timing is everything - t - felicity/oliver - 1/1 [a]
title: it can happen so fast, or a little bit late (timing is everything)
category: arrow
genre: romance/drama
ship: felicity/oliver
rating: teen/pg-13
prompt(s): (1) olicity + au + felicity is oliver's first kiss - jodi (submission), (2) babysitter trope: felicity babysits thea, oliver ditches partying to hang out with the pretty babysitter! ;) - anonymous (ask)
gif: source (?)
word count: 8,490
summary: (au) It's clichéd, of course, but Oliver starts crushing on his little sister's babysitter the exact same moment he meets her. He thought falling in love was supposed to be easy; it's not.
it can happen so fast, or a little bit late (timing is everything)
-1/1-
When Oliver met Felicity, he was fifteen.
She was two years older and greeted him with a bright grin and a, "Hey, I'm here to babysit Thea...?"
He was pretty sure he fell in love on sight.
She was cute. In that bubbly, sweet, girl-next-door kind of way that exactly zero of the girls he had plastered on his walls were. He considered his preference to be more of the overtly sexy variety. Hot chicks in leather straddling motorcycles or in bikinis on the sand, tugging their tops down just enough to tease.
Felicity ranged between comfortable jeans that hugged an ass that would make the most unreligious man pray and skirts that had him cornering the market in Lubriderm.
From the moment she walked in, her pale blue skirt bouncing against her thighs, he was hooked. At first it was just the surface stuff. The babysitter fantasy wasn't new by any means and Oliver was starting to see the appeal. But then there were other things, like how her laugh sounded and how cute she was when she rambled and it definitely didn't help that she was actually a great babysitter who considered taking care of Thea a gift.
All bright smiles and rosy cheeks, Felicity was quick to offer up ideas for crafts and baking and fun games they could play. Oliver was always just a tiny bit surprised when the blonde beauty traded any type of conversation with him in for entertaining a bubbly five year old. But there she was, multiple times a week, greeting him brightly, because he always beat the staff to the door when he knew she was coming over, letting him help her with her jacket and trading small talk until Thea appeared, hot on his heels and eager to drag Felicity away for a tea party or to tell her all about her day. And Felicity never complained, she just waved a hand back at Oliver and skipped off with Thea. Oliver wasn't quite used to that. He couldn't think of a time in his life when anybody overlooked for him anyone, let alone his five year old sister.
Thea fell in love with her almost as quickly as Oliver did, only a different level entirely. She considered Felicity a princess and told him all the time about how pretty and smart and funny she was. As soon a she left, Thea was beside him, telling him every single detail of what they'd done that day. He shamelessly asked his sister for details about her - did she have a boyfriend, did she ever ask about him - not that it ever really got him anywhere. It wasn't like Felicity was going to confide anything to a five-year-old, but she didn't go to his school and the brief few minutes he got with her when she first arrived only felt like a small taste of something so much bigger.
That was probably the first sign that this was going to be different.
He'd be lying if he said he didn't start spending a lot of time at home on nights he knew Felicity would be over to watch Thea.
"Not that I'm trying to talk myself out of a job, but, if you're going to be here, why exactly do your parents need me around?" she wondered, smiling up at him from her seat on the couch. She'd put a cranky Thea to bed a half hour earlier and was now trying to get some homework done before his parents came home.
Oliver liked to think he was smart. He also liked to think he was a good liar. But when Felicity was asking him a question he had no convincing answer for, he froze. His tongue seemed to balloon in his mouth, thick with everything he wanted to say but knew he shouldn't. Like 'they don't know I'm here. I'm supposed to be out with Tommy but you look so pretty in your pink sweater and I forgot to actually leave' and 'I listened to you read Thea a bedtime story because I like the voices you make for the characters and I'm possibly a ten on the pathetic scale' and 'I've never liked anybody this much and now I don't know what to do or how to tell you because usually girls let me know when they want me and I just go with it and oh my god, is your rambling actually contagious?'
Brows furrowed, he shook his head. "They don't trust me?" he said, more a question than a statement.
She frowned, quirking her head. "Really? Because Thea adores you. I've babysat a lot of kids and I don't think I've ever seen one with such an attentive older brother."
Oliver was no stranger to compliments. Maybe it came with being the son of a billionaire or maybe it was in part because he was attractive, a fact he was well aware of. But when Felicity said it, he suddenly felt like a stuttering twelve-year-old wearing braces and getting his head pat. "She... I..." He blew out a breath, turning his eyes up, and shook his head. "Speedy's one of my favorite people."
