CHAPTER ONE
(Words in bold are thoughts of the characters and in italic are the flashbacks.)
It was a nice and happy night, and these nice nights were not the usual nights the queen's enjoyed. But yes it was a nice and happy night coz today Oliver's mother was returning back to her family. Having served her time in prison, she was now a free soul. Free from all the guilt as well. Thea jumped around the house and told every servant, guard and even the pet mouse of hers knew that her mother was coming back.
Even though there was no party at the mansion, the house was lit and cleaned. Thea got ready and came down to find Oliver missing. Not this time Ollie! You cannot just go all missing today! She went up to check him upstairs in his room and without knocking entered. And found a shirtless Oliver.
"Thea, can't you ever learn to knock!" he said embarrassed of the scars his body had and quickly put a shirt on but Thea didn't fail to notice the freshly dressed wound on his arms.
"Ollie!" she came running, touched his arm, "what is this?!" she asked and Oliver flinched as her fingers brushed against the bandage, not because it pained, but because he saw her tears.
"Hey.. I am okay." He lied.
"I know you're not!" she retorted, "is this because of that count fiasco that happened in QC hours ago?" she asked and the concern made it harder for him to lie.
"Yeah, I- I was there, someone called me and told me that Count was in the office and that he was not a good person at all. But everything was over till I got there." Oliver sounded all innocent, Thea believed.
"I called feli.." As Thea called felicity by her nickname, it always gave Oliver a small smile. "..she sounded shaken. I am glad you invited her tonight, she would feel great." Thea said oblivious to the fact that 'Ollie and feli' were much closer than she thought. Or could ever imagine.
Oliver smiled internally. When he called felicity to come over for the small get together, she refused. Even told him that she wanted to be alone, but Oliver was Oliver. And he threatened her to send Thea to her place if she didn't come herself. So felicity agreed.
"Come on, Ollie! We are getting late!" Thea said impatient and smiled.
"Thea, mom is coming home, we are not going to the prison!" Ollie said and Thea rolled her eyes at his remark and patted him in his shoulders to come down. He nodded and took out his cell as they descended the stairs of the mansion.
Oliver called Diggle, "hey Digg, where are you?" he asked.
"Just picked up Felicity and on my way to mansion." He said and Oliver cut the call.
Just family and friends were invited to this private home coming ceremony of Moira so that she feels comfortable. Oliver knew she wouldn't like to meet the public as soon as she gets out of prison. He knew his mom has become more fragile to public ceremonies than she already was before this all happened.
Soon the door opened and Oliver and Thea held their breaths thinking their mom was home. They were grown ups but still the thought of having their mom home, was kind of making them feel like kids away from their mother for too long, they both literally wanted to run to her and hug her.
They stood on the edges of their feet to run but who came in was certainly not their mother.
"Tommy, you're- you're-" Thea ran but then said startled as he came inside.
"Yep, me-" he said but then looked at the disappointing face of hers, "why wasn't you expecting me? I thought I was invited." He joked and Thea slapped his shoulders.
Oliver hugged him and soon the door opened again and there was Moira and Walter.
Oliver and Thea rushed to hug her and she too hugged them being all overwhelmed at returning home. Walter smiled at them and looked at Tommy, he too came forward and stood in front of her, not knowing how to say it, it was his father's mistake that she has to go to prison and all this to happen. He never managed enough courage to go and meet her in prison but here, he had to face her.
"Welcome home." Tommy said as he smiled awkwardly expecting her to at least acknowledge him.
But Moira smiled at him and opened her arms to hug him, taken by surprise, Tommy too leaned towards her, "its not your fault, Tommy." She said to him as she broke the hug, "don't stretch yourself to the man's deeds, you were like my son and you'll always be the same." She said and held his hands and Tommy looked obliged towards her "how are you feeling?" moira asked touching his shoulder sincerely, Tommy looked at her surprised, she knew about his accident at the glades, "Oliver told me." and smiled, "I am fine." Said Tommy and Oliver then spoke up.
