Author's note: Thank you guys, so much, for all of the reviews of the first chapter! I'm glad everyone seems to be enjoying the story. I wanted to give you a BIG heads up:
This story got a little darker than I was originally intending. There's some major angst/serious violence coming in later chapters. I'm telling you now, so that you can decide whether or not you want to invest yourself in the story, or nope on out of here. Please remember, this fic is rated M for good reason.
Ok, here we go!
Five years later:
"Hey." Felicity greeted, as she slid into the red vinyl booth where Digg and Lyla were already seated.
"Good morning." Lyla responded, smiling brightly at her.
"Where's Oliver?" Digg inquired, sure that if anyone knew why he was late it would be Felicity.
"He said he was being held hostage by Thea." she explained, grinning. "But, he was making his escape and would be here soon."
The four of them had had a standing date for the past four years. Every Sunday morning, no matter what else was going on in their worlds, they met at Ginny's Diner for breakfast. They took time out of the hectic chaos that was their lives and simply enjoyed the company of their patch-work family.
"How are you feeling?" Felicity asked, turning sympathetic eyes on the brunette sitting beside her favorite bodyguard.
Lyla rolled her eyes. "Like I'm dying for some pancakes, though I'm sure I'll regret it." she finished with a laugh.
"She's still struggling with the morning sickness." John offered, wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulder in support.
"General sickness would be more accurate." she told Felicity, rubbing her small but rounded belly. "They neglect to tell you that it lasts. All. Day."
Felicity pulled a large, square tin from the depths of her purse, pushing it across the table. "I did some research and this tea is supposed to help. It's made from all organic ingredients, like ginger, raspberry leaf, and citrus rind. Drink it before you eat and it should help you keep food down."
Lyla smiled brightly, taking the tin and glancing it over. "Thank you, Felicity! That's so sweet of you."
"That's our Felicity, always thinking." Oliver grinned, appearing beside their booth. He bent down to press a kiss to Lyla's cheek before sliding in next to Felicity and repeating the gesture. "What did I miss?"
"Felicity being the absolute best." Digg informed him, winking at her.
"So, nothing then?" Oliver smirked, draping his arm over the back of their bench seat.
"Everything alright with Thea?" asked Digg.
Oliver nodded, but Felicity could see the tense set of his shoulders. "She and Roy are leaving for Gotham tonight, and she's trying to squeeze as much time out of me as she can manage before then."
"Oh right, the internship at Wayne Enterprises. I bet she's excited." said Lyla, glancing up from her tin of tea.
Felicity noticed the muscle in Oliver's jaw tick.
He was doing his best to be supportive but that didn't stop the worry that he felt at the idea of his baby sister being in Gotham, where he couldn't protect her.
"She'll be safe, Oliver. Bruce promised to keep an eye on her." Felicity reminded him, squeezing his knee reassuringly.
"Besides, Roy would rather die than let anything happen to Thea." Diggle commented, his knowing glance bouncing between Oliver and Felicity.
Oliver nodded stiffly but didn't respond.
The waitress brought their usual coffee and a pitcher of water, placing it on the table between them. Lyla asked for a mug of hot water, eager to test out her new found herbal remedy, before placing her order for a short stack of pancakes. Diggle smiled indulgently at his wife, ordering his usual eggs and hash. Felicity asked for oatmeal with a side of fruit, while Oliver decided on a western omelette.
As their waitress drifted away to place their order Felicity settled back into her seat, resting her head against the arm Oliver had propped along the back of her seat, letting her eyes slide shut.
"Tired?" he asked, shifting on the bench to angle his body toward her.
She nodded, not lifting her head. "I didn't get much sleep. My new program has been giving me grief and I ended up staying up until dawn working on it."
"Solve the problem?" Diggle asked.
"Yeah, eventually." She laughed. "Who needs sleep anyway?"
"You should have stayed home. Slept in." Lyla scolded, her maternal instincts apparently already in full swing.
Felicity lifted her head to meet her friend's eyes, smiling. "And miss Sunday breakfast? Not a chance."
"At least make time for a cat nap then." Lyla insisted.
