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Chapter Text

"Is Ollie here?" Felicity looked up from her tablet to find Laurel Lance staring back at her with clear, piercing eyes. She couldn't get over how naturally stunning this woman was. She just had a way about her, something that made you stop and take notice, something that Felicity kind of envied. Laurel interrupted Felicity's image analysis: "Never mind,"  she said and went straight for the office door.

"What? No, wait! I'm supposed to-" Felicity followed after her but it was too late. Laurel was already inside the office, with her perfect set of sun kissed curls cascading over her shoulders and down her back. and Oliver was already standing up from behind his desk.

"It's alright, Miss Smoak. I'll take care of it from here. Laurel..." Oliver said with a smile and pointed her to a chair she didn't take.

Felicity knew the 'Miss Smoak' was part of their secret identity cover as corporate CEO and personal assistant, but she didn't quite like it, especially when she had to be 'Miss Smoak' and Laurel could be just 'Laurel'. She'd barely taken two steps out of the office when she heard Laurel's voice, sentencing Oliver loud and clear. She felt her blood sink to her feet and her arms wrapped around her tablet holding on for dear life.

"Tell me the truth, Ollie. Are you… the Arrow?"

Oliver remained every bit the ninja he was.

"I thought we'd established I do not spend my nights jumping around in a green hoodie shooting arrows into people, Laurel," he offered with a carefree, easy air.

"Did we really? Because the only reason you were cleared last time was because the Arrow conveniently showed up the same day you were stuck at home wearing an ankle monitor. Don't you think that's a little too coincidental?"

Felicity had to give it to him, the guy even managed to laugh.

"Now I can't even catch a break? Convenient or not, Laurel, I still can't be in two places at the same time."

"You could've easily had an accomplice."

"An accomp… Laurel! I. Am. Not. The Vigilante! You know me. You know there's no way I coul-"

"No, I used to know you, Ollie. You spent five years stranded in some island, doing God knows what and you came back with all these scars that I can't..." Laurel looked down at his shirt as if she could see the horrid marks through the blue fabric, permanent witnesses of the horrors he'd endured. "You're different," she said softly. "That much is obvious. Maybe you're just a lot more different than I thought."

He didn't say a word. Felicity felt the office suddenly got a lot smaller, glass walls or not.

"Where were you last night, Ollie?"

Last night? Well, last night he'd been on Arrow duty but why was she asking about it? Of course! Oliver forced his face to stay cool. He was supposed to meet Laurel the day before but then Roy had stuck his little beacon arrow on the wall and he'd forgot all about it. Not even a call, Oliver, way to go.

"Laurel, I'm sorry. I was working on the investors' meeting for today and-"

"Don't bother, Ollie. I already know you weren't here. I called your house, you weren't there either. I even called Thea at the club and she said she hadn't seen you all day. Then I get a call from the police department saying the Arrow is in the Glades pinning drug dealers to the walls. And it got me thinking… All those late arrivals, the no-shows. I realized you always have an excuse, Ollie, never an explanation."

"So your obvious conclusion is that I have to be the vigilante?" Oliver had a wicked condescending act. "Laurel, you're basing all of this on one coincidence and the fact that you're mad at me because I didn't call last night."

"This is not just one coincidence, Oliver," she said, pointing her finger onto the stack of papers she'd thrown on his desk. "I looked back into all the files the police has since the vigilante came to Starling City, which happens to be the same time you returned from the island. Almost every time you go missing the Arrow makes an appearance. I'd start telling the truth if I were you, Ollie. Don't make me come back with an arrest warrant."

"He was with me." The words rushed out of Felicity's mouth in that out of control way they always did. She kicked herself mentally right after she said it.

Laurel turned to look at her with a frown. "What?"

She pulled her glasses up in one swift motion and made her way into the office trying not to shake that much.

"Felicity, what are you doing?" Oliver's tone was thick with warning.

The blonde girl did her best to ignore him and carry on.

"He was with me last night," she said, "and probably many of those other times too."

Laurel eyed her harshly.

"What do you mean he was with you? I already told you I know neither of you were here."

"I never said we were working. I just said he was with me… outside office hours." Laurel looked at her without blinking while Felicity's cheeks went from blushed to burning. "Don't make me spell it out please."

She didn't mean to sound snarky but she seriously didn't want to say she was having s.e.x. with Oliver. That'd be asking too much.

Laurel couldn't believe her senses. Out of all the possible ways this could've gone she did not expect that. She turned her olive eyes up to Oliver.

"Oliver... what is she talking about?"

He was just lost. How am I supposed to know anything about this completely made up story Felicity is babbling about?!

"I emm…" Nope, nothing was coming out. Damn it! Out of all the moments now I can't think of an excuse. Not even a bad one… Oliver looked down at the blonde. You better ride this wave all the way now, Felicity Smoak!

Felicity tried to remember those acting classes Mrs. Johnson, her old drama teacher, used to give them at the community theater. Come on, Felicity, you can do this. She took a deep breath and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"As much as I'd like to think Oliver didn't say anything because I asked him not to, I'm pretty sure it has a lot more to do with the fact that it is you asking." Wow, talk about repressed feelings, Felicity thought. Even in my made up story I can't make Oliver put me over Laurel. Well, at least it's believable. She took advantage of Laurel's clear look of shock and ran with it. It was all about protecting Oliver's cover now. "I didn't want him to say anything because, let's be honest, we all know what this looks like, right? Big company CEO dating his assistant? Yeah, that's only like the world's oldest affair story. Talk about lame clichés."

Felicity thought about pointing out the fact she even had blonde hair and all but somehow she felt Oliver and Laurel wouldn't appreciate the joke. She could actually sense Oliver's muscles getting tense so she hurried before he had a chance to blow the whole story.

"Anyway, ahm..." Felicity continued, "I just got promoted -which had nothing to do with this by the way, but you know, I didn't want to be the new 'Anna from Accounting'. Plus, throw in this one's reputation with women," she said pointing her thumb at Oliver before realizing Laurel was one of those 'women'. You just don't know when to stop, do you Felicity? Wrap it up, wrap it up! "I'm sure you understand now why I wasn't too keen about letting the cat out of the bag but since the alternative now is having my… is having Oliver accused of being a crazy hood guy then…" Felicity looked up to find Oliver's eyes, "Then I think I can take one for the team this time."

The blonde smiled a little at her boss-slash-partner, hoping he'd understand what she really meant by those words. They were a team, him, Diggle and her, and she was just trying to do her part.

Oliver held her gaze. This was Felicity being Felicity in all her glory: smart, resourceful and above all dependable. She was part of the team, all the way, and she had been since the day he decided to crawl in the back of her car with a bleeding shoulder. Somehow he'd known then she was worthy of his trust and now he felt like he had to return the favour.

He let out a small sigh and smiled back at her a soft, subtle smile. He would follow her lead this time, play along with whatever crazy plan she was suggesting, and just like that his body relaxed and he forced himself to look away from Felicity and turn to Laurel.

"I'm sorry I lied, Laurel. It just... It wasn't my place to tell."

Laurel could feel a knot starting to take hold of her throat. How could she have been so stupid? Why didn't she see it sooner?

"No, I'm sorry, Ollie. I shouldn't have put you on the spot like that," she said.

The scene she was just forced to witness was all the confirmation she needed. Oliver was absorbed by her, by this little blonde girl with the nerdy face and the tight gray dress. She could see it in the way they looked at each other, the way his walls had come down immediately when she smiled at him. Laurel hadn't seen Oliver smile like that, so genuinely, since he came back from the island. When did this girl gain all that power over him? It used to be her who had exclusive access to Oliver's true self. Now she felt like an outsider, someone intruding in a very private world. She needed to get out of there.

"It was a mistake coming here," Laurel said, and Oliver could hear a slight trembling in her voice.

"Laurel…"

"No, Ollie, really. It's fine. And don't worry, I won't say anything about you and… umm" She looked over at Felicity trying to draw back the name from one of the many times Oliver had said it.

"Felicity," she prompted with a nervous smile. "Felicity Smoak. We met before... twice actually."

"Right, Felicity. Happiness and good fortune, how appropriate," she said and her lips twisted in a strange, sad smile. "Goodbye, Ollie."

Laurel grabbed her folder and walked away. Oliver wanted to go after her, he wanted to tell her the truth, to ease the sadness out of her face but he knew there was nothing he could do about it right now so he turned to face Felicity, only she was pale as a ghost and staring blankly into space.

"Felicity, are you okay?"

All he got was a couple of blinks and a failed attempt to grasp for air.

"Here, sit down." She obeyed and Oliver kneeled down in front of her. "Hey, look at me. It's okay."

There was a bit of pink now on her cheeks but her eyes wandered through Oliver's face in a hurry. "I'm so sorry, Oliver. I don't know what I was thinking! How could I tell her that? She obviously wasn't going to believe me. I should've… I should've thought of something better. I mean you going out with me, right… 'cause that makes a lot of sense."

Felicity dropped her head in her hands and let out a muffled 'oh God!'. Oliver couldn't help but smile at how desperately concerned Felicity was. He stood up and walked over to the window looking out at the Starling City lake.

"Apparently it makes a lot more sense than you think."

Felicity frowned and turned on the chair to look at him "What are you talking about?"

"According to Isobel everyone at Queen Consolidated thinks there's more of a personal relationship between us. Something to do with your skirts being too short."

"My what?" Felicity looked down at her legs and tugged at the hem of her dress a bit making Oliver smirk again. "Was this before or after you two got to play Russian Twister, the nude edition?" Oliver could hear the sarcasm in her voice. Clearly she still wasn't ok with that. "Unbelievable! She thought you were sleeping with me and yet she still got in line."

"I told her it wasn't like that."

"Gee, thanks. Why didn't you say something to me?"

"I didn't think it was important," he defended himself.

"What do you mean it's not important?!" Felicity realized if someone heard this conversation it wouldn't help the situation at all. She stood up and went to the window. "People think I'm sleeping with my boss and you don't find that important?" she whispered.

"Says the woman who just told Laurel we're dating."

"That's different! I was trying to keep your secret. I didn't know people were already talking about it! I thought, I don't know, that maybe if by some miracle Laurel believed that ridiculous story then you could wait some time and then tell her it didn't work out or something. And that would be it, crisis avoided, no harm done other than Laurel thinking I was one of those blondes. But it would be just Laurel, not everyone I work with!"

Felicity was close to a full on panic attack and the worst part was Oliver didn't seem to be grasping the seriousness of the situation.

"You need to calm down. If there's one thing people do is talk. I'm used to it, you'll be fine too."

Is he being serious right now!?

"Oliver, just because people think you're playboy billionaire since forever doesn't mean everything will be fine. Even Laurel will get over it once you tell her what you actually do after hours – because I know you will eventually – but I still have a reputation to salvage and I'd like to think I could go out with a guy one day without having the awkward 'No, I didn't sleep with Oliver Queen' conversation." Oliver's brow went up. "Not that I think sleeping with you would be a bad thing. Or a good thing, necessarily. What am I even saying? God! This is so not the point I was trying to make."

He pushed back a smile. Truth is he liked that about her, how her thoughts ran wild and everything came pouring out of her mouth like a pack of horses. It made her transparent, the complete opposite of what he was with his bag of secrets and his dark corners.

He gave her shoulder a squeeze.

"Felicity, it'll be fine. We'll think of something."

Felicity looked into his eyes. It was hard to hold on to fear when you looked into Oliver Queen's eyes. There was something about them that made you feel enraptured, like everything around them just faded away. She felt safe.

She nodded slowly and went back to her desk. She was unlocking the screen on her tablet when Oliver peeked out from the office.

"Felicity?"

"Hmm?" she said distractedly before even looking up at him.

"Thank you," Oliver acknowledged.

Felicity's stomach did a double back flip.

"No problem," she said with a smile to hide the fact that her legs just turned to jelly and there was a tingling somewhere in her body she couldn't pinpoint. "For you anytime," she muttered under her breath, trying to focus back on her work and not on the fact that right now someone actually thought she was Oliver's girl. Oh well, a girl can dream.

Chapter Text

Work was piling up over at Queen Consolidated. Oliver was almost wishing for a crime so he could drop everything and hood up. He'd been pulling late nights with Felicity actually working at the office, going over a year's worth of projection reports and mind numbing pie charts. Even Isabel had to admit now, Felicity's qualifications were plenty regardless of her skirt collection.

So what if her skirts are short? She has nice legs…

It was only when Felicity popped in to announce she was off to lunch that Oliver realized he'd been thinking about her legs. Maybe she should start wearing longer skirts, it was obviously distracting. He asked her to wait for him. Oliver wanted to double check the profit percentage for QC's science division before the meeting with Isabel later on that day.

"You know, this lunch hour is supposed to be my free time," Felicity pointed. "Not that I mind spending it on work, of course," she rushed when she saw he was about to play the boss card on her.

Once on the elevator, Felicity pulled out her tablet and started reciting the figures back to Oliver for the hundredth time. He stopped her after the third one, leaning over her shoulder to glance at the screen.

"Are you sure about that last one?"

"Oliver, if there's one thing I know how to do is read numbers off a screen. It's not that hard." When she turned to glare at him, she wasn't expecting his face to be that close.

Felicity stared into the blue immensity of his eyes for what felt like hours until the elevator doors opened somewhere among the lower floors and two women in matching navy blue uniforms got in. Oliver acknowledged them casually when they gave him the usual 'Good morning, Mr. Queen' and then went back to checking the numbers on Felicity's screen.

She resumed her recount of the numbers on her tablet but there was something different about her voice now, a slight tremor. Oliver noticed she was shifting uncomfortably on her feet too, twitching her face away from him as if she was trying to put more distance between them.

Was he making her uncomfortable? They usually worked a lot closer than that at the foundry and she never seemed to mind. Sure, she didn't like it when he hovered but still… Felicity would never cower away from him like that; if anything she'd throw him a laser stare over her glasses and tell him to go sharpen his arrows or something.

Someone giggled behind them and Oliver turned to look. The two women looked quickly away coughing dramatically to hide their laughter. Oliver was about to dismiss the scene when he glanced back at Felicity. One pink lip trapped tightly between her teeth and now she was staring straight down at the elevator floor. The pieces clicked... They were talking about her.

It wasn't him making Felicity uncomfortable, at least not directly. The rumors must have got worst after a week of overtime and getting picked up by his private limo all the time. She wasn't used to being in the midst of a gossip hurricane and he was now realizing what a toll it must be taking on her. Why hadn't she said anything to him? Of course, she wouldn't. Felicity would be silly enough to think she brought this upon herself; she might even go as far as to think she deserved it. When one of the women started whispering again, Oliver made a decision. Maybe it was time to put his working knowledge of the gossiping world to good use.

"Felicity, my mother says she wants you to have dinner with us at the mansion again tonight."

The whispering was replaced by complete and utter silence, broken only by the sound of the elevator and the voice of a very startled Felicity. 

"I'm sorry, what?" It was all Oliver could do not to laugh at the tiny o her lips were making.

"Yes, they granted her parole yesterday until the trial. I thought I'd told you that," Oliver frowned a little, searching for something in his memory.

Why… why is he acting like this is a normal conversation? Felicity couldn't answer even if she tried, which was a good thing because apparently Oliver was running a show of his own there.

"Anyway, I told her we were busy with the shareholders but she said she didn't want to hear it and made me promise we'd both be at dinner tonight. She's throwing a whole family thing with Roy and Thea, too. You're not going to make me into the kind of son who lies to his mother, are you?"

Oliver gave her this puppy-eyed smile that she would have never thought could go on that face. No wonder he had a reputation for a playboy. Stop doing that, you look too gorgeous doing that! What came next not even a year of anticipation could prepare her for. Somehow one of Oliver's hands was on the low of her back and he was so close to her ear the warmth of his breath was making the hairs on her neck stand. Felicity swallowed hard in an effort to keep her sanity. And then he spoke…

"It'll be fun, I promise."

Ooh god…! How is one supposed to stand after that? Felicity was pretty sure her brain flat-lined. She made what could be taken as a shaky nod and something that sounded a little like 'suure'. Oliver smiled a bit. She knew because his stubble grazed the rim of her ear when he did.

"Good," he sentenced. "Remind me to give her a call and let her know." Just like that, as if there weren't a million things wrong with that sentence.

Not only had Felicity never set foot in the Queen mansion, she certainly wasn't expecting an invitation from Moira Queen herself any time soon, especially not to a 'whole family thing with Roy and Thea, too.' The girl was mortified, not to say completely lost, and the fact that Oliver's hand still lingered on her back was not helping.

At least he was facing the elevator doors now instead of breathing down her neck like that. What was he thinking? She swore she could hear Becky and Linda back there texting the entire financial department what an interesting elevator ride 'Easy Felicity' and 'the Prodigal Son' had when they forgot someone was watching. They would add their own personal twist to it, of course. By now that hand on her back must have transformed into hot, passionate sex against the side mirrors. She'd be surprised if she didn't come out of that elevator pregnant with twins and blackmailing Oliver into marrying her to take over his company.

Finally, after what had to be the longest elevator ride in the history of buildings, they made it to ground floor. As soon as the doors opened Felicity tried to make a run for it but Oliver's deceptively strong hand crept around her waist locking her in place.

Please, no more! If this was a dream Felicity wanted to wake up because it was slowly turning into a nightmare. Or at least have someone tell her  it was a dream so she could enjoy being manhandled by Oliver in peace.

"I think we should get Italian this time. What do you think? That little place from the other day was nice."

Felicity ventured a look at his face and yes, he was looking at her, the perfect image of a man completely at ease with himself and the situation. Oliver Queen: CEO, leather-wearing vigilante and professional liar, Felicity thought incredulously. He'd asked a question. She should probably answer something.

"Italian. Sounds good." Sorry, Oliver, improvisation is not my thing, you know that.

He seemed satisfied.

"Italian it is, then. Here, let me help you with that."

In what seemed like just one move Oliver had Felicity's tablet and the binder she was carrying in one hand along with his briefcase while his other hand came to zip with Felicity's, wrapping his manly, big fingers around her much more delicate ones. She had to look down at her hand to make sure this was actually happening. The image was certainly there, Oliver's hand in hers, but it just didn't quite click with reality. She gave it a testing squeeze just to make sure. Yup, that's Oliver's hand alright.

Felicity let herself be practically dragged out of the elevator by him. She was like a zombie walking alongside Oliver until he stopped to greet a group of men who were apparently competing for Boring Suit of the Year.

"Arthur! Glad I ran into you. Listen, I need you to stop by my office later. Those interns you sent me? They managed to break down half the printers on the top floor in one morning. And one of them keeps harassing the secretaries. I'd say we need to hire a new one, don't you?"

Felicity's heart sunk. That was Arthur Phillip, a prematurely bald man in his mid forties and head of Human Resources. He was also the one who interviewed Felicity for the job in the IT department when she first came to Queen Consolidated. She felt like dying right then and there.

Oliver must have guessed she'd try to flee the scene because his hand closed more tightly around her own.

"No problem, Mr. Queen," the man said. "I'll set up a list and meet you at your office around… three?"

"Excellent," Oliver returned with a smile. The men said their goodbyes and all the while Felicity could feel everyone's eyes on her, on them.

They made their way - painfully slow - to the front door where Diggle was already waiting by the car. He and Oliver shared a talent for hiding their emotions.

"Do I even want to know?" he said pulling the door out for them.

"Not now," Oliver warned him. All Felicity could do was stare down at the ground.

"Felicity, you can let go of me now."

"Huh? Oh… right." She slipped her fingers out of his grasp and got in the car, sliding over mechanically so Oliver could follow after her.

The three of them rode in silence until Felicity found a way to put words into sentences again.

"Oliver, what was that?"

