Chapter 5 Tossed Fruit

"Hi," Felicity greeted, finding her voice a little out of breath. She wasn't sure if it was from her run up the stairs or the smile that he greeted her with.

"Hello, Felicity," Steve answered. "You look beautiful." The look in Steve's eyes made her feel warm. She felt like she was the only one he'd ever said that to. He didn't sound practiced, just sincere.

"Thank you," she answered, her heart sped up in her chest. "You look beautiful too," she told him, then caught what she'd said. "I mean handsome, because guys can't look beautiful, except you do…"

"Thank you," he interrupted her burgeoning ramble with a smile before turning back to the bar. "Thank you for keeping me company, Mr. Harper," he told Roy.

"Anytime, man," Roy offered. "Take care of Blondie. She's a friend." The last was said in a menacing voice as the young man met Steve's eyes and held them for a moment. Felicity realized that Roy was trying to threaten Steve in a brotherly, take care of my sister sort of way. She smiled at him. It was touching and sweet.

"I'll do my best," Steve acknowledged and reached out to shake Roy's hand. The man behind the bar looked startled but pleased as he leaned out to accept the proffered hand. Felicity liked that Steve showed respect to Roy. Her date didn't look intimidated or in any way threatened, but he acknowledged Roy's protective streak. He had no way of knowing that Roy wasn't an ordinary man and had Mirakuru boosted strength. Felicity appreciated that Steve seemed to be genuinely concerned with other people's feelings.

"Hungry?" Steve asked, opening the door for her.

"Starved," she replied as she walked past him.

"This is me," he told her, steering her toward a large blue 2500 Dodge Ram pickup truck. Felicity was mildly surprised. Few people in and around the city drove such heavy duty big trucks. When Steve opened the door and helped her in, she turn in the plush seat taking in the powerful look of the vehicle and decided it fit Steve. The truck was like him, solid and substantial. Steve made her feel safe. Well unless Slade Wilson decided to come after her, but no one could make her feel safe where Mr. Mirakuru was concerned, not even the men on her team.

"What do you do for a living?" Felicity asked, trying to take her mind off of the troubles stalking her life. She was out with a very nice, hot guy and she didn't really know anything about him. She realized she didn't even know what his day job was. She'd just assumed he was retired military since he was at the VA with Digg.

"I'm military, active duty. I'm called for special projects." He didn't sound all that comfortable with his explanation.

"Like the reserves?" She hoped that was all it was.

"Not exactly, I'm called more often than a reservist and considered active duty. My missions are usually not that long lasting, then I'm back again until the next time I'm needed. Although things have slowed down for me quite a bit lately, I never know when I'm going to be needed." Steve did not at all look like he was enjoying this part of the conversation. She didn't like the feeling she was getting.

"What kind of missions?" She wanted the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach to go away. "Do you go help bring food to places that have earthquakes or terrorist attacks?" He seemed like such a nice guy, maybe his missions were peacekeeping and humanitarian in nature.

He looked at her as they turned a corner and slowed down. "They are normally classified missions, Felicity. I'm sorry, I can't talk about them." He told her. The sinking in her stomach turned to a lead weight.

"So it's better if I don't ask." She couldn't help the disappointment she felt. There were so many secrets and lies with her Arrow work. She wanted one part of her life to be normal and easy. Steve suddenly didn't feel so normal or easy. That thought lead right into her night work and the fact that she'd eventually have to lie to Steve and she hated lies. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't realize they'd parked until Steve gently reached out and touched her arm. It wasn't until then that she realized he'd called her name at least once and she hadn't answered. "Hey," he said his voice and tentative touch pulling her from inside her own head. "I'm sorry that I can't tell you everything freely. Believe me, I wish that I could be open with you about anything you wanted, but it's mostly to protect you and those around me." He sounded like Oliver and suddenly she felt like she was slipping down a rabbit hole. Here we go again she thought.

"Felicity," Steve removed his hand, but leaned down to make sure he still had her attention. "If you don't want to do this with me, I mean go on this date, get to know each other better, I will be disappointed. I like you, but if you're uncomfortable with my job I'll understand. I'll take you home if you want me to."

She wasn't sure what to say. With her secrets and his, maybe they shouldn't try to start anything new, but his words sped her heart up and made her melt just a little. She liked him too and she really liked that he was willing to put himself on the line for her and tell her how she made him feel then leave the choice in her hands.

"I can promise you one thing," he went on.

"What's that?" She finally asked when she realized Steve was waiting for her to say something.

