Felicity didn't know how Jane was able to convince Roy and Oliver to abandon beer in favour of vodka shots but that's what happened. The two women joined in the first round, but it quickly turned into some sort of test of brawn between Oliver and Roy. For the last hour, the shots were being poured fast and furious. Oliver had even managed to charm one of the waitresses into leaving an entire bottle of vodka and it sat nearly empty on the table in front of them.

Roy was standing but he was swaying noticeably and he seemed to be having a hard time keeping his eyes completely open. While Oliver wasn't displaying any outright signs of intoxication like Roy, his smiles were coming easier and he appeared more relaxed than Felicity had seen him in a long time.

Roy poured two more shots and set them down on the table they all were standing around. "You ready Queen?" Roy said, attempting to stare Oliver down.

"Anytime Harper." Oliver squared his jaw and glared at the younger man.

Felicity looked between the two men and realized that she was going to have two very drunk vigilantes on her hands if they kept up this pace. She stepped in front of Oliver and put a hand on his chest. Oliver broke eye contact with Roy and looked down at Felicity instead. "Okay, time to stop after this. Being your roommate does not entail me taking care of you when you get sick from drinking too much." She closed her eyes as the room started to spin, the alcohol catching up with her as well. Oliver reached out to steady her and then kept a hand resting lightly on her side.

"Probably a good thing. The old man is having a hard time keeping up anyways," Roy said as he slammed back his last shot and put his glass down on the table.

Oliver gave Roy an icy stare and spewed off a sentence in harsh Russian that left no doubt on what he thought of Roy's 'old man' comment.

"English Oliver. Some of us don't speak Russian fluently. Or at all," Felicity said shaking her head. Felicity knew she was doing a poor job of acting stern in her current state. She only hoped that the two men would listen to her before they drank too much and regretted it the next day. It might already be too late for that.

Oliver leaned in towards Felicity and said something to her softly in Russian. Even though she couldn't understand him, her heart stuttered at the tone of his voice and she involuntarily averted her eyes. She took a second to regain her composure and then flicked her eyes back to his. He held her gaze for a moment and then raised his glass to Roy and downed his last shot. Oliver put the empty glass down and bent towards Felicity once more. He murmured another string of unintelligible words and brushed a stray lock of hair away from her face. He ran his fingers down its length and tucked it behind her ear. He smiled at her and then left the group to go and pay for the vodka.

Felicity was left staring at Oliver's retreating form with her mouth agape. Jane stepped over so that she was standing beside her friend. "What was all that about? What did he just say to you?"

"I have no idea," Felicity said honestly, shaking her head.

Jane gave her a look and sighed dramatically. "I wish that someone looked at me the way Oliver looks at you. Does he always do that?"

"Do what?" Felicity said questioningly. She had a hard enough time making sense of her relationship with Oliver when she was sober.

"Look at you as if you're the only person in the room that matters."

There was a pregnant pause as Felicity processed what Jane was saying.

"He doesn't do that. You're imagining things." Felicity tried to think of ways to change the subject before Oliver returned.

"Yes he does," Roy said surprising the women. They had almost forgotten he was standing there. "He does that all the time."

"I told you," Jane said crossing her arms.

"He gets super jealous too," Roy continued turning towards Jane. "You want to see something funny? Watch how long it takes him to freak out." Roy draped his arm around Felicity and pulled her up against his large frame. He kept his arm around her and rested his fingertips on her bare shoulder. "I give him less than thirty seconds."

Oliver returned to the group moments later and immediately sized up Felicity leaning against Roy. A brief flash of irritation reflected in his eyes.

"Are you okay Felicity?" Oliver asked.

"Yah, she's cool. Just feeling a little unsteady on her feet," Roy answered for her casually. He squeezed Felicity's shoulder and waited for Oliver's reaction.

"You know what? I'm actually feeling a bit better." Felicity ducked out from under Roy's arm. "Everyone ready to go?"

"Fun squelcher," Jane said quietly to Felicity as Roy started laughing.

"What?" said Oliver looking confused.

"Nothing!" Felicity exclaimed. She started pulling Oliver towards the exit. "Let's go get a cab."

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When the cab driver dropped her and Oliver off at the townhouse, Felicity didn't expect Roy and Jane to follow them. However, Jane said something about making everyone a snack and she dragged a protesting Roy out of the cab with her.

