Chapter Text
Oliver awoke with start. Had he heard a noise? He looked around the room. Felicity lay nestled next to him peaceful in sleep. Slowly and quietly, he slipped out of bed and quickly put on his sweatpants that were lying across the chair next to bed. His senses hardly ever failed him and he felt a presence in the apartment. Something was off.
He crept down the hall towards the living room while staying close to the wall. He could hear movement in the kitchen. Peeking around the corner of the wall, he saw a shadow moving across the kitchen. He couldn’t tell who it was but they seemed to be rummaging around for something. Spotting Felicity’s bat at the end of the hallway, he reached for it. He remembered teasing her about it. Something like a bat wouldn’t stop a bullet or an arrow, or something along those lines. She laughed at him and said “a Louisville slugger can do more damage with the right amount of force behind it.”
Coming around the corner with the bat at the ready, he was just about to sneak up on the intruder when a voice said, “I’m not here to hurt you Queen.” Oliver knew that voice and was momentarily stunned. What the hell?
“Lawton?” Oliver asked. “What the hell are you doing here and why did you sneak in?”
Floyd turned around and smirked. He knew he probably shouldn’t have snuck into Felicity’s apartment, but he also wasn’t expecting Oliver Queen to be staying there either. He had planned on surprising her. Now that plan was shot to hell. Clearly the relationship that was jokingly known as Smoak and Arrow back at Argus had been rekindled. He was happy for Felicity but still wary of Queen. He didn’t trust the former playboy with his friend.
“I came to see Felicity,” Lawton replied.
“You broke into her apartment in the middle of the night to see her? You could have called,” Oliver sneered.
“Hmm, not my style Queen. I like to make an entrance. Besides, it’s technically early morning,” Lawton said.
“Oliver?” Felicity’s voice came from down the hall. “Is everything ok? I thought I heard you talking to….” Felicity stopped midsentence has she came around the corner. Momentarily stunned, she was glad she had the presence of mind to throw on her robe. “Floyd?” She said with a smile and ran to him for a hug.
Floyd smiled then. Oliver didn’t even realize he could smile. Clearly Felicity and Lawton had grown fond of each other while she was working with Argus. Oliver felt a pang of jealously. He knew he shouldn’t. He knew Felicity loved him. She had confessed as much on numerous occasions, but he couldn’t help but feel that little bit of jealousy for those five lost months. He watched Lawton momentarily close his eyes as if to savor the hug. Clearly Lawton had strong feelings for his girl.
Lawton looked behind Felicity at Oliver. He saw the jealously and smiled inwardly. Oh this is going to be fun. Hugging Felicity tighter, he said, “How are you Lis?”
“I’m great,” Felicity said and pulled back. “What are you doing here? Oh God. Don’t tell me Amanda sent you to come get me. I’m not going back Floyd. No way, nuh uh. Starling City may not be the world, but it’s my home. Almost everyone I know and love is here. You can tell her…”
“Felicity,” Oliver interrupted. “Why don’t we let Lawton tell you why he’s here before jumping to conclusions?”
“Of course,” Felicity sighed. “I’m sorry for babbling Floyd. I guess I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon. Let me go get dressed and I’ll make us some coffee. Make yourself at home in the living room.”
Felicity turned to retreat back down the hallway towards her bedroom. When she was out of earshot, Oliver turned to Lawton and said, “Whatever reason brought you here, and you should know that I am not letting her go.” Leaving Lawton with that statement, he followed Felicity down the hall.
Ten minutes later, the three of them were sitting in the living room with fresh coffee and inquisitive expressions; although each of them thinking totally different things. Oliver didn’t like that Lawton was there. Him being there could not have been a good sign. Felicity was happy to see her friend and a little apprehensive to his presence. A part of her hoped there was an Argus mission she could sink her teeth into from Starling City. Floyd Lawton was just plain old curious. Felicity had talked to him about Oliver many times over their five months together. He knew she loved Oliver without a doubt, but he also knew Oliver’s history. Floyd always did his homework on those he disliked.
“So, what brings you here Floyd?” Felicity asked.
“Amanda got word about your…situation with the Invincible drug. Apparently this is starting to become a worldwide epidemic. Recent intel reveals the big player here in the States has moved his operations to your fair city. She’s got ops working in other countries, but she sent me here to see if I can assist you guys in taking him out,” Lawton stated.
