Work Text:
“Have I mentioned how much I hate this idea?” Felicity muttered seemingly to herself. “I know it was my idea, but still ,” she added, tugging the jacket she was wearing tighter around her petite body. Not for the first time, she wished she had taken Bruce up on his suggestion for a thicker, longer winter coat. She had gone with something more discreet in the hopes that it would allow her to blend in, but she was already getting looks by those she passed. It seemed regardless of what she wore, she screamed “outsider”.
“I think it’s a little late for doubts, Felicity,” Barry chuckled through the hidden comm in her ear. It was a little ironic that he was on the one on comms for her, but having him there was a comfort she desperately needed. “Mr. Wayne and Diana said it’s important we get Arthur on board.”
“Oh so she’s Diana now, huh? Does Iris know you’re crushing on Wonder Woman?” she teased, swearing softly when she slipped on the snow but managing to catch herself before she fell. At least she had gone with a good pair of snow boots instead of heels or her panda flats. The ground was still slick, but she stood a greater chance of not slipping and breaking her neck in her boots than she would in anything else.
“First of all, I am not crushing on Wonder Woman. I’m married, remember?” he reminded, eliciting a smile from Felicity. She had been so happy for her friends when they’d gotten engaged, and were even happier now that they’d tied the knot. “Second, she’s Diana because she’s been insisting I call her that for weeks now and I finally gave in.”
“Then why is Bruce ‘Mr. Wayne’?” she questioned, looking around as she made her way towards the tavern in the distance. “I mean, if we’re all going to be working together, don’t you think it would be easier to just call everyone by their first names?”
“Yeah, well, Bruce scares me and he seems to like me a little better when I call him Mr. Wayne,” he muttered. “Not all of us managed to win Batman over with an adorable, Freudian slip-filled ramble when we first met him.”
“It was not adorable!” Felicity insisted, grumbling at the memory of the first time she met the Dark Knight of Gotham. She really needed to find a way to control her mouth when she meets vigilantes and heroes (and people in general) or else she would continue to embarrass herself. Bruce might insist that she didn’t embarrass herself, and that he had experienced worse first meetings, but she wasn’t too sure she believed him. “And you promised you wouldn’t mention it again. Don’t make me add you to the no-fly list.”
“Please, Felicity, I could run wherever I needed to fly to, and probably faster than a plane,” Barry reminded her, shaking his head. When he was met with silence, he began chuckling nervously before adding, “Not that I want you to put me on the no-fly list! Pretend I didn’t say anything.”
“That’s what I thought. Alright now shut up. I’m going in,” she declared, straightening her back in an attempt to look confident before walking in. The moment she stepped inside, all eyes were on her. She swallowed dryly at the attention. Too late to turn back now . She walked over to the bar and ordered a whiskey on the rocks, leaving a decent tip when she got her drink. She glanced around the room before finding her target, then downed her entire drink, needing the liquid courage, and walked over to the long-haired man sitting in the corner with his feet up on another seat. “Excuse me, is this seat taken?”
“Nope. But you still can’t sit there,” the man replied, taking a swig from the bottle in his hand without even glancing in her direction.
“And why’s that?” she asked, brows raised as she looked him over. He didn’t look all that impressive, but she’d seen the footage Bruce had found showing what he was capable of, so she knew she couldn’t judge by his appearance alone.
“Because I already gave Wayne my answer: no,” he stated, finally looking up at her. His eyes skimmed critically over her frame, leaving her momentarily insecure. “Do yourself a favor, Blondie, and go home before you get yourself hurt.”
Felicity crossed her arms over her chest, glaring down at him before kicking at his feet until they fell from the chair. She plopped herself down, placed her now-empty glass on the table next to them, and leaned forward towards him. “I’m not going to disrespect you by pretending I’m not here on Bruce’s behalf, but you can’t scare me away that easy, alright? You’re hardly the most stubborn person I’ve had to deal with in this line of work,” she told him, grabbing the bottle from his hand and taking a swig herself. “Now why don’t you tell me what it is that’s making you say ‘no’ and I’ll see what I can do to turn it into a ‘yes’.”
Arthur raised a curious brow as he looked her over again, then sat up and leaned towards her as well before snatching the bottle back as he smirked over at her. “How about this, Blondie: I’ll consider saying yes if you can answer three questions for me.”
