Chapter 7: Stelicity

*****The Next Day*****

Felicity woke up encased in warmth. The cocoon felt so good that she didn't want to open her eyes or move. Then her mind woke up, and she realized why she felt so warm. A man's very delectable body was wrapped around her. She opened her eyes just a smidgeon and saw his very muscled arm around her.

God, he was beautiful! Felicity had always had a weakness for muscles, and Steve's were even bigger than Oliver's. Last night she'd traced every inch of that amazing chest with her tongue. Her face got red just thinking about it. He'd made love to her three times. Felicity couldn't remember ever having so many orgasms in a night. He had been both passionate and tender—so tender that it brought tears to her eyes.

She turned in his arms so that she could look at him. He looked relaxed. It made her feel good to know she was able to chase away his demons for a night. A feat she was never able to quite manage with Oliver. A pang of guilt hit her for thinking of Oliver. However, how could she not? Felicity had spent so many months longing for Oliver even as she tried not to. She had felt a connection to Oliver from the beginning. Although they were from two very different worlds, she got him. And he got her. He was charismatic and driven. She admired him immensely. However, he didn't love her the way she needed him to. Realizing he probably never would wasn't as hard to bear as it used to be. Being with Steve had opened her eyes to so much.

As she thought about the past few weeks with Steve, a smile broke out across her face. She felt like Cinderella. The prince of the ball saw her. He saw her, and he wanted her. He was sweet, thoughtful, and intelligent. His eyes didn't glaze over when she talked about her computers and technology. He didn't listen to humor or appease her until she could do something for him. Instead, he asked questions. He genuinely wanted to know. The technology of the twenty-first century perpetually fascinated him even as he complained that we were too reliant on it. "What happens when it fails?" he had asked more than once.

She reached out and ran her hand down his sculpted chest. His arms tightened around her in response.

"Good morning," he said as he smiled and opened his eyes.

"Good morning," she said, giving him a shy smile. The things they did last night caused her to blush in the light of the morning dawn.

He moved slightly to place a light kiss on her lips.

"It's been a long time since I've woken up in a man's arms," Felicity admitted.

"Is it okay that hearing that makes me incredibly happy?" Steve asked with a grin.

"Yes," she replied, her face flushing even more.

"Can I make you breakfast?" he asked as he sat up in the bed.

"You cook?" she asked with a surprised grin. She sat up, holding the sheet to her chest even though he'd seen and kissed every inch of her body throughout the night.

"Not anything fancy," he replied. "But a single man who likes to eat has to learn some basics. Going out to eat can be tiresome. When I'm alone, many people approach me. It's okay, but sometimes I'd just like to read the paper in peace."

Felicity laughed and stroked his cheek. "Poor popular hero," she teased. "It must be rough having those legion of fans!"

He looked sheepish but chuckled and put his feet on the floor. "If it's okay, I'll take a quick shower, so I can get started on breakfast," he said.

Feeling bold, Felicity replied, "You don't want to shower with me?"

Now it was Steve's turn to blush as her remark caught him off guard. "I...well..."

Felicity laughed, delighted with him. She let the sheet drop and wrapped her arms around his back to hug him. "It's okay," she said, kissing the side of his neck. "That's a big step."

He turned slightly to look at her, his eyes appreciating his new naked view. "I can't say it's one I've ever taken with a woman," he shared, looking slightly embarrassed by his lack of worldliness. Unable to resist her when she was looking so pleased at his confession, he reached out and pulled her in his lap to kiss her thoroughly.

Heart racing, he pulled away, leaning his forehead on top of her head as he cradled her in his arms. "Felicity, I can't tell you how much being with you means to me," he said. When she moved slightly so she could see his face, he continued. "I'm so glad I found you."

"I feel the same way," Felicity confessed. "I can't believe I met someone like you or that you'd want me this way. It feels like a dream."

Steve frowned. "The men in the twenty-first century must be blind," he said.

"In their defense, my babble tends to scare most of them off," she said.

"I love your babble," Steve said, smiling. He placed another kiss on her lips. "It's why I feel so comfortable around you. I was such a misfit before the army and the serum."

"It's hard for me to imagine that," Felicity said. Her stomach rumbled interrupting them.

