The rain pattered against the sidewalk, the staccato beat of the droplets hitting concrete the only sound that dared interrupt the quiet whispers of the two lone figures that stood under a concrete beam of the brownstone structure, sheltering themselves from the downpour. Their heads stood joined together, lips a whisper of a breath away, the quiet hum of their giggles lulled by the sudden howling wind.

Slight shivers racked over their jacketed bodies as the cold wind breezed through them, zigzagging through the slight crevices still present in the distance that their bodies still held. The tappity tap tap of the rain served as background music to the small world only they seemed to occupy. The trickle of a lone cool drop weaving its way down her cheek to the underside of her chin, having abandoned the beam it had once rested upon, broke her out of the spell she was trapped in with her companion. Turning in the embrace the woman extended her hands forward, keys clutched tightly as to not let it slip from her grip, the woman opened the oak door protecting the interior of the brownstone home from the damp atmosphere of the world outside as the clock tower in the distance chimed four in the morning.

Stepping inside the warmth of her home, she let her lower body duck away behind the door, taking shelter from the cold, as she peeked out her blue eyes landing on the blues depths of her companions. Oliver stood still, his hands shoved inside the pockets of his pants, fending away the cold now that he didn't have the woman in his arms to keep him warm. His eyes stayed glued to hers, his hesitation to leave just yet clear in the cerulean depths.

"Do you wanna come in?" Her whispered question broke his gaze away from hers for a moment, his eyes landing on her lips, where he noticed her torturing her lower lip, a sign of nervousness, of hesitation, looking back up into her eyes Oliver nodded, his head moving only an inch but the smile on his face gave away his delight at the invitation.

The spacious foyer that he stepped into extended into a living room that stood alighted by the automatic fireplace in the right hand corner wall, casting a warm glow about the modern interior. He watched Felicity putter around, fluffing colorful throw pillows on her white couch, putting remotes and other gadgetry away under the glass coffee table, moving the centerpiece that once sat on the coffee table to three other locations before dumping it on a shelf where titles ranging from Basics of Coding to Pride and Prejudice and Absolute Power sat in no particular order. He caught sight of Tolkien, J.K. Rowling and James Patterson all sharing a combined space on the honeycomb shelves that made up the divider between her living and dining room.

His eyes followed her every moment, his eyes darting towards her as she ducked quickly away behind the shelves, running in to drop a file on an L-shaped desk that stood where a dinner table should have been. A chuckle escaped him as he saw Felicity once again rushing away in a whirlwind into the kitchen, her energy surprising him. He dropped into the office chair sat with its back to the honeycomb structure, his body exhausted from the excitement of the night he waited for her to re-emerge. Facing the tabletop he took note of the desktop with three connected monitors, a laptop, two tablets, and a cloud drive neatly arranged on both side of the L-shaped structure. The desk held three consecutive drawers for filing on the right side where its side met the wall of the shelf. The beige and brown interior of the home made more interesting with random splashes of color here and there; from the colorful post-its decorating the bland tabletop of the desk and the rim of the screens of her monitors, to the pens, tablet covers and books. The differently colored cushions, the carmine rug and framed posters of TV Shows like Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, and Star Trek: Next Generation hung symmetrically along the walls gave character to her living room.

He stood up, his feet carrying him to the framed posters on the wall. A warm hand softly settling on the blades of his left shoulder broke his attention from where he stood obsessively observing the poster of Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

"Hey what are you thinking?" Felicity whispered moving closer to him, slipping a hand in front, a mug of coffee clutched tight in offering.

"Nothing…" he whispered back, accepting the cup and taking a sip of the hot beverage.

"Not even Thea?"

"No…Well now I'm thinking about her…" he said turning around to face her, discarding the cup on the coffee table nearby, his arms came to circle around her, wrapping about her waist pulling her even closer. She wrapped her arms around his neck in return, eliminating the distance that had taken over their bodies since they entered her home, her fingers moving to idly play with the short hairs at his nape. He interlocked his fingers together behind her trapping her in, dropping his forehead on hers, nuzzling his nose against hers in greeting, as he spoke, "Everything's changed so much, I just wish sometimes that all of it was good, you know."

