A/N: Hey guys! Yes, I'm still alive, and no, I haven't abandoned this fic. I know it's been forever since I updated, and I apologize, but I hope this chapter will make up for it. Enjoy!

C14:

The next morning, Felicity sent a list of possible unsubs - she'd been watching a lot of Criminal Minds lately, okay? - to Oliver. She received a reply almost immediately.

'I'll look into it, thx. Mind if we have lunch at my place instead?'

Felicity frowned. Well that was a non-sequitur. 'Sure, same time?'

'Yes, wear something nice ;)'

She was blushing. She was definitely blushing. Usually, sexual innuendo was her thing. Although hers was usually also unintentional, and this seemed… very intentional. Unless he was clueless as to how that sounded. Which was entirely possible, considering it was Oliver. Yeah, he was probably just clueless. Which begged the question…

'If its at ur house, y do I need to dress nice? :p' She sent a smiley face just in case.

'There'll b some other ppl there.' he sent. 'Dont hate me.'

Felicity groaned. She knew it. She knew it! She shouldn't have gotten her hopes up like that, how stupid could she be? Of course it wasn't a date. He'd even said so, he'd literally said 'something casual'. So of course he'd invited other people.

'Um, what ppl?' she sent.

'Just some ppl my mom knows. Please, Felicity, I don't want to do this alone. I'll make it up to you, I promise' was his reply. Felicity groaned. How could she possibly say no now?

'I hate you' she sent before she could stop herself. Damn. Was that too forward? Would he think she meant it?

'Liar :) Diggle will pick you up at 11 so you can go change. I cleared it with your boss ;) '

Then, 'Thank you so much, Felicity.'

Hm, proper punctuation and everything. He really did know her. Oh well, she could start planning her revenge right now. A quick google search would no doubt reveal the most girly bar she could drag him to. Or even better; a gay bar! Okay, her mood was improving again!

/*/

By the time Diggle showed up at her cubicle, Felicity had nearly chewed off the end of her pen from sheer nervousness. Finding possible gay bars to drag Oliver to could only distract her for so long.

"Ready?" Diggle asked.

"As I'll ever be," she replied, grabbed her stuff and followed the bodyguard to the underground parking. As they rode the elevator down, the lack of elevator music got to Felicity. "So, what's it like, working with Oliver?"

Diggle glanced at her. "Well, I haven't been at it very long, but it's… interesting," he replied.

When he didn't immediately keep going, Felicity thought he wasn't going to elaborate, so she started singing Purple Rain in her head to compensate for the silence.

"He's definitely stubborn. But he's a good man, and he's honestly trying to help the city. Not just on the surface, but truly make it a better place," Diggle went on. "I may not always approve of his methods or choices, but I do believe that."

Felicity sighed. "I don't really approve of the methods he uses either."

Diggle smiled humorlessly. "You mean the fact that he kills most of his targets?" he asked.

She nodded silently. It still bothered her. But she loved Oliver, and she wasn't sure that it was her place to say anything. Like Diggle had said; Oliver really was trying to make this city a better place.

"Sometimes there's no other choice. Being a soldier taught me that. Oliver could gather all the evidence in the world, but as long as the system's corrupt, the most powerful will find a way to weasel out of their problems. And since they're at the root of the problems in this city, Oliver doesn't think he can do anything else," he explained.

The elevator dinged, and they stepped out into the abandoned garage.

"I hadn't thought of it that way," she admitted quietly. Perhaps she didn't know Oliver as well as she thought she did. Or, more likely, she just couldn't understand that part of him? Not in the way a soldier like Diggle could.

The bodyguard shrugged. "It's not always the right choice, but sometimes it's the only one. And I don't think it's as easy for Oliver to make those choices as he lets on. Or, I hope it isn't."

Felicity didn't reply as she let that sink in. She supposed that it made sense… But still. There had to be a better way. Maybe rooting out the corruption in the legal system first and then put Oliver's corrupt millionaires through the system? Hmm… This warranted some thought.

