Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hour zero

“No.”

Oliver was known to be susceptible to a bad idea, but this one was terrible. His answer came without a single moment’s hesitation. Instinctive. 

“Yes,” Tommy argued anyway. “You have to.”

“I don’t have to do anything, Merlyn.”

His best friend was visibly annoyed, but Oliver didn’t give a damn. There was no chance in hell he could do what Tommy was asking of him. “She’ll probably be stranded here all summer if you don’t.”

“I’m sure she can figure something else out.” 

“She already told me she can’t afford a plane ticket back to Vegas. That’s why I insisted on bringing her.”

Oliver shrugged, seeing the easy, obvious solution; “I’ll buy her a plane ticket.” He hoped his desperation wasn’t obvious. Because he was desperate. His heart was racing. There had to be another way that didn’t involve him and Felicity Smoak trapped in a car together for hours and hours. “Better yet, you can buy her a plane ticket since you’re the one ditching her.”

“Mrs. Craig has to leave town for a funeral. I agreed to check in on her elderly mom for the next few days until she gets back…that’s hardly ‘ditching.’”

Oliver stared at him. “It’s not my fault you double booked your good deeds.”

“Come on, Oliver,” Tommy’s voice was starting to get all whiny and annoying. “You know Felicity would never take a free plane ticket from either of us.”

“From me? No. From you? Maybe. You’re her friend .” He tried not to snarl that word out but it sounded that way regardless. Tommy was just as rich and arrogant as Oliver was. Most of the time, more so. 

Yet somehow, Felicity loved Tommy and hated Oliver.

He had realized this fact years ago, but maybe he was still a little upset about it.

Tommy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. Just like Robert used to do when he was sick of arguing with Oliver, too. 

Huh. 

Since when did Tommy become the guy who checked in on elderly women in their building? Or offered to drive the girl next door across the country? 

“Are you seriously not going to help me?” Tommy narrowed his eyes, playing hardball now. “You won’t help her?”

Oliver hated the way he said that. As if Felicity Smoak meant something to him.

She didn’t.

He just thought she was beautiful and fascinating and smelled like heaven. Didn’t mean he owed her something. And it definitely didn’t mean she would want help from him.

Felicity had made it clear a long time ago that she wanted nothing to do with him.

The why of that particular mystery was still unknown. He’d never been anything less than charming and kind to her. Sometimes overly charming and kind once he started to get the impression that she disliked him. But nothing he’d ever done had melted their neighbor’s icy mood around him. She wasn’t like that with Tommy. She’d befriended Tommy, which only made Oliver even more perplexed. 

It’d be one thing if she hated them both. At least that, he could understand. He and Tommy could be obnoxious assholes, especially together. But apparently Felicity didn’t have a grudge against obnoxiously arrogant, charming assholes who played music too late at night. She just didn’t like him.

Still, despite how much he hated Tommy’s question and what it implied, Oliver knew the answer. Of course he couldn’t say no. Felicity might hate him, for whatever reason, but he had no reason to hate her. If she really needed a ride back to Vegas and he was her only option, then he would at least leave the choice up to her.

“Fine. I’ll take her. If she lets me.”

“Perfect,” Tommy smiled, relief washing over his face. “Thank you. Be ready bright and early.”

Knowing Felicity, she would probably choose to walk to Vegas before she’d ever get in his Porsche. 

Hour one

His mistake was thinking that he knew Felicity Smoak at all.

He’d spent all night telling himself that Felicity would never agree to this trip. 

When she came outside just after sunrise and saw that he was standing beside his convertible, parked in front of her building, Felicity glanced around, confused and probably wondering where Tommy was. After he’d explained the situation and politely told her that he was willing and ready to drive her home in Tommy’s place, Felicity had stared at him, unmoving with her bags still in her hands. For a brief moment, she looked like she was ready to say ‘hell no’ and go back into the safety of her apartment. 

It surprised him when she sighed, coming closer until he opened the door for her to toss her things in the backseat.

They’d sat in silence for most of the hour since then. Aside from Oliver asking if she wanted the top down; no , and if she wanted to pick the music; also no , and if she was cold; no again.  

