The Art of Love

Felicity is intently tapping on her keyboard as Oliver enters the Arrow lair and looks about.

Oliver asks, "No Dig yet?"

Felicity answers, obviously concentrating more on her typing than Oliver, "He's been here and gone. He and Lila had a baby doctor appointment."

Felicity stops tapping on her keyboard and looks up to explain something to Oliver.

"Hey, I'm out of here in five. Trying to catch the next train to Central City."

Oliver was feeling confident in their privacy and figured he would take advantage of Felicity's imminent departure. He walks over to a drawer and pulls out a piece of paper then turns and extends the paper to Felicity stating, "I found this. On the floor. Next to your chair."

Felicity takes the piece of paper from Oliver and looks at it.

Oliver asks, "Did you draw it?"

Smiling Felicity confirms, "Yes. I am writing a story and it is one of my sketches."

Oliver responds with curiosity and disbelief. "One? You draw. A lot?"

Oliver is surprised that he does not know this about Felicity. He genuinely requests, "Can I see some of your other work?"

This simple question seems to confound and confuse Felicity. It completely stops her from tapping away on her keyboard. She staggers, uncertainly, through her response.

"You want to see? It. My uh…. Huh. Uhhhmmmm…. "

Oliver wasn't expecting to place her in such an uncomfortable situation. He strives to create a back door she can sneak out of.

"Art—museums, galas and auctions- are actually something I miss from my days of being a billionaire. I know that art can be personal. I didn't mean to be-"

Felicity interjects. "You're not. It is just that your asking me – it - made me realize that I've never shown any of my art. To anyone. Ever. I guess we all have our secrets… even ones we keep from ourselves."

She places the drawing next to her keyboard and grabs Oliver's arm to look at his watch. She realizes that it is time for her to catch her Central City train. She closes a program on the center computer, leaving the screen black and blank and grabs her purse adding confidently, "But sure, Oliver. Yeah. You've showed me yours. I'll show you mine."

She stands out of her chair knowing that it is impossible to shove those sexually charged words back into her mouth. So she just puts her purse on her shoulder adding, "I'll be home by 7. Bring dinner." And she exits.

Oliver is pleased. His eyes are dancing the smile that he won't allow to show on his lips. He sits, almost like an excited school boy, in Felicity's chair and picks up her sketch again and contemplates the familiarity of the image. He was almost to the conclusion that it was a drawing of the clock king when his reverie is quickly interrupted by the realization that he has no idea where Felicity lives.

As though even in her absence she can read his mind, a beep catches his attention and the black center computer screen flashes bright blue. Oliver looks at the screen. One by one letters begin to appear on the screen. Oliver reads:

Felicity's Address:

324 Cypress. 7pm.

Love you

Oliver's jaw drops, and then the screen types the remaining words: to bring Tai

Oliver is walking along the street towards Felicity's home. In one hand he is carrying a bag of Tai food. He looks at his watch. It is five minutes to seven. Walking at an even pace toward the corner Oliver is passed by a guy who is holding a briefcase in one hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other. Oliver turns the corner and just ahead sees a neighborhood market with various flower bouquets as well as fruit displayed just outside the market on the sidewalk. Oliver stops in front of one of the flower arrangement. He puts the bag of food down and picks up a bouquet. While he is contemplating the bouquet, someone very quietly lifts his bag of Tai food and walks away with it. Oliver puts the bouquet back. Then reaches to pick the flowers up again, but ultimately diverts his hand away from the flowers and reaches down to pick up the bag of food. He has a look of minor annoyance with the realization that the food is gone and he shakes clear the memory of Slade's words that 'women are a distraction.'

Oliver walks empty handed up the steps to Felicity's apartment and rings the doorbell. Felicity opens the door and steps out onto the landing and offers a friendly hello. With a knowing smile she confirms, "Lost the food at the market, didn't you. That corner is the Bermuda triangle. Without Bermuda, of course."

Olivier offers his solution, "I ordered for delivery. It will be here in about 30 minutes."

Felicity leans against her front door stating, "Well, what do you want to do until then because there's no entry for you without food. That was our deal you know."

Oliver takes a deep breath in and begins to look about, but Felicity puts him out of his misery by adding, "Ok, I owe you one for saving me from the landmine." She put her hand on the door knob adding, "But now we're even. " Then she opens the front door and invites Oliver inside.

Oliver enters Felicity's home. It is vibrant and beautiful, just like Felicity. But before he can really take in the environment Felicity directs his attention to a not so small machine just inside the entrance. With an air of confession Felicity states, "I borrowed that. Your arrow sharpening machine. Tried my hand at metal fabrication…almost to the detriment of my eyebrows. Pencils, ink good. Fire in the guest room, bad."