When they arrived at her flat, she quickly got changed into a fashionable blue dress and quickly twisted her hair up into something more elegant than her usual ponytail. It wasn't perfect, but it would have to do. All that rested was exchanging her flats for some heels and she was ready to go.

They arrived at noon on the dot, but Felicity was feeling a little apprehensive. She liked Walter well enough, and obviously, she loved Thea, but she'd never had much cause to get to know Mrs. Queen. The Queen matriarch had always seemed stand-offish at best, and cold at worst, and the woman had always either ignored Felicity or been very short with her. So what did that say about the guests she had invited?

"You ready?" Diggle asked kindly as he held open her door.

"As I'll ever be," she muttered, and got out of the car. Time to put on her best polite smile and get through lunch with Mrs. Queen.

/*/

Oliver Queen was a dead man.

Felicity had been right on time, and had awkwardly greeted Mrs. Queen, only to hear that Oliver hadn't arrived yet. And then Diggle left. He left her there.

Instead, she was left making conversation with Carter Bowen and his mother.

"So, how do you know Oliver?" Mrs. Bowen asked. There was a distinct nosy edge to her tone that Felicity instantly disliked.

"Oh, uhm, we went to school together," she replied non-commitally.

"Really?" Carter said, his eyes dipping down to her chest for a brief moment. Clearly, he had his own theory on how she and Oliver were acquainted.

"Ms. Smoak also works for my husband," Mrs. Queen said. Felicity had to actively keep from frowning. It was an innocent statement in and of itself, but the way she said it… she might as well have said 'oh, she's only an employee, she's not good enough for my son'.

"Oh, speaking of your darling husband, I'm sorry to hear he can't make it," Mrs. Bowen replied, completely losing interest in Felicity, who couldn't be happier about this turn of the conversation. The less time they spent scutinizing her, the better.

"And where's Oliver? He's not out of town, too, is he?" Carter asked, having similarly forgotten about the blonde IT girl.

"Oh, I'm sure he's just-"

"Stuck in traffic," the man in question said as he entered the room. "One of the things I didn't miss on the island, Sunday drivers. Sorry I'm late."

Felicity noticed that he always seemed to mention the island when he didn't want people to question him, and filed that away for later.

Oliver kissed his mother's cheek and then, much to Felicity's surprise, came to stand by her, his hand resting on the small of her back.

"We're so happy you're home," Mrs. Bowen said, sounding genuine.

"And a celebrity, too," Carter added.

Oliver frowned, even as he led the guests to the table. "How do you mean?"

"Billionaire scion, castaway for 5 years… You know there's a bidding war for the rights to your life story. At least, that's what my agent says," he replied, smiling that same fake smile Oliver had perfected.

"Agent? I thought you were a neurosurgeon, Carter?" he asked.

"He wrote a book on how long term potentiation initiates the creation of a slow-mocing protein synthesis," Felicity answered without thinking.

So, of course, everyone turned to stare. "It had a little too much speculation and one or two leaps, but overall it was an interesting idea," she said, feeling just a little smug.

Oliver looked a little confused, yet also amused. Even Mrs. Queen looked the slightest bit impressed.

"You… read my book?" Carter asked, a little uneasily.

She shrugged as she placed a napkin on her lap. "I leafed through it. No offence, but I think Oliver's life story might be a little more exciting."

Carter seemed to collect himself. "Well, I'm sure my agent would agree. Truth is, I just feel it's our duty as Starling City's more fortunate to help those most in need."

Imagine that, he managed to turn the conversation back to himself again.

"Oh, of course," Mrs. Queen said.

"Wouldn't you agree, Oliver?" Carter asked.

"You're the hero, Carter," Oliver replied a tad self-depracatingly. "I'll stick with being a regular billionaire scion."

"Oh, I'm sure you have more in you than that," Mrs. Bowen intercut. "What are your plans?"

Mrs. Queen tensed - for good reason, Felicity allowed, given Oliver's 'performance' at the dedication ceremony - and looked at her son intently.

"I'm considering a few things, but nothing concrete," Oliver replied evasively, polite smile firmly in place.

"And what about you, Ms. Smoak?" Carter asked, once again eyeing her with far too much interest.

