Me while reading chapter 4 of @smoaking-greenarrow ‘s latest fic :
All joking aside, here’s the link so you can read this awesome fic yourself: Kerosene and Desire
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from United Kingdom
seen from France
seen from United States

seen from Germany

seen from Malaysia

seen from Canada
seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from China
seen from China
seen from United States

seen from United Kingdom
seen from United Kingdom
Me while reading chapter 4 of @smoaking-greenarrow ‘s latest fic :
All joking aside, here’s the link so you can read this awesome fic yourself: Kerosene and Desire
Mistletoe Exposure
To @smkkbert from @smoaking-greenarrow Happy holidays.
Answers.
She has to have them. A full week of searching, sleepless nights, and a nagging need to know the truth. One of the worst things in the world, for Felicity Smoak, is a mystery. She hates them. She hates them even when they don’t involve her, but this…this is personal.
Smoothing her dress, Felicity takes one last look in the mirror. The only thing she hates more than mysteries is a holiday party. And Queen Consolidated throws the most expensive, over the top, ridiculous ones. The only time she’d gone had been her first year working at QC, and that was only because she was incredibly curious to know what the Queen mansion looked like on the inside.
Looking up at the massive castle-like thing now, she wishes she’d made someone come with her. Walking into the mansion alone, knowing what she believes is true, feels a lot like entering the lion’s den. Completely unarmed. Prey.
Felicity shakes her head and pushes her car door open, her heels clicking along the pavement as she walks up the driveway, foregoing the offered valet parking. If she’s going to confront something like this head on, then she needs to have her keys in hand. An easy escape.
When she reaches the mansion and finally steps inside, her eyes fall on John Diggle, head of Queen security. He meets her eyes, and she swears she sees recognition color his eyes before he masks it. Her breath catches in her throat, her mind racing. She knows exactly who he is, from some in-depth research, but why would he know her?
As quickly as their eyes had met, Mr. Diggle looks away, turning to some of the guests, continuing a conversation as if he hadn’t noticed her at all. She watches him for another moment, handing her coat off but keeping her clutch tight in her fist.
Time to face the lion.
Her eyes scan the crowd, searching for him. Felicity lingers when she notices his sister and mother, speaking lowly in a corner of the dance floor, and clocks the tension between them. And then she moves on, glancing at every face close to the Queen women, assuming that Oliver wouldn’t be far from them.
Before she can find him, she catches Tommy Merlyn out of the corner of her eye. His eyes are already trained on her, and he has a drink in each hand, looking unreasonably handsome in his tux. He smiles, heading straight for her.
Oliver Queen’s best friend. Of all the scenarios she’d played out in her head, handling his best friend had not been one of them.
Stiffening, Felicity watches, forcing a natural smile in return.
“Hey there,” he greets her, offering one hand with a flute of champagne. “I’m Tommy Merlyn. And I assume that you must be the wife or girlfriend of some lucky jerk here tonight, because if Ollie has a woman as beautiful as you working in that building, I’m going to have to kick his ass for not introducing me.”
Felicity laughs, shaking her head at his boyish grin that probably got him very far with the ladies. “I’m nobody’s wife,” she scrunches her nose, taking a sip of champagne. “Or girlfriend. I do work at QC, but I doubt Mr. Queen would remember me. I work IT.”
Tommy raises an eyebrow, his smile ticking up a notch, “gorgeous and smart…I’ll have to be on my best behavior to make sure I don’t screw this up.”
“And what this are you referring to, exactly?”
His smile widens, tossing her a playful wink, “me getting you to dance with me.”
She chuckles again, “are all of you Starling men this charming?”
“No,” Tommy shrugs, smiling at her. “Oliver mostly just grumbles and broods. I’m definitely the charming one.”
“I can tell. Felicity, by the way.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Felicity. And let me just say that I am incredibly happy you’re here.”
Felicity cocks her head to the side, “why’s that?”
“Because tonight was looking very, very boring until I saw you walk in.” He smirks.
She wasn’t sure if Tommy stayed by her side after that because he felt bad, or because he planned on trying to take her home, but she was happy about it either way. She truly had no idea what she would do, aside from confront Oliver Queen. But even then, how? And when? The smart thing to do would have been to walk in prepared for such things, but she’d been far too nervous.
It’d taken her a week to solve a mystery that had been right under her nose for months. And she couldn’t exactly plan her attack, not when she had no idea what she’d be walking into tonight. Did she pull Oliver aside and ask him point-blank? Did she try to question people like Tommy, or Thea, or Moira? Figure out how much they know before she addressed the man himself? Or did she simply come and observe, decide for herself what the truth was and leave it at that?
Felicity is so in her own head; smiling, nodding, and laughing as Tommy rambles on about the bar he recently purchased, she doesn’t notice the giant presence come up behind her. She feels the heat of his chest near her back where she sits at the bar beside Tommy, but she doesn’t realize he’s there, or that it’s him, until he clears his throat.
Her back stiffens, tilting her head to the side to glance at Oliver Queen. He grips the bar in one hand, leaning against it casually, but she can feel the tension rolling off of him. “Tommy,” he mumbles, meeting her eyes. “Thea’s looking for you. I think she wants a dance.”
“Ollie,” Tommy waves him off, gesturing to her, “this is Felicity Smoak. She works in the IT department.”
“Good evening, Ms. Smoak,” Oliver leans a little closer, not taking his gaze off of her. He knows damn well who she is. With a hint of mischief sparking in his eyes, he lifts his chin. “Enjoying the party, I hope?”
Pinching her lips together, she lets her eyes drop to his lips, his chin, his neck and the stubble that dusts his skin. Familiarity hits her, having him so close. Even the way he smells screams at her that her suspicions are right.
He raises an eyebrow, offering the same knowing, playful grin she’d seen on his face the day he officially introduced himself. Felicity Smoak? Hi, I’m Oliver Queen.
“Of course,” she breathes, her eyes darting back up to meet his. “It’s a beautiful party. With great company,” she smiles at Tommy again, fidgeting a bit. “I’m having a wonderful time.” He watches her, looking down his nose, brazenly focusing on her red lips. And his mouth twitches with a slight smile.
He knows.
He knows exactly why she was so intent on his mouth. And he’s doing the same to her.
“Would you like to dance with me?” Oliver whispers.
Despite the way he’s looming over her and despite everything she knows about him…Felicity swallows, and then she nods. Oliver stares at her for one more moment before stepping back and offering his hand.
“Oliver,” Tommy huffs, “you don’t dance. Especially not at these things.”
Felicity raises an eyebrow at that, her hand still in Oliver’s. And the only response from his best friend that Tommy gets is a playful wink in his direction. She bites her lip, waving to Tommy as she follows Oliver into the crowd of people.
He keeps towards the edge, near the door as if he’s allowing himself an exit if need be. Or maybe he’s doing that for her.
