A/N: Thanks for following :) I hope you enjoy this chapter too, please feel free to review. Again, no beta, so any mistakes are mine.

Felicity woke and for the first time in weeks she felt refreshed. She stretched out, smiling at the arm underneath her and taking advantage of Oliver's sleeping state to really take him in.

There he lay in all his naked glory, sprawled out on her bed. She let her eyes sweep over his sleeping face – he looked so peaceful, a word she would definitely not use to describe Oliver Queen on any other day. She continued down to his jaw, his chest. She ran her fingers over his tattoo, across his scars that she had memorized long ago down in the foundry. Her fingers trailed over one that she hadn't recognized before, a brand new scar that was still raw, and her chest ached for him.

This man had been through so much. Things that would destroy most people, and somehow he had not only survived, but he was better for it. She wondered how many times he had seen his life pass before his eyes, how many times he had wanted it to just end. The thought made her sad.

She took a deep breath and let her hand travel down further, down to the sheet that rested low on his hips and she hesitated. She bit her lip and wondered if it was possible for her face to get any redder. Felicity brushed her hand back and forth, teasing the line between the sheet and his warm skin.

Oliver's hand clamped down on her wrist, catching her off guard. She startled and pulled her hand back with a surprised squeak.

Oliver flipped over so he was above her, and he smiled at the blonde as she retreated further into her pillow, embarrassed at being caught.

"Good morning," his voice was rough, laced with sleep. He leaned in, but the sheet that Felicity hastily pulled up in between them blocked his lips from hers.

"Hi," she mumbled through the fabric.

His brows furrowed in amusement. "Hi," he chuckled. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but there was kissing last night."

She nodded quickly.

"A lot of kissing."

She nodded again.

A lot of kissing that doesn't seem to be happening now…"

She wormed her way out from under him, taking the sheet with her and awkwardly trying to cover her naked body. "There was. But you know, morning breath," she turned with the sheet several times, wrapping it around her and pulling it from under her feet. "Not you. Me. I mean, you probably have it too. Everyone gets it. But I enjoyed it…" She shut her eyes. "The kissing. Not the morning breath."

Oliver rolled onto his back and leaned up on his elbows, letting his IT girl babble. He found it particularly endearing to wake up to.

Felicity clutched the sheet at her chest with one hand and pulled it above her feet, careful to not trip (that was the last thing she needed). She finally opened her eyes again. "I wish I would just…stop…." She trailed off as she took in Oliver in all his glory. He had no shame. And why should he? The man is a God, she thought. "You're naked."

He grinned, the smile reaching ear to ear. "Yes, yes I am." He sat up and pulled at the sheet. "And when I last checked, so were you," he teased.

"Right, because we had sex. Naked sex." She pulled the sheet tighter. "I mean, all sex is naked, obviously. Except dirty sex, that's not always naked. Which we did not have," she quickly corrected herself, "not that there's anything wrong with dirty sex, actually it can be kind of hot. Not to say the sex wasn't hot. Oh my god it won't stop." Felicity wondered if it was possible to wish herself into disappearing.

Oliver stood and pulled her in, kissing her. When he pulled back he was holding her face, looking her in the eye. "Felicity," he stated, effectively shutting her up.

"Right." She nodded; thankful he put a stop to her word vomit before she could say anything more humiliating than she already had, if it were even possible. "You know what? I think I'm just going to go shower…"

He smiled and kissed her. He glanced at the clock over her shoulder. They had effectively slept the entire day away, well into the evening. He sighed, disappointed. While they had both needed the rest, he was sad they couldn't just hole themselves up and pretend like the rest of the world didn't exist. "I'd join you, but then we may never leave your apartment, and I have to see Thea."

She blushed and let her eyes drop; disappointed, but also slightly relieved she'd have the shower to herself and time to gather her thoughts. Without another word she made her way to the bathroom, shutting the door softly behind her.

Oliver grinned at her retreating figure; the fact that he made her nervous and affected her filled him with satisfaction. He listened as the water turned on, trying hard not to dwell on the thought of his IT girl naked in the shower.

As he dressed he glanced around her room, taking in the warmth of it. He noticed the dresser, photos strewn around the mirror, and he approached it to see. There was a photo of a much younger Felicity and her mother at a family function. His eyes scanned, there were a few photos of her and some girlfriends, ones he hadn't recognized. Their world was so small sometimes that the thought of Felicity spending time outside the few people in the foundry felt strange to him. He felt a bit of jealousy in his chest and shook it off. She was allowed to have a life outside of him, he knew that, but he never was good at sharing.

Traces of the pre-island Ollie still existed after all.

He smiled at a picture of her and John, baby Sara in between them. He lingered there for just a moment, missing his friend, and he was anxious to get to the foundry. A photo booth strip in the corner of the mirror caught his eye. He did a double take, but sure enough, it was Felicity and Laurel. He picked it up, wondering exactly how much he had missed. Four frames of friendship, one that looked much more than acquaintances. They had goofy faces, and looked like they were really laughing. In the last frame Felicity was kissing Laurel's cheek as she made a surprised face into the camera.