Satisfied with her explanation of borrowing 'office' equipment, Felicity leads Oliver into her living room and over toward a large farm table. The little amount of light left in the day filters into the room through sheer curtains. Felicity reaches just past Oliver to turn on a light. She is so close to him and he notices she smells like cherries. Oliver forces himself to concentrate on the items he sees on the table and not the intoxicating scent of the beautiful woman who is excruciatingly close to him. He mentally denotes the various objects on the table. He counts four hand-blown glass containers of different sizes, each filled with colored pencils. To the left of these are brightly colored ceramic vases filled with paint brushes and next to the paint brushes are gingham lined baskets filled with paint tubes and paint jars.

"Felicity, you are an artist," Oliver states with confidence and conviction.

Felicity counters with, "More 'unthinkable' huh?"

"No. Not unthinkable at all. I'm just surprised I didn't know this about you already."

Felicity feels like she should console him, but the best she can come up with is, "I'm not exactly an enigma. Up until today you didn't even know where I live."

"May I?" Oliver requests as he begins to look through some of her drawings. "Have you always been an artist Felicity?"

"No. I began to draw just a few years ago. I was drawn to it. Like a moth to a flame. Sometimes I'm a little afraid of it. What it will have me draw, if I just give in to it." Felicity's eyes shift slightly, but Oliver can't tell where she is looking. Felicity sits in the chair she has been leaning against, adding, "It's an intriguing relationship that I have with my pencils. I can't seem to resist their-"

"-honesty," Oliver offers as a completion to her thought.

Felicity is inclined to agree with his conclusion, but she pushes the thought aside and instead bends down and toward her left and presses on the façade of the piece of furniture that the paints and brushes are on. A shallow but very long drawer slides smoothly opens. Felicity lifts out a small stack of paper and places them all on top of the farm table.

"You should recognize most of these," she says to Oliver as he too sits down in the chair next to Felicity.

Oliver gleams with pride as he looks through Felicity's work. It is beautiful and unique. As he slowly turns through the pages he does recognize many of the images. With uncanny realism Felicity captured the essence of such villains as the Triad, The Count, Sebastian Blood, even Deadshot and Bronze Tiger.

"Wow, Felicity. These are exceptional. Thank you."

Felicity smiles her bright and beautiful smile and states, "I'm glad my first time is with you."

Much to her relief the doorbell rings. She stands out of her chair proclaiming, "The best Tai food ever has just arrived. Just leave the drawings there and I will eet you over there with delicious."

Felicity points to a small bistro table, then turns to leave the room and head for the front door. Oliver stands to walk over toward the bistro table, but he is stopped by the open draw that Felicity had removed her drawings from. Oliver bends down and pushes the drawer shut but in doing so also inadvertently opens a second drawer below. This drawer slides effortlessly open. It reveals an intense graphite drawing of a man and a woman. They are standing, their naked bodies colliding, kissing each other on the mouth, passionately. The woman has one of her arms wrapped around the man's waist; her other hand is wantonly grabbing his beautifully, broad shoulder. His left hand is firmly touching her right thigh, pulling her towards him and lifting her slightly off the ground. His right arm and hand surrounds her back completely. The woman has long hair tied loosely back. In her ear is an industrial ear piercing. The man she is making love with has particular scars and a distinctively recognizable tattoo.

Oliver finds himself muffling a gasp. He is physically aroused by the realization that he is looking at a drawing of him and Felicity making love. Through his own resounding heart beat Oliver hears Felicity's footsteps getting closer. He pushes the drawer shut with his shin and quickly slides his blazer off, folding it over in front of his waist to conceal his bulging crotch. His throat is dry and scratchy. One small bead of sweat rolls down the side of his face. He exhales deeply and slowly.

Felicity happily enters the room and walks directly over to the bistro table where she places the food on the table between two place settings. She looks over to see an Oliver who is wearing and awkward facial expression and oddly clutching his blazer at his waist.

"Oh, how rude of me. I should have offered to take your coat," she says as she steps toward Oliver with her hand extended to take his blazer.

Oliver adeptly turns slightly out of her reach and rather awkwardly states, "It's my favorite blazer. I thought I lost it once at a coat check. Very unsettling." He quickly sits in one of the bistro table chairs and places the blazer on his lap. Unconvincingly he asks, "It is hot in here?" as he pours himself a full glass of water that he greedily drinks from.

Felicity sits in the chair across from Oliver. She pours more water into his empty glass and asks, "So what do you and your trusty blazer think of my art work?"

Oliver chokes just a bit on the water, but manages to stammer out, "Very exciting." A little mortified by the truth of his statement and desperately trying to gain some control over the emotions that one clandestine drawing brought over him, he adds "And beautiful. Complicated. But true." Oliver smooth's out the napkin on his lap and continues to talk in an effort to gain more control. "You said there is a story also. Maybe another time you could tell me more about the story you are writing."

Felicity pours more water into his empty cup and smiles in agreement. As she places the water picture on the table she says, "I would like that. Now that you know where I live. You know how to get here. And can come back. Another time."