"It's going to be alright, Oliver. I hope you believe that."

"Yeah I do," he whispered, his eyes reassuring, his lips brushing against hers lightly imprinting the words on her skin. The warmth spreading through his body relaxed him as he breathed her in his eyes dropping closed, his heart and mind feeling awed at having her with him.

"I want to do this right," he stated suddenly, breaking the peace surrounding the space around them.

"I know, I do too," Felicity replied, her lips pulled up in a smile.

"I should probably go," Oliver said reluctantly, even as he stood still, making no move to act on his words.

"You don't have to…"

"I won't say I want to," Oliver interjected, not wanting her to continue her thought process, "because I really do want to, but if I stay any longer I don't know what I'll do."

"I have an idea," Felicity stated smiling once again.

"Really? What?" he asked confusedly gazing at her. A quiet giggle escaped her as she watched a frown spread across his forehead, the confusion taking over his eyes. Bringing her lips to his ears she whispered huskily, "It's quite simple really," she bit lightly at his earlobe, her voice having dropped another octave, "You sleep and I sleep; we get up in the morning and go to work," she finished quickly, a melodious giggle escaping her at the dumbfounded look on Oliver's face.

"Felicity, I can't…" he started breaking out of his daze as his protests fell on deaf ears.

"Oh psshh," Felicity dismissed the next words with a wave of her hand, "Of course you can, Oliver. You have stayed here before remember?"

"That was different…"

"I know, I know. But if you think that I'm going to let you drive back home alone only a couple hours after you have been poisoned and almost died on a metal table," she continued, her index finger poking into his chest right above his heart to emphasize her point, "you are so mistaken mister. You are staying, and it's final. Either you take the couch that you barely fit in or you come upstairs with me, and we can stay in my bed all snuggled up and warm until morning when we have to get back to the real world and separate. But you're not going to your place tonight. I told you I would take care of you and this is me doing that."

"I can't…"

"Of course you can."

"Why are you being so difficult?"

Felicity snorted, "I'm not the one being difficult here, you are, I'm just being practical. We don't know if the poison can still mess with your senses…" she stated matter of factly. "A few hours ago you had blurry vision, were stumbling around like a drunk and couldn't hold your body weight. I'm sorry that you don't take this as seriously as I do but I won't be taking such a big risk with your life."

"I'll call a cab…"

"Wow you are really adamant on not staying here aren't you?" she huffed, her lips dipping into a pout, her arms coming to cross in front of her, bumping into his chest as she untangled them from around his neck.

"Uhh…"

"Don't worry I won't take advantage of you." Felicity winked, changing tactics.

Oliver chuckled pulling her closer, her arms automatically returning to their place encircling his neck, as their bodies entwined into each other. His forehead coming to rest at her temple, his lips tickling the edge of her ears, taking a page out of her book he lowered his voice to a hoarse whisper sending shivers down Felicity's body, as he spoke "The thing is Felicity, I can't promise the same." Her breath stuck in her throat, her eyes closing tight as her body clenched involuntarily trying to control the tingles running down the length of her spine down to her toes.

"You can still stay, just sleep on the bed and I'll sleep on the couch," she replied, determined to not let him out of her sight for the night. Sighing in reply, he tightened his hold on her as he started to walk them backwards, his feet guiding hers he replied dejectedly "I told you I can't…I want to, so damn much Felicity, but I can't. I want to do this right. I won't lose you, I can't lose you…"

"You won't…"

"You say that now, but wait until I do something stupid…"

"You always do something stupid..." Felicity teased, lightening the mood considerably.

"Yes that I do. But this, this I am going to do smartly. I am going to take you out on dates, with dinner and wine, and coffee and lunch, ply you with gifts…"

"Can you still afford that?" Felicity interrupted cheekily.