"Yes, Oliver, what was that?" Diggled echoed looking at his buddy through the rearview mirror with a coy smirk.

"That was damage control," he said. "You were right, Felicity. People were spreading rumors and I should've done something about it."

"But I didn't mean that. Oliver, you just gave the entire company enough material to go on for a month!"

"Exactly, and now that they got what they wanted, they'll move on and leave you alone." Oliver tried to ignore Diggle's knowing glance on the mirror. He'd rather pretend not to know what his friend was still smiling about. "Look, I know a thing or two about the way gossip works. People attack you with what they think will embarrass you. Once you show them you have nothing to hide, they get bored and find something else to talk about."

"But we do have a lot to hide. Like, oh I don't know, a basement full of pointy green arrows and one high profile vigilante who poses as CEO for his family's company in his spare time?" Felicity contended.

"Yes, but they don't know that, so we'll give them one false secret big enough to distract them from the real one. This was actually your idea, Felicity."

"My- How is any of this my idea?!"

"You told Laurel you were with me, it was brilliant. Everyone already thinks it's true so they won't ask questions and now we'll have a perfect excuse to disappear as needed. Perhaps we should have thought of this sooner."

Felicity wasn't about to buy into that cheap psychology trick of making her believe she was the one to come up with this ludicrous plan.

"This is not what I had in mind, Oliver."

It was Diggle who voiced Felicity's silent question. "Isn't this going to make it harder for Felicity at the office?" He was serious now, his reflection showing a frown on his forehead. Felicity already felt like an outcast at QC as it was and he knew it.

"It is one thing to be the boss' hidden affair; it is a whole other story to be Oliver Queen's girlfriend," Oliver countered. He found Felicity's eyes to make sure she was paying attention. "I may have been known for playing around with more than my fair share of women in the past, but everyone knows I never publicly dated anyone other than Laurel. They'll think I'm that serious about you and no one wants to mess with the boss' girl. At least not to her face anymore," he said with a wink.

Felicity wanted to be as convinced as he was but she just...

Oliver's hand made its way to Felicity's knee.

"They won't bother you, Felicity, I promise."

As always, Felicity's worries seemed to settle down obediently under Oliver's touch. He was becoming her own personal Valium and she just knew addictions never end well. Felicity dipped her head back on the car seat and stared out the window.

Oliver's hand rested on her knee a couple more seconds before he pulled away while Felicity made a silent prayer... Please, please, please don't let me fall in love with Oliver Queen.

Chapter Text

9:01 AM

Stupid clock! It had refused to show anything other than 9:01 for the past forty seconds. Felicity was losing her patience. Today is not the day for you to be late, Oliver.

She decided to kill time by checking her tablet one more time. Who knows, maybe the article had disappeared somehow since the last time she'd looked. Maybe it'd all been a product of her imagination...

Nope, there is it, still judging me with its little Arial 12 eyes.

The elevator bell clinged and she didn't have to wait long to find out who it was.

"Morning, Mr. Queen." The new intern, Sonia, was holding the elevator door open for him.

"Good morning, Sonia. Are you all set up around the office yet?"

"Yes, I am sir, thank you. I also gave Miss Smoak those reports you wanted. She said she'd leave them on your desk."

"Then I'm sure she did. Felicity!"

He called out to her and went straight into his office with Felicity following behind him, tablet in hand.

"We have a problem," she said.

"Hello to you, too." Oliver turned around, held her shoulder and planted a scruffy kiss on her cheek before setting into his desk.

There it was… that tingling again. Felicity took a sharp breath to level her pulse. The morning kiss was part of Oliver's strategy to establish Felicity as his girlfriend inside the company. The first time he did it they'd been in the middle of the lobby and Felicity almost fainted. Now, five days since the elevator incident, she had to admit it wasn't getting any easier. The plan seemed to be working, people's attitudes towards her were less harsh, but she still got dirty looks from time to time, although mostly from other women and it looked a lot more like envy rather than hate.

I'd be envious of me, too, she thought.

Turns out Oliver was quite the attentive fake boyfriend, all charm and elegance. Add that to his natural protective stance plus those killer blue eyes and you had yourself one hell of a catch. There was only one problem; Oliver was a little too convincing. Blame it on his mad acting skills, but whatever harmless, platonic crush Felicity had on him before this started, it had turned into a four-headed, delusional monster now.

"Felicity, you were saying…" Oliver demanded.

"Right, sorry." Make that two problems. "Here," she said handing him the tablet.

Oliver unlocked the screen to reveal an article from Starling City's online tabloid The Puppeteer. It featured a picture of him and Felicity getting into the back of his car, crowned by a bold, pink-lettered headline that read 'Notorious Starling City Heartthrob, Oliver Queen, Has A New Lady in His Life'.

The photographer had caught Felicity in one of her usual lost girl looks, making that little o with her mouth again. Oliver never noticed the smile on his face.

The little piece of news was an exclusive on Oliver's new relationship status…

"So? What are we going to do?" Felicity pressed.

"We… are going to dinner," he said looking up at her.

"Oliver, I meant about the article."

"Yes, I already knew about the article." He handed her back the tablet.

"You did? Huh, I didn't peg you as the tabloid reading type."

"I'm not. My mother told me about it."

Felicity's brain went into overdrive.

"Mrs. Queen read this?!"

"I don't know if she read it. I think it was a friend for the Historical Society who called her and told her about it. Bottom line is she wants me to take you home and officially introduce you… tonight."

Felicity shook her head emphatically. Her palms were sweating just thinking about it. There was no way she'd be able to go on with the actual thing.

"Oliver, I can't have dinner with your family."

"Felicity, we already decided this was the best way to keep everyone satisfied and off our case. Now all we got to do is stick to our story as convincingly as possible."

"But what if she finds out? This is not some random person out on the street, this is your mother. She knows you, she's gonna know it's not real."

"Then we're gonna have to be extra good at convincing her," he said.

Felicity could already see this was a bad, bad idea.

The traffic light turned red and Diggle slowed to a halt. They were two blocks away from Felicity's building and he was driving Oliver to pick her up before heading over to the Queen's mansion. He glanced at his friend in the back of the car.

"Are you okay back there?"

Oliver took his eyes away from the window and looked at him.

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?"

"You look like you're over thinking something."

"Diggle, we're not having this conversation again."

"I don't think you have a choice, Oliver. You're getting yourself into dangerous territory by playing house with Felicity."

"I'm not playing house, Diggle. I said I would protect her when she joined us. This is me protecting her."

"Like I said, I don't think you want to hurt her but this could get out of control, Oliver. You don't realize what this is doing to you or to her, and I'm not talking about your reputation. Felicity is a woman, you are a man. Things happen."

Oliver gave him a hard look.

"I don't need to be reminded of that, Diggle."

"I'm sure you don't, Felicity is doing a pretty good job at reminding you herself."

Diggle pulled up to the sidewalk and Oliver saw Felicity standing outside of her building wearing a one shoulder blue dress and her hair pulled to the side in a loose braid over her bare skin. She didn't have her usual glasses but he could see the bright purple lips from the car.

Felicity got in the back seat with Oliver and the air was filled with her feminine scent.

Diggle gave her a smile through the mirror. "Looking good, Felicity."

"Thanks, I didn't know what fake girlfriends are supposed to wear when they meet actual disapproving mothers."

"You'll be fine," Oliver said. "Diggle, tell her she'll be fine. If my mother can take Roy and his criminal record I'm sure she can take you."

"Right, that's encouraging," she said sarcastically. Felicity took a deep breath and prepared for the worst.

Once they got to the house Oliver helped her out of the car and told Diggle to give them a call if anything came up at the foundry.

Felicity caught his elbow before he opened the door.

"Wait! I don't think I can do this."

"Felicity, you broke into an underground casino and jumped over an elevator shaft. Now you're telling me you can't have dinner with my mother."

"Oliver it's just-"

"Shht, Felicity! We'll be fine. You're smart, you're funny and you look beautiful. Now just stay close to me and let's get this over with, alright?"

Felicity stared into his eyes and took a deep, cleansing breath. "Ok, fine. Let's do this." Oliver pushed the front door open and called out to let his mom know they were home. Felicity took in the inmensity of the house. "I feel like I should be leaving my shoes at the front door or something."

"Please, don't do that," Oliver teased her. "My mom hates it when we leave our shoes lying around."

"That's true," said a female voice from the top of the stairs.

Felicity looked up. Moira Queen was making her way down and Oliver went over to greet her.

For a moment Felicity got distracted by how different Oliver was around his mother. He looked… sweet. The way he smiled and moved around her, it warmed her heart. She was glad she got to see that private side of Oliver, that little-boy look in his eyes instead of the sea of troubles that always plagued them.

Oliver brought his mother over to Felicity and suddenly the panic was back.

"Mom," he said naturally. "You already know my friend, Felicity Smoak."

Felicity shook her hand nervously. "Mrs. Queen, thank you so much for having me."

"Please, call me Moira," she corrected with a kind smile.

Felicity cleared her throat. "Alright, Moira… Huh, that might take a while."

"Let's hope you're around long enough then," she said throwing a hint at Oliver. "You'll have to forgive my son for his lack of manners. He shouldn't have waited so long to bring you over."

"Well, we're here now, aren't we?" Oliver chimed in. "So let's eat! I'm starving."

"Dinner is not ready yet," Moira warned him. "Besides, we have to wait for Thea and Roy, they're on their way. Now, Felicity, tell me about yourself…"

Moira led Felicity over towards the living room while Oliver was left to follow behind them.

The three of them talked for a while over drinks and appetizers. Oliver was sitting down next to Felicity on a big XIXth century couch while his mother asked questions from the arm chair across from them.

"Walter spoke very highly of you, Felicity," she said. "He thought you had character, that there was loyalty in your eyes. I can see what he meant and I'm glad Oliver has found an ally in you as well. He deserves good people in his life, especially now."

Felicity felt wrong lying to Oliver's mother about the state of their relationship but at least she could be honest about this.

"It's kind of hard not to help him," Felicity said. "He's pretty convincing."

Oliver rested his hand on her shoulder. The musky scent of his cologne quickly wrapped around her and she had to fight the urge to dive into his body and just disappear into dreamland.

"Felicity is a remarkable woman, mom," Oliver said. He looked at his 'girlfriend' and again the world became a blur for her. There was nothing but his eyes. "I'm lucky I found her."

Felicity's heartbeat echoed rapidly in the background. She thanked him, making a mental sketch of the way his lower lashes threw shadows over his cheeks and the way his eyes softened when he smiled.

Moira watched them curiously. Her son hadn't been the same since he came back from the island. She'd made a mistake at the beginning trying to push him to pick up where he left off as if nothing happened. Now she understood, a lot had happened, he was scarred, he was broken, but so was she and so was the rest of her family. She couldn't judge her son anymore. Moira loved him now for who he was, a man full of secrets but with a kind heart inside him, but she was afraid other people wouldn't be able to see that and accept both the good and the bad. Even Thea held him up to the memory she had of him and so did Laurel. Moira feared Laurel might still be in love with the Ollie that left her to go on the Queen's Gambit all those years ago. Looking at him with Felicity, Moira was starting to believe her son could heal. Perhaps he could find love again with a woman who looked at him like he was the world, someone who didn't seem to want him to be anything other than what he was.

The three of them shared some more small talk, mostly about the company and the excessive media coverage the trial was getting, until Thea and her Arrow enthusiastic boyfriend showed up. If Felicity thought the worst was over once they won Moira over, she thought wrong.

Thea's boyfriend, Roy, was having a freak-out party of his own having to deal with Oliver and his big brother act, but Thea had her eyes set on Felicity the whole time and she didn't seem pleased by her presence at all.

She on to us, Felicity thought. She had to be, why else would she be staring her down like that? Maybe she just doesn't like you for her brother. Yeah, well, that too.

No one seemed to be noticing anything strange about Thea's behavior towards Felicity so she eventually decided to put it down as a product of her active imagination and stopped being paranoid. Dinner was too good to be thinking about the holes in their plan.

Felicity was making her way back from the bathroom after they finished eating when the youngest Queen stopped her right outside the hall.

"Thea! You scared me. Did Oliver send you after me? I swear, this house is one door short from Inception. I keep waiting for Leonardo DiCaprio to pop around the corner and tell me to run."

Thea remained unfazed and Felicity shushed her giggling.

Ahem... "Is something wrong?" Felicity asked.

"That depends. I know what you and my brother are doing and it's not going to work."

I knew it! Felicity tried to focus on some inner mantra to keep her cool. Oliver where are you?!

"I don't understand. What do you mean?"

"This, you and Oliver, it's not real and we both know it."

"Thea, I-"

"No, listen, let me say this." It was hard to remember this girl was only eighteen. I guess when your father dies, your brother comes back to life and your mom is about to be sentenced to death you can't really be a teenager anymore, Felicity granted. She waited in silence for their lie to be discovered as Thea continued: "Ollie is going through a hard time right now, we all are, and he found something to distract himself with, good for him, but you and I both know the truth. My brother is not over Laurel yet. I don't think he ever will."

Felicity couldn't be more shocked if Thea had said she knew Oliver was the Arrow. Whether she was saying this for her sake or Laurel's, Felicity didn't know. Either way, all she could do was listen and try not to break.

"Look, you seem like a nice person so don't take this the wrong way," Thea told her. "I'm actually saying it because I think you care about my brother. Ollie may say he's given up on Laurel right now but trust me, they always find a way back to each other. It's one of those epic love things. My advice, don't get caught up in it."

Too late, is what Felicity wanted to say, but then Oliver came out of the living room looking for her.

"Everything ok here?"

Thea's face morphed. "Of course," she said lightly. "Everything's fine. I should go get Roy. We have to stop by the club before it closes. Good to see you again, Felicity."

Thea smiled at Felicity but the eyes on her were a reminder of everything she just said.

"Back at you," Felicity said.

"Bye, Ollie."

Oliver leaned down so his sister could reach his cheek and he let her by into the living room to look for Roy. He and Felicity were left alone in the corridor.

"Hey, are you ok?"

"Yup, all good," she lied. "Just got a bit lost back there. By the way, who hangs a Rita Ackermann painting in their bathroom?"

"Someone who has no room left in the hall," he admitted. "Now come on, I think my mother has a couple more embarrassing stories she wants to tell you."

Felicity grinned trying to put the scene with Thea behind her and enjoy the rest of the night, still her words kept playing in the back of her head. Moira brought out the old family pictures and they had a laugh over Oliver's brooding look as a baby. He also had the same fantastic smile. Felicity felt horrible now after being reminded by Thea that she was only a stand in, a stop on Oliver's way to something bigger, to Laurel. Her emotional wear must have been coming out as exhaustion because soon Oliver yawned dramatically and got up.

"Mom, I think Felicity has seen enough embarrassing pictures of me for one night. I should take her home," he said helping Felicity up from the couch.

"What? No, no, none of that," Moira protested. "It's almost 1 am, Oliver, you're not going out at this hour. Besides, neither of you needs to be at the office tomorrow which means she can stay here. I'll get Silvia to get some fresh clothes for her to sleep in," she said already getting up to find her housekeeper.

"Mrs. Queen, that, uh, that's really not necessary at all. I mean, I can, uh, I can call a cab and Oliver won't have to go out at all."

"I said no," she cut her off. "And please, it's Moira. Oliver, you better not let this girl call for a cab at this hour, do you hear me?"

Felicity was going to protest again but Oliver's pressure on her shoulder warned her against it.

"Loud and clear, mom," he said.

"Good," she said satisfied. "Now, I'm gonna go find Silvia and I'll send her up to your room, Ollie."

She kissed her son goodnight and smiled over at Felicity taking one of her hands between her own.

"Thanks for coming tonight, Felicity. It's been lovely to have you. Please make sure you come back soon, before the trial, alright? Have a good night, sweety."

She gave Felicity's hand a squeeze and the girl just nodded with the most natural smile she could conjure.

Once Moira was out of the living room Felicity turned to face Oliver with wide eyes.

"Ok, I'm pretty sure a sleepover was not part of the plan," she said between gritted teeth.

"Felicity, not now." He kept his hand on her shoulder leading her to the stairs.

"Oliver, no! Are you kidding me? You sneak into places with their own surveillance army and you're telling me you can't sneak me out of your own house? No, I'm not staying here."

He tried to keep going but Felicity planted her feet down. Oliver sighed and leaned down to her finding her eyes.

"My house has its own private army, Felicity. I'd rather not risk someone catching us trying to sneak out and throw away all the progress we've made tonight. My mother asked you to stay, that's a good thing. Now, please don't make me carry you up the stairs."

Felicity wouldn't cave.

"Oliver, I really think we should-" Before she could finish Oliver wrapped one arm around her waist and almost floated her backwards into the wall, pinning her there with his body. Felicity could feel the itchiness of his stubble against her temple and a heartbeat, his heartbeat, going steady against her chest. "Oliver, what-"

He shushed her in a whisper and she obeyed, mostly because speaking was not an easy task at the moment. Besides, if she spoke maybe it would all vanish and she'd be home in her pajamas watching The Big Bang Theory re-runs instead of pressed between a wall and Oliver Queen. One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi… By the fourth Mississippi he was gone.

Oliver looked around the room a few times before setting his eyes on Felicity again. "Someone was coming in. I didn't want them to overhear," he explained.

Felicity cleared her throat and fixed a few loose strands of hair. "So you decided to pin me on the wall."

"You talk too fast, I had to think faster. Now please, let's go. I'm tired and we're not getting out of this house tonight."

"Wow, straight into bed, are we? I wish I could say this is the fastest relationship I've ever been in... And now you're going to forget I ever said that because that just makes me sound really easy. It's not like I do that all the time, it was a one-time thing really, you know, college… I think it was the same night I ate that pot brownie..."

"Felicity!"

"Right, bedroom," she said looking at him. "Sorry. You lead the way, captain."

Oliver clenched his jaw and started going up the stairs. It must be exhausting being inside Felicity's head all day.

They made it to his room and Oliver shut the door behind them. Felicity sort of wandered around, trailing her hands over the fabrics in the room, the curtains, the bed sheets, the velvet cushions, glancing at the knick-knacks and pictures lining up the shelves. There was a knock on the door and Oliver took the pair of fresh cotton pajamas, some towels and bathroom essentials from their housekeeper. He gave them over to Felicity and pointed her towards the ensuite bathroom. 

Oliver found a pair of sweat pants to wear and decided to put on a T-shirt too for Felicity's sake. She'd probably seen him shirtless a thousand times by now but to be honest the situation was kind of awkward. As Diggle so kindly planted in his mind earlier that evening, Felicity may be his friend but she was also a woman, and now she was a woman stepping out of his bathroom in her pajamas with no makeup or shoes on. She'd untied her braid so the little blonde curls danced lightly over her chest. Oliver realized he'd been staring at her so he cleared his throat and handed her a bed cover.

"Here, I'll take this side of the bed, you take the other." Oliver turned off the main lights and the room was left with the dim light coming from two bedside lamps now. He waited for her to sit on the bed before laying down himself over the covers and turning off the lamp on his side. "I'll drive you home in the morning," he said covering his eyes with one arm and relaxing onto the mattress. "Goodnight, Felicity."

"Goodnight." Felicity watched him for a second. She let out a soft breath, turned her lamp off too and settled down next to him straight as an arrow… no pun intended. She laid there looking at the ceiling, too aware of his presence next to her to fall asleep. After a few minutes Oliver broke the silence, his arm still over his face.

"Felicity, you're not sleeping."

"Sorry, it's just… I can't sleep with you on the bed."

"I sleep with me on the bed all the time."

"And now you're mocking me. Nice."

"Diggle will be waiting for us at the foundry tomorrow."

"Pressuring me to sleep is not exactly going to help, Oliver."

