Arrow, "Dark Stranger" Felicity/Slade, Felicity/OIiver "Four"
Fandom: Arrow
Title: Dark Stranger
Chapter Title: Four
Author: Paynesgrey
Characters/Pairings: Felicity Smoak, Slade Wilson, Oliver Queen; Felicity/Slade, Oliver/Felicity, and Oliver/Sara
Rating: M
Warnings/Spoilers: adult content, spoilers for "Heir to the Demon"
Notes: I'm shooting for about six chapters for this to be finished soon.
Summary: Felicity must make peace with Oliver's choice, even if it means turning her attention to a charming and mysterious stranger. Her attentions to someone else, however, do not go unnoticed.
Other Links: AO3 | FFnet | Dreamwidth
Criminal activity unexpectedly quieted after the last big scuffle in the Glades. Much to their dismay, super-powered goons got away with powerful technology and highly potent pharmaceuticals. It was the last battle where Oliver and Sara both had endured injuries to men fueled by the Mirakuru without much hope to defeat their plans.
After that, everything had slowed, and even Felicity was combing through dead leads trying to find any signs of the people behind the Mirakuru.
The lack of activity did not stop the bustle within the lair, however. Felicity found herself on a gathering intel and organizing frenzy, while Sara found her own pet projects of avenging women again, with the Canary targeting Starling City rapists, pedophiles and pimps. It certainly kept her sharp, Felicity mused, and mostly it kept her away from Oliver a lot. Felicity tried not to feel some solace in that, but she did anyway.
Oliver, on the other hand, took this downtime as a great incentive to start training Roy, not only to control his burgeoning powers but also the rage that came with the Mirakuru drug.
Diggle was back to helping Lyla with some of her own missions, and once again Felicity was grounded to IT duty. Not that she minded, but she admitted to being mostly bored. The danger was part of the excitement of her hacks and programs. She started to think Sara had the right idea, and Felicity busied herself with her own pet project by developing a worm that targeted embezzlers and corporate thieves and siphoned their money into the bank accounts of some unsuspecting people down on hard times.
Just call me Robin Hood, Felicity thought, as she monitored the progress of her programs.
Yet, the most frustrating thing about this downtime was that Oliver had still not approached her the subject of Sara, or even Thea for that matter, and Felicity wondered if they’d ever talk about it all. They were still good friends and partners, and they still had that good rapport working at Queen Consolidated and on the vigilante's nightly watches. Nothing changed there, but Felicity could feel the lacking in their closeness again, as if Oliver had curbed his emotions a little bit more, keeping her across that line that he just wouldn’t cross.
She sighed, glancing over at Oliver and Roy sparring with some mixed martial arts moves. Felicity could see bruises on Oliver’s chest, which didn’t seem to faze him but did showcase the kind of power that Roy had gained.
Turning to her computers, she got her programs in order and told Diggle that she was calling it a night. Sara was coming down the stairs as she was just leaving, and the two exchanged silent looks. Sara was sweating, her cheek was bruised, but satisfaction glowed in her eyes. Another rapist was probably nursing some sore body parts tonight.
“Good night?” Felicity asked, and Sara nodded.
“Yep. I took down a famed serial rapist. Oh, he claimed to have turned over a new leaf, but no one can really run from the truth, can they?” she said, and Felicity wondered if her words had a double meaning.
“No I suppose they can’t,” Felicity said, her tone shrugging it off. “I’m going to get a bite to eat. If any one needs me, call. Otherwise, the computers are pretty much on their own and behaving themselves. What I wouldn’t give for some excitement tonight, but hey, I think we both know that probably won’t happen.”
“It’s not always a bad thing,” Sara said, but the smile tugging at her serious expression made Felicity laugh.
She sighed dramatically. “You just keep telling yourself that. I’m going to get a bite to eat.”
Sara’s eyes flashed with understanding. “Have fun.”
Felicity didn’t meet her eyes, and she headed off. She kept hoping in her ascent to the upstairs that Oliver would call out to her, even stop her in her tracks to have one last private chat - a heart to heart that would clear all this awkward tension up.
When he didn’t, Felicity’s heart sank, feeling slightly numb.
---
Felicity was alone for the beginning of her dinner. Disappointment swelled in her stomach after each minute there was no sign of her mysterious stranger. When she felt a large presence and shadow overtake her table in the corner, she looked up gaping at the large man known as Will Shade, the man who had been on her mind for a couple days now.