She had never been chatty. Not with him. But they had an entire day to kill.

So. Many. Hours.

Oliver felt like he’d go crazy by the end of it if they spent the whole trip barely speaking to each other.

“How has your semester been?” He chose to ask. Cautiously. Maybe if he avoided ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions, he’d get a little more out of her.

“Busy…yours?”

“Same.”

Yup. Much better.

Felicity chewed on her lip, seeming more nervous than he realized. He took her stiff posture and nail biting as a sign that she was uncomfortable, possibly angry and wishing she’d never gotten into his car. But maybe she felt as awkward about this as he did.

“Any big plans for the summer?” He tried again.

“Just seeing my mom,” she said quietly, her voice hesitant.

Why did such a simple conversation feel like they were stepping over landmines?

Oliver nodded, “So she lives in Vegas?”

“Yeah. She’s a waitress for a few of the casinos. I have a scholarship and a job on campus, but mom still has to work two or three jobs at a time to help me get through school.” Her eyes were on him as she spoke, like she was looking for a reaction. Waiting to see if he’d judge. 

“That must be difficult. I can’t imagine.” And he couldn’t. She knew that he couldn’t. Of course he wasn’t going to say that he understood what it was like to worry about money. He’d think it was one of the reasons Felicity hated him, but she didn’t care that Tommy was just as frivolous. “You two are pretty close then?” He cleared his throat, “You and your mom?”

“Yes.”

“You must miss her. When you’re in Starling, I mean. The city has always been home to me. Where my family is. I’ve traveled a lot, but I’ve never lived anywhere else. That’s pretty brave of you…to move so far away.”

Felicity watched him with narrowed eyes, “Are you patronizing me?”

His eyes swung to her, “What? No! I was being sincere.”

“Oh,” she frowned. “Sorry, it’s hard to tell sometimes.”

Oliver couldn’t help but feel offended. 

One landmine: stepped on.

“Maybe that’s because you always expect the worst of me,” he grumbled through clenched teeth. “When I’ve honestly done nothing to make you think that.”

She scoffed, as if she didn’t agree. And now it was his turn to narrow his eyes at her. “What?” he asked. “We’ve hardly shared more than a handful of words in four years, Felicity. What could I have possibly done?”

Felicity pinched her lips together, shaking her head. “Look, I’m sorry. It was nice of you to give me a ride. More than nice. It was a huge ask and I didn’t even want Tommy to do it. I appreciate that you offered to bring me home because he couldn’t. I wasn’t trying to pick a fight, okay?”

He relaxed, consciously forcing the tension in his shoulders to clear out.

“We don’t have to do this, you know,” Felicity mumbled. “Talk.”

“Felicity. It’s a twelve hour car ride.” 

“And I know you’d prefer to be anywhere else.” 

“Why would you think that?” Oliver worked to bring his guard down and smile. “I mean, sure…somewhere tropical, on a beach with a drink in a coconut would be nicer than my car, but there are worse places, too. I wouldn’t say I’d rather be anywhere else.” 

“I’m just saying…we don’t have to pretend like we’re friends.” 

He frowned at that, “To be honest, I’ve never understood why we aren’t friends.” 

She pinched her lips together again, knowing as well as he did that it was entirely her choice. “Maybe I’m not looking for any new friends.” 

Hour two

Apparently, she was the kind of person who sang along with the radio. 

Oliver could hardly hear her, but when a Maroon 5 song came on, it was as if Felicity couldn’t help herself. Once the first chorus of ‘Sunday Morning’ began to play, she was singing a bit louder, harmonizing with the lyrics. 

She had her head turned to the window, her eyes hidden from him, and he took the opportunity to steal more than a few glances at her.

Her voice was surprisingly soulful for a girl who seemed to always be withdrawn. She sang like an angel. Although she’d probably stop if he dared to say something like that out loud.

But god, it was beautiful.

She was beautiful.

Hour three

He was standing in front of the selection of chips, trying to decide between Doritos and Pringles and hoping Felicity wouldn’t judge him if he just bought both.

She came around the corner, her arms full of candy like she’d raided the entire gas station and grabbed everything they had. Oliver snorted out a laugh before grabbing both chip options. “Ready?”

