"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just walk out of here right now," Felicity scolded him, crossing her arms in anger.
"I'll give you three," Oliver replied, pulling her into his arms. He kissed her forehead. "Because I adore you." He kissed her cheek. "Because I think you're remarkable." He kissed her lips. "And because I love you."
Felicity tried to hold onto her anger, but she could feel his words and affection burying under her skin, deflating her ire. "That doesn't count," she scoffed. "Those aren't actual reasons, Oliver."
He turned his palms up in supplication. "Because I need you!"
"That doesn't count either!"
Oliver's face fell in dismay. "How does that not count? It's an actual reason, I do need you!"
"You always need me," she countered testily. She shook her head. "That sounded more egotistical than it did in my head, but the point still stands."
Oliver put on his most pathetic pleading expression. "Please?"
Felicity narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't you dare pull out the puppy eyes. That doesn't work on me."
He pulled his mouth down in a little frown, continuing to stare at her.
"Kicked puppy doesn't work either!" she chastised.
He tried a different tactic. "I promise I'll do all the dishes by myself for a week. I'll even hang up every single towel for as long as I can remember."
Felicity huffed in frustration. "That might convince me, except I don't think you would actually remember."
Oliver sighed. It was time to bring out the big guns, but he didn't like it. It was low, and probably dirty. He grabbed her by the hands, and put on his most serious expression. "This is the only exhibit left that he wants to see, and I'm still really awkward with him by myself. You're my buffer. Please? I'm not above getting on my knees to beg you."
Felicity smirked. "I wouldn't object to that."
Oliver's eyes widened. "You wouldn't really expect me to get on my knees, right here, in front of God and everyone else at this zoo, would you?"
She shrugged. "You're the one that brought it up. Not me. And, that doesn't mean I'm acquiescing."
Oliver groaned. "Please, Felicity? Pretty please? Please please please?"
She could feel herself starting to give in. With each 'please' that fell from Oliver's lips, her will to resist crumbled just a little bit more. When it looked like he was actually about to get on his knees, she threw her head back and sighed loudly.
"Fine!" she shouted, and Oliver hugged her tightly.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you," he murmured in her ear. "You're my hero."
She scoffed. "You know, Mr. Queen, one of these days you're gonna have to bite the bullet and spend some time with your son by yourself, one on one."
He pulled back and gave her a sheepish smile. "I know. And I will," he promised. "I'm working up to it."
She shook her head at him. "Okay, let's go see the freaking kangaroos."
He grasped her hand and smiled at her, entwining his fingers with hers. Together they walked back to where Connor was waiting for them, and continued into the kangaroo exhibit.
Later that night, Oliver watched Felicity fondly as she tucked Connor into bed. It had been a pretty great day, and a long one too, so it didn't take too much convincing for Connor to go to bed. The vision before him warmed his heart like nothing he'd ever seen before. Watching the woman he loved, bonding so affectionately with a son he didn't know existed until last week, caused him to think of a future he never even dreamed was available to him. He could easily see Felicity by his side for the rest of his life, as a mother figure for his son, as his wife…
He sighed contentedly at that thought, before putting it off to the side for now. It was still relatively early in their relationship to be talking about those kind of things. Best to just play it by ear for now.
She walked toward him to exit Connor's room. He backed away, giving her space, and she closed the door gently behind her. He followed her downstairs to the living room, and sat on the couch with her. He turned her body to pull her feet into his lap, and he started massaging them.
She closed her eyes, leaned her head back and moaned with pleasure. "That feels nice."
"We did a lot of walking today, you deserve a little pampering."
She opened her eyes and smirked at him. "Are you sure you're not trying to make up for guilting me into seeing the kangaroos, which you know I have issues with?"
Oliver ducked his head, smiling at her feet. "Maybe," he conceded.
"Well," she replied happily, closing her eyes again. "Lucky for you I'm so forgiving."
He smiled more widely this time. "Very lucky," he agreed. He smirked, and tugged at her feet to get her attention. When she looked at him inquisitively, he let go of her feet and crawled up her body, stopping within inches of her lips. "I'd like to be more lucky," he murmured seductively.
She threw her head back and laughed. "That was so bad!" she giggled.
"Hey!" he protested. "I'm trying to do a thing here!"
She smiled at him and placed her hands on his cheeks. "You look so cute when you try," she teased, and she pulled him forward to kiss him.
Oliver smiled into the kiss, her teasing completely forgotten. As long as the night ended with her in his bed, he didn't care how they got there.