Arrow, "Dark Stranger" Felicity/Slade, Felicity/OIiver "Seven"
Fandom: Arrow
Title: Dark Stranger
Chapter Title: Seven
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
Felicity blinked her eyes open and felt the warning buzz in her head that indicated she had too much wine last night - as well as too much fun.
Regrets came washing over her, and she wondered if loneliness and alcohol had led her to take things too quickly with Will Shade last night. She had a sinking feeling in her gut that his mysterious and dark persona wasn’t just attractive, it was dangerous, and maybe she hadn’t vet him enough before jumping into bed with him.
She sat up in an empty bed, and the smell of breakfast wafted throughout the hotel rooms. Upon closer inspection in the sunlight, Will was staying in a pretty nice suite that separated the living room and bedrooms, and had a small kitchen up front.
Realizing she had brought nothing but her purse and the clothes from last night, Felicity pondered grabbing his white dress shirt off the floor and wearing it to greet him.
Instead, she felt the urgency to leave and get back to her apartment, shower, and enjoy her Saturday writing more computer programs and even checking on Will Shade some more, mostly to subdue her conscience; which was screaming at her that some things were still not right.
She grabbed her undergarments and dress on the floor, and she composed herself as best as possible. She tossed her dry contacts away and put on her glasses that she was grateful she had brought in her clutch purse.
She tiptoed to the living area where Will was waiting with his back turned to her. Delighting in the smell of coffee and room service breakfast, Felicity wondered if she should stay, just a little bit, and enjoy having breakfast. Leaving so soon would be pretty rude, wouldn’t it?
“Good morning, love,” he said, and he slowly turned to meet her. He walked over, and she noticed he was wearing nothing but a black tank top and tight fitting boxer briefs. Every muscle of his seemed to call to her, urging her to stay. She licked her lips.
“Oh,” he said, noticing her clothes. “Why don’t you take one of the white robes and join me for breakfast?”
She put up her hand and felt very nervous. Would he get angry that she was leaving so soon? “I’d love to, really, but I have to go.”
“It’s Saturday; don’t tell me Oliver Queen makes you work Saturday,” he said, and he was wrapping his arms around her and nibbling on her ear. His breath was hot and he smelled like bacon.
“Wow,” she coughed. She really didn’t want to leave, but her voice of reason was screaming at her.
“No, it’s not that. I’d love to stay. I’d probably even stay the whole day, but I really need to get back home, shower, and do my errands. I have a few work related errands yes, but some things I can’t avoid.”
He sighed heavily. “I understand, but you must call me tonight.” He took her hand and was staring into her eyes. He kissed the top of her hand and seemed to inch closer, seducing her with his hot skin against hers.
She really wanted to stay, but she was starting to get scared; whether it was her own thoughts or his addictive presence, Felicity didn’t know.
“Absolutely. Yes. Calling you tonight,” she said, and he pulled her in for a long, breathtaking kiss. Her knees wobbled again, and her morning headache raged.
She stepped away and smiled nervously. She patted his cheek.
“I had a wonderful time last night,” she said, and if anything that was true. “Bye, Will.”
She found her shoes, and made an unglamorous and unbalanced exit from his hotel room without looking back.
---
It was a strange evening. Barbara wasn’t really used to being out of Slade’s presence. He usually kept a few goons watching her through the night if he was away, but that night he’d only put one on watch, and she was grateful when her guard had fallen asleep.
She played nice with Slade. She had to. He’d put an arrow in her back months ago, subjecting her to this stupid chair when he discovered her snooping around his affairs. Well, the last computer expert he’d terrified into employment had found her out, and when he’d intercepted her, she’d been too weak physically to escape him.
He was a monster, and though he never told her, she knew he’d been injected with a super human serum known as Mirakuru. That was what made him so formidable. That was what made him ultimately unbeatable.
But his brain was mush compared to computers. The poor bastard could barely use Google. It made her sad, but it gave her a significant advantage. As her sentry had fallen asleep on his watch that evening, Barbara snuck in a few encryption programs that were easy to spot for an experienced hacker, but to anyone else they would just look like errors.
