Chapter 10: Black Meets Green
******Where We Left Off******
Oliver was used to beautiful women. He'd known more than his fair share. However, he'd never met one like Natasha Romanoff before. It wasn't that she was prettier or even sexier than others he'd met. Instead, it was the look in her eye, the knowing secret smile that seemed to say she knew who he was behind the mask. He shook her hand politely, ignoring his fanciful thought.
"It's nice to meet you," Oliver said, giving her his phony Oliver Queen smile.
"You, too," she said, grinning at him.
"I'm so glad you're here!" Felicity said with barely contained excitement.
Steve put his arm around Felicity's shoulder. "Yes, it's good to have you here," he agreed.
"I ordered pizza. It should be here soon," Felicity said. She turned to Steve. "Wine. We need wine. Do you have any?"
"The bottle you bought the other day," Steve said.
"Great!" she said. He followed her into the kitchen.
Oliver gave Natasha an awkward smile. "Well, I guess we should make ourselves at home," he said, gesturing toward the living room.
"After you," she said.
Oliver gave her a knowing look, understanding her wariness. He wasn't concerned, so he turned his back on her.
They both sat down on the couch, plenty of space between them. Oliver searched for a topic and decided to go with the obvious. "Romanoff? Ты русский?" he asked. (You're Russian?)
Natasha smiled. "You speak Russian!" she exclaimed in delight. "Как вы изучать русский язык?" (How did you learn Russian?) She knew that the man had not spent five years on the island, but she hadn't realized he'd spent time in Russia.
"Хороший друг научил меня." (A good friend taught me).
When Felicity came into the room carrying wine, Steve was trailing her with more glasses. She paused when she realized that Oliver and Natasha were having a lively discussion in Russian. Felicity looked up at Steve, grinning. "Look at them!" she whispered.
Steve looked and only saw their friends talking. "They're getting along. That's good," he remarked.
"Oliver never gets along with people on first meetings. He rarely makes a good first impression," she said. Her mind immediately started matchmaking. "I think they make a cute couple! Don't you?"
Steve groaned. "Don't go there! I beg you!" he exclaimed. "Natasha will eat him alive. Didn't he suffer enough on that island?"
"Hey, Oliver's no child. He can take care of himself," she defended loyally.
Oliver heard his name and looked up. "Talking about me?" he asked, giving her a fond smile.
Natasha noticed the warmth in voice, the change that came over him as he spoke to Felicity.
"Yes, I was just telling Steve that you two look like you're getting along well," Felicity said, smiling. She put the wine down on the table while Steve put the glasses down. Oliver reached for the bottle and began to open it for her.
"He speaks Russian pretty well," Natasha observed.
"Well, he should. He's a high-ranking member of the Russian Mafia," Felicity said without thinking.
"Felicity," Oliver said in a clipped tone.
"Oh God!" she exclaimed in horror, covering her mouth with a hand. "I'm so sorry, Oliver! I wasn't thinking!"
"No, you weren't," Oliver said with displeasure. It was bad enough Rogers knew he was the Arrow. Oliver didn't need him to know all his dirty laundry. Although he was happy that Felicity found someone, he didn't like having his privacy so invaded.
"So you've got ties with the Russian mob," Natasha said with a decidedly Russian shrug. "Who doesn't?"
Felicity's mouth fell open in surprise. "What? You..."
Steve grabbed her hand to cut her off. "How about we not share so much?" Steve suggested. He gave her a light kiss and gave her a glass of the poured wine.
"You're just saying that because the whole world knows all your secrets!" Natasha teased.
Steve gave a sheepish smile in acknowledgement as they all laughed. He sat on the recliner. Felicity sat in his lap.
"So how long are you going to stay in town?" Felicity asked Natasha.
"Until I get in trouble and am forced to leave," she replied with a smirk.
"That'll take a day," Steve said knowingly.
"I'm at loose ends now that SHIELD has been dismantled and our agents hunted by the government," Natasha said.
"I thought you did a fantastic job defending your team and SHIELD before the Senate sub-committee," Felicity said loyally.
