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"This. Is. Ridiculous. Felicity."
Felicity ignored Oliver and continued to fill out the form the receptionist had just handed them.
"I don’t need a mouth guard."
Oliver shoved off from the chair and began to pace the tight waiting room. A mom and her preteen son watched him, the mom pulling her son closer into her side.
Felicity rolled her eyes when Oliver reached the end of the room in three strides and stopped short with his nose almost pressed to the glass of a framed poster. He took a step back and glared, actually “Arrow” scowled at the poster showing the horrors of not flossing regularly.
He sighed, dramatically, and turned to stomp back. But the office door opened just then, flung wide and flung shockingly hard by a little blond pixie in pigtails and a green fairy outfit.
"DON’T WORRY!" the little girl yelled as she planted herself akimbo in the center of the tiny room. "The Tooth Fairy Tinkerbell is here!"
"What the?!" Oliver was muttering and rubbing his chin that had stopped the door.
"The Tooth Fairy, silly!" The little girl hopped over to Oliver and gripped his hand with both of hers. He looked up in confusion but Felicity continued to fill out the forms.
"Uh," he forced a smile.
But the fairy’s mother joined them at that point, offering an apology as she steered her chatting daughter away.
Oliver resumed his seat at Felicity’s elbow. “Why are you the one filling those out anyway?”
She tipped her head to look at him. “Really? You want to do the paperwork.”
He shrugged. “It is my dentist appointment, so, I guess I should.”
She grinned. “Is that your way of asking? Because I have no desire to do these. I just thought it would be faster.”
"Faster than the person the forms belong to?"
"Ok, here." She shoved the clipboard into his chest and sat back, grabbing an only slightly old celebrity magazine from a pile and starting to flip through it.
Oliver cleared his throat and focused. Felicity watched out the corner of her eye. She saw him skip a few lines and boxes, fill in a few things, and skip more.
After a couple minutes, he growled. “Fine.” He presented the clipboard and forms back to her and she chuckled. “Oh be quiet. I had five y—”
"Oh no! You can not keep using that excuse!" She pressed her finger to his lips to shush him, and her laugh caught in her throat.
He didn’t move. He just looked back at her, his eyebrows raised, his hand still holding one end of the clipboard. Felicity stopped talking and let out a tiny, shuddering breath before she yanked her finger away and yanked the clipboard away as well.
They sat silently as Felicity finished the forms. Oliver sat as still as a statue except for his index finger and thumb of his right hand. He couldn’t stop, or didn’t notice, them fidgeting and rubbing.
It was a nervous tell and Felicity inwardly sighed. “Why don’t you like the dentist? You were fine at the doctor.”
He stopping his fingers by making a fist. He took a deep breath. “I, uh, I get claustrophobic, sort of…when…I can’t swallow or close my mouth until they say…” His fingers started up again.
Felicity reached out and covered his hand with hers. “Ok.” He glanced at their hands and then up at her face. She smiled, trying to tell him she knew he was talking about the torture that they never talk about.
He nodded. “Thanks for filling them out,” he stood suddenly, took the clipboard and walked over to the desk to hand them in.
The following four minutes of waiting for his turn were the longest in history. She pretended to do stuff on her phone while he pretended he was fine just sitting next to her when all he wanted to do was run out, suit up, and pick a fight.
"Oliver Queen?" called a dental assistant from the doorway to the back.
"You, uh, want me to come with you, or, wait here…?" But instead of speaking, he gripped her hand and threaded their fingers. She smiled through her surprise at the tender act and nodded.
"How are you today, Oliver?" The dental assistant chatted but never really seemed to wait for an answer, which was fine with the two friends awkwardly holding hands behind her. "And here’s us, go ahead and have a seat in the chair, your friend can sit there," the dental assistant motioned and smiled.
"Thanks," Felicity pulled her fingers from Oliver’s and tried to ignore the flutter she felt as he looked around quickly to see where she was.
"So you think a night bite guard is in order, huh?" said the assistant. Oliver just nodded.
"Yeah, he…has, had, uh, a stressful job and grinds his teeth, so," Felicity blushed when the dental assistant raised her eyebrows. "I mean, he says he doesn’t grind but he does; clenches his jaw a lot and grinds, er, I mean, not that I know, like first hand."
