TITLE: Gift of my heart

CHARACTERS: Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Roy Harper

SPOILERS/WARNINGS: Season 2

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This was supposed to be a fluffy holiday fic about gift-giving. There's still fluff, but also a little bit of drama. Hope you enjoy. No beta, so mistakes are totally mine. Point them out and I'll make fixes.

DISCLAIMER: Oliver Queen and company belong to DC Comics.

"What do you think?"

Oliver looked up from a display of bracelets to see Thea holding a pair of monogrammed cufflinks. They were made of distressed silver with an antique-looking letter "R" on one and "H" on the other.

"Nice," he said, before moving on to the display of necklaces.

His sister groaned. "Just nice? C'mon, Ollie, you can do better than 'nice.' " How about, 'Thea, those are the perfect gift for Roy!"

Oliver turned back and took Thea's shoulders. With a mock-stern look, he said, "Speedy, Roy will absolutely hate those."

The withering look she gave him would have felled a lesser man. Oliver responded with the cherubic smile older brothers everywhere have perfected to torture younger sisters. "No man under the age of 60 willingly wears monogrammed cufflinks."

Thea frowned. "Really?"

Oliver nodded solemnly. "You're planning on dragging him to a formal dinner where a sane person is likely to get bored out of his mind. If you're making him wear cufflinks, at least make them fun." Oliver turned his sister around and gave her a gentle shove toward another display. She threw a pout over her shoulder but must have agreed with him because she handed the cufflinks over to the immaculately groomed, black-clad sales associate.

It was three days before Christmas and 11 at night, but the jewelry store was open, with the Queen siblings as the only clients. Oliver had tried to get out of his promise to Thea that he would help her find Roy some "high-society appropriate bling," as she put it. There was supposed to be a drug deal going down in the Glades that he wanted to take care of, but John Diggle said he'd handle it. So he'd allowed Thea to drag him with her. He didn't resist too much, actually. There was one more person he needed to buy a gift for and he had a feeling he'd find the perfect present at Henri's.

A necklace in the next display case caught Oliver's attention. A heart-shaped emerald, flanked by two smaller heart-shaped diamonds, was set inside a platinum crown pendant. Five smaller diamonds served as accents at the base. It was a gorgeous piece, made even more impressive by the size of the emerald.

"Simple and yet stunning, isn't it?"

Oliver chuckled softly. The description fit the necklace - and someone close to his heart. "You always have the best pieces, Henri." He shook hands with the elderly gentleman who has been his family's favorite jeweler for decades. For the Queens, if you wanted something special, you go to Henri DeClercq. "Tell me more about this one."

Henri picked up the necklace from under the glass case and gently handed it to Oliver for a closer look. "The emerald is from Colombia, it's five carats. It was originally set in a ring whose design was an affront to this beautiful gem." Oliver smile widened at Henri's snobbery. It sounded very much like a complaint he'd heard about his poorly setup computer network. "I liberated it from its horrible setting and gave it a much better home, as you can see. The smaller heart-shaped diamonds are two carats each. Would you like to borrow a loupe, Oliver?"

"No need, I trust you." He held up the necklace, watching the gems sparkle. Suddenly, he couldn't wait to see it on her. And see her reaction to it. She'd be flabbergasted. It was an intimate gift. Given by a lover to his beloved. He hoped, no, he prayed she would understand that.

He gave Henri a warm smile. "I'll take this."

Felicity ducked out of the ballroom the moment she saw Isabel Rochev arriving at the Queens' Christmas party. She didn't want to be in the same room as Oliver's business partner. Fortunately, the Queen mansion had enough rooms — and this year, enough guests — for her to stay away from Isabel's perpetually angry face. Felicity decided it was high time to check out the food when one of the security detail popped up silently beside her.

"Miss Smoak, Mister Queen would like to see you ..."

"Sure, is he in the office?" Felicity asked even as she headed toward the first-floor study Oliver occasionally used for business. She felt a hand on her elbow gently steer her toward the stairs.

"… in his room," the bodyguard finished.

She would have skidded to a stop if it weren't for the man gently but firmly escorting her. She'd been working with Oliver for more than two years and had been to the mansion countless of times, but she'd never step foot in his bedroom. Not that she'd never thought about it. The bedroom, that is. But it was more of a general what-does-the-bedroom-of-a-billionaire-look-like type of curiosity. And if her thoughts have been taking a frequent detour toward more dangerous territory lately, well, she yanked those thoughts by their ponytails and gave them stern talking-tos.

The bodyguard deposited her in front of Oliver's door and it took several tries before she was able to bring herself to knock. "Uhm, it's me. Felicity!"

"It's open," came the faint reply.

