Author's Note: First of all, I own nothing. Of course I don't.
I meant this to be just a drabble, but it kind of just...kept going. Oh well. I hope every enjoys.
Oliver Queen was not in a good mood.
At all.
He had spent his entire day in meetings in attempts to retake control of his company, but he hadn't had any luck thus far. No investors were willing to chance anything with a Queen, none that Oliver would want involved in his life, anyway. Nor did he have any luck going through the legal system to regain control of the company. The Board of Directors were unsure if they wanted to have anything to do with him, instead preferring to sell Isabelle's shares to someone of better reputation. Oliver would gladly take any helpful advice on the matter, because his brain was fried for ideas. He didn't have a clue in what he could do next.
"Maybe you should give up on Queen Consolidated. Move on."
Oliver slowly spun his chair around to face one of his closest friends and member of Team Arrow, as Felicity so affectionately called their group; John Diggle. He offered Oliver one of the cups in his hands, which Oliver accepted graciously and gulped down a long sip of the steaming liquid. Enjoying coffee was usually a habit that Oliver only participated in with Felicity, but it had grown on him due to the long days he had been spending as of late. He still preferred to participate the hobby with the beautiful blonde, though.
"You know I can't do that. I owe those people," Oliver drank another sip of the coffee as he rose out of his chair, "And I refuse to give up one them. Not now."
Diggle leaned against the desk, absently sifting through the files that Felicity had left to look at later. "You have been working yourself too thin, Oliver. You can't keep up the pace you are going at; what, have you had more than an hour of sleep per night all week?"
Oliver threw his hands into the air, shaking his head. "Do you know what happens when someone completely new takes over a company like Queen's Consolidated? They clean house, get ride of all the old fashioned and stubborn people that refuse to change or don't like the new blood, per se. The higher up workers? Gone. Anyone who shows the tiniest bit of loyalty to the old guy? Out on the streets. I will not," Oliver put his coffee down, shaking his head. "Let anyone else lose their jobs due to my family."
"Have you ever though, Queen, that maybe it isn't in your hands anymore? That maybe you just need to move on, because you have run out of options?" Diggle took the last sip of his coffee and tossed the cup in the trashcan by the desk.
"I. Won't. Give. Up." Oliver hissed through gritted teeth, turning around and slamming his hands on his desk. The action caused a cup of pens to tip over and flood the desk with different pens, all over Felicity's keyboard. Diggle arched an eyebrow, nodding towards the pens.
"You can't be both the vigilante and keep working like this; it isn't healthy and I won't let you. I would suggest that you clean that mess up before Felicity gets here, or else she will have your head. We all know if she wasn't such a coffee addict that she would have your head for that too."
Oliver's mind went to the intelligent blonde. Felicity Smoake was...unlike any woman he had ever met. Her brilliant smile, the way that it could light up a room and make you believe everything was going to be alright. The way she rambled when she got embarrassed, her cheeks reddening brightly upon realization of what she had said. The vulnerability he had seen in her eyes a few times, not to mention the pain. Oliver knew he would do anything to keep her from feeling pain, if she could live without misery or distress for the rest of her life. The light feeling in his chest that accompanied Felicity's presence. The way that he wanted to right by her, how he wanted to be the best person in the world, just for her. Her lips...
"Oliver!" Diggle snapped his fingers, drawing Oliver back to reality. Oliver hated the knowing smirk on Diggle's face, instead turning away and picking up the pens.
"Are you sure there isn't another reason that you want to keep Queen's Consolidated? Something to do with the fact that you don't want to lose Felicity?"
Oliver didn't bother to respond, returning to the chair and picking up his coffee cup. "Where is Felicity, anyway?"
"I don't know." Diggle shrugged, but he adverted his eyes and fiddled with Felicity's files. "I think she said that the Mckinney was hiding out on Maple Ave, didn't she? Once Roy gets here, I'm pretty sure that we could take him down. She's left pretty detailed..."
Oliver pointed at him, eyes narrowing. "You're lying. You know where she is."
"Instructions that I think will be good enough. I doubt that we need to much for just the minor scheming.." Diggle continued, words exiting his mouth quickly and in a way that Oliver would barely be able to understand them, if he did care about what Felicity had left. Oliver himself had stood up and taken a few steps towards Diggle, attempting to force him to meet his eyes. Diggle wouldn't.
