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Um . . . in this chapter, Oliver and Felicity get to know each other again.

Chapter 14

When Felicity came away from the counter with the coffees and bagels and saw the way Oliver was sitting, she started to think that maybe this hadn't been such a great idea, after all.

He didn't twitch every time the door opened, and he didn't jump every time someone laughed really loud (and there was a definite shrieker here this morning – Felicity wondered where they got the energy from), but his fist was clenched on the table, and his other hand was in the pocket of the hoodie she'd bought him. Did he have the gun in there? She desperately hoped not.

She made sure to walk up to their table slowly, giving him time to register her presence – when he did, he gave her a smile which was more of a rictus.

"That's the fakest smile I've ever seen in my life," she murmured, "and I've watched a lot of reality tv." She was glad to see him relax, stretching out his fingers. He didn't take his other hand out of his pocket, though.

"Sorry." He rubbed his fingers together and tapped them on the table, then fiddled with his napkin. "I don't know why this is bothering me so much."

Felicity leaned on the table and took a sip of her coffee, regretting it when she burned her tongue. She blew on it a couple of times, grumbling.

"Stop laughing at me," she muttered, glancing up to see his lips twitching. "The way you describe that place," she continued, unwilling even to use the name in public, "sounds an awful lot like prison. So maybe what you're feeling now is that kind of anxiety ex-cons get once they leave the big house."

Oliver raised an eyebrow as he mouthed 'the big house' back at her. She narrowed her eyes, then pointed at him.

"Look, you're even guarding your food!" She immediately looked around her, worried that she'd been too loud, but the café was super loud on its own.

She was right, though: he'd curled his arm around his bagel and coffee, and now he was looking down at them like they'd betrayed him in some way. This time the smile he aimed her way was genuine, and she returned it, only to jump when the shrieking laugher struck again. Oliver shook his head, and continued devouring his bagel.

"Didn't they feed you – over there?" Felicity was genuinely curious now.

Oliver nodded, and swallowed.

"Yeah – but you're right. It was like prison – the food, too. It wasn't chosen for taste – every calorie was counted, and everything was super healthy. Hey, do you have ice cream at your place? Because I can't remember the last time I had some."

Felicity nodded.

"Sure." She sipped at her coffee some more, unsure of what to add to the conversation. She wanted to ask how he'd ended up as John Smith, amnesiac assassin, she wanted to know if he'd really have killed her – though a voice in her head crowed that she really, really didn't want to know the answer to that particular question.

Oliver had finished eating, and was starting to look nervy again.

"Why don't we go there, Oliver?" He looked up, trying hard to disguise the look of relief on his face.

"And then," she whispered, standing on tiptoes to speak in his ear, "you can tell me what you have in your pocket." She replayed the last few words and groaned. "No, that wasn't what it sounded like. I mean really in your pocket, not a euphemism for an erection- let me start again."

By this time, Oliver's shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter. He pulled his hand out of his pocket and showed it to her. It was empty. His eyes twinkled.

"Do you want to check for yourself?" He sounded better than he had all morning.

Felicity tossed her head. "Slow your roll, Oliver. I don't do PDA."

Still, she could tell he was still tense when they arrived. Before she went in, he insisted on checking all the rooms to make sure they were empty.

"D'you really think she'll double cross us?" Felicity was talking to Oliver's dangling legs. He'd climbed up one of her walls, had unscrewed a heating vent, and was feeling around inside – for bugs, he'd explained.

Oliver dropped back down and gave her a blank look.

"Come on, Oliver. You know I mean Waller." She gave him her best cocked head plus crossed arms combo, which he apparently found hard to resist.

He smiled ruefully, and shook his head. "I don't know. I mean, before . . . I would have said no - but then she drugged me and kept me for months. She even told me I volunteered to be a test subject. And then I killed for ARGUS . . . I killed my best friend's dad, Felicity."

Felicity dropped her purse on the couch, unwilling to meet his eyes.

"Waller said those were really criminals – not like when she set you on me."

Oliver shook his head, then seemed to remember something. "Why did she do that, anyway? I can't believe . . . I could have killed you!"

Felicity blushed. "I got bored. I started looking into ARGUS."