“May I?” he asked, and Felicity realized she had missed that accent. She had missed the muscle too. It rivaled Oliver’s beyond measure, and she imagined Will Shade had some scars of his own. His past was a mystery box inside a mystery box, and she wanted nothing more to crack the code that was his life. It surprised her; she had just met this man and suddenly she wanted to dig into his personal details.
He was fascinating enough, she thought, which gave her the excuse to fantasize about him. Maybe he seemed like the kind of danger she was lacking right now, or maybe she was just lonely, horny and bored, and the one man that had shown any interest in her lately was currently lying in a coma in another town.
“Of course,” she said, realizing her silence may have been too long. He took a seat, and as she watched him, her brain started to revert to something primal. She had to stop herself. The intimidating yet alluring Will Shade was wearing a dark blue suit today, no tie and his top two dress shirt buttons open, freeing more of a view of his tan neck.
“It’s good to see a familiar face,” he said, sighing a little.
“I feel the same. I mean, I wondered about you,” she said, and she suddenly felt heat rush to her cheeks. “Not in a bad way. What I mean is…” She rambled and looked into his gaze. He smiled and his expression seemed playful, yet still scaring the pants off her at some level.
No one messed with this guy, she thought, which scared her even more if Oliver found out about him. She didn’t want to guess what a more intimidating male demeanor did to another mid-sized intimidating male one. Toe to toe, or rather big muscle to muscle.
“You seem distracted,” he said finally, which broke Felicity out of her thoughts.
“I was just thinking. You seem so unlikely the person who would have to learn SAP.”
“I couldn’t agree more. Could barely get through it today,” he said with a grunt. “But I have a feeling you’ll tell me why I don’t seem like the computer type.”
“Because you look like a walking small army?” she said quickly. “Sorry if that’s rude.”
He laughed amused. “Not rude, just...well, a little forward.”
“That’s me. More forward than I’m ready to be.” She rested her chin on entwined hands. “So tell me, you must have a story. I don’t mean to pry, but we’re having dinner together, for the second time, and I don’t know a thing about you. You seem like the type of person they write novels about, a series of novels.”
“What genre?” he teased, playing along with her observation.
“Oh, you wouldn’t be in one genre, but many genres,” she said honestly. “Definitely action, adventure, maybe...drama?” She didn’t want to say the one she was immediately thinking of.
His eyebrow cocked. “Not romance? Am I that scary?”
Felicity chuckled, waving a hand. “You didn’t let me finish,” she said, and his smile widened.
The conversation continued and Felicity lost track of time again. She learned a little bit more about him, but she could tell he was hesitant. He had served some kind of military service, but she noticed he didn’t want to talk about it so she didn’t pry. As for his career, he talked about traveling all over the world. He was a contract negotiator and a mediator between countries and political factions. He couldn’t go much into detail and confessed that most of his dealings had been confidential where he was silenced with many non-disclosure agreements.
Felicity could tell he was good at his job; he had a passion for it and seemed to boast about how much he was in demand about many interested parties.
His short biography definitely expanded her curiosity and proved her instincts that Will Shade was definitely a mysterious man. With a military past and a career in dealing with difficult people, there was no doubt he had a penchant for danger.
Unfortunately the Corner Bakery was coming to a close again, and their food and conversation was winding down.
“Look, Felicity, it was terribly rude of me to leave last time without giving you this,” he said, and he pulled out a business card from his jacket’s inner pocket and scribbled down a number before handing it to her.
“My personal mobile,” he said.
Her mouth opened but she failed to find the words to speak. Her toes tingled again.
“I know you’re probably not familiar with it,” he began, “but typically in the beginning of a romance genre, when a man gives a beautiful woman his number, it means he’s interested in seeing her again and extending this story.”
Her words came out in a breathy stutter. “E--even a scary man?” she asked hoarsely, trying to be funny, but mostly trying to keep her wits about her.
His smile now reminded her of a Cheshire cat. “Even a scary man.” He chuckled, and the tone of his voice seemed to drop so low everything was feeling tingly. “Good night, Felicity.”
When he was gone, Felicity sighed heavily. She blinked a few times and felt herself moving as the Corner Bakery staff shooed her out of their closing doors. When she arrived back into her apartment building, she couldn’t remember how she could get there.
