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Oliver made his way into the Sanctuary, pulling back his hood. It had been a quiet night again, which didn't surprise him. Ever since they had stopped Slade and his Mirakuru army from practically destroying Starling City, it seemed people were taking a moment to catch a breath, take stock of where they were. Good guys and bad guys. He supposed he should be grateful for the temporary reprieve from his nighttime vigilantism. He knew it wouldn't last.
The lights were on inside and it took him only a split second to realise why. He spotted her bright blonde hair almost immediately: Felicity. She was at her desk, stooped over, her head resting on her folded arms. He approached her silently, wondering what she was doing here. He had already told her and Diggle to go home, and that had been an hour ago.
He slowed down when he got nearer and saw that she was asleep. Her glasses were in her hand and her hair was out of its habitual ponytail, sweeping down across her cheek. He noticed there were dark circles under her eyes, and felt his stomach clutch with concern. She looked tired.
"Felicity," he said quietly, reaching over and squeezing her shoulder gently. When she didn't stir, he said her name again and lightly stroked her hair off her cheek.
Her eyes opened and she blinked a few times, looking up at him. For a moment she looked confused; then she abruptly sat up in her chair, pulling her glasses back on.
"Oliver," she said, clearing her throat. "What are you doing here?"
"No," he said slowly, "what are you doing here?"
"Right," she said, nervously shuffling in her chair. "Yes, what am I doing here? I should have gone home ages ago, but I…uh…I fell asleep. I guess I won't make employee of the month this time." She smiled at her attempt at a light joke, but her eyes were wide behind her glasses. She swallowed nervously.
"I think I'll just go," she said slowly. She reached down, grabbed her bag, then stood up, avoiding his gaze. Oliver didn't move. He didn't pretend to read people very easily, but after everything they had been through together, he was starting to read Felicity pretty well. There was something wrong with her, something that was making her nervous around him. She was babbling, and she hadn't babbled around him in a long time.
He watched her fishing around her bag looking for her keys, and was overwhelmed with the compulsion to gather her into his arms to soothe her. Instead, he reached out and took her hand, holding it still.
"Felicity," he said, making her look up. "Tell me what's wrong."
"It's noth-" she started to say, but he interrupted her.
"Don't tell me it's nothing."
She looked at him, uncertain, and he squeezed her hand, noticing, despite himself, how nicely it fit inside his.
"Please," he said.
She gave him a tight smile, and for a moment he thought she was going to brush him off. He felt a momentary pang of panic at the thought that she was going to shut him out. She never shut him out, never thought twice about telling him exactly what was on her mind, even if it was in her best interest not to do so. It was something that he relied on from her – complete honesty.
The smile on her face wavered, then disappeared, to be replaced with a tired expression that he had never seen before.
"I can't sleep at home," she said quietly. "I've been having nightmares ever since Slade…" her voice trailed off and she looked up at him with her big blue eyes, looking suddenly scared and vulnerable. A wave of guilt washed over Oliver as he remembered what he had put her through, what he had made her face all alone. Kidnapped by Slade just so she could get close enough to him to take him down…
His face darkened at the memory of Slade's sword at Felicity's neck. So many things could have gone wrong that night. He wasn't surprised she was having nightmares – he was having them too.
"This is the only place where I feel safe," she continued when he didn't say anything. "So I thought I could stay…"
He frowned and squeezed her hand again. "Of course," he said. "You don't even have to explain, this is your place too." He gave her a small smile, one that he hoped was reassuring, then let go of her hand. "You should take the cot," he said, gesturing towards the back of the room. Her eyebrows rose in surprise.
"I'm not sleeping in your cot," she said.
"It's probably more comfortable than your desk." He smiled slightly at her dubious look. "Probably."
"Yeah, but it's your cot," she said. "You need a good night sleep a lot more than I do, Oliver." She sat back down in her chair. "You know, you should think about getting a better bed to sleep in, you spend more time here than you do at the mansion. Or you know, just get a blanket even."

The lights flickered on as Felicity made her way into the Sanctuary, stumbling a little down the stairs. Sometimes she missed the Foundry, with all its space and easier-to-get-to location, but it had been demolished last month by Slade's army. Besides, too many people knew its location now – one of those people being Slade himself. A shiver of fear went down her spine and she halted, closing her eyes. Slade wasn't around anymore, he was locked up far, far away…
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she made her way down the last few steps. It was only just past one in the afternoon and she was tired. She had snuck out of work early, for once the mindless whirring of a computer screen doing little to shut out her thoughts. She needed some rest and had automatically driven here. The fact that this place, with its high-tech computers, various weapons and DIY surgery, was a place that she automatically came to for rest was one of the many things in her life that made little to no sense.
The Sanctuary was empty and she felt a little relieved. Diggle was at his place spending time with Lyla, and Oliver was in a lunch meeting with a potential new partner. Perhaps she could catch a few quick minutes of sleep while she was alone. As she put her bag down at her desk, something caught her eye – something different at the back of the building that hadn't been there the day before. She made her way over, wondering if Oliver had ordered something new in. Where on earth had he found the money?
When she got to the back of the room, what she saw made her mouth drop open in shock.
It was a cot. Another cot. Right next to Oliver's one. Felicity stared at it and stared at it, and then kept on staring at it as if it would disappear if she only waited long enough. What in the world was Oliver playing at?
You should take the cot.
I'm not sleeping in your cot.
What, she had refused to sleep in his bed, and so he had bought her her own one? And placed it right next to his? She rubbed her forehead wearily and sighed. Oliver could be sweet, in his own way. Too bad he was completely clueless.
She walked over to the cot and considered moving it somewhere else in the Sanctuary. But she decided against it almost immediately, since she knew that he would read waaaaaay too much into it. If he was fine with sleeping next to her, then she was absolutely fine with sleeping next to him. Because they were just friends and partners. They had been through a lot together, and a lot of that stuff was a whole lot worse than sleeping in separate beds side by side.
She sighed heavily and settled herself into the cot, pulling the rough grey blanket over herself. She was too tired to worry about things, and really, in the grand scheme of things, worrying about sleeping in a bed next to Oliver was not very high in the things-to-freak-out-about list.