"Shhh…I am not done," Oliver chided playfully, a smile pulled at his lips as he placed a fore finger on hers. "I want to make you laugh Felicity," he continued his tone turning serious, the playfulness replaced with sincerity. "I want to get to know everything that there is to know about you and I want you to know everything about me. I want to take you out for ice cream and maybe a movie, cheesily wrap my arm around your shoulders in the middle of the movie, I want to bring you back home and kiss you good night. When I…we have done that, then…then I will take you to bed. Do you understand?"

Felicity nodded back dumbly, her eyes glassy in thought, her arms tight around his neck as she fought to gain control over her runaway emotions. Standing on the tips of her toes she brought him closer her lips pulled into a smile she brushed them against his, reveling in the shiver that ran down her body with the chaste kiss.

"Nice hairstyle," Felicity called out of the shadows, her eyes landing on the slowly approaching red and black clad figure.

"Thanks I just got it done. I love it, don't you," Thea replied in a false enthusiastic voice, her body turning towards the spot where the voice rung out from. "By the way," she continued mockingly, folding her arms in front of her, coming to a stop as she finally spotted the petite Talia standing a few feet away from her, her posture relaxed and at ease, "where do you get your nails done? I must say they are really good, I couldn't stop eyeing them last night during our fight."

Smirking under the protection of her veil, Felicity spoke, her gloved hand gesturing at the young girl, "I didn't think you would come, Thea."

"I was curious," she shrugged. "Now, tell me why did you call me here because I'm sure it wasn't to compliment my fashion choices," she stated gesturing towards her straight brunette hair that now fell to right under her chin in a bob.

"Thea…I," Felicity hesitated and paused, searching for the right words.

"That's a terrific start, really I applaud you," The brunette snarked impatiently." I mean I get the whole silent talk thing that some people have and can understand but I would appreciate it if you put some more words into your sentence. After the chilling speech Malcolm gave me last night I actually expected better, in fact I expected something…epic. Honestly, I don't see what the whole fuss is about you. "

"I'm not here to blow your mind away with my skills as a warrior…"

"Warrior? You mean assassin right?"

"I have never killed anyone…" Felicity replied, a bit flustered at the younger girls interruption.

"An assassin who's never killed anyone, that's…impressive," the younger girl deadpanned, her eyes mocking and conveying her disappointment.

"I told you I'm not an assassin…"

"You're not a warrior either."

"Thea I'm not here to argue the logistics of what I call myself. I just…"

"You just what?" Thea roared, her impatience at the older woman growing with every second, bursting inside her, burning her through as she fought for control.

"I wanted to speak with you…"

"Really about what? The weather? Not a really good topic seeing as the weather's really dreary at the moment nothing great about it. Or is it about what you were saying in that building? Because you should know that I don't really care about what you think or what you think you know."

Felicity sighed irritatedly, pinching the bridge of her nose her fingers brushing against the soft fabric of her black veil. She stood there on the dark concrete roof top of one of many sky scrapers of Starling, the cold air whipping around her, bellowing her coat about her legs, the crescent moon casting it's light upon her weapons, dressed as Talia Al Ghul, but in manner and heart she was Felicity, the friend, the lover, the caretaker, and the teammate, her eyes glinting with a warmth that her alter ego sometimes lacked.

"Why a rooftop anyways?…" Thea asked suddenly, "I really don't understand the inclinations that you vigilantes and assassins have with rooftops."

"It's safer from prying eyes and ears and also a good vantage point according to a mutual friend," Felicity replied, her eyes darting away to look into the distance, the docks of Starling City clearly visible from her perch. Exhaling a heavy breath she returned her gaze upon the brunette, "What did he say?" she asked quietly.

"What did who say?"

"What did Malcolm tell you about me?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"It may determine if you would trust me or not, or even if you would listen to me. So what did he say to you about me?" Felicity pressed.