He uncovered his face and looked at her.

"Are you sure there's not something else bothering you?"

Felicity thought about for a second before answering.

"Your sister doesn't like me."

Oliver propped up on his elbow. He looked at her with a frown.

"Thea? What makes you think that?"

"The fact that she told me so."

"When?"

"It's ok. She's just looking out for you, I understand."

"What exactly did she say?"

Felicity wasn't about to tell him exactly what she said. She settled for the outline version.

"She thinks you're in love with Laurel and I'm standing in the way."

"I'll talk to her."

"No!" Felicity turned to look at him. "Oliver, you can't do that. She's gonna know I said something and then she's gonna think I'm a snitch, that I'm trying to play you against her. Please, don't say anything. I shouldn't have said anything. It's fine, really."

"You sure?"

"Yes, now go to sleep. Aren't you supposed to be tired or something?"

Oliver smirked and settled back on the bed.

"Goodnight, Felicity."

"Goodnight."

His hand found hers on the bed and pressed on it gently. "You did very well tonight. I hadn't seen my mother smile in a while, so thank you."

She flinched but her fingers instinctively closed around his. They were warm and she'd come to know them after holding them so many times in the past few days. She didn't know exactly when she felt asleep but somehow when she opened her eyes, it was morning.

Chapter Text

"No!"

The poor maid let go of the door handle as if it were burning, startled by Moira's cry.

"Mrs. Queen," she said coming back from the shock. "I was just going to clean up Mr. Oliver's room."

Moira caught up with her and gave her an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, Silvia, I didn't mean to scare you. Oliver is not up yet."

The maid looked at Moira like she was speaking Chinese.

"But… it's 9 AM already. Mr. Oliver is never home at this hour."

"I know. He and his friend haven't been out of the room yet," Moira hinted, with a look that spoke volumes.

Silvia took a few seconds and then whispered a long, understanding oh smiling at her employer. They'd known each other for years and the Queen children were practically her own by now.

"Let's give them a few more minutes, don't you think?" Moira offered, leading Silvia away from the door.

"I'll fix them some breakfast then."

"Perfect," said Moira with a complicit smile.

The two women walked down the hall exchanging impressions on Oliver's new friend. They both agreed; Felicity was adorable.

Oliver woke up to the sound of distant laughter. He didn't open his eyes immediately. Several occasions of waking up in the wrong place had taught him never to open your eyes unless you're sure of your surroundings.

Through his closed eyelids he could sense the room was a lot lighter than usual. Normally when he woke up it was still dark outside. Memories from the island mixed with new ones from last year haunted him in his sleep and never waited until sunrise to wake him up covered in sweat. Now there even seemed to be birds singing outside.

He clenched his hands a bit to check the surface around him. It felt soft, like his mattress, perhaps too soft and a little bit too comfortable beneath his right hand. Still, familiar enough so he didn't think it was a cell on a boat in the middle of the ocean.

There was a weight on his chest, but he was used to that. It was part of the guilt he carried, the permanent state of anxiety and alert. Still, the weight seemed lighter today for some reason and it was focused towards his right side... What's going on?

Oliver opened his eyes tentatively, blinking a couple times against the sunlight that was coming in strong from the window to his right. He looked down at his chest to check for the cause of the misplaced weight and what he found was a thousand threads of yellow silk tangled across his chest that went up and down with his breathing.

What?

He adjusted his sight and also his memory of last night's events. Those were not threads of yellow silk, that was Felicity's hair reflecting back the sunlight from the window onto his face. Felicity's hair that was attached to Felicity's head which was currently resting peacefully next to his heart alongside Felicity's tiny hand and brightly colored fingernails holding on to his left bicep.

What the hell happened last night?!

The events started to line up in his memory; the article, the dinner, the albums, the bed… Ok, so he didn't do anything stupid, they'd actually ended up in bed both sober, both fully dressed, and both with the sole intention of actually sleeping. Felicity stirred at Oliver's sigh of relief and he went stiff, clenching his hands on the mattress, not wanting her to wake up yet.

He noticed again how the mattress felt different under his right hand, softer, more rounded, like he could squish it, which he did. It felt more like a pillow, a soft, round pillow wrapped up in a pair of pink cotton pajama bottoms...

That is NOT the mattress!

Oliver snapped his hand away, hoping to God he hadn't spent all night like that. Felicity stirred again and Oliver fused onto the mattress so she wouldn't wake.

Diggle, man, this is all your fault. Why did you have to go on about Felicity and her... womanhood?

She was sleeping soundly and he realized so had he. For the first time in a long time he'd slept the entire night with no dreams, no nightmares, and no blood curling screams. Oliver glanced down at the sleeping beauty on his chest. She fitted kind of perfectly to his body. Her curvaceous leg was drapped over the muscles ofhis leg and it wrapped effortlessly over the knee so that her toes touched gently on his ankle. She was all softness, and curves, and sunlight hair, wrapped around his stone hard frame.

Oliver couldn't see her face from this angle but he didn't have to, he could close his eyes and reproduce it down to a tee. She truly was a remarkable woman, a mix of innocence and strength, but also – and he'd been noticing this lately – also beauty, the kind of delicate, untouched beauty wo which he couldn't get near. Being around him had already changed Felicity a lot; the war they fought had chipped away at her innocence and added to her strength. Strength was good, yes, but too much strength could change a person. He didn't want her to be broken like he was; he didn't want this Felicity to get lost in the battle.

There was a quiet knock on the door and Oliver pretended to be asleep before Felicity could wake up. He felt stupid but the idea of facing her as they were, all wrapped up around each other, was not something he was looking forward to. There was a knock again and this time Felicity gasped and sat on the bed, probably as she realized the position they'd been sleeping in - Good thing his hand was off her butt by now.

Oliver heard a muffled 'Oh God' and he had to try really hard not to smile at the thought of what her face must look like right then looking around in desperation. He decided it was best to 'wake up' now so he stretched a bit on the bed and opened his sleepy eyes.

"Hey," he said in a hoarse voice.

"Oliver, there's someone at the door."

"Hmm? Oh, that must be Silvia. What time is it?"

Felicity glanced around for a clock. Nothing.

"What kind of room doesn't have a clock?"

"One that belongs to a lazy billionaire who lived in a constant hangover. That's still supposed to be me, remember?"

"Yeah, well, you're also a CEO now so get your alter ego a watch."

Oliver scoffed and picked up his phone from the bedside table. He frowned at the screen.

"What?" Felicity asked with a tinge of worry.

"It's almost ten," said Oliver incredulously.

"Oh my God, Diggle! He must have been waiting at the foundry for hours."

"First things first, Felicity. I'll get the door."

Oliver walked over to the door and Felicity noticed she was still sitting on the bed. She knew it was pointless but for some reason she didn't want anyone to actuallysee her on Oliver's bed so she ran to the bathroom and peaked her head out to the door.

Oliver shook his head trying to ignore the jumping bunny in his room and opened the door to his former nanny.

"Silvia!"

"Sorry to bother you, Mr. Queen, but breakfast's ready for you and your friend. If you'd be so kind to join your mother downstairs…"

"Thank you, we'll be right there. And please, no Mr. Queen. Mr. Queen was my father, you know that."

The lady smiled.

"Well, Oliver, here are some fresh clothes for your friend. Pretty girls don't like to have breakfast with their mother-in-law wearing last night's clothing. Especially good ones like her," she said gesturing at Felicity's head poking out of the bathroom.

The blonde smiled embarrassed and stepped out of the bathroom tapping her feet together.

"Hello," she said.

"Morning, miss," greeted Silvia with warmth. "Here you go, Ollie," she said handing the clothes to the man she still saw as a boy sometimes. "Don't let your food get cold."

He ducked his head once and walked back into the room, giving Felicity the clothes.

"You heard the woman."

Oliver walked past her to the bathroom and two minutes later she heard the shower running.

On their way downstairs Felicity checked herself on the hallway mirror. The oversized sweater and skinny black jeans fit her pretty well and she'd managed to settle her hair into a low ponytail and trade the contacts for her comfy glasses. Outside the kitchen Oliver stopped to let her go in first. He then placed his unsettling hand in the small of her back leading her in.

"Morning, mom," Oliver announced.

"Oliver, you're here! Felicity, dear, good morning," Moira said kissing Felicity's cheek lightly while pressing on her shoulders. "Here, sit down. How long has it been since we had breakfast together?" she asked looking at her son.

"Too long," said Oliver sitting down next to Felicity and taking a strip of bacon with his fingers into his mouth. "Where's Thea?" he asked.

"Thea's with Roy. She didn't come home last night after she left. Don't give me that look, Oliver. Your sister is doing fine, she deserves a free pass from time to time."

"Perhaps she should extend the same courtesy," Oliver pointed.

Felicity dug her blue nails on his thigh under the counter and Oliver stopped talking, not exactly because of the warning but because he felt that all the way to his spine. He clenched his jaw and focused on his plate, waiting until his head was clear enough to rejoin the conversation that Felicity stirred away from the topic of Thea.

"Did they set a date for the trial yet?" she asked.

"Yes, a week from now," Moira said. "They told me I don't have to go back to the prison until then, which is a good thing, I guess. At this point I'll take what I can get."

Moira smiled but Felicity could hear the fear and sadness in her voice. She reached over the counter for Moira's hand.

"Good things happen to good people and I can see a lot of good in you," she told her. "Everything will work out, you'll see."

Moira looked at her, warmed by her kindness. "I'll leave you two to finish your breakfast. Let me know if you'll be home for dinner tonight." She got up and kissed her son's forehead. "I love you, sweetie."

"Love you too, mom."

She said goodbye to Felicity and set off to get ready for her attorney to come visit.

"You look comfortable enough around my mother," said Oliver once Moira was gone.

"I like her. Too bad her son has the table manners of a cave man," she said, reffering to the way he kept grabbing the bacon from the plate with his bare hands.

"I was a cave man," he reminded her.

"Right, island man, why do I keep forgetting that?"

Felicity got up to pour herself some coffee and she brought back a steaming cup for him as well.

"Here," she said, setting the cup in front of Oliver.

"I thought you said you weren't bringing me coffee, ever. I believe this makes two," he said.

"Yeah, well, two is all you're getting mister," she warned him and sat back on her stool.

Oliver smirked and brought the cup up to his lips. They enjoyed the silence until his phone rang.

"Dig," he said into the receiver. Felicity's watched him attentively and then Oliver's face went sour. "When?... Alright, we're on our way."

"What's wrong?"

"Take that to go. Officer Lance sent a text message, he wants our help."

"Did he say what it was?"

"Something about a girl being kidnapped, I don't know. Let's go."

She downed the last shot of coffee and met Oliver outside.

"Oliver, where are you going? The car is this way."

"We're not taking the car. Cars come with drivers; we don't want a driver dropping us off at Verdant at this hour. Take this."

"That… is a motorcycle helmet."

Oliver gave her the death glare.

"Alright, hold on. Oh God, I'm so not made for this… Ok, there, I'm on, I think. No, no, wait! Wait, I haven't put on the helmet yet. There, alright, now we're good. Hit me! I mean, you can start the bike now."

Oliver chose not to comment and the bike's engine roared beneath her sending shivers all the way to her glasses.

"Woah, I can totally see why biker chicks like this."

"Hold on tight," Oliver yelled over the sound of the engine begging for speed.

"Now you're just saying things to spike me," Felicity muttered, wrapping her arms around his torso. Oliver felt big, and strong, and too good to be true.

She forced herself not to rest her helmet head on his back and Oliver let go of the brakes making the bike jump into action. Felicity squealed and clenched her thighs on both sides of Oliver's legs. His smile was hidden behind the visor and he kept the bike just a little bit faster than necessary for the rest of the ride. Felicity's whole body never loosened its grip around him.

"No… no, you listen to me. That is not what we agreed on… Well, too bad… Look, I'm sending someone over right now and those orders better be ready when he gets there. Goodbye."

Thea hanged up the phone leaving the supplier talking to himself at the other end of the line. She pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"Roy! Roy, can you come up here for a second?"

The boy was setting down a pair of boxes behind the bar. He finished up and joined his girlfriend on the second floor at Verdant.

"What's up?"

"Can you drop by the pier and supervise the delivery for the vodka bottles? This guy is trying to change the terms of the order now and I need someone there to make sure he doesn't."

"Sure, no problem, babe."

"Thanks, babe," she said mocking him. She gave him a quick kiss. "You're my savior."

"Yeah, try and remember that next time you decide to get mad at me. And speaking of mad," he said. "What was that about last night with Nerdy Barbie?"

Thea looked at him puzzled. "What? What do you mean?"

"I'm talking about you going all 'scary rich girl' on your brother's girlfriend."

"She's not-"

"What, 'not his girlfriend'? When was the last time you saw a girl that hot be just an assistant?" Roy saw he was stepping on dangerous ground when Thea's eyes narrowed at him. "I mean, your brother wasn't exactly hiding it, Thea. Besides, you don't bring your assistant home to meet your mom and your scary little sister on Friday night if you don't intend to make her part of the family. I think I even saw them on the news or something the other day."

Thea went wide-eyed. "What?"

"Yeah, unless your brother is banging another blonde too in which case-" Roy stopped himself before he made an admiring comment about Oliver's ability to date multiple women at the same time. He also noticed Thea looked even less pleased now. "Hey, what's with the face? Did she do something to you?"

"No! No, she didn't do anything. It's just…"

"What?" Roy prompted.

Thea sighed and looked at him.

"Ollie is supposed to be with Laurel."

"Laurel, that's the cop's daughter, right? I thought that whole thing with your brother kinda crashed and burned."

"Well, it didn't," she said defensively. "They just… they went through a lot."

"Since when do you care?"

"Since Laurel deserves to be with my brother. You don't understand; they were good together."

"It seems to me they weren't that good considering he cheated on her with his sister and then she dated his best friend... before he wound up dead."

"Look, I wasn't always the biggest fan of Laurel but after that thing with Vertigo and the car crash... she really helped me, you know? She and Ollie, they both bring the best out of each other. She knows him. I think maybe if they get together she can bring him back."

"Bring him back?" Roy was getting lost in this conversation. "Back from where?"

"Back to his old self, before all this happened."

The boy looked at her with a frown. He could see why Thea would want that. They'd talked a few times about how Oliver was all hold up in himself since the island, how he didn't seem to trust anyone anymore, including her, but Roy also knew she was chasing an impossible. He moved in closer to her and took both her hands in his.

"Hey, do you think there's anything that could make you go back to the person you were before your dad died? Before your brother, even before what happened at the Glades?" Thea stood in silence and he took that as confirmation. She knew there wasn't. "Maybe it's time you let your brother do his thing, even if it's not the way he used to do it. He's letting you do your thing, right? I mean, he hasn't killed me yet."

"It's not because he doesn't want to," she warned him.

Roy cringed but she smiled, which meant she was getting the point.

"All I'm saying is you should see how this plays out. Maybe you're right, maybe he'll end up with that Laurel chick and it'll all be colors and rainbows. But maybe he prefers his girls to be blonde and nerdy now and you gotta be cool with that too."

Thea looked at him tight-lipped before her eyes went up with defeat. "Fine, I'll try, but I'm not making any promises. And I still think he should be with Laurel."

"I don't think he cares." Thea glared and Roy decided it was a good time to make an exit. "I better pick up those bottles now."

He leaned in to kiss Thea's forehead.

"Yeah, ok, bye bye now," she teased.

Roy jumped over the railing and landed swiftly on the floor below. He was gone before Thea had a chance to scold him for acting like the Starling City version of Spiderman. As crazy and reckless as he was, Roy was probably right. She owed Oliver the benefit of the doubt and she also owed Felicity a chance… Now maybe even an apology.

"What happened to you?" Dig asked at the sight of a very pale, very hair-blown Felicity.

"He!" she said pointing at Oliver a little out of breath. "He happened! He and his motorcycle from hell. I think I'm gonna be sick. Excuse me while I say hello to my breakfast again."

Felicity made a wobbly bee line out the back since she couldn't go up to the bathroom without letting everyone know they were there and Diggle turned to Oliver with a quizzical brow.

"She's not good with speed either, huh?"

Oliver pressed his lips. "I may or may not have been going a little too fast."

"Is that so?" he said with a meaningful look.

"You said it was urgent."

"Right, well, here's what officer Lance said." He turned to the computers and Oliver followed suit. "The guy is a serial killer known as the Dollmaker, real name Barton Mathis. Apparently he likes to kidnap young girls and stuff them full of polymers to turn them into life-size dolls for display. Lance himself put him in jail a few years ago but he got out during the quake and now he seems to be back in business."

"He took someone," Oliver said.

"More like two." Diggle pulled up pictures of two young women, only one of them as a dolled-up corpse. "The second girl might still be alive, Oliver, but according to his M.O. she doesn't have much time."

"Please, don't break my computers." Felicity had just come back into the basement and they both made way so she could sit in her usual chair.

Oliver pressed on her shoulder with a look of concern.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. False alarm, really," Felicity told him. "So, what are we looking at?" she said scanning over the screens in seconds.

"Our next mission," he said.

Chapter Text

Chapter V - The Party, Part I

Felicity was having one of those rare moments alone in the basement at Verdant. Oliver and Diggle had signed off the intercoms a while back and were on their way to meet her at the foundry. Meanwhile, the blonde girl was looking intently at her computer screen, anxiously destroying the back of a pen between her teeth.

There was another article, and this time Felicity was surprised the tabloids hadn't displayed everything including her involvement as 1/3 of team Arrow. Everything else was right there, plastered all over the internet in a nice little article: 'The Queen Wannabe'. This people had a knack for flashy titles.

Her childhood friends, the awkward college years, it was all there along with a couple pictures to help narrate the experience. Of course they couldn't fail to mention her rapid ascent up the corporate ladder from regular IT girl to Executive Assistant for the CEO and girlfriend to said CEO, as if that were part of her job title.Misogynistic schmucks!

It was getting bad, like seriously bad, and it wasn't just the press coverage. Mrs. Queen had been crazy welcoming, something she hadn't expected. And then of course there was Thea and her comments about Laurel. What the youngest Queen said hurt her and it shouldn't have.

So what if Oliver was in love with Laurel? These were not news to her and even if they were, why should she care? She was the substitute girlfriend; that was actually the whole plan. But she did feel something when Thea pointed those things out, just like she felt something when Oliver decided to sleep with Miss 'Long Legs' Rochev. Just thinking about it now made her mad all over again.

I mean, really, Oliver? Out of all the women, you had to go for the one who couldn't care less about you. Laurel I get. Gorgeous Laurel, who you are in love with and who loves you, that I can understand. But Isabel?! Don't sink so low.

He'd said it didn't mean anything and that just made it worse. She remembered thinking: You're not this person, Oliver. I know you're not. You deserve better than her.

So she told him that, and she really believed it. She didn't expect 'better' to mean 'her' by any means. She'd known the moment he walked into the IT department with his all-conquering smile and his little laptop filled with bullet holes that Oliver Queen didn't go for her type, not because she was less than anyone else, but because Oliver liked more of an in-your-face sexy type of girl. Exhibit A: Laurel; exhibit B: Helena; exhibit C: I could do this all day. Felicity was very much aware of her own worth, she was wicked smart, - more like borderline genius, thank you very much! -, she was loyal, and she could rock a nice dress and a pair of heels like any girl, but point is she simply wasn't the girl Oliver wanted, period.

And that was OK! At least it used to be before she actually knew what it was to have Oliver treat her as if he wanted her. To have him hold her hand, or kiss her cheek, or serve as her personal body pillow… a very chiselled, very intoxicating body pillow…

The fact that she was even thinking about waking up next to him again, and not in the most platonic way, was already a sign that something was very wrong. This had to stop and it had to stop now! She couldn't just drop out of the whole fake-girlfriend plan but she at least had to do some serious reality check, for her own sake.