"Speedy," she repeated fondly. "I can see why you call her that. She's fast. Sometimes I can't keep up."
He grinned. "She is. She'll probably turn into a professional runner or something."
"I don't know. I think half the appeal to running is that she always ends up in your arms."
Oliver ducked his head, a flush spreading across his cheeks. He tugged on his hair, covering his face with his hand, wishing his blush would fade, hoping she didn't see.
Felicity didn't tease him, though. She merely smiled at him before she turned back to her books. She had her hair piled up on her head with three or four pencils holding it in place. When it was down, it was all curls, thick and untamed. Sometimes he thought about reaching out and tying one around his finger. Her hair looked soft. She looked soft.
He was content just to watch her. She got this cute furrow between her brows when she concentrated, and she moved her lips sometimes, mouthing along to the book as she read.
She was the cutest thing he'd ever seen.
Tommy frequently called him a sap. It was an on-going thing. Felicity had been babysitting Thea for three months and Oliver had cancelled on hanging out with Tommy enough that his best friend knew something was up. Well, no, he figured that out exactly three minutes after Oliver mentioned Felicity for the first time.
"What was that?"
Oliver frowned. "What was what?"
His brow furrowed in confusion. "How you said her name. It was all... breathy."
Oliver's mouth screwed up. "No, it wasn't."
"Yeah, buddy, it was," Tommy laughed. "You sure you don't have a thing for the babysitter?"
Oliver shifted in his seat, turning his eyes away. "No..."
"Oh my God, you do!" Tommy clapped his hands. "This is awesome! You're into the hot, older babysitter. Hey, do you think she likes you back? Because that would be gold…"
Oliver rolled his eyes. "Can we talk about something else? Like how Lisa Terry almost definitely offered to give you a handjob yesterday?"
Tommy smirked. "Lisa Terry almost definitely did give me a handjob yesterday..."
And so the topic was closed. At least until he casually brought her up again, and then Tommy remembered how amusing and completely clichéd it was that he had a thing for the babysitter.
Except it wasn't just the babysitter thing. Yeah, sure, she looked cute when she showed up in her tiny skirts and her heart-covered sweaters. She was all blonde hair and pink lipstick and so cheerful when she saw him. She was also smart, though. Like, insanely, almost intimidatingly, smart. Her IQ was way above the usual and she liked taking apart computers for fun. She was at the top of her class and always happy to talk about how she'd be going to MIT the following year. Oliver was always happy to listen, too. It was pathetic, sure (or that's what Tommy said), but he could spend hours just sitting there, listening to her ramble on and on about school and friends and how, one day, she wanted to be working for some big tech company, or maybe even running one of her own.
Felicity was the type of girl that he knew Raisa would tell him he should hold onto. That she was one of those smart, ambitious girls that was going somewhere in her life. That instead of wasting his time on forgettable flings or week-long relationships, he should focus on something real.
Oliver'd had a few girlfriends in his short fifteen years. Nothing serious. He'd spent more time with his hand up the top of girls he wasn't dating than those he was. A fact that never really bothered him before. Oliver didn't care much for the idea of being tied down. What was the point? There were so many options out there and he wanted to sample them all. But there was something about Felicity that he found captivating. Maybe it was the way she could turn almost anything into a rambling speech that went off in three different directions at once-
"I'm not saying that one day we'll be overrun by robots, but I am saying that we should probably plan for the worst. I mean, if we're going to play around with artificial intelligence, we should probably have like an emergency death switch, right? Actually, that sounds cruel. Are we responsible for that life, even if it's artificial? Once it becomes sentient, do we consider it an individual and then remove ourselves from the equation or do we still consider it too artificial to be real? Wow, I feel like I just wandered too deep down the philosophy path. You can stop me any time, you know? Just give me a sign to stop and I will. Oh, we should do that! We should come up with like a, 'you've babbled me into a coma' sign so I know when to take a breath."
-or maybe it was how much she genuinely cared about Thea-
"Miss Thea, you are the fairest princess in all the land, have I told you lately?"
"Only two times today," Thea replied cheerfully, kicking her feet back and forth a she sat atop the kitchen counter.
"Two times?" Felicity cried in dramatic dismay, putting a hand to her forehead. "What kind of babysitter am I?"
Thea giggled, shrugging her shoulders.
"You know what? To make up for how much I don't show you how awesome you are, why don't we make cookies, okay? Nothing with peanuts, because you don't want to see my Elephant Man impression, but I think we can make something extra chocolaty. How does that sound?"
