"The best kind of love is with the most unexpected person

at the most unexpected time." ~ Anonymous

. . .

Laughter echoed through the Foundry. Felicity really didn't remember how this night all started, but they needed to do it more often. She was sitting with her shoes and her cardigan off as they played a game of strip poker. This really wasn't normally something the four of them did, but there had been drinking of beer…and somehow it had gotten to this point. Felicity didn't mind though because she and Sara were still mostly clothed while Diggle and Oliver were down to their boxers.

They really needed to do this more often.

Diggle's phone went off and for some reason they all laughed. Felicity realized that it REALLY wasn't funny and that it was probably the alcohol getting to them all, but that didn't stop her from laughing. They never did this. They never just had fun…

Eventually Diggle turned back to them. "I have to go home," he said and started to grab clothing pieces. "Lyla's—"

Sara made a motion like she was whipping Diggle as she laughed and then accompanied it a moment later with a sound effect. "She's got you so well trained."

Felicity noticed Diggle's unhappy face, but Sara was right. Ever since the news that Diggle was going to be a father, it seemed like he spent more and more time away from them and more time with Lyla. It was to be expected, she knew, but it was still something that took some getting used to. "You should probably go…take a cab."

"I didn't drink THAT much…" Diggle told her as he started to put clothes on. "I'm pretty sure all three of us can drink you under the table, Felicity…"

She frowned and Felicity watched as Sara got up as well. Apparently everyone was leaving and their night was over. This was not exactly how she expected things to end…

"I should probably go, too," Sara said. "I promised Sin that I'd check in on her tonight." She looked to Oliver. "You're going to take her keys, right?"

"I'm…fine," Felicity slurred a bit. The Foundry wasn't spinning, though it was swaying a bit. She tilted her head a bit as she stared over at Oliver. "Though…not driving…probably a smart move…"

Oliver looked up at Sara and Diggle. "You two have a good night, I'll make sure Felicity is fine."

"Night," Sara said.

"See you tomorrow," Diggle added.

Felicity looked over at their retreating figures. "Bye," she replied a bit sadly. She turned back to Oliver. "I really wasn't ready for our fun to stop…"

Oliver laughed lightly in response. "I guess we don't get to have a lot of fun, do we?"

"No," she said with a bit of a pout. "All we do is work, work, work…"

"What do you want to do?" he asked.

Oliver was still sitting there in only his boxers and Felicity was having a hard time not admiring his abs…or examine the scars that she could see. All of his scars and tattoos she knew where from the island (well, except the ones she knew the story behind) and she always wondered about them. Oliver didn't talk much about the island unless it was relevant, which meant only if someone from the island (that island that he was on 'alone') was coming after them and trying to kill them.

"I…um…I….well," Felicity rambled. "We could play some more…but maybe not…just two of us now…"

"Maybe I should cut you off," Oliver suggested with a smile as he leaned forward and snatched the half drank beer from her hand.

Felicity just stared at him for a moment. "I-okay, maybe that's a good idea…" She was still staring, she knew, but how could she not? Oliver Queen was definitely something beautiful to look at…even with the scars… Diggle definitely was nice to look at, too, but it was different because she thought of him like a brother. Felicity didn't think of Oliver like a brother…no, even when she'd told herself that that was a better way to think about him. At first, she'd hoped it was just a crush. Everyone else had a crush on Oliver Queen, right? It wasn't so weird. They'd spent two years working together and she knew now that she had somehow fallen hopelessly in love with him.

"Felicity?"

"Yes?"

"Did you hear what I said?"

"About being cut off?"

"After that," Oliver said and seemed to be smiling more.

Felicity went to straighten her glasses and ended up knocking them off of her face. She sighed and went to retrieve them, but Oliver was already placing them back in place. "No… I must have…missed it."

"Maybe you should just sleep it off here," he suggested. "Not sure that I really feel okay just dropping you off at your place."

"You could stay with me. Sleep over. I—I—I mean… I have a bed." She paused and cringed at her rambling. "Of course, I have a bed. I mean, I have a bed that's technically big enough for sharing…but not that I'm expecting anything or I'm saying you need to sleep in the bed with me or clothes or—"

"I have a bed here, too… It's big enough for sharing, too," Oliver told her with an unending smile.