Felicity's inner ramblings were cut off by Diggle coming in through the back door. He threw a warning glance at Felicity.

"He's in one of his moods," Diggle said and Felicity sighed getting ready for what was to come.

She locked away the article on her screen and in came Oliver, fuming as he pulled down his hood and threw his bow violently on its case.

"Hey!" Felicity shouted in protest. "Do you mind? I bought that."

Oliver clearly didn't appreciate humour based on his menacing glare.

"Did they find it?" he said in a hoarse voice.

Felicity pushed her glasses up and swirled around to face her computers.

"The police got a call a couple minutes ago and they're on their way now. Based on the description I caught on their radio it's the Dollmaker's victim."

Oliver's fists curled up in a tight ball.

"Can you get anything off the forensics report?" he asked impatiently moving in closer to the back of her chair.

Felicity rolled her eyes and repressed a sigh.

"I don't know. Maybe if you let the police actually get the body and conduct the autopsy then we can talk about hacking into their system."

Oliver looked down at the top of her blonde head.

"Are you purposely trying to tick me off, Felicity?"

"That depends," she said turning around to meet his gaze. "Are you purposely trying to be all growly and angry? Because I'm not the one who stuffed the girl full of plastic, you know?"

Diggle sensed a tug war about to unfold and decided to cut in before it got ugly.

"We all did the best we could," John said. "The Dollmaker was one step ahead of us. There's no way we could have predicted that."

Oliver broke eye contact with a very defiant Felicity to look at Diggle.

"Clearly we're not doing enough or the Dollmaker would be in custody by now," he said.

"The museum was a solid lead, Oliver. We just have to keep looking."

After Oliver had held Mathis' lawyer at arrow point and he'd told them about the old German museum the Dollmaker could be using as a hideout, Oliver and Lance had followed the lead right into a trap and instead of catching the killer they got to listen via phone call as he murdered yet another girl. It was clear the Dollmaker had it in for Lance now. It was not so much about the killing as it was about revenge against the man who put him in prison.

Felicity joined in the conversation, trying to distract Oliver from their failed attempt at catching the Dollmaker.

"Did you get another visit from our black leather, mask wearing friend? You know, the one with the sonic thingy," she asked.

"No, not this time," said Oliver. "I already put Roy on her trail. He should be reporting back soon."

The blonde female vigilante had been popping up around the glades beating the pulp out of random crooks. Well, not so random since she seemed to be focusing on those who targeted women. Her last appearance is what caught their attention since it saved Oliver from being discovered after he foolishly – in Felicity and Dig's opinion - walked into an ambush at the police station to have a chat with Laurel.

"Look," Diggle said. "It'll be at least a couple hours before the police process the crime scene and forensics takes over the body. In the meantime you have a party to attend."

Oliver looked at him with a frown.

"The benefit? For the police department?" Diggle explained.

Realization crossed Oliver's eyes.

"Queen Consolidated is one of the main donors," Felicity added absently. "You're supposed to be there to hand them the check in person."

Oliver took a deep, accepting breath. Diggle was right and he probably shouldn't miss this party considering the bad image his company had right now. He couldn't care less about what people thought of him, but with his mother's trial coming up anything that could bring up their family's name with the public was a plus.

"Should I pick you up at your house in say… forty-five minutes?" he said looking at Felicity. "Or should we just meet there?"

"Huh?" the girl said.

"The benefit, you're coming with me, right?"

"No," she said pointedly. "No, no, no. It's just handing a check, you don't need an assistant for that."

"But I need a date," said Oliver as a matter of fact.

"And you're thinking me?"

"Who else would I be thinking, Felicity?"

Oliver gave her one of those looks that said she was crazy for questioning something so logical.

"And it didn't occur to you to mention this until now" Felicity boasted getting up and gathering her things.

This was so like Oliver, assuming everything and everyone would just fall in line with his plan.

The fact that she wasn't looking forward to being Oliver's girl in a room full of people, including Laurel, probably had a lot to do with her reaction too. Because Laurel would most definitely be there considering it was a function for the police and not only was she a police officer's daughter but she was also working with the D.A.

Oliver, of course, didn't have a clue what he was supposed to say so he just watched as Felicity stumped her way up the stairs to the club.

"Where are you going?" he called.

"Well apparently I need to get dressed for a party!" she barked back.

And then the door closed with a thud.

"So... do I pick her up or..."

Oliver looked over at Dig and raised a brow.

"Don't look at me, man," said Diggle with a shrug.

Oliver gave one last glance at the door where Felicity had disappeared and decided she'd probably meet him there. He started to get out of his vigilante gear.

"Speaking of irritable women, how did it go with Felicity at your house? You never told me what happened that night," said Diggle.

Oliver leaned down to get his boots off.

"It was fine. I think Thea might have given Felicity a hard time but other than that... My mom seems too like her, a little too much maybe. Sorry we overslept that day, I-"

"Wait a second, we overslept?" Diggle interrupted.

Hmm... perfect, Oliver, just perfect. He'd almost made it without Diggle finding out about their little overnight happening. He straightened up getting into his jeans and started looking for a clean shirt to wear.

"My mom insisted we spent the night at the house. I didn't want to risk-"

"So you slept with Felicity," said Dig cutting him off again.

"I didn't sleep with Felicity, Diggle, we just... happened to sleep together." Oliver cleared his throat. Even he realized he wasn't making any sense. Maybe he'd been spending too much time with Felicity lately. "Nothing happened," he added, as convincingly as he could.

"Right, nothing happened. And that's why you look like you just got caught with your hand in the cookie jar," Dig accused him.

Well, I guess 'cookie jar' is one way to call where I caught my hand that night, Oliver thought. Of course, he wasn't about to tell John that.

"Not now, Diggle," he sentenced and walked round the back where the car was parked.

"Sure, you keep telling yourself that, Oliver, until there's no later to deal with this thing and then I get to say 'I told you so'. Although I probably won't even enjoy it because of the mess you'll make so let there be noted now: I did tell you so."

Oliver pressed his lips into a hard, thin line and got in the back of the car. He'd been living a second life for over a year now. Lying and pretending was second nature to him so Diggle had no reason to be worried about.

Dating Felicity -no, scratch that- pretending to date Felicity would be just like any other lie he told, like pretending to be a club owner when he opened Verdant, or pretending to be a concerned CEO when he took over the company.

In that moment Oliver chose to ignore the fact that by doing those things he had actually become a club owner and a concerned CEO, but it wasn't like he was going to magically turn into Felicity's boyfriend just by pretending to be in love with her.

Perhaps our boy should have considered the reversed alternative.

The sound of chitchat and champagne glasses clinging together filled the air of the overly decorated salon. Oliver was all class and money in his black tuxedo with silky lapels, a flawless bow tie and diamond incrusted cufflinks.

He'd been talking to some of his father's old friends when he felt the touch of delicate, feminine fingers sliding over his shoulders. He glanced behind him to find Isabel Rochev wrapped up in a tight blue dress with a slit that went high up her leg. She was looking at him with pouty lips.

"Flying solo tonight, partner?" she said in a velvety voice.

"Actually, no," said Oliver. "I'm just waiting for my date."

"Right, the assistant," Isabel said with a touch of disdain. "What ever happened to 'she's just a friend'?"

The look she gave him was challenging. He knew she'd be asking him about that soon enough and in that moment he knew just what to say.

"Well, she was just a friend back then," he said innocently. "I guess I should be thanking you for pointing out how good she looked in those skirts."

Isabel's lips pursed even tighter and Oliver smiled charmingly. He caught sight of Felicity over Isabel's shoulder. She was standing a few feet away by the string quartet, a blonde vision in red. It reminded him of the night she cheated her way into the underground casino with her mad counting skills. Felicity was full of surprises.

"Now, if you'll excuse me..." he said without giving Isabel a second look and headed towards Felicity. Oliver went straight for her shoulder when he reached her. "Felicity..." The girl turned to see him and only then he noticed she was standing with a man, a tall, squared-jaw fellow with a sly smile. Oliver said hi before he realized who it was and then his smile froze in place. "Max Fuller," said Oliver with greeted teeth. "What are you doing here?"

The ashy blond man gave Oliver a cocky stare with a glimpse of satisfaction and he tilted his head in an innocent gesture.

"I was just talking to the lovely lady here," he said nodding towards Felicity. "She's quite the talker, very smart," Max added with a wink.

Oliver's jaw clenched and he circled one territorial arm around Felicity's waist.

"I see you've met my girlfriend, then."

Felicity tensed under his grip but didn't move away. Oliver secured her a little tighter just in case.

"Girlfriend?" Max said raising his eyebrows with faked surprised. "Funny, she didn't mention you at all."

"It didn't really come up," Felicity said. "It's not like I go around saying 'Hi, I'm Felicity Smoak, animal lover, Oliver Queen's girlfriend, Sagittarius'. That would just be weird, and a little pretentious, don't you think?" Oliver had to grin at the disconcertion in Max's face. Apparently not everyone was as used to Felicity's random monologues as he was and that just gave him a strange sense of pride. "You didn't mention you knew Oliver either," she said, curious.

"Well, Ollie," Max said, stepping a little too strongly on the nickname. "Why don't you tell her how we know each other?"

"Sure," said Oliver with a smirk. "Max and I were... childhood friends."

"Until he slept with my fiancée at our engagement party," Max added as if they were discussing the weather.

Felicity looked between both men not sure where to go from there. Oliver took over holding himself together like a pro.

"My taste has gotten a lot better since then," he said gliding his hand down from Felicity's waist to her hip.

She had to remind herself to act naturally. This is normal, this is not awkward at all, this is not real Oliver with his hand on your hip right now, this is fake-boyfriend Oliver, secret-identity Oliver...

"A few years on a deserted island will do that to you," Oliver added at Max's look of pure hate. "You learn to aim higher, seize the day."

Felicity called their attention with a slight cough.

"So, that was very educational. Now, do you mind giving us a moment?" she said looking at Max. "I need to talk to Oliver about something."

She desperately needed to get out from Oliver's grasp and regain some of her sanity.

"Of course," Max answered acidly and laid one last murderous glare on Oliver. "I'll see you around, Queen."

"Let's hope you don't," said Oliver in a dramatically polite tone.

"Ok, that was awkward," Felicity pointed once he was gone.

She pushed herself off from Oliver and he loosened his hold around her, letting her step in front of him.

"Out of all the people in the room, that is who you talk to?" Oliver complained.

"How was I supposed to know?!" she argued. "Besides, the engagement party, Oliver?"

"I... have nothing to say for myself," he admitted. "Except that it was a long time ago. I'm a different person now. At least I hope I am."

"I know you are," said Felicity and her lips curved up on the side. Their stares lingered a bit longer than they should have and Felicity searched her brain for something to break the spell. "Still, makes me rethink if you really are boyfriend material," she said teasingly.

That did it. Oliver quirked his head deciding whether or not he should be offended. He settled for a subject change.

"Any word on forensics?" he asked surveying the room to make sure only she could hear him.

"Not yet," she said in his same tone. "I checked my tablet on the way here. They're finishing up the autopsy so we should have access to the results in a while."

"Good," Oliver granted finishing his sweep of the room. He looked down at Felicity. "Should we dance?"

"Huh?"

"It's a perfectly good party. Seems like a waste to be standing here waiting for autopsy reports," he said offering his hand to her. "Besides, Max is still looking at us. I don't want him to think we're fighting."

Felicity looked at his hand going over the implications in her head. One dance couldn't hurt, right? There was no reason why two friends shouldn't be able to share a dance without it leaving lingering images to torment her for the rest of the week like say sleeping with said friend.

She bit her lip and threw all cautions aside. Why not? She smiled at Oliver and took his hand.

Oliver led her to an open spot among the other few dancing couples and he shifted her so they were facing each other, one hand holding hers, the other one on the small of her back.

Felicity brought her hand up to rest on his shoulder and Oliver started moving, taking Felicity around with him as the violins sang through the air.

"This is nice," she said looking up at him.

"Does that mean you're not mad at me anymore?" he asked, his eyebrow shooting up a little.

"I was not- Ok, maybe I was a little. I just... I've been having an off day."

"Something wrong?"

She sighed.

"Just the press, you know." Oliver stopped dancing and looked at her with concern. "Nothing serious, really," she corrected trying to get Oliver to relax.

He stood looking at her for another second and then started dancing again, not letting go of the tension over his forehead.

"Maybe they're getting too close," Felicity said against his shoulder.

"The papparazzi?"

"They're going crazy about getting 'the money shot'. And they're not just outside Queen Consolidated anymore, I think I saw one in front of my building the other day. I was thinking... what if they follow us to the foundry and they catch you, you know, hooding up?" she whispered.

The music changed and Oliver spun Felicity around bringing her back to his chest once the violins picked up their slow rhythm again. She could feel his jaw line scratching against her cheekbone.

"The money shot?" he asked.

"You and me... kissing, which is funny because we won't, but that just makes them want it more because no one's been able to get it so now they have anyone with a camera doing whatever it takes to get that one impossible shot."

Oliver kept silent as he swayed with her.

"Oliver?"

"There's a photographer there right now," he said softly.

"Huh? Where?" Felicity tried looking around but Oliver pressed on her back keeping her glued to him.

"No, no, don't turn around," said Oliver almost in a whisper against her ear.

"Ok," she said, starting to worry. "Mind telling me what you're thinking? I don't like it when you get that tone on your voice."

Nothing from Oliver. All she could hear was the music and the sound of the people around them.

"Oliver?" Felicity pressed on.

"I say we get them off our backs," he said finally.

"Off our backs how? Oliver, you can't be thinking about-"

"I say we kiss."

Chapter Text

Chapter VI - The Party, Part II

Felicity skipped a beat and landed on Oliver's foot. She held on to him for balance chuckling.

"Sorry about that," she said trying to stop laughing. "I thought I heard you say 'we kiss'."

"I did," said Oliver calmly.

Felicity stopped and pulled back to look at his face.

"But you're kidding, right? Please tell me you're kidding." Oliver's face was not the one of a joker. "You're not kidding... Oh, God."

"Felicity..." Oliver pulled her back into his frame and resumed their slow dancing; now doing the job for both of them since Felicity was in no mindset to keep up the pace. He left just enough room between them so their eyes could meet. "You're right; we can't afford to have them following us around like that."

"So we kiss, that's your solution?!"

"They get the picture, rumour's confirmed, everyone's happy. We walk free."

Felicity hid her face in Oliver's shoulder again and let him dance them around while she examined their options. They had to do something, that much was obvious, but kiss?! How would they even do that? Ok, I know how, but... how? What would that even mean? Where would it leave the two of them?

Nothing, it would mean nothing, Felicity thought. Oliver was thinking about this from a strategic point of view, not as some romantic, life-altering gesture.

She tried to look on the bright side. Now I can cross this off my bucket list. Kiss Oliver, check.

Felicity took one look around the room just to make sure. Laurel wasn't there yet. Good.

She took a deep breath ready to do the thing and told Oliver she agreed.

"How do we do this? I mean, it has to look natural, not like we want them to see it so maybe if we-"

Oliver's hand started going up her back, his knuckles grazing every knot on her spine, sending her body into contraction. The air stopped trying to exit her lungs and Felicity couldn't finish her sentence. His fingers reached the sensitive skin on the back of her neck and they started creeping into her hair. Felicity swallowed hard and leaned back, letting her hand slide from his shoulder to the front of his jacket.

Their eyes met, blue on blue, and Oliver could see Felicity was nervous. But she was also determined, just like she always was whenever she offered to put herself in danger for the sake of the team.

There were no words between them, but the way his eyebrows came together told her he was asking for permission and one long breath out from her let him know she was saying yes.

Felicity closed her eyes and her face twitched in anticipation. Oliver leaned closer, his head tilting a little to avoid Felicity's little button nose and then... their lips met.

Felicity took a sharp breath in and Oliver closed his fingers around her hair. He was all set and ready for a quick job, get in, get out, all nice and neat. What he didn't prepare for was the soft, little moaning sound that escaped Felicity's lips when he kissed her.

It woke up some dark, primal instinct within him and suddenly he couldn't think about the plan anymore. His thoughts were filled with how warm her lips were, so full and cherry-tasting. Suddenly he wanted to go for her tongue and his lips started pressing on her more urgently searching for a way in.

Oliver dropped Felicity's hand so he could hold on to her hip. He needed to be in control, hold her in place so she couldn't escape. Not that she wanted to. Felicity's hand found the crook of his elbow even with her eyes closed. It was a familiar place and she held on to it barely pressing her fingertips against the fabric of his jacket.

Needless to say, they were no longer dancing but standing somewhere close to the centre of the dance floor, one kissing silhouette among dancing figures. A camera flash went off, then another. Oliver almost groaned when he finally felt it, the cool, wet trail her tongue left when it touched his lips. That was red alert for Felicity. She gasped and pulled back, looking at Oliver with wide eyes. He was frowning, he looked... What's that face? Is he freaking out? Cause I'm freaking out! This was a bad idea!

Oliver wasn't looking at her; he was fixated on Felicity's shoulder. A touch of red on his lips caught her attention and she reached up to wipe it off with her thumb. That brought Oliver's eyes back to hers.

"Sorry, you got a little... There, it's off, see?" she said showing him the smudge of red on the back of her thumb with a nervous smile.

He cleared his throat and took his hand out of her hair letting it drop to his side. The hand on her hip was also gone and Felicity shrugged her fingers away from his elbow.

"You think they got it?" she asked, whishing her voice would stop doing that shaky thing.

"Mmm-hm," answered Oliver quickly. His brow twitched a little but he shook it off quirking his head and finally putting on his poker face. "We should get out of the way. Why don't you go wait over there by the food table and I'll go fetch us some drinks and meet you there, ok?" he said.

"Sure, sounds like a plan. See you," she said tapping her finger on his lapel with a smile, a smile that wore off the moment she turned her back to him.

All the way to the hors d'oeuvres table Felicity was kicking herself for getting so carried away. Although, he kind of went a little overboard too, it wasn't just me, was it? She had just managed to place a particularly unstable cheese construction in her mouth when she heard a deep male voice behind her.

"Enjoying yourself, Miss Smoak?"

Felicity turned around almost knocking off the glass of champagne the man was holding and coughing back the cheese so she wouldn't choke to death.

"Officer Lance!" She did a quick fingertip check around the corners of her lips for loose cheese crumbs.

"So, Oliver Queen huh?" he said raising his eyebrow. "I didn't know you two had that kind of... relationship."

Felicity checked around him to see if Oliver was already on his way with the drinks. Negative.

"Yes, uh, it's... very recent so... we haven't really told many people yet."

The girl smiled nervously hoping she was being more convincing now than during her interrogation at the police department when Officer Lance brought her in for questioning regarding the Arrow cases.

"I take it he doesn't know about your involvement with our hooded friend," he said.

"Nou, no, no, no," she hurried and shook her head in little, repetitive motions. "Please don't tell him. I don't think he'd like the idea very much, considering the Arrow did attack his mom once."

"Right, well, lies are no way to start a relationship, Miss Smoak, but don't worry, your secret's safe with me. Although, I gotta say, smart girl like you? One would think you'd know better than to go for Oliver Queen. Don't get me wrong, the kid can be good, sometimes, when he sets his mind to it, but things just seem to getbroken around him, especially girls. Be careful, Miss Smoak?" Quentin requested.

Felicity's lips curved up, this time genuinely.

"I will."

Quentin seemed satisfied with her answer but Felicity felt there was more to say.

"I think that's one thing they have in common, Oliver and 'the Arrow'," she mouthed and Quentin frowned. "There's a lot more heart to both of them than they let on."

The man scoffed. He was about to say something but then his phone started ringing.

"Excuse me," he said, taking the phone out of his pocket. "That's my daughter, she must be outside. Take care of yourself, Miss Smoak, and say hello to our mutual friend. And by friend I mean the vigilante. Queen can do with just a nod."

Felicity couldn't help but smile at that. She bit her lip and gave him a small nod.

"I'll make sure they both get the message."

Quentin gave her a smirk before heading towards the entrance to take Laurel's call.

"What did Officer Lance want?"

Felicity did a one-eighty and there was Oliver holding two glasses of wine and a stern look.

"Good, give me," she said taking the glass from him. Felicity welcomed the cool beverage, especially the calming effect it had going down her throat. "He says hi, to Arrow you, not you you. To you you he sends more of a 'meh'."

Oliver did his little suppressed-smile face, the one where he clenched his jaw so tight it looked like his lips were holding back a fit of laughter.

"Did he say anything about the case?"

"No," Felicity answered, realizing the officer had in fact neglected to mention the Dollmaker at all. "He didn't say anything. Maybe he was too busy warning me against you."

"He's a good man," Oliver said for all response. He knew what Laurel's father thought of him and he couldn't do anything else but agree with his assessment.

Felicity, on the other hand, saw a whole other side to him.

"So are you," she muttered.

Oliver often wished he could see himself through Felicity's eyes. She seemed so sure that there was something worth defending about him. Of course, she didn't know the whole story; she didn't know all that lay buried deep within him, what the island did to him, what he'd done since the island. And she couldn't know because he needed her, he needed Felicity as part of team Arrow. Right now he couldn't risk losing her over the truth.

Felicity set her empty glass down on the appetizers table and one of the tiny portions caught her eye.

"Hey, my mom used to make these!"

She took the little eggplant slice topped with tomato squares and cream cheese. Oliver watched as Felicity put it in her mouth and her eyes closed slowly, like she was no longer there. When she opened them again her eyes were sparkling.

"Every time we had someone over at the house she would disappear into the kitchen and come back with a tray full of these little things. I used to hate them – I'm not an eggplant fan - but now whenever I'm alone at the apartment, feeling particularly homesick, I try to make them. They're nothing like my mom's but... I don't know, it makes me feel a little better." She took another one and brought it up to Oliver's face. "Here, try it."

Oliver's first impulse was to draw back but one look at Felicity's face and he discarded the idea. She was sharing with him and not just the tumbling tower of food between her fingers but a part of herself, a part of her story.

He reached for her wrist to keep it steady and closed his lips around the little eatable art piece. Felicity tried to pull her fingers back before his lips touched them but one of them was too slow and he kissed it before she could pull it back.

Felicity could feel the blood rushing to her ears, her cheeks, her everywhere. She hid the kissed finger inside her hand, almost as if protecting the kiss from blowing away.

Oliver didn't seem to notice, he was humming in appreciation of the dish and Felicity relaxed a little, smiling along with him.

They enjoyed their moment of camaraderie until Lance returned, pale as a ghost, and grabbed Felicity's elbow to pull her aside.

The musical sound of Oliver laughing stopped abruptly to be replaced by a frown.

"Is everything ok?" he asked Lance.

"No," the man stuttered. "He has Laurel, the Dollmaker took Laurel," he said, giving Felicity a significant look. Felicity caught Oliver's jaw clenching and Quentin took it as a sign of distress. He'd forgotten for a moment that Oliver didn't know about Felicity's involvement with the Arrow. "I'm sorry, I... I don't know why I'm telling you this," he stammered, letting go of Felicity and running a shaky hand across his face. "I better go find the captain. I... I need help."

His eyes fell back on Felicity as he said that and she gave him the nod he was waiting for. Quentin Lance left to find the captain and Felicity turned to Oliver who was already going over all the plans.

"We need to get to the foundry, now," Oliver commanded.

He didn't need to wait for Felicity's response and she didn't need to give it. She was already taking out her phone to text Diggle and following after Oliver as he made his way through the room towards the nearest exit.

A hand caught his arm and Oliver had to use all his sense not to tackle a very inopportune Isabel right to the ground. He had to settle for a very low groan and a dangerously clenched jaw.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

"Out," hissed Oliver.

"You're not done. We have to hand that check together," the woman protested.

Oliver was losing his patience and Felicity could see it in the way his fist kept closing in on itself. She thought of a solution and regretted it right away. Still, it had to be done.

"Sorry, we can't wait anymore. We need to go like now. Oliver..." Felicity sang.

She made sure there was just the right amount of sexual innuendo in her voice. Just in case she clang onto his other bicep and tugged at his jacket with needy eyes.God, this is embarrassing. She prayed it would work so they could get out of there and sure enough Isabel got her hand off Oliver's arm and looked at them with a mix of jealousy and repulsion.

"Unbelievable," she chastised, and Felicity didn't give her time to put in another word pulling Oliver out of the hall and into the car.

Diggle tossed him his Arrow gear on the back of the car and Felicity got her tablet out, fingers flying across the screen.

Oliver started undoing his bow tie. "Felicity I need you to check back on those forensic results-"

"Already on it." The girl did a couple more taps and then she found what she was looking for. "They thought they could hide them from me but apparently they don't know just how good I am."

"Felicity..."

Oliver was a ticking time bomb and Felicity focused her attention on keeping her comments short and actually useful.

"I'm cross-referencing the results from this autopsy to the ones from the other victims, toxicology, blood type... Wait! There's a match. One of the chemical ingredients found on the victim, ethyl paraben and sodium laureth sulphate," Felicity read. "That's a mouthful... It was on the other victims as well."

"And?" Oliver had kicked off his shoes and was now working on the buttons of his pants.

"And it's the formula of a very particular skin cream, see? Oh, gawd-"

Felicity had turned to show Oliver the image of Mermaiden skin cream on her tablet but she nearly dropped it at the sight of a very shirtless, very pantless Oliver sitting right next to her.

"Was this really necessary?" she said, hovering her hand over Oliver's half naked presence.

Diggle glanced through the rear-view mirror and his brows shifted disapprovingly. Once they got Laurel back he needed to have a serious talk with Oliver about Felicity, one that didn't end with 'Not now, Diggle'.

Oliver kept going about his business ignoring Felicity's cry of purity.

"Any idea how that can help us find Laurel?" he asked.

"No," she admitted. "But it's something. Give me a minute, I'll keep looking."

"We may not have a minute," Oliver muttered. "I'm calling Lance."

It took the officer half a ring to answer the phone. Mathis, aka The Dollmaker, had been in contact with him. He was the one who called Lance at the party from Laurel's phone. Mathis said he had her and he was going to make her part of his master piece, a special edition five-doll collection, with her as the centre piece. 'The daughter of the captor became the captive' is what he said.

"Five dolls... that means he needs four other girls," Oliver said. "Felicity-"

"There have been... three missing person reports in the last 24 hours that match the sort of victims he takes, young, pretty, female. It'd be too much of a coincidence in a city this small if someone else took them," Felicity reported. She stared at the screen for a second and the makings of a plan started to form in her head. "Three... that means he's still missing one girl. He could be waiting until he has all five to-" start killing them is what she meant to say, but this wasn't a regular mission, one of those girls was Laurel and Felicity knew she couldn't imply death and Laurel in the same sentence with Oliver there. "What if we give him the girl?" Felicity suggested, instead of finishing her line.

"How do you propose we do that?" Diggle chimed in. "We still don't know how he picks them."

"The skin cream," Felicity answered. "Looks like it's a little more than something after all. I looked into it while you were on the phone," she said to Oliver. "The formula is for 'Mermaiden', a highly exclusive, very expensive mother pearl skin cream marketed for women with extremely delicate complexions. Only a handful of stores in the city carry it."

"The Dollmaker picks his victims for their skin," stated Oliver.

"He must be staking out the stores waiting for the girls to show up and then snatch them," said Diggle.

"Exactly, which means we can lure him out. Think about it, he needs another girl, I'm a girl..."

"Felicity, no," snapped Oliver. "It's too dangerous."

"More dangerous than anything I've done so far?" She looked at both Oliver and Diggle through the mirror to let them know she wasn't backing down. "I don't think so. It's my life, it's my choice."

Oliver couldn't stop the sudden flashback to Slade saying those same exact words to him about Shado, right before she almost got blown up by Dr. Ivo. He didn't think there was much use trying to persuade her not to do this, just like there never was with Shado. Besides, Laurel was in danger so he needed Felicity's help.

"Let's get you changed then," Oliver said and instructed Diggle to stop by her house.

Felicity was coming out of the last shop with a tiny, overpriced jar of Mermeiden in her bag. Oliver, Diggle and officer Lance were all monitoring her every move as she got onto the sidewalk and made a turn at the intersection.

"Ok, last one," she said over the intercom. "I'm almost starting to regret this plan."

"I got you covered," said Oliver from one of the rooftops that oversaw her street. His voice was masked by the distorting device to keep his identity hidden from Officer Lance.

"I can't thank you enough for doing this," Lance trembled over the line. "Both of you. My daughter must-"

Oliver interrupted, not wanting to hear about what could happen to Laurel if he didn't get to her in time.

"We'll find her," he sentenced.

Quentin nodded more to himself than anything else. He picked up his pace so he wouldn't lose Felicity who was walking in rapid little steps about half a block ahead.

"I'm sorry you had to put your girl on the line like this," the man said to Oliver. Felicity could hear them both over the intercom but she was too busy looking frantically around to really follow their conversation.

"She volunteered," Oliver said, ignoring the fact that Quentin referred to her as 'his girl' even though he knew Felicity was dating 'Oliver'.

"Well, she must really believe in you," the officer answered. "I just hope we can get this over with soon and return her to Queen in one piece."

Oliver groaned and was thankful when Felicity's shaky, high-pitch voice broke through the line calling their attention.

"Someone's coming," she said.

Oliver, Lance and Diggle all perked in alert searching the area for the person she was referring to. There was a tall man in a hat striding parallel to her. Felicity's voice took over the line again.

"Ok, I'm going to admit to being seriously wigged out right now."

Oliver had the privileged standing point and he watched as the man walked right into a low story building, probably a restaurant.

"False alarm," Felicity confirmed. "But next time I offer to be bait for a serial killer, please turn me down."

Oliver was running a quick sweep of the street she'd just abandon when the sound of her screams brought his eyes back to the place he'd last seen her.

Diggle shot out of the car where he'd been stationed and Lance's pace turned into a trot. The officer turned the corner just in time to catch Mathis dragging Felicity kicking and screaming into the alley.

He called in the police on his radio as he ran after the Dollmaker's fleeting figure. Oliver made his way through the rooftops and shot an arrow at the Dollmaker's back, causing him to drop Felicity. The girl tumbled onto the floor and fell head first onto a concrete base. Mathis got up and tossed the arrow aside, making a run for it. Oliver dropped from the ceiling and went straight for Felicity even though the Dollmaker was getting away.

"Are you alright?" he asked, holding Felicity's elbow to get her arm out of her face. She looked disoriented but awake and Oliver's hand went down to check for broken ribs or any sign of mayor injury. "Don't move," he ordered and Felicity gently closed her fingers around his leathered arm. Diggle got to them and Oliver handed over custody of Felicity to him. "She hit her head," he said and went after Mathis.

The man had a fair advantage on the vigilante but Quentin was right on his tail. Lance ran through the dangling plastic curtains across the darkened warehouse, gun in hand. He came out from behind the last plastic sheet and Mathis was nowhere to be found. Quentin looked around panting and pointing his gun to the space in front of him. He didn't see the wooden bar Mathis swung at him until it was too late and it struck him right in the face, causing him to drop his weapon. Mathis traded the bar for the officer's gun and kneeled before him with a smug smile.

"I thought there'd be more ceremony to this moment," the killer said. "I really wanted you to see what I had planned for your daughter, her beauty preserved for posterity. I'm a little disappointed to be honest."

"Don't be."

The man turned at the female voice coming from behind him. The lean black figure of the masked blonde woman greeted him with a look of concentration. The air whistled as her shaft came in contact with Mathis's legs forcing him to the ground. She set for her next strike, a deadly one, hovering over the man's neck when Oliver burst in shouting at her to stop.

"We need him alive," he growled. "He has hostages."

The woman barely gave Oliver a glance.

"No we don't," she countered, looking back down at her pray. It was too late, that wasted second was enough for Mathis to escape. He got lost in the depths of the warehouse and the blonde vigilante cursed at the Arrow for letting him get away.

"He has hostages," he repeated, his voice altered by the device in his hand.

"I already have her," she answered impatiently.

Oliver thought her voice came from somewhere in his memory.

"He brought Laurel with him and I took her while you and your friends played your little charade," she said.

Quentin was regaining consciousness on the floor and the woman looked momentarily in panic. She started retreating into the shadows.

"I left her outside," she said to Oliver. "She's a little shaken up but she's ok."

Oliver could see she was about to flee and he tried to stop her.

"Who are you?" he said gruffly.

"When you know you'll never be the same," she warned him softly and then disappeared before he could say another word.

Officer Lance was coming back to himself, holding a hand to his head. "What happened?" 

"Your daughter is outside," Oliver said with his back to him. "Mathis got away."

The news of Laurel being safe brought Lance back to his feet and Oliver finally managed to breathe easy. That is until Diggle spoke over the intercom.

"Oliver, you need to get here."

The hooded man brought his hand to his ear to try and block out the sound of sirens coming from outside.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"The Dollmaker... he took Felicity."

Chapter Text

Diggle tried calling his name again after the seconds passed and Oliver didn't answer. The thing was Oliver couldn't process what Diggle was saying.

He took Felicity. The Dollmaker took Felicity. He took Felicity!

How could that even happen? He'd just seen Felicity. He'd saved Felicity. She was hurt but she was there. She couldn't be gone.

Oliver's name rang in his ear again urgently and his eyelids came down shutting the world out long enough for him to gather his wits.

"Oliver!"

A small rational part of him registered the fact this was the fourth time Diggle called him by his name. Officer Lance had an intercom piece too so any minute now he would be jumping over Oliver, yelling at his face and demanding explanations. Fine, let it come. I don't care. Felicity is priority now.

But the man was not coming at Oliver. In fact he was awfully quiet. Oliver glanced behind him and Officer Lance wasn't there. Apparently he'd gone outside the warehouse to retrieve Laurel and the only thing left, broken and discarded on the floor, was his intercom piece. Oliver picked it up closing his hand around it. It must had fallen off his ear when the Dollmaker hit Lance on the face.

"I'm on my way," he told Diggle and stood up to retrace his steps back to the place he'd last seen Felicity. Diggle had to be mistaken. Felicity had to be there, rubbing her head and going on about how ludicrous this whole plan was. 'I want a raise, Oliver,' she'd say, 'clearly I don't get paid nearly enough for the things I do.'

All hope was shattered when he reached Diggle and Felicity was not there. Diggle was the one pressing his hand to stop the bleeding on the back of his head.

"What happened?" he barked.

"He took her, Oliver. I thought you and Lance were taking care of him and he just came up behind me and knocked me out. Next thing I know Felicity was gone. I tried going after them but there were tires screeching in the alley and no trace of them."

"We need to track down her phone," dictated Oliver.

"If she has it on her but listen, Oliver, without Felicity we're gonna need the police for that. I can call Lyla, ask her to run it down."

"Fine, you do that."

Diggle took off to make the call and Oliver looked down at the concrete base where Felicity's head had struck on her way down and there were traces of blood smudged on the surface. She was bleeding. She was bleeding and now she was gone.

The leather groaned in protest around his knuckles when he gripped his bow furiously almost to the breaking point. Oliver heard steps coming up behind him and in one quick motion he had an arrow pointed at the heart of Officer Lance.

"Woah, easy there, it's me," the officer said holding his palms up.

Oliver brought the bow down and hid his face to the side.

"Thank you," Lance said. "My daughter is fine. I couldn't have done it without you and Miss Smoak. Where is Miss Smoak?" he asked, noticing there was something missing in the picture. "I came back to see if she was ok."

Oliver came up with two different ways he could snap the Dollmaker's neck while the officer spoke.

"Mathis has her," he muttered.

"What? What do you mean he has her? How could he even..."

It happened because of me, Oliver's mind answered. He didn't have time to dwell on his guilt now, not while Felicity was in danger.

"She's hurt," he said. "We need to track her."

"Of course, but right now you need to get out of here. This place will be crawling with cops any second now. I need to call Queen," said Lance. The man ran a hand over his face. "That kid, it's just one thing after another. How much bad luck can a person get in his life?"

Oliver knew he deserved everything that was coming to him and now he'd brought Felicity into this and pinned his 'bad luck' on her.

"Use her phone number to track her down. Let me know when you have a location."

"Yes, yes, now go!" Lance hurried him.

Oliver took a cable arrow to a beam on the ceiling and shot himself up just as the police irrupted in the scene.

"Was that the vigilante?" One of the men in uniform said. He ran up to Lance pointing his gun up to where Oliver had made his exit.

"Yes, but that's not important. Right now we have another hostage situation, name's Felicity Smoak. The Dollmaker took her as he fled the scene. We need to do a cell phone trace now and get me Oliver Queen on the line." Lance's eyes fell on the blood spatter on the concrete base. "I have to tell him his girlfriend's missing."

"Oliver, you need to calm down!"

Diggle pushed Oliver back for the third time trying to keep him from running off to chase a man they didn't even know where to find. They were standing outside the back entrance at Verdant and Oliver was still wearing his Arrow outfit. He'd brought the hood down after they'd left the warehouse and his face was now turning red with rage.

"How can you tell me to calm down when there's a psychopath who has Felicity and- Are you just expecting me to stand here doing nothing?!"

Diggle took a deep breath and started explaining again why there was no point in going after him now.

"We have Lyla and the police tracking her phone down, Oliver. Felicity is a smart girl, a lot stronger than we both give her credit for. I'm sure she found a way to hold on to it and she knows we can track her. Right now what you need to do is go home and act like the Oliver Queen who just got his girlfriend taken."

Oliver received the call from Officer Lance telling him that Felicity was gone. He had to use all his willpower to act normal, although he did hang up the phone before Lance had a chance to finish and Diggle had to call the officer back asking him to excuse his boss.

'Mr. Queen is in shock right now and he'll be heading home shortly to wait for news,' Dig told Lance, which led to the present discussion of Oliver refusing to go stand around in his house doing nothing, acting like a concerned boyfriend, while Felicity bled to death out there somewhere or got turned into a life-size doll.

"I'm going out there," Oliver said stubbornly and Diggle cut his way again.

"Out there where, Oliver? We don't know where he is!"

"Looks like you guys need help," a feminine voice said from above their heads and they both looked up to find the woman who'd spoken. The black figure jumped off into the alley, landing gracefully like a cat in front of the two men. Oliver instinctively brought his head down trying to conceal it from her and Diggle stepped in front of him as cover. "There's no need for that," she said. "I know perfectly well who you are, Ollie."

The two of them tensed up at the mention of his name. Diggle reached for his gun to point it straight at the woman but Oliver tapped his shoulder making him stand down as he stepped out from behind him to examine her more closely.

"Who are you?" he asked again.

The woman stared at him almost nostalgically and her voice was soft again, like a whisper from back in time.

"I'm a ghost," she said and she pulled her mask back along with the luscious wig of blonde hair to reveal her set of shorter light waves and the face of Sara Lance.

"S… Sara," Oliver muttered.

The girl stood there, her eyes compassionate, and Oliver reached out to feel her face, to make sure it wasn't just a trick of his imagination. His fingers met the cool skin and he his eyes closed in pain. What was happening? This had to be a dream, everything from Felicity being taken to Sara being here. This can't be.

