Prompt: "Into the wild"

Pairing: Olicity (Oliver x Felicity)

Words: 1, 724

Genre: Fluff/Romance

Summary: The gang goes camping!

Thanks to smoakandarrow for this nifty idea! I don't think I'll be able to handle the break otherwise

The woods were thick and dark here. There was little to no sunlight, though that may have had something to do with the fact that it was the dying rays of the sinking sun at dusk that were trying to make their way through the foliage.

Near the woods' heart was a clearing, carpeted in the dirt and fall leaves that were traditional during this time of year. A small ring of stones sat in the middle of this clearing, and in this ring roared a fire, warm and inviting to its creators, who sat in a semi-circle around it. A few roasted marshmallows on sticks and small branches discovered earlier in the evening while others enjoyed tin camping cups of hot cocoa and ground-infested coffee. The chatter was light, relaxed, something the group didn't get to enjoy very often these days.

One member of the group sat silent, however. He stared unseeing into the flames, beverage sitting untouched next to him. The others had insisted on dragging him on this outdoor adventure, but it wasn't sitting well with him. He had tried to tell them it probably wasn't such a good idea, but had they listened? Of course not. He cracked a small smile at the memory.

"Oh come on, Oliver, it won't be any fun without you," Laurel griped. They had gathered together in a quiet corner of Thea's club, Verdant, to discuss the proposed camping trip. Nestled together at a corner table were Oliver himself, his ex-girlfriend Laurel, Felicity, John, Thea, Roy, and his other former paramore and Laurel's sister, Sarah. They were trying desperately to get him to join in their harebrained plan to trek out into some woods and camp for a few days, despite his pleas otherwise.

"I can't afford to be away from the office too long," he tried to reason. Felicity and Diggle gave him looks of disbelief while Sarah made her feelings plain with a scoffing sound.

"Oliver, you never come into the office anyway," Felicity countered. "Isabel can handle it for a few days. She pretty much does all your work anyway." The others nodded in agreement.

"But -" he tried again, but Thea cut him off.

"It'll do you some good to get away for a while, Ollie," Thea said gently. Her brother sighed and raised his hands in defeat.

"Fine, fine, I'll go," he conceded. Felicity and Sarah smiled while Roy just rolled his eyes.

"So long as he," Oliver pointed at the younger boy, "isn't driving." Roy glared while the others chuckled.

The movement of his cup brought him back to the present, and Oliver looked up to see Felicity standing next to him. She looked as if she'd been about to sit but was unsure if she was welcome. He gave her a slight smile and gestured for her to sit. She did and handed him back the now cold cup. He set it down on the ground.

"I'm really glad you came, Oliver," she told him, smiling. Oliver shrugged.

"I wasn't given much of a choice," he reminded her. The smile turned sheepish.

"Sorry," she said. A comfortable silence fell over them for a few moments before she broke it again. "So, what's the real reason you didn't want to come with us?" He looked at her, startled. He should've known that she saw through his weak excuse before. Felicity knew him too well. At least she had the discretion to know better than to confront him about it then, and he felt a surge of gratefulness toward her that emerged as a smile. Still, he tried to dodge the subject.

"What are you talking about?" He knew it was a futile attempt, and this knowledge was further reinforced when she gave him a pointed look that made him want to apologize.

"We both know you couldn't care less about Queen Consolidated now that Isabel is in the picture. So what's the real reason?" He looked away, staring instead at the flames and trying to ignore the look he knew she had on her face. That look of caring and sympathy, the look that made him want to tell her everything because who else could he trust to listen without judging him except Felicity? Even Sarah probably wouldn't understand. He shook his head.

"The woods." He answered after a time. Felicity gave him a surprised look. He'd been silent so long that she had been about to apologize and drop the subject. She slid slightly closer on the log they were sitting on and waited for him to continue. When he didn't, she realized she might have to prompt it out of him. So she did.

"'The woods'?" He nodded.

