Summary:

The salmon ladder makes it's first appearance. Felicity babbles and Oliver is left wondering.

Notes:

Let me start by thanking my beta reader. Without you my mind would forget entire paragraphs that I thought I wrote and didn't. You are too good to be true. I also want to thank you all for the comments questions subscribers and the kudos. This is truly the greatest fandom in the world. The support and love that is shared still amazes me. I'm proud to be a part of it.
I'm hoping that everyone is getting an idea of what's going on. That there are times in our lives when things happen and they are beyond our control. Sometimes there's a plan for you and it's nothing like the plans that are currently laid out.
I have to say I love this couple. I love the angst that everyone writes for them and even the show writers put some good moments in for them as well, but the difference is that when I read what you all write I know that there's more than 3 seconds of happiness. It eases Our little Olicity hearts while the show writers torture us for what feels like an eternity. Really though an hour long episode is done in like 5 minutes which is why we obsessively watch the episodes making sure we didn't miss a single second of Olicity. Find me someone in the fandom that hips this couple and didn't watch either kiss 5 zillion times to make sure you saw every touch, every expression and every breath. The reason for this is we love the pain and angst. The problem is that we have no idea if there will actually be an end to it. That being said, I could go on and on, but I will save it for another chapter.
Hope you enjoy it and again leave your questions comments and suggestions at the end

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

It felt like the longest meeting Oliver had ever sat through, and, honestly, he couldn't begin to tell you what they actually discussed through most of it. After an hour and a half ofsitting with Walter, the head of applied science and the assistant head of IT, his head was spinning. All he could remember was approval papers would be brought by for him to sign later in the day.
He sat in his office chair and pulled his phone out to text Laurel.

He waited for a response.

He sighed and put the phone down. Maybe now was the time to utilize the office gym that was updated last year. He stood up, grabbed his bag from the closet and walked out of his office, stopping at his EA's desk. "Meg, I'm going to the gym to relax in case anyone needs me," he smiled and headed to the elevator.
Ah, the gym. Oliver loved to work out. He turned the music on to his favorite playlist and inhaled. This was the perfect stress relief, and he really liked to be in shape. He worked hard to keep his body in top form. The harder he pushed himself, the better he felt. So push himself, he did - starting with a 5 mile run on the treadmill and then moving to the weights.
His workout always ended on the salmon ladder. He grabbed hold of the bar and using his upper body, began grunting his way up the bar. When he was almost to the top when a female voice interrupted him.
"Mr. Queen, Meg told me I could find you here and I wanted to get these forms signed before the end of the day so…." she stammered and stopped looking in awe at the sight of him. His muscles flexed at their fullest and sweat beading then ran down over his pecks. She froze, unable to move at the sight. "Wow….I..uh…I'm sorry to interrupt your sweating… I mean, your workout."
Oliver caught sight of her, nearly missing his placing to bring the bar down. What was Felicity doing here in the gym of his building? He hopped down, grabbed a towel and walked toward her, taking her in. She had glasses on and had her hair pulled back in a ponytail.
She stood there, mouth agape. Her eyes were glued to his chest. It was like she couldn't look away until the thought hit her that,oh God, I'm staring at his chest. Her eyes were drawn to the tattoo he had on his chest. Tattoos on men were a lot hotter than she thought and, mixed with the scars he had, accentuated his muscles even more. She quickly shook her head and turned away, putting her hand near her glasses to cover her embarrassment. She clenched her files close to her chest.
Oliver started to wipe his face as he approached her. "Is there some reason you're here?" He questioned firmly.
"I…..I…." She stuttered trying to get the words out. "I wasn't staring at your scars, I mean, tattoo, chest!" She blurted out, squeezing her eyes shut and taking a deep breath and opening her eyes she looked at him, embarrassment shrouding her face
"Felicity,"he said, a little confused. "What are you doing here?" He wiped his chest off and put his t-shirt on making it much easier to concentrate on what she needed to say.
That's a loaded question, she thought in her head. She took a second to make sure she was just thinking that and hadn't said it out loud. "I have these approvals I need you to sign for the upgrades to combine the IT and applied science department."
"OK," Oliver said. "But that still doesn't answer the questions of why do you have these and what are you doing here?"
"Oh," she said. She found it much easier to look at him now that he had a shirt on. "I'm the new head of the IT department at Queen Consolidated." She straightened her glasses on her face and smiled proudly.
"Wait, what?" Oliver said with a head shake. "I had a meeting this morning with the head of the IT department today and it wasn't you."
Felicity shook her head in agreement. "Yes, I know. I sent my assistant Jerry. One of the execs had a serious computer virus and I had to make sure that it was handled properly so it didn't run through the network and become a bigger mess. I will never understand why people feel the need to look at porn while they are at work. Have they no shame," she said, rolling her eyes.
Oliver stood there for a second just looking at her. He sensed her discomfort from her fidgeting. "Felicity, you were talking about some papers?" He questioned.
"Papers?" She said, her voice trailing off a bit. She shook her head to bring her back from the dumfounded state she was in. "Yes, the papers. I need your signature on these to complete the combining of the IT and applied science departments." She looked down at the folder she was holding and then back at him.
"Can I have them?" He asked, putting his hand out. He could tell he frazzled her and quite frankly he wasn't sure why he was enjoying it as much as he was.
"The papers! Of course you can," she said, handing him the folder. Oliver took the folder and opened it to look through the papers inside.
"I'll send Jerry by after lunch to retrieve them, if you don't mind," she rocked on her heels, not quite sure what to say next. She clasped her hands together and took a deep breath, turning to leave. "Well, I'll let you get back to your whatever that climby thing is and …"
"Salmon ladder," he interrupted her. She turned and looked at him, surprised he had answered her. "The climby thing. It's called a salmon ladder," he said, not looking up from the papers in the folder and walking over to sit on the weight bench.
"Oh," her lips matched the word. "I gotcha. Salmon ladder like the way the salmon do when they spawn. I get it."
He laughed and shook his head. "Felicity, what are you doing for lunch today?"
She looked at him, confused. "I was going to eat in the cafeteria. Today's special sounds pretty good and… wait, why are you asking?" She said as she tried to stop her food ramble.
"I thought you could join me for lunch to discuss the upcoming changes a little more," he smiled and closed the folder.
"You're engaged… I mean… that's not a good idea," she paused and tried again. "Besides, you don't really look like the manwich type of guy, and that's what they are having in the cafeteria today. If I don't hurry, I'll miss it."
"Felicity," he interrupted her again. "It's not a date." He clarified, "Yes, I am engaged, and this would be a business lunch. To be honest, I have a few questions on some effects these changes are going to have company wide." He stood up and walked towards her. "That is, if you can give up a manwich for a boring business lunch at Table Salt."
"Business lunch. Of course," she said, feeling like a complete idiot. "I mean, of course it's a business lunch since we work together and we need to discuss business." If she could bury her head in the sand to cover her embarrassment that would be great.
"Ok then," Oliver said as he headed for the men's shower area. "The car will be waiting out front in half hour to pick us up. I'll have Meg contact your assistant and add it to your agenda." With that, he disappeared through the door, leaving her no time to object.
Felicity shook her head, still confused on what just happened. "Lunch it is then," she whispered to herself. She straightened her glasses again and headed to her office.

