Future Ficlet: All You Need is Love...and Coffee
Wow, tonight’s episode was brutal. Between the painful Olicity separation in present time and the lack of Olicity in the dark future of the flash-forwards, we aren’t seeing any of the happy right now. There seems to be no hope. Our heroes’ sacrifices were all in vain. Basically, everything sucks.
As kismet would have it, a couple of weeks ago, I shared a fun little head canon with @allimariexf and @hope-for-olicity and they both encouraged me to ‘write the thing.’ I’ve had a terrible case of writer’s block for quite some time (meaning I have a gazillion story ideas and a ton of WIPs that are unfinished). I expected this one to end up dormant in my drafts as well. But after tonight’s episode, I felt the need to finish it because we (and Olicity, of course) deserve a little hope and happy. Set two years in the future, the premise of this little fluffy ficlet is that Felicity needs an assistant but she has particular criteria ;)
This should have been the easy part.
After months of enticing investors, obtaining the proper licenses and permits, all the legal mumbo jumbo, and locating the perfect office space, hiring an executive assistant is going to be the breaking point where she finally loses her sanity.
Which completely defeats the purpose of trying to find someone to help her in the first place.
She has been doing fine on her own, thriving actually, since she decided it was time to recommence building a tech company from the ground up, sans Curtis this time. This venture, for better or worse, will be all hers. Her vision. Her name. Her legacy.
Despite her initial apprehension at that thought, she has a clarity and confidence in her mission and goals that has propelled her forward at a pace she couldn’t have imagined. So far, choosing which of her many prototypes she wanted to launch first has been her biggest challenge.
Until now.
She had narrowed down the stack of over 100 applications to the eight most qualified for the position, and began the interview process at 7:00 this morning.
The first one had been punctual, neat, and lacking any sort of personality whatsoever.
The second one arrived twenty minutes late and then interrupted Felicity mid-interview to take a non-emergency personal call on her cell phone.
The third one tapped her super long artificial nails on the edge of Felicity’s desk the entire time and included ‘loud typer’ when asked how her current co-workers would describe her.
The fourth one was a chaotic whirlwind who overshared details of his personal life on every single question.
Maybe he just had too much caffeine in his system. Or maybe she doesn’t have enough.
Coffee. She needs coffee. Her next interviewee isn’t scheduled to come in for another hour, so she takes the reprieve to just lay her head down on her desk for a moment in order to gather up the energy she needs to make the trek down the block for her caffeine fix.
“One vanilla soy latte, extra sugar, extra cinnamon, extra whip cream.”
Oh yes. That’s exactly what she wants. Why she is thinking it in Oliver’s voice, she doesn’t know. Her coffee daydream is so vivid, she can even smell the soothing notes of vanilla with hints of sweet cinnamon spice wafting through the air. Mmmmmmmm.
“Felicity….honey, are you okay?” Oliver’s voice again. She slowly lifts her head and sees her husband standing on the other side of her desk, holding a large cup emblazoned with the logo of her favorite java joint and her name scrawled across it in black marker.
“I am now,” she practically purrs as he hands over her treasured treat. After taking a deep inhale and a long swallow, she blissfully smiles at him. “It’s perfect. You’re perfect.” Suddenly jumping up out of her chair, she shares the revelation brought on by the jolt of caffeine in her system. “Oh! I have a great idea! You should apply to be my EA.”
Oliver chuffs out a laugh. “Because I brought you coffee? Your standards must be pretty low.”
“Worried you couldn’t cut it, Mr. Queen?” she asks, arching an eyebrow in challenge.
“I think my time served as Mayor proves otherwise,” he retorts with an air of gravitas but mimics her gesture, silently letting her know that he enjoys her teasing him and is willing to play along.
She shakes her head. “Nope, not helpful. You couldn’t even get me a break on my taxes when you were the mayor. What are your current qualifications?”
He ponders the inquiry for a moment before responding proudly, “I’m the head chef at Chez Queen.”
She rolls her eyes at Oliver’s corny moniker for their kitchen but gives him an encouraging smile. “Oh yeah, I’ve eaten there a few times. The food is magnificent. But do you have any business experience?”
His expression goes from proud to smug. “As a matter of fact, I do. I was formerly the CEO of Queen Consolidated.”