"You know, the basics;" Thea shrugged disinterestedly, "Talia is ruthless, Talia is deadly, Talia is this, Talia is that, la-di-da-da," Thea finished waving her hands around maddeningly. Taking a couple of steps towards her, head tilted to the side in interest, she asked, "So…is it true what he says about you or are you just some exaggerated legend?"

Huffing, Felicity directed and annoyed glare at the younger girl, noticing the exaggerated eye roll and crossed arms that made her look like a whiny teenager. Years of wearing a mask had given her an experience that few had had the advantage of, making Felicity instantly aware that of the role Thea was playing, hiding her true emotions and questions behind a mask of nonchalance and teenage disinterest.

"All you need to know about me Thea is that a) I am not and never was a killer. I may have been a lot of things, ruthless, deadly and all that that Malcolm may have told you but I haven't killed anyone ever and I don't plan to, unless of course there is no other choice and even then I will search and search for options. And b) that I called you here today as a friend of your brothers…"

"Great!" Thea exclaimed suddenly, her hands flying in the air, palms up, incredulously, "Turns out you're another one of his bimbo's, just when I was beginning to admire you too."

"I'm not his bimbo…" Felicity fired, offended. "Whatever our relationship may be, I am first and foremost his friend, always have been. And I'm here because I care about you just as much as I care about your brother."

"Really? Tell me how much is it that you care about my brother?"

"More than you'll probably ever know. I am here Thea, because I thought I could talk to you, listen to you and try to get you off this self-destructive path you have set yourself on…"

"It's not self-destructive if I'm as strong as I am now."

"It really is especially with a mentor like Merlyn," Felicity gritted out, her voice spitting venom at the man's name.

"And what do you know about Malcolm as a mentor?"

"I know about Malcolm as a person in whole. And the person that he is would never make a good mentor, at least not the honorable kind."

"Honor doesn't matter in real life, strength does."

"And that wording is precisely why I believe Malcolm is not fit to teach you how to be a warrior."

"Why does it matter, especially when I am stronger and quicker than before, no more the weak, emotional Thea but a powerful and independent woman? And why do you care?"

"I told you I care about you just as your brother does. By doing what you're…"

"If he cared about me he wouldn't have lied to me. Do you know about that? About how he kept secrets about my life from me, how he lied to me…"

"He didn't do it to hurt you..."

"And yet he did." Thea interrupted, her tone final as she once again took a step forward, her body held rigidly and arms still crossed in front of her, anger coursed through her veins setting them on fire making her eyes blaze hot.

"There was a time when I was angry too, Thea. I know how it is to be angry at your family, to doubt your identity," passion seeped into Felicity's tone as she tried once again to reach the girl's heart, "to doubt everything about yourself and being angry about it, I also know how that affected the decisions I made. How it led me into believing in something that wasn't me, which would have destroyed me and it almost did…"

"Do not pretend to know what I went through…"

"I don't pretend. You may have gone through different tragedies, but tragedies are still tragedies, disappointing family is just that, disappointing family but the family that loves you as much as your brother does is something very hard to come by, at least in my world. You are lucky that you have a brother like Oliver…"

"Lucky? There is nothing lucky about the family I was dealt. What about my family seems lucky to you?"

"Are you that blind Thea," her voice rose an octave, irritation and disbelief seeping into her words, her steps advancing towards the younger girl till they were standing toe to toe, furiously Felicity continued, her eyes blazing as hard as the younger girls, "that you can't see what you're doing to the people around you, to those who love you and more importantly to yourself."

"I did not come here for a self help lecture!"

"Did you think I was calling you for a rematch on a pre-fight written note? No. You came here because you thought you were going to get an out…"

"An out from what? A life that I actually have control over?" Thea laughed, the cackles echoing in the silent night.

