Felicity was pulling a mug of hot water out of her microwave when she heard a noise behind her. Gripping the hot ceramic even tighter, she said, "Whoever you are, I just want you to know that I have a mug of really hot water in my hand. And I will totally throw it on your face if I have to."

"Felicity…"

"Oh my God, Oliver!" Felicity spun around, hot water sloshing onto her hand. When she saw her friend, her body visibly sagged, "You scared me1 Don't do that!"

Oliver tipped his head apologetically, "Sorry. I just wanted to check on you."

Felicity gave a wry smile as she wiped her hand off, "And you had to what? Come in through the window? You couldn't have used the key I gave you?"

Oliver grinned sheepishly, "Habit, I guess. I don't usually have time for doors."

Felicity sighed, "It's okay. I guess I'm just glad to see you. Do you want?"

She held up the now half-empty mug in a gesture, and Oliver shrugged.

"Sure," He watched as Felicity went about pulling another mug from the cabinet and filling it with water.

They were both quiet when she placed the steaming mug in front of him, her own mug cradled in her hands.

Oliver picked up the bright blue mug and brought it to his mouth, pausing when he saw the design, "Doctor Who?"

Now it was Felicity's turn to grin sheepishly, "Mine's Harry Potter. I don't have normal tableware."

Oliver nodded, "I like it."

Felicity didn't know what to say, so she didn't say anything. But after a while of standing and drinking tea, Felicity began to get nervous.

"Oliver? I just…I want to say I'm sorry again. I know…killing the Count couldn't have been easy. And I'm sorry for putting you in that position," she blurted out.

Oliver stopped drinking, but didn't put the mug down, "Felicity. I want you to listen to me. You don't have to apologize for that. It's not your fault. If I had to do it over, I would make the exact same choice. You are more important than any vow to stop killing."

Felicity's eyes brimmed with tears, but she swallowed and said, "Thank you."

"It's my pleasure. How are you holding up?" Oliver suddenly found the design of the TARDIS on his mug very interesting, and couldn't look up at Felicity.

"I'm okay," Felicity gave a shaky laugh. She was looking at her own mug, afraid that if she made eye contact with Oliver he would see just how not okay she really was.

Oliver looked up at the (bottle) blonde, and regarded her posture, "Felicity, you're not okay."

Felicity looked up at Oliver now, slight shock evident on her face, "Okay, so maybe I'm not okay."

A few tears slipped down her cheeks, but she didn't make a move to brush them away.

"Hey," Oliver put his mug on the counter, and reached out to touch Felicity's arm, "It's okay. Nobody is expecting you to be okay."

"But you are! I can't help Team Arrow if every noise has me jumping!" Felicity exclaimed.

"It won't always be like that," Oliver said, moving around the little counter and coming to stand next to Felicity. He wanted to put his arms around her and comfort her, but he didn't know how to do that without making the action seem awkward.

Felicity saved him (like she always did), and turned to him, burying her face in his chest. Oliver brought his arms up to hug her tightly.

They stood in that position, Felicity crying into his shirt, for a few minutes (or maybe it was hours, all Oliver knew was that he didn't want it to end). But it had to end eventually, and Felicity pulled herself away.

"I'm sorry," she sniffled, wiping the tears away from her eyes. She couldn't look at Oliver, embarrassed by her lack of restraint.

"You never have to apologize to me," Oliver said, ducking his head so he could look Felicity in the eye.

"I'm sure I'll have to eventually," Felicity countered, but there was a grateful smile on her face.

Oliver shook his head, but didn't say anything. They stood in Felicity's tiny kitchen for too long, wanting to say everything, but saying nothing instead.

"I guess I'll leave," Oliver said, "Thanks for the tea, Felicity."

He smiled at her and made his way to the door.

"Oliver?" Felicity's call stopped him in his tracks.

"Yeah?"

"This may sound silly, but would you mind…staying until I fall asleep?" Felicity resisted the urge to hide her face.

"Sure," Oliver said, "I guess this is part of my job. Making sure all of Starling City's citizens feel safe, right?"

Felicity appreciated him making a joke of her request. It made her feel less like a child.

"I guess so," she replied, pulling several blankets from her hall closet and setting herself up on one end of her couch.

Oliver took a seat at the opposite end, relaxing his posture, but not getting too close.

"Do you mind if I put on one of the Harry Potter movies? They kind of relax me," Felicity explained once they were both settled.

Oliver shrugged, "I've never seen them."

"We'll have to fix that one day. They're good movies," Felicity yawned, closing her eyes slightly.

Oliver watched her as she fell asleep, and then tossed and turned. He could just barely make out a faint bruise on her temple, a mark from the Count's gun no doubt.

The purplish mark sent a wave of anger through Oliver's body. And the anger intensified as he thought about the way the Count had touched Felicity's hair. It was too intimate, and he would never get the image of Felicity's terrified face out of his mind.

Was he making he right choice in keeping Felicity at arms length? It hadn't seemed to do her any good tonight.

Oliver shook his head, these were thoughts for when he was in a better state of mind. Not something to think about on top of his mother's strange acquittal, or Dig's drugging, or Felicity's capture. These were thoughts for when he was stronger. When he could give her something, someone she deserved.


Felicity woke up the next morning in her bed, covers tucked tightly around her body. She smiled slightly when she remembered the events of late last night.

She sat up and yawned, preparing to get ready for another day of pretending to be Oliver's assistant, when she saw the note of her nightstand.

A smile spread across her face as she read it.

Felicity,

I'm sorry too. And I'm the one who should be sorry. Not you. I hope you know what I'm talking about. Just know, that I'll be here if you need me.

Oliver


A/N: Okay, this would not stop bothering me until I wrote it. It's a tag to last night's episode, and I really hope it makes sense and that you guys like it. Please let me know. =)

And if anyone wants to talk about the ep, you can find me on Tumblr: wewillbefinetony