Oliver’s lips twitched.
"Ok, we will just start with a cleaning since you are past due, and then the dentist will come examine and then make a mold if needed, ok?"
Again he just nodded. “Oh!” Felicity slid her chair closer so she could look over Oliver to the dental assistant. “He gets a little claustrophobic when he can’t close his mouth, so if you could let him do so more often than normal that would be great.”
"Very common, no problem."
Oliver thanked the dental assistant and settled back as she adjusted the chair. But it only took a minute or so before Felicity looked up from her phone and saw his fingers twitching.
"Oliver," she said in a quiet, shushing tone and she wrapped both her hands around his large hand. She ignored the smile she saw peeking from behind the dental assistant’s mask.
The cleaning went well, as did the exam, which did show Oliver could benefit from wearing a bite guard when sleeping. But as the time came for the mold, Oliver’s anxiety was clearly raising.
Even when the dentist assured him it was a quick set. So Felicity readjusted her hold on his hand and started to talk about the office politics at her new job. (It was just a little tech firm but it still provided office gossip.)
Oliver kept his eyes firmly on her; her mouth, her nose, her painted purple nails against his rough skin, her eyes flashing behind her glasses, her blonde hair, loose and slightly wavy today…
"And open! All done, Mr. Queen."
He sat up to rinse and spit. “Really?”
"Yes. Come back tomorrow, we will fit the guard, and that’s it."
"Thank you, Doctor," Felicity said as Oliver stood and took a few deep breathes.
She moved to follow the assistant back to the front desk when Oliver reached out and touched her arm. She turned and looked at him and her blood froze for a moment as she saw the raw emotion on his face.
"Felicity," he started to say.
"It’s ok, just helping my friend how hates going to the dentist." She flashed him her big smile.
He shook his head and stepped closer. She had to look up to see his face. “Thanks for that, yes, but…also…” Their eyes searched the other’s before he broke the connection with a long blink. “Just, thank you.”
"Mmm hmm, sure, always," she managed to voice. She cleared her throat. "Ok, let’s pay up and get out of here!" She walked away quickly and Oliver frowned as he followed.
He felt like he would never manage to have Felicity Smoak figured out. Things that seemed trivial to him apparently mattered to her while things he felt needed deeper discussion almost never phased her.
When they were outside and about to get into her car, Oliver decided he couldn’t stand her overly casual affect any longer.
"Felicity."
"Yes?" She was searching her purse for her keys. He stepped up, took her purse, dropped it at their feet and took her hands. She was making that little "o" mouth again, that "unsure what is happening" mouth.
He took a deep breath but before he could say anything, she did. “Please, Oliver.” He tipped his head in query.
"Please, don’t say…anything that, that you think you have to say. Ok? I just, I don’t think…" She closed her eyes.
Oliver felt his nerves tighten, seeing her about to sigh or pull away or cry.
"No," he whispered. It made her open her eyes, and yes, they were wet. "No, I’m never doing that to you again." She nodded and started to pull from his hands. "Felicity." She sighed and looked down at her feet. "Felicity," he barely breathed out her name.
She slowly raised her face. Oliver was hyper aware of everything: the heat from the car and parking lot, the other people parking and walking and driving by, the birds, the traffic on the highway a few blocks south, his heartbeat, her pulse under his fingers…the intense desire to kiss her right there in the parking lot for no better reason than the fact that she willingly came and held his hand at the dentist.
"So, are we just going to stand here looking at ea—"
But what better reason was there? He slid his hand around her head and leaned in, softly pressing his lips to hers. When she didn’t try to move away, he pulled her closer with his other hand at her waist. She let out a soft tiny whimper and snaked her arms around his neck.
He smiled and she smiled, which made their lips stop kissing, which made Felicity laugh. He chased that sound and kissed her harder, demanding, and she moaned this time as he pulled her flush against his body.
"Mmmm," she chuckled.
He pulled back enough to look at her. “What, ‘mmmm’?”
She licked her lips. “You’re so minty fresh, it’s kinda strange,” she laughed.
He raised his eyes to the sky and wrapped her in a tight hug.
"Thank you for coming to the dentist with me, Felicity," he said into her hair.
"Mmm hmm," she sighed contently into his chest. "Anytime, Oliver."