Work Text:
Who sends their own daughter on a ski trip as a birthday present? In what universe did Felicity Smoak seem like the kind of person who wanted to go skiing? The worst part was, her mother was joining her so she couldn’t get out of going. Donna came up from Las Vegas and packed both of them up into a car to travel two hours to Mount Baker Ski Area. Donna sat in the driver’s seat in the most annoyingly pink snow bunny outfit Felicity had ever seen. Her mother might as well have been actually wearing ears and a tail. Playboy snow bunny. She shuddered at the thought. Donna bought her a less tight and obnoxious outfit for this trip. Felicity wore white from head to toe with little black accents.
As they neared the mountain, they saw more snow. Donna clicked on the heater. Her car rumbled with the effort of heating them both and going upward at the same time. Anxiety rose in Felicity’s chest the closer they got to the ski resort. She wasn’t exactly the most athletic person in the world. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to ski down a mountain without getting injured. She sighed. This was about to be terrible.
“You’re going to love the ski instructor,” Donna said with a hint of excitement. “I saw his picture on the website and knew you had to be signed up for his class.”
It was suddenly very clear what this trip was all about. “Mom, you didn’t.”
“You never get out there on your own.”
“Mom!”
“What! It’s not like I set you up on a date with him. It’s just a course in skiing.” She waved her hand at Felicity. “You never know what is going to happen, though. You’re a beautiful girl. He’s a handsome man.”
“Oh my god.”
The car pulled up into the driveway of the ski resort. Felicity wanted to sit in the car and stay there until her mother was through with her little skiing thing. Donna wasn’t having it. She killed the engine and came around to Felicity’s side. Donna tugged Felicity out of her seat and into the parking lot.
“Let’s go!”
Felicity groaned. “Okay.”
They went to the back of the car to pull out the skis, but there was only one pair.
“Um where are your skis?” Felicity asked.
“Oh, honey I don’t ski! I’m just here to look pretty.”
“Mom!” she practically growled.
Donna pushed her toward the building. Felicity could have dug her feet in and refused to go in at this point, but when her mother wanted something, she usually got it. She stood there as Donna spoke to someone at the front desk. She wasn’t really paying attention. Instead, she looked around the building. It was like a log cabin. A few people sat around a fireplace. They seemed to be drinking hot chocolate. Out of some huge windows she could see the ski lift. She wanted to puke at the idea of getting on it.
“Felicity?” a male’s voice said.
She clutched her skis tighter and turned. A tall man stood before her. He wore a dark blue sweater under a light grey ski jacket. His pants were a darker grey paired with dark boots and black gloves. Polarized goggles sat on top of his head. His clothes weren’t the thing that made her mouth fall open. His jawline was sharp and covered in stubble. His smile was bright and enough to make her melt. But those eyes. A sparkling blue that could rival the ocean.
She snapped her mouth shut. “I’m Felicity.”
“I’m Oliver, I’ll be your ski instructor.”
“Oh. Where is everybody else?”
He gave her a confused look. “Everyone else? You signed up for the one on one instruction.”
Felicity shot a dark look at Donna. She turned back toward Oliver and smiled. “Actually this was a birthday present. I guess you’re my birthday present this year, yay me.” She pressed her lips together and hung her head low.
Oliver chuckled. “Are you ready to go?”
Felicity nodded, not trusting herself to say anything else. They left with her mother waving them off. She stared up at the ski lift with wide eyes.
“Scared?” Oliver asked as he gripped his own pair of skis.
“A little.”
“I can hold your hand.”
Felicity’s cheeks turned bright red. “You don’t have to do that.”
“It’s not a big deal. If it’ll make you feel better.”
“Okay.”
They sat on the ski lift. It swung slightly. Her hand immediately found his. She squeezed as much as she could through thick gloves. She closed her eyes and waited for their stop.
“Don’t forget to breathe,” he said softly in her ear.
“Okay.” She took a deep breath.
Cold wind and snow blew against her face.
“I promise if you open your eyes it’s not scary. It’s beautiful. Just don’t look down.”
Felicity slowly peeked her eyes open. She was met with the sight of flawless snow and incredible mountains for miles. The pine trees covered in white. The snow practically sparkled in the sun. It took her breath away. She took in another deep breath and forced herself to keep her eyes on the mountain and not on the ground below.
“It is beautiful. You see this every day?”
“Almost. You should see it when the sun sets. It’s probably the best part of my job.”
Felicity leaned into Oliver a little more as they continued up the lift. He didn’t seem to mind. The view was magnificent like some magical winter wonderland. She relaxed and enjoyed it until they reached the top. She slid from her seat onto the snowy ground. Oliver kept a hold of her hand until they were both steady on their skis. Felicity gripped her ski pole and let Oliver lead her around.
