris, Oliver tries to pretend Felicity's absence hasn't made him lonelier than usual. "She's been busy with work. But we still see each other."
Giving him an odd look, Iris simply shrugs and gets started on work. For some reason Oliver can't help the need to defend Felicity's absence, and stops short of yelling across the counter that Felicity hasn't abandoned him.
At least not yet.
~/~
The weather has significantly improved in the past few weeks, but Felicity knows it could change in a moment's notice. It seems like everyone else in the city has the same idea since every street and park is filled with people soaking in the sun. Normally Felicity gets irritated when so many people are out at the same time, but today she's feeling different.
Well, it's probably because she's spending this fine Sunday afternoon with Ray and he's wonderful company.
They've spent the past forty-five minutes discussing various topics, ranging from work to geeking about the latest quad-band circuitry to hit the market. Felicity hasn't laughed and flirted – if by flirting it means she spends a solid five minutes talking about the latest tech and not giving Ray a chance to talk – like this in so long, but it feels amazing to be in this kind of mood. The more they talk the more they realize how similar they are. After spending years not finding someone to talk about this stuff with her, Felicity feels right at home with Ray.
Typically, her Sundays are reserved for her hangout with Oliver at Jitters, but Ray was only available to meet this Sunday and, well, Felicity couldn't refuse. She hopes Oliver doesn't hate her for cancelling today . . . and the past three Sundays.
The first Sunday Felicity was coming back from Central City, which was almost a five-hour drive, so naturally she couldn't make it to Jitters. The next Sunday, Caitlin had begged her to go to a free yoga event at Navy Pier and to get brunch afterwards. And today, Ray was only available this afternoon so Felicity decided to cancel on Oliver since she sees him on Wednesdays anyway.
Except she's cancelled on their movie nights for the past three weeks as well, and at this point Felicity's convinced Oliver hates her.
She didn't mean to do it. Work has gotten crazier and she's had to stay till after nine some nights. She also went out for an early dinner a couple times with her coworkers – she's just as surprised that they asked her – and promptly went home to sleep. They've texted and such but Felicity doesn't doubt Oliver thinks she's avoiding him. There's nothing he can do to make her avoid him, but she has to admit, they frequently hang out and there's a small part of her needing a break from it.
Felicity's not blind – she can tell Oliver has little to no friends and obviously likes to surround himself with work. She's no stranger to the feeling, but over the years she's made an effort to branch out and be less of a hermit. Although they both work long and odd hours, Felicity tries to make time with Caitlin and a few other coworkers, and has her own (illegal) hobbies she spends her free time doing. As far as Felicity knows, Oliver doesn't do much aside from work and hanging out with her.
Then again, she can't speculate on something she knows very little about. Although she and Oliver have become close, there are many things she doesn't know about him. Granted, Felicity doesn't plan on spilling her darkest secrets to him in the near future nor does she expect Oliver to do the same, but their conversations have reached a standstill. It's always about work, movies, funny memes and repeated conversations.
She doesn't know if Oliver has siblings, why he got into prostitution, or if his parents are alive and know of his whereabouts. Felicity has told Oliver she's originally from Las Vegas, grew up poor, had an absent father and was raised by a single mother, but that's as far as her reveal went. Sometimes they talk about politics, and from Oliver's comments she can tell he holds fiscally conservative values. He's never mentioned going to college or high school, let alone tell her where he grew up.
Overall, Felicity only knows the bare bones about Oliver and it appears he wants to keep it that way. She has to wonder what kind of friendship they have if they show a carefully constructed version of who they are. There are times when Felicity wants to confide in him but fears he'll run away the moment she shows just how vulnerable she is. She's already had one person abandon her – she can't risk it happening again.
Pretty soon she's going to have to evaluate her friendship with Oliver and be honest with him. She can't continue walking on eggshells around him, and if she feels she can't be comfortable with Oliver then perhaps this friendship isn't worth pursuing.