"I was pretty wasted that night." Felicity's voice startled him, something that was not lost on him. He found it comforting and unsettling all at the same time that he relaxed enough in her apartment for anyone to sneak up on him. He'd have to fix that, because he needed to be on alert at all times. He turned facing her, feeling slightly guilty that he was invading her privacy.

"I mean, that's not why I have photos with Laurel," she continued. "We're friends now. Actually, strangely, really good friends. Didn't see that one coming. But that's why I'm laughing so hard in those, really drunk. In fact, if there were like maybe three more frames, you would see the miserable phase of that night with the crying and the hurling…"

He looked down at the photos in his hand. "Laurel doesn't drink…" It was a statement, but it was also a question as he worried that his ex, and friend, had broken her sobriety.

Felicity smirked. "She's still sober. But it was a rough night, for both of us. So, I drank…also for both of us. For a little bit, it made everything okay. Now we just drink coffee." She clarified with a smirk. She took the photo from his hand and hung it back up on her mirror where it belonged.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go through your things, I just…"

She cut him off with a smile. "Oliver, it's fine. They're just photos. It's not like your rifled through my underwear drawer." She blushed immediately and bit her lip nervously. "You didn't, did you?" She asked in a panic.

He laughed and wrapped his arms around her, wishing her fluffy robe wasn't in the way. "No, I didn't. I figure I'll let you surprise me for a while, and see them on you. Maybe during some of that dirty sex you're so fond of," he wiggled his eyebrows up and down.

She blushed again, which was apparently the theme of the day for her, but it was a nice change from the tears lately. The air shifted around them, and she tensed at his mention of a future. She hadn't been convinced anything had really changed…after all he was still the Arrow. But he was alive, and home, and that's what mattered, so she focused on that. "I'm going to get dressed."

He grinned and reluctantly released her from his grip to sit on the bed. "By all means," he said, leaning back onto his elbows comfortably.

She swallowed, taking him. "And you're going to wait in the hall," she clarified. She wondered if it were possible for him to look any more tempting.

"Nothing I haven't seen before," he teased.

She giggled. "Do you want to go see your sister or not? Because if you keep this up, I'm pretty sure we won't get anywhere."

He stood, throwing his head back with an exasperated sigh. "Fine. You killed it by mentioning my sister anyway. Gross. Mind if I borrow your phone? Mine's out of commission."

She glanced over to her nightstand. "I must have left it on the coffee table last night, go for it."

He kissed her quickly on his way out, propping her door open wider.

"Oliver!" Felicity scolded.

"Fine," he said, shutting her door in defeat.

He found her phone and in typical Felicity fashion, it was password protected. He moved towards her door and asked for her password through the wood. She responded by pulling the door open just enough for him to slip the phone through, popping in her password quickly, and slipping it back out. "What, you don't trust me?" He asked with exaggerated shock.

"With technology?" She called back. "Never."

He grinned. He had missed this - their banter back and forth. He missed normalcy. Not that their lives were ever normal, but it was as close as they'd ever come. He went to dial Thea when a text message popped up and before he could stop himself, he had read it.

The jealousy had popped back up, but this time he hadn't felt that it was unwarranted. Ray Palmer's smug face smiled up at him.

RP: Hope you got some sleep, beautiful. Are we still good for tonight? :)

His jaw tightened. He knew technically he had no claim on her, and that he was sure him showing up last night was a game changer, but it didn't make Ray Palmer any less irritating. What he wouldn't give to arrow him right through his chest.

He typed out a response quickly.

Something came up. Talk later.

He knew he'd pay for it later if he hit send, but he wasn't lying. Still, the irritation lingered.

"What's got your panties in a bunch?' For the second time that day, her voice startled him.

"Huh? Nothing." He quickly deleted the text, deciding not to face Felicity's wrath, and backed out of her messages, dropping his arms to his sides.

"It's not nothing. You're doing that thing," she pointed to his right hand, which he was twitching in aggravation.

"What thing?"

"That thing, like you want to arrow someone, but you're missing your bow…like fake nocking an arrow."

He ignored her observations when the phone in his hand began ringing, Diggle's face showing on the screen.

"Diggle," Oliver answered, glad to hear from his partner.

There was silence for just a beat. "Oliver? Is that really you man?" Diggle responded.

"Back from the dead."

"You're not kidding. Where have you been?" His friend was eager to hear what had kept him from Starling.

Oliver sighed heavily. "It's a long story."

"Then it'll have to wait. We've got a situation with Brick and his men. We've got to handle this tonight," he spoke urgently. "We need Felicity on the coms…"

"Right, we'll be right over."

"Oliver?"

"Yea?"

"It's good to have you back, man. Lord knows this team needs you...this city needs you."

A/N: Well, there you have it. I'll post the next chapter soon! Beware, angsty Olicity is on it's way D: