A/N: Hey hope you are all having a great Christmas so far! I wanted to thank my beta again: rebekah99 she is amazing and all your kind reviews and support throughout the story! I hope you like this chapter, the last few paragraphs are pure fluff! Please keep reviewing your comments make me smile and if you have any suggestions or feedback feel free to say! Also please follow my twitter it's ndubletmixer Enjoy!
Oliver caught Dig's eye the second he walked in the room. Knowing that he had just finished giving his statement, he wandered over to him, silently asking how it had gone. Dig barely had enough time to give a small nod before Detective Lance strolled over, eyeing Oliver suspiciously.
"So, I've just spoken to Thea and it seems that all of this is to do with one Felicity Smoak. Care to comment Queen?"
Oliver paled at the mention of her name, clamping his hands together and shaking his head. Lance exhaled loudly.
"What is it about you, Queen, that causes trouble to follow? Listen- either you tell me nicely now what connection Miss Smoak has in all of this or you can do so down at the precinct and I'm pretty sure you do not want the media finding out your involvement," his tone came off friendly but Oliver knew how real the detective's threat was. Unsure what to say, Oliver stared at the man, his mouth opening slightly before quickly deciding to shut it again; he had to be careful what he said, he would not be the person to give Felicity up.
Looking around the room, Oliver witnessed the amount of chaos surrounding the mansion. Thea's small body was curled up on the sofa, a tatted blue blanket draped over her frightened self. There were two officers crouching next to her, one had his hand placed on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. All Oliver wanted was to free her from the fear and sadness consuming her, but Thea refused to even make eye contact with him. Although the blanket was covering her entire body, Oliver could still see her blood-stained hands and the distant gaze dominating her eyes.
Drifting his attention back across the room he saw the masses of bullet holes littered across the décor; the main table lay in pieces across the stained carpet, scattered among the shattered shards of glass. Men in uniform swarmed about the place, some frantically scribbling down notes, whilst others stood aside,chatting to one another or speaking into their phones in hushed tones. Both Oliver and Dig had come up with a quick cover story but asking Thea to leave Felicity's name out would have raised suspicion and Oliver knew his sister was bright enough to figure something out. The sound of Lance's voice brought Oliver's attention back to the man in front of him.
"So you are saying that, Mr Diggle is it?, guided you to safety the moment the attackers came in so you were hiding in servants quarters the whole time? And then hearing Thea's screams you decided to play hero, steal a knife off one of the attackers, throw it and it somehow landed in the guy's neck?", Lance questioned, the disbelief evident as sarcasm laced his words. Noticing Oliver's attention had once again drifted, again to Felicity, he sighed, "I give up!" he muttered, throwing his hand in the air in annoyance and pulling out his phone. Turning, he began to dial the number The Arrow had given him. The sound of a phone trilling pricked his ears as the detective whipped around in shock, staring at the source. Before Lance had to chance to dream up any crazy Arrow theories, Oliver showed Lance his phone's screen.
"It's my mom. I better take this." With this, Oliver quickly strode away, adrenaline making its way across his body at the near exposure. Detective Lance shook his head in disbelief; he had had his suspicions about Oliver being The Arrow for the past few years now, but there was no way that was just a coincidence. Shaking himself from his thoughts, he focused on the gruff voice of The Arrow.
"What is it, Detective?"
"Felicity Smoak. There was a break in at the Queen mansion and the perpetrators were after her."
"I am well aware," The sharpness of his voice made Lance wince, both Oliver and The Arrow were just as equally protective over this Felicity, he noted.
"How did you...? Right, you're The Arrow, got it. What are you going to do about this? This Felicity girl is now endangering the general public and no matter who I talk to, she still doesn't exist. So do you care to tell me why a girl has trained assassins after her? Or at least tell me this... Who the hell is Felicity Smoak?" Detective Lance let out a groan as his question was met by a frustrated growl, "I'm presuming Miss Smoak is with you, so can you at least tell me if she's safe?" Lance was pleased to find out something, as The Arrow responded with a simple 'yes' before hanging up the phone.
Gesturing to his team, Lance passed Oliver, simply stating "We'll be in touch, Queen," before his men emptied the mansion. Thea appeared by his side and spoke, her voice shaking despite her attempts to appear strong.
"Mom said she'll be here in a couple of hours. She took the private jet back as soon as she heard about the break in, but Walter had to stay at the offices, something business related he needs to sort out." Placing a gentle hand on her shoulder in sympathy, a pang of guilt coursed in him as Thea shrugged away his contact. "I just need to be alone right now," Thea replied to his unspoken question monotonously, her expression blank. Oliver nodded despite his better judgement and left the house unwillingly, instructing Dig to stay behind and watch over Thea.
Felicity had heard about the break in, it was actually near impossible to miss given it had been playing on repeat across all the news channels.
'To be fair, though, four trained assassins breaking into a billionaire's mansion probably would raise a lot of suspicion!' Felicity laughed to herself. Despite what had gone on, she was angry that Oliver hadn't even called to let her know he was okay and it's not as if Felicity had a phone to call him. She had debated contacting him through social media, but she doubted he would check them at a time like this.