“Alright, I’ll bite. What do you want to know?” she asked.
“Question number one,” he started, taking a swig and handing the bottle over to her. “Does Queen know his ex is running around with Batman these days?”
Felicity stiffened, her lips pinching together before she took a long drink from the bottle. “I’m not going to even ask how you know who I am. To answer your question, yes, Oliver knows that I’ve been working with Bruce. He’s not too happy about it, but he stopped having any say in my life when he broke up with me.”
He nodded, accepting the answer, then taking another drink from the same bottle. They would continue passing the bottle back and forth throughout his questioning. “Question two: how much did Bruce tell you about what he knows about me?”
“Enough,” she replied. Clearly her answer wasn’t satisfactory as Arthur remained slouched back in his seat, his arms crossed over his chest as he waited for her to continue. “Fine, I’ve seen everything he gathered on you. It was actually how I was recruited by him. He had hacked into my system to get data I had on my friend, who is now part of his team. When I realized someone had been in my system, I traced the hack back and found everything he had on everyone he wanted to recruit. I almost made it out without being noticed, but I got lazy and he showed up at my door the next day with an offer I couldn’t refuse. Not that I’d want to. Working with all of you gives me the chance to clear my conscience a bit.”
“What does a girl like you have to clear from her conscience?” Arthur asked, brows furrowed as he sat up and took the bottle from her.
“Unless that’s your third question, it’s none of your business,” she stated, her jaw clenching slightly as she glanced at the floor, silently hoping he wouldn’t make her answer him. She still carried the weight of Havenrock heavily on her shoulders, and she didn’t think unloading that on Arthur - a perfect stranger - would do anyone any good.
“Fine. Last question,” he began, handing her the bottle before asking, “Why do you think I should join?”
She looked up at him curiously, wondering why he cared what she had to think about it, but when he remained silent, she took a few moments to think about her answer. It took longer than it probably would have as she had drank a bit more than she had intended. However, doing so also allowed her to be more candid than she might have been otherwise. “You’ve saved a few people around here, which is great, but you’re capable of much more than what you’ve been doing. There’s a lot of bad in this world, and as powerful Diana is, or fast my friend Barry is, or resourceful and skilled Bruce is, there’s always strength in numbers. We wouldn’t ask you to abandon your responsibilities here or in the sea, but the Earth needs to be protected as a whole, not just in our individual domains. Don’t you think it’s your duty, with what you’re able to do, to protect everyone against whatever threat might try to harm our world?”
“Why does it have to be my duty? I have enough I have to deal with,” he retorted.
“You have abilities that no one else does. You can do things that no one else can. If I had your powers, and I knew there was something bad that I could help to stop, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I sat back and let others handle it on their own,” she admitted. “Would you?”
Arthur sat back, finishing the contents of the bottle before placing it onto the table. “The rest of the world isn’t my responsibility, Blondie. Let Bruce and Diana and whoever else they manipulate into joining them handle whatever pops up,” he stated, standing and making his way out of the bar.
Felicity was stunned for a few moments, but when she finally composed herself, she began rushing after him. Her height left her at a disadvantage, so by the time she caught up with him, they were several yards from the tavern, and she was slightly winded. “Hey! You said if I answered your questions, you’d say ‘yes’!”
“Uh uh uh,” he shook his head, smirking back at her as he continued walking. “I said I’d consider it. I did consider it. I still say ‘no’.”
“That’s not fair! I did what you asked and you’re still refusing? Then what the hell was the point of making me answer those questions?” she demanded, grabbing his arm and trying to stop him but only getting dragged for a few feet before he finally stopped and faced her.
“Curiosity? Boredom? Take your pick,” he replied, shrugging a shoulder. “I’ll tell you the same thing I told Wayne: leave. me. alone. I just want to live in peace, alright? I don’t want to become some superhero. If you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly ‘hero material’,” he pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked down at her.
“Everyone has the ability to be a hero. You become one by giving a damn and actually trying. If that’s too much for you, then you’re right. You’re not ‘hero material’,” she snapped, shaking her head at him. “You could save the world, Arthur. If you’d rather settle as some urban legend and another disappointing drunk, then that’s your choice. But don’t give me some bullshit excuse of not being good enough. I’m too smart to believe that garbage.” With that, she turned and walked away, the sinking feeling that she was going to have to face a disappointed Bruce killing her buzz instantly.