"Where. Is. She?" Oliver demanded, crunching the coffee cup and dropping it into the trash angrily. "Diggle..."
"Oliver, you need to calm down." Diggle advised, his shoulders tensing as he finally let his eyes rise to meet Oliver's. There was a question in the vigilante's eyes, one that Diggle answered with a quick nod. Oliver's face paled, his hands rolling into a tight fist as he stared at Diggle for a few, silent moments. Moments that seemed everlasting, moments that were carefully killing Oliver as they passed.
Oliver broke eye contact, glancing at the Arrow's suit, but turning away from it and moving to the stairs. Diggle grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop as he shook his head. "Oliver, don't do anything rash."
Oliver jerked out of his grip, eyes flashing. "I do what is necessary."
The waiting area outside Marigold Industries CEOs office was pleasant. White leather chairs and couches were lined up orderly, placed so that waiters could enjoy the beautiful paintings on the bright yellow walls. The floor was a shiny black tile.
"Miss Smoak." Felicity's eyes flashed upwards and she stood up, cheeks flushing a light pink at allowing herself to daze out while she waited for an interview. The speaker was a male, one whom didn't seem to be much older than Oliver, or Diggle, and whom could be deemed attractive, as much as Felicity dreaded the thought. Why couldn't be nerdy, or in his fifties with a receding hair line? She wouldn't grow flustered around that type of man.
He was built, with dark black hair and bright green eyes. Felicity stepped forwards, holding her hand out to shake his hand as etiquette insisted. It was times like these that she was glad that she had dressed fashionably, with an attractive light pink dress that was modest enough for an interview, but clung just enough to the right areas to deem her attractive. The man smiled at her, showing a full mouth of snow white teeth that were lined perfectly. His hand enclosed around her own, squeezing tightly before letting go and gesturing to the room he had appeared from. "Ladies first."
Felicity laughed nervously, making her way to enter the office. As luck would have it, her heel got caught on a sticky spot on the tile floor and she tripped. The man flashed forwards and grabbed her arm, pulling her back to a steady standing position and sending her a comforting smile. "All right, there?"
Felicity's cheeks burned red. "Yes, thank you. I'm a little clumsy, as you can see. I always have been. Once when I was younger I fell into my mother's bathroom and I was allowed a very private view of..." She snapped her mouth shut, her hands flying to her mouth. Felicity swallowed with much effort and instead focused on the man's office. The entire back wall was made of glass, but the others were a steady white that allowed the room to have a brightening effect. His desk sat in the middle,a fancy desk made of granite on the top and other such stones for the legs. A trio of white chairs similar to the furniture in the waiting room sat in front of the desk. The man sat down behind his desk, gesturing for Felicity to take a seat in front of him.
"I've heard that you are a very charming woman, Miss Smoak. My expectations were rather high, considering that testimonial. It seems that I won't be disappointed." He smiled again. Felicity couldn't help but feel that his smile wasn't quite right, but she forced herself to throw the thought out of her mind.
"I'm unique." Felicity sat at the edge of the chair, crossing her feet to relieve some nerves. "Or so I've been told,Mr..."
The man chuckled, nodding. "That you are. Where are my manners, I am , but I would be delighted if you would call me Daniel. I feel so old when people use my sir name, don't you agree?"
Felicity let out a nervous laugh, briefly reminded of her first meeting of Oliver. At the time, she had thought he was just a spoiled rich boy, but the way he had charmingly smiled at her...
"Felicity Smoak?" Felicity's heart quickened at the sound of a man's voice as she spun on her chair, grabbing the pen she had rested against her lips out and holding it in her hand. He was extremely attractive, wearing a shirt that displayed his muscular build, along with his beautiful blue eyes and his hair...
"Hi." The handsome man was talking and it dawned on her at the exact moment he introduced himself who he was. "I'm Oliver Queen."
"Of course! I know who you are, ." She laughed to draw some of the nervous energy out of herself. She twisted her feet and smiled at him, attempting to be as pleasant as possible without embarrassing herself.
"No." Was it just her, or did his eyebrows raise slightly as he spoke the word. "Mr. Queen was my father."
"Right, but he's dead," It only took a second for her to realize how heartless she sounded and she rushed to add on something that would display more sensitivity. "I mean he drowned. But you didn't, which means that you can come down to the IT Department...and listen to me babble." She exhaled deeply, but Oliver didn't seem upset. Actually, he seemed amused, which made her want to smile. He had nice lips, she noticed. She wondered what it would be like tor reach up and touch her lips to his...
