Hello everyone! Last week's episode of Arrow was inspiring, and this is what came out of it. Hopefully it will help tide you over until the big crossover event. Obviously, I don't own any of the characters and no infringement is intended.

Also, it's been a long time since I've written anything for public consumption, so any feedback (good or bad) would be greatly appreciated! I hope you enjoy!

Felicity paused at the head of the stairs leading into the Foundry, listening for any sounds below. She had received a text from Roy informing her the team was at Digg and Lyla's place, but she didn't want to take any chances. The text had been an invitation to join them, but Felicity had known that was not a good idea. She couldn't handle facing Oliver after what she'd overheard on the comms earlier, it just hurt too much. And the fact that the invitation hadn't come from Diggle himself made her think that maybe he wasn't very happy about the way they'd left things in her office that afternoon. Roy must be the only one who doesn't know I wouldn't exactly be welcome tonight, Felicity mused to herself as she slowly descended.

She hadn't planned on coming back to the Foundry after the way she'd run out earlier. As soon as she'd known that Oliver was safe, she'd hightailed it back to Queen Consolidated…or rather Palmer Technologies now. That was going to take some getting used to, Felicity thought. She hadn't been able to stand the idea of facing Oliver after his little speech about how he knew what it was to want someone, but not be able to be with them. It had broken her heart, and she needed some time alone to process.

Returning to work had seemed like a good idea, until that little scene with Ray. She had known he was attracted to her, and she had to admit she found him attractive too, but the kiss had caught her off guard. She had told Oliver she couldn't wait for him forever and that she wanted more from life, but she wasn't sure she was ready to take a step that big, especially with Ray. She wasn't comfortable with the idea of dating her boss. She'd heard enough (unfortunately unfounded) rumors to that effect when Oliver was CEO of QC, and she didn't want to go down that road again. She refused to be reduced to the cliché of the blond who'd slept her way to the top.

Felicity stumbled a bit on the last step because she was still foolishly running around in her couture dress and heels. "I really should have changed at some point this evening," Felicity mumbled to herself. "All I need is to damage a dress that costs more than I'll make in the next month. That would really be the icing on the cake for this craptastic day. First I have to listen to Oliver explain that we can't be together, again, and then Ray kisses me before pulling a complete 180 and practically running out of my office. Apparently nobody wants…" Felicity's voice trailed off as she took in the mess on the Foundry's floor. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought there had been some sort of fight, but surely one of the guys would have told her if that had been the case. Right? She knew she'd been busy that evening, but she hadn't been that out of touch.

Inspecting the mess more closely, Felicity noticed that all the items on the floor were ones that usually rested together on the same table. It was almost as though someone had swept everything off the table in a fit of anger, or maybe passion. She wondered what exactly had happened here after she'd cleared out. Whatever it was, it couldn't have been too bad if the team was all together sharing dinner at Digg's place. Well, the team minus her.

Whatever the cause, Felicity decided she would ignore the mess. She'd only returned to the Foundry to make sure her equipment was properly shut down. She'd run out so quickly before she hadn't had a chance to take care of her babies. Whoever had made the mess would just have to deal with it on their own.

Felicity sat in front of her computers, sparing only a glance for the fern perched on the table nearby. She made a mental note to move the plant to a spot where it wouldn't be visible while she sat at her work table. She hardly needed another reminder of what might have been, if only Oliver had been willing to take a chance.

Felicity's mind had started to drift to her comfortable couch and the pint of mint chocolate chip in her freezer when a steely voice she instantly recognized questioned, "What are you doing here?"

Felicity rotated slowly in her chair to find Oliver standing in the midst of the mess she noted earlier. She felt something tighten in her chest as she took in his tense jaw and blank expression. He was clearly trying to appear relaxed, and failing rather spectacularly. One hand was clenched in a fist, while the thumb on his other hand absently rubbed his fingers. This was a nervous tic Felicity had noticed some time ago, and its appearance rarely boded well for the conversation at hand.

"What are you doing here?" Felicity blurted. "I thought you were supposed to be having dinner at John's place with Lyla and Roy. I just came by to shut my system down and I didn't think you'd be back so early. Not that I was avoiding you or anything because there's certainly no reason for me to do that I just meant seeing you here is unexpected and…"

"Felicity," Oliver curtly interrupted her rambling. "I live here, remember?" His eyes flicked quickly to something behind Felicity's back, and she just knew he was looking at the damn fern. I really have to move that thing she thought for the second time that night.

