Always remember to forget

The friends that proved untrue.

But never forget to remember

Those that have stuck by you.

~ Irish Saying

. . .

Felicity kept checking the clock. It was nearly midnight and Oliver had said he'd be back around then. The last she'd heard anything from him since then. Diggle had gone out to get them midnight dinner; since they'd all eaten lunch late and he'd been starving. The truth was that she was starving too. So, she really couldn't wait until Oliver got back so that they could all eat. Diggle had told her that he was getting something special and that they needed to all be there before anyone got to take a bite.

She was getting extremely tempted to call him and hope that he picked up. She actually hated it when he went silent. She'd much rather hear the gunshots and the fighting. At least then she'd know what was going on and that he was still alive. Lately, Sara was always out with him, but she was currently up serving drinks at the bar in Verdant. It'd been just the three of them since Oliver had told Roy to take the night off as well, so he was up in Verdant with Thea as well. As much as she didn't mind that their family had grown, it was nice when she had her two guys to herself.

"Where's Digg?"

Felicity jumped and closed her eyes at the same time as her hand flew to press against the middle of her chest. "Oliver!" she practically screamed. "We've talked about this… You need to make more noise," she scolded as her eyes opened and she spun around to see him there. He was smiling and seemed far too amused that he'd scared her.

"I thought I said that you should learn to be more alert?" Oliver teased.

"Obviously I need a live feed on you at al times," Felicity told him. "Go on…get out of that suit… Digg went to get dinner."

"Chinese? Pizza?"

Felicity shrugged as she leaned back in the chair. She stared at him. He was breathtaking in everything he was in…and especially when the clothes were removed. "No idea… He was excited about it though."

"Well, I'll go change…if he's not back in a few minutes though…I might do a round on the salmon ladder…"

"You could do it anyways," Felicity told him. That was the favorite part of her day or whenever it happened. "You know…just to make sure that you're keeping up with your workout regiment. I wouldn't mind…" He just stared at her, amusement still on his face, before finally turning. Oliver on the salmon ladder was one of her favorite distractions.

Oliver returned a few minutes later when the Arrow suit was put back on the silver mannequin and he was in a pair of black shorts. Felicity watched him in appreciation as he made his way towards the salmon ladder. "No Diggle?" he questioned.

Felicity shook her head. "Oh…wait…Oliver…" she said. "I have to show you something…" She motioned to her computer screen. Sighing, he walked over and leaned over to peer at the screen. "It's twelve fifteen," she announced and then pinched him.

"Hey! Ow! Felicity!"

"Mission accomplished!"

They both turned to see Diggle looking far too happy at the bottom of the stairs. "Happy Saint Patrick's Day!" he announced and once he set down the large brown paper bags, he opened his jacket to reveal his shirt. He was wearing a rather festive green shirt that said 'Everyone's Irish Today'.

Oliver looked between them both. He was obviously not amused. He looked down at Felicity. "Where is your green?"

"Digg bought me a pin," Felicity said as she pointed to it. She was fairly sure that Oliver really wasn't too happy with them.

"Irish Claddaugh symbol…green heart…I thought it was fitting in more than one way," Diggle told Oliver. "The hands mean friendship, the heart means love…and it's green…double bonus, and the crown means loyalty."

"How is it that you know all this?" Oliver questioned.

Diggle shrugged. "I like holidays…"

"Plus, it's on the card the pin came on," Felicity told Oliver as she held up the card as proof.

"We always did big holidays…like Christmas," Oliver said. "Though, I do remember Thea always pinching me…" Oliver looked between them. "In my defense, I was wearing green…"

"In my defense, I waited until you changed out of it," Felicity replied. "And I had orders…"

Diggle just grinned. "Now, before you get huffy…I brought food."

"What kind of food?" Oliver asked.

"It's Saint Patrick's Day, so Irish-type food… The closest I can get at midnight in Starling City," Diggle told him. "But don't worry…it's worth us waiting until now for dinner… I promise."

Felicity loved seeing Diggle so excited about something, even if it was something like a minor holiday and food… After all, she got excited for holidays and food. She was Jewish, but she appreciated the Christmas decorations and the trees. It was more the crazy parking lots and angry shoppers that she didn't appreciate when it came to any holiday.

"And beer," Diggle added a moment later as he first pulled out a six-pack of Guinness. "I wanted to get something else, but that's all there was at such a late hour…"

"Beer's good," Oliver said as he took a bottle.

Diggle handed her a bottle as well. She took it and just beamed. She really didn't mind it being just the three of them. Felicity reached out and started to pull on one of the other bags in order to peek at what else Diggle had brought along, but he pulled it back from her.

"Just wait for it," Diggle told her.

Felicity looked over at Oliver who seemed amused once again. He already had his beer opened and was drinking it down. This was seriously the best night in a long while already.

"Corned beef sandwiches and colcannon," Diggle announced as he pulled out a paper wrapped sandwich and plastic clear container. He handed Felicity hers and then Oliver's before making himself comfortable in order to eat his.

