They ended up stopping at one of the Queen family's condos where Iris was able to shower and change into something less sweaty. She accepted silently even as she stepped out of the shower to find a new blouse and slacks laid out for her. She dressed quickly, trying not to think of how Oliver had guessed her exact size. Even the bra fit perfectly. When she was fully dressed they met in the living area to discuss where things would go from here. Particularly to get their story straight.

"In my experience, the closer the lie is to the truth the easier it is to uphold" he advised her from across the table.

He too had showered and changed out of his Arrow suit into a regular shirt and khakis.

"People didn't believe I could be the Green Arrow because I was Oliver Queen--Playboy and trust fund brat. Which used to be true. If you go home and tell people that you got those cuts from playing soccer they're going to immediately smell bullshit. Especially your father. I ought to know, I have experience with dealing with a cop and his daughter."

Laurel Lance. The D.A. She'd done her research.

"So you think I should come clean about being in Starling City. Just not about the van," she caught on.

He nodded.

"It's one option. The downside is that they'll chew you out for your little stunt--which you deserve by the way--and probably chew me out for not calling them as soon as I rescued you."

Iris felt her face burn at the reprimand.

"I was trying to get the truth out about Damien Dahrk and the SCPD. People have a right to know if they're public officials have been compromised."

"Yea and how did that work out for you?" Oliver retorted shortly.

Point noted.

"In hindsight I was a bit reckless," she conceded.

"A bit reckless? Iris if I hadn't shown up when I did you would be swiss Iris laid out on a slab right now. What you did wasn't just reckless. It was incredibly stupid!"

Oh now he was calling her stupid?

"Hey, I do what I have to do to get the truth out there!"

"Even if it nearly costs you your life?"

"It's not any different than what you and Barry do every time you head out to fight criminals right? You put your lives on the line whenever you put on those masks."

He stood, clearly not liking the comparison.

"Barry has meta powers. I have years worth of skills and combat training. You're just a local reporter."

Just a local reporter?! How dare he?

"I have a masters in journalism, a national blog and first-hand experience dealing with superpowered criminals some of which were so dangerous they had to be locked up by A.R.G.U.S. so don't you dare act like I'm just some clueless little girl with a notepad and a pen. My skills may not be yours but they're still worthy of acknowledgement!"

She wasn't sure when she'd gotten in his face but here she was glaring up into his angry blue eyes.

"Okay. Fine. Next time you're shot at just use that journalism degree to block the bullets."

She started to clap back when Dig entered the room.

"Please God tell me you're not about to have sex again."

Both Iris and Oliver turned to glare his way. He didn't seem fazed and said as much with his returning stare. He was still not happy about their decision to be dishonest with their partners.

"Nobody's having sex," Oliver put distance between them.

"We were just discussing how a journalism degree is a great defense against an organization of lethal assassins trained in magic."

His condescension made her want to slap him.

"Are you always such an asshole?"

"Are you always so clueless?"

Her hand was moving before she could register, aiming for his face. Before she could make contact, however it was caught by his. Iris blinked, taken aback by his insane reflexes.

"I think what Oliver is trying to say is that it wasn't the best idea to go after Dahrk without back-up," Dig tried to mediate.

"And considering what you've dealt with in the past, I'm sure you know he's right, Iris."

Oliver held her glare, his grip not loosening in the least. She felt the heat of his palm burning into hers. A fire where their skin touched. Her breath quickened at the feeling and she could see in his eyes that he felt it too. Bewildered she took a step back.

"Oliver?"

He didn't answer, didn't seem to hear her. She tried to yank her hand away. He didn't budge. His eyes never left hers. Iris saw something raging inside, similar to the look in the van and felt her pulse begin to race.

"Oliver!" It was Dig that brought him out of it. Whatever it was.

He blinked before dropping her hand, a brief look of confusion on his face. Iris brought her hand to herself and continued to retreat.

He cleared his throat.

"I um, I'm going to get some air."

He left without looking back at her. Iris took a seat, unsure of what had just happened.

"He gets like that."

She glanced up to see Diggle approaching.

"What?"

He sat down beside her.

"Intense. Hard. It's how he survived all those years. It's a hard habit to break."

"Oh."