Thea threw her hands up in excitement. "Ollie! Ollie, we're making chocolate chip cookies!"
"I heard," he answered, grinning from his place, leaning in the doorway.
"You, sir, are on mixing duty," Felicity informed him. "You can put those muscles to good use." She paused. "Not that I was noticing your muscles. Because that would be weird. And awkward. Much like everything coming out of my mouth. Which will stop in 3… 2… 1…"
Thea laughed. "You're silly."
"I'm silly?" Felicity reached for her, taking her by the hands and making her dance side to side. "The silliest silly person you ever met?"
"Uh-huh." Thea nodded agreeably.
"Well, as long as I'm the silliest. I think I can live with that."
-or maybe it was just that she was, genuinely, the kindest person he'd ever met-
Oliver was ready to give up. Seriously. This algebra thing was kicking his ass.
A knock at the door drew his attention, but before he could tell whoever it was to go away, the door swung open and Thea came running inside, screaming, "Surprise!" so loudly that he heard his hears ring.
Frowning down at her, he raised an eyebrow to ask why she was surprising him when Felicity's voice intervened.
"I know you've been studying all day, so Thea and I thought we'd give you a break from it… Consider this your official invitation to 'put away the homework and come eat pizza and rot your teeth with soda.'"
"That's nice, thanks, but… if I don't get this done-"
"Oliver, you are looking at the queen of studying, all right?" She smiled lightly. "If you push yourself too much, it's just going to make you frustrated and you won't get anything done. So…" She walked toward him, reaching over to close his textbook. "Come on. I'll even let you pick the show. As long as it's age appropriate."
He half-grinned, standing from his chair. "All right. Fine. But only for an hour."
Saluting him, she turned on her heel to leave.
Mimicking her, Thea followed her out.
When he got downstairs and found she'd made his favorite pizza, he realized she'd actually planned ahead to make sure he took a break.
She really was something else.
Of course, all good things had to come to an end eventually, and the bubble was ready to pop.
"Oliver?" A knock followed and his head rose quickly, spotting a familiar figure standing by his door.
He stood abruptly, his eyes darting around his room, suddenly worried he'd left something embarrassing lying around. And really wishing he'd taken down that Britney Spears poster of her posing in a bikini top and chaps. Ugh.
"Hey…" She half-smiled, stepping a little further into his room. "So, awkward, but I wanted to talk to you about Thea…"
He frowned, looking past her curiously.
"Oh, she's in bed." She waved a hand behind her. "She zonked out after I read like, three Berenstain Bears stories to her."
He nodded, walking around his desk and toward her, tugging the sleeves of his sweater up his arms. "Sure. So, what's up?" he asked, wondering if he sounded half as cool as he was trying to sound.
"Well, you know how I was telling you about MIT?"
He nodded slowly. "Yeah, you're starting in September, right?"
"Yeah, well, for a graduation present, my mom's paying for me to go on this amazing backpacking trip through Europe. Me and a couple friends are going to spent pretty much the whole summer over there. We've been talking about it for a while but I only saved so much money, so I didn't think I'd be able to go, but then my mom said she was saving up too, and, well, next thing I know, I've got the green light." She was tugging on her fingers awkwardly. "Anyway, I just… I thought I'd have more time to kind of ease Thea into it. She… She's pretty attached to me and I don't want to hurt her. So, I don't know, I guess I was hoping you might have some tips for how I'd break it to her? It's already May and I'm leaving at the end of June, so…"
Oliver stared at her a long moment. "June, uh… Wow, that… that's soon."
"Yeah, well, I didn't think I'd be leaving for MIT until the end of August, but… I can't pass up on this trip."
"No, yeah, of course not…" He shifted his feet, picking at his thumb with his forefinger. "Uh, yeah, I- I can help you with Thea."
She let out a sigh of relief and smiled at him. "Great. Thank you. I just… She's so sweet and I don't want to hurt her feelings. I mean, babysitting isn't exactly a long-term thing. The kids always grow up. And maybe if I didn't love computers so much, I'd turn it into a real career, but, alas, the ones and zeroes are my faithful companion."
"You'd be good at it. You'd probably be good at anything."
She flushed, a bright red tint high on her cheeks. "Thanks. Maybe I'll put 'good at child-wrangling' on my resume. Right under 'spends too much time avoiding social situations by taking apart computers and putting them back together,' and above 'occasionally manages to control her embarrassingly broken brain-to-mouth filter.'"
He raised an eyebrow, his head tipped. "Are those skills or warnings?"
