The smell of morning dew, birds calling and a distant monkey chatting met Felicity as her eyes opened without any effort. She almost sighed, her limbs seemed to be back under her control, a feeling which she would never take for granted again. She snuggled in deeper to the blanket pushing herself back against the wall of heat behind her.
Wall of heat? Her brain questioned, causing her to turn her head enough to see Oliver's broad shoulders and back behind her.
And then she did sigh, in exasperation because this was not how she pictured waking up next to Oliver Queen. Not that she often pictured waking up next to Oliver Queen, but if she was going to picture waking up next to Oliver Queen it would not be with his back to her. No, it would be with his incredibly muscular arms wrapped around her, maybe his legs entangled with hers and his nose grazing her neck, his arms pulling her closer-
Oliver moved behind her, abruptly cutting off Felicity's wandering thoughts. She stood up, knowing some distance would help to clear her brain. That's when she noticed he had given her what must be their only blanket. She almost rolled her eyes at his chivalry, but opted for drinking the water bottle she spotted on the other side of the hollowed out plane. Her glasses sat next to the water and she silently thanked her unknown kidnappers for not leaving her blind.
She grabbed the water bottle and her glasses, walking out into the small clearing around what remained of the plane, stretching as she went. The surrounding foliage was gorgeous, she hadn't remembered appreciating it the last time she was here, too concerned with getting Oliver back to Starling City.
"How are you feeling?" Oliver asked from behind her, causing her to jump. She turned toward him, worry written in every line on his face, as he put a hand on her shoulder, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she laughed, moving out of his grasp, "You just scared me. Don't sneak up on a girl in the middle of the jungle."
He gave her one of his small, half smiles as if smiling against his own better judgment.
"I'm sorry about all this," he said, scanning the jungle around him.
"Don't be," she said, "I knew what I was getting into when I signed up."
"You expected to be marooned on a deserted island?" He asked, his face dead pan, only his raised eyebrow indicating his amusement.
She titled her head, raising her eyebrows back at him causing him to smile again, but then what he had said caught up with her, "Is it deserted? The island, I mean, are we alone?"
Felicity knew very little about what had happened in the five years he had been here, but had pieced together enough to know that he hadn't always been the only human there.
"As far as I can tell, we're alone," he said, once again scanning the jungle. "But there is one other place I need to check. I'll do that this afternoon when we move camp."
"Move camp?" she asked, looking back the plane. "I thought this was where you lived?"
He shook his head, "Not the whole time."
Oliver offered up no other explanation and Felicity knew better than to press him.
"How long before Diggle finds us?" She asked.
Oliver once again shook his head, "I don't know. He'll probably try to take care of whatever trouble our mystery captor is getting up to in Starling City. Who knows how long that could take."
"Right," Felicity said, having not expected that answer. Although it made sense, Diggle would want to protect the city before traveling half way across the world to look for them. "Think he'll know to look here?"
"Dig's a smart guy," Oliver stated. "He'll find us.
They ate some stale peanut free granola bars Oliver had left from when he had come after Tommy's death, before packing up whatever they might need, which included a bow he kept hidden there, before setting out to their new camp. They had been hiking for a little over an hour, when Felicity voiced the concern she had been feeling.
"The other spot you need to check," she began, causing Oliver to stop in front of her and turn around, "What if someone else is there? Will we be in danger? "
"My rescue put this island on the map," he said, turning to restart their hike through the jungle before continuing, "It's no longer the safest place for illegal activity. I'm fairly certain the island is empty."
"Except for us."
"Except for us," he repeated and she knew he was smiling, even if she couldn't see his face.
They didn't reach their destination for another two hours, Oliver stopping on the way to hunt and check traps he must have set while she was passed out. By the time they made it to the cave Oliver intended for them to stay in, he had two rabbits and bird.
The cave was spacious, there were signs of previous inhabitants everywhere she looked: a small fire pit underneath an opening in the cave ceiling that would act as a chimney, cooking utensils sat on a large rock and in the far corner she could make out what appeared to be bedding. Oliver moved to the lone chest in the cave, pulling out clothes. He handed them to her.
"These will be much warmer," he said, gesturing toward her jeans and cardigan. "The jungle can get cold at night. You change. I'll go collect some firewood."
She looked down at the pile of clothes in her arms noticing a rain jacket, a thick wool sweater and a pair of cargo pants. She said the first thing that came to her mind, "These are women's clothes."
Oliver paused mid-step at the mouth of the foliage covered cave entrance. He turned slowly, giving her one nod of his head, his expression apprehensive.
"Sara's?" She asked, he shook his head, "Whose?"
He shifted uncomfortably on his feet, telling her everything she needed to know. There had been a woman, not Sarah and she had been something more to him. Everything about his stance telling her whoever the mystery woman was, she had meant a great deal to him.
"Is she," Felicity paused, looking down at the clothes in her arms, "still alive?"
"No." He was gone by the time she looked up.
Felicity sighed into the empty cave, a feeling of melancholy, that had nothing to do with being stranded on an island, settled over her. She found herself once again berating her pointless crush on Oliver Queen. Even though she knew, after over two and a half years on his team, that it was far more than a crush. She shied away from the word, the real word for how she felt, even in her thoughts because dwelling on it was useless.