"I haven't had experience with that much, sir, but I would imagine so." Now so wasn't the time to be thinking about Oliver and his perfectly kissable lips. She faked another smile. Her eyes caught on a flash of movement on the street below, but she forced herself to return her gaze to Daniel. "That's a nice name, Daniel."
"Thank you." His eyes had darkened and Felicity twisted in her seat. She somehow had the feeling that her brief distraction hadn't gone unnoticed, and that Daniel hadn't appreciated it either. "I can't say that Felicity is a common name. I find it pretty, nonetheless."
"I will take that as a compliment."
"You should." His voice was almost too pleasant, as if he had faked it. His intense stare sent shivers down his spine and he stood up, walking over to a mini fridge on the opposite side of the room. "I was very pleased to here that you were looking for a job. I've heard that your accomplishments were remarkable." He bent down, opening the door to the fridge and grabbing a bottle of what looked to be champagne. He moved behind her, sending even more shivers down her spine. Not pleasant shivers, either, but shivers that made her hair stand on end and her heart beat faster. She twisted in her seat to see that he had moved to a cupboard she hadn't noticed earlier in her inspection of the room. He easily grabbed two Champagne glasses and moved beside her, his hips brushing against her shoulder. He set a glass down and opened the bottle, pouring bubbly liquid into the cup and then returning to behind his desk. "I actually was surprised to hear that the new CEO of Queen Consolidated hadn't made all efforts to keep you there. They have found a new CEO, haven't they?"
"Not yet." Felicity glanced at the glass, wondering if she should drink it or not. Something told her that it wouldn't be wise to drink the liquid, but the look he was giving her made her sure that he expected her to. "I don't usually..."
"Drink?" Daniel laughed, picking up his own glass and raising it to his lips. "Humor me, my dear. Have to let your hair down sometime, right?"
Felicity glanced at the glass, preparing to refuse again, but he set his glass down and leaned across his desk. "Drink, Felicity. I would hate to have your throat get dry in our interview, wouldn't you? Besides, I want you to understand that us at Marigold are very hospitable."
Felicity reluctantly raised the glass and took a long sip. The champagne was deliciously cold and she couldn't help but drink another sip, followed by another, until her whole glass was gone. Daniel laughed and tipped the bottle into her glass as Felicity watched the foamy liquid rise back up the top.
"Back to matters at hand, the job I feel will be a great match for you. The official title is IT Director, and I figure that thirty dollars would be good starting pay? If that isn't enough, I'm sure we could arrange..."
"I think I could manage on that, if I did get the job." Felicity inwardly cursed at herself. She somehow felt that interrupting her potentially future boss would not be a good way to impress him. He only chuckled.
"If you get the job? Felicity, I'm not sure you understand your abilities. There is no question as if you will get the job. I can offer you the position right now. Hours would be eight to five, five days a week at least. We may need you overtime, understandably." Daniel stood up again, smiling. "When can you start?"
Felicity choked on her champagne. "I haven't accepted yet! I will need some time, you see, consult with some people, think it over..."
"Consult with , I suppose?" Daniel's smile seemed absolutely deathly now. A cold, merciless smile that she had seen on the face of murderers, right when they believed they had won. "I've heard that he seems to have you in extremely high regard. I can't help but wonder if that has something to do with how you rose so quickly to power, once he became CEO."
Felicity gaped, slamming her champagne glass down on the desk. "Are you insinuating that my relationship with Oliv...Mr. Queen is anything but simple platonic friendship?"
Daniel walked around his desk, standing so that he was behind her. His hand flashed towards her hair, pulling out a few pins so that it would roll down her back. "I didn't insinuate anything, Felicity. But you do seem awfully defensive for being just friends."
"Oliver sees me as nothing but a friend, Mr. Marigold, I can promise you that."
Daniel shook his head, his hand instead going to her shoulder. "Is that so? I have a hard time believing that, considering how attractive of a woman you are."
"I am not!" Felicity objected, standing up so his hand fell of her shoulder. "Oliver sees me just a friend, really. He has had plenty of girlfriends while we've been friends; I would think that would stand out enough to you to realize there is nothing between us. I worked to get where I am and that is that!"
