Oliver woke when Felicity left the bed. His body felt heavy with fatigue but he was mentally energized. He considered sneaking into the shower to offer back-scrubbing assistance. He blinked and noticed that the room was sunnier than before. He glanced at the clock and realized he'd fallen back to sleep. It was nearly nine and his bed mate was gone so he searched around until he located his phone.

"You looked like you needed the rest-F"

Oliver mused to himself that Felicity had been correct; he hadn't slept so deeply in a long time. He used her shower and returned to the apartment he shared with Thea and changed is clothes. He went to the foundry and worked out, Diggle joined him before noon and they trained. Roy arrived and Oliver left the two of them to spar while he went to check out the warehouse from the previous night. The crime scene investigators had cleaned up so he left before anyone recognized him.

Felicity forced herself to focus on work. She was concerned that Oliver might take her actions the previous night as her acceptance of his choice to work with Merlyn. She finished her meetings and tweaked a processor flaw in one of Ray Palmer's designs. She knew the signs; he was getting enthusiastic and obsessed. She went to the foundry after receiving a text from Diggle. She had a list of chores to accomplish from the foundry basement. She multi-tasked and set the Starling City PD database to search the criminal history of someone the Arrow was tracking. She ordered some of Oliver's custom arrows and sent an email to one of the previous suppliers about the CO2 cartridges being damaged in a recent order. She could hardly explain that they hadn't worked to properly tranquilize or bind people the way they should have, but she explained the defects and demanded a discount on the next shipment.

"Good evening, Miss Smoak."

Felicity turned around to face Malcolm Merlyn. He stood a respectful distance behind her. His hands were in his pockets and she found herself mildly insulted by the habit. Putting his hands in his pockets left her in no doubt that he found her completely non-threatening. She was tempted to empty his bank account on principle.

"Mr. Merlyn." She turned and went back to work. If he wanted to talk to her he could start the conversation. She bit her lip instead of telling him that Oliver wasn't there. She had no doubt that the assassin knew exactly where each team member was. He was either waiting to meet one, or there to speak with her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she could have sworn she felt the ghost of a touch on her neck. She rubbed it absently and adjusted her glasses. She continued to check their medical inventory and decided to order more suture kits. Laurel might change her mind about collecting scars.

Oliver returned to the foundry after seven. He was hungry, but getting drive-thru with his green leathers and hood hadn't seemed like a great idea. He entered the basement and was surprised to see Merlyn standing next to Felicity's desk.

"I wasn't expecting you," he said to the older man.

"I didn't let him in," Felicity said, flatly.

Oliver removed his hood and put away his bow and quiver. He had hoped to catch Felicity alone and didn't try to hide his irritation.

"I had some information to share on our mutual friend."

"You could've told Felicity," he said and received a raised eyebrow from her in reply. "Or not."

"Miss Smoak isn't entirely comfortable talking with me," the older man said. "I bought her a drink while you were gone, but my company might not have been what she was hoping for." Felicity turned in her chair and looked at the two archers. "She didn't seem to appreciate my condolences, or my kiss."

Oliver couldn't hide his reaction. His gaze snapped to his pretty, blonde partner. His jaw tightened and his posture stiffened.

"I saw that coming from a mile away," she said, turning back to her monitor. "Your stealthy wit could use a brush-up." She saw Merlyn turn to her in her peripheral vision. She kept her own eyes trained on her computer screen. She offered no explanations or denials, instead she picked up her purse and jacket and walked towards the stairs. "I'm getting a Big Belly burger and going home."

Merlyn looked back to Oliver once Felicity left.

"You have to let her go and focus on your training."

"I didn't stop her," Oliver said, tightly.

"You know what I mean."

"I'm never sure that I actually do." He changed into battered cargo pants and pushed himself through some push-ups, feeling his hunger gnaw at him.

"You're sleeping with her now, and you weren't before."

"How could that possibly matter?" he asked, letting his irritability out. "If anything it should make me more relaxed, I certainly slept better." He didn't bother to ask how Merlyn knew.

"She must be very…sporting, in bed." He watched Oliver pause in his push-ups so he prodded further. "Maybe I shouldn't have ended things with just a kiss." Oliver was on his feet and face to face with his current mentor in a second.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "You're provoking me about something personal that has nothing to do with training."

"Your personal feelings have everything to do with your training." Merlyn gestured to the pointed weapons and gear, "All of this equipment will be useless, all of your skills and training will be for nothing if you can't block out your emotions."

"My feelings for Felicity have been there for a while. Thea, Laurel, my mother, and Sara; they've all been used against me. I know how it works but I can't just shut my feelings away."

"It takes work and focus but it can be done. You can't commit to a duel, or a fight, when your heart is pulling you away."

"Why did you kiss her?"

"See what I mean?" Merlyn gestured, palm out, as if presenting his words to Oliver. "You need to remove her from your heart, you need to let Diggle, Roy, Thea and everything else go. You can't let your attachments to this world control you."

"Find enlightenment?"

"In a way, yes."

"How?"

"In the moment I told you I'd kissed Felicity, your attention was completely focused on her. You saw nothing else for that split second except her face."

"I saw a man walk into an ambush because he heard his wife screaming for him." Oliver spoke softly, thinking about the past. "No one could get near this guy; and then, suddenly, he ran right past the men waiting for him. He saw nothing, heard nothing, he went mad with worry."