"I told you it would change you, Ollie."

"How… how are you here?"

"No time for that, you need to get your girl back and this time I can help you."

Felicity. Oliver's mind was brought back to reality and Diggle stepped in taking advantage of the momentary silence.

"Does anyone care to tell me what the hell is going on here?"

Oliver explained how Sara, Laurel's sister, had made it to salvation after the boat went down. He thought he had seen her die after that but apparently his eyes were not the best witnesses because there she was, in the flesh right in front of him, wearing a leather suit and offering to help them out.

"How did you find me?" Oliver asked.

Sarah scoffed.

"A mysterious vigilante in Starling City shooting arrows around? It only took one look at that green hood to know it was you."

"And you came back here for me," he finished for her.

"I came here for my family. They were in danger, Ollie, and I needed to make sure they were okay. Now I'm here because you need me." Oliver frowned. "This guy is right," she said gesturing towards Diggle. "You can't go after him without blowing your cover."

"I don't care about my cover, I need to get her back," Oliver said, his anger boiling up again now that the initial shock of seeing Sara was wearing off.

Diggle tried to reason with him once more. "You're being impulsive, Oliver. We still need a location to bring him down and right now you'll help more by not calling the police's attention away from the case and towards the vigilante. If they find out who you are they'll know she's involved too and we'd only get her back so they could throw her in jail."

Oliver simmered down at the thought of his actions hurting Felicity again. Still he couldn't just wait around doing nothing. Sara recognized the look of frustration on his face and told him she'd get a head start trying to locate the Dollmaker by using some of her contacts on the underground glades.

"I've got a few eyes around the city, ones that work better than that kid you sent after me," she said. 

Oliver sighed at the mention of Roy. That stupid kid, he'd told him not to engage with her. Of course, he didn't listen. Why would he listen? He never listens. 

"Go home, stay focused and let me handle this. I'll let you know when I find her."

Oliver didn't seem very inclined to follow her plan but Sara reached for his hand, putting a little pressure on it.

"I can see you care about her, Ollie, and I still owe you because of Shado. If you hadn't stepped in…" She let the words trail off and looked the man right in the eye. "I'll get the girl back for you, trust me."

Sara waited for Oliver to show some sign of agreement before she let him go. She told Diggle how to contact her in case anything came up.

"Make sure he does what he's told," she whispered to the army man.

"Easier said than done," Diggle said.

The girl smirked and looked back at Oliver one more time before jumping her way out of the alley and into the night. Diggle opened the door to the back seat.

"Come on, you can change in the car. We need to get you home now."

Oliver wished he could pause for a second and process all this but more than anything he wished he knew where Felicity's captor was so he could make him pay in a wide arrange of imaginative ways.

Felicity woke up to the overwhelming feeling of nausea. She fought the awful sensation back and tried to focus her senses. As soon as she opened her eyes the throbbing pain on the side of her head made her wish she hadn't. What the… my head! No wonder I want to vomit, isn't that one of the signs of a concussion? Maybe I shouldn't be sleeping either.

Then she realized there could be another reason why she was feeling so nauseous. They were moving, fast, she and the Dollmaker. Felicity felt the urge to scream but her fast-working intellect told her it was probably not the best idea. Besides, her mouth was all covered in duct tape so what was the point?

Felicity stretched her neck as far as she could to take a look towards the front seat. The bearded man was driving fully concentrated on the road as the city lights flew by, shinning against the dark night sky.

She was lying on her side in the back of a softly padded van. It looked like the inside of one of those rooms at a mental institution and the rope around her wrists and ankles was also lined with a soft fabric, like those kinky handcuffs with pink feathery things.

Great, I'm with the only psychopath who doesn't mind choking girls with flexible plastic but can't bear the thought of my skin getting damaged. Well, I don't care how pretty my corpse will be, I'm checking out of here!

Her thoughts immediately went to Oliver. And Diggle. To both. She needed to work with them, help them find her. Felicity looked around. There was nothing in the back of the van but more of that lined rope torn into pieces, like it'd been used to tie someone else at some point. The Dollmaker had obviously tossed her purse out but the little jar of Mermaiden was still there, peeking out of its bag, mocking her. Felicity reached as quietly as she could into her pocket struggling to move her hands despite the tight bindings and closed her eyes in relief as her fingers felt the cool edge of her phone.

Felicity brought the phone out carefully, trying not to draw attention to the fact that she was awake. She couldn't risk making a phone call. The sound of the phone ringing might tip off her kidnapper. Plus, knowing Oliver he would be furious by now, meaning he'd answer by shouting Felicity! in that strong, commanding voice of him. If only she could hear that voice now...

So, the call idea was discarded. What she needed to do was make sure her phone remained unharmed in a safe place until they got to whatever destination this psychopath was using as a hide out. That way Oliver and the police could trace it back to her and get her out of this mess.

Her mind was racing. The Dollmaker liked to dress up his victims so if she left the phone in her pocket chances were he would find it when he tried to get her into the doll outfit. Felicity didn't want to think about that man getting her clothes off or the fact that she'd most likely be dead by the time it got to that.

Next logical solution was hiding it somewhere in the car then. The Dollmaker would most likely park the van at least close to where they were going and judging by the effort he put into it padding every possible surface in the back of it, it didn't look like he planned on ditching this vehicle any time soon.

The blonde checked her surroundings looking for a good place to hide it but she was interrupted when the car came to a halt. Felicity managed to fake unconsciousness just as the Dollmaker glanced back. He killed the engine and got out of the car letting Felicity know she had seconds to hide the phone before the Dollmaker came to pull her out.

She looked around her in a panic and settled for the gap beneath the front seats. Felicity shoved the phone so it would slide across it but it only made it half way through. She reached up, ignoring the nagging pain in her head, and tried to push it further into the shadows with the tip of her fingers. The phone reached a spot where she thought it'd be safely hidden just as the Dollmaker opened the back door, dragging her out by her ankles.

Felicity squirmed and screamed muffled cries against the duct tape, making the Dollmaker grin.

"Good, you're awake! It'll be easier for you to swallow this way, dear."

She winced as the side of her head left a bloody trail across the white padding of the van. The man frowned when he noticed her injury.

"Well, we're gonna have to fix that before we immortalize your face. Can't have ourselves a broken doll now, can we? It diminishes the value of the entire collection. No need to panic now. You'll be as beautiful forever as you are right now."

He held Felicity strongly, her back to his chest, and forced her to walk into what looked like an abandoned chemical plant.

"It'll be over soon, darling" he said in a soothing voice as he secured Felicity to a metallic grid to keep her upright. She'd been trying to hold on to her rational thinking but now that she'd done all she could to ensure her rescue, Felicity started to shiver in fear. Each time the Dollmaker laid a finger on her, she trembled like a leaf.

"Shh, it's ok. Now let me see that cut."

Mathis turned Felicity's head to the side to shine light over her head injury.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you, my dear," he said as he patched her up, cleaning the wound with delicate strokes. "A doll so pretty doesn't deserve to have her skin severed like that. Detective Lance just doesn't get it. What I'm doing is for the greater good. Humanity needs to have its beauty preserved; life is just too mediocre, too…forgettable to deserve true beauty."

The man's voice was as calmed as it was terrifying. Felicity's heart was going on double tempo now and every second that passed was a second closer to the end.

"That's why he needs to be broken, see?" he continued, "so he can stop interfering with my work. I wanted to give good Detective Lance something he couldn't recover from so I took his last remaining daughter. Too bad I couldn't keep her but that doesn't matter now because she wasn't the last one, was she? You risked your life for his sake, you are the one I'm taking away. Or was it because of the hooded guy that you were there? Either way, I got you now and you'll make a perfect doll, my dear. Perfect, just like the others."

Felicity followed his gaze to a spot on her right and screamed her lungs out at the sight of the three perfectly lined up girls in their pretty doll outfits. They all had a look of terror and death etched permanently on their lifeless eyes. He'd killed them all and next it would be her.

No more business reports by day, no more crime fighting by night, no more computers or technology, no more Hanukkah with the cousins at grandma's house. No more Oliver.

Felicity would never see his tormented blue eyes again or hear his voice say 'Felicity!' in every possible way. That Oliver would invade her thoughts in what could be her last hurrah surprised her only a little. She wasn't thinking of him because he could save her, she was thinking of him because she would miss him.

The girl closed her eyes and let the tears make trails down her cheeks as she wished with all her might that this wouldn't be her last day, that she'd be given another chance to keep taking care of her broken island man.

"Oliver!" Moira ran to wrap her son in a hug, cuddling his head as only a mother would. He welcomed the hug and felt strangely unsettled to have his mom comfort him over something that was completely his fault.

"It's all over the news, I… I thought you were with her," she said guiding her son to the couch and sitting beside him, keeping a hold on his hand.

Oliver started delivering his prefabricated story with an emptiness that could very easily pass as shock.

"We had to leave early. She- I dropped her off at her house and then Diggle and I went to get some drinks. I don't know how…"

Oliver trailed off. This was ridiculous, pointless, this wouldn't bring her back.

"I know, sweetie, I know," Moira said reassuringly.

There was a police detective in the room taking notes as Oliver related his story.

"They said that man, the Dollmaker, he had Laurel before he took Felicity," said Moira.

Oliver remembered he was supposed to look surprised.

"Laurel's ok now," Moira explained. "The police found her outside that place… What was Felicity even doing there, Oliver? This city is not safe. Why would she go out alone so late?"

Oliver added another brick to his wall of guilt. This was all on him, it was all his fault. She wasn't alone, she was with him and he'd let her down. The detective stopped taking notes for a moment and pointed the back of his pen at Oliver.

"Can you think of any reason why Mathis might have a personal vendetta against you, Mr. Queen?"

"What? I'd never even heard of him until today," he said, growing increasingly annoyed at the level of inaction around him.

"Well, I understand you used to have a personal relationship with Miss Lance and now that he's taken Miss Smoak too… Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't she currently involved with you aside from being your assistant at Queen Consolidated?"

Involved with me... Of course she's involved with me. That's the only reason she's in this mess right now.

Felicity's words to him echoed loudly in his head. 'It's my life, it's my choice.' Why is it that choosing him always let to disaster? Felicity needed to come back. How he would live with himself if she didn't was a future too bleak to imagine.

"Yes," he answered finally.

"Then you see why we would assume the coincidence might not be such a coincidence after all," the man said.

Oliver's hand tensed under his mother's and she stood up, stepping between Oliver and the inquisitive detective like a lioness protecting her cub.

"I don't see what good is coming out of you interrogating my son, Detective, when you should be looking for this man and bringing the girl back to us. Felicity is a friend to this family, she's important to Oliver and she's important to us so please if you don't have any actual news to tell us I suggest you leave us alone. And you can stop harassing my son now, I'm calling my lawyer."

The detective sneered at the Queen woman and he told Oliver they'd be in touch and he shouldn't leave the premises.

"The department is tracking her phone down as we speak so it shouldn't be long now. A couple of our guys are staying here with you in case Miss Smoak tries to contact you."

Oliver gave him an absent nod and Moira thanked the detective leading him out into the foyer. She could see how unhinged her son was and it broke her heart. Moira asked Oliver if he wanted some tea or perhaps something stronger to drink and when he refused, she decided it was best to give him some space.

The squared jaw, blue eyed man leaned back on the couch running his hands over his face. He hadn't felt this helpless, this useless, since Tommy died in his arms. That couldn't happen again, it just… it couldn't.

The TV was on and a picture of a smiling Felicity in her glasses and business-like ponytail popped up on the screen. Oliver turned up the volume and the reporter's voice resounded inside the living room.

"Police confirms young IT expert and executive assistant at QC, Felicity Smoak, has been abducted tonight outside an undisclosed location at the glades. Miss Smoak's captor is renowned killer Barton Mathis aka The Dollmaker. Mathis had been serving consecutive life sentences at Iron Heights until he recently escaped during the latest earthquake. Miss Smoak was last seen earlier today at the Starling City Police Department benefit in the company of her rumoured boyfriend and boss, Oliver Queen. Mr. Queen and all members of the Queen family have refused to release a statement regarding the situation."

The screen changed to display a full sized picture of Felicity in Oliver's arms, a picture of them kissing at the ball. Diggle walked into the room holding his phone to his ear and he frowned at the TV but kept on whispering to whoever was on the other side of the line. Oliver sat up in attention as the woman continued her recount of the news.

"The couple was spotted leaving the gala early but according to police reports Miss Smoak was alone at the time of the abduction. This is the second victim taken by the Dollmaker in the last 24 hours. Officer Lance's daughter, Laurel Lance, had been kidnapped only hours ago but she managed to escape when the vigilante intervened during Miss Smoak's abduction. Miss Lance is now receiving medical attention with no signs of major injury so far. Police are yet to confirm if the victims' connection to Oliver Queen played a part in their abduction. More on this ongoing news after the break."

Diggle got off the phone and Oliver muted the TV walking up to meet his friend.

"Any news?" he asked.

"That was Lyla. We got an approximate location on Felicity's phone. The only thing in that area that stands out is a chemical plant called Methamorpho. Methamorpho has been condemned since the quake, Oliver. Perfect place to make some dolls," Diggle said.

"Not tonight," he hissed.

"I already texted your friend Sara with the address, she's meeting me up there and I'm taking the hood just in case. If Officer Lance or anyone else from the police department shows up it's best for them to see the Arrow there and not me. Listen, Oliver," Diggle tapped the man's shoulder. "We're getting her back."

Oliver didn't answer, instead he just urged him to go. After Diggle left, Oliver stood there wondering how on earth he ended up in this situation again trying to save one girl he cared about only to put the other one in danger. Last time it cost him Shado's life. This time…

The thought that came next made Oliver grab the nearest object, a tall ceramic vase, and launch it half way across the room crashing it against the mirror that hung over the fireplace. Pieces of glass and thick ceramic scattered all over the floor drawing maids, policemen and one very startled Moira Queen into the living room while Oliver took a punch to the wall so hard that his knuckles cracked. Damn it!

"There, all better, dear." The Dollmaker put away the first aid kit and started setting up the tubes and cables to apply his especial polymer.

Felicity had spaced out after their last interaction. The sight of the dead girls brought on the reality of the situation. She was about to die. If someone didn't come for her in about ten seconds, Felicity was going to die.

Mathis removed the duct tape carefully from her lips and she struggled as he forced the plastic tube into her mouth and secured it. Felicity was breathing fast, her heart pounded in her ears. She looked up in the hopes she'd see Oliver crouching down on one of the beams. But she didn't, Oliver wasn't there. Time was running out and Felicity knew it.

He brought a white carved medallion tied to a ribbon and placed it around her neck, the signature piece that branded all his dolls. Felicity eyed the tall glass jar with the white substance and cried as she imagined it going down her throat. The Dollmaker poured it into the tube that led to Felicity's mouth and she panted, her tears no longer flowing because they'd run out.

"If you struggle, it'll take longer," he said and Felicity thought she would struggle until the very last second.

The liquid made its way down the clear line and then up to reach her lips. She shut her eyes not wanting Mathis' face to be the last thing she'd see. Instead she focused her thoughts on a pair of deep blue eyes and a light blonde stubble along a firm jaw line.

Then it was chaos all around. A black figure dropped from the ceiling like one of those circus acrobats hanging from black fabric stripes. She landed on the tube forcing it out of Felicity's mouth and making the Dollmaker fall down in the process.

Felicity opened her eyes in renewed panic and spit out the plastic that made it to her mouth before it got a chance to harden. Her cheeks hurt from the way the tube was pulled out but she didn't care. They were here for her, she didn't have to die today.

Mathis got up and ran but Diggle met him with a punch to his chest. The killer took a step back unable to breathe since the punch sucked the air right out of his lungs. Diggle kicked Mathis' legs from under him and towered him, his face covered by Oliver's hood.

"You're going back to prison," he said. The Dollmaker looked at him unfazed.

"No, he's not," he heard Sara say before the metal shaft pierced the Dollmaker's heart from behind, coming out all the way to the front as his eyes opened in shock just before he fell back one last time.

Diggle looked angrily at Sara. "This is not how we do things," he said.

"Well, it is how I do things," she answered. "Grab your girl and hand me that bow. I've got some arrows to shoot if you want them to think it was Ollie here and not you."

Diggle did as she said reluctantly and went to get Felicity off from the grid.

"Diggle!" the girl cried.

"You ok?"

Felicity nodded and threw her arms around his neck once they were free.

"Thank you," she said overloaded with relief. Her heart was still racing with residues from her previous panic.

"You're welcome. Now come on, let's get you to Oliver before he strangles someone and gets himself thrown off in jail."

Felicity smiled softly and leaned on Diggle for support and they made it out of the chemical plant.

"Was that the masked woman?" Felicity asked him suddenly.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you about it in the car."

Oliver was alone in the living room again after the maids picked up the mess he made and exited the room quietly in fear of another outburst.

He was pacing the room back and forth, glancing over the window from time to time not knowing exactly what he expected to see.

The TV was being completely useless of course, repeating over and over again how there were no news on Felicity's whereabouts or his involvement in the Dollmaker's case. They'd shown some footage of Laurel leaving the hospital under her father's arm but Oliver couldn't think about that anymore. Felicity was out there and he wasn't doing anything to bring her back.

The door bell rang and the young man turned his back to the living room entrance guessing it'd be more policemen coming to grill him over the fake details of his useless story. He couldn't put up with this much longer. Oliver was breaking out to get Felicity back himself.

The shaky voice coming from the corridor made him tense up in alert.

"I'm fine, I just need to see Oliver," she said.

Oliver turned around not believing his ears.

"Felicity?" he muttered.

The tired figure showed up on the threshold with Diggle hovering by her side. Oliver let out the breath he'd been holding when he met her eyes.

"Oliver!" Felicity closed the distance between them and her arms closed tightly around his neck. He held her closing his eyes and feeling the weight lift from his shoulder as his nose filled with the familiar scent of her hair.

She was here, she was safe, she was back.

Oliver cupped her face as he checked it for confirmation that it was really her. He noticed the tear tracks that stained her cheeks and the faint signs of bruising starting to form around her lips. A murderous feeling took over his body and he looked at Diggle with flames in his eyes.

"Where is he?" he demanded.

"Gone," Diggle said and Oliver went from joy to shame and back again all in one second.

Felicity looked down and noticed the bandage on his right hand.

"You're hurt," she said, running her fingers over the bandage.

Oliver looked back at her turning his palm up so he could trap her hand in his.

"Hey, look at me, it's nothing. You're safe, that's all the matters."

Her lips curved up and she winced a little at the pain of her skin stretching. Oliver brought her back into him and wrapped his arms around her shoulders letting out a sigh. Felicity rested her head on his broad shoulder and realized this is what safe meant to her, this, being in Oliver's presence. That was safe.

Chapter Text

Chapter VIII – The Beggining

It was already well over midnight and Oliver shadowed Felicity as she explained to the police how she’d got into and out of the Dollmaker mess. According to her story, Oliver had dropped her off at her apartment after they left the party and then she decided to go out for some last minute gift shopping –a friend of hers really liked that Mermaiden cream- That’s when the Dollmaker had taken her and then 'that Arrow character and the woman with the sticks and the leather jacket' had come out of nowhere and rescued her just in time.

Oliver fought to maintain his poker face as Felicity dug herself all the way to her neck in perjury. She made sure the Arrow’s no-killing agenda remained intact by explaining that the reason there was a shaft stuck in the Dollmaker’s heart was because he’d attacked the vigilante and the woman in black stopped Mathis before he could kill the Arrow. Oliver made a note to ask Diggle what really happened there, but for now he just stayed by Felicity’s side and waited for the interrogation to be over.