"Roy and I did have dinner with Digg and Lyla," Oliver continued quietly, "but we didn't want to stay too late. Sara needs her sleep, and so do her parents."

"And what about you?" Felicity asked gently. "Don't you need to get some sleep too?"

Oliver glanced away again, this time turning away completely to break eye contact. "I have some things I need to take care of," he replied, before bending to the mess on the floor.

"Yeah...I was wondering what happened here," Felicity said, rising from her chair to help with the mess.

"It was nothing," Oliver replied shortly. She noticed him clench his fist again before forcing it to relax so he could return to straightening up. "You don't have to worry about it, I can take care of it myself. You should head home. It's late."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say it looks like Roy had one of his mirakuru rages. Except I know that can't be it since I've tested his blood myself. Twice, in fact. And there wasn't a trace of the drug in his system. Nothing…nada…zip.." Felicity slowly trailed off when Oliver made no response beyond a slight grimace. Something she said had obviously touched a nerve. "Was it Roy?" she asked tentatively. "Because I'm sure he's clean."

Oliver sighed. "No, Felicity, It wasn't Roy."

"Was there a fight?" she asked, trying to figure out why Oliver seemed so upset.

"No there wasn't a fight," he responded.

"Then what…"

Oliver cut her off. "Just let it go, ok? Seriously, you can head home and I'll take care of this. I'm sure you have somewhere else you'd rather be." There was a bitterness in his voice that puzzled Felicity.

"Oliver, what is going on with you tonight?" she asked, gently placing her hand on his shoulder. He visibly flinched at her touch, and Felicity quickly drew back her hand. She knew that things had been awkward lately, ever since there conversation in the hospital to be exact, but she hadn't realize it had gotten this bad. It hurt her tremendously to think that she could no longer offer comfort to her friend.

"Is this about Carrie?" she asked quietly. "Are you worried handing her over to A.R.G.U.S. was a bad idea?"

Oliver closed his eyes for a moment, as though he was gathering strength, or reining in his temper. "Look," he began, "this has nothing to do with anyone but me. I'd really appreciate it if you could just let it go and give me some time to myself."

Felicity took a step back and gathered her keys and phone. "Got it. No need to ask me twice. I mean you kind of did. Ask me twice I mean. Or maybe it was three times. It depends on whether or not we're counting only the times you explicitly asked me to go or…this is not helping. I'm going now."

She was at the bottom of the stairs when she heard Oliver mutter, "Give my regards to Ray." She froze for a moment before whirling around with eyes narrowed.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked in a quiet voice.

He met her eyes briefly before glancing away. "Nothing."

It didn't seem possible, but her eyes narrowed further. "That wasn't nothing. I know nothing and that definitely wasn't nothing."

Despite his mood and the storm brewing in Felicity's eyes, the corner of Oliver's mouth kicked up in a grin. "Did you just say you 'know nothing'?"

"That's not what I meant and you know it, Oliver!" Felicity exclaimed. "You deliberately made a comment about Ray to provoke me." Glancing again at the mess on the floor Felicity asked incredulously, "Is that what this is about? You threw some tantrum because I was at a business dinner with Ray and wasn't sitting here at your beck and call?"

Oliver winced and replied, "It wasn't because of your date it was…"

Now it was Felicity's turn to cut him off. "It was a business dinner, not a date. BUSINESS DINNER," she repeated slowly.

"Funny, none of my business dinners ended up with me making out in my office," Oliver shot back before he could think better of it.

Felicity looked stunned. It took her a moment before she could speak. "First of all, I highly doubt that. In fact, I'm positive that isn't true. Given the way you jumped in to bed with Isabel Rochev, I'm pretty confident your business dinners ended with a lot more than making out."

"Not in my office," Oliver mumbled under his breath.

"Second of all," Felicity said striding over to Oliver and poking him hard in the chest, "how in the hell you do you know what happened in my office tonight? Are you spying on me now?"

Oliver huffed with exasperation. "Of course I'm not spying on you."

"Then how do you know what happened between Ray and I?" she asked.

Oliver took a small step back, needing to put some distance between himself and the angry blond. "I might have been coming to see you in your office and accidently walked in on you kissing Ray."

Felicity's anger dissipated quickly in the wake of his quiet words. She knew exactly what it was like to see the person you cared about in someone else's arms. If he felt for her even a fraction of what she felt for him, it would have torn his heart out. "Look, I'm sorry Oliver. I obviously never meant for you to see something like that."