He was just completely beaming at her and Felicity was finding it harder to find better or the right words. It was like his own super power. He didn't need super strength or super speed…he had super charm. "Probably a better idea to stay here…I think we have more food than I have at home." It was a sad truth, but that was what happened when she spent more time with Oliver, Diggle, and Sara rather than at home.

"Are you hungry?"

"No."

Oliver just stared at her for a long time before he asked his next question. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm a little…warm," she admitted. All of the alcohol had really hit her and Felicity was ready to strip out of all of her clothes. She suddenly felt shy, but knew that was silly. Really, she knew that Team Arrow was the safest team to be herself around…even if that meant disrobing a bit. After all, that had been a possibility tonight, a slim one, but still…a possibility.

"Maybe you should lay down."

"Are you going to keep me company?" she asked before she could really process what she was asking. Felicity's mouth hung open and just couldn't think of the right thing to say after what she'd just said. Drinking really wasn't helping her words come out right.

"I'll keep you company for a bit."

"What you speak of requires moving…" she pointed out. "Your bed might be too far…" She was half teasing and half serious. Felicity really wasn't sure if she could get to her feet and make it to the bed without falling over. Before she could even unfold her legs, Oliver was scooping her off of the floor. He was still only in his boxers as he carried her towards his bed there in the Foundry. Felicity couldn't keep from staring at Oliver as he carried her.

"I probably have an extra shirt, if you want to change," Oliver told her as he carefully set her down on the bed in the darkened area.

Felicity really did want to strip down. She still had on her blouse, skirt, and undergarments. Her cardigan and shoes had been left in the other area of the Foundry, which was fine…she really didn't need them right then. "That would probably be a good idea…even though I'm getting so hot that no clothes might be more comfortable," she blurted out and then looked up to see Oliver staring down at her. A beat passed before she tried to make up for her fumbling words. "I mean, a shirt would be great…"

It didn't take Oliver more than a couple of minutes before he handed her a simple black cotton t-shirt. Her hand lingered on his as he passed it to her for a moment and she didn't know if it was the alcohol that was making it feel like lightning was passing between them with every touch or if it was something that Oliver had noticed as well. Either way, Felicity wasn't going to say anything unless Oliver brought it up first.

"Just know," Oliver told her slowly with a smile. "I reserve the right to ask for the shirt back."

Felicity felt like she was holding her breath as Oliver finally moved away from the bed and turned his back to her, seemingly doing so to give her privacy. She stared at him for a long moment before sucking in breath and slowly unbuttoning her blouse. She kept stumbling and what should have taken her seconds, each button was taking minutes.

"You okay?"

She looked up to see that his back was still to her, honoring her privacy. "I…these buttons are just not cooperating," Felicity finally complained. Exhausted was probably the best word that described her current state in trying to figure out the damn buttons and getting them through the darned buttonholes in her blouse. Why did something so easy have to be so difficult?

No more drinking, she tried to tell herself.

"Let me help."

It was a simple request and Felicity knew that it shouldn't irk her so much, but she was just so irritated with her inability to do a simple task. Felicity wrestled with the blouse buttons a moment more before sighing loudly. "Okay," she replied quietly.

Oliver didn't waste time. He was sitting on the side of the bed and carefully unbuttoning the blouse. Reaching out for the shirt, Oliver put the shirt over her head and carefully guided her head through until the collar rested on top of the material of her blouse. He helped her remove her blouse and then pulled the t-shirt down to cover her torso.

Felicity took the opportunity to remove her bra and then stretched her arms through the sleeves of the oversized shirt. She set the bra aside with the blouse and watched as Oliver's eyes followed the garment. Her hands moved to the side of her skirt and wrestled with the hook and ring fastener. It was even more delicate than the buttons and she had a feeling that Oliver was going to have to assist her with that as well. Why did they need to make women's clothing so complicated?

"Let me," he whispered and separated the hook from the ring and then unzipped the skirt. He carefully lifted her and guiding the skirt down her legs.

