maybe its the bags under his eyes, or the unkempt hair —— or oh, i don’t know, the clothes that don‘t match!
at
first, she’s not even sure how to properly answer because it’s so
blatantly obvious it doesn’t even deserve the question – so she
stares for a second, cup of coffee halfway to her mouth.
“
———- babe, are you okay? do you want some help getting ready or
… ? “
laughter. it’s caroline’s favorite sound in the entire world. she especiallyloves the sound of oliver’s laughter. so often it’s fleeting like if
you didn’t catch it the first time, you might have imagined it. but
once in a while it lasts. like right now, it has become less of a
sound & more of an entity all its own. it fills up the hallways
of their home, seeping right into the plaster of the walls. it makes
the sunlight that filters in through the windows soften around the
edges – almost dim in comparison to the light that comes to his
face. it spreads out from his wonderful smile right up to the shine
of his bright blue eyes. she didn’t know this kind of transformation
was possible. she was quite used to him taking surprises like one
would take medicine – with a blank face & a hard swallow just
to get it over with. but not this time. she didn’t know that two
words could incite this kind of amazing reaction.
in hindsight, it
would make sense. perhaps they’re both a little short-sighted but
they don’t always see the impact they have on each other’s lives.
he’s become everything to her – her shelter, her security, her best
friend, her tutor. he’s the hero she always wanted & the hero she
didn’t know that she needed. he’s given her the kind of love &
happiness that girls dream of. all she wanted was to give him
something in return. it wasn’t planned but it happened & here
they were. but she had no idea that she was giving him something he
never dreamed he would have. he keeps everyone in his life at an
arm’s length – for fear of their safety or for fear itself – but
she was so determined to climb or beat down every wall he built up.
riding on the coattails of their european adventures, she hadn’t even
imagined that it could get better than that. for once, it felt like
it was just them & the entire world – but now they were m o r e.
where there was two, there would soon be three & a million
possibilities.
caroline thinks she might cry from the look of sheer
joy on oliver’s face but this was no time for tears. suddenly he’s
grabbing her by the waist & she’s wrapped up in his arms &
he’s burying his face into her hair & she has to wonder if his
laughter is just a mask for unbelievably happy tears too. she lets
out a little scream of surprise when she’s suddenly lifted right off
her feet & in two strides of his, she lands on the mattress in a
plush heap. her laughing subsides a bit as she reaches for his face
as he hovers over her, tracing the wide smile on his lips as he combs
his fingers through her hair. then he’s kissing her & it’s so
passionate & deep, it takes her very breath away.
“ oliver, “
she gasps when he finally releases her to breathe, his mouth moving
on toward her jaw & throat. “ i have to make sure first.
sometimes the at-home tests can be wrong so i’ll need to go to the
doctor. wait —- i need to get a doctor. the right doctor. ” a
giggle returned when his beard scratched at a sensitive spot on the
side of her neck. “ maybe we need a second opinion. what if it’s
just a fluke? “
while she’s vocalizing all these options &
concerns, his kisses lead him downward, feather-light over the cotton
of her shirt do not distract until he’s open mouthed against the bare
skin of her stomach. then her breath catches in the back of her
throat & her eyes immediately tear away from the ceiling to look
at him. he’s rolled up her shirt just enough to expose the lowest
part of her stomach, just over her bellybutton. she can feel his
breath ghosting over her skin, his thumbs slowly running over the
curves of her waist but he’s not meeting her eyes just yet. it seems
like he’s staring at her stomach ( is that wonder in his face? ), as
if he’s solving some grand puzzle. she watches him as he places
another kiss, gentler this time, right about where she might start to
show. she honestly believed that it wouldn’t get better than spanish
mornings & midnights in the city of lights, but it was so much
better.
he tells her in the softest voice, ‘we’re having a baby’ &
it almost sounds like a question, like if she said the wrong thing,
he would s h a t t e r like glass. she stares at his face when he lifts his
gaze, a face she knows now as well as the back of her hand. she knows
she will never know another man like him – she will NEVER love
another man like him. she would give him anything & everything if
he asked it of her. he is her whole world. she nods & he kisses
his way back up toward her mouth, every kiss he lays down feeling
like a promise – promising to love her, to take care of her, to
nurture & protect their child, to be everything she needs. she
hopes that he is promising more laughter too.