Turning, Oliver gracefully wraps an arm around her waist, cradling her other hand to his chest. She’s a little surprised by the way he holds her. Gentle and secure. Almost protective; his broad chest grazing her as he sways, his hand slipping down her bare back until he reaches the bottom of her spine.
Felicity feels her skin flush, her whole body growing warm as a shiver runs through her. And he’s silent for a long moment, his pinky finger toying with the low cut on her dress. But then he presses his cheek to her hair, his lips outside her ear. “My mother tells me that you haven’t attended a Christmas party here in five years,” he says conversationally. “Although I’m glad you’re here, and I’m certainly not sorry to see you in this dress–red’s your color, Ms. Smoak,” his fingers grip her back a little tighter. “I have to wonder what brings you here tonight.”
His voice is a low, velvety rumble, more like a lover than an enemy. And her eyes slip shut, her body pressing into his further, without her knowledge. Felicity has no idea what comes over her, but reflex has her melting for him. “I heard the party favors are pretty generous,” she whispers back.
Oliver chuckles, his breath blowing through her hair. “Did you come here looking for something tonight, Felicity?”
She nearly moans at the way he says her name, unlike anything she’d ever heard before. “Have you always been so suspicious about people, Oliver?” She asks, since they’re on a first name basis.
Pulling back, he glances down at her face, smiling slightly. “I’m not suspicious of you,” he says, letting her see the honesty written all over his face. “Merely curious.”
“That’s all?” Felicity huffs, giving him a smile and she’s not sure where it came from. She’d been prepared to catch him off guard, hoping an ambush might corner him into giving her the truth. She’d been ready to intimidate, threaten if she had to, just to get to the bottom of her obsession over the last week. So, standing there, dancing with him and getting flirty, is not exactly what she’d expected.
His eyes flicker down to her lips, softening as he watches her.
She doesn’t want to intimidate him. She doesn’t want him to feel threatened or cornered. She wants him to trust her.
“My five years away taught me to be cautious, Felicity. Especially of people. I’ve been betrayed one too many times and it still feels strange to me every day that I’m even here.” Felicity blinks at his words, surprised by his vulnerability.
“Well,” she inhales, feeling her heart hammer in her chest, nerves bubbling to her throat. And strangely, she squeezes his hand, looking up at him and seeking some kind of assurance. Comfort. “I suppose your instincts are fair. I did come here tonight for a reason.”
His jaw clenches, but he doesn’t look away. “And what reason is that?”
“I need to know the truth.”
Oliver nods, his hand sliding from her back as he steps away. “Then let’s talk, Felicity.” He takes both of her hands, nodding his head towards another hallway, and she understands what he’s asking for.
Privacy. The decency of not doing this in front of everyone.
And her heart picks up again at the idea of being alone with him. Not just because his sanity is in question, but because there’s tension there, sparking between them like fireworks. Tension of the sexual kind. The non-platonic.
He squeezes her fingers, tugging on her hands slightly, and she feels certain that no matter what, she is safe with Oliver Queen.
One Week Ago:
She really wanted to quit. Queen Consolidated wasn’t the best place to work in the first place, especially not for an underappreciated IT girl. But she was hoping that climbing the ladder in a successful place like this might be a nice springboard towards her own company someday.
Lately though, all anyone could talk about was Oliver Queen. The prodigal son returned.
Add in the fact that she was always the sacrificial lamb to work around Christmas, and she was quite sick of her job. At first, she hadn’t minded, considering she didn’t celebrate the holiday. But in five years, working Christmas had turned into covering all of her coworkers’ shifts the entire week before and after the holiday so that they could take vacations. And now her supervisor practically had her running the department in his absence, yet he didn’t hesitate to take all the credit.
Kicking off her heels under her desk, Felicity leaned back in her chair, spinning it in a slow circle and looking up at the ceiling.
She contemplated what to order for dinner as she spun, debating between Thai food or pizza. When she finally settled on Thai, Felicity turned towards her phone with a sigh, her vision swirling a bit from all of her chair spinning.
Shaking her head, she pulled up her contacts, scrolling through all of her favorite restaurants she had saved on her phone. As it began to ring, a shadow crossing by the office door caught her attention, and she gasped, her eyes flying up to the glass.
Slowly, a figure passed by the door, feet silent and face shadowed under a hood. He would’ve been completely concealed in darkness if not for the strings of Christmas lights in the hallway that she hadn’t bothered to turn off.
She watched enough news to recognize the hunter-green leather.
Felicity froze, not hearing when someone answered her phone. She gripped it tightly in her hand, not moving a muscle as he stalked by, disappearing around a corner.
After everything she’d heard about Starling’s new vigilante, she’d decided that he was trying to do some good in the city, even if his methods weren’t exactly ideal. Although she believed that The Hood wasn’t a bad man, Felicity still felt a chill run down her spine.
A moment later, she was out of her chair. The vigilante might not be evil, but she had no doubt that his presence meant bad things. Violent things. Deadly things. Like an omen.
Knowing how her heels clicked down the halls of QC, Felicity opted out of them, her red nail polish glowing against the tiles as she tiptoed out of her office with her phone in one hand, heels in the other, and her purse strapped to her shoulder.
She made her way quietly down the hall, keeping her ears and eyes alert for whatever had drawn The Hood there.
Unfortunately, it didn’t take her long to find out.
Deciding to go for the stairs instead of the elevator was apparently a mistake. Just as she was about to turn the corner, three men pushed through the door, mumbling to each other about The Hood being in the building. She’d only gotten a short glance at them, dressed in suits just as any other businessman who roamed these halls, except for the guns in each of their hands.
Felicity quickly backtracked, realizing that they were coming her way. She ducked into the billing department, hoping she’d be able to hide in the darkened offices without being seen.
Their voices grew louder while she held her breath and backed further into the shadows, listening as the men argued over where the vigilante could be hiding. Felicity froze when they jogged by the door, none of them even sparing a glance.
She sighed in relief once they were out of sight, turning around in search of the east elevator that she was pretty sure ran right through these offices. Then she’d be home-free. But in her haste, she failed to watch where she was going.
And she bumped into a large chest.
Ready to apologize, since clumsiness was a common folly of hers, Felicity yelped. She wasn’t the one who took the hit the hardest.
Oh, no.
Apparently the employees in billing were really into Christmas. And they appreciated a large, nearly lifelike Santa Claus decoration in the center of their department. Which is exactly what Felicity collided with. The plastic, giant man in red fell with a loud crash.
And just in case the men with guns hadn’t heard that, the hellish thing called out a loud “ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!” as it hit the floor.
Then it sprung into an always annoying, but now seriously annoying rendition of Jingle Bell Rock.
