The year was 2017. Oliver wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead as he ran through the forest, the terrain of Lian Yu unpredictable. His carefulness was precise, the setting sun breathed blazing fire into his silhouette, fatigue caressing his features. Oliver had been longing for a break, but moments of rest abled him to think and reminisce. Oliver Queen had left Starling City almost three years ago, when the responsibility of saving the city became too much. That's what he told himself, at least. Lian Yu was once a prison, which resembled only defeat and loneliness. Now it served him as a sanctuary, a place where he could be alone. A place where he could escape. Oliver tried to forget Starling City, his previous life. He told himself to forget the company that he could never reclaim, the sister who could never forgive him, John Diggle who would never understand why he left. Oliver Queen told himself to forget Felicity Smoak, the blonde IT girl who captured his heart so long ago, whom he could never truly be with. In recent months the soft blonde hair and bright blue eyes that had once been so clear in his memory had become blurred, her pink lipstick faint on his mind. He hated himself for that, for he couldn't truly remember those eyes that held so much trust and compassion for him. Three years ago, when Oliver made the decision to leave, he hadn't told her where he was going, or why he was leaving. He simply left. He remembered the eve of his departure ever so clearly.

Starling City had been free of enemies for weeks, only the average criminal every so often. The crime rate had decreased impressively and Oliver had told Felicity it was time for her to take a week or so off. That conversation, he remembered impressively.

"Oliver, I honestly don't think there is anything else to do right now," Felicity said softly into the comm.

"I'm just patrolling for tonight. Why don't you call an order into Big Belly Burger and I can pick it up on my way back?" Oliver asked, a grin making it's way across his features.

"Yeah, sure. The usual?" She asked politely, Oliver's heart skipping a few beats as he sped down the avenue on his bike.

"Always."

He arrived at the foundry approximately thirty minutes later with their dinner, placing the bag on the desk beside her series of computers and tablets.

"Eh- We've talked about not having food on the desk." As much as she forced the tone to be harsh, Oliver could tell that her eyes gleamed with amusement.

"Felicity, there are a lot of things we shouldn't have on the desk." Oliver smiled seductively, positioning himself directly behind her, moving his hand so that his fingers could string her platinum locks mindlessly and pull them aside, giving his lips exceptional excess to her soft skin. He tried not to think about all the things he could do to her on that desk, as he watched the pulse thrumming against her neck. Pressing his lips gently against her nape, but stopped suddenly as he listened to the moan that escaped her ever so pink lips. Pulling back immediately, he shook his head.

"We can't, Felicity." She turned around to face him, the rolling chair squeaked unpleasantly at the quickness of the pivot. She glared, her expression a cross between anger and hurt.

"Why do you think you can do this to me? You treat me like a toy. Only available when you want me. For the past three weeks, you've acted like this was a possibility!" She was angry, and she wasn't finished. She pointed a slim finger at him, somewhat accusingly.

"You talk dirty to me, and make me feel special, but every time you end it with, I cant, or We shouldn't. I am tired of it, all of it. I will be your Executive assistant, your IT specialist, but I refuse to be this toy you think you can play with." She finished with an exasperated sigh, blue eyes flashing to the concrete of the foundry before Oliver could see tears forming in her eyes.

"I don't know what you want me to say. We can't because you're not safe, and never will be when it comes to me. I just have to continue to remind myself of it, because I wouldn't know what to do if I lost you."

"And I need to keep reminding myself to keep learning that I can never have Oliver Queen."

The look that her gaze held in that moment, made Oliver's heart ache with such a fire he was sure he could never recover. How could someone, anyone make him feel the way Felicity did. But all he could do in that moment was look down. He lifted his gaze only to see his blonde IT girl grab her things and walk up the foundry stairs.

Later that evening, Oliver's heart sat in a pit of grief. He needed to see her. He needed to know that she was home, because she usually texted him. This night he got nothing more than silence. He parked the bike at the end of her street, making his way silently to her quiet town house, and questioned his actions immediately as he saw a white Mercedes Benz parked beside her mailbox. With his protecting instinct in full gear, Oliver attempted to inspect from all openings in the small adobe. Making his way to the back window that opened up into a small living room, the vigilante saw Ray Palmer cradling his Felicity Smoak in his arms. He watched angrily, not daring to make any movements that may disturb the intimate moment that was occurring. Oliver could see Ray Palmer whisper something in her ear, placing soft kissing against her blonde hairline. Shaking his head, Oliver brought his palms to his temple, anger pooling deep in his gut. Practically running to his bike, the playboy jumped on, roared the engine, and didn't look back.

Oliver continued to run until his foot caught on an extended branch, causing him to lose balance. He rubbed his temples, inhaling deeply before lowering his physique against a nearly tree. He laid his crown back, sighing deeply before letting his gaze wander to the setting sun, his heart growing weaker as she entered his thoughts once again. For the first time in three years, Oliver allowed himself to think about returning. He needed to find her, to find Felicity. Things would be different, especially if the actions of the night he left had carried into something more. But the sun sets of Lian Yu had become dull to him. Oliver needed to find a brighter light. He needed to find Felicity.