"I spent a lot of time in the woods while on that island. Most of it, actually. So you can understand why being out here," he gestured at the foliage around them, "isn't exactly my idea of a good time." Felicity felt a wave of guilt wash over her. Of course he wouldn't want to do something like this. How stupid had she been to push him into it? She should have known better. She bit her lip and didn't respond. The silence that had earlier been so comfortable between them was shattered now, filled instead with awkwardness and tension and guilt. It grew inside Felicity until she couldn't ignore it anymore.

"I'm sorry Oliver." She said quietly, then stood and left, going instead to talk to Roy and Thea. Oliver didn't move, just stared at the flames and wished he'd said something to make her stay.

Eventually the flames died down and most of the group had gone to their tents. Oliver had diverted from his contemplation of the dying embers long enough to tell Roy that he and Thea would not be sharing a tent, at least not while Oliver was around. The younger had rolled his eyes and Thea had told him that he wasn't her dad blah blah blah. She'd conceded though and was now with Laurel and Sarah in theirs while Roy and Diggle shared another.

Oliver stretched, body stiff from sitting so long. He'd lost track of time, and only the sounds of the occassional breeze rustling the foliage and the remains of the fire kept him company now. Stifiling a yawn of his own, he retrieved the bucket of sand they'd kept on hand and poured it over the fire pit. He added a light helping of water and watched as it sizzled and then died altogether. Leaving the bucket to the mercy of the elements, Oliver retreated to his tent. Only to find he wasn't alone.

Felicity was sitting inside the tent. She must have been waiting for him, because she was still in her clothes from earlier. She'd turned on a flashlight and set it on its end so that the light bounced off the neoprene of the tent roof and gave her enough to read by. She looked up from her book when he entered and turned slightly red.

"Sorry, Oliver, I just," she put the book aside and bit her lip nervously, "I wanted to apologize. For earlier. I should have known better than to bring that up and -" Oliver held up his hand to stop her and shook his head.

"It's okay, Felicity." She looked a little relieved and he smiled, climbing into the tent and sitting next to her, careful not to lean on the thin fabric wall, lest the whole thing go toppling over. Felicity drew her knees up and rested her arms on them.

"But, is it really?" She wondered. "I mean, we shouldn't have dragged you out here, Oliver. We should have known better and just left it alone."

"Actually," now Oliver hesitated, "I'm glad you insisted I come along. I may not have looked like it, but I'm having fun." She looked at him, skeptical. "Really, I am," he insisted. She sighed.

"Okay, good." She looked at him, searching his face for any sign that he was lying to make her feel better. After a moment she smiled slightly, then seemed to realize something.

"You probably want to go to bed now." She noted and he chuckled.

"Yes, I do," he answered. There was a slight pause as she looked at him again. Oliver stared back, questioning. After a few moments Felicity turned red and shook her head to clear it.

"Right, yeah, bed time, okay, leaving now," she said hurriedly and snatched the book, and made to leave. Oliver grabbed her arm and stopped her at the door.

"Thanks, Felicity. For caring, and... And for looking out for me," he said softly. She smiled, cheeks still red. Oliver tried to stop himself from thinking how cute it was, and failed.

"Someone has to," she replied. There was a brief tense moment as Oliver seemed to be trying to decide something. She waited, and was rewarded with him pulling her back down next to him. She let him, confusion coloring her face. "What?" Her question was answered with him looking at her intently. His gaze made her face heat up again and somewhere in her stomach the butterflies had at it. Heart racing, she opened her mouth to repeat the question, but was interrupted by Oliver.

"You're right." It took her a second to place what he was referring to. He continued, "You're always there, Felicity. Everyone else fights alongside me, but you're always the one watching my back, looking out for me. You're always there, even when I wish you wouldn't be because I can't always protect you." She was silent for a minute and Oliver wished he could pull the words back into his mouth. Then, she smiled.

"Like I said. Someone has to," she said, repeating her earlier words. He nodded.

"I know," he answered. "And I want it to be you."

"Oh?" She wondered, voice small, soft with the nervousness radiating from her stomach. "What does that mean, exactly?"

"I love you," he told her, simply.

"Oh," she answered smartly. He smiled. Then, he kissed her and the butterflies turned to fireworks and Felicity's already racing heart went into overdrive. It was only a few short, sweet, unsure moments, but when he pulled away, she immediately wished he hadn't.

"I love you too." she said softly.