"You've been with SHIELD for years, right?" Oliver asked her.
"Yes. Before that I worked from a young age for the Russian government. Hawkeye was sent to kill me by SHIELD—I'd gotten too good at my job. Instead, he recruited me," Natasha shared, sensing Oliver would be more comfortable if he knew some of her secrets.
"Wait, Clint was ordered to kill you?" Felicity asked in surprise.
Natasha nodded. "But I charmed him," she boasted.
"I'll bet," Felicity said with a knowing chuckle.
"So how did you and Felicity meet?" Natasha asked Oliver.
"I needed help with my laptop," Oliver said.
Felicity laughed. "Yeah, right!" she said in amusement. "He brings me this laptop full of bullet holes and tells me it doesn't work because he spilt coffee on it!"
"Seriously?" Natasha asked, giving him a look of surprise.
"I hadn't been back from the island long," Oliver said in way of excuse.
"Then when I point out there were bullet holes, he tells me that his coffee shop is in a bad neighborhood!" Felicity shared, causing both Steve and Natasha to laugh.
Oliver looked embarrassed but smiled. "Well, I've never been that good at lying," he said.
"That makes one of us," Natasha said with a smirk.
"I thought I was a bad liar until I met Oliver," Felicity said. "Once he brought me a syringe full of a drug and told me it was a sports drink he needed tested."
Steve looked surprised at that one. "Really? That was the best you could come up with?" he asked.
Natasha said, "You shouldn't throw stones, Steve. You can't tell a good lie either!"
"I prefer honest men anyway," Felicity said, flashing Steve a look of approval.
The doorbell rang. Felicity jumped up. "It's probably the pizza delivery guy!" she said.
"I'll pay," Steve said, following her up.
Natasha examined Oliver with interest. "How can you just be friends with someone like Felicity? She's amazing but so innocent," Natasha said, wanting to protect Steve. If Oliver was going to be a threat someday to Steve's happiness, she wanted to know.
"Yes, she is. But we're not just friends; we're partners," Oliver said easily. "Felicity saved me. I came to this city after five years of hell—I was a killer. Felicity showed me another way." He watched her in the distance argue with Steve about the tip. A smile was on Oliver's face. He enjoyed seeing her so happy, and it eased something inside of him.
"You're in love with her," Natasha said, realizing the truth.
Oliver turned toward her, his face devoid of emotion. "Why do you say that?" he asked.
"The way you look at her," Natasha said. "The way you say her name."
"She's my family," Oliver said. He pointed to Steve, who was smiling in adoration at Felicity as he carried the pizza box toward them. Felicity stepped toward the kitchen away from him. "She deserves everything. She deserves a man like Steve Rogers. He'll make her much happier than I ever could."
"Did I hear my name?" Steve asked as he sat the box down on the coffee table.
"I was just telling Natasha how Felicity deserved a man like you. You make her very happy," Oliver said easily.
"She makes me very happy, too," Steve said with a smile. He hadn't been sure how Oliver Queen would handle his presence in Felicity's life. However, the man had been welcoming and not shown any of the possessive resentment he'd half expected. He knew that Felicity's life had mostly revolved around Oliver's the past two years. He figured Queen would have trouble adjusting to Felicity's change. That hadn't been the case so far.
Natasha found herself very surprised by Oliver Queen. She expected arrogant and entitled like Tony. She hadn't expected a man so self-aware. It was obvious to Natasha that he loved Felicity enough to let her go—that surprised her.
Felicity came back carry some plates and napkins. "Now we just have to find a girl to make Oliver happy," Felicity said, smiling at Oliver. Steve was already opening the box of pizza. He gave Felicity a piece on the plate she held.
"You being so happy makes me happy," he said, smiling at her. He reached for a piece of the pizza.
"Well, I'll be even happier when you let yourself be with someone who loves you," Felicity said. She resumed her seat perched on Steve's lap.
"Not everyone is meant to live their life as part of a couple," Natasha said in his defense.