She laughed. "Both?"
He grinned, nodding. "So Europe, huh?"
Felicity lasted all of three seconds before she told him every single city, country, and landmark she wanted to visit. And, like usual, he lapped it up like an eager puppy.
Truthfully, he was disappointed. He'd tried not to think about it, but reality was staring him in the face. After she left, he was probably never going to see her again. He'd never been faced with that issue before. Then again, he'd never really liked a girl this long before. Or this much. And he wasn't even dating her. Hell, the closest he'd gotten to her was wiping flour off her nose when they were baking and shaking her hand when they first met. And the few times he'd put a hand on her shoulder.
That was a thing.
Like when she told Thea that she'd only be there for another two months and then, after that, Thea would have a new babysitter. As expected, Thea cried. In fact, she cried so hard and so long that she eventually fell sleep. And Felicity had been a little broken by it, even second-guessing her trip to Europe in favor of spending another couple of months with Thea.
She was pacing, wringing her hands and chewing her lip. It was a trifecta of worried signals.
"Felicity…"
"I mean, it's just Europe, right? It'll be there in four years!"
"Felicity."
"And Thea's young. It's not good to change things up too frequently. We've built a great bond. I really like her…"
"Felicity."
"So that's it then, I'll just tell my mother and my friends that I'm not going to Europe. And then, when September comes, I'll find a way to convince Thea that she'll be okay…" She nodded. "Sure, that sounds easy enough." She blew out a sigh and tossed her head back. "Until she get upset that I'm leaving and I have this whole freak out again and somehow convince myself to put MIT off until Thea's old enough that she doesn't need a babysitter. And then where will I be? Huh?"
Oliver put a hand on her shoulder, effectively stopping her from her freak out. He stared her in the eyes as he said, "Hey, you're not calling off your trip to Europe."
Felicity frowned. "It'll be fine, really."
He half-smiled at her knowingly. "You've wanted to do this for a while, remember? Huge opportunity, really excited, pretty much already planned the itinerary…"
"Things can change…"
"Felicity." He shook his head. "I know you love Thea. Thea knows you love her. She'll be upset, yes, but she's four. She'll understand when she's older."
"Really?" she wondered hopefully.
He nodded. "It'll suck at first, but she's tough. She'll get through it."
Shoulders slumping with relief, she nodded. "You're right. Of course you're right. I mean, I'm just one person, passing through her life. Her next babysitter could be amazing." She was smiling now. "And it's Europe! Ugh, I've always wanted to go. I'd never forgive myself if I passed on it."
As she started getting excited again, he smothered his own disappointment and tried to focus on the fact that he'd done the right thing. Sure, he'd had an opportunity to keep her around for a while longer, but she'd been so excited about Europe. And seeing her start to change her plans, it left his gut feeling hollow. Comforting people that weren't Thea was not his forte and he felt a little awkward trying to make her feel better, but the smile she was giving him, looking up at him like he'd just put the stars back where they were supposed to be, that made any discomfort completely worth it.
He knew his crush on her was way out of control.
She was older. Graduating high school while he was only just about to go into his junior year. She was a genius while he struggled to get his homework done half the time. She knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life while he couldn't even plan the next day. And she was pretty much the epitome of 'happiness,' friendly and warm to everyone she met, while he was selfish and self-involved and probably too arrogant for his own good. Truthfully, she was out of his league. Not something he'd ever imagined himself thinking about anyone, but the fact was clear enough.
So, when Tommy bugged him and bugged him to take a chance, he didn't. Not because he thought she'd reject him, even though she probably would, but because there was no way that he was anywhere near good enough for her.
On Oliver's sixteenth birthday, he got embarrassingly, never-live-it-down, forever remember and regret every word, drunk.
He stumbled home just before midnight, aware enough to know his parents would be home by one.
He tripped over the rug as he made his way to the living room, where Felicity was, a book open in her lap.
"Whatcha readin'?" he slurred, flopping down beside her, his head tipped back on the couch.
She raised her head from her book to see him, pausing when she caught sight of just how inebriated he was.
What a fun word. Inebriated. He tried to spell it and failed, falling into a giggling fit.
"Somebody's three sheets to the wind."
He turned his head to see her, letting a wistful sigh. "I'd like to get you between my sheets."
Felicity blinked at him. "Wh-What?"
He smiled at her goofily. "Felicity…"
"Um, yes?"
He shook his head, closing his eyes for a moment. "Jus' like sayin' it."