Oliver put his hands over his eyes, and she bit her lip. "Are you serious? Felicity . . ."

"If I hadn't, you'd still be there, killing people. Wouldn't you?"

Oliver nodded, reluctantly. "I can't believe anything she told me anymore. I mean, sure, Slade Wilson – he was a killer. And he planned to do horrible things. But Tommy's dad – why did she do that to him?"

Felicity grabbed her tablet and started bringing up her research. "Actually, what I found out was the opposite – I couldn't find anything about Slade Wilson. But once I really got into what Malcolm Merlyn was up to – Oliver, he wasn't a good man. He had stuff planned that would wipe out half of Starling City – I mean, literally. Off. The. Map."

"So the earthquake machine was real?" Oliver sounded like he found it hard to believe what he was saying.

"Oh, yeah." She could still picture the blueprints she'd found of something called the Markov device, and shivered at the kind of destruction it could have caused.

"Then why did you apply to work at Merlyn Global? Why not . . . uh . . . Queen Consolidated?" Oliver looked worried, like she'd found out something worse about his mom's company.

She walked up to him and squeezed his arm. "I thought it would be too obvious. I didn't realise she was already on to me. Besides, your friend is CEO of Merlyn Global, now. It's all clean – I checked."

Oliver nodded, rubbing his fingers together. She got an idea.

"Why don't you check on your family online – see what they've been doing all this time?"

Felicity got him settled in front of her laptop while she worked on her tablet, checking all her networks, her bank accounts – even looking up her own name. She just needed to look into anything and everything Waller might use to mess with her. She couldn't find anything, though. Either Waller was keeping to her deal, or she thought the radio silence on their part meant that either she was dead, or Oliver, or they both were. Nothing like a little murder-suicide to keep things neat, huh, Amanda? Wow, that was bitter, she told herself. Cheer up, Felicity – he's here, now.

Before she knew it, an hour had passed. Oliver was still wrapped up in whatever internet rabbit hole he'd fallen down – she could see the screen from where she sat, and she raised her eyebrows. He was looking into archery supplies and vacant property in the Glades. She put it out of her mind. He'd tell her when he was ready. She hoped.

"Hey." Oliver's voice sounded tentative.

Felicity looked up and smiled. She knew exactly what he wanted. "I hope you like pizza, cos that's what I ordered!"

"I love pizza!" He sounded happy. "I really, really missed it."

When the pizza arrived, he stayed out of sight. At least he didn't insist on hiding behind the door, she thought.

The look on Oliver's face when he inhaled his half made her feel guilty she hadn't ordered more.

"Here, d'you want mine?" She offered him her half, having lost her appetite when she'd remembered the months he'd been trapped in that horrible place.

He stopped eating, embarrassed.

"It's not that – just that at ARGUS you never knew when Waller was going to call a meeting. Or send us on a mission. So you just had to-"

"Wolf everything down," Felicity answered, unable to hide the anger in her voice. "That woman. I'd really like to-"

"You said it sounds like a prison – it kind of was. All the others in my team, in other teams, they were all criminals making themselves useful, rather than rotting in jail." Oliver had a faraway look on his face, like he was somewhere else.

"You weren't a criminal, Oliver. It wasn't right, what she did to you."

He dropped his eyes to his food, playing with his fork a little.

"I did some work for her . . . in Hong Kong. It wasn't exactly- it was pretty bad."

She grabbed his hand, determined to get him off this train of thought.

"Oliver – you never had a choice, with Waller. You told me she forced you into it. Don't you remember?"

Oliver nodded, then smiled. "I remember. I remember a lot."

Her lips twitched, and she was sure she was blushing. "Oh?"

He nodded again. "Uh-huh." He pushed the food aside and got up, moving around the table, pulling her out of her chair.

"I wasn't sure – thought maybe you weren't interested anymore . . . you didn't say anything . . . " She babbled, feeling like she couldn't catch her breath.

He was so close now, she could see the emotion in his eyes, the intensity of his stare. He took her glasses off and she blinked, feeling disoriented, but then he cupped her face in one hand and she shuddered. He stopped moving, and she opened her eyes, puzzled.

"Is this . . . is this still what you want?" Oliver was unsure, and she needed to wipe that lost look off his face. She wound her arms around his neck, rubbing up against him, and kissed him, nibbling at his lower lip.