“I hope you like…” Felicity glanced down at her choices, unsure where to start. “Chocolate. I got all of the chocolates.”

“I do,” he smiled, reaching out and taking a bag of chocolate covered pretzels that was slipping from her grasp. “These are my favorite.”

Felicity returned the smile, “Mine too.”

“I hope you like salt and vinegar,” Oliver shook the can of pringles in front of her.

She nodded, “I do.”

“Perfect. Let’s road-trip onward.”

Hour four

“I have to pee.”

Oliver pulled his eyes away from the road to look at her. “We just stopped an hour ago. You didn’t go then?”

Felicity leveled him with a look and he winced, realizing he sounded like a disapproving parent.

“I was too focused on snacks.”

He laughed, “Okay, there’s an exit up ahead, I’m sure we can find somewhere to make a quick stop.”

The highway pulled off into a small town he had never heard of, one that apparently didn’t have very much to offer. The road led straight into a neighborhood and he drove around for a few minutes waiting to come across a fast-food chain or something. But there were only homes and small business establishments that he doubted Felicity would want to go knock on the doors of.

If not for her bouncing leg, he would have suggested that they get back on the highway and try the next exit.

“There!” Felicity’s hand shot out towards the windshield, pointing at a rundown gas station up ahead. He knew that she must’ve really had to go because the place looked like it might collapse. Pulling in slowly, he parked next to the one gas pump it had. “I’ll just be a minute,” she swung the door open and hurried towards the door. 

Oliver got out, too, stretching his legs as he kept his eyes on the door. He was sure she’d be fine to pee by herself, but it still made him uneasy to send her in there alone. The gas station looked like it was out of a horror film, sketchy blinking lights and peeling paint included.

Felicity would probably roll her eyes and tell him to go back in the car if he followed her inside, though.

Just a few moments after she’d gone inside, Felicity walked back out. He frowned at her, and she lifted a key up for him to see, then pointed around the building. 

Crossing his arms, he leaned against the car and waited. 

She came back out a couple minutes later and immediately met his gaze, giving him a look that let him know it definitely wasn’t the cleanest bathroom she’d ever been in. But she looked relieved, her steps slower as she went back into the gas station to return the key, and Oliver tried not to laugh.

On her way back outside, Felicity’s attention was caught by a cat that wandered into the parking lot. He didn’t see it before and guessed it had come out from under a dumpster a few yards away.

“Aw!” Felicity stopped in her tracks as the cat approached her.

Oliver pushed off the car, a bad feeling in his stomach. “Felicity…”

It wasn’t the fact that the cat was a stray. The thing looked feral, an evil glint in his eye as he headed straight for Felicity, like he was on the hunt.

And there she was, cooing at him like he was a sweet little kitten looking for a home. 

The cat stopped a few feet away from her. He sat down and stared at her, waiting for her to come to him.

“Felicity, don’t–” he reached her just as she was putting her hand out to pet the cat’s head. And the hiss that came out of the thing was more demonic than feline.

Felicity screeched in surprise, her terror bringing out a shocked ‘what!? Why!?’ that she didn’t realize she’d screamed at the cat. Of course he couldn’t answer for his betrayal, but Felicity’s outburst just seemed to piss the cat off. He swiped a clawed paw at her hand that was still within reach.

Oliver grabbed Felicity by the waist, pulling her back just in time.

As if he knew that he was outnumbered now, the cat growled and sauntered off, back to the dumpster he must call home.

Felicity stared after the thing as if he might turn around and lunge again, her breath heavy. Oliver’s fingers tightened on her waist, his eyes moving to her hands. She clutched the almost-maimed one to her chest, but he didn’t see any blood or damage. 

She was clearly shaken, her eyes wide, but she wasn’t hurt. “Why was it so mean?” she breathed.

His relief quickly turned into something else. “Why would you try to pet it!?” The sharp edge in his voice was a result of his concern, he knew that. But Felicity flinched, probably mistaking it for anger or annoyance. And he flinched too, knowing that was exactly how he came off.

Angry and annoyed.