She went back into “Will Shade’s” redacted CIA files, and she went to work, planting the encryption codes there.
Barbara was sure Slade was entertaining Felicity Smoak that night. She only hoped that the woman had some sense to do some more digging on her potential new beau. And for a computer hacker, digging deeper into a person’s file was more than tempting after a while.
And the more involved her captor Slade got with Felicity Smoak, the more Barbara hoped warning bells would go off.
Will Shade was just too good to be true. She’d hope even Felicity had seen that.
The encryptions were already done and asleep for Felicity to find before Slade came back, keeping a watchful eye over her shoulder as she led Felicity around the net looking for anything on Will Shade, only to find that he was a perfect ally and upstanding guy.
But Barbara was confident that Felicity would find out soon enough, and when she did, she hoped that Felicity would find her and free her, even introduce her to the Canary, who was her ticket to revenge on Slade.
Maybe it was wishful thinking, but Barbara still had a few tricks up her sleeve, and only Felicity could find them.
---
“Has Felicity been going to Central City lately?” Oliver asked Digg as they were sparring in the lair, and Oliver was feeling sharp and a little bored. There was still no sign of the Mirakuru goons and crime in the Glades was tepid at best.
Digg sighed. “I think she went a couple of times. I know she’s been dating again,” Digg said, watching Oliver’s reaction carefully.
“What?” he said, and gave Digg’s hand one last, strong jab before pulling back. His expression darkened as his brow furrowed in surprise. “I didn’t know.”
“You haven’t exactly been talking to her lately, not since Sara…”
“Yes, yes, I know. I did talk to her about that.” Oliver punched Digg’s hand again. “It was difficult.”
“You’re an idiot,” Digg said, pulling back and taking off his gear. He shook his head. “I don’t want to get into this drama, but you gotta know how Felicity feels. You gotta know how you’ve been treating her around Sara.”
“Sara is trying to adjust, and… I’m hoping there’s something there between us to recover. Maybe something to build on now that Nyssa has released her.”
“Is there anything there?”
“Sara can take care of herself. She’s a fighter. Felicity is…”
“I didn’t ask that, Oliver. We both know Sara is a fighter, and she has great combat skills. Felicity’s skills are great too, but you can’t make her something she’s not.”
“I know,” Oliver said. “It’s why she has to stay...as she is. With me, she’s not safe.”
“It’s already too late for that Oliver,” Diggle said and he watched as Oliver started pounding the heavy bag again, directing all of his frustration in his fists.
“Does Felicity have a say in any of these decisions?” Digg asked finally.
Oliver paused, and his face fell with sad contemplation. “No.”
Digg sighed again and prepared to leave. “Like I said. You’re an idiot.”
---
A hot shower and a cup of java was exactly what Felicity needed to clear her hazy head. Her body was slightly sore, more her feet than other places, and the guilt seemed to be an anvil hanging over her head.
“What am I thinking?” she asked herself as she stared at her reflection in her mirror.
Should she really feel guilty for having a nice time with a man who was interested in her and actually wanted to make love to her?
“It wasn’t making love,” she told herself. It was far from love; it was quick, primal and a little frightening, like she had been a prize that he’d been claiming. She could almost taste the victory in his kisses - his sultry, amazing kisses.
“Ugh, this is so stupid!” Felicity yelled, scaring her cat off the end of her bed and under a dresser. She threw off the towel and put on some yoga pants and a shirt. She pulled her laptop onto her folded legs and began searching again.
This time she would dig deeper into Will Shade’s past. There was no need for respect of his privacy anymore. He took her to bed, and now she had to know who he really was. More than anything, she had to shut her conscience up and subdue her woman’s intuition, which was screaming at her to have more sense.
“Just why are you so mysterious? What am I missing?” She scoured the sources, dug into international reports and all suspicious activity. Her search always led her back to the paths of the redacted CIA files that seemed to protect Will Shade like a second skin.
Her brain felt numb, her coffee on her nightstand was cold, and she couldn’t believe four hours had gone by since she started searching. She was beginning to see double.
She did a few eye exercises to get her brain back on track, looking right and then left. She took a few deep breaths, and she stretched her fingers. She looked back at the screen and stared.
