Hello my dear readers. It's been awhile (big surprise) but I do have this bad boy mapped out now. If it helps, I spent the last two hours writing this instead of my research paper (that's due tomorrowish). The song for this one is "Everything will change" by Gavin Degraw. His new album is brilliant, so take a listen.

Once again I'll remind all readers that if you haven't liked this arc so far, you will continue to hate it. I guarantee it.

Thanks for putting up with me. Enjoy!

Back when it used to hurt
Took you a little while just to find the words
Losing, well, it sometimes burns, but you keep moving on

She was so beautiful. How was it possible that he hadn't laid eyes on her for eighteen months?

"Would you like to sit down?" Oliver asked politely, unsure of what to do. He'd been praying for this moment for a year and a half now but he was at a total loss. Why was she just standing there, staring at him?

She blinked and hesitated before nodding slowly. "Thanks."

He gestured towards the couches, uncomfortable as he was bombarded with memories of all the times they'd sat there, chatting over lunch or planning for the newest mission. She sat down and crossed her legs. He did his best not to just drop into his own seat.

She opened her mouth but quickly shut it again. He cleared his throat but had no idea what to say. The two of them just stared at each other. After several moments of tense silence, Felicity chuckled. His chest ached even as a smile crossed his lips, stretching the muscles in his cheeks that had gone unused for so long now. He'd missed her laugh. He'd missed smiling.

"This is really awkward, isn't it?" She mused thoughtfully.

She had a point and yet…

"But it isn't at the same time. This should be weird. We haven't seen each other in forever. And the last time we saw each other…" She trailed off uncertainly.

"The last time we saw each other you said a lot of things that I needed to hear." Oliver assured her.

Felicity nodded and looked away for a moment. Oliver took the moment to properly look her over. His greedy eyes traced the gentle lines of her face, the soft slope of her neck. He could just barely make out the freckles on her nose.

He sighed. He would gladly spend forever here with her in silence. But she hadn't come for that reason and the time for being selfish with her was over, it should never have happened in the first place. "Felicity, why are you here?"

His tone was soft, careful to avoid any misunderstanding. He in no way wanted her to leave. That was the very last thing he wanted. But she had come for a reason and she was clearly struggling with how to proceed. She raised her chin and met his gaze.

"I told you, it's time to talk." She hedged and he furrowed his brows.

"Why today? It's been a year and a half, Felicity. You said you never wanted to see me again and you meant it. And I deserve it. Please don't misunderstand me, I'm so happy to see you." He scratched his head. "Why today?"

Felicity nibbled on her bottom lip and he found it very distracting. "Ben Williamson."

Oliver blew out a breath and sat back against the couch. That was not what he was expecting.

"I um, met him while I was out with Lyla." She rubbed her nose. "He seemed to know a lot about me."

A bark of laughter escaped his lips. That would be an understatement. Ben knew more about Felicity than her own mother did. He was suddenly wondering if perhaps he had overstepped, somehow betrayed her even further by telling Ben so much about her.

"I'm sorry. There was a lot that I needed to," He paused thoughtfully, "Process after everything. Being who I am makes therapy particularly difficult. He was a friend of mine at A.R.G.U.S. I didn't need to hide anything from him, so I didn't. But I didn't consider that you might not like to be talked about. I'm sorry if-"

"It's fine, Oliver." She assured him. "I was just a little surprised when a total stranger knew what my morning beverage was on Tuesdays. And Wednesdays apparently."

"So you met Ben. And here you are." He summarised.

There was a knock at the door and they both turned towards it as Leslie poked her head in the door. "Sorry, Mr. Queen. It would seem that your noon meeting cancelled. And wouldn't you know it? Your two o'clock and four o'clock cancelled as well." He almost laughed as she failed horribly to hide her grin. "So I think I'll just head home for the day. I've rescheduled all of your meetings. So unfortunate, but now you have the whole afternoon off! It was lovely to meet you, Miss Smoak. I'll see you tomorrow, Oliver dear."

The door closed behind her and the tension in the room disappeared as the two of them started laughing. He adored Leslie Mills and he had from the first time he'd met her. She reminded him of Raisa. She was about as subtle as a jackhammer but he'd have to thank her for clearing his schedule. This conversation was important and she understood that without being told.

"She's something." Felicity commented. "She seems to enjoy her job more than your last assistant."

He recognized the lighthearted jab for what it was and smiled. "Well, Leslie Mills has been an assistant her whole life. She doesn't have a degree in something other than the secretarial arts to tempt her elsewhere. Although my last assistant did a hell of a job, despite how much she hated it."

The faintest of smiles crossed her face and she nodded, accepting the compliment.

"I'm not really sure why I'm here." She admitted, fidgeting with her skirt.

"How about we start with why you're not here then?" He suggested, preparing for the pain her answers would likely cause.

Felicity folded her hands together and nibbled on her lip before straightening her shoulders. "I'm not here for the big apology. I'm not ready for that conversation just yet. I know you're sorry. I just can't deal with that yet." She inhaled deeply. "I'm not here to ask you to love me, or to love you either. That isn't an option. I can't think about it."

Oliver's jaw cracked under the strain as he fought to control his features. It was pointless because Felicity had always known everything he was thinking and feeling. But her words were truth and they were deserved.

"That narrows it down a bit." He replied evenly. "You want to be a part of the team again."

It wasn't a question. He knew it and so did she. She missed being a hero. The irony of it all was that she had never stopped being a hero. She was the reason that he donned that hood every night. She was no longer a part of the team so he did his best to make her proud, in her name, whether she knew it or not.

The team hadn't been much of a team since she'd left. And Felicity wouldn't be Felicity if she hadn't missed the lair and being a part of something important.

Felicity nodded. "There wasn't a day where I didn't wish I was there. Reading about the Arrow in the newspaper is less fun when I had nothing to do with it."

He leaned forward and caught her eye. "Felicity, you will always have a place on the team. Always."

His heart constricted painfully as he watched her brush a tear away from her eye.

"How does that work? How do we work together?" She asked finally. "How do we get past this?"

Oliver stood and walked over to the window. He gazed out at the city below him as he thought over his answer. In a perfect world there would be no complications. He would apologize and spend the rest of his life making it up to her. They would be a team again and there would be no drama.

But their world wasn't perfect.

"We learn how to be partners again." He replied finally.

He turned to face her and she nodded. But they both knew that there was nothing simple about that.

Hey, before it gets too late
Before the night is over, before the world's awake
Everything will change
Hey, I feel it coming on
Starting like a fire, tonight you lit the flame
Now everything will change

Any thoughts? Thanks for reading so far.