“Guys, you have to get out of there!” Felicity shouted over the comms, her fingers gripping the edge of her desk as she stared at the cameras she’d hacked. “There’s significant damage to that wall. The harbor’s going to come flooding in any second!” She watched helplessly as the water began gushing through the wall, her hand covering her heart as she watched Barry and Bruce running towards the Nightcrawler. “Diana, now !” Her heart began racing as the water rushed towards them, until it suddenly stopped. She adjusted the cameras she had access to and saw Arthur holding back the flood, her head shaking at the sight of him. “Well I’ll be damned…” she muttered, sighing in relief when they all managed to make it out okay. When they returned to the Batcave, Felicity was sitting at her computers, turning to face them as they came over. “I take it the Wayne Foundation will be making a hefty donation to fix the harbor?”
“Alfred, can you take care of that for me?” Bruce asked the gentleman in a tired tone, the older gentleman nodding and setting out, either to do as had been requested of him or to avoid whatever argument was about to follow. The group began discussing the box that Victor had retrieved, and Felicity remained silent as the conversation eventually led to how the Mother Box could be used to bring back Clark. She didn’t like the idea at all, but she left Bruce and Diana to bicker like the married couple they had become.
“You know, if she kills you, we’ll cover for her,” Barry warned when Bruce crossed a line, causing Felicity to snort.
“Yeah, what he said,” she agreed, meeting Bruce’s harsh glare and simply shrugging a shoulder. She didn’t have to tell him that mentioning Steve Trevor had been a low blow.
She still wasn’t fond of the idea of bringing Clark back, but if Victor had weighed the options and probabilities and thought it was a good enough plan, she had no place to argue. Besides, having gone through her own fair share of battles, she knew that the more help, the better. As the group broke up and went their separate ways, Felicity jumped from her seat and began following after Arthur. “You came.”
Arthur rolled his eyes and glanced back at her for a moment before continuing to walk. “Steppenwolf attacked Atlantis. He attacked my domain, killed some of my people, and got away with the Mother Box. It wasn’t my choice to sit back anymore.”
“I’m sorry. I figured something like that could happen, but I didn’t say anything because I knew Bruce had already pointed that out,” she muttered, continuing to follow him until he finally stopped and faced her. “So how does it feel to be a hero?”
“Not a hero, Blondie. All I did was stop some water,” he replied, shaking his head at her. “I know you’ve got some big ideas about all of us becoming a team together or whatever, but the second we take down Steppenwolf, I’m going back to being an urban legend.”
Felicity sighed at that, bowing her head before nodding. “Fine. Do what you want. I still think you could do better. Be better. Maybe someday, you’ll believe me.”
With a snort, he began walking away, shooting back a short, “Doubtful.”
After the fight with Clark, Felicity teamed up with Victor and Barry to try to find the Mother Boxes. It wasn’t an easy task, but she was determined to do her part to help them. She was cross-referencing some of her data when she felt a presence behind her. “Barry, what have I told you about hovering?”
“Barry went to get some food,” Arthur grumbled, looking at her computer screens with confusion. “How are you doing that?”
“You have your powers and I have mine,” she shrugged. “Computers have always been my gift, and while I might not be part of one like Victor, I’m close enough that they tend to do what I want,” she joked, glancing over her shoulder to smile softly up at him. “I used to do a lot with my skills, but then something bad happened, so I hid what I could do for a while in order to live a normal life. I don’t know if you know this, but ‘normal’ can be very boring. When I was given the opportunity to do more, to help people and make a difference, I did it. No questions asked. Maybe I should have walked away after I got shot… twice, or after I got taken hostage, or after I nearly got blown up on an island,” she listed, his eyes widening as she did so, “but if I had, then I wouldn’t have been able to do all of the good that I did since and between all of that. Like I said, when you have the ability to help in ways others can’t, it’s your duty to do so.”
“You actually believe that? That even if you get taken out in the process, being a hero is worth it?” he asked, shaking his head in disbelief.
“I’m not a hero,” she insisted. “I’m just a girl who got tired of sitting back and watching bad things continue to happen to the world around me. Why should I think that my life is worth more than anyone else’s?”