"Oh, Mr. Queen," the maitre'd said, clapping his hands together. "So good to see you. Will Miss Lance be joining you for lunch this afternoon?"
"Not today, Samuel," Oliver answered with a smile. "This is my business associate, Miss Smoak. My assistant called to reserve a table for us."
"Of course, Mr. Queen. Right this way," Samuel led them to a table near the back and pulled out the chair for Felicity to sit down. "Your server will be right with you." He nodded and went back to his station by the door.
Their server came over to their table, handed them menus and told them he would return shortly with their drink orders.
Felicity flipped her menu open and looked through it. "So Mr. Queen, what questions did you have regarding the department merger?"
"Please call me Oliver," he insisted. "I don't think formalities are called for since you are dating my best friend. How is it going with Tommy, by the way?"
Felicity looked at him, perplexed. "Mr. Qu- Oliver. I'm not sure how my seeing Tommy became relevant to merging the IT and applied science departments. This is supposed to be a business lunch so shouldn't we stick to business?"
"Ah, ," Oliver said and opened the file. "Is this the spot you need me to sign?" He pointed to a line at the bottom of the page.
"Yes," Felicity nodded when she saw where he was pointing.
He grabbed a pen out of his pocket, clicked it open and signed the paperwork. He clicked the pen closed and returned it to his pocket, closed the folder and handed it back to her. He picked up his menu and motioned for the waiter to take their order.
Felicity looked at him, confused as she held the folder in her hand.
"I'll have the filet mignon over seasoned vegetables, and the lady will have?" Oliver looked at Felicity inquiringly.
"I'll have the spinach stuffed chicken breast over rice," she looked at him, not knowing what to say as she watched the waiter take their menus and disappear towards the kitchen. "What just happened here?"
Oliver smiled and folded his hands then rested them on the table in front of him. "This is a business meeting and we did business, now let's talk. Tell me again how are things going with Tommy?"
"Now I see what you two have in common," Felicity sat back with a sly smile. "You are made from the same mold."
"What does that mean exactly? What mold is that?" Oliver smiled.
"I don't know if I should tell you really, I mean, technically you are my boss and we are having a business lunch. It might not be the most appropriate thing to discuss during office hours," Felicity joked, sipping her water.
"Let's get this straight," Oliver explained. "Yes, I'm your boss. Yes, this is supposed to be a business lunch, but let's be honest here, I pretty much convinced you to come to lunch with me so A) I wouldn't have to eat alone and B) I wanted to see what was really going on with you and Tommy. It's much easier if you just tell me now, since I am only hearing Tommy's side of the story and you never know what he's telling me really." He smiled proudly for what he felt like he accomplished.
"Bravo," Felicity nodded, smiling. "You are good. I'm wondering if I should give you a standing ovation for that performance."
"Whatever do you mean?" Oliver joked innocently.
"I think it's safe to say I've never had ½ of a bromance try so hard to get information," she leaned back in her chair.
"I just want to get to know the woman Tommy's been spending so much time with. Really, when you think about it, we almost have to," he declared.
"Have to? Really? Exactly why is that?" she questioned.
"Well, you see. I'm getting married and Tommy is my friend," Oliver stated plainly.
Felicity raised an eyebrow. "Is there a point to this?"
"Tommy is my best man and will be attending loads of pre-wedding functions until the big day. If you are going to be around Tommy, then you'll be joining him at many of the functions, and it would be easier if we got to know each other." Oliver stated in a matter of fact tone.
"So because I'm friends with Tommy, your best man and friend, we need to be friends? Is that what you're saying?" Felicity scoffed.
"No, we can't be friends," Oliver stated the waiter approached with their plates.
"Wait. What? You're contradicting yourself," Felicity said, confused. "You just said-"
"Listen," Oliver interrupted her as he began to eat his lunch. "We can't be friends simply because men and women can't be friends, but we do need to get to know each other."
