Chapter 7

Once again Felicity finds herself waking up feeling a little like an excited teenager. She was having lunch with Oliver today. And maybe, just maybe he wouldn't bail halfway through because he had to head to work. She sat up and groaned, she had drunk a little too much last night and had fallen asleep feeling rather sick and sorry for herself. Those feelings were still there but also mixed with an excited adrenaline that she always got when she just happening to think of Oliver.

She showered quickly, it was later than she normally liked to have just woken up on her day off butane she deserved a little lie in. Once dressed she debated over what to wear. She always felt like she wanted to impress Oliver. Which considering just how many ways he had seen her with no clothes on was pretty much a mute point. Deciding finally on a pair of tight white skinny fitted jeans and a red blouse and heels she curled her hair over her shoulders and pinned half of it up. Grabbing her bag she headed downstairs.

"You're up late sweetie, how's the head?" Jared asks softly.

"Hurting a little but I'll survive." She grinned at him. Since she had been whipped by Mr Rodgers, Jared had started to be extra nice to her. Always asking if she was okay and even giving her extra days off. Felicity wasn't too sure if it was because of how badly mr Rodgers had treated her of it was because deep down Jared knew she wouldn't be there forever and was trying to hold on to her a bit longer.

"Good, you have nice plans for your day off? It going to the library to read even more computer and science books?"

"You know me so well." Felicity grinned. "Got a few errands, but yeah probably spending time at the library."

"Well I'll see you later." Jared gave her arm a gentle squeeze and Felicity smiled heading out.

Oliver was at the cafe already and Felicity smiled through the window when she saw him. Oliver stood up and when she walked over to her and he wrapped his arms around her in a gentle hug. Felicity wrapped her arms around him and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek. "Hey." She smiled.

"Hey yourself." Oliver smiled and waited till Felicity had sat down before sitting down himself. "How are you feeling? You mentioned last night that you weren't feeling too great…"

"Oh I'm...A little hungover to be honest." Felicity said with a sheepish grin. "I don't normally drink that much and when I do...I suffer for it."

"Well I know just what to order to help you with that." Oliver smiled and took her hand over the table. When Sandra walked over she smiled at Felicity as though they were long lost friends. Felicity smiled back; she liked that. It felt so homely here, she knew that this was probably one of the reasons why Oliver seemed to like here so much.

"Okay. I have faith in you." Felicity teased giving his hand a soft squeeze. Oliver ordered for them both, something about Joe's special morning breakfast and Felicity just grinned watching him, there was something hypnotic about him. Felicity could watch him all day.

"What?" Oliver grinned when he saw that she was watching him

"Oh, nothing." Felicity blushed, there was that teenage girl feeling back inside her stomach. Though this was a little different than any childhood crushes she had in the past. This felt real, felt amazing, though she knew it shouldn't really be. After all they weren't really a couple. They were...Well Felicity didn't really know what they were.

"So, your day off today? What are you going to do with it?" Oliver asked, he couldn't hide the flirtatious tones from his voice and Felicity grinned at hearing them.

"Well that depends on how good this lunch goes." Felicity winked causing them both to laugh. Both believing that eachother's laugh was the most beautiful sound in the world. "I don't really have any plans." She said after a while. "My days off are normally spent in the library or a coffee shop playing on my laptop…"

"Well if you want we could spend your day off together?" Oliver said softly.

"I'd like that...haven't you got work to do?" Felicity asked, hoping that the answer was no.

"Well I am on call. If there is something urgent that happens I will have to leave, but other than that...I could be all yours if you want that is?"

"Sounds great." Felicity beamed and tangled their legs slightly under the table. "So what exactly did you order me?"

"Something for the headache." Oliver smiled and squeezed her hand, he loved the way Felicity's hand fit in his. So small and delicate.

"Good." She winked and looked up at him, reluctantly she pulled her hand away as Sandra put two mugs of coffee on the table. Felicity put a few extra sugars in hers, rolling her eyes fondly as Oliver shook her head at him. This felt so natural, as though they had done this a thousand times. "This tastes better than I remember." Felicity smiled.

"Always does." Oliver chuckled. "I think it's all part of the magic here." She nodded, taking another couple of sips of hers before putting it back down.

"Do you think this is weird?" Felicity asked, she wasn't too sure what she meant by her question. What part of this was weird? She didn't really know.

"I think that if people knew...then yes they would find it weird. But right now, here with you, I can't think of anything that has ever felt so...right."

"That's what I was thinking." Felicity smiled and bowed her head. "Do...Do you regret this?"

"No." Oliver said gently. "Do you?"

Felicity was quiet for a few minutes. She could tell that she was making Oliver nervous by taking so long but she had to think this through. "It's...No. I don't regret meeting you." She finally said. "I just wish...It was in a different way."