Oliver was still holding her against his chest, and she turned her head back to look up at him. Her eyes were still huge. Still in a bit of shock over the whole encounter. Yelling at her probably (definitely) wasn’t helping. 

The only thing she could come up with to answer him was, “kitty!” And she shouted it furiously in his face. As if it explained everything.

Hour five

She wasn’t speaking to him. Again.

In fact, Felicity was even more closed off now than when they’d started the trip. He tried, repeatedly, to strike up a conversation. About school, the clubs he knew she was involved in, Vegas, her mom, Tommy; all of which were met with the shortest answers she could possibly give while still being polite. 

She wanted him to shut up.

He could tell.

But he seemed incapable.

“So, are you still seeing that Cooper guy?” Oliver had seen him around campus. Starling University was small enough that he noticed when Felicity got a boyfriend last year. He’d seen them walking to class, holding hands. One or two unfortunate run-ins when he’d catch sight of them kissing on the quad. And many other times when he would see Cooper on their street, picking Felicity up or dropping her off.

Slowly turning to look at him, Felicity glared. Evidently this question did not warrant a cordial response. At least not using any words. The look on her face said enough. And that was fair, considering he hadn’t seen Cooper around in months and had already guessed that they broke up…

“Sorry,” he grimaced. “Stupid question.”

There wasn’t anything he could ask or distract her with that would warm her up to him again. He only had one move left. 

“Hey,” Oliver said gently. Felicity looked away from the window once more, meeting his gaze. “I’m sorry about earlier. I thought that evil cat was going to bite you and give you rabies or something. It freaked me out. I was just…scared.”

“You were?”

“Yes,” he sighed. “And I’m sorry that I snapped at you.”

Felicity observed him, looking at him as if he was an unknown species beneath a microscope. And it made him squirm like one, too. She eventually gave up on the examination, shrugging her shoulders as she said, “It’s fine. It wasn’t my brightest moment. And certainly not the first one where I’ve irritated you.”

He shot her a look, his lips curving in a frown. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve never liked me,” she said, matter-of-fact. Looking at him in the same way. As if she was certain that she was right about this and he knew it, too.

“That’s not true,” he shook his head. “ You have never liked me , Felicity.” 

Oliver had made efforts, however minimal, to befriend her. 

“Yeah, well,” she huffed, not denying it. “Maybe the stories on campus about what a player you are made it easy not to like you.” 

His frown deepened, her harsh tone stinging his feelings and his ego. “That’s why you never talked to me? Because of campus gossip? I have to say, that’s a little disappointing, Felicity. I didn’t take you as a ‘judge a book by its cover’ type.” 

“Why not?” she snickered. “No point in reading a book if you don’t even like what you see and read on the cover.” 

Oliver opened his mouth, then closed it. “But you don’t even know me.” 

She met his eyes evenly, “I never wanted to.” Off his hurt, pouting expression, Felicity laughed. “Oh, come on, Oliver. You never wanted to know me either. I wouldn’t be saying any of this if it wasn’t a two-way street! This car ride is the nicest we’ve ever been to each other.” 

Now, his face was incredulous. “That’s because you’ve avoided me for three years. I got the picture eventually. You think I don’t like you? What would give you that impression?” 

“The day I moved into the building and you and Tommy helped me carry my stuff in?” She was ready with that answer. “You acted like it was the biggest inconvenience in the world to you.” 

Oliver glanced at her, confused. He tried to remember that day and whether or not he’d been pissed about something else. Because he knew it wasn’t Felicity needing help with some boxes. Once he remembered, he couldn’t help but glower at her. 

All this time, she thought he had an issue with her because he’d been in a sour mood, and it never occurred to her that it had nothing to do with her? 

“That wasn’t about you,” he clarified for her now. “My mother had just come back from a vacation, after divorcing my father two months prior. She made us a dinner reservation for later that night, so I could meet her new husband, Walter.”

‘Oh,’ Felicity’s mouth moved in the shape of the word, but no sound came out.

“Helping you move in was a welcome distraction.”

Pushing past his explanation, Felicity pointed an accusatory finger at his chest, her eyes sparking. “What about a week later, when I brought you and Tommy those cookies? The look on your face…it was like I handed you a plate of dog poop.” 