"I will never lie to you Felicity." He promised his face and voice sincere. "I won't be able to tell you some things and I may have to remind you of that if you ask, but I won't tell you any lies. You have my word on that."

"You're one of the good guys though right?" She wasn't sure what to think, but his promise made a difference. She thought she could live with him not being able to talk about his work as long as she knew he wasn't going to lie to her. It wasn't like she could tell him everything about her after hours work and she was still a good person.

Steve smiled, his eyes crinkled at the edges. He ducked his head a bit. "I'm not sure everyone would agree these days, but I think the general consensus is that yes, I'm one of the good guys." His face was open and honest and just a bit sad. Her heart melted a little more. "Do you want me to take you home?" He asked her.

Felicity searched Steve's eyes for a long moment before she made her decision. Steve wasn't Oliver. He wasn't pushing her away or telling her he couldn't have a relationship with someone he could care about. He was saying that he wanted a chance with her, he just couldn't tell her about his work. He looked so hopeful and she wanted this too. "You promised me dinner, Mr. Rogers. Are you trying to get out of it?" The relief on his face made her heart swell with hope. She wasn't the only one that wanted to see where this thing between them might go.

Steve's smile was wide and transformed his face. He suddenly looked younger and more at ease and perfect. When he turned red, she realized she'd said the perfect part out loud and blushed along with him. "I did warn you."

"You did," he confirmed turning to get out of the truck. When she reached to open the door, Steve was already there. He'd made it around the truck and opened her door before she could. "May I?" he asked. She wasn't positive what he was asking permission for, but she nodded anyway.

Felicity's breath left her in a rush when he reached for her, took her by the waist and lifted her gently down out of the truck. With her tight skirt, getting out of the tall vehicle would have been a little awkward. Somehow Steve had figured that out. He made the gesture respectful and thoughtful, even stepping back quickly as he set her down so that he didn't crowd her.

"Thank you," she told him, releasing where she'd steadied herself on his forearms. The way Steve lifted her effortlessly like she weighted nothing, made her feel petite, and protected. The man had serious muscle. She thought, clamping her lips together to make sure that thought didn't make its way outside.

.
Steve lifted Felicity out of the truck. He'd realized after holding the door for her as she got in, that getting out of his truck would be difficult for her to do without the short skirt she was wearing riding up and exposing more of her than she intended to be seen. There were a lot of changes to the world since the 40's that he didn't like. The change in hemlines was not one of them. As a leg man, he had come to appreciate the 'new' style.

When Steve had hurried around to help her down, the butterflies in his stomach had exploded into bees. But once he asked her permission to lift her down, the bees in his belly turned to something a lot more pleasant. The feel of his hands spanning her tiny waist did a number on his heart rate, not to mention what the touch of her small fingers balancing on his arms did for him. Thank God he was not prone to blurting what was in his head like she was. The thoughts he was having at the moment were not first date appropriate.

Trying to get his thoughts under control, Steve closed the door behind her and offered her his arm as they crossed the street. He'd found the little family owned restaurant on one of his runs. He'd taken to exploring when he ran. At the slower speeds he was forced to maintain most of the time, he had the opportunity to look around a little bit. Offering her his arm, Steve tried to relax. He liked the way she felt next to him. It had been a very long time since a woman had held his attention this much or made him this nervous. They'd made it past the hurdle of what he did for a living, now if he could keep from doing anything that labeled him as a museum artifact maybe they'd have a chance.

.

Felicity noticed that restaurant was at the edge of the area of the Glades that had been spared from damage. It was closer to the second bomb. The one that she and Detective Lance had been able to disarm not the one they hadn't. Stop it Smoak, she told herself, forcing her attention on the restaurant in front of them.

The patio was decorated with small twinkling lights and baskets of fairly realistic fake fruit and grasses. It had 6 tables with umbrellas and opened onto the sidewalk. There was also a large indoor area. A few of the tables on the patio were occupied, but the outside was much less crowded then inside looked.

"Captain Rogers," the older man at the front greeted Steve. "It's so good to see you. I saw you had a reservation this evening. Would you like a table on the terrace?"

"Thank you Mr Ophillia." Steve answered, glancing at Felicity. For a minute, she felt like he was looking for a reaction from her, but then he seemed to relax again.

"Please call me, Steve," he told the older man." From the look on Steve's face, she'd bet that this wasn't the first time he'd had the name conversation with the older man.

"Captain?" she asked as they found themselves alone at their table.

"My rank," he confirmed, "but I've asked Mr. Ophillia to call me Steve more times than I can count. He's determined."