"I know." Oliver said and took her hand again. "But I know you, and I know how strong you are, how sweet and perfect, and...amazing." He grinned. "I wouldn't change that."

"But you wish that it had been somewhere normal like in a coffee shop or a dating website or something?" Felicity laughed.

"Maybe, but there's no point in wishing for other things. We need to work with what we have."

"I like the sound of that." Felicity smiled.

Their food came and Felicity moaned appreciatively at how good it tasted. Oliver had been right this lunch had been perfect for making her feel better. They spoke about everything and nothing and when they finished they ordered another mug of coffee each neither wanting this moment to end.

"So, has the lunch gone well enough to spend the rest of the day with me?" Oliver smiled as he paid the bill.

"I think it might just have." Felicity smiled standing up and holding her hand out. "Lead the way…" Oliver took her hand and walked out of the cafe. Holding hands outside with Felicity was a feeling he could not describe. He just knew that it was a feeling that made him happy. Happier than he had been in a long time.

Oliver's apartment was small and hardly lived in. He spent most of his time at the foundry, but sometimes he needed a place away from it all. "This is nice." Felicity grinned as she looked around. Oliver smiled and stood behind her, helping her out of her jacket. He couldn't help but lean down and press a soft kiss against her neck making her shiver against him.

"What do you want to do?" Oliver smiled and took her hand again and led her to the living room.

"This might sound a bit weird and boring, but...can we maybe watch a film?" Felicity asked, there was an almost nervousness in her voice that made Oliver's heart melt.

"Sounds perfect to me. I don't have that many but my collection is there, I'll see if I have any snacks." Oliver pressed a kiss to her cheek, letting her know that watching a film wasn't a bad idea and he could tell she got the message of the kiss by the smile she gave him in return.

When Oliver returned he raised an eyebrow at the film choice Felicity had chosen. "What it was in your collection." Felicity grinned, she had taken off her heels and placed them neatly at the edge of the sofa, and was sat down with her legs crossed. Seeing her shoes on the floor in his apartment he couldn't help but feel like it was all very domesticated.

"Yes, I think it was a gift." He chuckled and kicked off his own shoes and placed some snacks he had found at the back of the cupboard on the small table in front of them and sat down beside her and pulled her into his arms.

"I like batman." Felicity smiled. "Well I used to when I was a kid…"

"Yeah?" Oliver grinned and tucked her hair behind her ear and laid back so she was more comfortable against him and he smiled back at him.

"Yes. I think it was because a crush in school was called Bruce, and every time he turned down an opportunity to play in the sand with me my dad would tell me that he was off saving the world…"

"How old was you?" Oliver chuckled.

"Fifteen?" Felicity laughed. "I was about four or five I think." She said and hummed quietly at the memory.

"Your dad sounds like he was a great man." Oliver said carefully.

"He was," Felicity breathed and curled up in his arms more and smiled as they both started to watch the film. Throughout the film Felicity would make comments about the technology saying how different it would be if they used technology that actually would help them, and Oliver laughed, it was really cute and he loved hearing Felicity take the piss out of a film. It was like she was finally acting her age. But every time she mentioned technology he thought about the disc that he was still trying to figure out how to open it, knowing that inside would be clues on how to stop the new threat in Sterling City. He wanted so desperately to ask her to help, figured she would probably be able to open it within an hour, but he didn't want to make her a threat. Getting her involved in this would only do that.

"Oliver…" Felicity whispered turning in his arms.

"Hmm?" Oliver shook his head smiling and looked down at her.

"You spaced out. It's finished." Felicity said gently, and ran a hand gently across his stubbled cheek. "Where did you go?"

"No where, I'm right here." Oliver breathed and leaned down and pressed his lips softly against hers. He loved the way she always knew what he needed, she melted against his and pressed her lips against his in a slow sweet kiss. Felicity decided these types of lazy kisses with Oliver were definitely her favourite. "Want to watch the next one?" Oliver asked and trailed a hand slowly down her back.

"Can we?" Felicity beamed.

"Anything you want." Oliver said and sealed his promise with a kiss.

"I know I'm technically not on the clock...but well if you wanted to do more than watch films then we could. I mean...I wouldn't charge…"

"Felicity." Oliver chuckled. "I didn't ask you to lunch or ask you to spend time with me to have sex. I mean… Yes sex with you is breath takingly amazing, but I am having a nice time just being here with you." He said and played with her hair softly.

"Okay, thank you." She smiled and tucked her legs underneath herself as Oliver put the second film in. Before sitting back down with Felicity he grabbed his blanket from his room and tucked it around them both and kissed her hair. "This is nice." Felicity breathed.

