The usual disclaimers apply, I don't own any of this, it all belongs to CW, DC and all those other people, I'm just playing in the sandbox with them for a while.

Felicity and Laurel 25

The lair was quiet, everyone had finally headed off, Felicity and Laurel had been escorted to their cars by Dig and Roy, who'd then made their way home, one to the home he shared with Lyla, the other to the clock tower that they'd all helped turn into a halfway decent place to live.

Oliver had told them he was going home, but he'd actually suited back up and headed out again, patrolling for a few more hours while checking in on each of the other members of the team. Laurel had been asleep, though by her tossing and turning it wasn't a restful one, something he understood all too well.

Lyla and Dig were snuggled together, the big man wrapped protectively around her, making him smile a little. Despite everything those two had found their way back together and were having a baby, maybe there was hope for the rest of them too. As he turned away, he shook his head, that baby was going to be the most spoiled kid in Starling City, Laurel and Felicity were already itching to shower the kid with affection, presents and god-parently love.

The clock tower was quiet, at first he thought Roy was asleep, until he spotted him sitting quietly, meditating if he wasn't mistaken. Oliver was surprised; he hadn't figured Roy for something so quiet, until he spotted Sin sound asleep on the couch nearby, Roy obviously doing something silent to avoid disturbing her. He nodded, they'd both lost someone they cared about; he didn't think it was more than a friendship but he was glad they had someone to keep an eye on each other.

Felicity was curled up on her lounge at 3.20 in the morning, demolishing ice cream and watching backed up episodes of the Big Bang Theory, bringing a sad tightness to his eyes as the toll of what they did was evident on his friends, he watched for a minute or two before he turned away, not begrudging Felicity some escape from their lives, losing herself in silly sitcoms.

Another hour passed, a few muggings and break and enters stopped, the culprits left for the SCPD, mostly intact. A group of three thugs lying in wait for a waitress to finish her shift caught his attention, unfortunately for them. As he watched, they moved to box her in, already trying to terrify her into submission with stories of what they were going to do to her. Oliver had almost smiled before dropping onto them; they'd need an extended visit to the hospital before the SCPD could book them. He'd then helped the woman back to her workplace, making sure she was safe before he'd headed back to Verdant, seeing the first wash of a lighter tone to the eastern sky as he did.

Making his way down into the lair he paused for a moment, the place was lit by a few work lights and the red and blue lights of the computers, making it dim and quiet. He made his way over to his costume case, hung up his bow and slowly peeled his costume off, hanging each piece up as he did, before a small sound off to one side caught his attention. His head turned to take in the team's newest member standing up on top of Felicity's computer's CPU, it was one of the warmest places in the lair and you could always trust a cat to find the best places to sleep. It stretched luxuriantly for a moment before it sat there, regarding him, then giving him a small welcoming meow. He was about to say something when a thought came to him, 'A cat may look at a king, or a queen'. He shook his head at the stray thought, a hint of a smile, he'd never admit it but it was kinda nice to have something living waiting for him to get back.

Pulling on some pants and a shirt, Oliver walked over to the fridge, getting a glass of milk for himself and pouring some into the newly arrived bowl decorated with paw prints that sat next to the fridge, hearing the patter of paws on concrete as the cat made its way over, meowing happily as it did. He shook his head again, playing nursemaid for a cat, the things he did for those women…

He put the carton back and closed the door, giving the cat a quick scratch on its back before he made his way over to the couch that Felicity had insisted they get; she'd been horrified to think that he sometimes crashed in the lair on a camp stretcher, not realising that compared to much of what he'd slept on in the last five years a camp stretcher was fairly luxurious. He couldn't complain about the sofa though, it was a leather three-seater, easily long enough for him to stretch out on. For all that he had a bed waiting back at the manor, sometimes he couldn't face the ghosts inhabiting those halls, it was way too big for just him now but he couldn't bring himself to sell it, and besides, it was Raisa's home too and he owed that woman anything within his power to give her.

He sat there for a moment, running over the things he needed to do when he woke up in a few hours, assuming he actually managed to get some sleep. Clean his uniform, tighten the cams on the compound bow, he appreciated the extra power but a compound bow was a lot more maintenance than a recurve, to ask Felicity to follow up the police report on the waitress he'd rescued and ask Laurel to make a special project of her three would-be rapists; hopefully sending a message that even considering pack rape in Starling was a quick ticket to a visit from the Arrow, followed by hard time in Iron Heights.

He shrugged. It wasn't likely but he could hope, sometimes it seemed that was all he could offer the city. Finishing his milk, he rolled onto his side and tried to settle, sometimes he managed to sleep, other times he'd toss and turn, never able to get comfortable. He lay there for a while, realising tonight was going to be one of those nights, when there was a gentle thump on the couch, announcing the cat's arrival.

"Mrrwl?" He opened one eye and glanced at it, seeing it perched on the arm at the far end of the couch and sighed.

"You have a whole lair to yourself cat, can't you leave me in peace?" He got another meow as the cat carefully picked its way down onto the cushions and made its way up his length. Sighing again, Oliver closed his eyes again and tried to settle, before a gentle head butt to his chest disturbed him again. Opening his eyes he was greeted by the sight of the cat staring at him, bumping him again in an unspoken plea for a scratch. Realising the cat wasn't going away, Oliver reached out and gave him a quick scratch between the ears, drawing a deep purr.

"Y'know, there are any number of restaurants where you'd make a nice addition to the menu" Unfazed the cat head bumped him again, then flopped down, roiling so its back was up against Oliver's chest. He shook his head once. "It's a good thing your friends with those two, otherwise you'd be main course" The loud purring that came to him was replicated in the vibration against his body, dragging a twist of the lips from him.

Unconsciously his hand dropped to gently scratch against the cat's belly, the repetitious movement soothing them both as he lay there thinking. A few minutes later the scratching stopped as he fell asleep, drawing a gentle complaining noise from Smokey, before the cat closed his eyes and joined him in sleep.

This human wasn't soft like the two with the bright hair, but he was warm and gentle, perfect for curling up with and sleeping, which is exactly what he did.