“We don’t need your help,” Oliver sneered.
Felicity quickly jerked her head to Oliver and frowned. She knew Lawton wasn’t exactly a favorite of the team, but she wouldn’t stand for his rudeness to her friend. Lawton was there for her for five months; five months that felt like an emotional hell. “Oliver! Don’t be rude,” she said.
“There’s more Lis,” Lawton added. “The man running the operation here in Starling was the brother of Dmitry Yaakov. His name is Andrei.”
Felicity’s mouth dropped open and she shuddered. Flashes of their mission flew inside her head. Fearful she’d drop her coffee mug, she carefully placed it on the table in front of her. This was not good.
“Who is Dmitry Yaakov?” Oliver asked.
“Dmitry was…” Lawton started.
“He was a monster of the worst kind,” Felicity interjected. “He was the leader of the Coalition, the group that Lawton and I were tasked to hunt down and stop. Not only was he the leader, he was beyond evil. He would stop at nothing to get any information he needed. He would torture his victims. So much so that many times all Argus would find would be…pieces.” Felicity visibly swallowed the thickness in her voice.
Oliver cringed. Felicity should have never have had to deal with that. His anger for Amanda resurfaced. He started at Lawton from across the coffee and table and shook his head slightly. The anger radiated from him and Lawton picked up on it right away.
“How do we know this guy is Dmitry’s brother?” Felicity’s voice wavered with her question. “I thought we uncovered all the possible links when we captured him.”
“I don’t know what to tell you Lis. You know Amanda doesn’t exactly share easily,” Lawton said.
“We need to ask Anatoly about this guy,” Felicity said.
“Anatoly Knyazev?” Lawton asked.
“Yes. He’s here helping us with Oliver’s sister. He brought an antidote. We have…”
“Felicity!” Oliver interjected loudly. Realizing he practically shouted, he lowered his voice. “You and I need to have a conversation,” he said. Looking at Lawton, he added, “in private.”
Lawton laughed. “I can take the hint Queen. My orders are to stay until this is done. Have your conversation, but know that I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my partner, and know that I will never be far away,” he said. Looking at Felicity, he put his hand on her shoulder and added, “you have my number.” He noticed Oliver’s slight breath intake at the gesture.
Felicity got up and walked Floyd to the door. She knew Oliver would not like having him around, but if Andrei was anything like his brother, they were going to need all the help they could get. She trusted Floyd Lawton. He had her back many times during their mission. She was glad he was here.
After Lawton’s departure, Felicity went back to the couch to face the music. She knew she needed to convince not only him, but John as well. She knew it was not going to be an easy task.
“Oliver, you need to hear me out,” she started.
“Felicity, this is not a good idea on so many levels,” he said.
“Why? Because of John, or because of your jealousy?” She asked.
Was Oliver that transparent? He never could fool Felicity. She always saw right through him. Apparently those five months hadn’t changed her intuition. It only heightened it, but there was on thing she may not have realized. His inherit intuition to protect her was stronger now than it ever was before, and he needed her to understand that.
“Felicity, John is not going to be happy about this. You have to know that. Aside from that, Lawton cannot be trusted. He’s a wild card, unpredictable. How many times have we tried to take him down?” Oliver asked.
“Oliver, I trust him with my life just as much as I trust you. I know he couldn’t be trusted before, but you have no idea what happened during those five months. We worked tirelessly to take down the Coalition. Do you want to know how many times Floyd saved me in those five months?” She said in her loud voice.
Oliver watched the emotions play across her face. Yes, he was jealous of Lawton for those five months and yes, he still believed Lawton was unpredictable, but when Felicity looked at him in the way she was looking at him in the moment, he would move heaven and earth to do whatever she wanted. He sighed and took her hands in his.
“I love you Oliver, and you need to trust me on this,” she said.
“I do trust you, more than you will ever know,” he said.
Felicity smiled and leaned towards him to kiss him. The kiss was soft and a whisper of her feelings. “Come on. We need to call everyone. The best way to do this is together, as a team. It’s always been the best way and it always will be,” she said.
Oliver smiled and rose from the couch, pulling Felicity with him. Moving past the kitchen, he grabbed his phone from the counter and started dialing as they made their way to the bedroom to get ready for the day.