When Felicity had finally come to terms with the fact that her feelings for Oliver were far from platonic, she had known there was no future there. For starters, he was Oliver Queen. Good looking, intelligent, loyal and a billionaire on top of that. He had his pick of the women that threw themselves his way.
But the major road block, the one she was pretty sure no one would get over, was Laurel Lance. Laurel, who was smart, beautiful and would always hold a piece of Oliver's soul. Felicity knew very little about love, but she did know you never fully get over your first.
Sometimes on very rare occasions, Felicity felt like maybe Oliver's feelings for her might be a little more than friendly. She would catch the way his eyes would widen when he saw her in a formal dress, hair and makeup done perfectly while attending a gala for a mission. Or sometimes she would catch the look of pride that would cross his face when someone would praise her work. And sometimes, in her darkest, deepest thoughts, she allowed herself to believe that maybe she could one day mean something more.
But as she looked down at the clothes that had once been the mysterious island woman's, she felt the last of her hope fade. Here was yet another example of a female that had wormed their way deep into Oliver's heart, never to be expelled again. Something Felicity, in over two years, hadn't managed to do. She knew, because when Oliver loved, he loved deeply and completely, having learned from his time on the island that life was too short to love any other way.
Felicity just wished she didn't agree with him. Then maybe she could get over him.
She changed, trying to rally her spirits. The clothes were warm, fairly clean and much more practical. With nothing left do, she waited. Her watch told her, he had been gone a little over an hour when he returned, firewood heaped in his arms.
"I checked the other location," he said, not looking at her as he stacked wood against the wall. "We're alone."
He turned then, his eyes shuttering slightly when he saw the clothes she wore. He stared a moment, before moving past it, pulling something from a backpack she hadn't noticed.
"I found this," he said, handing her a walkie-talkie and a laptop that looked at least five years old. "Not sure what you can do with it. But I figured if anyone could find it useful it would be you."
"Thanks," she said, smiling up at him in appreciation, hoping the smile also conveyed her apology about the death of yet another loved one. He smiled back, giving her a slight nod, before turning to start a fire.
Felicity immediately got to work, a vague idea of being able to piggy back onto any passing ships navigation and radio feeds with the laptop, boosted with the power from the walkie-talkie. Every once in a while she would glance up, watching over her screen as Oliver went about silently preparing a meal for them.
"I can't remember the last time a man cooked for me," she said idly, as he slowly turned a spit with two rabbits on it over the fire. Then what she has said caught up with her, "Not that you're a man cooking dinner for me. I mean, you are a man who is cooking dinner. But it's more like a survival dinner. Not a 'Hey honey, let me cook you dinner' kind of dinner. Not that you would ever call me 'honey'-"
She cut herself off as he gave her an all too knowing eyebrow raise. She nodded and returned to the work before her. She wondered if she would every stop saying inappropriate things around him. It had been over two years, so she was beginning to doubt it. At least he was used to it by now, able to shut her up with a single eyebrow raise.
"Got it!" She shouted, before shaking her head, "I do always yell that, why do I always do that?"
"I like it," Oliver said, moving to sit by her side so he could see what she had achieved. "I always know when you've found something without having to ask."
"Well as long as I have your permission," she said sarcastically, pulling up a program and turning on the walkie-talkie. It cackled to life, but more importantly so did the screen before her. "There is a ship within three miles of the island. I boosted the walkie-talkie signal and modified it so we should be able to use their on board satellite feed."
Slowly but surely the internet came alive before them.
"Nice," Oliver muttered at her side.
"I'm going to send an email to Diggle," she said, moving as quickly as the slow internet connection would allow her. "But then we will have to shut it down, not enough battery power."
Oliver watched over his shoulders, providing coordinates for the island in the rare case that Diggle had forgotten, as she also made sure he knew they were both safe. With the email sent, Felicity let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, shutting down the electronics to conserve power.
"Nice work," Oliver said, something about his tone causing her to turn and look at him. His gaze was intent, dropping to her mouth for half a second, before returning to her eyes. She stared back, wondering if it was the fire that was making her blood heat up or his nearness. The fire cracked loudly, a log falling, breaking the moment. Oliver was already standing attending to the fire, dishing them up some dinner, before Felicity was fully able to comprehend what had happened.
"Shado," he said as he handed her a plate of rabbit, sitting down across from her on the other side of the fire.
She looked around, at the shadows lining the cave, wondering what she was supposed to see.
"No," he said, a slight tone of laughter to his voice. "The girl. The girl that I knew here, her name was Shado."
Felicity nodded, examining his face. He looked much more relaxed, more himself. She concentrated on the food before her, mumbling "I'm sorry for your loss."
"She taught me how to survive, how to fight," he said, his voice lost in memory. "I would never have made it off this island without her."
"Well it was a good thing you had her," Felicity said, not looking at him. Laurel had been his first love, Shado had been the one to teach him how to survive. She wondered forlornly how an IT girl could ever compete with that.
"I've been very lucky in my companions on this island," he said, his voice suddenly becoming focused, causing her to look up as he continued, "Very lucky."
He eyes bore into hers from across the fire, pinning her down. There was something there, something honest and primal; Felicity knew she couldn't move even if she wanted to. She wasn't sure how long they held the stare, before he slowly shook his head, returning to his food. She thought she heard him mutter "Very lucky" again.