"So we can't be friends, but we have to be friends? You don't make any sense, Oliver," she said as she took the beets that were piled on the side of her plate and put them on the small dish near the center of the table. Oliver watched her as she concentrated, making sure she didn't miss any.
"It makes perfect sense really. Men and women can't be friends because the woman always gets the wrong idea and then things get messy and she's crying. It just gets messy. All I'm saying is that we will be seeing a lot of each other with all the amount of time we're going to be…..What are you doing?" He asked finally, watching her as she made sure she hadn't missed any beets on her plate.
"I can't stand beets. They're just… just weird," she said, making a face as she took the last one off her plate and cut her chicken. "So let me get this straight, men and women can't be friends because the woman always falls in love with the man. Is that what you're saying?"
Oliver smiled at her quirky behavior. "What makes beets weird? They're very good for you and yes that is what I'm saying." He stabbed a beet from the plate she put them on.
"Well, Oliver, I can assure you that you are very wrong about men and women. One of my closest friends is a man and he's very much in love with another woman. Sufficient to say I am in no way moping in a sea of my own tears. I can assure you that I am not going to fall in love with you, Oliver. As for the beets, they are weird. Think about it, they are red and no matter what you do all the red gushes out of them and your dinner starts to look like a murder scene. It's just disturbing," she made a disgusted face again.
Oliver smiled and ate another beet. "So, how do you know so much about computers?"
"Well, I've been building them since I was 7, really. I wanted a computer of my own, but my mom didn't think I needed one, and one day I was in front of our building and I saw this pile of parts in a box. Someone was throwing away an old computer and some additional parts. I took the box home and somehow I just knew what to do." She trailed off in the memory for a moment then shook her head quickly to come back to reality. "That was it. The rest is history."
Felicity took another bite and then sipped her water. Their conversation seemed to bounce all over from business to personal lives in light speed. It was like they had known each other forever and were catching up on old times. It was probably the most comfortable Oliver had felt with a woman in his life. There was just something about her that made him feel like he could be himself. He didn't have to pretend. For the first time he could just be Oliver Queen.
"Thank you for lunch, but I really need to get back," she said, wiping her lips with the napkin.
"It was a good lunch," he said smiling then looking down. "I should apologize, though, for tricking you into to coming to lunch," he admitted before signaling the waiter for the check.
"Tricking me?" she asked, confused. "What do you mean?"
"Well," he said, pulling out his credit card. "I really wanted to go out to lunch today and I didn't want to eat alone so I made up that phony excuse about the department merger and here we are." He handed the waiter his credit card.
"Well, Oliver…how do you know I didn't trick you into taking me to lunch?" She gave him a sly smile.
"I'm not sure what you mean," Oliver said, furrowing his brow in confusion.
"Maybe you did or maybe I showed up unannounced at lunch time for a reason. I mean, I was starving," she began to explain. "I skipped breakfast and didn't want to miss lunch." She said, picking up her purse. "Or maybe I wanted to get to know the man that Tommy talks about all the time." She turned and grabbed her coat from the chair. "I guess we may never know the answer." She stood up and straightened her glasses.
Oliver looked at her and laughed as Felicity slipped her coat on. "Remember Oliver, a lot of your old girlfriends are on the internet sharing your best lines with the tabloids."
"How did you…?" Oliver asked, a little shocked that she knew more about him than she originally let on.
"I'm a computer hacker," she smiled. "If it's on the internet, I can find it." With that, she stood up from the table and picked up the folder. "I have to get back to the office, Oliver. Thank you for lunch and your signature." She lifted the folder to her chest, walked to the exit and was out the door.
The waiter brought his card back to him and asked him if there was anything else he needed. Oliver dismissed him and chuckled to himself. There was definitely something about Felicity Smoak that made her different. He smiled and proceeded to leave the restaurant.