His eyes snapped open and he took in his surroundings. There were no visible threats and the only noise was the waves of the ocean and the light snoring of his companion. A quick glance at the bedside table confirmed what he already knew, it was early. His internal clock matched up exactly, 7:05 AM. For the past 8 years, he had been a very light sleeper, needing to be able to wake and fight at any time. The last two months of normalcy wasn't going to change that.
But he woke for a reason. Something was off, something didn't seem right. It was instincts like this that had saved his life on a handful of occasions. Not just his life, but of those he cared for. He effortlessly and quietly slipped out of bed. He quickly pulled on the pair of shorts that lay near the bed and pulled the hand held knife out of the drawer on his side table. It was better to be overly cautious than dead.
He looked at his companion. She was still fast asleep, her blond hair wild and strewn across the pillow. She was very lightly snoring and drooling slightly on her pillow. It was cute and endearing. He found new ways to fall in love with her each day. Life hadn't been hard on her enough to make sleep seem like hopeful comfort, where the slightest noise would snap her awake. She was used to him waking before her, so she wouldn't be bothered by his exit.
He made his way to the door off the bedroom that led outside to the terrace. From there, a small walkway would lead them to their own private beach. It was the third place they had stayed since leaving. While he wasn't super rich anymore, he still had access to money. It was mostly his sister's money, but that was beside the point. He put his hand on the doorknob and waited. There was no movement or noise. He quickly pulled open the door, stepped out and closed it quietly.
There she was, sitting on a chair on the terrace, looking like she didn't have a care in the world. She had on a light colored sundress that ended just above the knee and showed a fair amount of skin, but nothing indecent or out of place on the beach. Her black hair was down and fell past her shoulders, her legs were crossed, and she was staring out at the ocean. The only other time he had seen her like this, seemingly relaxed and able to blend into polite society had been one month previous.
"You're slipping," she said with her accented tone, not even turning toward him, "if I wanted you dead, you'd be dead."
"You're welcome to try," he retorted. "You haven't had much luck in the past." He knew he was goading her, but he also knew she wouldn't rise to the bait. In the past, she would have had a sword out, ready to challenge him. The past two months had softened her a bit, at least toward him.
She turned to him after that comment. She wore a slight smirk and her eyes blazed a little bit. "And make myself a widow at such a young age?" she taunted.
He actually smiled at that and made his way toward her and took the seat beside her. "I was also trying to not wake Felicity," he said, still explaining his lack of immediate response.
"Yes, best not let the wife wake the girlfriend."
He knew he was outmatched here, so he decided to shift gears. "It's good to see you again Nyssa."
"And you too Oliver," she replied with a smile.
"Not to be blunt, but what are you doing here?" Oliver was genuinely concerned. Nyssa wasn't the most social of people, no matter how much Laurel had brought her out of her shell. Since he knew she was in contact with Laurel, he thought there might be a problem in Starling City. However, he quickly discarded that thought. Even though he had left the vigilante business behind, he still kept in contact with both Thea and Laurel, to make sure everything was fine. Felicity, also, stayed in contact with Diggle to make sure all the bases were covered. Of course, there was the occasional girlish squealing whenever Felicity talked with Thea or Laurel, but it was good for them to have friends to gossip with, not talk about the most recent crime wave they needed to stop. The paranoia Oliver still had made him feel like they were talking about him and possibly some of his lesser points.
Nyssa interrupted his musing with a coy answer. "Wifely concern?"
Before he could say anything, he heard the door open behind him; he turned around saw Felicity sticking her head out and asks "Oliver?" She then followed up with a confused "Nyssa?" and stepped fully out on the terrace. He heard a slight intake of breath from his companion behind him as he took her in. Felicity's hair was down and wild from sleep, her trademark glasses were on her face, and she was wearing the white button down shirt, which she had liberated from him early in trip, that ended around mid tight and that was it.
"We have a visitor," was Oliver's reply.
"I see," Felicity answered cautiously. "Let me go put on some pants," she said as she turned to go back inside.
"Please, not on my account," was Oliver's cheeky answer.
"Nor mine," Nyssa quickly followed.
Both Felicity and Oliver's heads snapped over to her. Nyssa, for her part, just sat there looking mildly amused. At least, as mildly amused as Nyssa could look.
A slight blush came to Felicity's cheeks and she just pointed back toward the open door. "Yes, well…I'm going… to go…in there." And with that, she quickly scampered inside.
Oliver just smiled. She was truly adorable. Before he could say anything, he heard Felicity from inside the room, "Nyssa, would you like anything to drink, coffee maybe?
"Coffee would be lovely," Nyssa answered back.
Felicity's head popped out of the door once more. "Oliver, where are you manners? Make our guest some coffee. And me too please," she finished with a smile before popping her head back in the room.
Oliver just rolled his eyes and smiled. He got up and walked into the house through the door attached to the living area and made his way into the kitchen. While he couldn't hear her, he knew Nyssa was right behind him. He quickly got everything ready and turned on the coffee machine. It was the one thing he always did every morning, since Felicity still refused to make it for him.
He turned around to see Nyssa sitting on one of the chairs at the kitchen island. "I have no idea how Ta-er al-Safer or Laurel put up with your loutish behavior. Hopefully you're much nicer to Felicity."
"Not to worry, he is," Felicity said as she walked into the room. Still wearing the shirt, she had added some silk pajama pants and her hair was a little more under control. Oliver figured her ran a brush through it a few times.
Felicity walked up to Nyssa and began to put her arms out, then stopped. "Do we hug hello? Are we good enough friends for that?"
