AN: Thank you as always, lovelies, for the kind words.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Arrow or DC Comics related.

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You're Banging My Bedroom Wall

IX. The Tiger and the Dragon

Sara placed a martini glass down in front of Felicity. There was a mysterious green liquid in the glass and was garnished with what looked like mint. Felicity raised a brow at her friend and pointed at the drink. "What the hell is this? I ordered a glass of wine."

Felicity was sitting at the bar at Verdant with her back to the dance floor where sweaty bodies were grinding to the beat. She was wearing a skintight dark green strapless dress that reached midthigh and her hair fell down her back in curls instead of her normal ponytail. Her black patent pumps were still excessively high, but it didn't matter because she wasn't planning to leave the bar all night.

She would have preferred to be at home curled up with her laptop and a good movie on her couch in some pajamas, but Sara claimed to have some news that she didn't want to tell her over the phone.

So, here she was.

"Just try it," Sara urged with a grin, tossing a towel over her shoulder and pouring some shots for a group of girls. "It's one of Verdant's specials since it's green. You'll like it, I promise – it tastes like mint chocolate chip ice cream, your fav."

Felicity eyed her dubiously before taking a sip. "Mmm," she moaned. "You're right."

"I'm glad you like it, Smoak. It's called Flying Grasshopper, but I refer to it as the Praying Mantis," Sara smirked.

Felicity shook her head and glared at her. "That's not funny," she hissed.

Suddenly a box full of liquor bottles landed on the bar next to Felicity making her jump. "What's not funny, Blondie?" Roy yelled over the pounding electric beat, leaning casually against the counter next to her as Sara took the box and handed it to one of the other bartenders.

"Oh, she's still upset about what happened when we first met," Sara supplied with a smirk when she didn't respond.

Roy grinned and leaned in closer. "You guys never did say how you two met."

"I dropped out of college my second semester and went to travel the world instead, which pissed off my parents to no end. I ended up in China, fell in love with the culture and stayed there for a few years. While I was there I learned martial arts after almost getting killed in a back alley in Hong Kong," Sara started, mixing a drink for the guy sitting next to Felicity.

"And when I was still at MIT, I signed myself up for some kung fu classes after someone told me that I was a boring shut-in who dated recreationally," Felicity continued, taking a sip of her drink. She went to continue but Roy cut her off.

"Wait, I knew Lance knows kung fu since she teaches it, but you, Blondie?" he asked incredulously. "I just can't see it. You're too, I don't know…weak, I guess." He poked at her arm as if to prove a point.

Felicity rolled her eyes at him and swatted his hand away. "I'm stronger than I look, Roy."

"Yeah, she is," Sara agreed. "We met at the Bronze Tiger – that martial arts academy downtown – a couple months after Felicity moved here and I got back stateside. The guy doing the training – Ben Turner, I think his name was – wanted to see what skill level everyone was at so he had people pair up and spar. Felicity underestimated me a little so she used a weak praying mantis technique when she struck first. I ended up throwing her across the room by accident." She chuckled at the memory.

Felicity turned to look at Roy. "She laughed and said I looked like a flying grasshopper. So I changed tactics and used my normal tiger style against her dragon. Turned out that we were evenly matched. Sara and I became friends after that and the rest is history."

"Is that why you have a tattoo of a tiger on your shoulder?" Roy asked.

She frowned and shook her head. "No. We were partying in Vegas and the next morning I woke up with the thing on my back. It was painfully obvious that it was Sara's idea since she had spent six months talking about wanting to get a tattoo," Felicity explained.

Sara grinned guiltily, shrugging her shoulders. "Yeah, I might have had something to do with it," she admitted. "Felicity made me get one before the end of the weekend though." She lifted up the hem of her shirt to reveal a Chinese dragon on her right side.

"Whoa," Roy breathed awestruck.

"Hurt like a bitch, but it was definitely worth it." She glanced up behind Felicity toward the second floor. "I see Ollie's finally decided to grace us with his presence."

Felicity turned and looked up to see a man standing on the balcony with his arms braced against the railing. He had short cropped blond hair and stubble on his face. Her gaze lowered and she saw a gray suit with a white shirt open at the collar.

Roy glanced over his shoulder and smirked, laughter in his eyes. "Playboy Oliver Queen, son of Robert Queen, Blondie."

"I know he's my boss's son, Roy – I've heard the name before, just never seen him."

He stared at her incredulously. "How is that possible?!"

"You've forgotten that Ollie's been scandal-free for years now. He stopped getting in trouble and being an overall fuckup, like, a year before Felicity moved here," Sara answered.

"And as far as I know, he never comes down to the IT Department when he's at QC. Plus, this is the first time I've gone clubbing Verdant since Sara likes to drink at any place but here," Felicity added. She glanced back up at him, thoughtful. "So, I've never seen or met the man."

But there was just something so familiar about him.

Like she had seen him before.

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I feel like no one's reading this anymore…