She was running late and she knew it. Felicity's eyes flicked to her phone again as she silently cursed the time. Winding her hair around the curling iron she hummed impatiently, willing her hands to work faster. If she'd been coding this would have been less of a hassle. In fact, truthfully she'd rather be at her computer, blowing off steam working on a couple of her piggyback programs.
Hijacking signals and tracing their origin was always a fun exercise but in the field it could mean life or death and she planned on being ready for their next mission. It was a home project, reserved for when she was watching reruns of "Survivor" and planning her fantasy vacation. But she'd made plans tonight so her 'research' on Thailand was going to have to wait.
She did a little shimmy, watching her curls bounce in the mirror before frowning. Why had she agreed to this again? Right, because she wanted to get out and have some fun. A year ago it would have been different. A year ago she would have jumped at the chance to have dinner with a cute guy but things were so different now. She didn't know if she could afford to be carefree anymore because of what she knew and what she'd seen. It weighed on her, as she was sure it weighed on all of them. She wasn't the same person as that naïve little IT worker diligently puttering away in that tiny office at Queen Consolidated. Meeting Oliver and discovering that he was the Arrow had changed her life. She couldn't look at things the same way and considering everything; she didn't want to.
Grabbing holding of a stash of bobby pins, she quickly pulled her hair back from her face and pinned it, inspecting her work. A childhood full of her mother's updos had thankfully given her some sense when it came to hairstyles. It was a lot of work but she liked the look.
A quick glance at her phone had her groaning. She really should have waited until tomorrow to compress those files. Not only was she going to be late but she didn't even have a way of contacting him to apologize. And as she had no way of altering the space-time continuum she just did what always came naturally when in a time crunch – bore down.
Focused and determined, she took a deep breath and picked up her curling iron. She had work to do. Expertly twisting her hair and wrist in unison she glanced down at the spreadsheets she'd brought into the bathroom. Quarterly reports weren't exactly her favourite data but she needed to get a handle on the company's finances if she wanted to keep the Board from recommending they sell off any more assets.
Submersed in numbers, projections and percentages she mulled over the math in her head, developing a headache as she went. What she really needed was an economist. Common sense she could do but parsing all the intricacies of international business? That was a job best left to people with MBAs, not former hackers with an overactive night life. She simply didn't have the time to research what was necessary to know about foreign markets. In that moment she really wished Walter was still around.
While pouring over debt ratios and profit margins the doorbell rang. She jumped and nearly burnt her scalp, hand jerking in surprise at the sudden sound. Squeezing her eyes shut for a moment to calm her nerves she extricated herself from the bathroom. As she stalked to the front door she nearly slipped on the floor, her feet still wet from her shower. Sliding towards the door she put her hands up, smacking into it before throwing it open. In front of her stood a very bedraggled Oliver Queen, hair plastered to his head, weak smile on his face.
"Hey."
"Hey…" She glanced down to the full duffel bag in his hand. Cold leeched down her spine as her brain lurched, suddenly remembering why he was here. "Crap that was tonight?"
Oliver frowned. "Yeah I thought… It is Wednesday right?"
Since losing his company, his club, his house and his secret lair he'd started to lose track of time. It didn't help that he'd hocked his Rolex to pay for a hotel. When that money had run out he'd had to resort to more…primitive accommodations, all while trying to salvage anything he could from what remained of his family's holdings.
"Yeah it is." Felicity brought a hand to her face groaning. "I completely forgot." The only consolation was her place wasn't a total disaster at the moment. She didn't think she could bare it if he saw her in 'Sloth Mode'.
His smile disappeared at her admission. He'd had a hard enough time accepting her offer in the first place and now he felt like he was intruding on her life. Truthfully though he had no idea what she did outside of her 9-5 job apart from helping him protect Starling City.
"You didn't take a taxi here did you?" She leaned out to try and look through the arbour for a car. While she was convinced Oliver was saavy with money it had to big a shift going from having millions to being destitute and she wasn't sure if she had enough pocket change to cover his ride from downtown.
He shook his head. "Diggle dropped me off."
"Oh. Good." She smiled, relieved that she wouldn't have to break open her Pigs in Space piggybank. "Come on in."
As he stepped inside he took in her appearance in a glance: one earring; trademark pink lipstick; hair curled, fancy black dress.
"Am I interrupting something?" He quirked a brow at her outfit.