“ yes, “ she
whispers against his smiling lips before he can kiss her breathless
again. “ we’re having a baby. “
he should remind her that room service was going to bring their champagne at any moment & that he should at least, keep his shirt on so he doesn’t answer the door semi-naked. last time they answered the door, he met the hotel attendant in his boxers — thankfully, the suite he was paying for had several rooms & the bedroom wasn’t in direct view from the door. it isn’t surprising that he doesn’t protest when she removes his shirt, sliding it off his shoulders in a smooth movement. his eyes though, immediately land on caroline’s body when she tosses her shirt off & instead of prolonging the process of clothing removal, he flips them over, hovering over caroline as he captures her lips in a wanton kiss.
’ Yes. ’ he reassures she said the word correctly, but oliver’s lips are traveling down her neck now, gently nibbling on her skin; his hips meet her’s in a smooth movement, careful not to put all of his weight on top of her. ’ —— baiser ’.
nearly
all of the playful humor they had been toying with was lost on
caroline as soon as oliver turned the tables & flipped their
positions around. that’s generally how things work with her when
she’s inebriated – very hot & cold, the switch coming at any
unexpected time. right now, she was feeling very much the former,
enough to lose her sense of time since five minutes didn’t really
mean a thing to her when he was kissing her like this. she sinks into
the mattress a bit more, her short nails scratching his skin lightly
as she ran her hands up his arms & down his back in an attempt to
bring him closer. it’s only his phrase that pulls her back in trying
to remember what the word is & why it sounds so familiar. once
she realizes its meaning, she’s seized by another fit of giggles, her
head falling back against the bed with the force of them.
“ oh,
that’s what you want to do to me right now? you want to f — “
of
course, she’s interrupted by a knock at the door, meaning their order
had arrived. a serious dilemma pops up in her mind because on the one
hand, her drop-dead sexy boyfriend is speaking french shirtless but
on the other hand, champagne. the decision takes her two seconds to
make & she’s pressing an apologetic kiss to his cheek before
pushing herself off the bed, snatching up his shirt to put on &
straightening her skirt as she jogs off to answer the door. a few
moments later she returns juggling two glasses, the bottle & her
box of cherries – then jumping on the bed, wasting no time in
handing oliver the champagne to manage while she rips open the box of
cherries before she stops in her tracks, grinning sheepishly.
“ —
b a b e, we can pause for half a glass, right? because I really, really
want you to – baiser me. “
optimistic isn’t exactly the word he’d use to describe himself. maybe before the island, when he was still a playboy, a kid driven by the lust for money & every single luxury he had grown up around — he always believed in the best outcome, despite every single horrible thing he had done to other people. lian yu had put his life in perspective & for a while, he had forgotten what optimism was, always driven by the need to discover the worst possible outcome in every situation. oliver always believed he would die saving the city, perhaps in the hands of deathstroke or any of his enemies & he hadn’t cared about his inevitable fate. now? he wanted to do everything he could to stay alive —— for caroline, because she was the person who matted the most to him, the only person he’d give up this life for.
every time they embraced each other, oliver found comfort he hadn’t experienced with anyone before. he didn’t believe in things like fate & soulmates (for a time, he was made to believe laurel was his), but if he did believe in people who belonged together, oliver had no doubt in his mind that caroline was that person for him. they were so different, yet they kept each other at balance. it was her optimism & her charisma that had attracted him in the first place.