"I've heard, however, that Oliver does have a line of girlfriends at his door. Perhaps friendship is better, in your eyes."
Felicity wondered absently how her interview had gotten so off track. She gritted her teeth and tipped her head, looking up at Daniel through narrow eyes. "I take that means our interview is concluded, then, ?"
"Daniel, my dear." Daniel reached forwards and grasped her hand, bringing it to his lips. "I hope to hear from you soon, got it, my love?"
Felicity jerked her hand from his grip and turned to dash from the office, but he blocked the doorway, shaking his head."My dear, you forgot to drink the rest of your champagne!"
Felicity looked back at the half drunk glass, grip tightening on her purse. "I really need to leave, Daniel. I'm not quite feeling well."
Daniel frowned, but he nodded sympathetically. He dipped down and kissed her cheek before stepping aside, motioning for her to pass.
She walked steadily until she was out of view, before rushing to the elevator and jamming her finger to the button. It didn't light and she jammed it again, panic starting to rise in her chest as she spun around, looking around wildily for a sign that would direct her to the stairs.
Oliver considered himself to be a pretty fearless person. He had very few fears; he wasn't afraid of public speaking, and he certainly wasn't afraid of dying.
The one thing that did scare Oliver, however, was the fear of losing someone he cared about. Especially Felicity.
He had never felt what he felt towards Felicity to anyone else, ever. He didn't even understand what he felt towards Felicity. He knew he had loved his fair share of women; Laurel, Sara, Mckenna, he had even felt strongly for Helena, for a time, but he had never felt with any of those woman like he felt towards Felicity. Originally, he had believed it was simply because he had a brotherly relationship like Diggle did, but that was pure naiveity and longing to protect her. He knew how he felt towards Theo, and that was not how he felt towards Felicity. Not even close.
He had wanted to barge right into the building of Marigold Industries, but had reluctantly thought better of it when he realized he wasn't in the Arrow suit. Daniel was usually a man that used subtle gestures to get what he wanted, so as much as Oliver hated to admit, Felicity shouldn't be in any immediate danger. He instead crawled on an old fire escape ladder on the building across Marigold Industries to a height that allowed him view of Daniel's office. Daniel had taken over for his father in the five years that Oliver himself had been missing, but he knew the family well enough. Marten Marigold himself was on the list of people that his father had given to him, but he had been brutally murdered a few months before Oliver had returned. Oliver had went to school with Daniel, however, and knew enough to know that Daniel was not a better version of his father. Worse, if imaginable. Oliver had sent Roy to check in on him, once, but he wasn't able to find any evidence that Daniel had done anything illegal. He wasn't kind, and often fired employees if they spoke against him, but he had yet to take an illegal route. Unless, of course, he had someone else do it for him. That wouldn't surprise him. Though, Oliver had been a bit busy lately to visit him as Arrow to give him a warning. That wasn't much his style anyway. Not anymore.
Oliver swore under his breath when Felicity took the champagne from Daniel, seemingly after some arguing, and he longed to force his way into the building and send the man a few punches, but since he wasn't in disguise, that hardly seemed intelligent. Especially when he had yet to do something that could count Felicity needing self defense. Unless he had slipped drugs in her drink, but that seemed unlikely, from what Oliver had saw. Felicity was nervous, that was easy enough to tell. He pulled himself up another bar on the fire ladder to get a better view, a movement that he swore Felicity saw by the steady look she was sending his way, but she quickly adverted her eyes and continued with the interview.
Oliver had tried so hard not to have feelings for Felicity, but every time he ended up falling for her even more. He loved the way she would smile at him, sometimes the only way she could ease some of her embarrassment, or the times when she genuinely would just smile for no reason. He wanted to reassure her every time he left as the Arrow and her eyes filled with concern and worry when she thought he wasn't paying attention. He wanted to take her into his arms every time she shot him that relieved look when he returned. He wanted to kiss her when she became flustered, heck, he wanted to kiss her most the time, whether she was flustered or not. No one would ever understand how much he wanted her to agree to dance with him that night, or how much it had hurt when he had allowed Barry to join her. He had felt as if someone was poking him with needles when he invited Barry to the dance/party. He didn't want her hurt, but somehow he had allowed her to become. Every time he allowed her to be used as bait he hated himself, and in truth, those words he had said at the Queen mansion in his 'act' for Slade had been a hundred percent true. He was a terrible liar, especially to her. He had realized that the first time he met her, with the bullet hole laptop had killed him, letting her think it was just a ploy. He loved Felicity Smoak.