“No,” Felicity lurched towards the contraption as it began to dance along with the music. “No, no, no,” She frantically pushed the buttons on Santa’s chest, hissing out a sharp, trying to make it stop. “I always knew you were evil!”
“What the hell is that!?” She heard the intruders yelling from down the hall, their voices coming back.
Panicking, Felicity froze. She could hide, or she could run for the elevator. Either way, she’d be found easily by the men, thanks to the obnoxious decoration that screamed like a beacon, telling them exactly where she was.
Just as the men reached the door, raising their guns and entering with them trained on her head, Felicity heard a slow, sharp metallic sound from behind her.
All she had to do was tilt her head, and she could see a glistening green arrow close enough to her face that it’d scratch her cheek if she turned any more. But it wasn’t pointed at her. The arrow was fixed on the men in front of her, and she guessed that The Hood’s reputation preceded him because the three armed men halted, their eyes widening.
“Behind me,” the vigilante growled, his voice low outside her ear. She guessed that it was sexy underneath whatever modulator he was using. That made him sound kind of creepy. But she had a feeling he had a voice as smooth and sweet as hot chocolate behind the robotic tone. How long had he been in there? Long enough to watch her stumble over Santa Claus and call him evil. She cringed. Embarrassing. “Ms. Smoak,” The Hood huffed, “I said get behind me.”
She flinched. Of course he was talking to her. Felicity turned away from the arrow by her cheek, quickly ducking behind his back, shielded from the guns pointed at him now.
“Drop your weapons,” he demanded, his voice taking on a harsh, deadly edge that he hadn’t used when speaking to her.
Peeking out from behind his leather-clad shoulder, Felicity watched as the man in the middle cocked his head to the side. And then he fired. And his two goons began to shoot, too.
The vigilante turned on his heel in a matter of seconds, grabbing her waist in one movement and firing his arrow in the next. She heard the gunshots, and she heard his arrow piercing through the far window, and then everything became a blur.
She recognized his arms around her, big and strong, which somehow surprised her. He’d always seemed slim, quick and agile when she saw his depiction on the news or heard the stories about what he’d done. But The Hood was huge.
Felicity didn’t have much time to consider his size, because her feet were suddenly off the floor, her head buried in his neck as bullets rang out all over the room. She heard the glass crashing, but she hardly felt it. Her eyes flew open as crisp winter air hit her face. And she shrieked, clutching onto the vigilante tighter as she stared down with wide eyes at the city below.
As quickly as it happened, it was over. They crashed back into QC a few stories down, and The Hood managed to stick their landing with no more than a few scratches.
He landed on his back with a groan, keeping her tight against his chest, gracefully cradling her on top of him. After the glass quieted, Felicity listened to his heaving breath, and she picked her head up from his neck.
A gloved hand reached up, pushing her hair back so he could see her face. A pair of ocean blue eyes met hers, and it surprised her to not only see the silent question in them, but to understand it. Are you okay?
In response, she nodded once, swallowing. The Hood dropped his head back, letting it hit the floor beneath him as he caught his breath. His hands stayed plastered to her waist, and Felicity let them. She’d definitely be sore tomorrow, or once her adrenaline stopped flowing. But for now, she felt perfectly fine. How he’d managed to do that, and leave her unscathed was incredible. “Thank you,” Felicity blurted.
She couldn’t see his face with his head tilted back, but she stared as his lips twitched, fighting a smile. And then he sighed, “we should get you out of here,” groaning again, he leaned forward, and she quickly climbed off of him, brushing herself off while he stood. “It won’t take them long to find us.”
Nodding, she reached for his hand, slipping hers into his leather-covered palm and gripping it tight. He glanced down at her, surprised, but he nodded, leading her towards the door. “Why are they after you?” She whispered as he quickly and soundlessly pulled her along through the building, heading for the stairs.
“They’re hitmen,” he replied with a shrug as if someone putting a hit out on him was like any other Thursday.
The vigilante hesitated as they reached the door to the stairwell, listening, and they both heard the roaring feet, thundering down the flights above as the men yelled to each other, trying to determine which floor they’d landed on. “Service elevator,” The Hood grumbled, pulling her in a different direction.
Felicity followed willingly, letting him guide her down to the end of the hallway. Her eyebrows furrowed, realizing that not many people used the service elevator at QC or even realized it was there. Come to think of it, the masked man seemed to know his way around the building pretty well.
No time to dwell on that though; he pushed the button a few times, “is your car in the garage?”
She nodded, staring at his profile. His jaw clenched under her scrutiny, and she quickly turned away, not wanting to make him squirm after he’d literally saved her life. Maybe she was crazy to feel something when she looked at those deep blue eyes behind the mask, maybe it was insane to think that his fingers were gripping hers in concern, and maybe she was out of her mind for thinking there was something kind and pure in a man who ran around the city using a bow and arrows. A man who had blood on his hands. And maybe if it weren’t for those things, if he were just a nice if not intimidating freak in a mask who saved her in a holiday miracle, she’d be able to let it go. But as she stole another glance at him, Felicity vowed to find out who he was beneath the mask.
When The Hood tilted his head to look at her, Felicity pursed her lips at his tense expression. It was like she’d been thinking too loud. She swore she heard him growl, his eyes so intense and hot on hers. But before either of them could speak, they both jolted at the sound of the stairwell door colliding with the cement wall, and The Hood was quickly grabbing her again, hauling her against his chest and into the nearest offices.
They didn’t have time to hide, not when the gunmen were suddenly running by them, searching the floor. She froze in his arms, plastered between him and the nearest wall he could shove her against, hiding her in another shadowed office.
He kept his gaze on the hallway, and Felicity kept hers on his face. The more she watched him, the more familiar he was becoming. Was it all the staring, or was it because underneath all the leather, he was someone she recognized? The voices began to fade as the men moved down to the next floor, still looking for their target.
As the door closed behind them and silence covered them again, the vigilante let out a long breath, relieved. Felicity watched him carefully, his eyes slipping shut. She had no doubt that he could take care of the intruders in a matter of moments. She’d heard of him surviving much worse than three goons with guns. Yet he fled. He hid. And he stayed right by her side.
His eyes opened to meet hers, another breath blowing gently over her lips, reminding her that he was still very much in her bubble. Shaking his head, The Hood glanced up at the ceiling, and she felt his body stiffen as his eyes narrowed. Slowly, his gaze met hers again, and he gaped at her for a moment, his perfectly sculpted mouth fighting a smile as he bit down on his bottom lip.
And then he laughed.
It was a gentle, barely noticeable sound.
Felicity blinked, shocked. The sight of his smile beneath the shadowed hood seemed so surreal. And there was definitely something familiar about him. Something charming. Very, very handsome.
His eyes wandered up to the ceiling again. This time, she followed his gaze, her breath catching in her throat when she noticed what was hanging above their heads in the doorway.