Felicity tilted her head. “What is that?” There was a strange pattern in the redacted lines of his files. In fact, she couldn’t remember redacted files to have that many black circles with the lines, in perfect measure. She couldn’t even recall ever seeing that at all.
“That’s… morse code,” she said with a gasp. She threw the code into a translation program and it came up as gibberish.
Felicity wasn’t defeated yet. She studied the patterns of the letters.
“Encryption,” she said in a whisper. She dropped the code into four different encryption programs. She would have to wait fifteen minutes before they were done, but it was worth it.She paced anxiously around her room in her bunny slippers, and she nibbled on her fingernails.
Her cat came out to stare at her, and she paused. “What is going on?”
Her programs dinged at her and she rushed back to read the message on the screen. Icy cold fear lasered through her bones.
WILL SHADE IS NOT WHO HE SEEMS. DON’T BE A FOOL, FELICITY.
- ORACLE.
“Who the hell is Oracle?” she thought angrily.
And who the hell did she sleep with last night? Felicity’s blood went cold, and she felt her coffee turning to acid in her stomach. She ran to the toilet and released the contents of her upset stomach. She felt a cool wave rush over, but deep inside her core she felt very scared. And very pissed.
She drank some water and started analyzing the data she was finding in detail. When there was no more messages from Oracle, Felicity gave up. Whoever they were, they were warning her about Will Shade, and Felicity was at a loss to why someone would want totrick her.
The answer seemed to cry inside her brain: Oliver. It was because they knew she was helping Oliver. She already told Will Shade too much, so she wondered what he had already known before they’d even met each other.
Her brain buzzed with restlessness, and Felicity was ready to head out the door to find sanctuary in the lair when her phone rang.
She froze in shock at the name on the screen.
“H-Hello...Will?” she answered, and she kept telling herself to play it cool, to act as if she’d found out nothing. She had to get to the bottom of why he was a liar and who he really was. Most of all, she wanted to know why he targeted her. If she could play along and find out before his plan finished, she could be saving Oliver, Digg, Roy and Sara. Everybody.
She could prove herself beyond her computers to Oliver.
“Hello, love, did I wake you from a nap?”
“Uh, yeah, sorry.” She faked a noisy yawn. “Did I forget something at your place?”
“Oh, no, I confess I couldn’t wait for you to call me tonight. Care to go out to dinner again?” His voice was silky smooth and tantalizing, but since she’d discovered the warning, she could almost detect the venom in his words now.
“Yeah, um, where do you want to go?” she asked. “I can be ready at 7.”
“I think we’ll keep it simple this time. French okay?” he asked.
“Ooh, that sounds good,” she said, faking enthusiasm.
“Wonderful, see you at seven,” he said. “Might want to bring a travel bag this time.”
She laughed and could hear his chuckle on the other line. That was the last thing she wanted to do. Maybe she could confess that she forgot it? No, that wouldn’t stop him.
Maybe she could have someone get her out of it?
“Well, see you then,” he said, and when they said their goodbyes, Felicity shuddered. She had to be strong, but she didn’t know if she could keep up the act around him in person without tipping him off that she knew he wasn’t legit.
She bit her lip and wondered what she could do before seven o’clock. Should she tell someone?
“I can’t tell Digg or Oliver. They’ll talk me out of it. They’ll put me in a glass prison and Oliver will put an arrow in him before I’ll be able to find out who he is and why this Oracle person warned me.”
She also didn’t know how to tell Oliver what she’d already done with Will Shade. She really didn’t want the looks of disappointment. She was getting enough of that from him already.
It was clear. There was only one person she could tell, and it would have to be someone that would understand her need to take this investigation forward.
She searched through the contacts in her phone and typed up out the message.
SARA, PLEASE DON’T FREAK OUT, BUT I THINK THE MAN I’VE BEEN SEEING ISN’T REAL AND THAT HE KNOWS OLIVER. I’M SEEING HIM AGAIN TONIGHT. MAY NEED YOUR HELP. - FELICITY.