Felicity half-expected a man cave, but Oliver's room looked surprisingly … traditional and comfy. Dark wood panels. Gorgeous moldings. There were books, a lot more than she thought there would be. His television wasn't obnoxiously huge. There were a couple of couches. A huge bed dominated the far wall and there was an alcove to the right that looked like a good place to watch the rain, or count the stars. Not that Oliver had time for rain-watching or star-counting between running a corporation and going after the criminals of Starling City.

"I'll be right out," Oliver yelled from inside what Felicity assumed was the bathroom.

"Take your time," she yelled back, adding under her breath, "You're incredibly late for the party anyway. What's a couple more hours."

As she wandered around the room — carefully avoiding the area near the bed — she noticed his computer — and the tangled wires behind it. "No, no, no, no," she almost shouted. "Are you kidding me?!"

The first thing Oliver noticed when he stepped out of the bathroom in his tux was a shapely backside poking out from under his desk.

"Felicity! What are you doing?"

"How can you work like this?! This hurts me, Oliver. In. My. Soul."

"I didn't ask you to come up here to … could you come out from under there?"

She scooted out, made a little bit more difficult by the short dress she had on, and Oliver helped her to her feet, getting a good look at her for the first time. In her charming red lace cocktail dress, she looked like a present. One he really, really wanted to unwrap. He blew out a breath. Down, boy, he thought.

Then he noticed she was blinking rapidly and tearing up.

"What happened?" Oliver asked, alarmed. He couldn't resist skimming his palms down her arms before taking her hands and pulling her closer.

"Argh! Something in my eyes. Dust, I think. Where's your bathroom?"

Oliver led the way. He searched one of the cabinets until he found a bottle of contact lens solution, which he handed to Felicity.

"Why do you … you don't wear contacts."

"For guests."

Oliver thought he heard mutterings and the words "women" and "I bet."

He watched as she gingerly removed the lenses, careful not to ruin her eye makeup. Now that Felicity was here - in his room, no less - he suddenly felt very, very nervous. Like lead balls jostling in the pit of his stomach nervous. This was a big step for him, for them. If he screwed it up, he could ruin not only their friendship, but their partnership. He'd long ago dropped the pretense that the reason he avoided intimacy with her was because he didn't want to put her in danger. As she had pointed out several times, she was already in danger. Short of shipping her off to Timbuktu, there was no way to keep her completely safe.

No, the truth was he'd always been the one in danger. Of growing to care too much for her. Of falling desperately in love with her. It had scared him how much he had grown to need her. Her smile. Her intelligence. Her stubborness. Her insistence in finding another way, a better way for everything. Her conscience. Her faith in him. He longed to be the better man she saw in him.

He had never known terror until that night he thought he was going to lose her. Even after he'd saved her from Slade Wilson, he had been damn sure it would be the last time he'd see her. That she was going to leave him and this crazy life they shared. But she looked him in the eye and insisted she was safe, that she knew he would come for her and yelled at him not to push her away.

The walls he'd built around himself had come crashing down.

The sound of his name broke him out of his reverie. He found her looking dejectedly at the mirror.

"The contact lenses are goners. I apparently tore them trying to get the dust out. And I didn't bring my glasses because my purse is so small."

"Can you see anything?" He remembered her saying her prescription was rather high.

"A little more than blurs," Felicity sighed. "I should head home."

"What?! No!" Oliver lowered his voice after the surprised roar that earned him a frown from her. "You just got here. Besides, I brought you up here so I could give you your present."

He pulled out the jewelry box from his jacket pocket and opened it. She wouldn't be able to actually see her gift, but he at least he'd be able to see it on her.

Felicity squinted and leaned really close, nose almost touching the necklace. Then she looked up at him with a bright smile. "Shiny!"

That response to a million-dollar necklace had him laughing as he turned her around so he could place the jewlery around her neck. Of course, she didn't know that and would probably either have a heart attack or smack him when she finds out.

"What did you get Digg?"

"One-week vacation in Nusa Dua, Indonesia. I remembered a beautiful resort there. I thought he and Lyla would enjoy it. Hold your hair up a bit, please. This lock is a bit tricky."

Felicity swept her hair up and Oliver finally secured the clasp. He turned her around to face him once more. The scallop-lace trim at the V neckline showed off the necklace very well. "Perfect," he said softly as he placed a soft kiss on her lips. "Happy Hannukah."

A pink blush spread over her cheeks. She reached up to run her fingers over the necklace and gave him a shy smile. "Thank you. Now, I'm already worried I'll lose it somehow."

Oliver took her hand, tucking it in the crook of his arm, and began walking out of the room. "You won't. I'll be right here beside you the entire night."

She pulled away a little. "You don't have to. Just put me in a corner where I wouldn't do any damage."

"Nope, I'll be your eyes tonight."

"You're being really nice. And all I got you for Christmas was an arrow. Although I'm very proud of that one. It's explosive but not destructive. Shoot it behind somebody and when it goes kaboom, they'll feel like they got punched by a boxing glove."