She didn’t consider herself a very risky person. Her wild phase had come and gone in college. Cooper doused that adventurous flame inside of her years ago. So, it surprised her when she found herself leaning towards the masked killer, a man she knew literally nothing about.
Knew nothing, but felt everything.
Above all, she felt safe. With him...she felt safe. And in that moment, she didn’t care how irrational that might be. She didn’t care about logic.
His eyes widened just before she brushed her nose against his, humming involuntarily at the natural, delicious smell of him, the feel of his warm skin. Everywhere he’d touched her had been covered in leather. But his nose was warm, and she couldn’t control her hand as it lifted to his face, her fingers wanting to feel it, too.
“Felicity…” he whispered slowly, his voice sounding an awful lot like a warning to stop, but at the same time, his hands gripped her waist and his nose nestled her back. She also had no idea how he knew her name or why. But she shoved her curiosity to the back of her mind, focusing on him...as he pulled her closer, her chest flush against his.
And finally, his lips pressed against hers.
The fire she felt was contained. Simmering just below the surface, and she kept perfectly still, her fingers gripping his stubbled cheek, her heart hammering in her chest while The Hood sucked her bottom lip between his.
It wasn’t a burning kiss, but it was passionate. It wasn’t rushed and fiery, it was confident and charged with sweetness. He simply pressed his lips to hers, but it was so, so memorable.
Oliver’s hand is steady in hers, despite her own shaking. It’s not that she’s afraid of him. She’d just expected this to be a little harder. She’d expected to have to interrogate, pressure, or blackmail him into having this conversation. But he’d sought her out, he’d asked her to dance, and now he was leading her away with the assumption that she was about to get answers to all of her questions about him.
They reach the hallway, almost clear from the crowd and free to find whatever private place Oliver has in mind, when Thea steps in front of him, putting a hand on his chest. “Uh-uh, no way,” the young woman crosses her arms, shaking her head and raising her eyebrows.
“Speedy,” Oliver sighs, irritated. He keeps his fingers locked with Felicity’s, her body nestled behind his broad shoulders. And Oliver raises his free hand towards Thea, “not now.”
“Ollie,” she sighs his name with as much annoyance as he had, making Felicity bite back a laugh.
Siblings.
“You’re not running off with some blonde bimbo and embarrassing mom again.” Her voice lowers, her eyes flashing with anger, “I thought that was the old Oliver. You’re supposed to be more mature.”
Felicity’s eyebrows shot up, peeking her head around Oliver’s shoulder to see the tiny, fierce woman who somehow made a man like Oliver Queen back down. She was certain that Thea had a lot of power over her big brother, but how much did she know?
“Thea,” Oliver grit through his teeth, “this is Felicity Smoak. Please apologize for calling her a bimbo.”
Surprisingly, Thea’s eyes widen, glancing at her for the first time. “Felicity Smoak?”
She has no idea why the girl is saying her name like she’s some kind of celebrity, but it’s kind of freaking her out. “One and only,” she jokes.
“My father in law can’t stop talking about you. He thinks you’re one of the best employees QC has to offer.”
“Walter?” Felicity scrunches up her nose, fond of the man who has a habit of calling her desk directly whenever he has a problem rather than the department’s line. It pisses her supervisor off to no end that Walter Steele seeks her out specifically. And of course she finds great joy in that. “He’s a good man.”
Oliver glances back at her, meeting her eyes for a brief moment that seems to say everything and nothing all at once. How he manages to look at her like that, causing a swarm of butterflies in her stomach and soothing it at the same time, is a new mystery for another day. “Speedy,” he finally glances away, shaking his head as he focuses back on his sister. “I need to speak with Felicity alone. Please let mom know I’ll be right back.”
He starts pulling again, trying to sidestep Thea, but she puts her hands up. “Wait!”
With an irritated huff, Oliver waits while Thea scrounges through her purse. “I swear Roy put it in here…oh! Here!” She quickly pulls out a sprig of green mistletoe, presented with a cute red satin ribbon. Smiling coyly and wiggling her eyebrows, Thea shakes it above their heads.
“Thea,” Oliver glares down at her, his jaw clenching.
“Can’t ignore the mistletoe, big brother. I don’t make the rules of holiday traditions, I simply enforce them.”
“Speedy—”
Felicity squeezes his hand, an idea coming to mind that makes her heart race even faster than it has been most of the night. Oliver turns back to look at her again, and his eyes widen as if he can see exactly what she’s thinking.
Raising an eyebrow, Felicity shrugs. There can still be timing for talking. He can still explain. But Thea presents a very obvious, no-bull way of finally settling the truth.
“Now’s the part where you kiss,” Thea complains, “come on,” she shakes the mistletoe above them some more, “my arm’s getting tired here.”
Oliver cocks his head to the side, his eyebrows furrowing in concentration as he steps closer towards Felicity. He nods once, like he’s confirming her plan. Agreeing to it. Agreeing to let her finally know the truth once and for all.
Carefully, slowly, tenderly, Oliver holds Felicity’s face between his hands, taking the last step towards her. He swallows, his eyes so hot on hers that she feels the entire room fade, no longer having any concept of the party, or Thea, or the mistletoe hanging above their heads. Tilting her chin up, she parts her lips, holding her breath as she waits. And Oliver leans down, closing the final distance between them.
He tastes like champagne and something sweet, something that she knows is just him. Something that she’s tasted once before. His soft lips press gently to hers, perfectly intoxicating. The curve of his mouth welds perfectly to her own, only the way that lips who have done this before can do.
The kiss is so different. Any reservation he’d held that night at QC, he doesn’t hold back now. It provokes the same fire in her heart, but this time it spreads all the way to her toes.
Oliver pulls back ever so slightly, her fingers clutching onto his shirt, not wanting to let go. “You,” she whispers into his mouth. There’s no question now. No uncertainty or probabilities.
She’s one hundred percent sure that Oliver Queen is The Hood.
He simply sighs, his nose brushing against hers as he nods. Gently, Oliver nips at her bottom lip. It’s not nearly as intense as he’d done it that night at QC, more playful now, almost as if some weight has been lifted. But he confirms, letting her know in his own way as he focuses on her bottom lip, that it was him just the same.
“Well,” Thea’s low, breathy chuckle makes Felicity freeze, heat flushing through her cheeks as she’s reminded that they have an audience. It makes Oliver stiffen for a moment. He turns his head to stare at his sister, keeping every other inch of himself exactly how he is, apparently not ready to let go any more than she is. “Merry freaking Christmas to you two, huh?”
Buried alive, anyone?
@smoaking-greenarrow‘s “Just Beneath the Surface” reads like an excellent episode of Bones. And I mean that in best possible way because I loved Bones. Even when it was less than awesome. The story description lays it all out for you but if you go into it (or choose not to read it) because you think ‘meh, I know what’s going to happen’ -- let me tell you, you could not be more wrong.