But she's getting ahead of herself – if anything, she needs to allow Oliver an opportunity to open up to her. He deserves it. And if Oliver feels he wants to be mutual friends instead of true friends, then she'll decide if he's worth spending so much time on. The thought makes her chest physically ache, but if it's what she has to do then that's what she'll do. She's put other people's emotional well being over her own far too many times in her life and she's promised herself she won't do it again.
Pushing those thoughts to the side, Felicity and Ray stop in front of a bench to sit down, taking in the sights at Lincoln Park. Once she sits, Felicity realizes how tired her feet are and tries to hide her discomfort in front of Ray. It's her fault for wearing wedges with a frilly blue dress, but she's not going to let her foot pain ruin the moment.
Glancing over at Ray, she has to do everything she can to prevent herself from drooling in front of him. He looks like a Ralph Lauren model – the perfect incarnation of an American stud. His light blue collared shirt accentuates his impressive frame, and his rolled up sleeves only add to his model-worthy appearance. Topped with aviator sunglasses and shoes suited for a captain of the rowing team, Ray looks as if he owns all of Chicago and then some. If she were an onlooker she would definitely be ogling at Ray, but luckily for Felicity, she has front row tickets to Ray Palmer's stupidly handsome self.
It's quiet for a moment as they soak in the warm air and peek over the trees to catch a glimpse of Lake Michigan in its spring glory. Settling on the bench, Felicity glances over at Ray and asks, "So . . . are you ready to move to Star City?"
He seems a little taken aback by her question but it's been weighing on her mind. She can tell there's something between them, but since he's moving in a few months, Felicity has to wonder if it's worth getting attached to Ray.
"I think so." He looks at the spectacle in front of him before turning his attention to Felicity. "I've been in Chicago for too long. It's time for a change."
"Why did you decide to move Palmer Tech's headquarters?"
Taking a deep breath, Ray rubs his palms against his thighs. "Star City's become more of a tech haven in the past fifteen years, and I think it would benefit the company to be situated in a city known for its creativity."
She nods in acknowledgement – Star City is home to several companies, mainly tech giants and startups. Palmer Tech has become an innovative company always searching for the next best thing, and Chicago doesn't offer much of that.
“And I'm not really a fan of Chicago politics. It seems politicians care more about getting reelected than fixing up the city." His eyes hardening, Ray clenches his jaw and adds, "People deserve to have someone looking out for them instead of taking advantage of their situation."
Felicity can see why Ray's upset with Chicago politics. He's done a lot for this city and has started several programs to help the poor, but there seems to be a roadblock no matter what he does. Ray's started off with a lot of support from local politicians and the mayor, but when he became critical of them (especially during the teacher's union strike) they dropped their support and did little to help him. Fortunately, he has a lot of money to get programs started, but the politicians have done everything they can to prevent him from doing anything without their permission.
Knowing how passionate he is and how much he wants to help the city only causes her crush on him to intensify. She needs to relax and take this one step at a time, but Ray makes it so hard.
"I can't argue with you there. I wish the media reported on it more often."
Scoffing, Ray rolls his eyes and props an arm on the bench. "The media is owned by politicians. The brave souls who try to do something get ostracized, so at this point no one bothers to say anything."
Felicity doesn't know what to say because she's not entirely invested in politics, and she's positive if she opens her mouth she'll say something totally wrong.
Instead she asks, "What are you going to do with the employees already working here?"
Truthfully, she's been wondering about this for a while now. Shutting down his office will definitely leave some people out of work, and for someone whose sole focus is on giving everyone jobs, it wouldn't be nice of him to completely leave his Chicago employees in the dust.
"Good question. All the main employees are going to move to Star City, but we'll still keep the Chicago office as we expand more on manufacturing. I'm also trying to get a new manufacturing plant opened up here, but your CEO doesn't want my plant to be in the same area as his." Sighing, he takes off his sunglasses and says earnestly, "Being a CEO is hard work."
Laughing, Felicity tucks a piece of her hair behind her ear and smiles at him. Even though she is enjoying his company – immensely – she's got her detective cap on and needs to know one more thing: does Ray know Oliver?
Felicity wants to kick herself in the face for wanting to ruin her unofficial whatever this is with Ray by bringing Oliver up, but she's dying to know the truth. Even though Oliver admitted to not wanting Felicity to move, she doesn't necessarily buy his explanation, at least not entirely.