She takes another swig of coffee and checks an incoming text on her cell phone before reminding him, “I happen to have first-hand knowledge you wouldn’t have made it a week without your super smart and highly efficient EA.”
“That’s true,” he concedes with a grin, “though on the downside, she only brought me coffee one time. One”, he repeats, taking her coffee and phone and setting them off to the side. Placing his palms flat on the edge of her desk, he leans in closer, a visible twinkle in his vivid blue eyes. “I think she actually broke our coffeemaker. Violently,” he teases in a conspiratorial whisper.
Mirroring her husband, she leans in over the desk until their noses are almost touching. “A little violence doesn’t scare you, does it, Mr. Queen?” She allows her gaze to run down the length of his torso, visibly appreciating the definition of his biceps that his jacket cannot conceal. “You look like you could handle yourself just fine.”
“I like to stay in shape.” He feigns modesty but she knows her husband and can recognize that look in his eyes. “Some cardio, free weights, martial arts, salmon ladder…”
“That’s so hot” she blurts out, temporarily slipping out of character as her brain produces an amazing visual of sweaty and shirtless Oliver making his way up the salmon ladder. Will there ever be a day when that doesn’t turn her on? Probably not, and judging from the self-satisfied smirk on his face, he mentioned it on purpose just to get that very reaction out of her. Determined to get back on track, she rephrases, “I mean, that sounds interesting.” She decides a change of topic would be helpful to give her an advantage in their little game. “Computer skills?”
She immediately regrets that question when Oliver gives her a feral smile that makes her weak in the knees. Lowering his voice to the same octave he uses when he is dressed in green leather, he divulges, “I’ve hacked a federal prison network.”
Guh, game over. In all her years with Oliver, that is the sexiest thing he has ever said. She quickly makes her way around the desk and invades his personal space. “Seems like you’re a man of many talents,” she coos appreciatively, latching onto his arm and nuzzling her face into the sleeve of his jacket to breathe in the scent that is uniquely Oliver.
“My wife taught me a thing or two,” he boasts, turning so they are face-to-face and he can wrap his arms around her.
Her hands instinctively move from his arm to his chest, resting over his heart. “She must be an amazing woman.”
Oliver nods in agreement, his nose nuzzling hers. “She is. She’s the best.”
“I know you’re just saying that to get husband points and its working,” she acknowledges affectionately, her hand caressing the stubble on his jaw. He tilts his head into her palm like a contented cat and she takes the opportunity to kiss him like she wanted to since she saw him in front of her desk, whether it was five minutes ago with coffee or nine years ago with a bullet-ridden laptop.
Oliver moans and deepens the kiss, the fervent strokes of his tongue making her long for more. “Okay, you’re hired,” she pants, breaking the kiss when her need for air temporarily overcomes her need for Oliver. “Smoak Tech is a start-up so your health care package consists of me patching you up if you are injured and I’m sure we can work out some type of compensation for your time and skills,” provocatively shifting her body against his and feeling his obvious interest through his jeans and her skirt. Two soft kisses and one firm rotation of his hips later, she is internally debating the sturdiness of her desk and whether they have time for her to show him exactly what she means by ‘compensation’ before her next appointment shows up.
“That’s a very tempting offer, Ms. Smoak” he murmurs into her hair as his hand travels down her back and immediately finds its usual place on the curve of her shapely ass, pulling her impossibly closer, “but I’m afraid my current employer really needs me right now and I just can’t bear to leave her,” his free hand gesturing to the stroller where their daughter slumbers peacefully.
Felicity sighs, pure happiness filling her heart and clearing her mind as she rests her head on her husband’s chest to gaze lovingly at the chubby-cheeked, perfect amalgamation of her and Oliver they brought into the world just four short months ago. “Sounds like she has you wrapped around her little finger.”
Oliver rests his chin on the top of her head and she can hear the love and contentment in his voice when he whispers in her hair, “From the very first moment I met her. She takes after her mother that way.”
A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope this helped to soothe the sting of all the angst. Queen family feels FTW. William was not in this fic because at that time of day, he should be in school and also I didn’t want to traumatize him any further with Olicity’s blatant flirty flirt. The poor kid has seen enough already lol.
Huge thanks and virtual hugs to @allimariexf and @hope-for-olicity for all the fun conversations and being all around wonderful :)
Oliver’s ‘current employer’ ;)