All she could remember was Will Shade; his voice, his presence and his story.
Five
Title: Dark Stranger
Chapter Title: Four
Author: Paynesgrey
Characters/Pairings: Felicity Smoak, Slade Wilson, Oliver Queen; Felicity/Slade, Oliver/Felicity, and Oliver/Sara
Rating: M
Warnings/Spoilers: adult content, spoilers for "Heir to the Demon"
Notes: I'm shooting for about six chapters for this to be finished soon.
Summary: Felicity must make peace with Oliver's choice, even if it means turning her attention to a charming and mysterious stranger. Her attentions to someone else, however, do not go unnoticed.
Other Links: AO3 | FFnet | Dreamwidth
Criminal activity unexpectedly quieted after the last big scuffle in the Glades. Much to their dismay, super-powered goons got away with powerful technology and highly potent pharmaceuticals. It was the last battle where Oliver and Sara both had endured injuries to men fueled by the Mirakuru without much hope to defeat their plans.
After that, everything had slowed, and even Felicity was combing through dead leads trying to find any signs of the people behind the Mirakuru.
The lack of activity did not stop the bustle within the lair, however. Felicity found herself on a gathering intel and organizing frenzy, while Sara found her own pet projects of avenging women again, with the Canary targeting Starling City rapists, pedophiles and pimps. It certainly kept her sharp, Felicity mused, and mostly it kept her away from Oliver a lot. Felicity tried not to feel some solace in that, but she did anyway.
Oliver, on the other hand, took this downtime as a great incentive to start training Roy, not only to control his burgeoning powers but also the rage that came with the Mirakuru drug.
Diggle was back to helping Lyla with some of her own missions, and once again Felicity was grounded to IT duty. Not that she minded, but she admitted to being mostly bored. The danger was part of the excitement of her hacks and programs. She started to think Sara had the right idea, and Felicity busied herself with her own pet project by developing a worm that targeted embezzlers and corporate thieves and siphoned their money into the bank accounts of some unsuspecting people down on hard times.
Just call me Robin Hood, Felicity thought, as she monitored the progress of her programs.
Yet, the most frustrating thing about this downtime was that Oliver had still not approached her the subject of Sara, or even Thea for that matter, and Felicity wondered if they’d ever talk about it all. They were still good friends and partners, and they still had that good rapport working at Queen Consolidated and on the vigilante's nightly watches. Nothing changed there, but Felicity could feel the lacking in their closeness again, as if Oliver had curbed his emotions a little bit more, keeping her across that line that he just wouldn’t cross.
She sighed, glancing over at Oliver and Roy sparring with some mixed martial arts moves. Felicity could see bruises on Oliver’s chest, which didn’t seem to faze him but did showcase the kind of power that Roy had gained.
Turning to her computers, she got her programs in order and told Diggle that she was calling it a night. Sara was coming down the stairs as she was just leaving, and the two exchanged silent looks. Sara was sweating, her cheek was bruised, but satisfaction glowed in her eyes. Another rapist was probably nursing some sore body parts tonight.
“Good night?” Felicity asked, and Sara nodded.
“Yep. I took down a famed serial rapist. Oh, he claimed to have turned over a new leaf, but no one can really run from the truth, can they?” she said, and Felicity wondered if her words had a double meaning.
“No I suppose they can’t,” Felicity said, her tone shrugging it off. “I’m going to get a bite to eat. If any one needs me, call. Otherwise, the computers are pretty much on their own and behaving themselves. What I wouldn’t give for some excitement tonight, but hey, I think we both know that probably won’t happen.”
“It’s not always a bad thing,” Sara said, but the smile tugging at her serious expression made Felicity laugh.
She sighed dramatically. “You just keep telling yourself that. I’m going to get a bite to eat.”
Sara’s eyes flashed with understanding. “Have fun.”
Felicity didn’t meet her eyes, and she headed off. She kept hoping in her ascent to the upstairs that Oliver would call out to her, even stop her in her tracks to have one last private chat - a heart to heart that would clear all this awkward tension up.
When he didn’t, Felicity’s heart sank, feeling slightly numb.
---
Felicity was alone for the beginning of her dinner. Disappointment swelled in her stomach after each minute there was no sign of her mysterious stranger. When she felt a large presence and shadow overtake her table in the corner, she looked up gaping at the large man known as Will Shade, the man who had been on her mind for a couple days now.