"Hey mom, you are back and we have invited my few friends, get ready we are going to have a home party." He told and Walter took Moira upstairs.
Soon felicity and Diggle showed up and Oliver's eyes lit up. He was getting really annoyed by the other friends of Thea who were literally highjacking the mansion.
"Hey." He said looking at felicity, "wow, you're wearing a – dress!" he nearly exclaimed his thoughts at her, like she does, and continued, "I mean, I never saw you in a proper dress, I mean, formal dress." He corrected and Diggle looked at him smirking while felicity was blushing. Well her blabbing IS infectious, he thought. "Hey Digg." He said and Digg hugged him sideways.
There was Tommy who saw this scenario of Oliver rambling as well. He stood upstairs, came down and hugged felicity, "welcome." He said and felicity smiled.
This hurt, he hugged her, and it hurt Oliver as if it was his right to touch her, but he was Oliver queen, he cannot express it so he just pressed his lips into a smile and gestured them to come in.
Tommy visited the Arrowcave beneath the Verdant frequently so he too was a good friend with the team. When Diggle hugged someone, it never bugged him then why with felicity?
Thea too came down with Moira and Walter, she hugged felicity too and again Oliver felt something bug him, he pressed his lips again and pretended to smile.
The party was in full swing, they were watching Moira's favorite film and Thea loaded everyone with her favorite popcorns. Oliver accidentally sat besides felicity and watched her as the film progressed. He was looking at her face from the corner of his eyes and sometimes when a romantic scene would come up, he admired the look she gave, it was a look of longing. She slightly tilted her face towards the screen and saw the two protagonists kiss. It was a teenage look on her face, as if she imagined her in place of that actress.
NO! Oliver said in his own head as the thought popped up in his brain. Not able to look at her anymore, he got up and left. Felicity saw this and nodded to Tommy who was about to go behind him, and got up herself.
After searching him in the kitchen where he 'looked' as he went, he was nowhere. Not the kitchen, not in the porch and not even he returned to the movie. She then went to his room and knocked, after two knocks she went inside and saw him standing in the balcony. The full moon light glowed as it fell on his face and he was looking – shut up felicity he is not a heroin and you are not a hero! She scolded herself at her imagination and her hopeless crush on him.
"Ahem ahem." She coughed dramatically and Oliver looked back at her, his looks killed her brain, "you look stunning," she said and then closed her eyes realizing, "I mean. Your room. Your room is stunning. I have never seen these kind of decors, fancy decors and expensive decors." She said and Oliver smiled, this time genuinely at her babble.
"Thanks." He said looking at her.
"Yeah." She said and continued, "why did you came here, we were watching a movie." She asked.
"I didn't feel like it." He said and looked away.
Even though he hid his eyes, she spots his lie. "Oliver, your mom is back after two years and you 'don't feel like' watching her favorite movie with her?" she asked in his tone and he looked at her. Busted.
"I am not into romantic things." He admitted.
"I know!" she said but then realized, "I mean I don't know, no I mean I know guys don't like romantics they like action, while your life has much of it, you fight and you fight awesome- " she looked at his face and his raised eyebrows told her she was babbling again so she stopped.
"I like comedy." He said and looked at her, she smiled. But today her smile didn't reach her eyes.
"You okay?"
"I am fine and its okay." Felicity said with a frown, maybe a blink too, she was holding her tears. "You're fine?" she asked.
Oliver was surprised, no shocked, the ever so chirpy felicity was so sad! "heyy.." Oliver said taking a step closer to her.
"Its okay Oliver, its- it's -I am fine." Felicity said rubbing her nose, a sign that she was lying.
"Felicity.." Oliver tried but his tongue felt heavy.
"I told you, its nothing. It's okay." Felicity said and turned.
Oliver stood there behind her, trying to comprehend what he actually said that made her so sad. Then he remembered, "You're again thinking that I killed someone tonight?" he said and felicity looked at him. "You are looking at it the wrong way, think of it as I saved someone tonight." Oliver said. Now getting angry. Angry that somebody has hurt her and she is thinking it was her fault!