Barry had told her that Oliver had a dark side.

"He's right about that stunt you pulled though. Joe West's daughter should know better."

She sighed.

"Yea, okay I know it was reckless. I even admitted it to Oliver but he couldn't just leave it at that. He had to go on this high and mighty rant and I just got so angry. I may not have meta powers or combat training or a bioengineering degree or whatever but what I do still matters."

The news, the truth still mattered.

"Yes, it does. And I'm sure Oliver knows that too. But just like you can't expect him to go write up a professional news report on the corruption in City Hall, you shouldn't expect to break into a H.I.V.E hideout on your own. Make sense?"

It did. And she felt like a fool having Diggle spell it out for her.

"Yea."

He was a lot nicer about it than Oliver was that was for sure. She couldn't believe she used to have a crush on that guy!

"I'm going to go check on Mr. Personality. He seemed a little out of it just now."

She remembered how tightly he'd held her hand and nodded in agreement.

"Okay. I'll be here."

Diggle stood. It wasn't until he was at the door that she had the courage to ask the question that had plagued her since she'd gotten in Oliver's face.

"Do you think it could still effect us? Whatever it was that spilled on me and Oliver?"

She remembered his eyes, burning into her.

"Let's hope not."

Dig left her alone then, with her thoughts to keep her company.

0_0

"What happened in there, man?"

Oliver was standing out on the veranda, staring off at nothing.

"I don't know."

"For a second I thought you were going to kiss her."

For a second he'd thought he would too.

"Whatever was in that concoction of Darhk's must still be in my system. We need to figure out what it is; how long it's supposed to last. And how to counteract it."

Behind him, Dig seemed to agree.

"Iris was worried about the same thing. But she didn't seem as effected just now. It could be different for men and women."

"Could be. The clothes we were wearing, we need them analyzed. Preferably by a lab Felicity doesn't have access to. She can't know about this."

His friend's silence reminded him of his disapproval.

"I need to know all of it's properties--especially the magical ones so that we can get a beat on this thing before it causes any more trouble. For now all we know is that it effected me and Iris when we had direct contact. We reacted to each other but not to anyone else. I'm assuming you were exposed when you carried us to the van but you were uneffected?"

He glanced over his shoulder for confirmation.

"If you're asking if I want to screw Iris the answer is no."

As he'd thought.

"And for the record I don't want to screw you either."

That was good to know.

"But I think you both are screwing over Barry and Felicity. And yourselves."

"Dig--"

"You were roofied, the both of you. Magically roofied which, at least one of you could still be under the influence of, and we don't know the long term side effects. Hiding this will only bite you in the ass in the end. You need all hands on deck for this one. Including Felicity."

He just wouldn't quit would he?

"What I need is for you to come off this self-righteous high horse and help me out like I asked."

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" Dig snapped back.

"You're my friend, Oliver. When I see you making a mistake it's my job to try to stop you."

He whirled around to face his second-in-command.

"Yea? Then where were you when I was fucking Barry's fiance earlier? Why didn't you stop me then?"

Dig didn't seem to have a comeback for that. He looked away from Oliver, took a breath.

"You're right. I should have stopped the van mid-gettaway from the burning H.I.V.E hideout to pull two consenting adults off of each other mid-coitus. Forgive me for putting our lives first."

He was right of course. Oliver was a grown man. He couldn't expect his friend to have known that they were under a spell. To Dig's knowledge Oliver and Iris were consenual lovers. You didn't go pulling that apart no matter how much you disapproved.

"This is such a mess," Oliver ran his hand down his face.

"Agreed. But what are we going to do about it?"

"We're going to analyze our clothes, see what we're dealing with and find a magic expert to cancel it out."

He already had the person in mind.

"The only person we know familiar with Dahrk's type of magic is...Wait, Oliver you don't mean...can we even trust him?"

No, they could not. But they had no choice. Whatever Dahrk had done, they needed to undo. And fast before he had another incident like the one inside just now.

"I'll handle him."

He turned away from Dig then, formulating a plan in his head. He'd need one if they were going to be dealing with the weaselly bastard who'd manipulated him into becoming Ra's Al Ghul. Yes, the current Ra's Al Ghul. Malcolm Merlyn.