"Well," Nyssa started, "you are dating my husband, I would hope that would make us good enough friends."
They hugged while Oliver muttered "the husband cracks stopped being funny 5 minutes ago."
Both women mock glared at him as Felicity took a seat next to Nyssa.
"It took me a moment to realize it was you out on the terrace," Felicity said as she turned toward Nyssa. Oliver just busied himself getting out the coffee mugs, along with the sugar and milk. "I mean, you look so comfortable and it's the daytime. Normally, its night and you're dressed in head to toe tight black leather that leaves little to the imagination."
Nyssa just looked at her quizzically before Felicity blushed and continued, "Not that I'm imagining you. I mean, not that you're not worth imagining, you're very beautiful. If I were into girls, you would definitely be at the top of my imagine list. But I'm not. Not that there's anything wrong with that." Felicity took a deep breath and slowly said "Three, two, one," then turned and glared at Oliver. "We agreed that you would stop me from rambling."
Nyssa, however, interrupted whatever Oliver was going to say. "Ta-er al-Safer was right, you are cute."
Oliver finished making Felicity's coffee with practiced ease and slid it in front of her. He looked at Nyssa and motioned toward the milk and sugar and she just replied "black." He slid the mug toward her and turned toward Felicity.
"You agreed that I would stop you. I said no such thing. It's too cute for me to stop," he said as he finished pouring his own coffee.
Felicity huffed and then turned back to Nyssa. "So, what made you stop by? Is everything okay?"
"Everything is fine; as I'm sure your constant contact with your team in Starling City has already let you know. And the League is," she paused, searching for the right word, "functioning under Malcolm's control."
Oliver heard the distaste in Nyssa's voice when she said Malcolm's name. He reached over and lightly touched her hand. She looked down at his hand on hers, then up at him. "You know the reason I gave him the leadership."
"Yes," her face softened fractionally, "and I know the deal you made with Malcolm to ensure my safety and rightful position as Heir to the Demon. Not that I needed it, my lineage, marriage to you, and skills ensured my safety and position. I may not like Malcolm, but he is smart enough not to move against me."
She lifted the coffee mug to her lips to take a drink and effectively moving her hand away from Oliver's touch. She put the drink down after taking a sip and turned to Felicity. "To answer your question, I was tasked with reasoning with an Afghani warlord and his tribe to stop their quest to monopolize the area poppy cultivation. After leaving his head on a spike at the village entrance, I realized I had accomplished my goals earlier than I thought, so I figured I would check in with a few contacts. I just happened to be in the area."
"Well," Felicity began, unsure of what to say, "congratulations?"
"He was a foul man and the death I gave him was better than he deserved," Nyssa answered, almost defensively.
"No judgment here," Felicity said quickly. "Drug dealers bad, friendly League assassins good."
"And not to worry Felicity," Nyssa started, with a bit of a smirk, "I was in traditional League black leather."
Felicity just blushed and ducked her head while Oliver chuckled. He realized that the time away from her father after he became Heir and the last two months with him dead had done a world of good for Nyssa's personality. She could easily be funny and charming, but it was new and she didn't slip too quickly into it around people she didn't know well. Considering the deal they had made to kill Ra's, he figured he was one of the closest people to her, so he got a see a more relaxed assassin.
"I will be swinging by Starling City after leaving here, to check in on your band of vigilantes. I'll pass along your well wishes. Malcolm is always pleased with news about Thea."
With that, Nyssa slipped off the chair and to her feet. "Well, I should be going if I want to get to Starling by nightfall."
"Oh, okay," Felicity said, slipping out of her seat and hugging Nyssa, "it was good to see you and come find us anytime."
Nyssa just smiled. "I will and thank you for looking after my husband." Felicity just rolled her eyes at that. Nyssa then turned to Oliver and questioned "walk me out?"
He looked to Felicity first and she said, "Well, I'm going to take a shower. Walk your wife out!" She smiled and made her way back to the bedroom.
Oliver just smiled after her then turned back to Nyssa and motioned her toward the front door. They walked in silence out the door and to the convertible that Nyssa had "acquired" for her travels.
Once they got to the car, he asked "So, I can assume Malcolm told you to check up on me, to see how I am?"
She turned to him and answered "Malcolm never tells me to do anything, he requests. And while he requested I come to check on you, I was well within my rights to refuse." Her face softens and said "No matter what you may think, I do care for you."
"Enough so you wouldn't try and kill me at the altar again?" he asked with a smile.
"If you had smiled like that, I probably wouldn't have tried until after the ceremony."
He just laughed at that. "You can tell Malcolm I'm fine, just as I was during last month's visit," he said and then put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm telling my friend that I'm happy."
She actually smiled at that. "After what my father put you through, I was worried that the Oliver Queen everyone knew may have truly died. I'm glad to see that I was wrong. You deserve happiness and I'm glad you found it."
He looked into her eyes and said "If you ever need anything, anything at all, let me know. I'll be there in an instant."
"I know Oliver and thank you." She just looked up into his eyes and they both stayed silent until she said "we're not going to hug, are we?"
He laughed out loud at the question and took a step back. "Not to worry, I let Felicity do all the hugging in this relationship."
"Good," and with that, Nyssa slipped into the driver's seat of her car. She started it up and looked up at Oliver. "Treat her right Oliver or I may have to try and steal her from you. After all, my type seems to be blond haired ex-girlfriends of Oliver Queen."
"So says my brunette wife," he retorted.
"Maybe we could have made it work if I was a blond," she said, before smiling and driving off.
"Naw," he said to himself, "I already have the blond I need." And with that, he turned and walked back into the house.