Once the material left her body, she pulled her legs up to her chest and stared at Oliver. Here she was in his bed…in his t-shirt…and her panties… This was certainly not the way that she had thought the night would have ended. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Cooler?"

"A little," she told him.

Oliver discarded her clothing and then moved closer. Felicity's eyes didn't leave his now. There was so much attraction, but Felicity still didn't think that Oliver felt the same as she did. He KNEW that she had feelings, right? She was certain that she'd made herself quite clear over the years that they'd known each other. Or did he still think it was just a crush?

"You know…if you hadn't have promised to play fair—"

"It was a stroke of luck, I swear!" Felicity told him with a smile. "I didn't win every hand!"

"Or every game!" Oliver brought up.

There it was.

Felicity was fairly sure that neither Oliver nor Diggle were ever going to let her forget that moment. It wasn't like she was ashamed of it, but guys tended to dwell on things that didn't need to be dwelled on. "It was ONE kiss and—"

"It meant nothing?" Oliver asked, almost a challenge.

"It didn't!" Felicity defended. "Sara and I were just out to prove to you that women are far more open minded than men. We kissed…and Sara is a damn good kisser—"

"Oh, I know," he said and seemed a little smug.

"But she's just my friend," Felicity told him. She was quiet for a moment as she watched him. "There's someone else that I'd rather kiss."

"Barry?"

"That's not who's on my mind…"

"Do I know him?"

Felicity tilted her head. "Sometimes."

"Only sometimes?"

"I know him better than he knows himself," she told him and scooted closer. Felicity didn't know why she was doing this. She had no idea if Oliver found her obvious at that moment. She was really wondering if she'd drank far too much and if she should have asked Oliver to take her home rather than their current arrangements in the Foundry.

"Do you?" he asked with a broad smile. He was almost cheeky about it.

Felicity suddenly felt like she was sobering up. His eyes were so blue and he looked happy. She didn't know if it was because there was some solace in their night of fun or if it was because of her. Diggle had made comments about how she was one of the few people who could make him smile. "He still keeps secrets from me," she whispered as she stared at him. "Things in his past…"

"People keep secrets, Felicity," Oliver told her.

"I don't like secrets… Secrets are a mystery… I really don't like mysteries," she responded quickly. "And sometimes…you have to tell your secrets so that you can sleep at night." Felicity reached out and touched his cheek. "Your secrets will always be safe with me, Oliver Queen."

There was a brief passing of something between them. She really didn't know quite how to describe it. It was a silent message, but there was so much understanding within it. Oliver touched her cheek and leaned in to press his lips against hers in a long and passionate kiss. His other hand was on her lower back and Felicity didn't want the moment to end.

He ended the kiss and she only let a beat that was just long enough for a breath before she returned the kiss eagerly. Felicity hands ran down his bare muscled arms and she felt his hand slip under her shirt. She felt selfish; she wanted to go further…to feel his skin pressed against hers. Was that so wrong, though? Oliver seemed to clearly want her…

"Felicity…" he whispered against her lips.

Thoughts about whether this would change things between them floated through her head. It was fine as long as it didn't hurt their friendship. Felicity valued that far too much. His hand moved up her spine higher and Felicity found it very hard to concentrate on anything else. "Oliver…"

"I've decided that I'm taking this shirt back," he told her as his hands were both on the hem of the shirt and hauling it up before Felicity could even think to argue with him.

The shirt was off of her body far faster than it took to put it on and Oliver dropped it on the floor. Felicity was now in front of him in just her blush colored lacey panties. For a moment, she thought about covering herself up but there was just something in the way that Oliver looked at her. His look was making her feel absolutely beautiful and wanted…and safe.

"The shirt definitely looks better on the floor," he hurried as he wrapped his arms around her and his lips crashed against hers as she laughed in response.

Whatever came of the night, Felicity knew that she wasn't going to regret this stroke of luck in the morning.

. . .

The End.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: For the rest of the final scene...see AO3's posting. I didn't want to risk it on here since the rating should be higher and doesn't allow for a MA rating.