"Deal." Oliver said, earning himself an eye roll from the blonde beside him.
"I'll make sure to get some rest." Felicity agreed.
"That's what I just said." Oliver told her, his face perfectly blank.
Felicity elbowed him lightly in the ribs, grinning when he tightened the arm behind her, looping it around her shoulders and pulled her against his side with a gentle squeeze.
"So," Oliver turned eyes to Digg, "did you guys settle the gender debate, yet?"
Lyla laughed, shaking her head. "No. Not even close."
"She's being stubborn." Digg complained, trying to look annoyed but not fooling anyone. "How are we supposed to decorate the nursery if we don't know what colors to use?"
Oliver shrugged, genuinely having no idea. Interior decorating, especially for a nursery, was not in his area of expertise.
"Use neutral colors." Felicity suggested as if it were the simplest solution in the world.
"That's exactly what I said." Lyla nodded her agreement. "I was thinking gray and white, with splashes of red for some color."
"What's wrong with blue or pink?" Digg asked, sounding as clueless as Oliver felt.
"There's nothing wrong with them. They're just so..." Lyla trailed off, searching for the words to express what she was thinking.
"Typical?" Felicity supplied.
"Yes!" Lyla grinned. "Typical. Exactly."
"And typical is bad?" Oliver asked, trying to see the issue from their point of view.
"Oliver, look at our lives." Lyla explained. "They're anything but typical. Every day, we do extraordinary things, accomplish the impossible. Raising a baby in this life was never something that I expected to do. But now he, or she, is on their way and I can't think of anything I've ever wanted more. I want our baby to know that they are the single most important thing we've ever done with our lives, and I don't feel like I can do that by just throwing some pink or blue paint on a wall. I know it seems like something really small and insignificant, but it's important to me that the nursery is as special as this baby is to us."
"I have to say I can see Lyla's reasoning." Oliver shrugged, giving Digg a "sorry man, you're waging a losing battle" look.
"We can still decorate the nursery any way we want, I just want to know if it's a boy or a girl." Digg argued, but Oliver could see the fight leaving him.
"And ruin the surprise?" Lyla winked at her husband, knowing she'd won the war.
Diggle laughed, shaking his head in defeat as their waitress returned with their meal and topped off their coffees.
The foursome ate, chatting amiably about their week and what they had planned for the week upcoming. It was nice for all of them to have this time. It gave them the chance to pretend, if only for an hour or two, that they were just like everyone else. They had no greater purpose, no heavy responsibility to the city. Here there was no danger, no life-threatening emergencies. They were just a family like any other enjoying a Sunday breakfast.
Oliver tried to focus on the conversation around him, to pay attention to what his friends were saying. He tried to think of anything other than Thea leaving but his mind seemed to wander back to it every chance it had.
In his heart he knew that Bruce would do his best to keep her safe. After all, the flying rodent owed him a favor or two. But, Oliver wasn't used to entrusting the lives of the people he loved to someone else.
If he was honest with himself, Oliver was glad that if Thea felt the need to put some distance between herself and their mother while she honed her skills, she was doing it somewhere that he had eyes to watch her. If she had taken the internship in Paris he'd have a much harder time keeping tabs on her. In Gotham, he'd know the minute she hit any kind of snag.
Digg was right, too. Roy would do everything in his power to keep Thea safe. He hadn't thought so at first, but Oliver had to admit that Roy turned out to be good for her. He kept her out of harm's way and when things got dicey he was the first to lay his life down for her. What more could Oliver ask for?
"Earth to Oliver!" Felicity whispered close to his ear.
He turned his gaze on her, surprised that everyone seemed to have finished eating, including himself. "Sorry. I spaced out, I guess." He shrugged, grateful when Felicity slipped her fingers into his hand. The contact grounded him, giving him an anchor to the present, instead of letting him drift into the future.
When had he started focusing on the future, more than the past? He was startled to realize the shift in his own thinking.
"You guys have any plans today?" Lyla asked, leaning back in her seat, her brown hair falling over her shoulders.