"Oliver, please." She said suppressing her tears again.
"No I mean it, and I will do it again, and again and again if it was you at stake! Whoever tries to hurt you has to go through me! You get that! And even if its you yourself!" he said and the anger in his voice made her smile and the concern made her feel elated.
Oliver looked at her happy eyes and sighed. She then smiled at him but again the smile didn't reach her eyes. Oliver thought she needed time and didn't press it either.
BUT
That night Oliver couldn't sleep. He just wanted to but couldn't. A thought kept bugging him. Hers. And unfortunately, he just dreamt of Count harming her! He tossed in his bed and turned to his left and then on his right. The silky fabric of the bed sheet twisted beneath him. He got up and huffed, "she could have died!" he exclaimed to himself, and then her frightened eyes, the way she looked at him, begged him to not to kill someone just for her, she was so wrong! That time he had arrows but if he didn't, he could have dragged him all along the streets to kill him with his bare hands! How frightened she was, her quivering lips were-He thought of her lips in the shade of the deep purple, that lipstick had him on nerves when she wore it.
Then he decided to do what he always did, face it.
A very sleepy felicity opened the door yawning, some stupid pumpkin was yanking his head off on her door! She opened and stood there yawning, but her yawn vanished in the middle when she saw Oliver.
"Oliver!" she exclaimed. And then suddenly pulled him in and looked out to see if someone saw him here. The coast was clear, she then closed her door and turned.
"What is it!?" she asked getting worried. "Is it Diggle!?" she thought he was in trouble. "No! It should not be Thea! Is she okay!? Now that Mrs. Queen is home, she should be! Oh no! Mrs. Queen! Is she alright!" she said and thought, I know if Oliver is here then it should have been something big and worse, or he would never show up in the middle of the night like this! Well its not the middle of the night, its 2 AM! She then realized she was rambling in her thoughts.
She looked at him and Oliver looked at her sheepishly, "I couldn't sleep." he said.
"Of course, you cant! After this is happening! That is why you are here-" then she realized she was panicking and that too without asking him the reason.
"Why you couldn't sleep?" she asked and then her eyes widened, "you were shot!?" she said and then touched his chest and arm where he was hurt, "does that hurt?" she asked and then saw him smile.
Ah, her touch! The way she touched him possessively, to check whether he was in pain, it was like – pleasure- heavenly, heavenly pleasure! He corrected in his brain and then looked at her, she was demanding answers, and not letting him say anything!
Then her eyes again became concerned, she thought of Laurel, and what happened one day with Oliver when they finally realized that they cannot be more than friends and broke up, "have you been drinking?" she asked in slow and tender voice, he literally drowned himself in the mixture of alcohols, hoping any of the most expensive brands would buy him some peace, but nope. After drinking like a pig, he came to her, knowing only she was the one that could make him smile again. Make him feel alive again.
Yes it was her, she held the capacity to make him smile anytime she pleases. That was felicity to him and her power on him.
She came close to his face and put her nose near his lips, to smell the disgusting alcohol, but all she got was his sweet and sweaty cologne and an undeniably soft mixture of his heady perfume. That was his choice, the most powerful man of starling city, wore the softest of perfumes. The one that made her weak by its soft fragrance, that didn't overpowered his real self.
Oliver sensed her so near and had his own nostrils filled with her fresh aroma that let him know she shampooed her hairs before going to sleep. Her hairs that are usually tied in a merciless ponytail were now loose! Touch it! His heart said, but Oliver hesitated. What if, it was just one sided? His mind dreaded. I might also loose our friendship! His heart sighed, I have to suppress my feelings.
Felicity deserved the Oliver he was before he went to the island. Maybe he was a bit careless, reckless, and a BIG scumbag, but still he was Oliver Queen, the innocent one. Who had a bit of an innocence, a harmless charm but.. But the Oliver that came back, was not the old one. A piece of him was lost in that island forever. The harmless had become fatal, he gained the training to kill and survive, and for that he buried his innocence, locked it in a chest and put it in the ocean, never to come back. He buried the very innocence, Felicity deserved.