Felicity hated being put on the spot like that, and her mind went blank. What were her plans for the future? Who even asked that over a casual lunch?

"Oh, I have no doubt that will one day be able to write her own book about her rise to the top. She's the smartest person I know," Oliver interceded.

Felicity was immensely grateful, not just for the compliment - which she accepted with a muttered 'thank you' and a blush - but for the subtle social maneuvering he did. Oliver had drawn attention to himself, and his possible motives, and even if they did think to ask the question again, it would be impolite to do so now.

"But back to your original question, I'm opening a night club," Oliver went on smoothly.

Carter did a double take, while his mother just frowned in confusion, and Mrs. Queen glared at her son. Luckily, though, Oliver was saved from answering when Mr. Diggle came in and made a beeline for him. "Mr. Queen, you have a phone call, he said, and then proceeded to whisper something else in his ear. Felicity had no doubt it had something to do with the case they'd been working on.

"Sorry. Business," he said, and swiftly left the table, leaving his family to frown at him, and their guests confused.

A moment later, he re-entered the room. "Something's come up that I have to go deal with, I apologise."

"Oh, is it the thing you needed my help with?" Felicity piped up, shooting Oliver a pleading look. He had better not leave her alone with these people again.

"Yes. I apologise for pulling you away from your lunch," he said.

"No rest for the weary," she replied, perhaps a little too cheerfully. But at this point, she hardly cared.

As Oliver led her away from the dining room - his hand once again resting on the small of her back - she shot her a half-smile. "Did you really read his book?"

"Oh god, no. I just googled him and skimmed one or two reviews while Raisa was putting away my coat."

And now he was grinning. "You evil mastermind, you."

She shrugged playfully. "I try."

/*/

Oliver offered to have Diggle drop her off home after he went to deal with the bank robbers, but she declined. She didn't want Oliver to be without backup simply because Diggle was stuck playing driver.

So that's how she came to sit in what she had mentally dubbed 'The Arrow Cave', listening in on the comms.

"Seriously, your system could use an update," she said, pulling up her nose at the primitive setup.

"I'll be sure to put that on my to do list," Oliver growled lowly.

Raising an eyebrow, Felicity turned to Diggle. "Does he always do that growly voice?"

Diggle was clearly amused, and didn't bother hiding his grin. "Pretty much."

"There they are," Oliver said over the comms, and Felicity's merriment melted away.

A moment later, the fighting began, and Felicity gripped the edge of her seat. Diggle leaned over and muted the mic, making sure that any noise they made wouldn't disturb Oliver. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, just… it's intense."

"You get used to it," he shrugged.

She was quiet for a moment, listening to the dull sound of the shootout Oliver was currently in. "So, what do you usually do? You know, when Oliver's... " she trailed off, gesturing vaguely at the computers.

"I monitor the comms, download building schematics or other information when needed," Diggle replied.

Frowning, Felicity looked up at him. "Really? Wouldn't it be better if you were out there with him? You know, providing backup?"

Diggle shrugged, his eyes on the computer screen once again. "Maybe so, but someone has to do this."

Felicity swallowed her automatic answer. She was a computer genius - if she did say so herself - so this was a job that she would be perfect for. But did she really want to become embroiled in this world? Wasn't it bad enough already that she was as involved with the vigilante as she was?

She knew Oliver would never ask, might even protest if she were to suggest it - but did she want to? Could she start working with the infamous Hood?

As Oliver reported that the robbers had gotten away, and Diggle unmuted the mic, she vowed to think about it.

Inwardly, she rolled her eyes at herself. How had it become her life that she was now actively considering starting to work for a vigilante?

Then again, when had her life ever been easy or logical when it came to Oliver Queen?

A/N: Please let me know what you think! I had to write Thea out of the lunch scene, unfortunately, because when I went back and read it, I realized she didn't really do anything, and Thea would never have just sat there so passively. But I could also not find a way to change the dialogue to include her more, so I decided to leave her out. I'll probably put in a scene with her and Felicity in the next chapter.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that! Please leave me a review!