Hello everyone, I wanna thank everybody for reviewing, following and adding the story to your favorites. It means a lot to me. I love hearing what you think.
Thanks goes to my beta reader x. imagine. x (take out the spaces) for sticking with me through the whole story and doing a fabulous job!
More Lily and Oliver cuteness to come today! Yay! I'm on vacation this week, so I'll upload a new chapter next Monday, when I am back! :)
I will also be publishing a new story, when I come back. Something post season 3. Kind of season 4 AU.
Find me on tumblr (katie-049) for picture sets of each chapter. The black and white ones are for the flashbacks.
April 14th, 2015
He sighed. He wasn't a big fan of rain and, to his luck, it rained the last two days almost non-stop. Adding to that, his day had been lousy. First, his mother had come to the office, lecturing him about Thea and her involvement in opening the new club. Their argument had gone nowhere and at some point Oliver had just left, telling her that he had a meeting to get to, which was actually true. Said meeting was so long that he had to cancel his lunch plans with Felicity, making him even angrier than he already was.
To say his mood was not the best right now was the understatement of the year.
Taking a deep breath and trying to shake the bad day off, he propped his umbrella next to Felicity's door. Once he gathered himself a bit more, he tapped lightly on the wood.
"It's open, Oliver, come in," she yelled from the inside and just hearing her voice did more to lighten his mood than all the pep talks he could give himself.
A whiff of freshly cooked food greeted him when he entered and his fists unclenched at the scent. Oliver bent down, untying his shoes and placing them next to Felicity's heels.
Following Lily's babbles, he made his way to the little kitchen and dining room area that adjoined the living room. Rounding the corner, he saw Lily playing on her blanket next to the kitchen counter separating the two areas. She was busy playing with one of her toys, not noticing him entering.
Another sigh left his mouth and he felt some of the tension ease out of his posture when his eyes finally landed on Felicity.
She was standing at the stove, wearing one of her dresses with an apron on top, stirring something in a pot. Her eyes where shining brightly behind her glasses, her mouth curved into a happy smile. "I'm making dinner."
His lips, which were pressed tightly together, lifted up slightly, giving her the barest of smiles. "I can see that."
Turning down the heat of the stove, she placed the spoon next to the pot and approached him. Without another word, she opened his suit jacket, carefully gliding it off his shoulders and placing it on one of the bar stools next to them, before reaching for his tie, loosening it and sliding it from around his neck. Her tiny hands made quick work of his cufflinks, putting them aside and folding his sleeves to above the elbow.
Once she was done, she pushed closer to him, bracketing him in her embrace, her head resting on his chest.
Oliver let his head fall onto hers, closing his eyes. "Thank you."
She always knew what he needed and right now, he ached to be Oliver Queen, to spend time with his girlfriend and her daughter. He was not in the mood to be Oliver Queen, CEO of Queen Consolidated.
Her hands ran up to his shoulders, gently stroking over his tensed muscles, giving him the much needed comfort and assurance he yearned for.
He felt his muscles loosen under her tender touch and he melted into her embrace, pressing her tightly against his chest, taking a few deep breaths. He had missed her.
She pulled back slightly, giving him a small smile, before standing up on her tiptoes and connecting their lips. Here, getting lost in the feeling of her, he could almost forget about his terrible day.
She was suckling at his bottom lip, both distracting and arousing him. He craved her touch after today, and his muscles relaxed more under the gentle touch of her hands across his back, easing the rest of the tension from his body.
His hands glided down her back, stopping on her bottom, pressing her closer to him. A breathy moan left her lips and his heart started to beat faster. By now, he couldn't even remember the reason for his bad mood earlier.
His head was spinning and his senses were filled with everything that was Felicity.
The kiss was getting more heated by the second, until an angry cry reminded them that they weren't alone.
Slowing their kiss, he pulled away from her, quickly lowering his head to her neck, pressing a few kisses against her throat, before following her gaze down to an angry looking Lily.
She had crawled over to them and was now seated at their feet, stretching her arms up.
A chuckle left Felicity's lips as she bent down, picking her up. "Are you feeling neglected, little one?" She pressed a kiss to her head. "Did you miss Oliver too, sweetheart?"