Oliver scrunched his nose, looking over at her in disbelief yet again. “Felicity, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I devoured most of those as soon as you were gone. Tommy was pissed when he got back and there were only a couple left. I thanked you for them the very next time I saw you!” 

Seriously?  

It was easy to recall the interaction, even though it was three years ago. Because he could count on his hands the amount of times he and Felicity had shared words beyond a courtesy greeting. And he couldn’t deny that he had always wished there were so many more moments. 

Maybe if they had been forced to spend time around each other before they got in this car, some of this would have been cleared up by now.

“I distinctly remember how you turned your nose up at those cookies, Queen!” she argued.  

“I don’t know about that. Maybe you were hoping Tommy would answer the door and when you got me instead, you saw what you wanted to see or expected to see; me being an asshole. Don’t you remember when I flagged you down on campus to thank you?”

“Well, yes,” she mumbled. 

“I thought I made it clear that I appreciated you doing that. I was even hoping you might make more and come around again. Stay longer. I understand how you view me now, but if I knew you thought I was a dick from the very start, I guess I should have made it more obvious that I liked you.”

Felicity’s cheeks flushed pink, her eyes widening. She knew exactly what he meant. He liked her. But she shook her head and dodged it, “It surprised me at first, when you stopped me on campus that day. The more I thought about it, the more I felt like you were probably just being condescending. Or sarcastic. Or lying? It didn’t really occur to me that you just enjoyed them and wanted to thank me?”

Oliver’s hands tightened on the wheel. He was getting pissed off now.

Had she really misread those encounters so thoroughly? All of that must have been before Felicity had even heard about his reputation. She assumed he didn’t like her when they first met. And once she heard what a heartbreaker he was, she assumed he was being an asshole even when he wasn’t?

That was three years ago, but she was still under that impression apparently. 

Are you patronizing me? That’s what she had asked him a few hours ago, when he told her that she was brave for moving so far away from home. She thought there was no way he could just be giving her a compliment? There had to be some kind of backhanded insult?

They had never been friends, or even all that friendly , but how could she think that he was so…mean?

“What about that night I got locked out of my apartment and had to knock on your door?” She asked suddenly, like she was certain that she had him here. Surely, that night was proof that he hated her. “You had a girl in there. You were so pissed that I interrupted you.” 

Oliver shook his head, calling on all of his patience. He was upset that she had completely misjudged him, and that this was why they’d never been close. Not like she was with Tommy. He could have had that kind of friendship with her, too…or maybe something else. Something more. 

He used to have such a crush on her.

A crush that he never acted on because she hated his guts. But that hatred was built on misunderstandings, incorrect conclusions she’d made about him, and that didn’t seem fair.

Still, being a jerk about it now would only prove what she already believed.

“You were looking for Tommy,” Oliver remembered the night…very well. Her disappointment when he opened the door and how her face flushed red when she admitted to him that she locked herself out of her building. “You told me that your landlord said he wouldn’t be able to come unlock your door for three more hours.” He cleared his throat, “I thought that was unacceptable. To not have anyone else to send in a situation like that?”

“You were irritated at my landlord?” She didn’t believe him. He could hear it in her voice.

“He planned to leave you stranded for three hours at 11 o’clock at night. Where were you supposed to go? You don’t have a car. You would’ve had to walk fifteen blocks to find a diner that’s open that late. Or you would’ve had to call someone to pick you up. But that still would have left you out on the street late at night. Alone. That’s what pissed me off, Felicity. Not the fact that you locked yourself out.” 

“You were worried about my safety…so you acted like a big grumbling bear?” 

Sure, she’d made a lot of unfair assumptions about him, ones he never realized she was making. But he could also recognize that he wasn’t the friendliest person. Felicity definitely wasn’t the first to think he hated everyone and everything. He was known for his brooding. “Yeah, I guess so. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I was being a… bear . Or that you thought I was angry at you.”

“I didn’t realize it bothered you that much,” Felicity whispered, shaking her head. “I thought you were just mad that I cock-blocked.” 