They say the devil is in the details. In this case that is absolutely true. @smoaking-greenarrow tells a claustrophobic tale in which you can taste Felicity’s fear and Oliver’s desperation. She sets out the characters and the context in broad-strokes but you don’t feel like anything is missing. The narrative is tightly focused on building tension but doesn’t stint on character development or drama.
If you like a little dose of terror in your fanfic, then this story is one to check out.
PS: Don’t worry about the wip tag. There’s one chapter left.
"I am coming for all the monsters that ever touched him, I am coming for all the ones who twisted his stars into shadows. They turned him into a nightmare. So I am going to be theirs."
Requested by @smoaking-greenarrow
Pictures of You
Chapter 6 in my Over You series, which should have been updated a while ago! Read the full story here!
She was an anxious cleaner. She knew it, she'd been teased for it, and she didn't care.
She was having trouble sleeping because of everything running through her head at night; how Thea was doing, if Tommy and Oliver could get their old friendship back, the fact that her mother called her every two seconds ever since the news about Oliver broke. She was also not sleeping because after she turned her back on Oliver the other night, she stupidly got the idea that she needed to find Sara. After Oliver disappeared and Tommy broke up with Sara to find him, she left Starling. And according to her father, "fell off the grid". He hadn't seen his daughter in two years. Felicity didn't even know if Tommy knew about all of that. She'd asked Tommy a few months ago, but he hadn't heard from her since the breakup four years ago. And he never expected to again.
Sara ran off, hopped from island to island and lived a gypsy life. It always sounded so romantic and adventurous to Felicity, like a dream that everyone always wished they could have. Maybe that was what made people not worry about Sara, they all fantasized her sitting on a beach sipping a margarita and enjoying her life stress-free. But Felicity couldn't shake the feeling that something about that picture was wrong; distorted in some way. Maybe the others were too close to Sara to see the faults in all of it, to see the signs that lead her down this rabbit hole that she couldn't stop herself from following now.
Two years of silence was odd, but Quentin received post cards around the holidays and letters every now and then. It wasn't until recently that he became worried. Sara had spent two years dodging Lance's calls due to bad service on various remote islands. But the letters and post cards kept Quentin at bay. He hadn't received one in months, though. He didn't even know where she was or how to reach out to her.
Felicity tried to be less obsessed in her search for Sara than she was with Oliver's. She dedicated a couple of hours every day to her computer and that search. But she couldn't tell anyone, especially Lance and Laurel, that she was looking. She didn't want to get their hopes up if she couldn't her.
The secret about Sara and her disappearance weighed on Felicity. She knew that Oliver and Tommy deserved to know, and she knew that sooner or later, Oliver would want to see his old friend. She knew that he would want to find Sara soon enough, to try to fix what happened between her and Tommy. And she just wanted something to give them before that day came. She just wanted to track her down and get some answers about where she'd been all these years.
But even more stressful than any of that, was Oliver. Tommy called daily to share his theories about Oliver being The Hood. And the more that time went on...the more she was starting to believe it. Oliver had Starling fooled, the people here all knew him as a self-absorbed billionaire who was far too selfish to devote his time to saving the city, to risk his life to save anyone else. Felicity was the only one who knew the person he became after a few years away from that lifestyle-a few years with her. She knew how big his heart was, how protective and stubborn he was, and she definitely knew that Oliver being The Hood was possible. But, as even further, condemning evidence, Oliver kept up the charade for the people of Starling City; especially his mother, Tommy, and Thea. Felicity couldn't understand why he wouldn't want them to know that he had changed...unless he had something to hide.
The only reason that Tommy wasn't fooled by Oliver was because he knew who Oliver was through Felicity, and her stories about him. When they'd first got to talking, Tommy demanded to see pictures to prove that the same man she spoke about was the one he'd grown up with. He especially couldn't believe her story about the birthday that he'd lit the apartment with candles, cooked dinner, and had a bath ready when she got home from class. Tommy may not have seen much of the change in him, since Oliver distanced himself from Starling when he left for college. But he could connect what he knew of Oliver, to what Felicity said, to the island, to the way he acted now. And in Tommy's equation of all of those added factors, Oliver was The Hood.
Felicity still didn't feel ready to admit that it was true, even though she knew it deep down.
She was tapping on her keyboard quickly, trying to confirm a hunch in her search for Sara, shaking her head to clear all thoughts of Oliver, Tommy, and vigilantes out. She'd gotten a lead; a blonde girl photographed on an island in the Philippines. The resemblance was a stretch, her face was hidden...but it was the hat that had caught her attention; a Starling City Rockets baseball cap.
She was prepared to spend her night following the lead until she found enough proof that this girl was Sara so that she could tell the Lance family, Tommy, and Oliver all about the whole thing and get it off her chest once and for all. But then Barry called, and she'd been too busy staring at her computer and the picture of Sara to look down at her phone and see who was calling. So she answered, expecting it to be Tommy or Oliver. Aside from her mother, she was also ignoring Barry's calls for the sake of not knowing what the hell to say.
He'd been surprised to hear her voice, but regained his composure and asked if he could swing by to pick up some of his things he'd left at her apartment. He said he would be over in ten minutes, so she knew he was running. She paced for a couple of minutes, then she gathered his stuff and put it all by the door so that he wouldn't have to go looking for everything. When she was done getting all of his things together, she was forced to clean. Barry hadn't arrived yet, and it kept her busy; focused her mind on something other than Barry; or the million other things that she really needed to stop analyzing.
She was trying to organize the papers in a drawer of her coffee table when she pulled out a file. She opened it and knew immediately what it was; the report from the hospital that Oliver wanted to see; the one she helped him break into a file room to look at. She hadn't known that he stole it, though. She knew he wouldn't want her to see it. But...he had left it in her drawer, her apartment and all...so she opened it anyway.
The file was paper-clipped, report after report, photos, and medical records of a young boy. Someone had crossed out the boy's name in black sharpie anytime it had appeared, but there was an address for somewhere in The Glades. The photographs of the boy were gruesome, he stood shirtless and covered in bruises. It seemed that the only parts of his body that were not black and blue with bruising were covered in blood, coming from his nose, eyes, and mouth. The reports started by claiming accidental injuries, a rebellious twelve year old kid who enjoyed riding his bike off of ramps, getting into street fights, and one even claimed he'd broken his arm after jumping from a roof. As the reports and photos went on, the bruising got worse. Felicity didn't think that was possible, but later reports showed that the boy had fresh, dark, new bruises over older, yellowing ones. The doctors had apparently come to the same conclusion that she was, the boy was being abused.
Felicity jumped when she heard a knock on her door. She shoved all of the reports back into the file before hiding it under the couch cushion and running to the door. She swung it open and Barry smiled. It was the same smile that brought her so much comfort and stability over the past few years. But it didn't do very much to comfort her in that moment. "I'm sorry." She blurted.