Something's missing and she intends to find out.
"So I know a guy who said he knows you, actually."
"Oh?" Ray seems genuinely interested and she feels bad for lying. "What's his name?"
"O-Oliver. The one and only." Her heartbeat quickens in anticipation, her mouth going dry as her mind lists a thousand reasons why this might be a bad thing.
Ray's eyebrows furrow adorably and he shakes his head. "Hmm, I don't think I know an Oliver. What's his last name?"
She's about to say his last name when Felicity suddenly remembers he's never mentioned it to her nor did she ever ask. A lump begins to form in her throat once Felicity realizes this is kind of a big deal, and her heart sinks to the bottom of her stomach. Despite considering Oliver to be a close friend of hers, Felicity doesn't even know his last name. How pathetic is that?
Trying not to make herself look like a fool, Felicity waves off his question. "I think he was pretending to know you. Never mind."
"Ah, that's okay. It happens." In an effort to change the subject Ray winks at her, but it does absolutely nothing to quell her stomach from turning over and over.
She should've listened to herself – mentioning Oliver was going to ruin the mood. And it totally did.
~/~
After another two hours of hell, Oliver finally got permission to leave work. He has an appointment in less than an hour, but he's bone tired and doesn't think he'll be able to perform. Here's to hoping his client has a weird fetish and would like to watch Oliver sleep instead.
Once he gathers his items from his locker in the backroom, Oliver's phone buzzes from a text sent by Felicity. He considers ignoring it but his curiosity gets the better of him. Opening the text, Oliver sits down on one of the chairs as he takes a breather.
Hey sorry for cancelling. My friend wasn't available until today & its been awhile since Ive seen them. Can I make it up to u tonight?
Oliver immediately starts typing out a "Yes" but stops short of sending it when he realizes how desperate he is to hang out with Felicity. He literally can't go another day of not seeing her. If that's not pathetic he doesn't know what is. Besides, his petty side is begging him to make Felicity sweat it out, or worse, cancel on her completely. That'll send her a message.
Sorry felicity I have a appt & jitters was insane. We can hang out on wednesday
He instantly regrets sending the message but the damage is done. It almost feels like he told his mom to fuck off (something he did quite often, unfortunately). Taking a deep breath, Oliver stands up and exits the room, but stops by the counter to say goodbye to his coworkers.
"Bye guys." Everyone grunts in response and ignores him, but Oliver doesn't blame them.
Shrugging it off, Oliver starts to head out the door when Iris sings, "Bye Oliver!" She saunters over him with a tray on her hip and smiles brightly, causing Oliver to grin back.
"Bye Iris." As he's about to leave, he stops in his tracks and gets a sudden urge to do something he's never done before.
"Hey, are you free after your shift?"
Realizing it sounds like he's asking her out, Oliver clarifies, "I wasn't able to go to the new sushi place over by Clark and Fullerton with everyone last week…"
She catches his double meaning but it looks like she hadn't intended Oliver's question as a potential date in the first place. "Oh right! I wasn't able to go either. Yeah, we should definitely check it out!" Frowning, Iris looks over her shoulder to see if their boss isn't nearby. "My shift from hell isn't over until 7:30, but after that I'm free."
"Oh, okay. Great. Cool."
He didn't think she would actually say yes, and the realization that he's going to dinner with a semi-friend hits him without warning. Dinner after 7:30 gives him plenty of time to meet his client, shower and relax. Oliver doesn't know how to react to this new development but his excitement is slowly growing.
"Awesome. See you there at eight?"
"Yep."
Iris smiles once more as she slowly walks away. "Okay. Bye, Oliver."
"See you later, Iris." Waving at her, Oliver waits until she turns around before leaving. Once he's outside, Oliver basks under the sunlight and takes a moment to appreciate the fine day. Grabbing dinner with Iris is a change from his regular schedule, but a welcome one nonetheless.
It feels good.