Before Arthur could even touch that question, Victor was calling Felicity over for a second opinion. She stood and walked around Arthur, who watched her go, a contemplative look on his face. She was something different, and if they made it out of this alive, he may have to consider being the hero she thought he could be.
As the team made their way to the ship to set off for Steppenwolf, Felicity stayed back in the Batcave. As much as she wanted to go and help them, she would only be in the way, and she was better off holding down the fort in Gotham until they came back. She remained on comms with Barry, a habit more than anything else, but also out of a promise she’d made to Iris to make sure he got home to her. She wasn’t really listening as the team discussed the logistics of how to stop Steppenwolf, having already talked it out with Victor before they had left. However, when she heard Arthur begin to ramble uncharacteristically, she tuned in, her brows furrowed in confusion over his brutally honest speech.
“Honestly... I think we're gonna be dead way before that. And you know what? I don't mind. It's an honorable end. But we've gotta shut Steppenwolf down,” he declared, then looked up at the team as he began detailing their flaws. “Superman's a no-show. You've got no powers, no offense,” he said to Bruce, then gestured to Victor. “This guy might be working for the enemy. We don't know.” His attention shifted to Barry as he continued, “You're tripping over your feet, and mine.” He paused and looked over at Diana, letting out an impressed breath before complimenting, “You're gorgeous, and fierce... and strong. I know we went to war with the Amazons, but that was before my time. You know what? I don't wanna die. I'm young. There's shit that I wanna do. I just feel like... I didn't really embrace the sea or the land. I've been a loner my whole life. But being part of something bigger, like this…” he paused, looking at the team before him.
“I get what Felicity was talking about. There’s more than I can do. She’s really smart and she’s a hero in her own right, even if she doesn’t see it. She sees through my bullshit, and I’m not going to lie, it’s attractive as all hell,” he admitted, causing Felicity to blush deeply. “Maybe I'm scared because, I'm meant to…” he trailed off as Bruce gestured below him, and he reached down and pulled Diana’s lasso out from underneath him. With a grunt, he tossed it back to Diana, then stood, ignoring her playful jab. He went to pass Barry, but paused and threatened, “You say a word about this, you’ll meet every piranha I know.”
As Arthur walked away, Barry admitted he hadn’t heard anything, then quietly asked Felicity, “So I guess you got through to him after all?”
“Shut up, Barry.”
Because of where Steppenwolf had chosen to place the Mother Boxes, Felicity was only really able to watch the fight by hacking a satellite, so she was left mostly in the dark of what was happening. She remained on comms, but kept herself muted for fear of throwing Barry off. When she heard him shout in pain, her hands gripped the arms of her chair tightly before she unmuted herself. “Barry, what happened? Are you okay?” she asked. Instead of hearing Barry reply, she heard Steppenwolf’s declaration, then more sounds of fighting, and finally Steppenwolf’s demise. She had to wait, not-so-patiently for Barry to respond when it was finally over, and even then, she didn’t fully relax until she knew for sure that everyone was okay. When the door opened and Arthur entered the room, Felicity quickly walked over and hugged him tightly. If anyone had asked why, she would have said it was simply because he walked through the door before Barry, but the truth was, she had worried about him. It was more than just out of responsibility, since she had been a contributing factor to him getting involved in this whole mess in the first place. She had seen from the first day she met him that he was capable of something greater, and finally he was living up to that and believing in it himself. She cared about what happened to him, because she cared about him .
Arthur had been surprised by the hug, his eyes widening as he had remained frozen for a moment before he wrapped his arms around her gently, a genuine grin growing on his usually smirking or pursed lips. “Allen, expect a swarm of piranha the next time you go anywhere near South America,” he muttered to the speedster when he finally walked in.
“I heard you over the comms, dummy,” Felicity told him, smacking his arm for threatening Barry. “How’s it feel to be a hero?”
“Would feel better if I was the kind of hero that got the girl,” he replied, his arms moving from hugging around her shoulders to settling with his hands on her lower back. “You know my truth. What’s yours, Blondie? Or do I have to get Diana to lasso you to find out?”
“You better stop calling me Blondie or I swear, I won’t tell you a damn thing,” she warned, smacking his chest.