’ —— well, i believe it was eight months ago — give or a take a few weeks — that i met this incredibly gorgeous blonde at a fundraiser & she smiled at me. & then i don’t know what happened, but it was the single greatest moment of my life. so i learned to smile back. ‘
she
has to smile at the picture that he paints for her. it sounds like
more of a bedtime rhyme that an actual retelling of events. then
again, she figures that if she put everything that had happened to
them down on paper, it would sound very much like a bedtime story.
girl meets a handsome & charming man who happens to be richer
than her wildest dreams, girl falls for said man, man turns out not
only to be the prince but also the knight. it sounds a bit ridiculous
even in her own head but it’s more or less the truth. well — on a
superficial level. what she actually fell for was neither fame nor
fortune but the person he keeps under wraps, maybe even more so than
the arrow. the guy whose heart is so BIG it could fit an entire city.
now she feels it’s her duty to make sure that that heart s t a y s
protected.
as much as it scares her, she knows how important he is to
the people of starling. they need him too ( but she may be too
selfish to say they need him more than she does ). for that reason
alone, she’s prepared to put on a brave face & support him in
whatever he does. to be honest, she doesn’t want him to think that
she’s against this – she should be but she’s seen the sincerity in
his face & just maybe he needs to be this other person as well.
“
you’re a really good learner then, “ she comments before her head
tilts backward in order to see his face but she doesn’t move from his
arms in the least bit. her lips purse slightly, trying to mask the
tugging of a teasing grin as she went on to say, “ – you mean i
didn’t even have to buy you a drink? all i had to do was smile? “
’ i think its safe to say we allknow how much you like champage, sweetie. ’ he reaches for the phone near the nightstand while caroline works the buttons of his shirt. he doesn’t object to her undressing him, dialing the number to room service with an amused glint in his eyes. one of his arms wraps around her torso again as he holds the wireless phone against his ear with the other one, casually watching caroline’s fingers.
his french is near perfect; he speaks to the clerk on the other side of the line & oliver orders the most expensive bottle of pinot noir available & caroline’s chocolates. ’ ——…suite présidentielle. merci. ’ he hangs the call & tosses the phone behind them. not even a phone call can break his concentration when it came to caroline, immediately resuming the caressing his hands were doing on her body. ’ they said five minutes. in the meantime, where were we? ‘
his
little quip earns him a gentle slap on the chest that briefly
interrupts her removal of his shirt. it doesn’t occur to her that at
least one of them has to remain decent enough to answer the door when
the service comes – strangely enough, it wouldn’t be the first time
they had run into that little problem. for the most part, however,
the sound of his fluid french is MUSIC to her ears as well as various
other parts of her anatomy. he’s been mostly the voice box on their
travels & it’s impressive to hear just how many languages he
knows. she’s been trying to play catch up & she fared far better
in italy than she did spain but france has been a struggle. the phone
hits the floor & her hands don’t hesitate in pulling open his
shirt, tugging it off his shoulders.
“ uhm — we were –
embrasser? “ she answers uncertainly, french verbs being somewhat
lost on her. she takes a moment to stretch up, pulling her own shirt
off over her head before tossing it away. then she’s shifting again,
coming back down to him. her lips slant to his, nibbling at his
bottom lip gently, her body leaning into his every touch.
if he could freeze this moment & remain in it for the rest of his life, he’d agree in a heartbeat. every single thing that worried him seemed like the most irrelevant of problems now, only focused on caroline & the happiness they had experienced throughout their trip. agreeing to this idea had seemed crazy at first, leaving starling city to roy & diggle’s hands, but it really was something he needed but hadn’t realized until the first day when caroline’s face lit up under the spanish sun. it was that moment when he discovered that home would always be wherever she went, whenever she was with him. oliver returns the kiss juts as fervently, arms wrapping around her smaller frame; he easily holds her weight on top of him, closing his eyes when her thumb traces his jawline.
