"You should have seen him Thea, by the end of the evening, the man was practically eating out of his hand! I think he would have agreed to give him his children if he thought it would have helped build the hospital wing," says Felicity excitedly.

Oliver rolls his eyes fondly, although he feels a swell of affection for her.

During the benefit, he had managed to convince the investors, and in particular Mr. Howard, to donate money for his project. Felicity has been telling Thea all about the evening and making him sound like a hero since they started lunch.

"You might be exaggerating just a bit," he says laughing, and Felicity looks so offended at his comment that Thea joins in the laughter.

Oliver feels a weight lift off his shoulders when he sees his sister laugh. Since she decided to take a break from being Speedy and focus on finding herself, he's been worried about her. Although she claims to be fine, he can't help but worry about his baby sister living all alone in the apartment she used to share with Laurel.

It's nice to see her happy and smiling.

Oliver has been trying to see her as much as he can, and it's nice to spend time with her without one of them running for their life. But in between his job as the mayor and Green Arrow business, he hasn't been able to see her as much as he would like to.

Even though he's glad that Thea decided to hang up her suit for a little while, he misses her. He got so used to seeing her every night that it's difficult for him not to be able to keep an eye on her all the time. Although he's glad for the fact that she's in a lot less danger now, part of him still wishes she would come back.

"I'm really proud of you Ollie, you seem to be doing a great job," Thea says looking at him.

"I do my best," he replies with a shrug and a small smile.

Hearing those words from her makes him incredibly happy, although he doesn't know how to show Thea how much her positive opinion really means to him. There was a time where he was so afraid of how his family, and especially Thea, would react if they knew what he does.

It's a nice feeling knowing that his little sister is proud of him not only for him being the Green Arrow, but also for his work as the mayor of the city.

Felicity's phone beeps from where it's sitting on the table, and she picks it up with a frown.

"Is everything okay?" asks Oliver after a few seconds when Felicity doesn't say anything.

She lifts her head and smiles reassuringly at them.

"I'm fine, but I should probably go. That was Curtis saying he had a big fight with his husband, and I think he needs a shoulder to cry on. Sorry to abandon you both!"

"It's no problem Felicity," Oliver says with a reassuring smile. "Say hello to Curtis, and tell him I hope everything works out okay."

"I'll stop by the store on the way back because I want to buy stuff for our movie night tomorrow. X-Men should never be watched on an empty stomach and deserves only the best snacks. Do we need anything at home?" she asks, and Oliver rolls his eyes fondly at her words.

He doesn't understand what the big fuss about these movies is, but Felicity seems to love them and wants to watch them with him, so he won't complain.

"We're out of laundry detergent, if you don't mind buying some. Also, whichever vegetable you want with dinner tonight would be good."

"Is none an option?" she asks cheekily, and Oliver shakes his head.

"No, it's not."

"Fine, I'll find something. See you tonight then, and good luck with your meeting this afternoon," she says as she gets up from her seat.

"I'll see you soon Thea," she says hugging her, before she turns towards Oliver and bends forward, casually pressing a kiss to his cheek before leaving the café in a hurry.

Oliver watches her leave before he turns back to Thea with a smile on his face. He freezes when he sees the look she's giving him.

"What?" he asks after a few seconds of her only staring at him without saying anything.

"Seriously Oliver?" she asks incredulously.

He doesn't say anything and waits for her to elaborate, not sure what she wants to tell him.

"You do realize how domestic you two sounded right now, don't you? Laundry detergent, Oliver."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he says, fighting not to show his embarrassment at her words.

"You don't? Okay, let me get this straight," she says determinedly.

Oliver winces at her tone. He knows there's no changing her mind when she uses that voice, and he really doesn't want to have that conversation. Still, he knows it's a lost cause. Thea will just share whatever she wants to tell him, no matter what he says to dissuade her.

"You live together, you work together in the lair almost every night, you share groceries, you have dates-"

"We don't have da—" he starts to protest, but cuts off when he sees the way Thea is looking at him.

"Was I dreaming when Felicity was telling me all about the benefit you two went to together? Plus, movie nights, Oliver. Movie nights. Do I need to say more?" she asks, and Oliver blushes at her words.

"We just enjoy spending time together," he says, denying what she is saying.