Felicity took a deep breath, and she prepared for her dinner date with Will Shade, whomever he was.
Eight
Title: Dark Stranger
Chapter Title: Seven
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
Felicity blinked her eyes open and felt the warning buzz in her head that indicated she had too much wine last night - as well as too much fun.
Regrets came washing over her, and she wondered if loneliness and alcohol had led her to take things too quickly with Will Shade last night. She had a sinking feeling in her gut that his mysterious and dark persona wasn’t just attractive, it was dangerous, and maybe she hadn’t vet him enough before jumping into bed with him.
She sat up in an empty bed, and the smell of breakfast wafted throughout the hotel rooms. Upon closer inspection in the sunlight, Will was staying in a pretty nice suite that separated the living room and bedrooms, and had a small kitchen up front.
Realizing she had brought nothing but her purse and the clothes from last night, Felicity pondered grabbing his white dress shirt off the floor and wearing it to greet him.
Instead, she felt the urgency to leave and get back to her apartment, shower, and enjoy her Saturday writing more computer programs and even checking on Will Shade some more, mostly to subdue her conscience; which was screaming at her that some things were still not right.
She grabbed her undergarments and dress on the floor, and she composed herself as best as possible. She tossed her dry contacts away and put on her glasses that she was grateful she had brought in her clutch purse.
She tiptoed to the living area where Will was waiting with his back turned to her. Delighting in the smell of coffee and room service breakfast, Felicity wondered if she should stay, just a little bit, and enjoy having breakfast. Leaving so soon would be pretty rude, wouldn’t it?
“Good morning, love,” he said, and he slowly turned to meet her. He walked over, and she noticed he was wearing nothing but a black tank top and tight fitting boxer briefs. Every muscle of his seemed to call to her, urging her to stay. She licked her lips.
“Oh,” he said, noticing her clothes. “Why don’t you take one of the white robes and join me for breakfast?”
She put up her hand and felt very nervous. Would he get angry that she was leaving so soon? “I’d love to, really, but I have to go.”
“It’s Saturday; don’t tell me Oliver Queen makes you work Saturday,” he said, and he was wrapping his arms around her and nibbling on her ear. His breath was hot and he smelled like bacon.
“Wow,” she coughed. She really didn’t want to leave, but her voice of reason was screaming at her.
“No, it’s not that. I’d love to stay. I’d probably even stay the whole day, but I really need to get back home, shower, and do my errands. I have a few work related errands yes, but some things I can’t avoid.”
He sighed heavily. “I understand, but you must call me tonight.” He took her hand and was staring into her eyes. He kissed the top of her hand and seemed to inch closer, seducing her with his hot skin against hers.
She really wanted to stay, but she was starting to get scared; whether it was her own thoughts or his addictive presence, Felicity didn’t know.
“Absolutely. Yes. Calling you tonight,” she said, and he pulled her in for a long, breathtaking kiss. Her knees wobbled again, and her morning headache raged.
She stepped away and smiled nervously. She patted his cheek.
“I had a wonderful time last night,” she said, and if anything that was true. “Bye, Will.”
She found her shoes, and made an unglamorous and unbalanced exit from his hotel room without looking back.
---
It was a strange evening. Barbara wasn’t really used to being out of Slade’s presence. He usually kept a few goons watching her through the night if he was away, but that night he’d only put one on watch, and she was grateful when her guard had fallen asleep.
She played nice with Slade. She had to. He’d put an arrow in her back months ago, subjecting her to this stupid chair when he discovered her snooping around his affairs. Well, the last computer expert he’d terrified into employment had found her out, and when he’d intercepted her, she’d been too weak physically to escape him.
He was a monster, and though he never told her, she knew he’d been injected with a super human serum known as Mirakuru. That was what made him so formidable. That was what made him ultimately unbeatable.
But his brain was mush compared to computers. The poor bastard could barely use Google. It made her sad, but it gave her a significant advantage. As her sentry had fallen asleep on his watch that evening, Barbara snuck in a few encryption programs that were easy to spot for an experienced hacker, but to anyone else they would just look like errors.
She went back into “Will Shade’s” redacted CIA files, and she went to work, planting the encryption codes there.