~/~
Monday has rolled around, much to everyone's chagrin, and unfortunately Oliver's got a strict and packed schedule to follow today. He's already met with Isabel but before he goes out to his appointments, he wants to check up on Roy to see how he's doing.
It's been awhile since he's seen the guy, and although Oliver texts him every couple of days, he feels a certain protectiveness toward Roy. Oliver's no stranger to playing the older sibling and he wants to make sure Roy's safe. Being a prostitute isn't the most glamorous – or safe – occupation, but escorts always look out for one another. Roy's a young man who needs all the help he can get.
Oliver got Roy's information from Isabel – unwillingly, of course – and as he walks up to his apartment building, Oliver feels a sense of dread overcoming him. Roy lives in the bad side of town since he's a newer escort and not getting paid as much as Oliver. Oliver knows in a few months Roy will be making enough to move out of here, but the area isn't safe and he doesn't want Roy to be living here.
As he steps onto the porch, he searches for Roy's name but notices all the buttons are broken. Oliver could call him but he doesn't want to give Roy an opportunity to hide anything (namely drugs and alcohol). Sighing, Oliver pulls on the main door expecting it to be locked, but luckily for him it isn't.
He's immediately hit with a whiff of smoke and food mixed in with loud music. Wrinkling his nose in distaste, Oliver climbs up the stairs and finally reaches Roy's apartment. He can't hear anything, but Isabel had told him Roy didn't have an appointment this morning so he had to be here.
Knocking on the door, he waits a good five seconds before peeking through the eyehole. Even though Oliver can't see anything, he hears some shuffling going on. Oliver loudly knocks again to catch Roy's attention, and hopes Roy isn't trying to throw evidence of excessive partying away.
The door suddenly opens but only big enough so that Oliver can see one half of Roy's face. However, he can tell Roy's eyes are bloodshot and the smell of alcohol, sex and drugs lingers in the air.
"Hey, Oliver. What's up?" As Roy yawns, Oliver can feel his grip on the door handle loosen, so Oliver immediately takes the opportunity to push past the door.
"What the –"
Roy fights him as much as he can but his hangover already puts him at a disadvantage. In no time, Oliver pushes past Roy and swiftly walks into the apartment, his eyes immediately watering up from the strong smell of weed.
Scanning his apartment, Oliver takes note of the multitude of beer bottles lined up on his counter, food littered all over the tables and floor, and a girl sprawled on the couch. His blood boiling and ignoring Roy's protests, he steps further inside and spots Roy's bedroom. There's a half naked man lying on his bed and if Oliver took a moment to inspect Roy's room, he would find a bag of weed and other drugs all over.
"What the fuck is this?"
Oliver's voice wavers in anger and he does everything in his power to prevent himself from blowing up on Roy. This wasn't supposed to happen. Roy was supposed to start saving and discipline himself, not get involved in parties, sex and drugs. Oliver fucking warned him to stay away from this stuff and Roy ignored his advice. How could he do this? Oliver's no stranger to an extravagant lifestyle filled with booze, money, girls and drugs. It got him nowhere. Seeing what Roy's done with himself brings up a flood of emotions and memories he doesn't want to think about, but most of all, he's beyond disappointed in Roy.
Roy's not supposed to be Oliver. He's supposed to be someone better.
"Look Oliver, I was just having some fun. You know . . . " Roy shrugs and sheepishly walks forward to pat Oliver's back, but Oliver steps away because he's in no mood for a pat on the back.
Roy's clearly offended by Oliver's action, but he really doesn't give a shit. "Get rid of your girlfriend and boyfriend, clean this place up and take a shower."
"Hey, you don't get to –"
"Yes I fucking do." Oliver's seething – he wants to shake Roy's shoulder and yell in his face for being so irresponsible, but Oliver remembers at one point he was also in Roy's position. Lecturing Roy would make Oliver a hypocrite, and he doesn't want to yell at the poor boy. He knows from first-hand experience it wouldn't help, and would only cause Roy to continue his bad habits out of spite.
"Listen, you're my responsibility."
Snorting, Roy walks past Oliver and picks up a couple of empty beer bottles. "You're not my dad – or the dad I never had – okay? I don't need you to control me."
