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In the month since they returned to Starling City, he had only put on his Arrow suit once. It had been calm, a lake of serenity in the aftermath of Slade, and even though he still jerked himself awake most nights from dreams about the whole thing, Oliver Queen's days were, well, a bit dull.
He never thought he'd miss having asses to kick, but the truth is, idle hands are the devil's workshop (or something).
(Idle hands kept dreaming about Felicity, and not just with Slade's arm tight around her neck.)
It's been so peaceful, Digg mostly just called in to see what was going on, but he hadn't actually set foot in the Foundry in weeks.
Oliver went there because what else was he gonna do?
(He was fucking bored, honestly.)
So, on a night he goes to the Foundry just for something to do, he's surprised to find Felicity sitting at her bank of computers. He figured she'd have gone home hours ago when they had last spoken and she confirmed that nothing strange was afoot, at least not tonight.
She jumps as he approaches, and he realizes she hadn't heard him come in. "I'm sorry," he chuckles after she yelps in surprise. "I didn't mean to startle you."
Her hands move rapidly, and something disappears off the computer screen in front of her that he doesn't recognize. When he looks more closely at her, he sees that she has removed her glasses and seems to be wiping at her eyes.
"Are you alright?" he asks, sudden concern erupting in his brain.
"I'm fine, fine," she mutters, swinging her computer chair away from him.
"Felicity. You're crying! What's the matter?" He reaches out and grabs gently at her shoulder. Squeezing his hand around the curve of her joint, he's reminded of her delicate build, and instinct has him snatching his hand away before he can really comfort her.
(Things since they got home from Lian Yu have been...complicated.)
When she doesn't answer, but continues scrubbing her hands over her wet cheeks and then quickly replaces her glasses, Oliver asks, "Did something happen?"
"No, really--"
"Is it Barry?" he asks, jumping to the only conclusion he can come up with based on his limited knowledge of those outside Starling City that Felicity cares about.
"Oh, god," she says. It sounds like a sob wrapped in a laugh, but she turns to face him then. "No," she says emphatically. Shaking her head, she bites her lip briefly before finally sharing, "I was just--this is so embarrassing, seriously--I was just watching a show...and..." she nods at him as if this explains everything, but he somehow feels less informed than he had a moment before.
"And...what?" he prods.
She rolls her eyes. "I was watching a show--I got very involved in it, very quickly--you know, there's nothing to do around here lately! And so I watched this show, like marathoned the whole thing--well, I have like three episodes left, but I don't know if I want to keep watching it because, ugh, but I have to, right? I mean, I have to find out what happens!"
Oliver's eyes stray from her face to the computer screen, that is now blank, and back again. "You were watching a show, here?"
Felicity nods. "I started watching it on Netflix, but then for the fourth season that's not out yet, I had to download it from a site--don't worry, it was a good site, and with all the firewalls I put in, our system is safe anyway."
Oliver can feel his lips quirking upward, something they did because of Felicity more often than not. "And you were crying, because of the show?" he asks, just to make sure he followed what she said.
She sniffs. "It was sad, okay?"
"What show?"
Her cheeks flush and she turns away from him, but Oliver uses his foot to stop the swing of her chair, pulling her back to face him. "What show?" he asks again.
"The Walking Dead," she says, her lips barely moving.
"The what?" he asks, even though he heard her just fine.
"The Walking Dead!" she cries. "It's a zombie show, okay? I was bored one day, so I Googled Famous Archers, because, I don't even know, and there was this list, and this character was on it from that show, and the comments on the message board were crazy about him, so I thought, what's the big deal, you know?" She shrugs, and Oliver can't stop the smile that keeps growing wider on his face.
She was looking up famous archers? Seriously, how is she even real?
"Anyway, it turns out, they were right. He's an amazing character. Like, he has this back story of abuse and ignorance, and it's just sad, but the Zombie Apocalypse actually gave him purpose and direction and people who truly cared for him. But even with all that, he still has this wall up, you know? Just keeping people at arms' length, first probably because of how he feels about himself, but then they keep losing people, because, you know, Zombies eat them. But then this horrible thing--like something more horrible than all the other horrible things--happens and he and this one girl get separated from the group. So they have to rely on each other, and she's like, the pure one. She's just goodness and light and she brings that to him, helps him see something good in all the bad..." She trails off and Oliver realizes he hasn't taken a breath as she's been explaining the whole thing. Her bottom lip quivers, and fresh tears appear in her eyes. "He starts to hope, you see," she continues, her voice choked, and Oliver feels emotion prick him, too, as she gets emotional. "But then, he loses her....and it's just the saddest thing I've ever seen."
She breathes out a deep sigh, and shakes her head. "I..." she starts, but then she just presses her fingers to her lips and remains quiet.
"So, what? A Zombie got her?" Oliver asks.
"No! Somebody kidnapped her! And in a way, that's worse, because you don't know where she is! But you don't want Daryl to lose his hope. And you sort of want them to hook up, even though he's a lot older than her, but does that even matter at the end of the world? I mean, come on."
Oliver has never been more amused by or enamored of Felicity than he is right now. Because she means every word. She's invested. He's pretty sure he's never seen her be more adorable.
All for a fictional archer named Daryl. Which reminds him, "So, how does archery play into this again?"
She sniffs once more, rubbing her hand under her nose briefly. "Oh, right. He uses a crossbow to kill the Zombies. And there's this one part, where he taught Beth how to use the crossbow, and how to track, and..." She sadly shakes her head some more.
"But you said there's more episodes to watch? Maybe he finds her?" Oliver suggests.
Felicity snorts. "I don't think so. I read something online that spoiled me before I'd even watched everything." She glances up at him. "I mean, of course I'll still watch it. And the next season starts in the fall. But having to wait to watch it once a week will be a killer."
He can't help it; he finally lets the laughter that's been building up flow freely. "Poor Felicity," he says teasingly.
"You hush," she snaps. Then she points a finger at him. "Or I'll make you watch it, too."
She's smiling now, too; her tears of sympathy have all dried up. "Well, regardless, you know I'm the better archer, right?" he says, and she flushes again. This is the crux of it--how it's somehow all about him without it being about him at all.
That's Felicity, all affection, admiration, with a smidge of hero-worship thrown in; on top of that was her bullshit meter, her inability to back down from a fight she knew they could win, and, of course, her devotion.
It hits him suddenly: it's not sympathy she feels for those pretend people, it's empathy. She does the same thing with him, and always has. Her ability to put herself in his shoes, figuratively, had been one of the things that drew him to her, that made their spontaneous trust of each other implicit.
He's wanted to do this for a long time, but it's the story of Daryl as told by Felicity Smoak that makes him unable to resist any longer.
Well, for much longer.
(Two days later, he asks, "Felicity, would you like to go out to dinner with me?")
(She says yes very quietly, with a big smile on her face.)