Officers were coming in and out the front door and the cool December breeze made Felicity shiver. She tried to fight the wind off by hugging herself but Oliver was quick to place his own gray hoodie over her shoulders. She gave him a small smile and the air around her filled with Oliver’s masculine scent as she wrapped herself in the warm fabric. The feeling of being surrounded by Oliver was something she knew would come back to haunt her in some afternoon day dreaming later on.

When the officers decided they had enough information from both Oliver and Felicity, she turned to him and announced she was going home. Oliver took in the way she looked then. She had exhaustion written all over her face. Her hair was sticking out in funny places and the bruises around her lips were starting to darken. He noticed she kept squinting her left eye which meant the head injury was still bothering her.

“You’re going to the hospital,” Oliver sentenced. “We need to get you checked out.”

Felicity was too tired for this.

“What I need is to take a shower, get in my own bed, and forget this ever happened. You can lose the 'fear of God' look, Oliver. If you’re really that worried I can let Diggle take a look at the head thing tonight and then tomorrow I’ll go to the doctor, ok?”

“Felicity-”

“No, Oliver. I really just want to go home.”

Just when she thought she might have a chance at winning this discussion, Mrs. Queen dispatched some detectives she was talking to and moved in to join their conversation.

“Oliver is right, sweetheart; you should get checked tonight.”

“Mrs. Queen- Moira,” she corrected at the woman’s warning look, “it’s fine, really, I’m ok. See?” She took a deep breath and tried to smile away the throbbing pain in her head. “No need for doctors here.”

Moira sighed, counting her losses, and turned to Oliver instead.

“Get some sense into this girl, Oliver. She’s not spending the night alone without getting checked by a doctor first.” And with that she sentenced the matter settled and went back to the officers who kept flooding into her house.

“I’m not staying here again, Oliver,” Felicity warned him with a look of determination.

“Then I’m staying with you.”

“What? No-no…” Ouch! No head shaking, you idiot… The headache was really getting out of control. Think of something!  “I don’t have a guest room,” she said. Nice… nice and dumb, good job, Felicity. She wanted to roll her eyes at herself.

“Felicity, I’m not going there to sleep; I’m making sure you stay awake. That right there could be a concussion,” he said eyeing the bandages on her head.

“Not even you could keep me up tonight, Oliver.” It only took her a few seconds to realize what she’d just said; enough for Oliver to fight the smile out of his face.

“I’m going,” he said simply and before she could protest, Oliver was going up the stairs to gather an overnight bag. He passed Diggle on his way up and asked him to keep an eye on Felicity for him. 

The former soldier strolled over to his tired blonde friend who welcomed him with a battered smile.

“I know I said this already but thank you,” she told Diggle.

“Hey, don’t mention it. It’s what we do, right? Get each other out of crazy messes.” Diggle took the chance to clear the air. “You know why he had to stay, right?”

Felicity nodded, the smile now gone from her face. “I know.”

“Then you also know it took a lot of manpower –and a bit of womanpower too- to keep him from going.”

Now she chuckled a little, wincing as the pounding in her head started again. “It wouldn’t be Oliver if you didn’t have to fight him on it.”

Diggle knew there was still more to be said, but that would have to be between her and Oliver. Still, he felt better knowing he’d done his part as the mutual friend.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather see a doctor, Felicity?”

“Diggle, I’m fine,” she said for what felt like the hundredth time. “Oliver will take me home and then I’ll send him right back.”

“Right, good luck with that. Speaking of Oliver, I didn’t know you two had moved on to public kissing now.”

Felicity had almost forgotten about the kiss. 

“That… um… that was just…”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Diggle took a deep breath and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Listen, you know I love you and I’d take a bullet for him but you have to be careful, Felicity. He may not see it but you do. And I’m not saying it wouldn’t be a good thing. I’m just saying you better know what you’re doing. Doing what we do… it can get complicated.”

“I know,” she said. Was it really that obvious? Did it get to the point where her feelings for Oliver were no longer platonic at all? Had she gone too far? Suddenly it was terrifying; her heart might be beyond the point of no return, with no way of reeling it in now. So much for not getting hurt.

Just then Oliver came down the stairs carrying a small black leather bag over his shoulder.

“All set?” he asked as he joined them and Diggle adopted his usual bodyguard stance, hands held together in front of him while his chest stuck out.

“All set,” he replied. “I’m staying here with your mother until the police clears out.”

“Thanks. Felicity and I will stop by the hospital tomorrow morning and then meet at QC unless something else comes up.” Diggle gave him the ´Roger that´ and turned to leave, but Oliver caught him by the arm. “Tell Sara I said thank you,” he asked in a low voice.

“Sure thing, man.” Diggle hugged Felicity goodbye and went to stand near Moira, keeping a hawk eye on the entrances around them.

Oliver led Felicity to the front door but before stepping out of the mansion he stopped her to pull up the gray hood covering her face.

“Stay down,” he said and tucked her under his arm, venturing outside.

Right away Felicity understood the need for the hood. There was a sea of flashes coming at them from outside the gates, bright lights everywhere. The media was there. Felicity was a bit disoriented and the sirens and red and blue signals coming from the police squad cars weren’t helping at all. A couple of officers flanked them on both sides and escorted them to the car. Oliver helped her get into the passenger seat before going around to take his seat behind the wheel. When they finally made it outside the Queen’s gate and into the steady traffic of Starling City, Felicity let out a sigh of relief and rested her pounding head back on the headrest.

“This is worse than that time I let my roommate convince me he knew how to make eggnog,” she said, eyes closed into the darkness. “He didn’t.”

“We really should get you checked out, Felicity.” Oliver’s tone was commanding, as usual, but also a little tinged with worry. She turned around to look at him.

“Hey, you don’t get to lecture me on going to the doctor, Mr. ‘I’m Bleeding Out But Please Take Me To The Foundry’. They never really got that stain off from the backseat, you know? I still can’t go to that carwash place. I really liked that place...”

It had started to rain and the sound of it falling on top of the car helped Oliver hide any sign of amusement. Felicity thought she heard him say something and turned to look at him. He was staring at the road and she took a moment to study his profile. The shadows danced around on his face as the raindrops kept rolling down the windshield.

“So, Sara Lance, huh?” she said suddenly.

The subject change threw him off and he frowned.

“Laurel’s sister?” she continued slowly, “the detective’s other daughter, the one you took on the Gambit with you even though you were dating Laurel at the time which we never talk about but I-”

“Felicity.” Oliver’s fingers left little dents on the leather covering the steering wheel.

“I’m sorry, it’s just… Diggle told me you lied, that she didn’t drown when the Gambit went down. Why? Why would you do that, Oliver? Laurel, Mr. Lance, they both blame you.”

“And they should.” 

“No, they shouldn’t. But they deserve to know. What happened out there?”

“Felicity, not right now.”

“Right, you mean not ever.” She knew him all too well. It was like trying to draw water from an old dry well. Felicity turned her attention to the tapping sound of the raindrops falling over the car. A tense silence settled between them.

“I’m sorry,” Oliver offered. 

“You don’t have to tell me anything. I just think you should tell them.”

“No, I meant about today. I should have been there, Felicity. I said I would protect you, I haven’t forgotten that.”

She took a moment in silence. She didn’t know how she actually felt about that.

“Oliver, you can’t be everywhere all the time,” she said finally. 

“I should have been there. He had you and he was going to hurt you…” Oliver seemed to be having a conversation with himself for those two seconds that ticked by. “Staying behind... I made the wrong choice.”

The resolve in Oliver’s voice shook Felicity up a little. He was a scary man but somehow he always managed to make Felicity feel safe. It was probably why it hurt so much when the minutes passed and he wasn’t there to rescue her. She needed to stop depending on him like that, especially now that her heart was getting dangerously tangled up on it. 

“Oliver-”

“When I brought you into this,” he told her, “it was because I thought I could protect you. I can’t have you risking yourself like that.”

“I know that’s like your thing but you don’t get to take the blame for this, Oliver. Yes, you brought me into this but I decided to stay on my own. My safety is not your responsibility.”

Oliver didn’t know what he should answer to that, or if there was even a point in trying to argue with her. Of course she was his responsibility. No matter what she said, he was the one who brought her into his mess of a life. He got into her orbit, not the other way around. From the day he set foot in the IT Department, Oliver was pulling her in and he knew it. He knew just how smart she was, he knew she would figure it out. And yet he kept going to her… Why?

He kept giving her reasons to be in his world. At what point exactly did he decide it was acceptable to risk her life –and his secret- for the chance to be honest with someone? No, not someone, her. Diggle was already there, a partner if that’s what he needed. He had brought Felicity in because he wanted to be honest with her. And today that had almost cost her life.

Luckily for him he didn’t have to share his thoughts with her in that moment. They were already pulling up to the small residential area where Felicity’s apartment was.

They walked to the door and just before opening it Felicity turned to face Oliver.

“Is this really necessary?” she complained.

Oliver took the keys from her and let himself in.

“Whoa, hey –Wait!” She went in after him and moved quickly trying to block Oliver’s view of the apartment with her body, which was pointless of course because he towered over her. “I’m sorry about the mess; it’s not always like this but… Actually, you know what?” she said straightening up, “I shouldn’t even be apologizing. You’re the one who invited yourself to my house without asking me so there, mess is what you get.”

Oliver looked down at her. “Does that mean I can turn on the lights now?”

They’d been standing in the dark, the only light coming in through the open front door. He had that little tilted-head stance that he took sometimes when she was being particularly babbly. Felicity realized she’d been kind of staring at him so she went around him to get the lights and close the door.

“As I was saying, I’m usually a lot tidier but this is just what happens when you find out you’re supposed to attend a fundraiser just two hours before it starts.”

She took off Oliver’s hoodie and draped it on the back of her big couch.

“You’re not going to let that go, are you?”

“Nope.”

Felicity held on to Oliver’s arm for balance and took off one of her heels and then the other. She started walking towards her room and called back at Oliver without turning to look at him. “You better not be standing there with that bag still on your shoulder,” she said as she disappeared into her bedroom.

Oliver looked around him for a place to set the bag down and decided on a small purple futon in front of the big window that faced the street. The window filled almost the entire living room wall, making Oliver uneasy. From a strategic point of view he knew it made the ground-level apartment vulnerable. Out of habit he peeked out the window to survey the street. The city outside was quiet and peaceful.

Just then Felicity returned from her bedroom. She was still in her long red dress and one side of her skirt was hoisted up in her fist so she wouldn’t trip now that she had no shoes on. Her makeup and jewelry were also gone. The little barefoot Felicity made her way over to Oliver.

“I feel all kidnappy so I'm gonna go take a shower now. Make yourself at home,” she offered casually. Felicity had barely taken two steps when she turned back to look at him. “Just… no shirtlessness, ok?”

Oliver couldn’t have answered her even if he wanted to.

“No need to make this any more awkward than it already is,” she mumbled on her way to the bathroom.

The water started running in Felicity’s shower and Oliver decided to take a look around. The apartment looked a lot like her, colourful and kind of mismatching. The Robin Hood poster hanging over the TV caught his attention and he allowed himself to smile. A few plants here and there and some seriously eclectic taste on tiny sculptures were set right beneath the poster. Oliver reached down to grab a toy robot from the low TV table and smiled. This girl…

He put the robot back and noticed a pair of small, baby blue weights next to it. He really should get more involved in Felicity’s physical training. Oliver knew Diggle had been teaching her some basic self defense moves and helping her get some muscle in those keyboard-punching arms of hers, but now he couldn’t help but wonder if this whole incident could have been avoided if he had dedicated more time to personally train Felicity.

He set the weights back down and moved on to the bookcase separating Felicity’s kitchen from her living room. He was browsing the titles when she came back from the bathroom wearing pajamas and drying the tips of her hair with a towel.

“I wish I could wash the whole thing,” she said referring to her hair. “Is 'psychopath smell' a real thing or am I being crazy?”

Oliver didn't answer that either. He rarely did. He just took a deep breath and looked at her half chastising, half amused. Felicity wasn't fazed.

"Want some tea?" she asked, moving into the kitchen.

"Why not," he said, leaning against the side of the bookcase, arms crossed in front of his chest. Felicity set to get the tea ready, turning her back to him, and he watched her reach up to the highest cabinet to get the tea bags.

It occurred to him that he should probably go help her instead of just standing there staring and noticing the way her pajamas outlined her figure from behind. He really should, but he didn't. Felicity finally got the bags she wanted and continued with her tea making ritual.

"You need to secure that window over there," he commented.

"Huh?" Felicity looked at him over her shoulder and then at the living room window realizing what he was talking about. "Ah! Yeah," she said, turning back to her tea, "I knew you'd say that."

She got the two cups ready and handed one to Oliver. It was steaming hot but Felicity didn't seem to mind since she was already sipping hers slowly. Oliver decided to wait, letting the cup warm his hands.

"I always thought when you or Diggle came to my apartment, you'd be looking for security flaws the moment you walked in."

"I thought you would have fixed it by now," Oliver said. Felicity's brow turned quizzical.

"By now? Since when have you known about my window?"

"Since the first time I came here," he said plainly.

"You’ve never been here before, Oliver." As soon as she said it she knew it wasn’t true. Of course he’d been there before, controlling freak that he was.

Oliver just took a sip from his cup, some kind of tangerine tea. He thought the flavour suited Felicity for some reason.

"Right after we met,” he said, “I came here to check the place."

Felicity rose an eyebrow at him.

"Any reason in particular why you would invade my privacy, overstep boundaries -You know, all those things you did by coming to my house before I even knew who you really were?"

"Research," he said, matter-of-factly. "I had to make sure you weren't into anything dangerous before I could consult with you again."

"Right… Anything aside from getting involved with you, you mean."

Ha, funny, Oliver thought

He wasn’t going to apologize, and Felicity wasn’t expecting him to. She moved on to the couch and Oliver followed her so they both took a seat on opposite ends facing each other, steaming cups of tea in hand.

“The things you find acceptable are baffling to me sometimes,” Felicity told him.

Oliver opened his mouth to defend himself but only air came out as he closed it back again.

“Hey, who am I to judge?” she added. “I hack systems for a living.”

“That you do,” he said, a hint of pride in his smile. Felicity returned the smile and the complicit look that lingered one second too long.

She focused back on the orange liquid making circular waves on her cup as she gathered the courage to blurt out the next few words.

“I did want you to be there,” she said, more to her tea than to Oliver, judging by the volume of her voice. She looked up at him; his eyes already set to meet hers. “Today, at the plant, I did expect you to be there.”

Oliver took the pointy needle in the heart and kept his eyes firm. He’d give her at least that.

“I don’t know why,” she shrugged. “I mean, I obviously shouldn’t but –I did. I wanted you to be there.”

“I know,” he said.

“No, you don’t,” she assured him. “You really don’t, Oliver.” Even though she smiled as she shook her head, there was no trace of humour in her scuff. It was strange watching her do that. Felicity wasn’t one to be patronizing. 

There was a silence between them. It wasn’t exactly an uncomfortable one but she wanted to break it anyway. 

“So what are you going to do about Sara?”

This time Oliver didn’t shy away from the change of topic. He just sighed and looked at her defeated.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I don’t think she wants to tell them anything. She would have done it by now.”

Felicity pondered on the situation for a moment.

“You want my opinion?” she offered genuinely. He didn’t say anything but he didn’t have to. She’d learned to interpret his silence as permission… sometimes. “Talk to her,” Felicity said. “Convince her to tell her family the truth, at least about the fact that she didn’t die on that boat. I know I’m not familiar with everything that happened between you and the Lance family, Oliver, not to mention that I don’t even know Sara, but I do know enough about you to know that you don’t deserve half the hate you get –especially from yourself.”

Oliver tensed up on the couch. He didn’t like being confronted like that and he liked it even less when it was about his demons, about the darkness he tapped into to carry out his mission, the same darkness that kept threatening to eat him up alive.

“I don’t like to talk about that,” he managed to get out.

“About what? The island or life in general?” she said mockingly.

Oliver smirked with a bit of a chuckle slipping through against his will.

“Both, I guess. The island became my life, somehow. I don’t think I ever left there.”

His voice was somber to match the darkness in his eyes as they stared at something far off, away from them, from this moment. Felicity reached for his knee across the couch and squeezed gently to bring him back to the here and now. It worked, and his gaze snapped back quickly to Felicity’s warm eyes.

“Hey, I know you did. I wasn’t there but I’m here now. If you’re here with me that means you’re not on the island anymore.”

As many of the greatest lines ever spoken, Felicity couldn’t have known then what her words would mean to the man who heard them. There was no way she could have seen the subtle crack that opened on the hard shell surrounding his wounded heart. “If you’re here with me that means you’re not on the island anymore.”  There, right there, a little voice inside his head, a voice that sounded a lot like life, like hope, like happiness, crept its way up and said: Her, Oliver –she can be your anchor.

Oliver shushed the thought away.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9 – The In-Law

Chapter 9 – The In-Law

The night was being talked away. There, in the comfort of her own apartment, with her legs hoisted up on the couch and tugged beneath her, Felicity told Oliver everything she'd neglected to tell the police about her ordeal with the Dollmaker; how she'd felt, what she'd thought, all except the part about wanting to come back to him. That she would have to keep to herself for now.

He, in turn, told her a little about his time on the island with Sara, about watching her go under water with The Gambit and then finding out she was alive only to have her die all over again a few weeks later –or at least he'd thought she'd died.

It felt natural to talk to Felicity like this. Sure, talking about the island and anything regarding those dreadful five years was not easy but Oliver felt a little bit lighter with every piece of secrecy he shared. Felicity giggled and he smiled. When it was her turn to speak again, she babbled for five minutes about how her roommate had got the entire floor of her college dorm queuing outside the bathroom thanks to that God forsaken eggnog he'd made them all drink. As Oliver listened his body melted onto the couch, hard muscles settling down and shoulders unclenching. Felicity talked and talked...

She'd left her hair down after the shower and it had dried into soft messy waves. Oliver realized he liked her like this, no glasses, hair down, no tight dresses or ponytails like she wore around the office every day. Thinking about her tight dresses and ponytails made him realize something else… he also liked her like that. Whereas now he felt comfortable and relaxed, picturing Office Felicity made him tense up for a whole other reason. No wonder people thought he'd hired her for eye candy. Felicity was a strange kind of beautiful… and sexy.

Oliver didn't dwell on the thought and instead allowed himself to be attracted to his friend for a moment, not really listening to her talk anymore but watching her. After all, he was, first and foremost, a man and men have eyes. So he thought Felicity was attractive, so what? He thought a lot of women were attractive… No big deal.

If Diggle could hear him right then he'd probably raise an eyebrow at him but thankfully it only sounded like Diggle lived inside his head. Just as Felicity ended another one of her stories, a yawn slowly escaped from her mouth.

"Sorry," she said with sleepy eyes, resting the side of her face on the back of the couch.

"It's almost five," he said after a glance at his watch.

"Really?" She checked her own clock up on the wall. 4:52 am "Huh, I guess you did keep me up." She grinned brightly at Oliver and he stood up, muscles tensing again to that state of passive alert that he always had.

"I think you can go to sleep now, get a couple hours in before I take you to get checked."

"Yeah, ok. I'll get you some blankets for the couch."

When she returned they said good night and Felicity retreated to her room for some much needed sleep, leaving Oliver to his makeshift bed. He lay down, pillow beneath his head, kicked off his shoes and stared up at the ceiling, commanding his body to rest. Images of golden hair and bright smiles kept flooding his mind before he could fight them off.

Get it together, Queen!

When sleep finally came to shut down his conciousness, he welcomed it with joy.