Gritting his teeth, Oliver takes a couple of deep breaths in order to calm himself. "This isn't about controlling you, Roy. You have no one here, do you understand?"
"I know that." Rolling his eyes, Roy starts walking to the kitchen but Oliver follows him and grabs onto his arm tightly. Roy struggles with him for a minute, but Oliver keeps a steady hand.
"No, I don't think you do. No one's going to check up on you. No one is going to call you and ask about your day." He can feel his skin heating up in adrenaline and a flurry of emotions, his voice slightly wavering. Roy looks positively scared, and his eyes widen the longer Oliver's hand tightens its hold on Roy's arm.
"You're alone. No one cares. Isabel only cares how much money you make. You're just a name and number in the system. So when I tell you to do something," Oliver sneers as he steps closer towards Roy, "you do it because no one else cares enough to tell you to."
They're at a standstill – Oliver towers over him as Roy looks like he's either going to punch Oliver in the face or cry in his arms. As seconds pass, Oliver slowly loosens his grip on Roy's arm but he doesn't fail to notice his own hand shaking as he does so. Even though this speech was for Roy, Oliver wishes someone could've said this to him when he needed to hear it. Not for lack of trying, his parents constantly warned him against excessive partying and frivolously throwing his money away. If only he'd been given a tougher punishment than a slap on the wrist, he probably wouldn't be in the situation where he is now.
After what seems like an eternity has passed, Roy nods and looks down at the ground in shame. "Okay," Roy mumbles. "I get it."
"Good." Clearing his throat, Oliver straightens his back and orders, "Now take a shower and get ready for work. I'll . . . clean up as best as I can."
Nodding once more, Roy walks past him and heads straight to the tiny bathroom, leaving Oliver alone with his thoughts and wobbly legs. He shouldn't have been that harsh on Roy, but he needed to snap out of it. Oliver's all too aware of what happens when drinking, partying and drugs get out of control, and he doesn't want to see Roy fall into the same trap. If Roy gets fired from Emerald, there's no telling what kind of job he'll have next, and the thought alone causes Oliver to shiver.
Taking a deep breath, he checks the time on his phone and he sees that he's running behind on his first appointment. Glancing around the messy apartment, Oliver decides to start cleaning up a bit before he has to leave. Once he enters the living room, Oliver starts gathering bottles and notices the girl – who was sleeping when he first walked in – intently watching him. She's got no shirt on, her makeup is smeared all over her face and she looks like she has a massive hangover.
"That was intense," she comments, her voice cracking from a wild night of partying and two hours of sleep.
Glancing over to the bathroom then back at the messy living room, Oliver sighs and shakes his head.
"Yeah."
~/~
Monday has come and gone, and Felicity is once again dreading this workweek. On the upside, Caitlin is at the office today after being gone last week, so now Felicity has someone to chat with during the day. Currently they're at Potbelly's for a quick lunch since there's a lot of work to be done back at the office, and Felicity's soul aches knowing she won't have an hour to spend on lunch today.
Unfortunately, Felicity's been behind on her work is due to constantly texting Ray during the day which, of course, she doesn't mind, but it's distracting her from concentrating on her Big Girl Job and she can't have that. It doesn't help that Ray's extremely charming and he keeps giving her information on the latest tech that has yet to be public. He's made her weak in the knees, and although Felicity does enjoy having a crush, she has to remind herself to put Felicity Meghan Smoak above everyone else.
Still, it is nice to be complimented and flirted at.
Right now she's in the middle of responding to Ray's text asking her professional opinion on a not-so-secret project, but she jokingly responds that he'll need to pay for her services. Smiling down at her phone, Felicity puts the phone back in her purse even though it's hurting her soul to do it, but she does have manners and Caitlin deserves better.
"Who's the new boyfriend?"
Felicity almost chokes on her own spit. "Boyfriend? I don't have a boyfriend. I have no idea what you're talking about."
Rolling her eyes, Caitlin smirks knowingly and points to her purse. "You've been glued to that thing ever since we got here, and I've caught you on your phone every time I've come to your office. Also, I'm a scientist – I'm paid to observe my surroundings."