’ —— its a good thing i wasn’t planning on going anywhere tonight. ’ its impossible to resist teasing her relentlessly, but his hands hold onto the side of her waist & slide upwards under her shirt, on her bare skin. ’ should i order some champagne? ‘
more
satisfying than the knowledge that he can smile & smile so widely
is knowing that most of those smiles are directed at her. being able
to make him happy – especially happy enough to tease her & play
with her – is all that she wants since he brings so much joy to her
own life. although she knows this bright little bubble they have
right now won’t last forever, at least it’s happening. & she
believes what they’re sharing now is enough to last, enough to get
them through whatever hard times lie ahead when they return. they
will still have paris & rome & madrid & wherever else
they decide to go. her teeth catch her lower lip when she feels
oliver’s hands on her bare waist. his touch is roughened, certainly
different from her own, but she’s long since attributed to comfort &
belonging. a contented hum vibrates in her throat but his next words
keep her from getting too comfortable.
“ yes, champagne! oh and
those little chocolate cherries, please? “ her hands migrate from
the back of his head to his collar & beginning to unbutton his
shirt without much thought as she wiggles with excitement,
brightening as she teases him. “ god, i love champage. almost as
much as i love you. “
he hasn’t laughed this much in years. europe had definitely been a refreshing plan for both of them, especially him — he needed to unwind, forget about all the problems back in starling. forget about the emotional debris that came with his responsibilities towards everyone in his home town. caroline struggles to push his hands back & oliver refuses to let go; her accusation makes him burst out laughing however & he stops momentarily to catch his breath & fall on the empty space next to her. they look like silly teenagers, laughing on a bed together while he struggles to reach for her even though he can’t seem to contain the laughter spilling from his lips.
’ —— your hero is on vacation & currently indisposed. please leave a message after the beep & he’ll get back to you as soon as possible… beep. ’
it’s
impossible to get over how good it feels. to be free of the stress &
worry of starling city, even though she’s not even the one carrying
the burden – he is & somehow he’s remained intact. their
european excursion had started out as an escape but has since
transformed into a wildly fun adventure. an experience she wouldn’t
trade for anything. as long as he’s laughing – she is & still
is as she rolls over, climbing on top of him, careless of her weight.
her hands slip beneath his head while she leans forward &
captures his mouth in a brief but deep kiss, lifting his head
slightly up to drive it home. when she pulls back, the smile returns
with ease.
“ i didn’t mean him, i mean you. you’re my hero,
vigilante or not. “ her thumbs rub his jawline gently, unable to
mask the affection in her eyes even next to her playful grin. “ but
i’m glad you’re indisposed. because i don’t want to do anything but
just be with you tonight. beep. “
maybe he got a little overboard with the wine — then again, there wasn’t a time he didn’t go overboard in something. they spent the night drinking expensive alcohol & walking around the streets of paris, holding hands & enjoying days of pure bliss. he laughs as he follows her inside; although he’s slightly intoxicated, he’s still lucid enough to shrug off his jacket & toss it on the chair beside the window.
’ —— oh no my weakness, pillow feathers! how will i go on? ’ he teases, walking over to the edge of the bed & grabbing her ankles to pull her forward, struggling to take the pillow from her & get his hands on her. he manages to poke her sides, almost losing balance as he struggles to tickle her.
with
a squeal, her back hits the mattress as he pulls her forward. she
tries to keep a grip on the pillow for as long as possible but he’s
undoubtedly stronger & far more coordinated than she is at the
moment. even though she’s fighting him, it’s all in good spirits.
tonight had been her absolute favorite night in paris so far, the
kind that made her simultaneously dread the end of their vacation &
forget that it was coming at all. a slew of screaming giggles find
their way out of her mouth when his deft fingers find the sensitive
parts of her sides & she struggles to find the breath to speak at
the same time she’s trying to escape his
relentless torture.
“ i knew it! i’m going to get you oliver queen, I
swear! “ she wiggles, pushing back on his hands, gasping for air. “ you’re supposed to be my hero. this is so not fair! “
as
soon as they’re back in their suite, caroline drops her heels off at
the door & practically dances out of oliver’s reach. it feels
like she’s been on the verge of laughter for the past hour, her head
& body all warm & tingly from the sweet french wine they’ve
been drinking all night. once she reaches the bed, she snatches up a
pillow to arm herself with & tries to find a steady position on
her knees on the mattress, eyes glinting at him.
“ i will beat you
to death if you try to tickle me again. “