He was on that island for five years. And after living 5 years of expensive life in an island on which everyone was just eager to take away his life, he very well knew what true friends meant. And a friend like Felicity, the girl who was risking her identity, her life, herself, only for him, he was not sure he even wanted as much as a scratch on that. Forget ruining everything just because he was desperate for her. Yep, desperate, that's all he was. Maybe he needed someone who could distract him from her.
Felicity was an inch away from his lips, and he, he was half a decade away from her. How he wished he met her before the island happened. He would have had no need to go to that ship and the havoc of his life, would have never been happened, and today he would be grabbing her waist, pulling her close and kissing her senseless.
His eyes darkened and maybe she saw it. Oliver thought of every possible thing in his life and here she was staring at him. Completely. Innocent.
"You weren't able to sleep.." she said and asked silently the reason.
"Coz I – I wanted to take a walk." His mind came up with the weirdest reasons sometimes.
"I would buy that but, your house is nearly20 miles away from city and nearly 25 miles away from here, are you trying to tell me you walked all the way down here?" she said and rubbed her nose as his cold stare made her shudder.
"Well, I came – I – came to you, just to ask if you would go for a walk with me." He again closed his eyes and cursed himself.
"At this hour, Oliver Queen, any sane girl would say.. No." she said as she walked towards her room door. "But since I am the craziest person in your life, I say.. Yeah!" she said and took her coat from her rack and started wearing it, "a walk would be crazzyyy!" she smiled one of her crazy toothy smiles and rubbed her hands as she tied the belt of the coat tightly around herself.
Oliver smirked, only she can startle him by simply being her own self. He smirked at the girl who finally was ready to go after putting on her glasses. As she tapped her legs on the ground to go he didn't move, she looked at him and then he pointed at her hello-kitty-fluffy-bedroom-slippers. She grinned and went inside the room changed into her casual shoes and walked out as Oliver closed the door to her apartment.
A walk at 2 AM. Bullshit! This was the best excuse you could come up with!? He cursed himself and then looked at her, a walk at 2 AM, with her. Amazing.
What he didn't notice was that how two words could differentiate the whole meaning, and how a mere IT girl could affect Oliver queen, so badly.
As they walked on the streets, felicity felt it uneasy to talk, as if she was holding something back from him. As if she needs to tell him and he needs to know. So once they reached her apartment, back from the walk she decided to tell him.
"Oliver.." she said as she moved a little closer to him, as if she was about to tell him a secret.
"Yeah.." Oliver was also dying with this awkward silence.
"I need to tell you something.." she said and stepped aside, indicating him to enter.
As Oliver came inside he noticed something but let it go and then he entered the room felicity wanted him to come in.
"Oliver I am afraid.." she said looking here and there. "I think.. I mean I feel as if someone is watching me! As I – I am on watch.. I – I am scared that someone will come and get me!" she said and her hands started trembling and Oliver quickly came and hugged her. Maybe that is what she was holding inside. "after showering for hours, I cannot get his hands off me!" she said and his hold tightened.
Oliver felt a pang of pain and held her dearly. After what felt like soothing eternity, Felicity realized what she did.
"Oliver I – am sorry, you are stressed yourself and I am making it more difficult for you-" she realized after he hugged her possessively and tried getting out of it before she gives up on her feelings again.
"It's nothing." He assured without letting her break the hug. "And is it why you have a new electronic lock on that door?" he tried to joke to lighten her mood but she tied her hands tightly on his waist, telling him she didn't trust this lock either.
"Oliver, can you please check my place for me, I feel like there is someone looking at me." She said and Oliver was already checking everything in the house. He looked the rooms and then everywhere. In the middle of the shelves, books, and art pieces and in the kitchen but found nothing. That is when he noticed a circle in the middle of photo frames hung on the wall. It had felicity's pictures with her friends and family. Then he noticed that it was something that needed attention but certainly not hers, so he gave a glass of water to her and asked her to go to her bedroom as he checked it and was all safe, nothing was fishy in there. After he told her, she believed. She held the glass and went inside.