The bitter tone was back in his voice when he replied, "Yeah, it was pretty clear you weren't thinking about me at all. You told me you were going to move on, I just didn't realize how quickly you'd manage to do it." For the second time that night he turned his back on her. When he spoke his next words, Felicity could tell just from the tone of his voice that he'd plastered one of those fake 'Oliver Queen' smiles on his face. "Guess what we had wasn't that important anyway."

"No," Felicity replied firmly. "You do not get to do that. You do not get to diminish what I felt for you, what I still feel for you, and push all the blame onto me. You know how I feel and..."

"Do I?" He interrupted, spinning around to face her once more. "By my reckoning, I'm the only one who's said how they feel. And I'd say that little episode in your office this evening made it pretty clear where your interests lie."

"That's how you want this to go?" Felicity asked angrily. "Fine. I didn't want to say this but I refuse to let you lie to yourself and pretend that I'm the reason we're not together. I love you. Is that plain enough for you?" Tears began to roll down her face and Oliver instinctively reached out a hand. She took a step back before he could touch her. "No. I refuse to get pulled in again just to have you change your mind and make some godly proclamation that we can't be together. Goddamn it, Oliver! I told you. I can't keep doing this. You can't keep me on some shelf waiting for someday, counting on maybes. Yes, I love you. I love you so much it hurts. My heart aches every time I see you because I know you love me too. And I know things could be great between us, but you won't let that happen. YOU are the reason we're not together. Not me, and certainly not Ray. You can keep lying to yourself if you want, but don't expect me not to call you on it."

She was breathing heavily, clearly waiting for some sort of response. Oliver's gaze was on the floor, on the mess he'd made earlier in his fit of rage. What a perfect metaphor for the mess I've made of my life, Oliver thought cynically.

Disgusted with his silence, Felicity turned toward the stairs, and the exit, one more time. "That's what I thought, Oliver."

"Wait." He knew he should just let her go, let her walk out. But he couldn't. He was worried that if he didn't say something now she'd walk out and never come back. It killed him to think of her with Ray, with anyone other than himself, but he didn't think he'd survive if she walked away completely. The thought of his life without Felicity in it wasn't something he could bear.

His voice was quiet, but she could hear the entreaty in the single word. She stopped, but she refused to turn around. "I'm just trying to protect you," he explained quietly. He could see her shaking her head, though she still hadn't turned around. "I want you to be happy."

She looked back at him with disgust written all over her face. "Do you think I'm an idiot?" she asked quietly. Her question confused Oliver, and he couldn't answer quickly enough to satisfy her. "Seriously, do you think I'm some sort of moron?"

"You know I don't," he replied, still not sure what she was asking.

"Then what makes you think I'm too stupid to think for myself? Too stupid to analyze a situation and decide what risks I'm willing to take?" Once again she was advancing on him, invading his space. "What makes you think I'm such an idiot that I can't figure out what I need to make me happy?" Oliver just stared, at a complete loss for words.

"Just because you have your head stuck so far up your ass you can't see what's right in front of you, doesn't mean I do too." Without waiting for a response she grabbed his shirt with both hands and slammed her mouth down on his. Before Oliver could react, before he could even process what was happening, she pulled away. Her hands were still fisted in his shirt, however, and he covered them with his own to hold her in place.

"What the hell was that?" he asked quietly.

"That," she replied, dragging her gaze up to meet his, "was my way of saying I'm done."

The roar that suddenly filled Oliver's ears almost drown out Felicity's next words. "Are you listening Oliver? I said I'm done."

Lifeless now, Oliver's hands fell to his sides. He'd known she wouldn't wait forever, but somehow he'd thought he had more time. He'd thought that maybe, with time, he'd be able to…but obviously he'd been wrong. "You're done," he repeated quietly.

"Yes," she replied firmly. "I'm done. Done waiting for you to make a move. Done waiting for you to realize I'm in danger whether we're together or not. Done waiting for you to decide you're willing to take a risk on what we have, on what we could have. And most of all, I'm done taking no for an answer."

"I…I don't understand," he replied.

"Yes, I've noticed you can be incredibly dense about these things," she quipped. Oliver didn't understand her change in mood, the sudden levity. It was as though the decision she'd made had lifted a weight off her shoulders, while at the same time crushing his heart.

She shook him gently before trying to explain. "I understand, Oliver, I really do. Somehow you think I'll be happier without you, safer. You think you need to be alone, that you don't deserve happiness. You think there's some sort of darkness in you that destroys everything good you touch." He gave the barest nod, acknowledging all she'd said and silently agreeing. "I understand," she continued, "but I don't agree."