Felicity's got to admit, Caitlin's not wrong on this one. She wanted to tell Caitlin about Ray, but it's so early in the game and Felicity's positive pursuing a relationship with Ray isn't good for her career. There are so many people wanting Felicity to make one small mistake, and if they ever find out the CEO of Kord Industries' rival is sweet on her, it could get her fired. However, she and Ray aren't even dating, so there's no reason to tell anyone about this since nothing is happening – at least not yet.
Regardless, Caitlin is a friend and as she astutely pointed out, something is going on and Felicity can't avoid this any longer.
"Fine. It's . . . well, you know how I got invited to attend the gala?"
Caitlin nods. "You said it wasn't special."
"Right – I mean it totally wasn't but I met Ray Palmer there. And we kind of . . . clicked. And then he offered me a job."
"Whoa Felicity, hold on a second." Confused by the outpour of information, Caitlin leans forward and looks straight at Felicity. "You met Ray Palmer at a Kord Industries' gala?"
"Yeah. He was crashing the party. I caught him in the act. In the girl's bathroom."
Damn it. She didn't mean for it to sound so weird, and she definitely meant to omit that piece of information, but after keeping this secret for so long it's all tumbling forward with nothing stopping her.
Pressing a hand on her forehead, Caitlin sternly orders, "Felicity, I'm going to need you to explain every little detail from the beginning. And don't leave anything out."
It takes Felicity a few minutes to tell everything, but Caitlin's a good listener and only interrupts her when she needs some clarification. Once she's done, Felicity feels the huge weight of her shoulder disappear, something she hadn't realized was there. After the most recent movie night with Oliver, she felt like she couldn't tell him about her burgeoning romance with Ray. It's always good to have someone like Caitlin to talk about these things.
"Felicity I'm speechless." Caitlin takes a sip of her drink then adds, "But aren't you worried about our coworkers finding out?"
Sighing, Felicity groans and pinches the bridge of her nose. "I know, Caitlin. I've worked so hard to get to where I am, and if anyone finds out… "
Although she's only been out with Ray once she did have a very public lunch meeting, and for all she knows someone from Kord Industries could've seen her. Hell, someone could've seen them at Lincoln Park. There's a part of her ashamed for letting a guy get to her because Felicity's smarter than that. Perhaps she was so determined to rid her mind of Oli –
Never mind.
Shaking her head, Felicity toys with her napkin and gloomily glances up at Caitlin. "I know what I did was stupid, but we're not officially dating and he hasn't asked me out."
"Well, not everyone knows that. I think you should stay away from Ray for awhile," Caitlin cautions.
Felicity closes her eyes in defeat and groans. "I know," she bemoans. "But at the same time, I don't want to completely push Ray away when I could possibly get a better position at Palmer Tech . . ."
She cringes on the inside knowing how bad it sounds, but it's not how it seems. Felicity does enjoy Ray's company – a lot – and would like things to progress further, but given their respective jobs and Ray impending move it's probably not going to happen. It was never Felicity's intention to string Ray along, but in the event she doesn't get promoted at Kord – which is always a possibility – she needs to have good relations with Ray in order to get a new job. So for now, Felicity decides, she'll maintain a work appropriate relationship and hold off on walks in the park until she can figure out her situation at Kord.
Caitlin takes a deep breath then shrugs. "I get it. Palmer gave you an offer you can't resist, and it's always good to keep your option open. You two flirting and going on unofficial dates is just an added bonus."
Felicity playfully rolls her eyes, but she has to admit she's feeling a lot better after speaking with Caitlin. This situation had been weighing on her mind for a while now, and Felicity didn't realize how she desperately needed to discuss with someone. After speaking about this with Caitlin, Felicity recognizes she should've been a bit more careful in case someone from work found out, but better late than never, right?
"I'll hold off on meeting Ray anytime soon, and if he asks why I'll let him know." Scrunching her nose she ponders, "I wonder how I should break it to him. Would saying 'Hey, I like you but we can't date because I could get fired' sound too dramatic or . . .?"