"I'm making Oliver partake in a Sherlock marathon." Felicity told her, grinning wickedly.
"Speaking of which," Oliver stood from the bench seat, holding a hand out to help Felicity to her feet. "We have to stop by your place to pick up the DVD's."
"I want to grab a change of clothes, anyway." she told him, shrugging into the jacket he held open for her. "Jeans are not exactly optimal marathon gear."
"I didn't know there was such a thing." Digg chuckled, lifting his coffee to his lips.
"Yoga pants and a hoodie are the way to go, my friend." Felicity grinned.
Oliver snagged the bill from the waitress as she approached the table, before bending down to press a goodbye kiss to Lyla's cheek. He left Felicity to say her goodbye before Digg could argue over his paying the bill.
Again.
"Ready?" he asked Felicity, his hand dipping to the small of her back upon his return.
"Ready." She smiled up at him, letting him guide her toward the exit.
John and Lyla watched them go, a grin turning up the corners of Lyla's lips.
"What?" Digg asked, his eyebrow lifted in question.
"Nothing." she smiled up at him, planting a chaste kiss against his lips. "Nothing at all."
Settled in among the oversized couch cushions in her gray yoga pants and pink hoodie, Felicity watched as Oliver put the first DVD into the player. She never could figure out how to work the media center in the Queen Mansion, always leaving it to him. Oliver pushed in the tray before making his way across the room to plop down on the couch beside her.
Feeling her eyes on him, he turned his head toward her. "What?" he asked.
"Nothing." she laughed, shaking her head. "Not a thing."
He narrowed his eyes, leaning forward into her personal space the way he knew always threw her off. "You were staring." he accused.
"I was admiring." she corrected, her smile widening.
"What were you thinking?" he asked, leaning even further into her.
He heard her breathing pick up as her tongue darted out to moisten her lips.
"Nothing." she repeated.
"I have ways of making you talk, Miss Smoak." he threatened, using his Arrow voice.
She leaned into him, her lips a breath away from his. "I am not afraid of you, Mr. Queen." she whispered, grinning widely when his eyes slid closed.
She sat back against the throw pillow, clearly proud of herself.
"You'll regret that." he warned.
"And how do you plan-" she began, cut off when he launched himself across the space between them.
Felicity squeaked in surprise as he dragged her body beneath his, pushing her down into the cushions. His fingers found the sensitive area along her ribs, slid down to her waist, applying the barest hint of pressure and then easing up.
"Don't even think about it, Oliver." she hissed up at him, her eyes staring daggers into his.
"You know how I love a challenge, Felicity." He grinned salaciously.
His fingers dug into her sides, tickling her mercilessly. She screamed, thrashing under his weight, struggling to stop the giggles that were enveloping her.
"STOP IT!" she cried through her laughter.
Ignoring her pleas he continued his attack, slipping his hands up to her ribcage, right below her breasts.
Her screams increased in volume as did her giggles. She fought him, bucking her hips in an attempt to throw him off of her. Oliver had both knees secured on either side of her legs, effectively imprisoning her legs between his. No matter how much she twisted and struggled, he had her at his mercy. She made a valiant attempt nonetheless. She managed to slide sideways at least, until her head was hanging off the edge of the couch, her glasses sliding off of her face.
"Say it!" he demanded, his fingers finding their way to her stomach, tickling her into a frenzy of hysterical laughter until tears were streaming from her eyes.
She fought the urge to do as he asked, shaking her head in denial.
The door across from where they were entwined banged against the wall. Oliver's hands stopped as he lifted his head, giving her the chance to draw a much needed breath. Felicity tilted her head back to see Roy standing in the doorway, Thea peeking out from behind him.
"Jesus, Ollie, I thought she was dying!" Thea scolded, stepping out from behind her red wall of protection and crossing her arms over her chest.
"I was. You just saved my life." Felicity told her breathlessly, upside down and still pinned under Oliver's weight.
Oliver sat back on his heels, pulling her with him. He set her back against the cushions, shifting himself so that her legs were draped across his lap, as she pushed her glasses back into place.
"Thanks for coming to my rescue." Felicity smiled at Roy.