Lily looked at Oliver with her blue eyes wide open and started gurgling happily before stretching her arms out to him.
Oliver stiffened, surprise and fear running through his body. Until this point, he hadn't held her, but seeing her reach for him, obviously wanting him to hold her, made his heart race.
Lily started to wiggle in Felicity's arms and he gently placed a hand on the girl's back, slowly reaching for her.
His eyes met Felicity's, both of them silently asking for approval and permission. She obviously didn't want him to feel obliged to hold her, and he wanted to make sure she was comfortable with it. Before he could overthink it, he was putting his hands under the baby's arms, lifting her out of his girlfriend's arms into his.
Felicity's hands followed him, guiding him to hold her against his side, placing one of his hands under the baby's thigh and his other against her back. Making sure he was holding her safely, she stepped back a little, letting her hands fall to her side.
He concentrated on the baby in his arms, her little hand resting on his shoulder. The area where her hand was resting immediately started to feel warm and tingly and he felt the sensation run through his body, warming him up from the inside.
All the fear left his body and he started to enjoy the feeling of Lily in his arms. He relaxed, meeting her shining blue eyes, looking expectedly at him. Her hand reached for his stubbly cheek, running her fingers over it.
Not daring to breathe, he held his breath, closing his eyes, relishing this moment, never wanting to forget how it felt to first hold her.
It was nothing compared to them playing together, which was a common occurrence these days. Whenever Oliver was over at Felicity's, which frankly happened a lot, he played with Lily on the carpet, sometimes with Felicity, sometimes without her. They always had fun and they made each other laugh.
"She has you wrapped around her finger already," Felicity whispered, putting an arm around his waist, leaning against his chest and pulling him out of his thoughts.
Puffing out some air, Oliver let the hand on Lily's back wander to Felicity's shoulder, squeezing lightly. "I really needed this today. Thank you, Felicity."
He pressed a kiss to her hair.
"You don't have to thank me. We might not have had a bad day, but we missed you anyways." She peered up at Lily, stroking her head. "Didn't we, baby girl? We really needed one of Oliver's big hugs too. He is such a good snuggler, isn't he?"
Lily looked at her mother, smiling her one toothed smile, before concentrating on his cheek again, scratching her fingers over it.
The love Oliver felt for the two people in his arms overwhelmed him. He had to bite his tongue not to blurt it out. They weren't ready for that yet.
Feeling lighter than before, he glanced down at his girlfriend, seeing her lips turned upward into a genuine smile. His words weren't necessary, because just looking into her eyes told him that she felt it too. Briefly touching their lips together, he let his arm slide back to Lily's back.
"Well, sweetheart, mommy is gonna finish dinner now," Felicity said, pressing a kiss to Lily's head. "You can put her down on her blanket again, if you want to," she said to Oliver, before returning to the stove, picking up the spoon again.
"I think I'll just hold her a little while longer," Oliver responded, moving to sit on one of the bar stools standing at the kitchen counter. The truth was, now that he was holding her, he couldn't imagine putting her down anytime soon. It felt right.
Once he sat down, he held Lily up in front of him, letting her place her feet on his legs. "Alright, Lily, I don't know what I'm doing, so go easy on me."
Lily stretched her little hands out and placed them on his cheeks again. Scratching softly, she started babbling again.
He still had a hard time getting his feelings under control. Now that he was holding the girl in his arms, feeling her small hands touch his cheeks, he couldn't believe that he was once so afraid of this.
The fear of letting her fall down or holding her too tight vanished from his mind and were replaced with the warm and pleasant feeling of holding her close to him.
Lily started to wiggle and he carefully placed her down on his legs, pressing her close to his side, one arm around her, while grabbing one of the books that was lying on the counter. She placed her head against his chest as he started to read the book to her, something about animals.
"Look at the two of you all cozy," Felicity piped up; standing next to the chair they were sitting on. "Dinner is ready and we should eat before it gets cold."
Oliver looked up to her, surprised that he hadn't realized she was standing next to him. Lily slapped the book and Oliver gently pried it out of her hands, placing it back on the counter.