Barry laughed, "Hello to you too."
She let out the breath that she'd been holding. "I should have answered your calls before. So I'm sorry." She scrambled, trying to switch her mind into 'awkward conversation with ex-boyfriend' mode. "I should have called. You deserve better." She swallowed as Barry stared at her for a moment. He nodded once, and she knew that she was forgiven. Communication was never a problem for her and Barry. Felicity opened the door to let him in. "I put all of your stuff over here, but if you see that something's missing, feel free to look around."
"How's Oliver doing?"
"Barry..."
"I mean it, Felicity. He must have been through hell."
"He's fine," She answered quietly, glancing away as she wrapped her sweater tighter around herself.
Barry analyzed her for a moment, "You don't really know how he is, do you?"
She sighed in annoyance, "Do you really want to talk about me and Oliver?"
Barry chuckled, "Felicity, I've been wanting to talk about you and Oliver ever since I met you. I wanted to talk about those pictures of him that suddenly disappeared a week after I started sleeping here. I wanted to talk about him that night that we saw Thea and Moira Queen out to dinner, or any of those nights that you called out for him in your sleep. I wanted to talk about that ring that you hide in the back of your underwear drawer...every day since I found it. Or why you blame yourself for his disappearance. So yes, I do want to talk about you and Oliver. I always have, and I think you owe me that, at least this once."
Felicity turned for the kitchen, "Do you want some tea?"
"Felicity..."
"I fell in love with him when we were freshmen in college. We were together for four years. He asked me to marry him at the end of our senior year. I wasn't ready. He left with his dad. And then his boat went down. His best friend Tommy and I... we tried to find him. We spent two years searching for him, but we couldn't. Eventually we lost hope, and we stopped looking. But I kept a tab on his credit card, ID, all of his accounts...just waiting for a hit. But then I needed to get away, away from Starling and away from the daily reminder that he was gone. So I moved. And that's when you came in."
"You moved to Central City and met The Flash."
"That's right," she nodded, "You found me one night and you asked me to help you, to join your team, and I had something to believe in again."
"Okay." He said simply.
Felicity looked up at him slowly with distrusting eyes, "Okay?"
Barry nodded, "I did my homework on you before I reached out to you, Felicity. I knew about Oliver's disappearance. And when I met you and got to know you, I noticed that you never said that he was dead. You always said 'gone'. You believed that he was still alive. Or you hoped that he was. Either way, when we started dating, I knew that. And I wanted to be with you anyway. You're too smart of a girl to have blind hope. There was a reason you had hope, so I always knew that it was possible. I always knew that he could come back...and I knew that this could happen."
Felicity hesitated for a moment, "That what could happen?"
"That if and when Oliver Queen returned...that I would lose you."
"Barry..." Felicity breathed, her eyes watering, "I'm so sorry."
"I knew what I was getting myself into, Felicity. It hurts, and I wish that I still had you." He said honestly, not breaking eye contact. "But I don't blame you. And I don't wish that this was different. You deserve to be happy, and even though you were happy with me...it wasn't the happiness that you needed. I'm happy that Oliver came back, I would never wish differently. He's the love of your life."
Felicity laughed once, wiping at her tears, "Thank you. I always knew you were too good for me."
Barry stepped closer and pulled her into a hug, "Not too good for you, Felicity...just not right for you."
Felicity let him hold her for a long moment, and then she helped him bring his things to his car where he held her for another long moment. "Thank you for understanding all of this, Barry." She whispered, "Everything has been so chaotic and difficult, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate you."
"Anytime Felicity. The door is always open for you at Team Flash."
Felicity rolled her eyes, "Please don't call it that."
Barry smiled at her, his eyes on hers, and she knew that he was trying to read her and see that she was okay. "Be careful, all right?" He said finally, gently.
She nodded, "Star City has become a safer place since we gained a vigilante. Maybe you inspired someone."
Barry scoffed, "That guy is a monster Felicity, not a hero."
Felicity tried to focus on her work, on finding Sara, but she kept zoning out and thinking about what Barry said. If Oliver was the vigilante, it didn't sit right with her that Barry said he wasn't a hero. If she was being honest though, it was the fact that he may have referred to Oliver as a monster that made her restless.
She decided to go for a walk to clear her head, but all she could think about was whether or not Oliver was The Hood. When she looked at it from Barry's perspective of him, it seemed impossible. She believed that Oliver was capable of saving people, that he had the heart and the determination to do something like that. But was he a killer? Could he really be viewed as a monster the way that Barry said? She had previously brushed off the instances when The Hood killed, probably because she didn't want to think that Oliver had done it.
Felicity's mind wandered along with her body, until her feet finally made their final protest. They were throbbing, and she knew that time must have gotten away from her. She sighed, pulling off her shoes and letting the cool pavement soothe her feet. It was dark now, but she didn't have a lot of fear, not even in Starling. She'd done extensive background checks on everyone in the neighborhood before choosing her apartment a year and a half ago.
She made her way up the stairs and into her apartment, dropping her shoes by the door and noticing a familiar smell. She didn't recognize the fancy Italian dish, exactly. But she recognized the cooking, the chef. She turned the corner to her kitchen and saw Oliver nursing a beer while he stood in front of her stove.
"How did you even get in here?" she asked, leaning against the door frame. She knew that she should feel anxious; everything with Sara, what Barry said about The Hood, the file she found, everything going on between them, the fact that she was almost certain he was the vigilante. But all she felt was relief to see him, she felt a desire to tell him about everything. It'd been a few days since she'd seen him last. She'd stopped by to visit Thea, knowing that Oliver would be there. Because she knew Thea, she knew that it wouldn't just be a girls' night. Thea is a meddler, and Felicity guessed that she was probably trying to get them back together. Her hunch was proven correct when Thea insisted on making dinner and then "getting a phone call" and leaving for the entire meal. She'd shared a nice, polite, and safe dinner with him; guard up and walls high. They didn't talk about much, especially not Tommy after their argument outside of her apartment the week before. Felicity knew she was in trouble though, because even that awkward, and pretty boring dinner with Oliver made her happy, just to have spent time with him.
Felicity was too tired for the back and forth, the push and pull. She hated how he would be kind and sweet one day and cold and standoffish the next. It was messing with her head. She couldn't even tell if he liked her or not, let alone thought about her as much as she thought about him.
"I have my ways," he answered her question with a wink over her shoulder that put a knot in her throat.
She chuckled, "Making me dinner would be a sweeter gesture if you didn't break into my apartment to do it."
He smiled at her, putting his spoon down and carrying a glass of wine over to her. Felicity sighed, sitting at the table and stretching her legs out in front of her. "Now this is something I could get used to." She hesitated, not wanting to scare him off or make him guarded, "So why are you here? Just to cook me pasta, or is there something else?"