He pinched his lips together. He couldn’t remember exactly what Felicity had interrupted or even who he’d been hooking up with that night. Yet he could remember the look on her face when she knocked on the door and how angry he’d been at that douche of a landlord.

“Well, the guy who owns your building also owns mine. I think the email I sent him let him know who I was angry with.” 

Felicity’s eyes widened, blinking slowly. “You didn’t.” 

“I did.” 

“Oh my god. He was so much more efficient after that. And way nicer! You mean to tell me that he didn’t just feel guilty about the whole thing?” 

“I doubt it. That guy is a tool.”

Felicity laughed, “he rushes right over any time I call him now. Any leaky faucet or broken light and he has it fixed in an hour. Seriously Oliver, what did you say in that email? I have to know.” 

Oliver shrugged, “I told him he needed to take better care of his tenants, especially the young college students living on their own. And I told him that if anything had happened to you that night, I would’ve made sure my buddy who works at the newspaper knew that it was the shitty landlord’s fault. Landlords hate bad press.” 

He could feel her eyes on his face, and he tilted his head in her direction. He wasn’t prepared for the way she was staring at him or the way it made his breath catch. 

Felicity looked at him as if she was seeing him for the first time. “I can’t believe you did that.”

Oliver might not be as mean as Felicity believed him to be, but he was definitely an idiot. God…how long had he been obsessed with this woman? And how could he not have realized it? The little crush was one thing, but he suppressed it because Felicity clearly wasn’t interested. Except maybe she only wasn’t interested because she thought he hated her first? And if that was the case, well, he had no idea where that left them.

“I never hated you, Felicity,” he spoke with purpose. Intensity.

“Really?”

Oliver nodded. “I have an idea. How about, for the rest of this trip, we agree to be one hundred percent transparent with each other. Any questions we have, we ask, and the other has to answer with total honesty.”

She considered his words, a smile pulling at her lips. “We say exactly what we think?”

“Yeah. No possibility of misunderstanding each other.”

“And no holding back,” she agreed.

No matter what the truth led to, he needed her to know it.

Hour six

Felicity had a playlist of Disney songs. And once he found out about its existence, he insisted that she put it on. She seemed embarrassed at first, but he sang along with the songs he knew, showing her that he enjoyed it, and then it only took a couple of minutes for them to lean into it. 

He sang every word of Part of Your World flawlessly. She belted out Let It Go better than Elsa herself. They performed a brilliant duet of Can You Feel the Love Tonight with their whole hearts.

All shame went out the window. 

Oliver was having fun with her.

And even more shockingly, Felicity was having fun with him.

He knew that this side of her existed. He’d gathered as much from Tommy’s stories and the way he spoke about her. Felicity had just never shown it to him until now. Never let her guard down in his presence like this.

Who knew…all he’d had to do was make a fool out of himself to have this privilege. Who knew they’d find their common ground through Disney music and an open road?

“I get it now,” Felicity said, still laughing as she wiped tears from the corner of her eye.

His eyes shifted to her. It was becoming harder and harder to keep his attention on the road. All he wanted to do was stare at her. “Get what?”

“Tommy is probably one of the funniest, goofiest people I know. He’s rarely serious. I never really understood how he could be best friends with you, because you used to seem so serious all the time. But…your Little Mermaid impression is a mental image of you that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon. You’re a hoot, Oliver Queen.”

Oliver’s lip twitched with a grin. “I don’t think I’ve ever been called a hoot before.”

“Trust me,” Felicity hummed. “It’s a compliment. There’s nothing better than someone who can make you laugh this hard.”

His mouth curved into a full-blown smile. “Please don’t tell me I’ve lost my street cred.”

She giggled, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip as she watched him, and the spark in her eyes made his heart leap in his chest. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone what I just witnessed. Not even Tommy. Your ‘Disney Adult’ status is safe with me.”

“Thank god,” he joked back. “Besides, if you tell anyone, I’ll just tell them you’re one too.”

“Mutually assured destruction,” she sighed. “I guess we have a secret now.”

Was it strange how much he liked that? The idea of him and Felicity sharing something that no one else knew about? He wouldn’t mind having more secrets between the two of them…