He snatched her hand with one of his and held it against his heart, his head bowing forward to meet her eyes better. “Please, Felicity. Don’t leave me hanging here.”
She shook her head at him, even as her heart skipped at both the way he said her actual name and the way he was looking at her with those stark blue eyes. “My truth is that… You’re frustrating. And so stubborn, I swear, I nearly punched you that first day we met. You get under my skin and I… like that you keep me on my toes. I’m really glad that you finally see what I saw from the very beginning,” she told him, smiling up at him as she slid her hands up to grip his shoulders. “So you think I’m attractive as all hell, huh?”
“Oh no. Don’t you two start,” Barry finally interrupted, shaking his head when they looked over at him. The rest of the team was still standing there, gaping at what they had just witnessed. “If you’re going to do that, do it in a room where I don’t have to see it. I may be married, but it is still not good for my ego to watch Felicity upgrade again . Now I know what the original iPhone felt like,” he grumbled, walking away as he pulled out his phone. “I’m telling Iris. She’ll understand. Hey Alfred, can I get some of those scones you made? I am starving .”
After Barry left, Victor quickly followed, leaving Diana and Bruce, the latter standing firmly facing them with his arms crossed over his chest. Diana sighed and nudged Bruce gently to get his attention. “Let’s leave them. It is unwise to interfere with budding romantic relationships,” she insisted, managing to pull his hand from where it had been crossed and beginning to tug him away.
“But he’s- And they’re-” he stammered, which was made almost comical by his voice modulator. “She’s been through enough lately, so don’t you dare hurt her, Curry!” he quickly growled out before the door closed behind him.
Felicity sighed at Bruce’s words, her hands slipping down to splay on Arthur’s chest as she set back down on her heels, his own arms loosening a bit but not letting her go completely. “Bruce should keep his mouth closed.”
“What did he mean?” Arthur asked, trying to meet her eyes, but she stared at his chest. “Felicity, look at me,” he requested, placing a finger under her chin to lift her face towards him. “What was Bruce talking about?”
“It’s nothing, okay? It’s not like you don’t know I recently got out of a long-term relationship,” she pointed out, pinching her lips together slightly. “Only difference is that Bruce knows why that relationship ended,” she muttered, stepping out of Arthur’s reach and walking over to the nearby desk to fiddle with one of Bruce’s tools. “Did you know I’m technically paralyzed?” she wondered, looking over at him, her eyes shinier than before. “Yeah, I have this, um, chip in my back that allows me to walk, but if that wasn’t there, I would be in a wheelchair. In fact, I was in a wheelchair before I got the chip, because on the night that Oliver proposed the first time around, our car got shot up by a bunch of bad guys. Oliver had been so angry over what had happened, he dedicated all of his time to trying to take down their leader. It took him days to finally come to see me in the hospital, which caused serious strain in our relationship. I mean, it wasn’t the only thing, but I broke off the engagement soon after. We obviously got back together eventually, but, um, I sort of had PTSD from that proposal night for a while. Oliver didn’t seem to understand that when I told him that I didn’t want to get engaged again. He basically said if I didn’t think I could see a future in their relationship, then we might as well break up. I guess I didn’t, because I didn’t argue or try to stop him when he left,” she explained.
“No offense to Queen, but a man that feels the need to rush his partner into anything, especially an engagement and marriage, is nothing but insecure about the relationship,” Arthur stated, crossing his arms over his chest. “He should have been more understanding.”
“Or I should have explained myself better,” she muttered, sighing softly. “I thought I wanted that. I thought I wanted him , but then he was talking about breaking up and I actually felt relieved,” she admitted, her tone tainted with disgust with herself. “I mean, how messed up is that? I spent years pining after him, and one incident made me not want to get married, even to him.” She felt Arthur move to stand behind her, her head falling forward as she felt his hand on her shoulder. “Don’t tell Bruce this, but he didn’t catch me because I was being lazy. I intentionally left footprints in his system. I wanted him to find me, because I hoped that it would give me the chance to start over new.”
“We can’t run away from our pasts, Felicity,” he told her, gently turning her to face her and reaching down to take her much smaller hand in his large ones. He lifted it to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles. “And you shouldn’t want to. All of what you’ve just said has only shown me that you’re stronger than I thought you were. It’s shown that you have been through a lot of tough shit, and yet you still have it in yourself to believe in an ass like me. You’re a good person, which is shocking considering what you’ve experienced. If Queen was so willing to throw you away because you still had some healing to do, then he didn’t deserve you.”