Felicity held up the container and examined it. "Mashed potatoes?"

"They're red mashed potatoes with cabbage and some butter…they call it colcannon when it's mixed together."

"Seriously, how do you know all of this?" Felicity asked and Oliver laughed.

The three of them ate their midnight meal and laughed as they exchanged stories of Saint Patrick's Day growing up.

"My parents never reminded me to wear green. It was easier when I was older, but when I was younger…there was one year that the kids were so mean…they kept pinching me and pinching me…my arm was so bruised and sore that I couldn't move it for two days," Felicity shared.

"The kids were mean at your school!" Oliver complained. "Thea would always manage to pinch me in the morning, but then she'd make sure I had something green to wear…and then make sure I was pretty much entirely in green. When we got older, she'd always buy a sheet of stickers… I think I have a tie somewhere…"

Diggle shook his head. "So, the reason that I'm so into this day…even though I'm not Irish… I was sort of adopted and made honorary Irish. One of my friends growing up, his family was second generation Irish-Americans. They made a big deal of the holiday. They did church and everything…but one year they invited me to dinner." He lit up. "I remember going home and asking my mom if she'd make it and she looked at me like I was crazy… Every year, I used to go to their house for dinner growing up… So, when they moved away, I promised myself that I'd still have Saint Patrick's Day dinner in some fashion… This year, I wanted to share it."

Felicity beamed at him. "I'm glad you did."

"Those kids at your school are lucky I didn't go there," Diggle told Felicity.

Sometimes she wondered if her life would have been different if she'd been friends with them earlier in life. The only thing was that Oliver would have been a completely different person, so she supposed that really Diggle would have been the best choice. She smiled at the thought. She really was lucky to have such two wonderful guys that she considered family, even though she'd had to wait so long for them to come along in her life.

"They really are," Felicity said. "Though, with my luck…Oliver would have been one of the ones picking on me."

"Hey… Okay, so maybe that's fair," Oliver gave in. "I think we all know that I was a different person back then."

"Oh, we know," Diggle said before drinking down his beer and reaching for another one. "Don't worry, though, Oliver," Diggle told him. "I have one last surprise…" Diggle reached into one of the brown paper bags and pulled out a pair of argyle shamrock socks and handed them over to Oliver.

Felicity smiled and thought that it was cute. Plus, now she didn't feel so bad for Diggle giving her something. Of course, he'd gotten hers earlier…and she did love hers. It was something that she'd even wear on any day really. She liked the meaning behind it.

"Thanks," Oliver said as he took the socks. He looked them over and smiled. "They're great. Just what I need to add to my work attire tomorrow…"

"It's getting late…" Felicity spoke up. "I'm going to get going, if you two don't mind…"

"You going to be okay to drive yourself home?" Diggle asked.

"I didn't even drink the whole thing," she said as she shook the bottle around, so that they could hear the remaining liquid. She pushed it in Oliver's direction. "I'm going to take my leftovers, take a nice hot bath, and go to bed… My boss doesn't appreciate me being late…"

Diggle and Oliver smirked at her.

"I think you'll be okay," Oliver said as he got to his feet. "But let me walk you out."

"Okay," Felicity agreed as she got her things together. She pulled on her coat and stowed her leftovers in her bag before moving to Diggle. Felicity hugged him and then kissed his cheek. "Thank you for being so sweet, John."

"I'll see you in the morning."

"I'll make sure I wear green," Felicity told him with a bright smile.

Oliver walked her out of the Foundry and to the parking lot. Felicity appreciated it. Although Thea and Roy had been doing great with Verdant and the security was fairly descent, but she really didn't like to have to deal with drunk guys hitting on her. Plus, sometimes they were serious creepers. Normally, Diggle or Oliver or both would be walking out at the same time…so she appreciated Oliver doing this even though it was obvious that he and Diggle were going to spend some additional time at the Foundry.

"You know, I really do appreciate this," Felicity told him as she unlocked her car and got inside. She set her purse in the front passenger seat and pulled her legs inside. She looked back at Oliver and smiled. "I hope you aren't mad at me pinching you…"

"You really didn't pinch very hard," Oliver told her. "Thea pinched harder at five."

Felicity frowned a bit. Now she wished that she'd pinched him harder, but she really hadn't wanted to leave him with a bruise or inflict the kind of pain she'd experienced as a child.

"Make sure you drive safe, though, okay? Text us when you get home," Oliver requested. "There are probably people celebrating early."

"Like us?" Felicity asked.

Oliver leaned in between the car itself and the car door, one hand holding the door open and the other on the roof of her Mini Cooper. "Diggle's right, you know… That pin… It's perfect."

Felicity beamed. "I thought it was sweet of him."

"It was."

"I promise to be safe."

He leaned in and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. Oliver stepped back. "Text me when you get home."

Felicity nodded and pulled the door shut. She knew that the kiss wasn't a big deal, but it meant everything to her. She loved his touches and the moments they had. It might never go past what they had, but she was okay with that. She was just happy for the family she had.

She really was blessed.

. . .

The End.