"Definitely dramatic." Her face turns serious and she says lowly, "Maybe tell him about a fake no-fraternization-with-the-enemy policy in your contract?"
"Uh . . ." Felicity's about to tell Caitlin her suggestion is a little too extreme, but in the event she needs another compelling argument – as if getting fired isn't already serious – this might be a good one. "I'll think about it."
Caitlin visibly brightens, and Felicity's struck by how lucky she is to have a friend like her. It's always great to have someone to rely on for matters like these. Felicity just wishes she and Oliver were on the same level as she and Caitlin, but maybe she should accept the fact their friendship isn't as deep as she wants it to be.
And the thought saddens her.
~/~
Although it's a Tuesday, ridiculously wealthy and bored men are always on the lookout for a crazy party. Most of these men are investment bankers who are desperately trying to emulate a The Wolf of Wall Street lifestyle. Oliver has to hand it to them – they definitely know how to throw a party.
Case in point: tonight's massive orgy party at a mansion, which has every known escort – male and female – in Chicagoland.
Oliver's no stranger to orgies as they've slowly become one of his favorite things. There's something exhilarating to watch so many people completely succumbed to their primal desires. Anything is welcome at orgies, whether it be BDSM, roleplay, a foursome or a number of other fantasies. As long as both parties come – pun intended – out happy, then it's all the more reason to have orgies.
Oliver typically only sleeps with women, but when he's at orgies sometimes he doesn't mind sleeping with men. There's something about being completely uninhibited and falling under the spell of sex and lust, which convinces him to do something he's usually not accustomed to do. Sex is sex – how a person gets it shouldn't matter. And for Oliver, he'll take any offer he can get.
It's well into the evening and the festivities have already started, but it usually takes Oliver a couple of hours to jump into orgies. He likes to watch others surrender to their desires, and once his arousal gets too much to handle he typically joins a group that's not too busy.
Although orgies can be fun, Oliver gets paid significantly less than he does in his one-on-one appointments. When there are a lot of other escorts the bill is under one ticket, so they have to divide the earnings equally amongst each other. Fortunately for him, getting paid less means Oliver can leave whenever he wants and be with any client that catches his eye.
Hoping to clear his mind, he's taken a breather out in the upstairs hallway in the host's spare home while sipping from his champagne glass. The talking and laughing has lessened out here, but it's been replaced by loud moans and groaning from various rooms in the home. Taking another deep breath, Oliver unbuttons the top two buttons on his shirt as he prepares himself to join everyone in a night of debauchery.
As he takes a step towards the staircase, he suddenly hears a loud "No!" coming from one of the rooms, and his body freezes up in the realization.
Shit.
Oliver's blood has gone cold because he can tell the difference between a playful, consenting "No" and a "No" meant to keep someone away. What if they weren't serious? Oliver shakes his head – deep down he knows the person screaming might actually be in trouble. He wants to kick himself in the face for justifying to stay put while someone – probably an escort – is being forced to do something they don't want to.
Keeping still for another minute, he strains his ear to hear any other screams but nothing happens. Although it pains him to do so, he starts to go down the stairs when he hears a loud thud and something breaking.
That's it – I'm going.
Running back up the stairs, Oliver opens the first door to his left but stumbles upon a threesome. Swiftly shutting the door behind him, Oliver frantically searches for the source of where the yell came from but comes up short. An onslaught of adrenaline hits him and his body shakes in agitation, while his mind spins in circles. He has to find the person and make sure they're safe before something terrible happens. As life threatening scenarios run through his mind, Oliver's on the verge of getting sick just from thinking about the horrible possibilities.
He has to do something. Fast.
Desperate to make sure the person is safe, he rushes over to the other side of the hallway and swings the door open, but he's not prepared for the sight in front of him. A young girl is lying on the floor, clothes ripped apart and over in a pile next to her, while a man is restraining her by trapping her between his thighs. She's actively fighting against him, but the man has put her hands above her head while he's begun pressing a knee into her lower stomach. Oliver catches a glimpse of the poor girl's frightened face, and in that moment he snaps.
