A/N: Glad everyone is enjoying this story. I miss Tommy. sigh.
This is the first 'new' chapter. Hope you like it. Let me know what you think!
Felicity and Tommy had two days to prepare for the competition which meant long hours on the club's dance floor before it opened, and sore feet the rest of the night due to trying to break in new dancing shoes in such a short amount of time.
She'd ordered the costumes online and had them overnighted, not yet having the courage to take them out of the garment bag they'd arrived in. She'd deal with that potential landmine later. Felicity was just glad it was one less thing she had to worry about. She'd been feeling rushed and unprepared, spending more time learning a routine than doing her usual pre-mission prep, and trying not to think about what it meant that she'd be out in the field again.
It also didn't help that ever since Oliver had whispered in her ear requesting a private lesson she'd been off balance. Everything about that whole incident had shocked her. The feelings she had for him were probably not news to anyone, they were just all gracious enough to not bring it up, and she'd definitely gotten better about not being so obvious.
They had certainly grown closer since the fall of the Glades. But outside of a few life and death situations not much had really changed. She'd thought there had been something there recently, after that horrible mission that had gone so very wrong, but whatever she had thought there had been had disappeared almost immediately, and she couldn't bring herself to think on it without her mind going to places it was better off not going.
So seeing him react, in what she could only describe as jealousy, coupled with what he'd done after...she didn't know what to think or how to respond.
She'd also seen him, more than once, sulking around the corners as she'd practiced with Tommy. He'd made more impromptu trips to the bar or to Thea's office in the past forty-eight hours than he had in the past three months combined. She hadn't said anything to him about it, not brave enough to be ready for the reaction she could get.
Felicity had taken the afternoon off, and since she now reported directly to Oliver it wasn't that difficult to arrange. Tommy had jokingly asked where her shadow was when he'd arrived and she'd pointedly ignored him.
The track they'd chosen to dance to had been blaring on repeat over the club's sound system and after hour two she'd peeled off her thin tank top leaving her in the sports bra and lycra shorts she usually used for training.
There was a tricky combination that was giving them trouble and they needed it to look somewhat respectable so they wouldn't draw any unwanted attention.
With Tommy's hand splayed across her bare lower back and their right hips pressed tight together they worked through the complicated leg moves at a slower pace until they had it down and could gradually increase their speed.
She felt Oliver's blazing gaze on her, unable to hear him enter the space over the music, but knowing he was there all the same. Tommy had just dipped her in a deep back bend, her head falling all the way back while his face came dangerously close to her chest. The tango was all about selling sex and intimacy and Tommy had been the perfect partner, able to pull off the necessary acting for the piece but putting her at ease with his charm and quips and not taking advantage; at least not too much.
However, as she viewed Oliver from her upside down vantage point she saw a look on his face that was rarely seen without a hood covering it.
Tommy must have chosen that moment to look up as well because the next thing she knew her head was banging into the floor as he faltered beneath her.
"Ow!" she exclaimed, hand coming up to cover the sore spot while he apologized above her.
When he tried to help her up she waved him off, the cool dance floor feeling good against her overheated skin. "I'm okay. But this is much better than being upright."
"Sorry, 'Lis. Green is usually a good color on him." Tommy said under his breath, although there was far more meaning in his words than she wanted to acknowledge.
She turned to watch as he made his way to the bar, Oliver nowhere to be seen she noticed. She was half surprised he hadn't bitten Tommy's head off for dropping her.
When Tommy handed her a bottle of water she sat up on her elbows. "I don't know what you're talking about." she said unconvincingly, after he'd hit the off button on the remote for the sound system.
He shot her a look over the mouth of his bottle and made a noise in the back of his throat. "Right. So my best friend has just randomly decided to start shooting me death glares anytime I'm within five feet of you. That's completely normal."
She had to admit she was surprised he'd waited this long to say something. On Oliver's third trip up from the basement the day before she thought she'd seen Tommy bite his lip in an effort to keep his mouth shut.
"Your restraint has been admirable, Merlyn." she said sardonically, taking a long draw from the bottle to give her space to think.
Tommy collapsed on the floor next to her feet and merely lifted one eyebrow.
"He's not jealous." she protested, the words spilling from her mouth before she could stop them. "He's just been more overprotective than usual lately since...well, after what happened." her eyes dropped to the label on the bottle, focusing on peeling it off with her bright pink nails with the same attention to detail she gave to hacking a federal database.
Tommy let out a long sigh as the atmosphere around them changed. Her eyes flashed up when she felt his hand on her foot undoing the strap on her shoe.
After she'd arrived back at the lair that night, dress torn and more affected than she cared to admit, her memories became spotty and unreliable. She could have asked Tommy, he would have told her with some coercion, but there was something in his eyes whenever she got close to asking that made her back off. The only thing she was certain of was falling asleep in the security of Oliver's arms with the scent of leather surrounding her.
But something had shifted within their team that night. They'd all responded in their own way. Tommy had joked with her more, trying to make her smile. Digg had upped her training, forcing her to show him exactly what she'd been up against so he could teach her the best way to get out of it if it happened again. And Oliver...he'd barely let her out of his sight at both her jobs.
He'd never brought it up though, and neither had she. But this was the first real undercover work she'd done since then so she should have foreseen he'd have even more reason to not want her to do it.
There was a squeeze to her ankle and she came back to the present with a sharp gasp. Tommy was studying her, mouth a tight line that looked wrong on his normally jovial face. Her shoes sat neatly next to her and she curled her toes absently, trying not to groan as she felt every blister.