"Maybe because you still call him Mr. Ophillia," She laughed.

"Good point," he agreed with a chuckle. "I should have asked if you like Middle Eastern Food."

"I love Middle Eastern Food," she told him, picking up a menu and starting to look through it.

"The shawarma here is very good." He informed her. "A friend got me hooked on it a couple of years ago. I was really surprised to find a place that offered it in Starling."

"I've never had it." As the waiter came to the table, she decided to be brave and order what he was having. "I'm going to trust you that this is good. With a name like shawarma, it could really go either way."

He chuckled. "Now you know about me, what about you? What do you do for a living?" She'd been dreading the question. It was easy enough to tell him that she was Oliver's EA, but most of the time it lead to other questions and certain assumptions about her and why someone with her background was doing a job she had no training for and was totally over qualified to take.

"I work at Queen Consolidated. I'm Oliver Queen's Executive Assistant."

"I read about him. He's the guy that was presumed dead for a few years then miraculously returned a couple of years back?" Steve's question shouldn't have set her on edge, but she hated when people asked questions and wanted gossip about Oliver. The questions were hard enough for Oliver to answer. She didn't feel comfortable answering them at all.

"That's right," she answered cautiously.

"That's rough," Steve's face was sympathetic. "He must be adjusting well if he's running such a large company. That's good. I imagine it would be hard to be out of the world for that long and then just dropped back in it." He sipped at his drink. It was the same wine that she'd ordered. "Do you enjoy your job?" Relief washed through her like a wave. He wasn't going to pry or expect her to spill secrets that weren't her's to tell and he'd even been sympathetic.

As she was about to answer, one of the tables behind Steve erupted in chaos. "That boy stole my purse!" The older woman sitting at the table with her friends screamed and stood up. A teenage boy had just run by her and was taking off into the street. He was moving pretty fast.

To Felicity's surprise, Steve stood up, moved quickly to the side of the patio, grabbed a plastic apple from the tray by the waiter stand and hefted it in his hand once as if he was testing its feel. A second later he'd pulled back and thrown the apple almost like a shot-put. It was a nice gesture, Felicity thought, but there was no way a plastic apple would bring down a kid running at that distance. Not even Oliver could do that. Sure he could take the youth down with an Arrow, but there wasn't enough weight in a little orange to…

Her thoughts were interrupted as the would-be purse snatcher hit the payment hard, face down. Steve hadn't waited to see if he'd bring down his quarry, he'd taken off as soon as the apple had left his hand. Felicity stood up and moved a little closer to the edge of the patio so that she could see what was happening. The rest of the dinners had gotten up too.

Steve got to the boy about the time the youth was rolling to his side, gasping for breath. She watched Steve say something that she couldn't hear. The young robber, rolled to his feet slowly. He was obviously in some pain. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but Steve made no move to pick up the stolen property that was on the ground or restrain the boy.

Finally, after glaring at Steve a few times, the young man picked up the purse he'd dropped when he'd hit the pavement. With a glance at Steve that clearly showed he was not happy, he trudged back toward the patio. The teen kept glancing over his shoulder at the man following him. When they were within fifteen feet of the patio, the boy glanced behind him, and tried to bolt off. Steve had him by the collar within seconds. The man had seriously fast reflexes.

"Don't try that again." Steve instructed. "Now do what we agreed." It was hard to hear the conversation, but she made out most of it. Felicity was surprised when the boy marched up to the table he'd stolen the purse off of and set it down in the middle.

"I'm sorry I took your purse." His tone was a bit sullen. Steve bumped him in the back. With one last look behind him he turned back to the woman he'd robbed. "I'm William Shaver and I'm sorry, ma'am, that I took your purse." He sounded more sincere this time.

The woman looked at the boy in front of her. He couldn't be more than about thirteen. She looked up at Steve. "Thank you for getting my purse back young man." She started to take a bill from her wallet, but Steve stopped her with a gentle hand over hers. Felicity's heart melted a little more even as her head kept thinking about the distance and weight of the plastic fruit and its ability to take down a running teen.

"You're welcome ma'am. William has agreed to come to the boxing class I teach down at the VA on Tuesday afternoons and help out around the place for the next few months. I'll keep an eye on him and see that he stays out of trouble. If you still want me to call the police though, I will. Your property was taken so I'll leave the decision with you."

"How do we know he will show up?" The woman's question was fair, but Felicity was already on her phone pulling up info.