"More than anything, Oliver-" She had a second to take a breath before he silenced her in a deep kiss, his hands roaming all over her. They kissed for what seemed like hours, coming up for breath and then starting again. He stroked her thighs, her hips, never venturing any further, and she shivered, she wanted him so badly.

"I missed you so much, Oliver," she whispered in between one kiss and another. "I was so scared you were-" He interrupted again, kissing her frantically, like he was terrified of letting her go, like she would disappear if he did.

"I lost you," he was muttering under his breath, "I lost you – I'm never losing you again."

They were lying on the couch, entwined, trying to catch their breath, when Felicity came to a decision. She guessed that he was holding back so as not to scare her off, but she wasn't scared. She knew what she wanted.

"So, you wanna see my bedroom? Wait, you already saw it when you destroyed my shower," she giggled, playing with the zipper on his hoodie.

"I didn't destroy your shower!" He caught her hand and kissed it, then sighed. His face was a slight tinge of pink, especially around the cheekbones.

"Is something wrong?" She couldn't keep the tremor out of her voice when she asked, and he was quick to reassure her, kissing her again, dropping kisses all over her face until she squealed.

"Felicity . . . I haven't – uh – been with anyone – in a really long time." He bit his lip, obviously embarrassed, but then forged on. "I'm gonna last like . . . five seconds. Maybe less."

She chewed on her lower lip, the mantra 'don't laugh, don't laugh' running through her head on a loop. He looked at her sideways.

"You can laugh if you want to, I don't mind."

She raised her chin imperiously. "I had no intention of laughing." She got up and pulled him off the sofa, leading him towards her bedroom. "I already told you, some time ago, that I could help you with that, take the edge off. Offer's still open."

He grabbed her from behind and lifted her up as she squeaked, tickling her and nuzzling her neck.

"Not that I don't appreciate the offer," he said, "but it's not very romantic."

He put her down in her bedroom and she smiled up at him.

"Pfft. I don't believe in romance." She reached up for him and he caught her hand, kissing it. "Now, love . . . that's something else."

His eyes widened and he cradled her face in his hands, and this time the kiss was gentle and soft. He was blinking back tears when he pulled back from her, his eyes shiny. Come on, Felicity, she thought. Stop bringing the room down. She unzipped his hoodie as he watched, and raised an eyebrow.

"Lose the clothes, Oliver."

He smirked. "You first."

"Oh, a challenge, huh?" She pulled her t-shirt over her head and pulled the scrunchie out of her ponytail at the same time, giggling at the way his eyes fixed on her boobs and stayed there.

He grinned, and took off the hoodie and t-shirt, and she had to choke back a moan. His chest was . . . well, it was amazing. It struck her again how weird it was that the tattoo was gone, and she couldn't help stroking his abs a little, enjoying his breath hitching as she did.

She took off her pants and underwear at the same time, and unclasped her bra while he was taking his pants off, and they were naked in front of each other for the first time. Well, she'd just seen him come out of the bathroom. Plus, he could have seen her back on the island, and she'd caught a good glimpse of him, but this was different. This was just for them.

Oliver was beautiful, sculpted, and hard as a rock, his cock curving up towards his belly. He was staring at her, mouth open.

"You're so beautiful, Felicity. So very beautiful."

Somehow they fell on the bed and started kissing again, and this time she could feel his burning skin all over her, the smell and heat of him surrounding her. She pulled back a little from a kiss, and pushed him on his back, kissing his chest. She licked the palm of her hand, looking at him wickedly all the while, and he had to close his eyes and groan.

She settled at his side and started stroking him with touches which were light at first, then she got a grip on him and started jacking him firmly. True to his word, he didn't last very long, crying out as he came. She reached for some wipes to clean him up, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her up to him, plunging his tongue in her mouth, taking her breath away.

He started kissing her breasts, licking and nibbling at her nipples, and then he went ever lower, and she realised where he was going. She stroked his head distractedly, wondering if this wasn't too much for their first time. She realised he'd stopped kissing her stomach, and was looking at her, an eyebrow raised.

"Too much?"

"No . . . no. I guess." She bit her lip. "It's been a while for me too. Maybe go slow a little?"