"Well..." Oliver said, turning his back to her, focusing on the noodles. Felicity took a big gulp of her red wine, and then another. "I need to ask you for a favor."
"Does this one require breaking into a hospital's private records?"
"Not exactly," he smiled slyly over at her.
Felicity rolled her eyes, knowing that his smile could convince her to do anything he wanted. "What do you need?"
"I need you...to find someone." Oliver turned the burners off on the stove, and placed the spoon on the counter. He came to the table and sat down across from her. "Look, this isn't going to sound good, so I need you to just...stay calm, and to keep it between me and you, okay?"
Felicity nodded, mesmerized by the intense look in his eyes. It was a new one, mysterious. It was like she could see hundreds of secrets rattling on cages to be set free, but he wouldn't let them out. Not yet. She hoped that he would share them with her though, someday. "I need you to find Sara Lance." Oliver said, keeping his eyes on hers.
Felicity stared back, wide eyed. She took a moment to think by clearing her throat and putting her wine glass on the table. "What?" she asked, trying to play it cool but her voice cracked.
"Sara hasn't been seen in nearly four years. There hasn't been mail sent in her name in almost three months, but even when she was sending post cards to her father, there was no evidence that she was in the countries she said she was. I haven't been able to track her down since I got here. I haven't been able to find any reason to believe that Sara Lance even left the country. Just the postcards from various islands."
"How do you even know about any of that?" Felicity asked, her eyes searching his.
Oliver inhaled before answering, "I don't have a good feeling about it Felicity, I don't know where she is. We need to find her. Please, will you help me?"
"Oliver..."
"Please, Felicity, could you check for me? I know it's a lot to ask. I know it requires hacking databases that you don't have any business in, but I just need to know that she's okay."
Felicity sighed, taking Oliver by the hand and leading him to her computers. She turned them on and pulled up all of her 'Sara files', all of her research. Oliver looked surprised, but only for a moment. "Why are you already looking into it?"
"Quentin mentioned that he hasn't heard from her in a while. I thought that I would just check in. And that was three months ago. I still haven't been able to find her." Felicity cupped her face in her hands as she stared at the screens, "I'm glad you know, though. I don't know what it means. Every lead has been a dead end." Felicity pulled up the photo from the Philippines, "Except for this one. This is the only photo I've been able to find of Sara since she left Starling. And I can't even be certain that this is her."
"Felicity," Oliver started, his eyes on the photo, "why wouldn't you bring this to the police?"
"I...I've done some hacking jobs," Felicity said slowly, wondering how to explain the strange things she has seen, the things she knows from working with Barry and his team. "Something about Sara's case doesn't sit right..." she pressed her hand to her forehead and closed her eyes, "would you think I'm crazy if I said I don't trust the police? If I said that they wouldn't be any help?"
Oliver leaned into the screen, staring at the photo, "No..."
"Look, all we have right now is a young girl who is keeping in touch with her family through postcards. Even if she's not where she says she is, that doesn't mean she's hurt or lost. The police have limits; I can hack into databases and records that they can't touch."
"Does Tommy know about this?"
"No," Felicity answered, "and neither does Quentin. They think that she's island hopping and dodging everyone from home. I don't want them to worry...but I think its time to worry."
Oliver continued to stare at the photo while Felicity looked up at him. "Oliver...it seems like you know everything that I've already found...how?"
Oliver glared down at her coldly. The walls were going up, and she knew she'd have to fight hard to get them back down. "Why didn't you tell me you were looking into her disappearance?" His voice was accusing, and Felicity felt her blood boil at his tone.
"First of all," she stood up, forcing him to stand up too from where he hovered over her. "I didn't know that it was even a 'disappearance' until right now. And second of all, I would tell Laurel, Lance and Tommy before I would tell you, and I haven't told them. Because I didn't know if it was anything to worry about. All I've got is a blurry picture of a blonde girl in the Philippines wearing a Starling Rockets baseball cap."
"You didn't think it was worth mentioning that you can't find any record of her travels? She's been sending postcards, and it didn't strike you as off that you couldn't find any evidence that Sara was actually at the places she said she was?"
"Did I find it off that a girl who goes island hopping to run from a heartbreak would cover her tracks? No. I thought she didn't want to hear from Laurel or Quentin. I've only been trying to find her whereabouts for the past three months, not since she left. I didn't cross check any of that. We all thought that she's been where she said she was."
"Well it doesn't look like she has, now does it?"
Felicity glared, "Get out, Oliver." Oliver stared for a moment, not sure if she was serious. She raised an eyebrow at him before walking to the door and holding it open for him. The stress of everything was starting to tear her down, her life had changed so drastically, so fast, and she hadn't had time to catch up with it. She never would have thought that she'd be kicking Oliver Queen out of her apartment, but she needed time to think, to process everything and figure out a plan, and if he wasn't going to help her, if he was going to be against her instead of with her, well, then... "Get out." She repeated.
"What?" he asked.
Felicity sighed, "I am way too tired...of everything...to stand here and listen to you blame me, as if its my fault that Sara's missing."
Oliver shook his head, wondering what was wrong with him. His intentions when he came home was for Felicity to hate him. He wanted her to push him so far away that he could never hurt her again, because she was too smart to let him. But he'd failed, and his half-ass attempts at pushing her away weren't worth much when he paired it with an apology. And his apologies weren't worth very much either anymore, when he gave them nearly every time she spoke to him. "I'm sorry," he said anyway.
Felicity leaned against the open door, resting her head on the wood.
"I haven't been very fair to you." he said quietly, his head down. He walked across the room to stand in front of her.
"No, you haven't." She replied, keeping one hand at her side and the other tightly gripping the doorknob.
"It'd be a lot easier if I could just walk away from you." He was so close that she had to tilt her head up to see his eyes, and he could tell that she was still angry by the way she glared at him, her blue eyes fiery and beautiful, passionate.
Felicity kept her voice even, "Why can't you?"
"Because I've already walked away from you once, and it was the worst pain I've ever felt. I know I can't do it again. That's why I've been trying to get you to."
"Well I won't either." She said defiantly, her eyes not leaving his.
Oliver sighed, pulling her away from the door, he closed it. Oliver stepped closer to her, and she instinctively took one away, her back against the wall. Oliver placed his hands on the wall, on either side of her head. "I guess we're at an impasse then."
Felicity felt the change in the air. It may not be the heart-pouring conversation she was hoping for, but he had acknowledged it; out loud. He was pushing her away. Not only that, but he was unable to walk away from her again. Her heart was racing as he leaned closer, resting his forehead to hers. "I know I don't deserve you; don't deserve this. But I want it." he murmured.