Barbara was sure Slade was entertaining Felicity Smoak that night. She only hoped that the woman had some sense to do some more digging on her potential new beau. And for a computer hacker, digging deeper into a person’s file was more than tempting after a while.
And the more involved her captor Slade got with Felicity Smoak, the more Barbara hoped warning bells would go off.
Will Shade was just too good to be true. She’d hope even Felicity had seen that.
The encryptions were already done and asleep for Felicity to find before Slade came back, keeping a watchful eye over her shoulder as she led Felicity around the net looking for anything on Will Shade, only to find that he was a perfect ally and upstanding guy.
But Barbara was confident that Felicity would find out soon enough, and when she did, she hoped that Felicity would find her and free her, even introduce her to the Canary, who was her ticket to revenge on Slade.
Maybe it was wishful thinking, but Barbara still had a few tricks up her sleeve, and only Felicity could find them.
---
“Has Felicity been going to Central City lately?” Oliver asked Digg as they were sparring in the lair, and Oliver was feeling sharp and a little bored. There was still no sign of the Mirakuru goons and crime in the Glades was tepid at best.
Digg sighed. “I think she went a couple of times. I know she’s been dating again,” Digg said, watching Oliver’s reaction carefully.
“What?” he said, and gave Digg’s hand one last, strong jab before pulling back. His expression darkened as his brow furrowed in surprise. “I didn’t know.”
“You haven’t exactly been talking to her lately, not since Sara…”
“Yes, yes, I know. I did talk to her about that.” Oliver punched Digg’s hand again. “It was difficult.”
“You’re an idiot,” Digg said, pulling back and taking off his gear. He shook his head. “I don’t want to get into this drama, but you gotta know how Felicity feels. You gotta know how you’ve been treating her around Sara.”
“Sara is trying to adjust, and… I’m hoping there’s something there between us to recover. Maybe something to build on now that Nyssa has released her.”
“Is there anything there?”
“Sara can take care of herself. She’s a fighter. Felicity is…”
“I didn’t ask that, Oliver. We both know Sara is a fighter, and she has great combat skills. Felicity’s skills are great too, but you can’t make her something she’s not.”
“I know,” Oliver said. “It’s why she has to stay...as she is. With me, she’s not safe.”
“It’s already too late for that Oliver,” Diggle said and he watched as Oliver started pounding the heavy bag again, directing all of his frustration in his fists.
“Does Felicity have a say in any of these decisions?” Digg asked finally.
Oliver paused, and his face fell with sad contemplation. “No.”
Digg sighed again and prepared to leave. “Like I said. You’re an idiot.”
---
A hot shower and a cup of java was exactly what Felicity needed to clear her hazy head. Her body was slightly sore, more her feet than other places, and the guilt seemed to be an anvil hanging over her head.
“What am I thinking?” she asked herself as she stared at her reflection in her mirror.
Should she really feel guilty for having a nice time with a man who was interested in her and actually wanted to make love to her?
“It wasn’t making love,” she told herself. It was far from love; it was quick, primal and a little frightening, like she had been a prize that he’d been claiming. She could almost taste the victory in his kisses - his sultry, amazing kisses.
“Ugh, this is so stupid!” Felicity yelled, scaring her cat off the end of her bed and under a dresser. She threw off the towel and put on some yoga pants and a shirt. She pulled her laptop onto her folded legs and began searching again.
This time she would dig deeper into Will Shade’s past. There was no need for respect of his privacy anymore. He took her to bed, and now she had to know who he really was. More than anything, she had to shut her conscience up and subdue her woman’s intuition, which was screaming at her to have more sense.
“Just why are you so mysterious? What am I missing?” She scoured the sources, dug into international reports and all suspicious activity. Her search always led her back to the paths of the redacted CIA files that seemed to protect Will Shade like a second skin.
Her brain felt numb, her coffee on her nightstand was cold, and she couldn’t believe four hours had gone by since she started searching. She was beginning to see double.
She did a few eye exercises to get her brain back on track, looking right and then left. She took a few deep breaths, and she stretched her fingers. She looked back at the screen and stared.