"Anytime." He laughed, dropping into the chair across from where they were seated. "Next time, put a sock on the door."
Thea burst into laughter, slapping a hand against Roy's chest as she perched on the arm of his chair. "Stop. You know it's not like that." she told him, rolling her eyes.
"Right." He smirked.
Oliver narrowed his eyes at his sister's boyfriend.
They'd heard this same sentiment a million times over in the last five years. Not only from Roy of course, but he was the most vocal about it. No one seemed to comprehend how two people could be as close as he and Felicity were, spend as much time together as they did, and not be sleeping together. Neither Felicity, nor himself, felt the need to justify their relationship but that did nothing to stop the speculation. In fact, it probably had the exact opposite effect.
Honestly, Oliver wasn't sure how to explain his relationship with Felicity even if he wanted to. Friendship didn't begin to cover it but they weren't lovers either.
They loved each other. Absolutely.
One simply couldn't live without the other. They spent almost every hour of their days together and most of their nights. Neither of them wanted it any other way.
Well, that wasn't exactly true... Both of them could do with a good dose of physicality. It just wasn't an option.
"Some respect, Roy." Oliver said quietly, though the threat was clear.
Roy shrugged, winking at Felicity.
She grinned in response. Felicity genuinely liked Roy. He was smart, funny, kind, and an all around good man. He loved Thea with all of his heart and he respected Oliver, as both Thea's brother and the Arrow. Roy was also sharp, often seeing things well before others saw them. He could find patterns and common threads almost as quickly as Felicity, herself. If he had a mind to, he could be great in IT. But, Roy's heart wasn't in it. He wanted nothing more than to follow in Oliver's footsteps. Something he was well on his way to accomplishing, already having developed a significant prowess with a bow.
"Are you all packed?" Felicity asked Thea, changing the subject.
Thea's face lit up. "Yup! All set."
"What time does your flight leave?"
"4 o'clock. I wanted to leave as late as possible, but still have time to settle in." Thea explained, and Felicity could see the sadness in her eyes.
"I'll miss you." Felicity told her, honestly.
Thea smiled, jumping from her place next to Roy and crossing the room to wrap her arms around Felicity's shoulders.
"I'll miss you to, Licity." She hugged her. "You're the closest thing to a big sister I've ever had."
"Well, you have Oliver." Roy supplied, attempting and failing to dodge the throw pillow aimed at his head.
"So," Thea began, turning to nod at the television, "what are we watching?"
"Sherlock, series one." Oliver informed her, hitting play on the remote.
Thea snuggled in behind Felicity, propping her up against her side. Oliver watched the pair from the corner of his eye as they settled in to watch the first episode. He found himself once again awestruck at Felicity's ability to charm everyone around her. From day one Oliver had found her fascinating. She beguiled him to the point that he couldn't even lie to her. When lies came so easily to him where everyone else was involved, he couldn't seem to come up with anything close to believable with her.
And then, he'd introduced her to Thea. The two women could not be more different but they had bonded instantly. Felicity taught Thea about computers and Thea taught her about the world of high fashion.
Thea took to computers faster than Oliver would have guessed. She had a natural talent for them, quickly picking up everything Felicity taught her. Thea's newly acquired skills had come in handy, multiple times, at the Foundry and now she was going to work on mastering them at Wayne Enterprises.
Even Oliver's quick to judge, no-one-is-good-enough-for-my-son, mother had fallen victim to Felicity's easy loving personality. On the nights that Felicity stayed at the mansion, Oliver could often find her in the kitchen, chatting and laughing with his mother and Raisa.
Everyone adored Felicity. Oliver himself had fallen for her, hard. She'd become a part of his world in ways that he'd thought no woman ever could. She was stitched into the very fabric of his life, an integral part of him.
So, why hadn't he taken the leap from "friends" to lovers? Why was he still unable to take that final step and make her his in every way? What was it that he was so afraid of?
"You okay?" Felicity tapped her heel against his thigh, dragging him from his thoughts.
"I'm fine." he reassured her, squeezing her calf comfortingly.