"So take it," she whispered back, her voice shaky, but sure. Oliver met her gaze, analyzed her for a moment as if to confirm that she meant it. He knew that he hadn't really given her the answers that she wanted or that she deserved, but she was nodding, her hands sliding up his back, and he sighed under her touch, stepping forward to press himself against her, to move his hips against hers. Felicity let out a breathy moan, "I want this, Oliver."
Oliver let his fingers graze her bare legs, exploring up until he reached her shorts, and then sliding his hands around to grab her backside and pull her tighter against him, eliciting another, louder moan from her lips. He crushed his lips to hers, and her arms wound around his neck.
They were both breathless and lost in their kiss, it took a moment for the ringing phone to register to either of them. Oliver noticed it first, and he let out an annoyed grunt without taking his mouth from Felicity's.
It was only when he reached down to pull her phone from her pocket that she heard the ringing. But even then, she held his face tighter, not wanting to stop, kissing the corner of his mouth while he opened one eye to see who was calling her. His brow furrowed, but he didn't stop her lips from roaming over his cheek and neck while he pushed the green button with a harsh "What?"
"Oliver?"
"What do you need, Tommy?" Oliver would be lying if he said that he was only irritated at the interruption. It made it worse that it was Tommy. His phone was right in his pocket, and his hadn't been ringing. Tommy was calling hers. And the cherry on top was that Felicity's lips froze on his jaw when he spoke, when he said 'Tommy' and she realized it was him on the phone.
"Oh, Uh, I just wanted to ask Felicity if she wanted to grab dinner tomorrow night...I was going to call you next." Felicity pulled away, meeting Oliver's gaze. She could obviously hear the conversation. "But since you're with her, I'll just ask you both now. How about Big Belly at 8:00, like old times." Oliver heard him, but he was a little preoccupied watching Felicity. She didn't look away while she pursed her swollen lips, smoothing her hair behind her ears.
"Sure," Oliver answered, handing the phone to Felicity before Tommy could reply.
"Hello?" She said, breaking her gaze now, and gently pushing Oliver away, walking across the room as Tommy responded, where Oliver couldn't hear.
"Holy shit. That was close. I actually wanted to ask if you've seen the news tonight."
"Uh, sure, Tommy. Dinner sounds great."
"Yeah, whatever. Some guy got arrested tonight. He got the shit beaten out of him. Felicity, I think Oliver did it."
"Okay, I'll call you tomorrow once Oliver and I talk about it. I don't know if I want Belly Burger again. We just ate there last week." She rolled her eyes at Oliver, "Talk to you later Tommy." She hung up, making her way back over to Oliver. She could tell that he was confused, unsure, and maybe even nervous.
"Dinner tomorrow with Tommy." He said, nodding.
Felicity forced a smile, "Yeah," she said, "I'll try to find out where Sara is before that. I know you don't want to have to spend time with him while hiding a secret like this from him. I don't want there to be secrets."
Oliver stared into her eyes, "Right. Well, maybe it's better if we...get all of that figured out...before, you know, you and I think about..."
"Okay," Felicity whispered.
Oliver leaned forward and cradled her face between his hands, "I do love you, Felicity Smoak. I always have." He kissed her forehead, "I always will."
Felicity nodded, "We're going to be okay, Oliver. I believe that." She pressed a small, light kiss against his lips before showing him out of her apartment. "I'll call you tomorrow."
Once Oliver was gone, she turned on her television. The man who had been arrested was some lowlife drug dealer from The Glades. He'd been peddling a new drug called Vertigo before he was beaten and put behind bars. Felicity called Tommy back. "Why do you think it was Oliver?" she asked before he could even say 'hello'.
"Does that mean you believe that Oliver's The Hood now?"
"It means...I don't know why The Hood, or Oliver, would care about a drug dealer. Yeah drugs are bad, but he's been going after businessmen, corrupt politicians...he's been ridding the city of its top scumbags with all the money and power to break it, why would The Hood, or Oliver, set his sights on a random drug dealer from The Glades?"
"Vertigo is dangerous." Tommy said, and she could hear him take a sip of beer.
"Still..." Felicity said, "How would this have even gotten on The Hood's, or Oliver's radar in the first place?"
"I don't know," Tommy sighed, hesitating "maybe this one was personal. Maybe it's about revenge for him."
"Why would it be-" Felicity stared at the screen, at the photo of the man they were calling Count Vertigo, at his eyes.
Something about them was familiar. "I'll call you back," she mumbled before hanging up and frantically pulling out the file Oliver had stolen from the hospital.
Count Vertigo has piercing blue eyes, just like the boy in the photos. The eyes could be a coincidence, but Oliver stealing this file, leaving it in her apartment, a man resembling the beaten boy in the pictures being arrested...that couldn't be just a coincidence.
"Breaking News in the Count Vertigo case," the woman on the news said. Felicity spun around quickly, staring wide-eyed at the reporter. "Count Vertigo has been identified. Police have identified The Glades most-wanted drug dealer as David Harper. It has also been confirmed that Harper's arrest had a lot to do with our new vigilante, The Hood. Harper is a father to one son, seventeen year old Roy Harper, who hasn't been located for comment at this time."
Felicity held up the picture of the beaten twelve year old boy to the photo of Roy Harper on her television, her hands shaking as she found her proof that Oliver was The Hood, but wondering how he was connected to Roy Harper.
30, 31, and 50? :)
30. Favorite line you’ve ever written.
He leans over and rests his head on the gravestone. It doesn’t take long before he falls asleep, beside her. (from Aftermath)
31. Hardest character to write.
Any character who isn’t Oliver or Felicity. They’re the easiest to write for, all the other characters are slightly harder.
50. Weirdest story idea you’ve ever had.
A fic that’s been in my drafts for so long, it’s almost done I just haven’t been able to get myself to finish it. It just needs a paragraph or two and it’s done, it’s based off a prompt I came across on Tumblr… Quick catch that cat, it stole my wallet.
Questions for Writers: Drop a couple numbers in my Asks
Over You Series
Hi everyone! So I've started the next chapter of the Over You series! I've had some people asking for an update and I am so sorry that I'm not an organized person and don't update regularly. I've tried and failed many times to make myself someone who can just sit down and write when I have to but I need to be in the right mood if I want to write anything good:p Anyway, I wanted to gauge some interest in an idea I had about how y'all are feeling about this series. The next chapter is called He's Not You, and I don't want to give too much away, but I think it'd be fun to hear some theories or suggestions anyone has for this chapter, or even the rest of the series that you either think will happen or would like to see happen. I'm working on an outline for the rest of Over You, and I'd love to incorporate your ideas! Feel free to send them to my inbox and we can talk;) I'm having so much fun with this piece, so thank you all for reading it!
OH MY GOD you're writing again. Holy shiiiiiiit. I love the new fics and I missed you a whole lot OMG
Awww!! It’s SUMMER my love! I have way more time for writing and I am so happy about it:) Thank you for sending me this, you’re so sweet!