Steve grinned in amusement. "Someone's hungry," he said.

"I burned a lot of calories last night," she teased.

Laughing, Steve got out of bed. Felicity admired his naked backside with a happy sigh. That view will never get old.

"Give me a few minutes, and the bathroom's all yours," Steve said over his shoulder.

Watching him until he went out of sight, Felicity gave a low chuckle. It pleased her to know that she alone got to see America's favorite hero completely naked.

*****Three Days Later*****

The next few days were the best days of Felicity's life. She and Steve were inseparable. Tony teased her about it, but she just grinned. He caught her packing an overnight bag the third day after they'd become intimate.

"Like you've never packed one of these," Felicity replied when he teased her.

Tony scoffed. "Like I've ever packed my own overnight bag!" he exclaimed.

Felicity laughed. "Why am I not surprised?"

Tony grinned unabashedly. "So have you decided to stay in New York?" he asked hopefully.

Felicity froze as the question hit her. She knew that she needed to go home. She'd been gone almost four weeks. Her life was in Starling City. Suddenly, her legs felt weak, and she sat down on the sofa.

Tony grew concerned as her face became pale. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"What am I doing?" she wondered. "My life is not in New York."

"It could be," Tony said gently.

Felicity shook her head. "We've talked about this, Tony. I like visiting New York. I don't want to live here," she replied. "Besides my boys need me."

"Doesn't Steve need you, too?" he prompted.

"I hope so," she said. "I need him. Leaving him behind won't be easy."

"Then don't," Tony said.

Felicity gave a small laugh. "You never give up," she said.

"Never," Tony replied, grinning.

Felicity didn't have a reply, and she left Tony in turmoil.

Diggle called that night when she and Steve were wrapping up dinner. She had cooked for him for the first time. Knowing she'd have to say goodbye soon made her not want to share him with the public.

"Hey, John," she said as Steve began to clear the table.

"How's it going, Felicity?" John asked.

"Great!" she replied.

"So when were you going to tell me you now know Captain America?" John wondered.

"How did you know?" Felicity asked in surprise.

"Your pictures have been on every gossip rag in the country," John revealed.

"Really?"

"You didn't know?" John asked, surprised. Usually Felicity was the first to know everything.

"Well, I've been busy," she admitted sheepishly.

John chuckled. "So I've seen," he said in amusement. "You look very happy in all the pictures."

"I'm sorry you had to find out the way," Felicity said. "It's been kind of amazing but also kind of fast."

"I'm glad for you, Felicity. You deserve the best, and I'm not sure you could do better than Captain America," John said, a smile in his voice.

"Thanks," she said, feeling relieved. John's opinion meant a lot to her. She missed him, and it was good to have him knowing about Steve, who had become so important to her in such a short time. "Does...uh…does Oliver know?"

"Yes, Laurel showed us all the photos a few days ago," John said.

"Oh," Felicity said, unsure how she felt about that. There was a pause. Then she said, "How's Laurel doing? I mean with my babies."

"She's okay. Roy's not happy, though. He's convinced she's going to get us killed," John shared.

"Really?" Felicity asked in surprise. A part of her was pleased that the always confident Laurel wasn't up to snuff.

"Yes, we've had a few close calls, which is why I'm calling. We could really use you. Any time frame on when you're returning?"

"Uh…well, I'm not sure. It's complicated," she said weakly. Steve came back to the table to wipe it down, flashing a warm smile at her. She smiled back. How could she leave him?

"Are you coming back?" John asked carefully.

"Of course," she replied automatically. "I just haven't worked out the details yet."

"Okay. Let us know," John said. "It's not the same without you. Oliver's still not able to track down Thea. There's rumors of a new guy taking over Queen Consolidated. We need to be ready. He really misses you."

"He said that?" Felicity asked in surprise.

"Not in words, but it's obvious," John told her. "He's lost without you. We all are. But Oliver wants you to be happy. If you decide to stay, he'd understand."

Felicity didn't know how to respond. A part of her thought facing Oliver again would be a clear test of if what she was feeling with Steve was real. Was she just caught up in the romance? Or was she really in love with him?

