Gone and Forgotten

Please read and review/fav/critique. I am doing this based off an idea I had, so it could be long and fleshed out or end after a handful of chapters. It really depends on my time and the reception to the first few chapters. Thanks! - A

Chapter 1: Broken Bliss

Post-season 3 finale. Oliver and Felicity have been crawling up and down the east coast for nearly 3 weeks, thinking only about the here and now and leaving Starling City's safety to the rest of the crew. They've rented a house on the beach and are enjoying the last of the summer weather.

"Ow, ow! I'll take some of that."

"They sure don't make them like that anymore, do they?"

Felicity Smoak glanced up from her tablet to see a gaggle of bikini-clad coeds standing with their backs to her. She laid the small machine on her lap and cleared her throat.

"Excuse me, would you all mind moving over just a little? You're blocking my view."

One of the girls, brown hair stringy with drying saltwater, looked back over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow. Smirking, she took in the thick-rimmed, squared off glasses, one-piece swimsuit, and spots of unblended SPF 45, despite the fact that this woman was sitting under the largest beach umbrella she'd ever seen.

Stringy-hair said something to the others and they all looked back at Felicity, giggling and whispering to each other.

Making fun of the 'nerd', really? Some things don't ever change. Felicity rolled her eyes, pushing herself up out of the beach recliner, and started past the girls towards the shoreline – and towards the muscular man doing one handed pushups in the sand.

"Listen, I knew from the get-go that you're a bit of a showoff, but is the grunting really necessary? You have an audience." She pulled her oversized hat down further, shielding her fair skin from the noon sun.

"28...29...30..." Oliver pulled himself up to a kneeling position in the sand with another grunt, grinning up at her. "Definitely necessary." His solid frame and rippling muscles were enough to make any girl swoon, but that man's smile is what always got her.

Felicity took a step closer to him, flashing a small smile. It felt good to smile. She hadn't been able to call up very many genuine ones since receiving word that Ray Palmer, her former boyfriend and boss, had been pronounced dead in a freak accident at Palmer Technologies just days after they left the city. She had been furious when the lawyers had called, telling her that she was the new owner of the company, something Ray had done sneakily before his death. It wasn't that she wasn't grateful or didn't think she could handle the responsibility; Felicity just didn't know if she could handle the crushing reality of it all. If she was running the company, Ray really was gone. Another friend lost.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Felicity rested her hands on her hips, right below the cutouts of her bathing suit, and sighed. "They're staring. And saying...gross things. I think one of them wants to lick you. I don't even think about stuff like that." Much.

Oliver laughed and hopped to his feet, letting one arm encircle her waist, his hand laying on top of hers. "So let them stare at this."

He leaned in for a kiss and Felicity obliged, her lips parting slightly, almost automatically. Oliver's tongue swept across them gently before daring to enter her mouth. She allowed her hands to slide up and down his chest and back, pausing to trace the scars that had become all too familiar landmarks on his body.

Perhaps familiar was an understatement. Since running off together, Oliver and Felicity had fallen into place together perfectly, like 2 puzzle pieces that had been missing but now were found. At first, they had both been wary of how things would be different between them with the Arrow gone and no enemies knocking down their door. Oliver, too, had become different. He was stronger, Felicity could see that much, but it wasn't just physically. This most recent trial with the League of Assassins had forced him to realize that fighting for a chance at tomorrow with the ones you love was a powerful advantage, rather than a weakness. There was nothing more standing in their way of being together, and they had used the last few weeks to really get to know one another, in the Biblical sense.

Their tongues danced playfully for a while longer before Felicity acknowledged that the warmth she felt rising in her cheeks, dancing on her skin, was due to more than just the sun's rays. Despite the fact that they spent more time touching one another than not since leaving Starling City, Felicity's body still betrayed her when it came to their more public displays of affection. Just the thought of what usually followed these impromptu make-out sessions sent a tingle down her spine that threatened to settle between her thighs.

Another few blissful seconds elapsed before she decided it was time to come up for air. The group of girls was nowhere to be seen.

"Huh, looks like they didn't enjoy the show very much." Oliver mused as he took Felicity's hand and they started back towards the shade of the umbrella to pack up.

"Everything OK?" He asked, watching as she slid her tablet back into its sleeve.

"Yeah, great," she replied avoiding his gaze.

"It's just...well, you had that look."

"What look? I don't have a look."

"That look you get when you're thinking about something that makes you sad," He lowered his gaze. "Or someone."

"Can't hide anything from you." Felicity continued to jam things into her beach bag, but tears were forming at the corners of her eyes. Oliver caught a glimpse and gently took her hand. She paused before letting out a small sob.

"I just...can't believe he's really gone. That he blew himself up. The scientist blows himself up in his lab. What kind of sick irony is that?" The tears were flowing freely now and Oliver pulled her into a protective embrace. A few more sobs shook her before her breathing began to steady itself.

"I'm sorry. He was a good guy."

"Yeah." She sniffled and dried her eyes with the edge of the towel she was folding up. "I'm sorry. I'll be fine. I don't know why it just hit me all of a sudden like that."

"Grief has a funny way of catching us off guard. You don't have anything to be sorry for." He kissed her forehead and dropped his arms. She nodded.

"Hey, how about I finish up here. You go back to the house and get cleaned up, then we'll head to that barbeque place off of Route 8 for lunch." Oliver gestured in the direction of the beach house they had been renting for the past few days.

"Sounds good." Felicity gave him a quick peck on the cheek before pulling on her maxi dress. "See you in a few, lover," she waved.