Which is exactly why he didn't want to mess anything up. Wasn't it better to be in her life at least as friends than to lose her because he wanted more? Besides, he didn't want to endanger her even more than he already was.
Shaking his head, he focused more carefully on the interview. His phone buzzed and he moved to grab it, blinking in surprise when he realized it was Diggle. He answered it hesitantly, still focusing on Felicity.
"Queen, you were right. That man isn't to be trusted." Diggle sounded breathless and Oliver gripped the ladder tighter, waiting to here Diggle's discovery with as much patience as he could muster. "Felicity, being the sneak that she is, managed to call me so that I could hear what is going on. He sounds sneaky, Queen, and Felicity's tone tells me that she doesn't trust him an inch. Whatever is going on up there has completely freaked our girl out."
"Should I interrupt?" Oliver caught sight of Daniel pulling the pins out of her hair and began to slide down the ladder, not waiting for Diggle's answer. Diggle sighed on the line. "I don't know, Queen. I hate to have you barge in there, since you didn't take the time to dress as the Arrow, but..."
"I'm going in, Diggle." Oliver looked at the tall building ahead of him, ending the call as he cursed quietly.
Felicity looked over her shoulder, back at Daniel's office door. The receptionist had gone home and Daniel's door was mostly shut, but she still didn't trust that he somewhat knew what was going on with the elevator. She grabbed her phone, smirking slightly at the picture of Diggle that showed she had successfully managed to dial him through her purse.
"Diggle?" She hissed into the line. Diggle muttered something about texting her and she looked at her phone, watching as the call ended and a text flashed in front of her face.
Queen onsite. Should be coming up.
Felicity wanted to mutter darkly about not ever being able to trust John Diggle to keep his mouth shut, but she couldn't summon the energy. She glanced around, noticing a hallway off the side and she hoped to god that if she followed it, she could find a staircase. She glanced once more at Daniel's door, before ducking down the hallway and letting herself wander. Numerous meeting rooms lined the walls, a copy room, and she ended the hallway by almost running into thick glass doors. A peak at the sign above told her that she had somehow, miraculously, found the IT department. Surprising that it would be on the the same floor as the CEO, but she didn't have the time nor the energy to wonder about the architecture of the building. She was steadily becoming more tired and she swore the energy was draining out of her by the second. A brightly lit exit sign, visible through the IT Department offices announced an exit and she glanced once more over her shoulder before trying the doors. They wouldn't budge.
Felicity didn't usually swear. But at that moment, she allowed a few colorful words leave her mouth as she spun around and snuck back down the hall. There was another hallway on the opposite side of the elevators and she sighed before jabbing the button once more and continuing down the hallways.
Finally, by chance, she came across a small fire escape route map on the wall and she used her finger to follow her present floor, finding the available staircase.
Which unfortunately, was on the other side of Daniel's office.
She took a narrow breath before striding across the room, glancing quickly to make sure Daniel's door was still shut and then flashing towards the staircase, bursting through the stairway doors without a second thought and diving to start the first stair case right away. She had exactly thirteen flights of stairs to go through(luckily, the CEO office wasn't on the top of the building) but that would still take awhile considering the speed she would have to go in order not to trip.
It was when she got down three flights that she heard footsteps and she froze. It could be Oliver.
Or it could be one of Daniel's workers, in which, she didn't trust them at all. It wasn't a hard decision to decide to wait on the landing until she knew who it was, because she would be able to defend herself easier on flat ground than on the stairs. Felicity leaned against the wall, pressing ever possible inch of herself to it and allowing herself to catch her breath. She just had to wear heels, didn't she?
The only sound were the approaching footsteps from below and her breath, which she tried to ease into a quieter sound.
She would never be able to describe the relief that she felt when Oliver's face came up the steps, looking fresh and pretty amazing for sprinting up ten flights of stairs. She moved away from the wall, meeting his eyes with a tad bit of fear that he would react exceptionally badly. He had told her not to accept the interview under very specific terms, and she had led him to believe she didn't plan on it. Oliver didn't look immediately angry, however. Relief was fresh on his face and he simply stared at her for a few moments, eyes scanning over her as if to make sure she physically was alright. Felicity hesitantly stepped closer, wishing that she could acknowledge her stupidity but her pride seemingly stopping her from doing so. "Felicity."