Felicity laughed with her, the sound humorless effectively conveying her disbelief to the brunette girl. Directing cold hard eyes, a trait she inherited from her father, the blues completely dissolved in the black of her pupils shining with pity at Thea, Felicity spoke, her lips pulled up in a condescending smirk, "If you think you have any control over this life you have chosen you are not as smart as I perceived you to be."

Reading the pity reflected in her cold dark eyes Thea stumbled a step backwards, startled at the intensity of it, her teeth gritted against each other as she snarled, "What do you mean?" anger taking over her body at the tone the woman had directed at her.

"Malcolm controls each and everything you do, don't you see it…"

"He doesn't!"

"Who told you to fight the Arrow, to kill him? Who tol…"

"Shut up! Shut up! You don't understand…you can never understand…" her voice a hoarse whisper, bleeding anguish echoed around the two girls, startling them into silence.

"Did you know," Felicity began in a whisper, careful not to scare the younger girl into consciousness, "that I ran away from my mom's when I was twelve and traveled all the way to Egypt alone, to find my father? Did Malcolm tell you I was kidnapped a month after my reunion with my father, mentally tortured and rescued two weeks later, did he?" Thea's head jerked up at the revelation, eyes widening, understanding dawning on her features, the anger evaporating away for the moment as she listened to the woman before her reveal parts of her past that she shouldn't have to, not for a stranger.

"Did you know that my mother hated me and that her boyfriend of the month was a pervert who almost raped me and my mother never did anything?" Felicity looked to her, tears shining in her eyes, never falling, her voice raised as she continued, her address to the younger girl becoming fiercer, her fiery voice starting to ring around them even though it was nothing more than a whisper against the harsh wind still whipping around them, blowing her veil and coat with it but never displacing them, "No, you didn't. Everyone goes through problems in life Thea, it's how life teaches us to be strong, to be fighters and you have been nothing but strong through all of these problems all your life, then what changed Thea? What changed?"

"My identity," Thea whispered brokenly, her throat clogged with unshed tears, eyes downcast looking away, hiding the agony the revelation brought with it, deep into her soul, into her very being.

"Did Oliver ever tell you that you weren't his sister?" Felicity asked stepping towards her once again, no malice but comfort in her movements. Her head ducked down in an effort to catch the younger girls eye.

"No," Thea replied, her forehead creased, eyes squinting at the concrete below her feet as she answered the woman's question.

"Did your mother ever love you less because of who your father was?" she asked again.

"No."

"Did your father ever see or treat you as someone else's daughter and not his?

"No."

"Well, there you go. Identity is a superficial concept. It only matters if you associate identity with name and blood. You doubt your identity as a Queen because you aren't Robert Queen's daughter. Tell me how much did your mother make up the Queen name? Aren't you a Queen more by your spirit and heart than blood?"

"Big words," Thea scoffed, stepping away from the daughter of the demon, her eyes meeting hers once again, now just as cold and dark as the young warriors had been a few moments ago, her voice devoid of any emotion, she continued, her eyes holding the other woman's in a grip, "But those words never helped me. All my family did was keep secrets from me, lie to me…"

"Which family doesn't…"

"I'm done with this!" Thea roared, emotion rushing back into her being as she stomped away to the edge of the roof. Stepping onto the ledge she looked back once, her voice though affected by the conversation still held an edge of steel, her challenge clear as she stated in a hard voice, "Tell the Arrow that I'm not done with him. I'll have my battle, I'll defeat him and I'll rejoice as he lays defeated on the ground, my foot pressed into his neck as he begs me for life."

"Then you should know too," Felicity replied, her voice holding a hint of a warning, her stance convalescing to that of a warrior, her back straight, posture strong, arms held straight at her sides, fists clenched and eyes just as hard, she spoke, "I'll be there with him, fighting alongside him and our team and I will stop you no matter how I have to do it. There is no way we'll let you take him away from us, from his family, from this city. I will not let you destroy the one hope that this city holds and I will do anything to protect it, to protect him."