He shouldn't be feeling this way.

Especially since he was the one who pushed her away, straight into the more-than-welcoming arms of Ray Palmer.

But he couldn't help it. When she asked for the night off, he didn't even have to ask her why. He knew because this had been the third time she'd ask him. He couldn't make up an excuse as to why she couldn't take the night off because everything was rather peaceful in the Arrow business, and of course, because he had no right.

"Mhm," he told her tentatively. "Take the night off."

Then he turned his gaze to Diggle, who had a knowing look on his face. Oliver ignored it, hiding any emotion he may have put on display and said, "You too Dig. Lyla needs you more than ever now."

Diggle nodded and went to grab his things. But before he left, he patted a hand on Oliver's shoulder, giving him a sad smile. "You take a break too Oliver. You need it," then turned to leave.

He didn't dare to look at Felicity at that moment, because he knew his emotions had crept back on his face. Instead, he walked towards his arrows, his back to her, and absently began sorting them out.

He felt her watching him then and he furrowed his brows, knuckle tight around the arm of his chair.

"I don't have to go Oliver. If you need me here, then…"

He felt himself get up and make his way towards her. "No Felicity, go. If anything happens, your system will alert us."

"But-"

He reached out a hand and placed it on her shoulder. He looked at her with fierce determination, leaving her no room to argue with him on the matter.

"Okay," Felicity blinked up at him, a small smile forming on her mouth. He flicked his eyes down to her lips for only a second, and shot them back up to her. Realizing how intimate the moment had become, his hand slipped from her shoulder and he went back to his arrows. He let his face fall into his hands once he heard the door click behind her, and he let out a frustrated sigh.

Oliver decided to go through a full workout to ease some of the tension he'd built up. He ripped off his shirt, grabbed his practice arrows, and headed to the targets, hoping it'd take his mind elsewhere for a few hours.

Two hours into his workout, the sound of his ringtone snapped his attention to Felicity's desk, where his phone lay. He jumped from the salmon ladder and made his way over in a hurry, a knot forming in his stomach. He needed it to be her.

Much to his displeasure, it was Ray's name that flashed on the screen. He grunted to himself before answering.

"Hello?" he said warily.

"Oliver. Is Felicity with you? She hasn't answered any of my calls," Ray's steady voice answered him back.

Oliver's entire body instantly tensed, his senses on full alert, imagining the worst scenarios possible as to why Felicity didn't make it to her date.

"She was supposed to meet me thirty minutes ago. I was wondering if she got held up at the office," Ray continued.

"Wha-" he started angrily, but stopped when he heard the sound of the door opening behind him. He whipped around to see Felicity coming down the stairs carefully, an unreadable expression on her face as she slowly walked closer to him.

He let out a ragged breath as his eyes scanned her form. Her glasses were off and her makeup was darker than usual; her eyes contrasted beautifully with the golden brown color on her eyelids. Her hair was in its usual ponytail. His eyes traveled down to her sapphire blue dress, the same dress she wore when she left the foundry today, he realized.

"Felicity.." he said quietly, as his gaze slowly moved back to her eyes.

"Oliver." Ray's distant voice snapped. He hadn't realized that he lowered his hand that held the phone to his waist. He quickly put it back up to his ear, his eyes never leaving Felicity's. "Oliver. Is Felicity with you?"

"She's…"

Her eyes bore into his, and he was taken away by the intensity in which she looked at him. She almost looked as if she was pleading with him. Oliver drew in a shaky breath and tore his eyes from her.

"No. No, she's not."

"Huh. She must be stuck in traffic, then. Thanks though," he said lightly.

"Yeah," Oliver replied, ending the call.

When he looked back at her again, Felicity was only a few feet away from him.

"Felicity, Ray needs to know where you are."

She was only a few steps away from him now, and he could see the clear pain in her eyes.

"I can't do this," she said, her voice flat as her head dropped.

Oliver hesitated before asking, "Can't do… what, Felicity?"

"Ray! I can't do Ray!" she didn't bother to fix her wording as she continued. "He's a great guy. He really is. But I can't. Do. Him," she said through her teeth, tears welling up in her eyes.

"What do you mean Felicity?" Oliver asked her, his brows brought together as he put both of his hands on her shoulders. His heart ached as he felt her whole body shaking.

"I will never be in a truly happy relationship with anyone, because my thoughts just keep drifting back to someone else."

He went stiff. He knew where this conversation was headed, and as much as he needed it, he couldn't allow it to happen. He couldn't allow Felicity to deny herself a happy relationship because of him. "Felicity, please, Ray is worried about you, you need to call him back-"

"You idiot!" she hissed, her face now inches from his. Oliver backed up slightly in shock, his back hitting the edge of her table, where he involuntarily sat down. Felicity's eyes burned into his, and he felt her hands on his knees.

"Felicity…" Oliver whispered, closing his eyes as a growl formed deep within his throat. Her lips were suddenly brushing his, where he felt her heavy breaths on his face and her chest was rising up and down. He grabbed the sides of her waist, steadying her as she took some time to suppress her anger.

Without warning, her lips crashed into his, and Oliver tightened his hold on her. She pressed her body closer to him, and ran her hands through his hair. The desperation they both put into the kiss made Oliver's head spin, along with the electric feeling of her hands now raking over his naked back.

When Felicity broke the kiss, she looked Oliver straight in the eye. His gaze softened when he saw tears still streaming down her face, and he ran a thumb across her cheeks, wiping them away.

"I'm so sorry," he said, scanning her face and letting out a small breath. "I am an idiot. For not letting this happen sooner. For-"

"You don't have to explain yourself, Oliver. Not now." Felicity said, shaking her head happily.

Oliver gave her a stunning smile. "Okay. But there is one thing that you have to know right now," he said. Felicity looked up at him in question, a smile forming on her face.

"I love you," he pulled her back in for another kiss, eliciting a satisfied hum from Felicity.