"I disagree. God gave Adam Eve for a reason. We're not meant to be alone," Felicity said. She smiled up at Steve.
"I'm not alone," Oliver reminded her with a faint smile.
"No, you're not," she agreed. "You have us." She patted Steve's other leg. In her mind, Steve and she were now intertwined so completely that they were a package. "And Diggle. And Roy. And Thea."
Natasha laughed as she kept listing people. She understood why Oliver would be attracted to Felicity's warmth yet afraid to pull her too close. The purest hearts didn't always hold up well in the kind of life people like them led. Natasha had never possessed the innocence of Felicity—not even when she'd been young. She glanced at Oliver as she ate her pizza. His eyes showed him to have an old soul, full of shadows and pain, but when he smiled at Felicity, the shadows lifted.
She wasn't sure that Oliver Queen would not one day threaten Steve's happiness. Frowning, she debated on how to proceed.
Hours later, Felicity had fallen asleep in Steve's arms while they'd stayed up late chatting. It had made her so happy to have Oliver spend time with her and Steve. Steve got up to take her to his bed, so Oliver got up to leave.
"Give me a minute," Steve said.
"Well, this was nice," Natasha said to Oliver. "I don't get to relax with friends very often."
"Me either," Oliver said as he looked down at her. She'd been good company, full of hidden depths. However, her ease with Felicity impressed him the most. Unlike Laurel, she seemed to appreciate his favorite babbler.
Natasha got to her feet. "Maybe, I'll see you again before I leave," she said, holding out her hand.
Oliver hesitated a moment before taking it. Their eyes connected as he shook her hand. It stayed in his a moment too long. He wanted to say something more to her, but like always, words failed him. She was different—different like he was.
Steve returned, interrupting the moment. Natasha withdrew her hand, smiling at him. "Have a good night," she said. She turned to head to the guest room.
Oliver called out, stopping her. "Maybe you and the Captain would like to come by Verdant tomorrow," he offered, surprising Steve. Felicity had wanted to bring Steve to their base of operation when he'd first arrived, but she felt that Oliver should be the one to invite him. She'd already shared too much of Oliver's life without his permission, and she didn't want to push too hard.
"I think that can be arranged," Steve said, smiling warmly at him. He nodded to Natasha as she headed to bed with a wave to them both.
"Thanks for dinner," Oliver said as he opened the front door.
"You're always welcome here, Oliver," Steve said, meaning it. The guarded vigilante hadn't necessarily befriended Steve, but he'd also not shown any signs of jealousy, which Steve had half expected.
Oliver gave him a genuine smile, appreciating the invitation for the real gesture it was. He held out his hand to Steve. "Thanks," Oliver said, shaking the man's hand.
"I don't plan on taking Felicity from you, you know," Steve said.
Oliver nodded. "I do," he said simply.
"I know you love her," Steve said, not clarifying what exactly he meant.
"She's easy to love," Oliver said honestly.
Steve smiled and nodded. "Yes, she is," he said. "I won't let her go, though. I had to move through time to find her, but she's it for me."
"I understand," Oliver said. "I won't be a problem for the two of you."
Steve searched his eyes a moment and then nodded. "I'm glad because she loves you and would be devastated if you weren't in her life anymore," Steve said.
Oliver admired the man's subtly. In the same breath, he made it clear that he had the power to take Felicity out of his life but acknowledged that he was too important to Felicity for Steve to make that move. The two men were stuck with each other.
"I guess you and I will have to find a way to get along," Oliver acknowledged.
"I don't think that'll be enough for Felicity," Steve said, smiling. "She expects us to be friends. Good friends."
Oliver nodded, returning his smile. "Felicity has a way of getting what she wants," he remarked before stepping out the door. He figured there were worse things than having Captain America as a friend.
*****Chapter End*****
I hope this chapter served to acknowledge the real bond between Oliver and Felicity. However, this is not an Olicity story as much as it's a Stelicity. But I have to have realism, and I like the idea of their relationship evolving without being destroyed. As Arrow never really let them be happy for long even if they were together, this is a nice dream!