She loved the way he said her name. She let out a relieved sigh and stepped closer to him, not breaking their eye contact. She heard his name leaving her lips and she knew that he opened his arms to her. And of course she collapsed into them, because she knew no matter how terrible she felt, Oliver could make her feel better. Always.
"Damn you, you know that Felicity?" Oliver whispered into her ear, arms wrapped tightly around her back. She let out a soft laugh, glancing up at him before digging her head back into his shirt. "You scared the hell out of me."
"I wasn't even kidnapped this time."
Oliver let out a long sigh, shaking his head. "I'm so sorry, Felicity. There should never had been a time when you were kidnapped. That was my fault."
Felicity shook her head into his shirt. "We both know I have no problem finding trouble on my own. Remember, I had a stalker once."
Oliver couldn't help but chuckling, leaning down and pressing his lips to her forehead. "I know." It wasn't lost on him how much Felicity was depending on him, and to be honest, he worried at her sudden frailty. He ducked his right arm under her legs and easily lifted her, starting down the steps. Felicity momentarily wondered how he could manage ten flights of stairs with her in his arms.
Her eyes fluttered shut and she intended them to stay that way, until she heard him swear and her eyes flashed open. They had reached the lobby.
But she hadn't expected to see Daniel there, leaning against the wall with a smirk playing on his lips. Oliver set Felicity on the ground, positioning her so that she was behind him. She felt weaker than before, and was about to say something when Daniel approached them.
"I have to say, Queen, you sure know how to cramp a guy's style."
Oliver scowled, his fingers rolling into fists. "You seem to have an elevator problem, Marigold."
Daniel shrugged. "They worked fine for me."
Oliver growled, moving to punch him but feeling Felicity's grip on him, he stopped. "What do you really want with her, Marigold?"
Daniel raised his eyebrow. "What makes you think that I haven't already accomplished exactly what I wanted, Queen?"
Felicity couldn't manage it anymore. Her knees trembled before collapsing under her and thew world darkened for her, losing all conscious thought.
"NO!" Oliver hollered, diving to Felicity's side and moving his hand to check her pulse. It was growing weaker, weaker by the second. Daniel laughed, coming beside her. "She wasn't supposed to leave, you know. I had planned that she would pass out on my floor."
Oliver growled, diving for Daniel and pushing him to the ground. Daniel toppled over and he stood, spitting on to his body before glancing at Felicity. "What the hell did you do to her?"
Daniel laughed. "I couldn't just let her leave! She's much to special for that, you know." Daniel rolled over and dug in his pocket, taking out a phone and punching a few things on the screen with his thumb. "I'd imagine you would be very interested in hearing this."
"Oliver sees me as nothing but a friend, Mr. Marigold, I can promise you that." Oliver heard Felicity's voice sound from the phone, realizing in a quick moment that Daniel had taped the interview. For leverage, Oliver guessed.
"Is that so? I have a hard time believing that, considering how attractive of a woman you are." Daniel's own voice sounded from the phone and the actual Daniel winked at Oliver.
Oliver moved to punch the worthless scum, but something flew by him and landed right into Daniel's neck. Oliver spun around to see Diggle holding the tranquilizer darts, shrugging. Oliver dove to Felicity's side, grabbing her hand and pressing it to his lips. "Don't leave me, Felicity. God damn it, don't you leave me. I love you."
Diggle raised his eyebrow as he dialed something on his phone, but otherwise didn't say a word about Oliver's declaration of love.
Oliver hated waiting. He paced the waiting room once more, earning the looks of many as they unceremoniously gawked at him. It really was stunning how often ended up waiting in the waiting room since he himself had been behind the hospital doors over a year ago, after his return. Scary, even. Enough to piss him off, that was sure.
"Ollie!"
Oliver looked up as Laurel rushed to him, throwing her arms around him quickly with reassurance. "My father told me that Felicity was in the hospital. What happened?"
Oliver sighed, wondering why her father also couldn't have explained the story to his daughter, whom was also the DA. "She was poisoned by Daniel Marigold." Laurel gasped, her hand going to rest over her lips. "Has my father arrested him?"
Oliver only blinked at her, and she shook her head and sighed. "Sorry, Ollie. Of course you wouldn't know. considering. How is she?"