"It is." He smiled and took her hands under the covers and kissed her lips again. That's how the two of them spent their evening. Lazy kisses and films before they fell asleep in each others arms.

-x-

Felicity woke up feeling a little uncomfortable. She stretched her legs and groaned when the hit the arm of the sofa. She felt beside her and felt a pang of emptiness both on the sofa and in her heart. Oliver wasn't there. She sat up and stretched her back and pushed all of her energy onto her legs and stood up not surprised to feel a slight ache in her body. She looked around and saw the snacks they had eaten had been cleared away and an extra pillow had been put on the sofa. Felicity smiled and walked around the small apartment until she found the kitchen which is where Oliver was.

"Hey, how did you sleep?" Oliver asked without turning from the stove.

"Okay, we stayed on the sofa all night." She said. "My legs are a little achey."

"So are mine, but it was another great sleep with you." Oliver smiled and turned and looked at her. "Even first thing in the morning, you still look amazing."

"Shut up." Felicity laughed and tried to calm her curls down. In the end she just resulted in tying her hair in a loose ponytail.

"I think I might have a spare travel toothbrush in my bathroom, do you want to shower?"

"Yes, please." Felicity grinned. "Are you going to join me?"

"How can I refuse an offer like that?" Oliver smiled and led her to the bathroom.

Felicity had never had shower sex before. It was something that had never really thought she would like. Small spaces made even smaller with another body, but with Oliver it was perfect. They shared soft kisses, as hands explored each others bodies. Oliver had kissed down her neck as his fingers worked inside of her, slow but hard pushes as he was knuckle deep inside of her. The feeling of hot water running down her body had made it even more erotic. The sounds of water hitting the shower floor blocked out the moans as her first orgasm hit her. Oliver wasted no time in picking her up and holding her against the wall, using the new position to push inside of her. Felicity pushed down against him, her nails scraping so perfectly down his back as he built up a steady rhythm inside of her. Oliver came hard kissing away both of their moans as Felicity rode out her second orgasm. Once the water began to go cold and their mouths almost numb from kissing, Oliver washed her body and it was the most sensual experience Felicity had ever had in her life. If her legs weren't feeling like jelly from the amazing shower sex, she was sure she would have went straight for round three.

"I think I like showers even more now." Felicity hummed as she draped herself in a towel.

"Oh yeah?" Oliver chuckled wrapping one loosely around his waist. He loved the way Felicity's eyes ran over his body, taking him in as though she couldn't get enough.

"Mm." She nodded and dried her hair and pulled it back into a bun. Oliver walked over and kissed down her neck slowly making her whimper quietly against him.

"I can't get enough of you." Oliver breathed and ran his hands down her back to her ass, rubbing his hands over the towel and pushing her against him even more. "What are you doing to me, Felicity?"

"The same thing that you're doing to me." She whispered back.

Oliver was about to kiss her again but he heard the door open and close. "Oliver?" John's voice called out. Oliver sighed and looked down at Felicity.

"Get dressed, I'll finish up breakfast." He said and stroked her cheek. "You can put some of my clothes on if you want and put yours in the wash." He added. "Coming John." He shouted and then showed Felicity to his room, pulling on a pair of boxers and sweat pants and grabbed a tee before heading out to John.

"Didn't realise you were entertaining man." John winked when he noticed the two plates Oliver had set out for breakfast.

"One of those might have been for you…" Oliver laughed.

"Then I'm just in time." John joked back.

"Is there an emergency?" Oliver asked, praying that the answer was no.

"No. I thought we could try again to have a go at this." He held up the disc. "If it's a bad time…"

"Is that a nano disc?" Felicity asked as she walked in, she had one of Oliver's tees on and a pair of his boxers, her clothes in her hand to put in the wash. "Those aren't due to come out for another five years." She couldn't help but hide the excitement from her voice.

"I wish I could tell you." John said with a small smile.

"Sorry for interrupting." Felicity added quickly chewing on her lip.

"It's fine. This is John." Oliver smiled and pressed a hand to the small of her back. Felicity smiled leaning back against his hand.

"Hi John, I'm Felicity. It's nice to meet you." Felicity leaned over and held her hand out, John took it shaking it with a smile. "Oliver soap?" She smiled and turned to the washing machine. "You got anything you need to go in?"

"Yeah…" Oliver smiled and grabbed his clothes from the bathroom and put them in and kissed Felicity's hair, he couldn't help but be close to her. He really didn't care that John was looking at them and smiling.

"So...Nano Disc?" Felicity asked rocking on her feet. "Can I see?"

"It's work…" Oliver said running a hand through his hair.