"My Rebecca," Merlyn began, "had that effect on me." His voice still held sorrow. "I left for Nanda Parbat in order to get control of myself."

"You still love her."

"Nothing could ever take my love for Rebecca. I did, however, learn how to box those feelings up and put them aside. There will always be time for love, time for grief, time for sex…unless you lose."

"What do I do?"

"Tonight? Go eat, go sleep, go make love if you want to." Merlyn shrugged and walked towards the stairs. "This isn't about denying yourself these things; it's about being able to make those things unimportant when the time is right."

Oliver watched him leave and thought about his warning. He pulled on a shirt and headed out. He got the burger he'd been craving and drove to Felicity's apartment to eat it. She'd already changed into her nightgown. It was plain, pink jersey and fell to her knees. She wore a matching robe and fluffy, pink socks.

"Nice jammies."

"I hear that from time to time." She held the door open and he walked in.

"Want some of my fries?"

"I already have burger bloat," she replied. "Want a beer?"

"If you're having one."

"I can be convinced."

Felicity joined Oliver at the kitchen counter and opened two bottles of beer. Her hair was down around her shoulders and she was relaxed. Oliver dug into his burger and fries. Sitting with her, just being with her while he ate his dinner was good. A pleasant feeling came over him; he found himself wondering about their first date, the one during which they'd never even shared a drink. If the night had ended differently, they might have had a second date, and eventually be right where they were now; drinking beer, side-by-side, in a warm kitchen.

Felicity's ever-present laptop sat in front of her on the counter. She rolled her shoulders and sighed quietly, eyes on the screen. Oliver put his last bite in his mouth and swigged his beer before standing up and brushing off his hands on his jeans. He moved behind her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. Her skin was delicate compared to his rough, callused hands. He rubbed gently, earning another sigh as she stopped typing and leaned back into his hands.

Euphoric warmth spread from Felicity's skin through Oliver's hands and up his arms. He felt his chest swell with emotion. She was brilliant like the sun, or a diamond and he had been shielding himself from her radiance for too long. He pressed his lips to the back of her neck; her shoulders lifted gently with her sharp inhalation. He slid his hands down her arms and around her waist, moving his lips to the side of her neck and down to her nape. She reached up and brought her arms around his neck, arching her back. His kisses became more urgent and hungry. He needed her lips; he tilted her chin up and to the side so he could reach her mouth. She made a soft sound in her throat when he kissed her. The noise sent his head spinning.

Oliver stood up, drawing Felicity with him and turning her around so he could press her fully against him. Her hands went under his shirt, spreading her fingers to touch as much of him as possible. She pushed his jacket off his shoulders and leaned into his touch when he pushed off her robe and impatiently jerked the strap of her nightgown down one shoulder to give him access to her breast. He ran his tongue around her rosy nipple, making her pant his name. He went back to her mouth, pushing his tongue inside to taste her.

"Bedroom?" she asked, breaking their kiss.

"Can't wait," he replied, gripping her hips and bringing her to the floor with him. They were on their knees, facing each other and he reached under her nightgown to tug her panties down her legs. She stopped the kiss to remove them.

"The curtains are open," Felicity said, starting to get up. Oliver pulled her behind the couch and pushed her onto her back. He bared her to the waist and tugged off his shirt, wanting her touch on his heated skin. He buried his face between her legs and had her gasping. The scent of her arousal was driving him crazy. He sat up and his hands went to his belt. He unfastened it and his jeans, coming down on top of her and fastening his lips to the side of her neck, thrusting inside her. Finally joined with her he felt the ache inside him ease. He began to thrust, hard and fast, setting his teeth against the side of her neck.

"So warm," he moaned into her ear. "So wet and tight." She reacted to his words and arched up, urging him faster. Then, suddenly, she stopped and gripped his shoulder.

"Wait, Oliver, did you remember, ah! Did you remember protection?"

"What?" he asked, not slowing down. His blood pounded in his ears and she was climaxing around him. He couldn't help coming with her and squeezed her tightly against him.

When Oliver's blood slowed down, he looked at them, a tangle of legs on the living room floor.

"I think we got carried away and forgot something," Felicity said, out of breath.

"Oh, God, you're right." He rolled off her, realizing his oversight. "I'm sorry," he fastened his pants and reached down, helping her up. "I don't know what came over me, I haven't been so careless in a long time."

"I'll jump in the shower," she said, walking, stiff-legged to the bathroom. Oliver shook his head, clearing it. He'd been unusually focused on being inside her and aware of nothing else. He finished his beer and cleaned up the wrappers from dinner. He spotted her panties on the floor beside the couch where they'd landed. He smiled to himself and picked them up.

Felicity showered and washed herself carefully. She did some math in her head and decided she was in little danger of pregnancy. By her calculations, she was past ovulation and would be getting her period in the next day or two. She hadn't ever been carried away the way she was tonight. Oliver's passion had been contagious. He was waiting when she got out of the shower, she was wrapped in a fluffy towel.

"Are you patrolling tonight?" she asked, glancing at the clock which indicated it was just before ten.

"Yeah, just the usual spots with Roy."

"I'll hit they hay early, I've got an 8AM meeting in the morning, but I'll see you tomorrow."

Oliver drove away, acutely aware of the pull he felt towards Felicity, he'd been tempted to take the night off and stay with her.