Like many of Jane's great ideas in the past, things didn't go exactly as planned. Roy pretty much passed out the moment he stumbled into the house, barely making it as far as Felicity's bedroom. Felicity wasn't pleased that he seemed to have chosen her bed as the ideal spot to sleep but she figured she would worry about it later. Jane followed through on her promise of making the rest of them a snack and the three of them enjoyed a plate of nachos together before deciding to call it a night. Considering it was well past midnight by this point, Jane decided it would be easier if she just spent the night on Felicity's couch. Felicity lent her friend a pair of pyjamas, bedding and some toiletries and Jane was soon settled in for the night.

Felicity stood over her kitchen sink with her hands submerged in soapy dishwater. After years of living alone, she was in the habit of washing dishes by hand rather than using the dishwasher. Not surprisingly, she was one of those people who couldn't go to bed with dirty plates in the sink. She jumped as Oliver moved silently up behind her and slid his hands in the water over hers. There was something intimate in the way that their fingers touched under the warmth of the water.

"Let me do that," Oliver whispered into her ear.

Felicity tried to ignore her traitorous body as it arched in response to the tall male body pressed up against her.

"Thanks," she stammered as she slid out of Oliver's makeshift embrace. Instead of using a hand towel she simply gave her wet hands a quick shake and wiped them off on the front of her jeans.

She watched Oliver's eyes linger on the wet spots her hands left behind on her clothing before he started washing the remainder of the dishes.

Oliver met up with her outside the washroom a few minutes later. She had just finished washing her face and her skin glowed under the fluorescent lighting of the hallway. Her contacts were out and she wore her familiar dark rimmed glasses once more.

"I tried waking up Roy but he seems like he's down for the count. I'm going to go and see if I can fit on the couch with Jane. We've shared tighter quarters before."

"Felicity we're both grownups. The bed in the guest room is big enough for the two of us. We can even do 'over-under' if it makes you feel better."

Felicity raised her eyebrows and looked at him sceptically. "I'm not even going to touch that. Let's just assume I respond with something inappropriate."

He smiled. "When Thea and I were younger and we had to share a bed while traveling, one of us would sleep over the sheet and one of us would sleep under the sheet," Oliver explained. "Or I can always crash on the floor in your room and you can take the guest bed. Whatever makes you the most comfortable."

Felicity shook her head. "I'm not kicking you out of your bed Oliver. The 'over-under' thing is fine." The thought of sharing a bed with Oliver filled her stomach with nervous butterflies and she tried to calm herself. "I'll go get changed."

Oliver was already in lying down in bed when Felicity returned in her pyjamas. She was wearing a pair of small pink shorts and a matching cotton tee shirt. She hesitated at the foot of the bed. Of course he would be shirtless. She wouldn't allow herself to imagine what he was wearing underneath the blankets. She set her glasses down on the nightstand, turned off the light and climbed into bed making sure to stay above the top sheet. As she shimmied under the blanket, her bare leg brushed against Oliver's. Felicity froze and laughed nervously. "Okay, typical us. We didn't coordinate that very well. I just assumed you would be an under the sheet kind of guy."

"Do you want me to switch."?

"It doesn't really matter. Let's just try to get some sleep."

Felicity lay down on her side facing away from Oliver. Her hair spilled out onto the pillow around her, mixing the scent of her shampoo with Oliver's aftershave.

"Oliver?" she whispered.

"Hmmm?" he responded sliding closer to her.

"What did you say to me back in the bar? In Russian?"

He hesitated for so long that she didn't think he was going to answer her.

"The first thing I said was that you were beautiful, even when you were drunk."

She could tell that he was smiling by the tone of his voice. "Thank you, I think. And the second thing?"

He moved closer to her again, so close that her back was almost resting on his chest. He put his hand on the side of her waist and whispered the second phrase to her once more in Russian.

It had the same effect on her the second time. "What does that mean?"

Oliver hesitated once again. "Felicity, I think I should go sleep in the other room."

"What? Why? I thought you said that this would be okay. That we were both grownups."

"That's the problem Felicity," Oliver said as he slid his hand further around her waist, his fingertips sliding underneath the loose fabric of her tee shirt. Felicity inhaled sharply as he brushed against the bare skin of her stomach. "When you're lying here beside me I can't help but think very grown up thoughts."

Felicity tried to roll over onto her other side so that she could directly face him. Oliver stopped her abruptly and pulled her back towards him. He held her gently with one arm draped across her chest. Felicity was sure that he could feel her heartbeat hammering through the thin fabric of her shirt.

"Don't," he said quietly, his voice rough with emotion. He rested his chin against the back of her head. "If you turn around right now I will kiss you and if I start kissing you I don't think that I'll be able to stop."

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NOTES:

Hope you enjoyed chapter 3. Thanks for reading! As always, reviews welcome and appreciated!