She was awaken by the strong need for coffee. It was usually that or the need to pee that got Felicity up in the morning. The alarm on her mobile was more of a failsafe, so she hit the snooze button as always before it could ring and rolled out of bed. Lazily she made her way to the kitchen and turned on the coffeemaker. The lovely smell started filling the air as she searched for her favourite mug, the one with purple hearts on it.

"Good morning."

She gasped and turned around with a hand over her chest to find Oliver leaning against the bookcase again, huge arms crossed in front of his chest. Did I say huge arms? I didn't say that, did I? No, I'm pretty sure I just thought it. Wait, did I?

She accused him of being too quiet for his own good and reminded him to make some noise when he stepped instead of sneaking up on her like a creepy cat. There's a reason she didn't have any.

"I see you kept the shirt on. Good," she commented. "We both know I don't need the image of you shirtless in my kitchen actually coming true." She mumbled that last part to herself. "Coffee?" she asked instead.

"Is this becoming a thing? You bringing me coffee," he teased.

"No," She brought his coffee mug over. "I'm not your secretary but this is my house and today you're a house guest. House guests get coffee."

She was standing too close to his mug and the steam coming off from it fogged up her glasses. Oliver was faster than her and took them off her face before she could reach them. When her eyes focused again, she realized Oliver was scanning her face. He seemed like he wanted to say something so she waited patiently for him to come out with it.

But Oliver didn't talk. Instead, he circled his arm around her waist and brought her up closer to his face. Felicity felt her stomach flip and if those were butterflies then there must be thousands of them.

She couldn't believe her senses. Her eyes stayed wide open, searching Oliver's, trying to figure out what his next move would be. She watched him inch closer and suddenly her bottom lip was caught between his.

Wha -what is happening? Why is this…? Hmm, that feels good. Ok, no... no, wait... hmph, that's just... forget it, just... kiss Oliver, kiss… hmmm…

He must have set down his mug because his hands were tight on both sides of her waist. Her fingers loosened around the mug she was holding and the thing came crashing down loudly, spilling coffee all over the kitchen floor. Felicity jumped up, startled, and found herself sitting on her own bed, sheets tousled around, a bit of sweat on her forehead.

"SERIOUSLY!? That was cruel." She snoozed her alarm. "To whoever's in charge of dream management, let me just tell you… that was flat out cruel."

She got up, still a little rattled from her rude awakening, and headed out of her room. She remembered Oliver was actually sleeping on her couch, so she tried to be as quiet as possible. Felicity let herself smile and she drank her coffee and watched him sleep for a bit. He didn't look relaxed per se -How could anyone really relax with his arms crossed in front of his chest like that?- but he did look handsome, as always. Her mind went back to the events of last night and her dream that morning. What was she going to do about Oliver? One thing was for sure, she couldn't keep falling for him. Unrequited love was a bitch, and she was not going down that road again, not with Oliver.

When she decided it was time to wake him up, Felicity leaned down and nudged his arm gently.

"Oliver?"

"Hmm." He opened his eyes slowly and, after a few blinks, focused them on Felicity. "Hey."

"Hey," she said back. "There's coffee in the kitchen. Help yourself. I'm not risking another one of your 'coffee' comments."

Oliver chuckled and sat up.

"Actually, I think I'm going to borrow your bathroom first if that's okay."

"Sure. You know where it is," she teased him.

Oliver recognized the reference to his unauthorized visit to her house and narrowed his eyes at her in good humour. He grabbed his overnight bag and disappeared into the bathroom.

Felicity set out to make her living room presentable again. She was picking up a sweater she'd thrown over the futon when the doorbell rang. 7:45am. Who's making house calls at this hour? One glance through the bull's eye and her mouth dropped. The door opened and a whoosh of blonde curls in a tight blue dress came rushing in, pulling her stunned daughter into a tight hug.

"Mom! What are you doing here?"

"Oh, baby!" The woman took Felicity's face between her hands and searched it all over. "I was so worried. I saw it, on the news, that man. Oh, honey, I was so scared. I came as soon as I heard."

"What do you mean you saw it on the news? I thought you were in Vegas."

"I was. It went national, honey. I couldn't believe it when I saw it, that lunatic! I only found out you were okay when the plane landed, couldn't figure out how to get the internet working on that stupid cell phone."

"Mom, you're not supposed to use cell phones on the plane."

The woman raised an eyebrow at Felicity.

"Felicity Megan Smoak, do you think I care? My baby was kidnapped, I had to know what happened!"

"Mom, I'm fine," Felicity assured her, closing the door and taking her mother's suitcase inside. "You didn't have to fly all the way out here."

"Of course I did. Oh, honey, I'm so glad you're okay," she said brushing back her daughter's hair.

Felicity sighed and let a soft smile come to her lips. Her relationship with Donna Smoak was complicated, to say the least, but one thing couldn't be denied: there's something about having your mum stroke your hair that makes you feel a special kind of comfort.

The tender mother-daughter moment was interrupted by Oliver suddenly bursting out of the bathroom smelling strongly of aftershave.

"Felicity, did you get a call from Diggle? I keep trying to reach him but he won't– Oh, hello."

Clearly Oliver wasn't expecting to find more than one blonde standing in the living room.

"Mom, this is, um, this is Oliver."

"Queen, yes, I know." Donna smiled taking a step forward to shake Oliver's extended hand. "I should have known you'd be here. I'm sorry I didn't call first, sweety," she said to her daughter. "I was just so worried I didn't think, I just whooshed! So sorry. Good thing nobody was lacking any clothing, right? 'Cause that'd be awkward, meeting 'the mom' with no shirt on," she finished without breaking a sweat.

Oliver opened his mouth but ended up just shifting from one foot to the other and putting on a tight, innocent smile.

He was perplexed. He still hadn't moved on from the initial shock of finding a stranger in Felicity's living room, let alone learning it was her mother out of all people! The two women standing in front of him talking couldn't be more different. Sure, they were both blonde and beautiful, and Mrs. Smoak –I can't believe I just met Felicity's mother… in her apartment– honestly did look more like Felicity's sister than her mother, but where Felicity was quirky and sweet, the kind of beauty that you had to take a moment to appreciate, Donna Smoak was all boom! Boom! POW! Here I am so you better take notice, baby.

After their little exchange, Oliver learnt two things. One, his presence there hadn't surprised her at all, which meant Donna Smoak knew about him and Felicity being 'together'. And second, neither of the Smoak women had any sort of brain-to-mouth filter. Oliver was used to Felicity's sudden outburst of uncensored honesty, but she always seemed to be mortified by them. Donna on the other hand either didn't notice or didn't care.

This should be interesting, Oliver thought, as he put his hands on his pockets and ventured to join in on the conversation.

"So, did you have a good flight, Mrs. Smoak?"

"Please, call me Donna."

Oliver grinned.

Yup, very, very interesting…

Chapter Text

Chapter X – The Talk

Felicity intended for her mother to stay at the apartment, get some rest after her flight, but Donna wouldn’t have it. Oliver and the Smoak duo made the trip to the hospital together and after making sure everything was okay with Felicity, Donna insisted on spending the day with her daughter.

“I couldn’t get anyone to cover my shift tomorrow, so I’m only here for today. Is it a crime for a mother to want to spend time with her daughter more than twice a year?” she’d argued.

Felicity couldn’t bring herself to say no, so off they went to Queen Consolidated. The perks of “fake-dating” the boss included being able to bring your mother to work after a traumatic experience like being kidnapped by a deranged man.

When they got to the office building, Diggle was already waiting for them at the entrance. Oliver went around the car to get the passenger door and help Donna out. The two of them took the steps towards QC’s front door arm in arm with Felicity tailing them.

Diggle eyed the stranger with caution and Oliver smiled, glad he was the one who got to do the introductions this time.

“Diggle! Meet Felicity’s mom. Donna, this is Mr. Diggle, my bodyguard and also one of my closest friends.”

“Mom, ok.” Dig remarked, venturing a look at Felicity who’d suddenly grown very quiet. “John Diggle, very nice to meet you,” he said, shaking Donna’s hand firmly.

“Nice to meet you too,” she said with an easy smile. “Very firm grip, Mr. Diggle. Must be those arms.”

Oliver thought he heard Felicity sigh behind them and his smile grew a little wider. The group made its way through the lobby and up the elevator, drawing as much attention as was expected.

Felicity and her mum settled at the assistant desk outside the office with Diggle guarding the front door as usual, and Oliver went inside to try to get some work done. Being a vigilante didn’t really leave much time to be a CEO.

It was around 9AM when Isabel Rochev dropped by his office to give him the usual scolding. Oliver noticed both mother and daughter glaring at the woman’s back and he had to casually cover his mouth with his hand so he wouldn’t make Isabel even more mad at him by smiling to her face while being scolded.

The rest of the morning went by uneventfully. Oliver, Diggle and Felicity kept exchanging fleeting glances here and there when Donna wasn’t looking, trying to have a wordless conversation about how they were going to go about their day now that Mama Smoak was in town.

As soon as Donna got in the elevator to do some wandering around the building, Diggle and Felicity moved into Oliver’s office.

“You told her about us,” Oliver stated.

“Us as in the crime-fighting three-person team?” Felicity asked.

“Felicity…”

Oliver didn’t have the patience for this.

“Oh, you mean us as in the highly-publicized extremely-clichéd fake couple.” Felicity sighed. “Yeah, I had to. My mom… let’s just say she’s a mayor TMZ junkie so she was going to find out anyway. Better she heard it from me.”

Oliver nodded in agreement.

“Well, she is something, I’ll give you that,” teased Diggle. “Felicity, are you sure you’re not adopted?”

“Oh, trust me, I’ve done the research.”

Diggle answered her with the biggest grin. Oliver leaned back on his chair, resting his arm on the desk.

“I like her,” he said.

“Of course you do,” Felicity bit back.

 “We should take her out to dinner,” Oliver continued, brushing over Felicity’s jab.

“Can’t,” she reminded him. “Her plane leaves early tonight.”

“Lunch, then,” he countered, and then to Diggle, “Call Lyla, we’ll make it a thing.”

Diggle was too entertained to chime in on the conversation. He just said “Sure” and sat back to watch the scene before him unfold with a knowing smirk on his face.

“You want to take my mother out,” Felicity said.

“Why not? You’ve had dinner with mine.”

Felicity’s response was cut off by Detective Lance tapping his keychain on the open glass door. He was with Laurel who stood behind him, doing her best not to look directly at either Oliver or Felicity without much success. Oliver waved them in and Lance apologized, as much as he could apologize to Oliver, for barging in on their ‘meeting’. Diggle excused himself and went to stand right outside the door.

“Detective Lance, Laurel,” Oliver said. “What can I do for you?”

“It’s officer now,” the man corrected him. “We were in the neighborhood and I thought I’d drop by to talk to you in person. It’s about your mother’s trial.”

Felicity was going to leave too and go back to her desk, but Lance stopped her.

“No, Ms. Smoak, you stay,” he said. “I’m guessing this concerns you as much as him. SCPD is setting up a police escort to accompany you and your family the day of the trial,” he told Oliver. “Damn reporters are driving me crazy. They’re all over your mother’s case, even harassing Laurel at the DA’s office. And now with all the fuzz about you two…“ Lance swung his finger between Oliver and Felicity. “It’s going to be one big media circus out there.”

Felicity wondered if he knew the press was not only waiting to see her and Oliver out and about but to catch a glimpse of the three of them –Oliver, Felicity and Laurel –forced to share the same space. If he knew, he didn’t say, and honestly Felicity didn’t know what was it that the media expected to see. A cat fight? Hair pulling? Seriously, what’s wrong with these people? Plus, she was pretty sure if it came down to cat fighting, Laurel would kick the filling out of her.

Lance went on to explain the details and discuss logistics with Oliver and Felicity. Laurel only spoke up here and there to confirm a date or a place and not much else. Oliver managed to throw a few furtive glances at Laurel while they talked. He hadn’t really spoken to her since he found out she’d be the one prosecuting his mother. The time before that she’d been in his office accusing him of being the Arrow; that was the day it had all started.

To be honest, Oliver didn’t know how he felt about Laurel anymore. A few months ago they were supposed to be getting back together but then… well, then Tommy died. They’d agreed too much had happened and it was best to go their separate ways but still –this was Laurel, the one who had always been in the back of his mind all those years he spent away; a reason for him to come back. Was she still the reason for him to move forward? The one pushing him to be a better man? Was she the one he would come back to if he ever had to leave again? He couldn’t say.

“Well, I think that’s all,” Lance said. “Just make sure you stay within the escort at all times until you are inside the courtroom. No ‘Houdini’ acts, Queen.”

The young man acknowledged him with a smile.

“All right then. I’ll see you when I see you,” Lance finished.

Laurel smiled goodbye and they both turned to leave, but the door was blocked by Donna who’d just returned from her wandering walk.

“Oh, hi there,” she said with a smile, her eyes settling on the police officer.

After years of experience Felicity just knew Lance had fallen on her mother’s radar. She could almost see the wheels turning in Donna’s head, planning the most effective way to ‘lure and conquer’ this new challenge. Oliver extended an arm towards his fake mother-in-law and introduced the pair, confirming Donna’s unspoken hopes that Laurel was family and not very young competition.

Felicity and Laurel exchanged a look as their parents gravitated towards each other, now completely invested in what was clearly a flirting match. Lance was all “I didn’t know your mother lived here, Ms. Smoak” without ever looking at Felicity, and Donna of course was all “Oh, I don’t. I’m just visiting. I’m in Las Vegas. You should come one day, I’ll show you around.”

Diggle looked at his shoes to hide the smile he couldn’t quite contain and Oliver decided it was all very amusing so he invited the Lances to join them for lunch.

“Yes! That’s a wonderful idea,” Donna seconded. “Please come,” she said towards Lance, taking that chance to casually graze his arm. The officer smiled slightly looking down.

“Oh, I don’t know. I, er… I don’t wanna intrude-”

“Dad,” Laurel cut in. “We can’t. We have a meeting, remember?”

Yes, yes, don’t let her catch him, Felicity thought urgently.

“You’re right, sweety. I’m sorry. Another time, maybe?” Lance offered. Again mostly towards Donna.

“I’ll hold you to that,” said Mama Smoak with a cat-like smile.

Felicity didn’t breathe easily until Lance and Laurel were gone.

“Aww, what a shame,” said Donna sadly, glancing towards the hallway where Quentin had just disappeared. Half a second later she turned to Oliver with a spark in her eyes… “So, lunch plans?”

Lunch had gone over smoothly. Donna was delighted to meet Lyla and had nothing but nice things to say about the fancy restaurant Oliver took them to. Felicity could see her mom was loving the attention of being paraded around town in Oliver’s arm.  Donna wouldn’t have been half as self-conscious as Felicity having to play this whole fake-girlfriend charade. Unfortunately, Felicity did not inherit her mother’s carefree attitude towards life.

All that aside, it was nice for her to see her mom enjoying herself. Despite the many, many, differences of opinion between the two women, Felicity wasn’t unaware of all the sacrifices her mother had made to bring her up on her own after her father left them. Sometimes, when she was particularly upset at Donna, Felicity had to remind herself that it wasn’t just her who’d been abandoned by her father, it was her mother too who’d been abandoned by the man she loved.  Because if one thing was for sure it’s that Donna Smoak had loved Felicity’s father with all her heart.

Maybe that’s why Felicity was being so cautious about her feelings for Oliver. Having a crush on your incredibly attractive friend was one thing, but falling madly in love with a man that wasn’t planning on looking at you the same way… well, that was just reckless, especially for someone like Felicity who knew exactly how badly it could end.

After lunch, the team decided it was best for them to split up for the rest of the day. They dropped Donna and Felicity off at her apartment for some mother-daughter bonding while the boys were forced to go old school and fight crime without their tech girl behind the desk for one night. That didn’t go too bad but let’s just say Oliver and Diggle gained a new appreciation for the third member of their team.

Felicity set the TV for some Hallmark movie she’d recorded a few days back and sat next to her mother on the couch. Donna handed her the popcorn.

“So, when do you have to be at the airport?” Felicity asked.

“Oh, I’ve got time. At least a few hours, enough for the movie and some girl talk.”

Felicity gave Donna a glance and sat back on the couch grabbing a handful of popcorn and hitting play.

“So…” Donna started, “Oliver seems nice.”

“Mom, please.”

“What? I didn’t say anything! Am I supposed to not like him? We can both agree it’s been a long time.” Felicity sneered at her for that and shoved some more popcorn in her mouth. “I’m just happy for you, honey, that’s all.”

After a while, Felicity decided she needed to get it out, at least part of it. She didn’t take her eyes off the screen when she spoke.

“It’s not what it looks like.”

“Huh? What isn’t?”

“Oliver and I… it’s not what you think.”

“You mean he’s not really handsome, attentive, successful, and crazy about you... not to mention kind of rich?” she added with a complicit smile to her daughter.

“Oh no, he is… except for the crazy part. That… We… It’s not exactly real.”

Donna was starting to get confused. She looked at her daughter with a frown.

“What do you mean it’s not real?”

“Well,” Felicity turned over on the couch so she could face her mom, the movie now definitely just noise on the background. “I may be doing him a favor- No, I am doing him a favor. Oliver, er… he needed…” Felicity shook her head. She knew there was only so much she could say. “It’s complicated. Bottom line is Oliver and I are just friends, we’re not really dating, we only have to pretend like we are.”

Donna stared at her, processing the string of information she’d just had.

“Huh,” she said and turned back to face the TV.

“Wh- Mom, that’s it? Just ‘huh’?”

“Felicity, what do you want me to say?”

“I don’t know, something! I just told you my whole relationship with Oliver is a lie.”

Donna cocked her head towards Felicity.

“Your whole relationship?” she said in a soft, ‘mom’ voice.

“Yeah!”

She took her daughter’s hands in hers and sighed.

“Look, honey, I don’t know why you’re doing what you’re doing and I don’t think I completely understand what it is you’re doing, but I do know you and… I think you’re only lying to yourself.” ”Mom-“

Donna held up a hand.

“Felicity, dating or not dating, you and Oliver are together. You can’t fake that. And I may not know Oliver enough to know how he feels about you but you’re not pretending.”

“I can’t. Oliver’s not mine to take, mom, he’s… First of all he’s got issues,” she said suddenly faster. “Like way too many issues, ex girlfriends and he was on an island and he’s the most stubborn man I have ever met…”

“I know someone like that,” Donna chimed in.

“The point is…” Felicity marked. She was about to repeat herself, tell Donna Oliver was terminally unavailable and that the whole dating thing was a lie, but the thought of continuing to keep things bottled up for herself was just too much. There was an opportunity for her to be honest with someone about how she felt and damn if she wasn’t going to take it. “The point is I’m scared,” she said quietly looking at Donna.

Mama Smoak didn’t need her daughter to say any more. She knew all too well what Felicity was scared off. The younger Smoak had lost so much, one too many men had left her or been taken from her. She knew despite her ramblings it was more what Felicity didn’t say than what she babbled about.

“I know it’s scary and I know you have every reason to feel that way but Felicity, you can’t go through life without living. In the end it’s all worth it, the pain and the laughs and the cute little moments in between, that’s how you know you’re still breathing. I know it wasn’t the best example but honey I loved your father and I know he loved me. I have great memories despite the bitter end and I have you, “ she said cupping her face. “I wouldn’t change that for the world.”

Felicity leaned into her mother’s hand and almost smiled, fighting the knot that had taken over her throat.

Donna gave her daughter a tight hug which Felicity returned, allowing herself to close her eyes for a moment. When they pulled back after a second, the two women looked at each other.

“Thank you,” Felicity said.

“No problem, honey, that’s what moms are for,” she said tapping Felicity’s hand. Felicity gave her a smile. “Now, about that cute police officer, you wouldn’t happen to have his number…”

“Mom!”