“And what if I never heal completely? What if I’m never ready to get married because of what happened?” she asked, biting the inside of her cheek as she kept her eyes on him. “Is it fair for me to be with anyone if I can’t promise a future with them?”
“Who said marriage is the only future that a relationship can have?” he questioned, brows furrowing. “A relationship can be just as strong without a stupid piece of paper. Pretty sure there are plenty that are stronger than the average marriage. The right person will be with you, regardless of titles and gestures of commitment,” he assured her. “I’m not saying that’ll be me, but I’m willing to see where this thing goes.” Felicity’s expression softened as he held her hand against his heart again, his back bending until his forehead rested gently against hers. “So what do you say, Blondie? You willing to give a recovering ‘disappointing drunk’ and new hero a chance at being the man who deserves you?”
“I’m pretty sure I told you to stop calling me Blondie,” she reminded, her eyes darting down to his chest as she watched her hand splay over his heart. She met his eyes once more, a smile growing on her lips as her hand slipped up to cup his strong jaw. “I’m willing to try if you are.”
“Game on,” he retorted before closing the distance between them. The kiss was rough at first, perhaps because Arthur was a bit overexcited or perhaps that was just his nature, but it soon turned soft. Felicity’s fingers tangled in his hair as his arms tightened around her, her free hand gripping his shoulder as she lifted herself up on her toes to bring herself closer to him. Her heart fluttered at the gentle but secure way he held her, her eyes remaining closed when they finally parted for air. They fluttered open after a few moments, finding his already bearing down on her with an intensity that stole her breath. “Queen’s a fucking moron for letting you go.”
“Hey Arthur?”
“Yes, Blondie.”
“Stop mentioning my ex,” she insisted, causing him to chuckle before they began kissing once more.
“Barry and Iris will be here in a few hours for date night. Wally finally agreed to watching the kids, so I promised them we’d do something fun. I was thinking we’d have dinner here, then go to that dance club in the city. And before you start, I know how much you disdain going into the city, but this is for Barry and Iris, and if you’re a good boy, I’ll give you a reward when we get home,” Felicity promised as she bustled around their shared bedroom. She and Arthur had been living together for the last three years, after two years of dating prior to that. They had decided to settle on the outskirts of the city, close enough to the bay for Arthur to return to the sea regularly, without being too far from where Felicity ran her start-up company. They had created their home together, with equal parts Arthur and Felicity, somehow perfectly combining to form a cohesive style that was very much them . She loved him, and he loved her. It was all that had mattered to her in the five years since she had agreed to give him a chance. “Arthur, are you listening to me?” she asked, turning from her closet to find Arthur watching her from the bed. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because you’re beautiful,” he replied, standing and walking towards her with a loving grin planted firmly on his lips.
“Don’t be stupid, I haven’t even put my makeup on yet,” she shook her head, her eyes following him as he approached before meeting his as he wrapped his arms around her.
“You’re still beautiful without it. If I wasn’t already fully aware of how much effort you put into putting it on, I’d even dare to say you’re more beautiful without it,” he joked, grasping her hand when she smacked at his chest. “Have I told you lately that I love you?”
“You have actually,” she nodded, unable to hide her smile. “This morning when I woke up to you staring at me like a weirdo. Then again when I brought you Big Belly on my lunch break. And then once more when I showed you the dress I’d picked out for date night. I think four is enough times,” she teased, leaning up on her toes to give him a sweet kiss. “I love you too, by the way. You know that right?”
“Of course,” he assured her, giving her a kiss on her cheek before turning her and playfully slapping her butt. “Now get ready before I ravage you and ruin date night for the Allens. I’m going to take a shower. I don’t want to smell like the bay when we go dancing.”