"William Shaver, age 13. Last four digits of social security number are 0147. Current residence Morris Hill Apartments where he lives with his Father who works at the power plant in the Glades," she read aloud. "Would you like his father's work number or cell?"

"Hey," William shouted, turning an evil look toward Felicity. She was immune to such things, but Steve must not have liked it, he bumped the youth in the back again.

As she'd started to read off the would-be purse snatchers vital statistics, Steve had glanced at her in surprise, but he didn't hesitate in adding. "We'll make sure that he does, ma'am, or I will contact his father and see that the authorities are notified as well." He smiled at her in thanks before turning back to the table of women.

"I don't need to press charges. I think you've got him well in hand." The woman pulled her purse to her and looked inside even though they'd watched the whole thing and knew that there was no time for the boy to have actually taken anything out of the bag. "Thank you." She told Steve one more time. The other women also were quick to jump in. From the tables around them, she could hear 'thank you' and 'well done' before some started clapping and the entire patio joined in.

"You're welcome," he answered before propelling the youth out of the patio area. The poor man looked like he wanted to escape right along with the boy. A modest hero? Now if he had a mask, she'd think she had a type, Felicity thought, rolling her eyes. In just a few minutes, after a quiet discussion Felicity couldn't hear, Steve released the boy and returned to their table.

"Thank you for the information," he spoke up as he sat down. "That was amazing that you could get that so fast. The boy had told me part of it, but I'm really impressed."

His praise felt good. "I have a degree from M.I.T. Computers are kind of my thing. It wasn't any trouble," she answered. "What you did was really impressive." She told him. She'd seen a whole other side of Steve Rogers. He was confident, decisive and compassionate to the boy and embarrassed by the clapping and well wishes. He didn't seem to realize how special what he did was.

"He's just a kid starting down a bad path, it wasn't that difficult." He took a sip of his wine as he dismissed what he'd done. "M.I.T?" he asked, clearly trying to change the subject. "I thought you said you're an Executive Assistant? I was under the impression that M.I.T is a technology and science university, a pretty prestigious one at that?"

She knew that had been too easy. "It is. I was in the IT department under Walter Steele, Mr. Queen's stepfather. When Oliver took the company over, Walter recommended me. I'd helped Walter a lot and Oliver was just back from the island. He didn't understand anything tech-y. He needed someone he could trust. So now I'm his Executive Assistant." She finished, taking a breath. It had come out as one statement almost.

"Are you and your boss close?" There it was. The question she expected and dreaded. It was bad enough that most everyone in the company believed she was a gold digger that was sleeping with Oliver. To have the question asked so blatantly by a man she was on a date with hurt.

"I am not sleeping with my boss, Steve." She snapped. "I am very good at my job and I'm valuable where I am. Sure it's not what I trained for, but…"

"Felicity," he interrupted. "I didn't think you were sleeping with your boss since you are out with me." He paused and sat forward in his chair. "I'm sorry if that came out wrong. I'm very bad at dates." She didn't believe that one. Not a guy that looked like him.

"It's true," Steve assured her. Felicity barely kept from rolling her eyes at herself. She'd said that last part out loud. Of course she had. "Until recently, my schedule and job didn't allow me time to be able to get to know someone so I just didn't go out," he clarified. "I was just trying to get to know you, but from your reaction it seems like I've hit a nerve." He stated matter-of-factly.

He was right. She'd totally misunderstood what he was asking and completely overreacted. "I'm sorry, Steve," she told him sincerely, reaching out and sliding her hand into his where it lay on the table. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the table next to them peppering her with disapproving looks. Apparently when someone does impressive heroic stuff, you're not supposed to snap their heads off for no reason.

"You're right, there is a story there and I want to tell you," she lowered her voice. "But its private and I think the entire porch is getting ready to lynch me for yelling at you." At her words, Steve glanced around.

"I know. They've been paying pretty close attention since I sat back down. It's sort of normal, but we aren't going to have any more private time here." Steve lowered his voice and leaned closer to her. "I'm sorry."

"For what, saving a woman's purse?" she asked, waving him off. "We could get our food to go and eat in the truck." She laughed, about half serious.

"If I'm not being too forward," Steve started. "If you want, I have a brownstone that I'm restoring down from the VA. My dining room is almost put back together. We could get the food to go and eat there." His eyes were very intent watching her. "I mean if you want." He almost looked like he was ready to bolt. This man was the strangest combination of confidence and shyness she'd ever seen. He was beginning to be a mystery she felt compelled to solve.

Thank you NocturnalRites for the help with the stuck part!