"Felicity," he began.

"No, Oliver," she interrupted. "I told you I'm done. No more excuses, no more 'I can't.' I'm done walking away. I will keep repeating it until you get it through that thick skull of yours. I love you, Oliver." His eyes closed as her words washed over him. "Do you hear me? I love you."

She released his shirt to place her hands on either side of his face, so reminiscent of the way he'd held her when they'd kissed at the hospital. "Look at me. Look at me, Oliver," she repeated. Slowly, unwillingly, he opened his eyes and looked into hers. "I love you, and I see you. All of you. Even the dark places inside you've tried to keep hidden. I know you did things during the five years you were lost. Things you think make you unlovable, but that's not true."

He opened his mouth to argue, but she cut him off before he could. "Obviously I don't know exactly what you did, but I don't need to. If you want to tell me sometime, you know I'll listen. Listen, and not judge. Even if you never choose to share what happened to you during those five years, it won't make a difference. I don't need to know who you were because I know who you are. And I love who you are."

Oliver slowly leaned his head down until his forehead rested on Felicity's. "I don't deserve you," he whispered.

"I don't agree, but it doesn't matter whether you think you deserve me or not," she responded emphatically. "You think that I deserve to be happy, don't you?" she asked.

"Of course I do, Felicity," he responded, "but…"

"And we've already agreed you don't think I'm an idiot, right?" she questioned again.

"Yes, but…" Again she cut him off.

"Have I ever lied to you? Think hard, Oliver. Can you think of a single instance where I've lied to you, or shied away from telling you the truth when you didn't want to hear it?"

"No," he replied with a smile playing around his lips. "You've never lied to me, or been afraid to speak your mind."

"Then trust me when I tell you the only thing that will make me happy, the only person I want in my life, is you. For once, Oliver, don't push me away because of what YOU think I need. Listen to what I'm telling you I need, what I want. Stop claiming you're protecting me. I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself."

Oliver slowly brought his hand up to cup her cheek. "It was never just about keeping you safe, you know. It turns out I have a hard time concentrating in the field when I know you're waiting for me." A frown formed on his face as he recalled their disastrous date, as he thought about what could have happened because he had been too distracted with thoughts of her to realize some thug was planting a tracker on him.

"Well," Felicity replied, "if Digg is to be believed, you have a hard time concentrating in the field even when I'm not waiting for you." Oliver's glance conveyed his confusion so Felicity hastened to explain. "John may have stopped by my office today. And he may have insinuated that my business dinner with Ray was messing with your head a bit."

Oliver frowned. "Don't be mad," Felicity insisted quickly, "you know he's just looking out for you, for us."

He sighed. "I'm not mad, I'm just wondering if your little talk was before or after the lecture I got from Digg."

Felicity smiled. "The man gets around." She slowly moved her hands around to the back of his neck and linked her fingers together. "So, are we going to have some happy news to share with him tomorrow, or am I going to have to keep trying to convince you that this is happening?" she asked quietly.

Their gazes met, and she could see the desire in eyes, the desire for her, for the life he could build with her. But she could also see the doubt. The doubt that they could make it work, the doubt that it wouldn't come crashing down around him like every other relationship he'd ever been in. She knew if she couldn't convince him now, there was no way they would ever make it work.

"Do you trust me, Oliver?" she asked quietly.

"You know I do," he replied reverently. "I trust you with my life."

"Then trust me with you heart. Trust me to keep it safe," she whispered.

He sighed. He'd been fighting for so long, fighting everything and everyone. He didn't have the energy to fight anymore. The thought of finally giving in, of letting go with Felicity, was too tempting for him to refuse. "Ok."

"Ok?" She asked excitedly.

He looked deeply in her eyes as a genuine smile spread across his face. "Ok," he repeated.

"And you're not going to suddenly change your mind and push me away again, right?" she asked, looking into his eyes.

"Right," he confirmed.

Felicity squealed before jumping into Oliver's arms. He laughed, holding her close, absorbing her happiness. A warmth spread through his chest, unlike anything he'd felt before. He didn't know, couldn't know, what the future would bring, but he was determined they'd face it together.

"Do me favor though," Oliver whispered into her hair.

"Anything, you know that," she responded instantly.

"No more business dinners, ok?"

She laughed, before pressing a hard kiss to his lips. "I promise, no more business dinners."