The party was in full swing. Thea, with Roy in tow, immediately made a beeline for Oliver and Felicity as soon as they arrived in the ballroom.

"Ollie, you're a floor above this room and you're still late to the party," she hissed. "Isabel has asked me five times and I've taken to dancing with Roy whenever she's in the vicinity."

"It's not pretty," Roy piped in. "The dancing, I mean. Impromptu waltz lessons, don't recommend them."

"Well, we're here now, so thanks for holding the fort, Speedy."

Thea rolled her eyes at him and turned to Felicity. "You look gorgeous." Thea leaned in for a quick hug. They'd gotten friendly in the past year or so, chatting whenever Thea came up to Queen Consolidated to see her brother. "Happy Hannuk-"

Felicity followed Thea's gaze to her necklace and began to feel uncomfortable. She looked up to see Oliver just smiling at her and Thea. If he noticed his sister's reaction to the necklace, he wasn't showing it.

"Hannukah. Happy Hannukah!" Thea repeated. "That's a lovely necklace."

"Thanks. I think it's Oliver's way of thanking me for not shoving Isabel down the elevator shaft."

Thea laughed so hard at what Felicity thought was a poor joke that she wondered if the younger Queen hadn't imbibed just a little too much eggnog. Or Champagne.

"Felicity, if you do that, you deserve to get a full set. Earrings, bracelet and ring." Thea winked at her brother. "Or a bigger emerald." She gave her brother a punch in the arm before pulling an alarmed-looking Roy away. Felicity heard a faint protest about "no dancing" before the couple disappeared in the crowd.

"Emerald?" Her voice came out in a squeak. She thought the green blur in the necklace was a garnet or something similar. "Emerald?" she repeated, her voice rising in panic.

"Of course, it's an emerald," Oliver responded cheerfully as if that was an actual answer. "Look, there's my mom. Let's say hi."

She felt her nervousness return tenfold as she found herself being pulled toward the Queen matriarch. Moira Queen had always intimidated her, which have led to some embarrassing verbal gaffes. But like her son, Moira Queen seemed to take her babbling in stride.

"Mom!" Oliver touched his mother's back to draw her attention. Moira was elegance personified in a gold sheath gown. "Nice crowd."

"It's amazing how much people forget in a year," Moira replied drily. She turned to Felicity and gave her a warm smile. "Thank you for coming, Felicity. Happy Hannukah!"

"Thank you so much for inviting me, Mrs. Queen. You look amazing in that gown. Not that you don't look amazing every day. You're a gorgeous woman. And I will stop … babbling … now." Felicity's voice trailed off as she noticed Moira's interest in her necklace. She was beginning to realize that the necklace had a bit more significance than she thought. She wished desperately for her glasses. "Anyway, thanks so much for the invitation."

"You're practically family, Felicity. Now, enjoy the party. And come to dinner next week. I'd love for us to get a chance to sit down and chat. Oliver will let you know when."

Felicity waited until his mother was out of earshot before she hissed at him. "Oliver! Both your mother and Thea were very interested in the necklace." A thought popped in her head. "My God, you didn't take it from their collections, did you?"

Oliver's booming laugh had several heads turning in their direction. "No, no, I assure you I didn't."

"Then why the interest in it?"

Oliver knew her well enough that she wasn't going to drop the subject. He began leading her toward the door, signaling one of the help for their coats. "Let's get you home to those glasses."

"Oliver!"

"Maybe because it looks really good on you?"

Her reaction had Oliver chuckling. Ahhh, he thought, there was that head tilt that translated to "You're so full of B.S."

Felicity sat on her bed. She couldn't take her eyes off the necklace in her hands. She knew gems, and with her glasses in place, she now recognized the flawless emerald and diamonds. But it wasn't the value of the necklace that had her transfixed. It was the design.

A heart-shaped emerald set inside a crown.

No wonder both Moira and Thea showed interest.

Oliver couldn't have made himself more clear.

She felt more than saw him standing at her bedroom door. Still, she didn't turn around.

"You're giving me a heart?" she whispered.

"My heart," he replied, his voice rough. He'd been waiting in the room for her reaction. He finally sought her out when he couldn't bear the suspense. "But I'm not giving it, really."

Her head whipped around, eyes wide. A lump lodged in her throat. She'd misunderstood.

Oliver smiled gently and knelt in front of her. "I can't give what you've always had. This is just to remind you of that."

A strangled sob escaped her lips. She flung her arms around him, burying her face in his neck as tears flowed.

He gathered her close as he felt a huge weight lift from him. "Does this mean you love me, too?"

Her arms tightened. "Yes!"

Oliver pulled back enough to be able to see her face. Tear-stained, red nose, she couldn't have looked more beautiful to him. He lowered his head, their lips almost touching, almost tasting. He could hear her heart pounding. Or maybe it was his. "I love you, Felicity Smoak."

"I love you, Oliver Queen."

The end