"The doctors won't say. I'm not her emergency contact." Diggle was, Oliver thought bitterly. He never thought he'd be jealous of his friend, but right now, he was green with envy and longing. Diggle would know everything first. Who the hell knows when Oliver would get filled in.
"Who is?" Laurel asked curiously, eyebrow raised. Oliver opened his mouth to respond when he saw Diggle slip into the room, motioning for him to follow him. Oliver didn't even say his goodbyes as he stalked after one of his partners. Diggle sighed, stopping at a room before gesturing at it. "Felicity's inside. Hasn't woke up yet. They are analyzing the poison, but have given her the closest thing to a universal antidote that they have."
Oliver looked at the door, looking at Diggle quickly. "What do the doctors say her chances are?"
Diggle shrugged. "They're not sure. If she reacts to the antidote, fairly good. If she doesn't..."
Oliver opened the door before Diggle could finish and slipped to the chair beside Felicity's bed, grasping her hand as he rested his elbows on the bed and resting his head on top of it. "Please wake up."
"You love her, huh?" Oliver hadn't even noticed that Diggle had followed him into the room, staring at him with crossed arms. "Don't you think you ought to have mentioned to her?"
"She was safer not knowing." Oliver whispered, moving a fallen strain of hair out of her face.
"No." Diggle came to stand behind Oliver, resting his hand on his shoulder. "No she wasn't. Do remember our present location. Does this look safer?"
Oliver opened his mouth to respond, but Diggle shook his head and turned to Felicity's bed. "No, Oliver. How many times have we discussed that loving people only helps us? It makes us stronger, gives us something to fight for. Never has my love for Lila weakened me. It empowers me. It gives me a reason to return home every night if I can, gives me a reason to fight another day. But if it comes to protecting her, I would die for her. Every time." Diggle brushed his fingers against Felicity's forehead. "Without a second thought." Oliver stared at Felicity's face, pale and seeming to scream exhaustion even in her comatose state. Her hair surrounded her in blonde waves, beautiful blonde waves. Diggle rested his hand on Oliver's shoulder, looking sympathetic but stern all at the same time. "Felicity is going to be in danger everyday. It isn't a secret that she has helped the Arrow, and don't you go thinking that by firing her would help that. It wouldn't change a thing. They would still go after her. Wouldn't it be better, at least, for you both to just be happy?"
Oliver's eyes didn't waver from Felicity's face, only moving in closer and picking her hand and bringing it to his face. "Wake up, Felicity."
Diggle muttered something under his breath as he turned and slid out the room, but Oliver was completely oblivious. He closed his eyes, inhaling the distant mix of Felicity's normal perfume under the overcoming smells of creams and hospital. "I need you. You are my only light when I am drowning in darkness. I would be nothing without you."
His words were met with empty silence and he clenched his eyes even tighter, but nothing could stop the tear that rolled down his cheek and fell onto Felicity's hand.
"I hope you at least caught the douche bag." The words were a faint register in Oliver's brain and he slowly blinked his eyes until Felicity's face came into sight. Her eyes weren't on him, but instead trained on the doorway where Digg was standing, apparently. Oliver's heart quickened and he straightened, allowing his eyes to run over her in a clear examination of her well being.
"He won't be a problem anymore, Felicity." Diggle moved away from the door and onto the other side of Felicity's bed. He smiled at Oliver's awake state, nodding. "About time, sleeping beauty."
"You should of woke me." Felicity's eyes traveled over to Oliver's face, her lips softening into a small smile. Oliver only now realized his hand was still holding Felicity's, rather tightly nonetheless. His brain was telling him that he should release it, but he didn't want to. He looked at Diggle momentarily and only repositioned himself so that he was in a more comfortable position, his hand still wrapped around Felicity's.
"Please. You need to sleep too, you know. You're not Superman or anything."
Oliver chuckled. "That would be ridiculous. Do I look like I was raised on a farm in Kansas?"
"Exactly my point." Felicity smirked, eyebrow raising speculatively for a moment. "All vigilantes need to sleep, anyway. So no, I should not have woke you."
Oliver hadn't expected to smile at Felicity right now, directly after she was almost killed, but he did. Diggle made a face over Felicity's head and Oliver rolled his eyes.
Diggle met Oliver's eyes meaningfully before backing against the door and twisting the knob. "I'm going to run down and get you two some food. Be back in a bit."