Felicity tilted her head. “What is that?” There was a strange pattern in the redacted lines of his files. In fact, she couldn’t remember redacted files to have that many black circles with the lines, in perfect measure. She couldn’t even recall ever seeing that at all.
“That’s… morse code,” she said with a gasp. She threw the code into a translation program and it came up as gibberish.
Felicity wasn’t defeated yet. She studied the patterns of the letters.
“Encryption,” she said in a whisper. She dropped the code into four different encryption programs. She would have to wait fifteen minutes before they were done, but it was worth it.She paced anxiously around her room in her bunny slippers, and she nibbled on her fingernails.
Her cat came out to stare at her, and she paused. “What is going on?”
Her programs dinged at her and she rushed back to read the message on the screen. Icy cold fear lasered through her bones.
WILL SHADE IS NOT WHO HE SEEMS. DON’T BE A FOOL, FELICITY.
- ORACLE.
“Who the hell is Oracle?” she thought angrily.
And who the hell did she sleep with last night? Felicity’s blood went cold, and she felt her coffee turning to acid in her stomach. She ran to the toilet and released the contents of her upset stomach. She felt a cool wave rush over, but deep inside her core she felt very scared. And very pissed.
She drank some water and started analyzing the data she was finding in detail. When there was no more messages from Oracle, Felicity gave up. Whoever they were, they were warning her about Will Shade, and Felicity was at a loss to why someone would want totrick her.
The answer seemed to cry inside her brain: Oliver. It was because they knew she was helping Oliver. She already told Will Shade too much, so she wondered what he had already known before they’d even met each other.
Her brain buzzed with restlessness, and Felicity was ready to head out the door to find sanctuary in the lair when her phone rang.
She froze in shock at the name on the screen.
“H-Hello...Will?” she answered, and she kept telling herself to play it cool, to act as if she’d found out nothing. She had to get to the bottom of why he was a liar and who he really was. Most of all, she wanted to know why he targeted her. If she could play along and find out before his plan finished, she could be saving Oliver, Digg, Roy and Sara. Everybody.
She could prove herself beyond her computers to Oliver.
“Hello, love, did I wake you from a nap?”
“Uh, yeah, sorry.” She faked a noisy yawn. “Did I forget something at your place?”
“Oh, no, I confess I couldn’t wait for you to call me tonight. Care to go out to dinner again?” His voice was silky smooth and tantalizing, but since she’d discovered the warning, she could almost detect the venom in his words now.
“Yeah, um, where do you want to go?” she asked. “I can be ready at 7.”
“I think we’ll keep it simple this time. French okay?” he asked.
“Ooh, that sounds good,” she said, faking enthusiasm.
“Wonderful, see you at seven,” he said. “Might want to bring a travel bag this time.”
She laughed and could hear his chuckle on the other line. That was the last thing she wanted to do. Maybe she could confess that she forgot it? No, that wouldn’t stop him.
Maybe she could have someone get her out of it?
“Well, see you then,” he said, and when they said their goodbyes, Felicity shuddered. She had to be strong, but she didn’t know if she could keep up the act around him in person without tipping him off that she knew he wasn’t legit.
She bit her lip and wondered what she could do before seven o’clock. Should she tell someone?
“I can’t tell Digg or Oliver. They’ll talk me out of it. They’ll put me in a glass prison and Oliver will put an arrow in him before I’ll be able to find out who he is and why this Oracle person warned me.”
She also didn’t know how to tell Oliver what she’d already done with Will Shade. She really didn’t want the looks of disappointment. She was getting enough of that from him already.
It was clear. There was only one person she could tell, and it would have to be someone that would understand her need to take this investigation forward.
She searched through the contacts in her phone and typed up out the message.
SARA, PLEASE DON’T FREAK OUT, BUT I THINK THE MAN I’VE BEEN SEEING ISN’T REAL AND THAT HE KNOWS OLIVER. I’M SEEING HIM AGAIN TONIGHT. MAY NEED YOUR HELP. - FELICITY.
Felicity took a deep breath, and she prepared for her dinner date with Will Shade, whomever he was.
Eight