Felicity shook her head as she watched him go, her heart fluttering as she thought about how truly blessed she was to have Arthur in her life. She went back to the closet, picking out which shoes to pair with the dress already hanging out. Unable to find the pair she really wanted, she began digging through the closet. Along the way, she knocked over a shoebox that she had never seen before, spilling the contents onto the floor. Curiosity getting the best of her, she reached down to pick everything up, carrying the shoebox over to the couch as she looked inside. A shaky breath escaped her as she realized that Arthur had been collecting items over the course of their relationship. There were movie tickets, photobooth strips, receipts from dinners out, even the empty bottle of wine they had shared on their first night in their new home. They were all small, and generally silly things to anyone but Felicity, who could pinpoint every moment and memory that came with it all. He had catalogued their entire relationship in a box full of trinkets that had seemingly meant so much to him that he thought to keep them. She was so stunned by this realization, that she remained seated on the bed, looking through all of it more carefully until Arthur exited the shower with a towel wrapped securely around his waist.
“Lis, baby, what are you…” he trailed off when he noticed the shoebox. “You should be getting ready,” he tried to brush it off, moving towards the closet to grab his clothes.
“You kept all of it,” she muttered, watching him as he started to get dressed. “Why?”
“Because it mattered to me. When I started, there wasn’t a lot in the world that mattered to me, so I wanted to keep what did. I guess there’s more than I initially planned,” he shrugged, turning to face her as he pulled on a pair of dark-wash jeans. “It’s a habit from when I was a kid. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“But… It all has to do with me,” she pointed out.
“Well yeah, babe. If you haven’t noticed, you’re what matters most to me,” he replied, giving her a look as if it was obvious. She shook her head as she placed the shoebox aside and made her way towards him. When she reached him, she smiled cheekily before getting on one knee. “Felicity, what are you doing?”
“What does it look like, dummy?” she joked, taking one of his hands in hers. “Five years ago, you told me that someday, the right person would love me and be with me, even if I couldn’t promise a future beyond that. You told me that it might not be you, but it is. It’s been you all of this time, and I want it to be you for the rest of our lives. Marry me, Arthur.”
He looked at her, completely dumbfounded, then knelt with her, cupping her face in his hands so he could meet her eyes clearly. “Are you sure this is what you want? I am completely happy with how things are right now. We don’t have to change it if you aren’t ready.”
“I’m ready,” she assured him, nodding certainly as she covered his hands with hers and pulled them away. “What do you say, Aquaman? Are you willing to give a secret hacker and former lost cause the chance to be the woman who deserves you?”
“You’re damn right I am,” he replied, pulling her close and kissing her deeply. It only lasted a few moments before he pulled away, lifting her up and laying her on the bed before grabbing his phone off the dresser.
“What are you doing?” she asked, laughing softly as she turned to watch him.
“Texting Allen. If you think I’m letting you leave this bed tonight, you’re out of your mind. They can enjoy date night without us,” he decided, typing his message before sending it to Barry: Felicity proposed. How do you feel about being my best man? P.S. Date night is cancelled. Apologies to you and the Mrs., but I’m sure you understand. He had barely hit send before there was a reply that had him chuckling.
“What did he say?” she questioned, moving closer as Arthur turned the phone towards her. “‘Congratulations! We’ll try again next week’? That’s all he had to say? You’d think he’d at least be a little surprised.”
“I think he’s only surprised you beat me to it,” he replied, taking his phone and placing it back on the dresser before opening his underwear drawer and pulling out a small velvet box. He tossed it to her, then leaned against the dresser with his arms crossed. “I hadn’t decided when I would propose, since I was waiting for you, but I’ve had that since we moved in together.” She opened the box and gasped at the beautiful ring nestled inside. “It was my mother’s. One of the only things I have left of her. I know it’s not like most other rings these days, but I figured if anyone would appreciate it, it would be you.” He moved towards the bed and knelt near the edge, taking the box and removing the ring to slip it onto her right ring finger. “Remind me to thank your mom for getting your ring size for me.”
“You talked to my mom about this?”
“I might still be a bit of an ass, but I wasn’t going to propose without getting Donna’s approval,” he told her, lifting her hand to see how the ring looked on it. “You’re lucky I love you because your mom is a handful when the idea of marriage is put into her head.”
“Your own fault,” she teased, squealing when he growled and crawled onto the bed and on top of her. “You sure you want to marry into that? She won’t stop being a handful once we’re married.”
“Game on,” he replied, closing the distance between them. By their feet, the shoebox remained, a tangible reminder of the past they shared together, while the ring that glistened on her finger as she cupped his jaw stood as a symbol for the wonderful future yet to come.