It's almost as if he's running on autopilot – one minute he's by the door, the next he's yanked the fifty-year-old man away from the girl and throws as many punches as he can. The world is a hazy color of red and he can hear his blood pump loudly, but he's focused on one thing only: beat the man bloody till he can't walk straight.
His fist collides with the man's face more times than he can count, and with each blow Oliver welcomes the stinging pain on his hand. Oliver vaguely hears the girl pleading to him to stop it but he pays her no mind – sick fuckers like this man shouldn't be allowed to walk the earth.
And as his knuckles turn bloody, Oliver's reminded of no matter what he or any other escort does, they'll always be treated as filth. No matter how successful they are or how they've embraced their sexuality, they'll always be treated as sex workers who are considered scum in society.
They're nothing but sex objects to everyone else. And it absolutely crushes him.
Oliver abruptly pulls back and falls backwards to the ground, his entire body shaking from adrenaline and the realization of what he's done. Breathing heavily, he looks up and sees the man lying completely still with blood splattered all over his face and white shirt. His vision swimming, Oliver glances down at his hands and finds them completely soaked in blood.
Oh God . . . What has he done? Did he kill him?
The very thought almost causes Oliver to vomit, and it seems like the girl's thinking the same thing since she's slowly approaching the man to see if he's alive. Crouching down near his arm, she lifts his limp wrist and places two fingers over his pulse point. With bated breath, Oliver watches and prays he hasn't killed the man. He doesn't know what he would do if . . .
Swallowing thickly, he sees the girl staring at him and nodding her head, letting Oliver know her would-be rapist is barely alive. Releasing an unsteady breath, Oliver closes his eyes – he can't believe he beat a man to the point where he's barely alive. His blind rage caught him off guard and it scares the hell out of him. He felt powerful and uninhibited all at once, and in some ways it was the most freeing and exhilarating experience he's had. But after knowing the kind of damage he can do, if something like this happens again there's no telling what he'll do.
Not only is he an uneducated former billionaire playboy, a prostitute and a barista, but he's also a monster.
Lost in his thoughts, he doesn't realize when the girl quickly gathers her clothes and comes over to Oliver.
"We need to leave now. I know a backdoor where no one can see us."
From this view, Oliver can tell she's barely eighteen but her cold, steely eyes show him she's seen her fair share of shit. Her practiced movements after the attack shows Oliver this man isn't the first – or last – to take advantage of her.
The realization saddens him, and as she outstretches her hand while silently begging him to get his act together, he vows to himself he's going to do whatever it takes to get this young girl away from this profession.
Oliver made a choice several years ago, but lost souls like this girl need a second chance. She's desperate enough to continue pursuing a profession like this because she was never given a chance to be something else. Yet Oliver had a million chances to become a million different things, and he laughed it off because he never imagined he would be in this situation. He dug his own grave and intends to be buried in it.
But he doesn't want her to spend another day like this. If he can't have a second chance, then he'll damn well make sure she can.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 6/11
Fandom: Arrow (TV 2012)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak
Characters: Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, Original Male Character(s), Original Animal Character(s)
Additional Tags: olicity - Freeform, olicity smut, olicity season 3.5, Love, dream journeys, Rite of Passage, spirit journey, Bear Butte, Positano, Olicity Big Bang, OFBB, OFBB 2016, Olicity Big Bang 2016, Romanticism, Romantic love, soul mates, Explicit Sexual Content, Shower Sex
Summary:
Welcome to my Olicity Fic Bang 2016 fic.
This is the final instalment in my Ghost of Jupiter series detailing the global journey Oliver and Felicity take between season 3 and 4. It explores their relationship and their understandings of themselves and each other. It takes place in Positano (with a side journey to the Isle of Capri) and their individual motivations and desires.
Oliver takes Felicity for a romantic getaway on their romantic getaway (yup, he whisks her away after having already whicked her away) to the Isle of Capri. However, Felicity wrestles with her conscience as she balances her need to be connected to the team in Starling and present with Oliver in Italy.
Lots of love in this one and she re-enters her dream with the Old Man and Coyote and discovers more about herself and Oliver.