"Hmm?" She was confused for a moment before she remembered what she was wearing. "Oh, yeah. I've got a dinner date." her eyes flicked to the floor. "I would have canceled if I'd remembered you were coming."
"It's fine," he smiled. "You look nice."
"Thanks." She flushed, heart pounding in her ears.
He quietly set his duffel down on the floor and took in her apartment, noticing the eclectic art on the wall and the singular poster above her tv. He'd never seen that version of Robin Hood but wondered if she'd put it up before or after she found out his secret identity.
Noticing the direction he was staring at, Felicity stumbled to explain.
"My grandma was a movie buff. She went every Saturday to this little cinema in Pasadena. Turns out she got on with one of the ushers and he gave her the poster when the film finished."
Oliver nodded. He'd never met his grandparents. In fact he was pretty sure he couldn't even remember their names. They were in photos in an album. Once a long time ago, his mom had pointed out her parents, a pair of white-haired seniors with kind faces. They'd been sitting amongst a group of smiling people on a beach somewhere. It was a blurry memory, one he hadn't thought of in years. And the album was long lost, likely stored somewhere in the foreclosed Queen Mansion unless Thea had somehow managed to snag it.
Felicity hesitated at the pensive look on his face before surreptitiously checking the time and launching into a breathless excuse for her place.
"I hope the couch is okay. I don't have a cot or even a sleeping bag to offer you. Mom wasn't exactly big on the 'great outdoors' and I kind of inherited her city girl attitude."
"The couch will be fine Felicity." The look in his eye and the emphasis on 'fine' told her to relax. "Really, you're doing me a favour here."
"Good. I'll grab some fresh sheets and some blankets and a pillow." She rushed past him and into her bedroom, praying he wouldn't follow her as she whipped everything out of her closet. She skirted the pile of dresses on the floor and ignored the ones on the bed as she headed back out, dumping everything onto the couch. "If you get cold the thermostat is just over there," she pointed to the kitchen.
He leaned down to grab the fitted sheet, eager to make his bed and then collapse into it. But as he bent over he winced, his back spasming.
"You alright?" She reached out a hand and then hesitated.
"Just a little sore." He rotated his shoulders, feeling a familiar pinch between his blades.
"I guess you shouldn't have let Diggle find you sleeping on the practice mats in the Arrowcave then." She wasn't the only one who'd been angry on finding where he'd been sleeping.
He shot her a look. "I thought we agreed that we weren't calling it that."
She shook her head. "You agreed, I didn't. Besides, it's not safe to go back there. They've closed Verdant and with the property up for lease they have security crawling all over the place."
"I'm not exactly sure I want to know." He wasn't exactly pleased with the idea that she was using company property to keep tabs on the building. The last thing he needed was her getting in trouble.
"I still have a job at Queen Consolidated remember? Plus I hacked the security cameras around the site." She ignored his pointed look. "I just, I want to keep an eye on the place." It was a little embarrassing how much she missed it and the amazing computer she'd had access to. But in all honesty she was just happy that Team Arrow was still together.
"Don't let me keep you from your date." He gingerly bent down to grab a pillowcase, already making plans for a hot shower to ease his sore back.
"I'm late already so a few more minutes won't matter."
As they made his makeshift bed Oliver kept glancing around the room, taking in all the bits and bobs that were pure Felicity. And he couldn't help but wonder at her dinner date. She didn't seem concerned about wasting time with him so it obviously wasn't that important. After they were finished she dashed into the bathroom and he called out.
"Thanks again. For letting me stay."
"You don't have to thank me Oliver." She came out, putting on her other earring. "I mean it's cheaper than staying in a hotel now that you're bankrupt." Her eyes widened as she realized her blunder. "I mean broke. I meant broke."
He chuckled. Some things never changed and Felicity's Foot in Mouth Disease was actually something he looked forward to because she always managed to blush a pink the same shade as her lipstick.
Trying to change the subject she blurted out "Have you had dinner?"
"Yeah I had a coffee at that place on 5th." He pointed his thumb behind him at her front door.
She tilted her head and frowned. "You and I both know that delicious as it is, coffee is a snack not a meal." Grabbing her shoes she quickly strapped them on, grabbing her coat and purse. "I'm not sure how late I'm going to be so help yourself to whatever's in the fridge."
She checked her phone as she dashed out the door, leaving him alone. In Felicity's apartment. Oliver plopped down on his temporary bed and stared over at the movie poster again, his eyes flicking to the tv. Decision made he grabbed the remote. He really hoped she had Netflix.