A/N Thanks for the follows/favorites! I also really appreciate reviews, so please let me know what you think. If there's some aspect of the first chapters that you'd like to see continue or some suggestions of things for our heroes to encounter, I'd love to hear about it! I find it all very encouraging to continue the story.

As Oliver watched her raise her coffee mug to her lips, he couldn't help but release a sigh of satisfaction and lean back in his seat. The booth Felicity had chosen was in the back corner, and nothing seemed like it was going to break the privacy of the moment. Within seconds she'd downed nearly the entire coffee.

"So Mr. Former Billionaire, how exactly are you funding this escapade? For the record, I have been getting a sizable paycheck for the past year. If you think I'm going to be your meal ticket, I have to admit that I could be persuaded to let you be my arm candy." At that last statement, she let her eyes suggestively look him up and down, jokingly exaggerating her interest.

Oliver grinned and leaned his elbows on the table. "Not a job I'd turn down, but I'm not planning on draining your savings account to joy ride around." Felicity took a sip of her coffee as she looked at him, clearly waiting on him to elaborate. "Thea inherited all of Malcom's fortune, so she's the current sponsor of our adventure." Thinking about the source of Thea's money brought on a shift in the mood.

"Oliver," Felicity began, carefully placing her cup on the table, "If you don't-"

Before she could continue, he moved to cut her off. "I am fully aware I shouldn't want to take anything that ever had his name on it, but considering everything he's taken from us, the least he can do is buy us a cup of coffee." Rather than smile, Felicity gave him a strange look, as though she was trying to read him. "What?"

"I'm just stunned to hear you make a joke about Malcom Merlyn, that's all."

"What? Was it that bad?" Oliver reached across the table and started tracing along her fingers where she was holding her coffee.

"No," she answered, clearly distracted by the electricity racing across the table between them. He didn't want to overwhelm her or freak her out, so he started to pull his hand back. She abruptly turned her hand and grasped his fingers in hers. Oliver's eyes locked on hers and the air grew thick around them. There was heat, tension, and more than a small drop of uncertainty coming from them both. He tried to think of what to say to break the intensity of the moment, but nothing popped into his head. Giving up, he shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

Felicity responded with a shrug of her own, biting her lip and grinning ruefully. She released his hand to start wiping down the table with a napkin, obviously in her own attempt to end the moment. In the process, her arm hit her mug and sent it swiftly into the air. Without a thought, Oliver reached over the side of the table and caught the mug neatly in his hand. It had been almost empty, but the remaining drops spilt onto his fingers. He let out a hiss at the contact before bringing the mug back up onto the table.

"Oh my gosh! You should have just let it fall! I'm such a klutz! Are you okay?" She grabbed his hand and brought it close so that she could see it. Obviously coffee that she'd been able to drink wasn't hot enough to burn, but Oliver decided to make the most of the moment. As she held his hand to examine it, he slowly ran his thumb against her fingers. Despite the temptation, he wasn't going to let the tension build up again.

"Well, the good news is that if I do decide to live off of you, my vigilante instincts can help me earn my keep."

"Don't be ridiculous! You have tons of skills that can earn your keep!" He was fully aware that Felicity had meant the comment innocently, but neither of them could pretend that certain "skills" didn't immediately pop into their minds. "I meant, like, company running skills, or… or you could teach archery classes?" She was obviously floundering.

Oliver shook his head and stood up from the booth. "Or maybe some type of self defense class! That could be something-" He still had a grip on her hand, and he pulled her firmly up from the booth and cut off her rambling by covering her lips with his. He wasn't forgetting that their last kiss had been in Nanda Parbat, and it had been the opposite of relaxed.

Oliver was determined that the kisses in their past would not define their relationship. Every time their lips had touched before now, while there had been love, it had been shrouded in desperation, fear, and hopelessness. This kiss, this spontaneous instant where seconds ago they had just been smiling at one another, this was what he wanted. A kiss with that same love, but this time blanketed in joy and hope. A happy beginning.

At first Felicity froze beneath him, but within seconds her lips had softened beneath his. She pulled back from him just far enough to take a breath before she moved up on her toes, gripping his arm for leverage as she pressed against him. Her enthusiasm sent a wave of desire through him, and Oliver slowly pulled away. He rested his forehead against hers, closed his eyes, and took a breath.

"Ready to go?" He asked, opening his eyes and looking deep into hers.

"Okay," she said softly. Oliver wrapped his arm behind her and led her out of the coffee shop and back to the car. "Do you have a destination in mind for tonight at least?" He acknowledged that it was a reasonable question. She slid into the passenger side of the car and he gently let the car door shut behind her. If he were honest he had no idea where they were stopping or where they were going to end up, and he didn't care.

"Tell you what," he answered as he slid behind the steering wheel. Let's drive another hour or two and soak up some starlight, then I'll give you back your tech I locked up in the trunk and let you find us somewhere to spend the night."

"You have my tablet!" Felicity's eyes grew huge. He grinned. He had threatened not to go if she wouldn't leave the thing behind, but he wasn't actually foolish enough to separate Felicity from her devices for more than a day or so. She'd end up figuring out how to make his dashboard get online, and he didn't need her messing with the car. "I can't believe you lied to me!" She reached over and smacked him in the arm.

He responded with an obligatory, "Ouch," before continuing. "Yes, I brought it, but you have to promise not to spend too much time on that thing. I want to be on this trip with you, not you and the billions of people navigating the digital world."

"You're just lucky that I want it enough that I'm not going to hold a grudge that you made me think I was going to be cut off from the world until who knows when." She sent him another angry look at Oliver pulled back out on the interstate.

He watched her pull her hair back into a ponytail and lean her seat back so that she could watch the stars go by. "Yes," he murmured softly. "I'm very lucky."