A/N: I'm still amazed at how many people are reading this story. Thank you! Also to the ones that followed or added this story to their favorites, and reviewed. You made my day :)
Just to let you know, I'm not sure if I'll keep updating this fast. My system is to upload a new chapter when I have two lined up. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up this rhythm.
Enjoy!
SPOILERS 2x10
A phone call.
That's all it took and she was gone. Though she'd barely known Barry for a week it felt like the right thing to do. He'd come waltzing into her life and fixed it when it was crumbling to pieces. Seeing him in a hospital bed, the even sound of the machines surrounding them, she felt woeful; yet not broken, or hopeless as she'd been merely a couple days before, when she held Oliver's face in her hands. She smiled humorlessly and took Barry's hand, wishing it wasn't so complicated, and her heart not being taken by somebody else.
Coming back did nothing to conciliate her thoughts as Oliver didn't seem like his normal self. As she came into the office he gave her a faint smile, warmth surrounding her instantly. She was home. Yet before she could read into it the wall he surrounded himself with came up again.
Then the once welcoming feel of the foundry became tense, and because of one mistake he jumped at her throat.
It felt wrong. Having Oliver tell her off, with the tone he only used as the arrow. His anger and disappointment slay her, so she forced herself to walk away. She'd never seen him that way, not towards her. Her Oliver knew how far to push, how hard she worked for him, how guilty she'd feel. She held onto the tears until her apartment door closed behind her.
Then he was on the verge of death, once again. His voice barely a whisper in her ear as he asked her how to avoid an explosion. A breath she didn't knew was holding left her lips as he told her he was ok. The way her life depended on that answer made her feel incredibly weak.
It wasn't until he was safe, back in the foundry, that she allowed anger to resurface. Then he breathed an apology, something so rare of him yet sounded profoundly honest. The vulnerability with which he told her he needed her was overwhelming. She joked trying to lighten the mood, and then he had to take her breath away again.
"You're my partner."
His eyes held hers, as a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. This, he was everything, whether she liked it or not, when it came to Oliver Queen she was gone, lost in the depth of his blue eyes, on the lines of his face, on the mysteries and all that he left untold, that she was more than eager to shine light to.
He was the first one to look away, bringing up Barry. Her face fell as he tried to make her feel better, as if Barry was the reason for her sorrow. Then a warm hand stopped her mid-rant, their eyes meeting again. No words were needed. Blue eyes met, a familiar warmth seeping into her. He lingered, more that he usually did. And something changed.
His eyes left hers and, for the briefest moment, darted down to her lips. They parted without thought and she shuddered. And then the moment was gone.
His hand fell from her shoulder, the heat of his palm instantly missed. He turned around and breathed in deeply, collecting himself. She stepped toward him, hesitant, itching to press for answers but knowing him well enough to expect none.
"Oliver" she whispered fearfully. The tension on his shoulders already telling her his wall was coming up, still she had to try to hold on to him. Her fingers brushed against his arm and he turned around, façade already in place. He flashed a fake smile, the one she's more than used to spot, and told her a rushed goodbye.
In the emptiness of the foundry she felt small. Confused. Frustrated. As she turned the lights off Felicity raised her own wall, a promise of not letting that lead her on leaving her lips.
Here is where the story goes slightly AU, changing the course of their relationship as it's seen in the show.
Thank you for reading! Please like/comment. Encouragement or constructive criticism is always welcomed :)