It's not that he doesn't get what she's implying, or that he doesn't like the idea. He just doesn't want to get his hopes up.

"Oliver, you guys not only live together, but you spend all of your free time together. I'm guessing she's the one you share stories about your day with, the first one you call or ask when you need advice about something," she continues.

"It's not that simple, Thea," he says, but she shakes her head at him.

"You realize that you two are basically a couple right? The only thing different from when you were engaged is that you're not having sex."

He pauses at her words, and thinks back at the last couple of months.

He and Felicity do spend a lot of time together. Between the time they spend in the lair, and them hanging out at the apartment, the only time he isn't when Felicity is when he's working, or when he's hanging out with his sister.

And she's not wrong. Felicity is the one he talks to about his day. Whenever he comes back from work, they often have dinner together and Oliver will tell her everything that happened at the City Hall that day, while she tells him all about the latest progress she and Curtis have made with their project.

Oh god, Thea's right, Oliver realizes. They are basically in a relationship, and they have been for months. They just haven't talked about it.

Does that really change anything though? If it was up to Oliver, he and Felicity never would have broken up. Knowing that they are acting as if they were in a relationship doesn't really change anything for him, it's what he's wanted from the beginning.

"I know you're scared Oliver, but you need to open your—" she continues to say.

"I'm not," he says, interrupting her.

Thea stops short at his words, and she looks at him in surprise.

"I'm not scared Thea. All I want is to get back with Felicity, but it really isn't up to me," he explains.

"What do you mean? All you have to do is tell her you still love her and want to get back together."

"It's not that simple," he explains. "Felicity is the one who broke up with me. She's the one that couldn't see herself being in a relationship with me anymore. I messed up with her, I'm not about to push my feelings on to her. She knows how I feel, I think I've made that more than clear. Now it's up to her to decide if she returns those feelings and to let me know if she wants more from our relationship."

"Oliver, you wouldn't be pushing your feelings on to her, it's obvious she's still in love with you. You can't be that blind!" exclaims Thea.

"Maybe so," he replies, quelling the rush of hope he feels at her words. God, he really hopes she's right about that, and that Felicity actually does feel the same way about him as he feels about her. "But even if that's the case, it's not up to me. She'll come back when she's ready."

Thea stays silent for about a minute, just staring at him. Oliver looks at her steadily, begging with his eyes for her to understand. He wishes nothing more than for him and Felicity to actually be together, but it's not up to him.

Talking about it only serves to remind him that they aren't actually in a relationship anymore, as much as that pains him, and that Felicity could meet someone else any minute. It just hurts.

"You're right," she says reluctantly, and Oliver sighs in relief. "You're not the one I should be having this conversation with."

He does a double take at her words and panic starts to seize him.

"Thea…" he says, and she shakes her head.

"No Oliver, it'll be good! We both know that with how oblivious Felicity can be sometimes, she probably hasn't even realized what's going on. That way you can talk, and you'll either get back together, or you'll know that you have to move on."

"Please just leave it alone Thea. I'm fine with the way things are now," he says, which is mostly true. "I know you want to protect me and I love you for it, but we're working through things by ourselves at our own pace, and I'm more than happy to wait until she is ready."

She looks reluctant, and Oliver silently begs her to listen to him.

He and Felicity are slowly growing back towards each other, and he doesn't want to risk losing her now. If Thea talks to her, she could spook her and realizing how close they have been, Felicity could decide that she never wants things to go back to the way they were after all. That being in a relationship with him is too complicated, and they'd be better off as friends.

"Are you sure this is the best solution?" she finally asks, and Oliver feels relief course through his body, although doubts creep in his mind.

"I'm sure, thank you."

At least, he really hopes it's the best solution.

He's happy with the way things are now, and he's glad he gets to spend as much time with Felicity as he does, but he can't wait for them to officially get back together.

It kills him he can't be with Felicity the way he really wants to be. He wants to be able to hug her to reassure her when she's scared, to tell her how much he loves her and is proud of her, to touch her the way he's been dreaming of since they broke up…

But he knows he has to be patient. He made a promise to himself that he would do whatever it takes to gain back Felicity's trust and hopefully, her love, and rushing her into a relationship isn't the way to do that.

He's still confident that they are slowly getting there, and he knows the day it happens will be one of the happiest days of his life.

Now the only this he can do is hope that day will come soon.