“May I?” he asked, and Felicity realized she had missed that accent. She had missed the muscle too. It rivaled Oliver’s beyond measure, and she imagined Will Shade had some scars of his own. His past was a mystery box inside a mystery box, and she wanted nothing more to crack the code that was his life. It surprised her; she had just met this man and suddenly she wanted to dig into his personal details.
He was fascinating enough, she thought, which gave her the excuse to fantasize about him. Maybe he seemed like the kind of danger she was lacking right now, or maybe she was just lonely, horny and bored, and the one man that had shown any interest in her lately was currently lying in a coma in another town.
“Of course,” she said, realizing her silence may have been too long. He took a seat, and as she watched him, her brain started to revert to something primal. She had to stop herself. The intimidating yet alluring Will Shade was wearing a dark blue suit today, no tie and his top two dress shirt buttons open, freeing more of a view of his tan neck.
“It’s good to see a familiar face,” he said, sighing a little.
“I feel the same. I mean, I wondered about you,” she said, and she suddenly felt heat rush to her cheeks. “Not in a bad way. What I mean is…” She rambled and looked into his gaze. He smiled and his expression seemed playful, yet still scaring the pants off her at some level.
No one messed with this guy, she thought, which scared her even more if Oliver found out about him. She didn’t want to guess what a more intimidating male demeanor did to another mid-sized intimidating male one. Toe to toe, or rather big muscle to muscle.
“You seem distracted,” he said finally, which broke Felicity out of her thoughts.
“I was just thinking. You seem so unlikely the person who would have to learn SAP.”
“I couldn’t agree more. Could barely get through it today,” he said with a grunt. “But I have a feeling you’ll tell me why I don’t seem like the computer type.”
“Because you look like a walking small army?” she said quickly. “Sorry if that’s rude.”
He laughed amused. “Not rude, just...well, a little forward.”
“That’s me. More forward than I’m ready to be.” She rested her chin on entwined hands. “So tell me, you must have a story. I don’t mean to pry, but we’re having dinner together, for the second time, and I don’t know a thing about you. You seem like the type of person they write novels about, a series of novels.”
“What genre?” he teased, playing along with her observation.
“Oh, you wouldn’t be in one genre, but many genres,” she said honestly. “Definitely action, adventure, maybe...drama?” She didn’t want to say the one she was immediately thinking of.
His eyebrow cocked. “Not romance? Am I that scary?”
Felicity chuckled, waving a hand. “You didn’t let me finish,” she said, and his smile widened.
The conversation continued and Felicity lost track of time again. She learned a little bit more about him, but she could tell he was hesitant. He had served some kind of military service, but she noticed he didn’t want to talk about it so she didn’t pry. As for his career, he talked about traveling all over the world. He was a contract negotiator and a mediator between countries and political factions. He couldn’t go much into detail and confessed that most of his dealings had been confidential where he was silenced with many non-disclosure agreements.
Felicity could tell he was good at his job; he had a passion for it and seemed to boast about how much he was in demand about many interested parties.
His short biography definitely expanded her curiosity and proved her instincts that Will Shade was definitely a mysterious man. With a military past and a career in dealing with difficult people, there was no doubt he had a penchant for danger.
Unfortunately the Corner Bakery was coming to a close again, and their food and conversation was winding down.
“Look, Felicity, it was terribly rude of me to leave last time without giving you this,” he said, and he pulled out a business card from his jacket’s inner pocket and scribbled down a number before handing it to her.
“My personal mobile,” he said.
Her mouth opened but she failed to find the words to speak. Her toes tingled again.
“I know you’re probably not familiar with it,” he began, “but typically in the beginning of a romance genre, when a man gives a beautiful woman his number, it means he’s interested in seeing her again and extending this story.”
Her words came out in a breathy stutter. “E--even a scary man?” she asked hoarsely, trying to be funny, but mostly trying to keep her wits about her.
His smile now reminded her of a Cheshire cat. “Even a scary man.” He chuckled, and the tone of his voice seemed to drop so low everything was feeling tingly. “Good night, Felicity.”
When he was gone, Felicity sighed heavily. She blinked a few times and felt herself moving as the Corner Bakery staff shooed her out of their closing doors. When she arrived back into her apartment building, she couldn’t remember how she could get there.
All she could remember was Will Shade; his voice, his presence and his story.
Five