"Well okay, but I have been looking up on them. They're kinda hard to understand…"

"Okay." Oliver chuckled. "You want my laptop?"

"I bring my own to the party." Felicity said and headed out to the front room where she had left her bag.

"I like her man." John beamed.

"Yeah… me too." Oliver sighed as she came back in. She set her laptop up on the table and looked at Oliver. "Yes?" Oliver grinned.

"You haven't asked me or your friend if we would like a coffee…"

"Oh." Oliver chuckled. "Would you like a coffee?" He smirked at her.

"Three sugars." Felicity hummed and crossed her legs on the chair as she started to type away at the computer.

"I'd love one too." John grinned. "And some of what you're cooking."

Oliver just rolled his eyes and finished cooking and started the coffees. Within ten minutes Felicity was swearing quietly under her breath as her fingers typed a little harder on the keys. "Felicity…" Oliver said softly.

"Aha!" She cheered and looked up in triumph. "There's some heavy fire wall on this thing. Lucky for you my firewalls are better." She grinned. "It's all coded, I have a few programs I can run on it though."

"Thank you." John said. "Me and Oliver have been trying to just open it let alone crack any codes."

"Well…" Felicity laughed.

Oliver just rolled his eyes and put the food in front of her and removed her laptop. "Food then laptop." He said and kissed her hair.

"Mean." Felicity smiled but started to eat. "So how do you two know each other?" Felicity asked John.

"Work." John said assuming that was probably the best bet.

"Ah the justice department." Felicity nodded.

"What about you two, how did you meet?" John asks.

"At a club." Oliver says softly.

"We danced." Felicity hums around the coffee mug. Oliver looks over at her with a small smile, his foot gently rubbing against hers making her smile even brighter. They finish breakfast chatting comfortably together. Oliver is surprised at how easy it is for Felicity to talk to John and is so glad that his friend likes her, he tries not to think about what might happen if John found out how they really met.

Once breakfast is finished Felicity grabs the laptop back and after another half an hour of pressing keys somewhat aggressively Felicity manages to crack the codes and calls for Oliver and John's attention. "It's a map. There's some locations highlighted…"

"What type of locations?" John said as he and Oliver walked around and stood behind her.

"Those are the clubs and alleys that have already been hit. He's crossing things off as he goes." John says pointing to the names on the map.

"That's great work Felicity, thank you." Oliver breathed and leaned down. Felicity scanned the map and her heart felt heavy when she saw her club on the list. Oliver noticed and gave her shoulders a squeeze. "We need to take this back to the office… I'll come and see you tonight okay?"

"Okay." Felicity said and leaned up pressing a kiss against his lips.

"Show yourself out okay?" Oliver said and Felicity just nodded and watched as they went.

Felicity sighs as she sits back down on her bed, she has a few hours before her first client comes and she pulls her laptop out. She had saved everything that she had taken from the disc onto her laptop. She figured she probably shouldn't have but curiosity had always been something that got the better of her. She looked at the map and found the next place that was highlighted, a quick hack online and she had managed to get the camera footage of the club up. "Just a boring looking club." Felicity sighed after five minutes. It was a club known for junkies and dealers to go and make quick deals, she knew from the news that a lot of OD's happened at this club but police had been nowhere near close to putting an end to it. As Felicity was about to close it down she saw movement on the screen.

The Arrow had jumped from a rooftop into the alley of the club and called the owner out, a middle aged man with a rounding stomach and a balding head walked out. Felicity instantly grimaced at his appearance as she fiddled with the laptop so she could get sound to the footage.

"Something is coming for this club." The Arrow's voice was deep and dark and sent shivers down Felicity's spine. He seemed different to the man that had saved her. Darker, angrier. Though he had been rather angry when he had saved her too, but this was...different.

"What do you mean?" The owner's voice was shaky and weak and just as off putting as he looked.

"The man who burned down the Katz 're next on the list. Shut it down or everyone in the building will burn."

"Are you going to make me?" He spat.

"This is just a warning. If he comes to you before I can stop him he will not give you a warning, he will kill you."

"I'll like to see him try." The man spat and walked back into the bar. The Arrow reached for his bow as if he was going to shoot him to stop him from leaving but he tapped at his ear piece.

"What?" He growled. Felicity didn't hear what was said on the coms but watched as the Arrow made his way to a black van at the end of the alley. Felicity frowned and paused the image and zoomed in. She recognised the driver, it took her a few minutes to make the image clear on the screen and when she saw him she gasped. John. Oliver's friend. She pressed play on the footage and caught a glimpse in the reflection of the side mirror of the van. Though his eyes were covered in a green mask, Felicity recognised the mouth that she had spent the night and morning kissing, and the stubbled cheek she had ran her fingers and lips over. Oliver.