After felicity moved away, Oliver went towards the frames and took out the frame at which the device was planted. He then noticed it was a camera. Never underestimate a woman's intuition, he told himself and sighed, she was right, someone was keeping an eye on her. But the question is who and WHY. He took out the device and hid it in his jacket's pocket after making a call in his cell phone.
As Oliver came in her room he noticed felicity was asleep. He didn't know why but he felt sudden urge to kiss her forehead and say good night. He came near and sat down on his knees but didn't do anything just stared at her, her worry lines never so prominent on her face. He touched her forehead slightly and she mumbled, "Ollie" sleepily. She knew my touch in sleep! His heart accelerated but he calmed and went out closing the door behind.
Even though he should but he couldn't leave her alone that night, instead he slept on the couch in the hall.
"NO!"
Oliver woke up with a startle as he heard her scream. Quickly jolting out of the couch and running to her room he banged the door open and saw a sleeping felicity wriggling in her sleep. He saw the blanket tied around her and she was trying to get out of it. He carefully came near her and tried to untangle her from them but felicity was having a nightmare.
"Don't come, - don't come-" she mumbled when Oliver tried to pull a blanket away. He stopped and heard his name, "please Oliver, don't come here- he wants to kill you- he will-" he saw her wriggle more and thought that was it, she needed to get out of her nightmare.
"Felicity." He called but she didn't respond. Oliver held her shoulders up and pulled out an end of the blanket. He then again called her, "Felicity, wake up."
Felicity heard his distant voice but wasn't able to comprehend. "oli-" before she could take his name, Oliver kissed the rest of it. He held her in his arms and knew he needed to do this. He just bought his lips to hers and kissed her. Hoping this would help her. In the process he freed her completely from the blankets and now she laid half on him. He held her to himself as if he was the one who needed her. Felicity was soon out of sleep when she felt a certain amount of weight on her body, but then got scared to death when she felt someone holding her and kissing her! She didn't think it would be Oliver but when she found out, she was shocked. But in a positive way.
Oliver didn't knew why he felt hungry, maybe the hand that snaked around his waist made him hungry for her. Felicity was surprised as to how gentle and soft his lips felt. She had always imagined him to be the dominant one but the tenderness he was showing was sweeping her off her sanity. Oliver took her lower lip in his mouth and sucked at it gently. But then when she too licked his lip, he went mad with desire. He just couldn't help but penetrate her mouth with his tongue and tease her to kiss him back. Felicity just continued to feel him on her lips and kept on kissing him slowly. She held him closer and Oliver realized that his mission for the kiss is over, she was awake. But still he couldn't let go of her lips. He was soon frustrated at her, she was not responding properly!
"Dammit felicity!" he exclaimed as he broke the kiss. That is when she saw his dark orbs full of passion and desire.
She giggled but Oliver cupped her face in both hands and pulled her close so that he could kiss her fully. Felicity drew a sharp breath when she felt Oliver place a loving bite on the corner of her lips and she knew he was smiling. She too then took his upper lip in her mouth and gave him the pleasure he wanted so badly. She responded to him the same way he did to her, with equal passion and dominance.
She looked at him and Oliver looked at her. Breaths uneven, lips swollen, and eyes, unsatisfied.
"Whoa! You look hungry." That just slipped! "I mean, I am hungry. Ah, I meant for food not for you." Felicity's eyes closed in embarrassment as she heard her own words. "I am just going to shut up." She said and kept her eyes tightly shut.
She then felt his lips on hers again and he spoke while kissing her, "don't ever shut up, you're babbles are the only things I have to cherish." And they engrossed in another kiss but this time Oliver clearly had the upper hand coz it left Felicity breathlessly moaning for air.
People said love is eternal. That moment Oliver knew, if she was not with him, eternity could be a curse for him.