The little girl started to whine, waving her hands through the air.
He stiffened, holding his breath. "What's wrong?"
"She's just mad that you didn't finish the book with her and she's probably tired too. Once we finish, I have to feed her and put her to bed, before she gets too fussy," Felicity laughed, taking Lily out of his arms.
His hands followed her, resting on Lily's back. "Well, thank you for being so easy, Lily bear. I promise we can play more tomorrow."
"You're the biggest softie I've ever met, Oliver," Felicity expressed, gently patting his chest before walking over to Lily's high chair, placing her in it.
"I've never heard you complaining about it before," he replied, walking over to her and pressing himself against her back. Lowering his mouth to the sensitive skin behind her ear, he tenderly gave it a soft nip, making Felicity squirm in front of him.
"Let's just start eating, before anything else happens here," Felicity said, sitting down at the table, ignoring his cocky grin.
"Alright, Lily, say goodnight to Oliver," Felicity said as she walked into the living room, a freshly bathed Lily in her arms.
Oliver, who was sitting on one of the barstools in the kitchen, stood up and walked over to them. Stretching his arms out, he reached for Lily, taking her from Felicity, pressing her close to him.
"Alright, Lily, I hope you sleep well, sweetheart. Don't wake Mommy up too much," Oliver whispered, pressing a soft kiss to the baby's forehead. Lily just cuddled up to him, grabbing the collar of his shirt in her hand.
"Thank you for cleaning up," his girlfriend said, rubbing her hand over his arm and pressing a kiss against his bicep. "I'll make her bottle."
He watched her walk further into the kitchen, smiling to himself. After she cooked and took care of Lily, the least he could do was clean.
Concentrating back on Lily, he gently laid his cheek against her head, cupping her whole head with his other hand. She still seemed so small with her 8 months and he was overwhelmed by the love and protection he was feeling for the girl in his arms. He closed his eyes, pressing his lips to the crown of her head for a lingering kiss, swaying slowly from side to side as he felt her breath even out against his neck. Walking over to the sofa, he sat down.
Felicity soon came over, smiling brightly at the sight in front of her, handing Oliver the milk bottle. She helped him shift Lily around in his arms, cradling her against his chest while offering her the bottle of milk; she hastily took it in her mouth. Once both Oliver and Lily seemed comfortable, she sat down next to him, leaning against his shoulder and placing one of her hands against her daughter's back.
Lily already seemed to be sleeping, drinking the bottle with closed eyes. Within five minutes, the bottle was empty and Felicity took it from Oliver, placing it on the coffee table in front of them.
"I should put her in her crib," she murmured, sitting up on the sofa.
"Can we just sit here for a while longer?"
He didn't want to let go of her just yet, or better, he never want to let go of her again. Looking at the sleeping baby in his arms, he felt Felicity lean back against him again. He lifted up one of his arms, allowing her to scoot closer, putting her head in the crook of his neck.
"I've never felt like this before," he whispered.
"Is that a good or a bad thing?" She stilled, her lips pressing the barest of a kiss against his jaw.
"It's just... I never imagined having such strong feelings for someone; it's scary and wonderful at the same time. I feel like I never want to let her go and protect her from everything bad in this world." He paused, squeezing her arm. "Both of you."
She slightly relaxed again, sinking back into him. Continuing to stroke her daughter's back, she stayed quiet.
Afraid that he said something wrong, Oliver looked down at her. Her eyes were soft, glowing in the dimmed light of the room, her lips slightly parted, the corners turned up.
Pushing his fear away, he pressed his lips against her head. "I know that we just started this, but I won't leave you until you tell me to, and even then I'll probably fight you."
"I won't ask you to leave," she answered promptly, angling her head upwards to look at him.
He leaned towards her, brushing his lips against hers in a tender kiss.
Right then, he knew he had made the right decision in getting involved with Felicity. He couldn't remember a time where he felt this content and at ease at the same time. He had exactly what he wished for and even though they had a long way to go, he knew it was going to be worth it, because at the end of the day, he had the two most important people in his life who were always going to welcome him back in their home, making him feel loved, no matter what kind of day he had.