"I'll let you know soon," she told John. They said their goodbyes. When she disconnected the phone, she saw that Steve was sitting across from her waiting patiently.

"Everything okay back home?" he asked cautiously.

"That was John. He was wondering when I was going back home," she said. She looked pensive as she thought about the ramifications. Nervous energy filled her, and she got up and wandered into his living room. Steve followed her.

"Is there a date you need to return by?" he asked.

When she finally stopped wondering and faced him. Shaking her head, she sat down on his sofa. "Not exactly," she answered.

Steve knew the day would come when she had to leave town, but he'd tried not to think about it, enjoying the time he had with her. He sat down next to her, his arm automatically went around her shoulders. Felicity laid her head on his chest. Steve was startled when a few minutes later she began to cry.

"Honey, don't cry. It'll be okay," he said, wrapping his other arm around her and hugging her close.

She lifted her head and looked at him, her eyes brimming with tears. "I feel torn in two," she confessed. "I don't want to say goodbye to you, but my guys need me. If one of them gets really hurt because I'm not there, I'd never forgive myself."

Steve frowned. They'd not really discussed exactly how she spent her time working for Starling City's vigilante. She'd talked about it some when they first met. He knew her computer skills helped him track criminals. Now that she'd become so important to him, he wasn't sure how much he liked the thought of her working with a man who was one step above a criminal. Some would argue he was a criminal. He thought about Natasha and Clint—both were assassins. Does killing criminals on the government's orders make it any different than what the Arrow did? After SHIELDS' collapse, Steve was still struggling with how he was supposed to view his country.

"Felicity, what exactly do you mean when you say 'your guys'?" he inquired. She'd never mentioned anyone else besides John, Oliver Queen's bodyguard, who she'd gotten to know working for Queen. "I know you work with the Arrow. I take it your friend John works with him, too? Is there anyone else?"

Felicity grimaced but nodded. She reached under her glasses and wiped her eyes. She wanted desperately to tell him Oliver was the Arrow. The thought of lying to the most honest man in America made her ill. However, she would never forget how betrayed Oliver had looked when she'd told his secret to Barry and that was to save his life. "I need to go home," she said, ignoring his line of questioning.

Steve nodded, understanding. "I understand," he said.

Felicity looked at him silently for a minute and then pulled away. "That's it? 'I understand.' You have nothing else to add?" she prompted.

"I don't like that you have to go, but I understand," he said. He understood duty and loyalty and the bonds of friendship.

"Well, okay then," Felicity said, getting to her feet. She was both deeply hurt and disappointed by his response. "I should go and make plans. Thanks for dinner. Well, I made it, but thanks for letting me."

Steve frowned in confusion. He got to his feet and reached out for her, grabbing her hand. "It's going to be okay. We'll work things out," he said.

Felicity wanted to scream at him: How? He lived on the other side of the freakin' country! The distance obviously didn't bother him. But she said nothing. Instead, she took a deep breath and nodded. "Sure," she said breezily. "I'll call you when I get the details worked out." She turned to locate her bag.

Steve stared at her in bemusement. She went from crying to being perfectly composed. Her smile, though, didn't seem right. Before he had a chance to question her further, she had given him a breezy goodbye and was out his apartment door.

He sat in his apartment trying to figure out what went wrong for a while. Then he got out his phone and dialed Natasha.

"Can you come over?" he asked her. "I need some advice." When she agreed, he hung up. Hopefully, Natasha could explain where exactly he'd went wrong.

*****Back in Starling City*****

When Diggle finished talking to Felicity, he went to their base of operations. He wasn't surprised to see Oliver there working out. It was a familiar sight, especially since Felicity had left. Laurel's absence, though, was new. Diggle hadn't seen her since she'd shown them the pictures of Felicity and Captain America. Diggle was still trying to wrap his mind around that one. However, he couldn't have picked a better guy for Felicity if he'd tried.

He knew Diggle had spoken to Laurel, but he'd not been privy to specifics. He approached Oliver, deciding to poke the bear.

"So I've not seen Laurel around the past few days," Diggle commented.