The meaning in his eyes was quite clear as he slid out the doorway; Talk to her, you idiot. Oliver would have laughed if he hadn't started to develop a shaking feeling in his chest and he sighed, the events of last night coming crashing around him all at once. The nervous sensation didn't last long, only to be replaced by pure anger. Anger at Marigold for poisoning Felicity in some twisted attempt to get to Oliver, anger at Diggle for refusing to tell him where Felicity was the moment he found out, anger at himself for not having noticed Felicity's absence sooner, and anger at Felicity for being so stubborn and refusing to listen to him when he told her that she shouldn't get involved with Marigold.
"I'm sorry, Oliver."
The anger in his chest, at least the stuff directed at her, dissipated almost immediatly at her voice. His shoulders dropped and he ran his open hand over his face, nodding. "I know. But Felicity?"
"Hmm?"
"You really should stop doing this to me. I don't think I can stand it."
Felicity managed a light smile. "I'll try to avoid any more near death experiences this week."
Oliver shook his head. "I"m serious. Not just this week, either. I really don't know what I would do if I lost you."
Felicity adverted her eyes almost instantly. "I'm sure you'd be fine. You have alot of people that care for you around. You don't really need me all that much, Arrow duties aside."
Oliver dropped her hand and instead leaned across the bed and cupped her chin, forcing her head to turn so that she was looking at him. "I don't think you understand." His breath came out in shaky breaths but he forced forward, knowing that he would regret it if he didn't. "I wouldn't be fine. I would never be fine again. You are the only light in my life, the only person that brings me back to the light, that makes me want to fight for all of the darkness clouding around me, the person that makes me want to be better. I would do anything to be the guy that deserves you, but..." Oliver shut his eyes, mentally yelling at himself for being such a coward. "I don't think I ever could. I'm damaged, Felicity. You're whole and pure and amazing and..."
"Stop." Felicity's words were only a whisper. "Don't you dare tell me how I don't deserve you. You may have this idea that you are some type of monster, some diseased person that can never be cured, but that isn't true. You may not be able to see the good within you, but I do. I see how you would do anything to protect not just the people you care about, but everyone in this city whom owes you nothing. You risk your life every night to make this city a better place. Believe it or not, Oliver, you have no obligation to fix this city. Not for what either your father or mother did, not even for what Thea did. The only price that Oliver Queen needs to pay is the price for himself, and I'm pretty damn sure you've paid that a million times over."
"I have to right the wrongs of what my father has family has done nothing but ruin this city in many ways..." Oliver argued, but Felicity's gaze hardened.
"We are not responsible for our family's mistakes. If we were," Oliver noticed a faint shimmer of a tear streak down Felicity's cheek and he drew his thumb upwards to wipe it away gently, "Then I would be back in Vegas, attempting to make up for everyone that my mother has shortened or taken advantage of in her cocktail waitress gig. Because trust me Oliver, there are a lot of people that she has taken advantage of. Too many to count."
"I'm sorry Felicity. You derserved better than that."
"So did you." Felicity intoned, finally allowing her eyes to meet Oliver's again.
"I thought I had lost you, when you were laying on that floor. All I could think about was that I had lost you and that my world was falling apart, not to mention that I would never get to tell you the truth."
"Truth?" Felicity prompted quietly, adjusting her pillows and staring straight at him. Oliver let out a long breath, knowing that once he said the next words he could never go back. They could never just be Felicity, the brilliant IT girl and Oliver, the always late very helpless CEO who knew almost nothing about being a CEO. Well, they couldn't be that anyway unless he got his company back, but it was still the same thing.
"I love you." Felicity's eyes widened, and he could see some type of emotion in her eyes that he would gladly see every day. Was it hope? He wasn't quite sure, but he continued, inspired by the response. "It wasn't a ploy. I love you. I have for awhile, but I didn't want to act on my feelings. I had hopes once that you would find some amazing guy and I would be content with you being happy, but then walked in Barry and I realized I could never be satisfied with you just being happy. I wanted you to be happy with me, as selfish as it was and,"
Oliver really wasn't sure how it happened, but somehow their lips met and tangled together, her hands falling behind his neck as she deepened the kiss and pressing herself tightly to them. "I love you."
He smiled against her lips and murmured a soft, "Good," before returning fully to the kiss.
That was where they still were, a few minutes later, when Diggle returned. With the newly appointed Officer Lance and Laurel at his side.
But neither party regretted a thing.