Felicity quickly fell asleep lying on Oliver's chest, her legs intertwined with his. Oliver tried to sleep but it was elusive. He lay there for a long time smelling her hair, listening to her breath, and feeling her heart beat. He never wanted this moment to end. He knew once the sun was up there would be more questions, more explanations – complications. Right now it all felt simple. Oliver gently moved Felicity's arm and slid out of the bed. He grabbed his jeans and pulled them back on over his boxers and quietly walked into the kitchen. He got a glass of water and stood at the living room window staring at the city. What would he say to Thea? How would he explain the situation with Malcolm to Diggle and Roy? And what about Felicity? He had never been so confused and dumbfounded by one woman. She cared about him but did she love him? Did she love him as much as he loved her? What about Ray Palmer? Were they still together?
"Planning on putting an arrow in somebody?" Oliver turned towards Felicity's voice. Her gold hair was messy and her eyes were puffy but he still thought she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He shook his head and walked towards her, "no, just thinking about what tomorrow brings. More questions. More complications" Felicity's stomach lurched. She didn't know if she fell in the "questions" or the "complications" category of the day.
Felicity looked at her feet, scratched her forehead and said, "Oliver, you aren't the only one who has secrets to share." Oliver's eyes ever so slightly flinched. Most people wouldn't have noticed it but Felicity did. He sat on the couch and motioned for her to join him. She sat at the other end with her feet folded up underneath her. She took a deep breath and said quickly, "I told Thea about you. About the Arrow." Oliver's eyebrows shot up and he opened his mouth to say something but Felicity quickly jumped in. "Listen, I know it isn't my secret to share and I know you didn't want Thea involved but I didn't have a choice. You vanished AGAIN – for the third time – and I wasn't going to let her wonder about your whereabouts all over again. She needed to know you were dead and I didn't want her to think it was for doing something stupid. I wanted her to know what a hero her brother really was – is. And honestly, she took it really well. She actually felt like it explained a lot and she could forgive you for a lot of the pain because she realized you were trying to protect her."
Oliver stood up and walked back to the window turning his back towards Felicity. "Did you tell her about Malcolm and Ra's Al Ghul and Sara?" Felicity sat where she was and fidgeted with the hem of her pajama pants. "No, I just told her the parts I felt were absolutely necessary – including Roy helping us. I thought it might make it easier for her to reconcile with him." Oliver breathed deep through his nose and turned around. His mouth was set in a fine line. He didn't look happy. "Okay. I don't like her knowing but I understand why you did it." Felicity kept fidgeting. Oliver walked over to her and looked down. "There is more isn't there?" She met his eyes, bit her bottom lip and said quietly, "Yes, there is, and you might want to sit down for the rest of it." Oliver shook his head slowly trying to contain his emotions, "no, that is okay I will stand." Felicity got up from the couch and walked over to where Oliver was standing. She wanted to be able to see him eye to eye for this part. She took a deep breath and blurted out, "Thea has joined the team." She held her breath waiting for him to react. He breathed deep through his nose and started pacing the floor. His hands were clenched in fists and he was looking for something to hit. She nervously watched him pace for a couple of minutes and then she couldn't keep her words contained.
"Oliver, she isn't that little girl any more. Her father is dead, her mother was killed in front of her eyes and her brother has died – twice. She was tired of being a victim in her own life. You want to protect her, keep her innocent, but she lost that innocence years ago – before you even came back from the island. And you can't protect her. Honestly, she's been a great addition to the team. She's smart and small and can do things you guys can't. Plus, she's another girl in the Foundry, which I'm not going to lie has been really nice. There is only so much testosterone one girl can handle. Plus, I think it has been very healing for her to be part of the team – the family. She feels..."
Oliver stopped pacing and interrupted, "Stop talking Felicity. You don't know my sister." She flinched at his words. They stung and they were wrong.
"I know her a whole lot better than you do." Felicity knew that was going to hurt but he had it coming.
"Is that what you think? You think you know what is best for her? You think after spending two months with my sister you know Thea?"
"I spent two months crying over the same man with her and I've spent the last three years watching her trying to survive when everybody around her is telling her lies. Don't you think after all this time she deserves a life based in honesty and authenticity?"
He couldn't argue with the logic. Thea was almost 22 now and he had either been dead or lying to her since she was 10. He didn't exactly deserve the brother of the year award. He didn't like her being in danger, fighting bad guys, hurting people but if she was going to be doing these things anyway she might as well be doing them with Diggle or Roy.
The sun was starting to stream into the living room. Dawn was breaking and Oliver knew there were more problems and more secrets that would need to be sorted out. He didn't want to face the rest of the day with tension between he and Felicity. He needed to have her on his side. He needed to know they were okay.
He looked up at her and softened his expression, "I know telling you that 'I loved you' before leaving to fight Ra's Al Ghul was probably not the best timing. And I know you and Palmer have been dating. I didn't know if I was coming back and I just wanted you to know my real feelings. But, I also don't want to come between you and Palmer so if you want I will step back." He was surprised to see big tears well up in her eyes and she looked down at her feet. He could see the tears start to fall and he took several large steps, crossing the room and grabbing Felicity's hand. "Hey, I didn't mean to make you cry. I know the next couple of weeks are going to be hard and I just didn't want to face them without you and I being in an okay place."
Felicity looked up at his big deep eyes, sniffled and blurted out, "You are an idiot! First of all it was HORRIBLE timing to tell me moments before you left to die that you loved me. What exactly did you expect me to do? Jump into your arms? Especially after weeks and weeks of you giving me the cold shoulder and pushing me away. Then you drop this bombshell and take off. Yes, it was horrible timing."
Oliver winced and pursed his lips. She was right and he wasn't going to defend his actions. He started to open his mouth to say something, anything when she started all over again. "Secondly, there is no 'me and Palmer'. We went out and he kissed me but frankly there are only so many billionaire, vigilante types a girl can have in her life and one is enough." Oliver's eyebrows arched up in surprise and curiosity. Another secret Felicity would have to tell him later. "Finally, we" and she pointed between the two of them "are not normal. If you think this relationship is going to follow normal dating conventions well you are wrong. Our first date was blown up. You told me that you loved me before we even had a second date and after tonight we've already slept together. I mean slept – together. You know in the same bed. AAAARGH! You know what I mean!" A smile crept across Oliver's face and it was warm and genuine and it made Felicity smile too. There it was – the Oliver Queen she fell in love with. She slipped her hand into his and intertwined their fingers. She stepped closer to him and looked up. "I will always be here Oliver. I made my choice a long time ago. So if you want to give this a shot then I'm all in. Just don't die on me again. I don't think I could handle it." The twinkle in Oliver's eyes returned and he leaned down and kissed her, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her tight against him. This time Oliver made sure his feelings were known. He slowly parted her lips and pressed passionately against her. Felicity responded by arching her back and holding him tighter. The kiss grew deeper and she let out a small moan, which made Oliver's heart race. They slowly drew apart; breathing in each other and hoping the moment could stay a bit longer. Her eyes fluttered open and he softly said, "There is a lot to talk about still and more secrets to share." She simply nodded and pulled away. Oliver pulled back and Felicity noticed his demeanor changing. "Okay, well I'm going to head to the Foundry. Why don't you get dressed and we will meet up there later today."
Felicity grimaced and said, "Just so you know there might be more than just Diggle, Roy and Thea downstairs when you get there." Oliver's eyebrows arched and he glared at Felicity. "What do you mean?"