Oliver's eyes turned wicked, and he dropped a kiss on her inner thigh, then rubbed his stubble against the place he'd kissed. She squeaked, and he kissed it again, sucking at the flesh.

"That's gonna leave a mark," she babbled distractedly, and gasped as he bit her other thigh, then kissed it better.

"Good," he answered, satisfaction in his tone. She flushed, pleased. She liked this possessive Oliver, she realised. He kissed his way down and started licking her clit, alternating rough and gentle, until she felt like she was going insane. He brought her to the edge more than once, then stopped. When she raised her head and glared at him, he smirked, and wiped his mouth.

"Slow enough for you?"

Felicity dropped her head back into the pillow, and he went back to licking and sucking her. She lost track of time as he tortured her with his tongue, her hand clamped on the back of his head. Finally, finally he let her come, her hand covering her eyes as she shuddered and quaked, her knees trying to close on his head. She pulled at him and he crawled back up, looking smug.

"You," she gasped, poking at his chest. She realised he'd slid two fingers inside her and was playing with her clit, and she moaned, wanting more. She felt blindly inside her bedside table, and pulled out the drawer, sending it crashing to the ground.

"Condoms, Oliver, come on." He laughed quietly and scooped one up, turning away from her a bit to put one on.

When he turned back to her, he looked a little unsure, and she reached up, stroking his cheek. He kissed her roughly, putting one hand under her knee and lifting it, as she guided his cock inside her, stretching her. He hung his head a little, eyes closed to get used to the feeling, it seemed. She relaxed, letting her legs fall apart, and he slid in even further, getting a whimper out of her and a gasp from him. He started moving, sparking all the right feelings inside her, changing the angle to hit her clit with every thrust. She whimpered and moaned, clinging to his neck as he pounded her into the mattress, her bed creaking madly, the headboard banging against the wall. She found herself coming again, and yelled his name, begging him not to stop, and he didn't, his face open with wonder as he watched her come apart. His rhythm slowed down, but stayed relentless as he thrust, chasing his own pleasure, squeezing his eyes shut as he came inside her.

Oliver hung over her, snorting, gasping for breath. When she smiled up at him, he smiled back, kissing her, and then rolled off her, getting rid of the condom. She pulled a blanket over them and snuggled into his side, enjoying the aftershock of the amazing orgasms she'd just had.

She'd forgotten how chatty she became after sex, especially good sex, which didn't tire her out, but left her hyper and wanting to start five new projects at once. She was just launching into a rambling story of how she'd come across the job at Merlyn Global, and how nice Tommy Merlyn was during her interview, when a little snore interrupted her. She looked at Oliver in disbelief – fast asleep. In his sleep, the worry lines in his face smoothed out, but he still looked tired. Oh well, she thought. He needed the rest.

She was still feeling restless, though, and threw on a t-shirt, wandering to where she'd left her tablet. She started checking her emails, and had to restrain a cheer when saw that one of them was Merlyn Global HR telling her she'd been accepted as head of Applied Sciences, and asking her to give them a call as soon as she could.

This calls for the special celebration ice-cream, she thought, and was just taking it out of the freezer when someone's arm circled her waist. She jumped, and Oliver saved the ice-cream from flying across her tiny kitchen. Felicity turned, ready to punch him for scaring her, and froze. He was completely naked.

"You're wearing too many clothes, Felicity," he murmured, as he pulled her t-shirt over her head.

He started kissing her breasts and she sighed happily, giggling as she realised he'd brought a condom with him. She pulled him towards the chair she'd tied him to, murmuring that they were going to exorcise bad memories, and sat him down on it, quickly rolling the condom onto his cock. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open as she sank down on him. She gave him a self-satisfied smile which turned into a gasp once he started pumping up into her. She whimpered and rode him, and he groaned, his head falling back. He played with her clit as she rode, slowly and deliciously bringing her to orgasm, and he buried his face in her hair as he thrust inside her until he came.

They fed each other ice cream on the couch. He kept 'accidentally' dropping it on her breasts so that he could lick it off, and she wrestled him for the spoon once he started going further and further down with it. He tickled her and she poked his side, and they kissed until they fell asleep in each other's arms.

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