He taught her the basics of what she needed to know. How to go, how to stop, how to turn right, and left. But talking about it and actually doing it were two different things. Her heart thudded in her chest. Nerves bubbled in her stomach. She was really about to take off down a mountain. She stared at the snow slope ahead of her.
“Are you sure this is safe?” she asked.
Oliver nodded. “Perfectly safe. I’ll be right beside you.”
Felicity readied herself. “Okay.”
“On the count of three, push off.”
“Okay.”
“One, two…. three.”
They pushed off at the same time. Felicity rapidly went down the slope. She felt a scream building in her throat. Her body was suddenly moving way too fast.
“Remember what I told you!” Oliver called.
Felicity put her skis in a pizza stance, pointing them toward each other to slow herself down. She tried to make a turn to curve her way down the slope. Left and right, but she was having difficulty leaning on the proper ski.
“You can do it, Felicity!” Oliver kept steady beside her. “Left to go right. Right to go left.”
“Left to go right. Right to go left,” she repeated.
She fumbled with her movements and her legs spread wide. Felicity sped down the path past Oliver.
“Oliver! I can’t stop!” She screamed.
She leaned on the left ski and she turned right, speeding off the path. A high pitched scream left her lips as she neared the edge.
“Felicity!” Oliver sped up to her, trying to grab onto her.
Everything seemed to slow down. Oliver’s hand grabbed onto her arm. Their skis crashed into each other. He slammed into her. They were suddenly tumbling in the snow, rolling off the side of the mountain. Felicity rolled ahead of him, landing on rough ground. At some point her skis broke away from her. Her ankle throbbed something fierce. Oliver landed beside her with a thud. He tore his skis off of his feet and ran to her.
“Felicity are you okay?”
Felicity groaned and turned toward him. “My ankle hurts.”
He reached down to her ankle and touched it carefully. Felicity hissed.
“You probably twisted it on the way down. Wiggle it a little.”
She wiggled it. When she didn’t scream in pain, they both figured it wasn’t broken. She sat up and looked around. They had fallen a decent way down. She couldn’t see anything. No lift. No building. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. Oliver stood, pulling out a walkie talkie from his belt.
“This is Oliver. There’s been an accident.” She heard a garbled voice on the other end. “Yeah we took a nose dive off the path at around marker nine. Thanks. We’ll be here.”
He sat down beside her.
“I’m sorry.”
“Hey, don’t be sorry. It’s okay. This kind of stuff happens.”
Felicity sunk low. He was just being nice to her now.
“Honest. Accidents happen all the time, especially with beginners.”
“How is it you managed not to get hurt?”
“I was trained how to fall.”
“You can train how to fall?”
He chuckled. A deep warm sound. “Yes.”
She shivered again. They were away from the sun in a deep shadowy part of the mountain and she was starting to get cold. She wasn’t even sure how long they were going to be there. Their rescue team could take awhile. She curled in on herself, hoping to keep in as much warmth as possible.
Oliver moved suddenly. He sat down behind her. His legs wrapped around either side of her body and her arms wrapped around her torso. He did it without saying a word as if it were completely normal. His body was so warm like he was his own space heater. She leaned into him a little more and let out a soft sigh.
“Thank you.”
“Wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t keep you warm.”
“I’m pretty sure that is not in your job description.”
“Maybe.”
Her cheeks warmed and turned a bright pink.
“But I would be a terrible instructor if I let my pupil get cold.”
“That’s true.”
Felicity and Oliver kept warm while they waited for their rescuers to arrive. There was something almost calming about being in Oliver’s arms. Maybe it was his warmth or the way he talked to her and kept her mind off the situation. He talked to her about his job and his husky back home; a grey and white young lady named Desna. It was Inuit for boss. According to Oliver she was the queen of the house. The thought made Felicity giggle. He told her stories about bringing his pup to the ski resort. She was good on the slopes, at least when no one else was around and it was just her and Oliver.
“I kind of want to meet Desna.”
“I would like that.”
If it was possible, Felicity warmed further.
“Oliver!” a soft voice called.
“We’re here!”
The rescue team rolled down the hilly slope in a snow vehicle. Felicity didn’t really want to leave. She was enjoying her time with Oliver. She wanted to hear more about him.
“Can you walk?” Oliver asked.
“I don’t think so.”
Oliver stood, but reached down to scoop her up into his arms as if she weighed nothing. She wrapped her arms around his neck and let out a shaky sigh. Felicity was starting to think this birthday wasn’t the worst thing to ever happen.
“First aid will take care of your ankle when we get down to the lodge,” he said. “Then I was wondering if you would like to continue our conversation by the fire…. hot chocolate on me.” He glanced down, looking into her eyes.
She blushed again. “I would like that.”
Her mother was going to have a field day.