"Thanks," she said softly
" 'Lis, I don't know if you want to hear this, but I have the feeling we're about to reach critical mass. In fact, I thought we already had but then he managed to reel everything back in." she began to protest but he held up a hand and stopped her. "You didn't see him that night. I've never seen him like that before. So you can tell yourself all you want that this isn't Oliver jealous, that this isn't Oliver caring about you, but I think you should trust the guy who's known him for most of his life."
Felicity sat in stunned silence as she tried to process what Tommy had said to her. Somehow the man had the ability to see right through her which was disconcerting, especially when it came to her need to preserve her friendship with Oliver over anything else, at all costs. Risking more when she wasn't sure it wouldn't all crash around her was not something she was willing to do.
She took a deep breath and gave Tommy a tight smile. "I appreciate that, I do but…" she shook her head slowly as she trailed off.
Tommy nodded once before grabbing her shoes and rising to his feet. He held out a hand to her, "Okay. But I want it on record for later, when I get to say I told you so."
Felicity felt a flush creep over her cheeks as she let him pull her up. She slid the shoes from his hand and raised on her toes to brush a kiss over his cheek. "You're a good guy, Tommy Merlyn."
"Damn straight! Why else would I be putting myself through hell to catch a mobster?" there was a glint in his eye that made her tilt her head at him, but he immediately covered with a broad grin.
"There had better not be any other reason." she said threateningly, one finger poked in his direction.
He gave her his best, most perfected innocent boy look and she rolled her eyes. He was up to something, she knew it. "Tommy…" she drawled out, halfway to the basement door when it hit her that he was doing this on purpose to push Oliver. Offering to dance with her, making those comments in front of both of them, making sure they rehearsed at the club, even suggesting a few moves that were a bit more provocative than she was completely comfortable with.
She whirled on him, ponytail flipping around to almost hit her in the face. "What are you up to?"
Again with the innocent face and she started back towards him. "Thomas Merlyn," she practically growled, "Do not get involved in this."
"Get involved in what? I thought there wasn't anything to get involved in?" he countered and her eyes flashed.
A faint whine of panic began to rise in her as she considered what this could be doing to Oliver. What if Tommy was wrong? What if this was all a mistake? What if this made her say or do something she couldn't take back? What if she lost it all? Lost him?
"Tommy, please." her entire demeanor had changed. Her voice shook, "Don't...just...stop, and let it go. Please. I'd rather have this than nothing." her admission came out with a ragged breath as she stared up at him with blurry eyes.
His face fell as he took in her almost desperate plea, his hands coming to coast up and down her arms. He didn't say anything, just pulled her in and gave her a hug. "You're both idiots. I hope you know that." he murmured into her hair as she sniffled and pretended like she didn't hear him.
He sat her back with a push and pressed a brotherly kiss to her forehead. Before she could reply a voice echoed across the empty club.
"Everything alright?" it was Oliver, and he was using that fake, smoothly professional tone he adopted during business meetings.
Felicity spun in place feeling Tommy's hands catch her waist as she lost her balance a bit. "Oliver!" she blurted out and winced, realizing how guilty she sounded.
Tommy was already backing away, "See you tomorrow 'Lis, one more run through before it's show time. Catch ya later, buddy." and he was gone before she could speak.
Oliver's eyes were latched onto her like some sort of beam and she couldn't look away if she wanted to.
He stood at the edge of the dance floor, hands shoved in his pockets as he studied her. There was an inscrutable look on his face, but she could see the tension in his shoulders and the tightness in his jaw even from where she was standing.
Felicity cleared her throat noisily and took a deep breath before she crossed to him deciding to act like nothing was out of place.
"Hey," she said, hating how nervous she sounded, "Let me just grab a shower and I'll get to work on the last minute plans for Salazar. I had an idea for how to amp up the transmitter I'm going to plant on him. I might even be able to get a small wireless signal in there to tap into any routers he's near, it would give us access to the information he's around. Granted it would also give us access to anything everyone else on that router was using too, so if he goes to Starbucks it could get pretty interesting. Lots of porn if I had to guess, although there could be…"
She stopped short finally as Oliver's eyes continued to hold hers, although they had widened a bit. She hadn't gone on a ramble that spectacular in a long while. And as usual Oliver ignored it.
"What was that about?" he asked, head tipped towards where she and Tommy had just been standing.
Felicity's spine straightened as a million different excuses flew through her head. She swallowed heavily as she realized he'd see through every single one of them. "Nothing," she blurted out, "I'm just worried I'm going to mess up tomorrow and all our hard work will be for nothing, not to mention the blisters."
His brows narrowed and she knew he was about to call her on her lie. "I'll meet you downstairs in a few." she said as easily as possible as she stepped past him, thinking she'd gotten away.
When she felt his hand clasp around her wrist she froze, a gasp escaping her lips before she could stop it.
His fingers settled on her pulse point and she knew he could feel how hard her heart was beating. "You don't have to do this." his voice was low and deep and had a quality about it she hadn't heard since that night when he'd pulled her from the shower.
Slowly she turned her head, her eyes lighting on her arm where he held her and then traveled up to his face. When she saw the emotions swirling there her eyes slammed shut as she took a deep breath through her nose in an attempt to calm herself. She felt beaten back by the sudden feelings of apprehension and fear that swelled over her, as Tommy's words echoed in her head, and memories of that night tried to force their way forward.
Oliver was silent as she tried to regain control, but he didn't let go of her.
"I need to do this." she said finally, watching as his jaw ticked imperceptibly. The air seemed to be charged between them right then and she could see everything he couldn't bring himself to say.
With a stuttered gasp she jerked her arm from his grasp, her skin felt like it had been branded and it took everything in her to not rub the spot he'd just held.
"It'll be fine, Oliver, don't worry." she said in a rush and headed for the door before he could stop her.
Her pulse didn't return to normal until she was in the shower.