Oliver stopped and faced Diggle. "Felicity doesn't want her here. She told me that before she left. We need Felicity much more than Laurel. I don't know how to begin finding someone to fill Felicity's shoes," Oliver admitted. "If Laurel quits encroaching on Felicity's space, maybe we won't have to."

"You told Laurel that?" Diggle asked, a bit surprised. When it came to the Lance girls, Oliver was often blind. Laurel, especially, he viewed with rose-colored glasses.

Oliver nodded. "I told her that that I needed her in the DA's office, not down here. And that we couldn't function very well without Felicity."

"What did she say?" Diggle asked.

"She asked me if I was in love with Felicity," Oliver shared.

Diggle blinked, not expecting that. "Seriously? What did you say?" he wondered.

"That she was too important for me to lose. She's my family. I need her. I don't need Laurel the same way. Not anymore," Oliver said. "I hurt her, but I had to set up some boundaries. I owe Felicity that at the very least." He and Felicity still hadn't quite recovered from the debacle with Slade. He knew he had hurt her and was the reason she had left town.

"Yeah, some boundaries most definitely needed to be set," Diggle agreed. "I like Laurel. We may very well need her on an occasion mission where we need Felicity down here and a woman up there. But we don't need her down here, especially as much as she was here."

"Yes, I know," Oliver said.

"But you know things with Felicity won't be the same when she returns. You know that, right?" Diggle questioned.

Oliver's eyes narrowed sharply. "Did you talk to her? When is she coming home?" he asked.

"Soon," Diggle said. "She'll let us know when she's coming back for sure once she gets it worked out. I think it's going to be hard for her. We need to give her time when she returns. Not push her to share until she's ready."

Oliver frowned. "She's having a vacation fling. When she gets home, she'll be fine. Things will go back to normal," Oliver said.

"You are really blind sometimes when it comes to her," Diggle said, shaking his head. "She was in love with you. You told her you loved her as an act. Now she's met the greatest American hero in history who seems to be crazy about her, who's not afraid to love her. How do you think things will be the way they were?"

Oliver didn't like hearing that and turned away, ending the conversation. All that really mattered was that she came home. She believed in him when no one else did. He lost his parents, his sister, his company, and Sara. He couldn't lose her, too. He refused to acknowledge the voice inside him that feared he had already lost her.

******New York******

When Pepper and Tony returned from their late dinner date, they were surprised to find Felicity in the dark curled up on the sofa.

"What's wrong?" Pepper asked in concern as she went to Felicity.

"I'm okay," she replied listlessly. "It's time for me to go home."

"What?" Tony demanded. Pepper gave him a sharp look, effectively cutting off his next words. She indicated with a nod that he should go. He sighed heavily and left them alone.

"Are you wanting to go?" Pepper asked. "You know you are welcome to stay here as long as you want."

Felicity gave her a wan smile. "Thanks. You and Tony have been so great. I really needed this time away," Felicity said. She sat up on the couch.

"But you're still determined to go back to Starling City? To Oliver?" she clarified.

Felicity nodded. "Dig called. They need me back," she said.

"What about what you need?" Pepper asked.

"I love making a difference. Being needed. I could never go back to just being an IT girl," Felicity replied.

"You could make a difference here working with Tony," Pepper said.

An amused smile broke out on Felicity's face. She and Tony were well matched. Both were relentless. "Tony doesn't need me. He only needs you," Felicity said.

"What about Steve?" Pepper asked, trying another tactic. "I thought you and he were getting close."

"We were. He's been amazing," Felicity said. "But when I told him tonight I needed to go home, he didn't seem that upset. He's had his fun. I guess I was just a nice distraction."

Pepper looked dismayed. "What? That's crazy!" she exclaimed. "I've seen him with you. He's crazy about you!"

"I thought he was. He indicated he was," Felicity said. "But he didn't ask me to stay."

"Would you stay if he asked?" Pepper probed.

"I don't know. But it'd be nice if he asked," Felicity said, her disappointment apparent.

"So what are you going to do?" Pepper inquired.

"Go home," Felicity stated as her eyes filled with tears. Pepper moved so she could put her arms around her shoulders. She held Felicity as she cried.

Felicity wasn't sure how she was going to leave Steve behind.

*****To Be Continued*****

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