There was a pause before she said. "Okay… Maybe we should get you to bed," she suggested.
He opened his eyes to grin at her.
"I mean, put you to bed to sleep this off, not… take advantage of you while you're obviously really drunk. Which I wouldn't do, ever." She pushed up from the couch, readjusting her sweater. It had ducks all over it. Little yellow, fluffy ducks. Just like her. She was yellow and fluffy and cute.
"Thank you…?"
Whoops, looked he was saying that out loud. He looked up at her as she walked toward him, a hand out for him to take. "C'mon, drunky, let's get you upstairs before your parents come home and realize you were out celebrating a little more than suggested."
He let her pull him up and leaned heavily against her, an arm around her shoulders, as she towed him toward the stairs.
"Your hair's soft," he said, curling it around his fingers.
"Conditioner does that."
"I always knew it'd be soft…" He leaned into her a little more and breathed her in. "And you smell good. Knew that too."
"I do try to bathe on a regular basis."
He smiled, his head falling back. "You're so… snarky. And smart. Did I say smart? You're really smart. Like, so smart that I probably look dumb to you. Don't I?" He shook his head. "I could be smart. I could study more. Would you like me if I studied?"
Felicity looked up at him, her brow furrowed. "I like you just fine, Oliver." She helped him up the stairs, an arm around his waist. "I'd like you better if you walked faster."
"I can do that." He released her only to run up the stairs, wobbling when he reached the top. "See!" He started imitating Rocky, jumping around and jabbing at the air, but that was a terrible idea…
Felicity caught him as he swayed, nearly toppling down the stairs.
He laughed, leaning on her.
Sighing under her breath, she dragged him down the hall toward his bedroom. "You're so going to regret this in the morning…"
He stared at her, smiling. "Hey…"
She looked up at him, amused. "What?"
"I'm sixteen," he told her proudly.
"Yes, I'm aware. You made me eat a piece of birthday cake before your friend Tommy dragged you out of the house."
"You should'a come. It was great. We had a party." He leaned in toward her like he was sharing an important secret and whispered, "I got a little drunk." He shook his head. "Don't tell my parents."
Biting her lip, Felicity nodded slowly. "You don't say."
He nodded and then put a finger to her lips to shush her. "You gotta keep my secret though. I'm trusting you."
Felicity smiled.
Oliver's gaze fell to her mouth. "You have really pretty lips."
Clearing her throat, she turned her head away and walked them the last few feet to his door. Pushing it open, she helped him inside and to his bed, pushing him back so he sat on the edge, his hands on his knees.
"Are you gonna be okay from here?" She shrugged. "I'm really just asking to be polite. There's no chance I'm undressing you."
He nodded jerkily, struggling to get his shoes off before eventually leaving one on and falling backwards on the bed, possibly making a snow angel with the blanket.
She disappeared into the bathroom, coming back with Aspirin and a glass of water before she started toward the door, leaving him to his spinning ceiling. But then he called her name, his head turned in her direction and his arm outstretched like he was reaching for her.
"Yes?" she asked, staying by the door.
"D'you think…" He trailed off for a moment, shook his head, and tried again. "If I was older, and smarter, would you like me?"
Frowning, Felicity didn't reply at first.
He groaned, lifting a hand and rubbing it over his face. "Maybe if I just did my homework when it was due…"
Stifling her amusement, she walked toward him, catching his eye. "Oliver, what's this about?"
He huffed a sigh and turned onto his side, his head pillowed on his arm. "You're… you. And I'm… me."
"Yes…" she drawled, still not sure what point he was trying to make.
"But if I was less me and more like you then would you date me?"
Suddenly, her amusement faded completely. "Oliver, do you have a crush on me?"
Groaning, he turned his face down into his mattress. "Who told? Was it Tommy?"
Shaking her head, she crossed the room to stand at the foot of the bed. "Nobody told…" She stared down at him a moment. "You don't have to be less you or more me. I like you just the way you are."
He lifted his head up to look at her. "Really?"
"You're a sweet, charming, funny, smart guy, Oliver Queen. Anybody would be lucky to date you."
He pouted his lips. "'Cept you… 'cause you're leaving and I'm young and you're pretty and I like it when you ramble and I hope our kids have your brains and smile and…" His own eyes were drifting closed as sleep started to feel like a really good decision.
"Goodnight, Oliver."
"Night, 'Licity…"
She turned off the light when she left.
When he woke up the next morning, he stuffed his head under his pillow and wished he could curl up and die in the corner. It had very, very little to do with his hangover.
[continue.]