Sighing angrily, Felicity walked over to the training dummies with full intention of letting out her frustration. Apart from the ruined glass case, there was no evidence that anything had happened in the foundry and Felicity wanted to keep it that way. She had so much rage at herself for losing control and, if anything, punching the dummies only seemed to make her angrier.
Falling to the ground breathless, she could feel the beginnings of tears prickling at her eyes, why wouldn't anything work? Why did it have to be her? And why did all of this have to happen when, for the first time, she had been truly happy?
The questions taunted Felicity until she couldn't bear it anymore. She needed a new method, a new way to deal with her heightened emotions. Thinking back to Sara's training she closed her eyes; 'trust your environment'- that had been the first thing Sara had told her. 'You don't need to see to know what is around you'. 'Trust your senses'. Following the words Sara had once told her, she slowly relaxed, taking in a deep until her lungs felt like they would burst and exhaled every dark memory, every fear, and every emotion from herself. 'Learn to control your senses one by one'; Felicity focused on sound, she could hear the faint dripping of pipes in the background, the low music from the club upstairs swirling with chattering and laughing. Singling out a single thing like Sara had told her, she found a voice she knew too well; Oliver. Straining her ears she focused on the gruffness, the protectiveness in him, his concern and worry for her colouring the conversation. Felicity was surprised at her hearing ability; the Mirakuru really must have heightened everything. She let his love for her flow across her skin as she flexed her arms, causing a warm light-headed feeling to surround her. Next, Felicity channelled all of her concentration into her sense of smell; the remaining coffee aroma fought against Oliver's lingering scent. No matter what expensive cologne he used to cover it up, his natural woodsy smell was never entirely obscured. Felicity smiled, filling her nostrils with the fresh, outdoorsy smell that she was all too familiar with. She knew it was stupid, but it was so much more than just a smell. Smelling him, she felt protected, and she knew that, as long as he was here, she would be safe. Felicity had never trusted anyone as she does Oliver and, if anything, it frightened her, how much control they had over each other. Moving on, she turned her attention to her touch, the cool floor feeling almost icy underneath her fingertips. She could feel the cold air against her bare feet, and, scrunching her toes, she felt at peace. Her head was titled to one side, resting on a stone pillar, the action bringing her back to when her and Oliver had just met. She had been frightened and shivering but instead of throwing her a blanket, Oliver had seen her fear and had wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her trembling body and then draped a blanket over them both. He had sat by her the entire night, watching over her and comforting her whenever a horrific nightmare broke into her sleep. Reaching upward, she traced a thin line over her bottom lip, lost in the memory of Oliver's taste. It left its mark on her. Nothing but warmth flooded her, remembering how Oliver's lips brushed against her own.
Oliver had returned to the foundry on his own, preparing himself to finally come clean about the danger Felicity was in. He hated to be the one to break her smile but he couldn't avoid this any longer. Surprise was the first thing to overcome him. Oliver was expecting Felicity to be attacking the pads in a Mirakuru-incuded rage but instead she was sitting peacefully on the floor, her legs sprawled out in front of her.
Oliver called out softly, not wanting to startle her, but she didn't respond. Trying another tactic, he crouched down a couple of metres away and tried again. But still no response. Debating what to do, he shuffled forward, his legs either side of hers, and paused, their bodies mere inches from one another. Reaching his outstretched hand to her shoulder, his plan was to gently shake her shoulder until she came out from lost within her deep thoughts. His hand froze, transfixed by her movements. She was gently tracing a line on her lower lip, humming happily. Straight away Oliver knew she was replaying their kiss in her mind. A low heat began to expand from Oliver's body; they were supposed to be broken up, he was supposed to be keeping her safe, but seeing her like this bulldozed the wall he spent the last few hours building up. His emotions were now free, the passion he felt for her escaping into every thought, every memory, and every sense he had. Oliver was concentrated so much on what to do that he hadn't noticed Felicity's eyes flickering open and resting on his. Being this close to Oliver caused a fire to start at the pit of her stomach, hungry for more and ready to devour anything in its path. It was the moment Felicity started to chew on her lower lip, an action that was second nature to her whenever her nerves took over, that finally drew Oliver's last straw.
He leapt forward, her lips immediately reacting to his. His grip on reality had finally loosened and, in that moment, he let go. He could feel himself falling, tumbling downwards without a care, simply enjoying the thrill it gave him. Oliver leant forward, deepening the kiss, unable to resist touching her. Startled at the sudden passion, they toppled backwards until his body was on top of hers. Felicity shivered as she saw Oliver's eyes darken at their new proximity.
"I guess we aren't broken up anymore," Felicity mumbled in between kisses as Oliver targeted her neck. A soft murmur escaped her lips, making Oliver release a dark smile, his gaze never leaving her eyes for more than a couple of seconds.
She slid her hands underneath his shirt, feeling every mark, every scar, everything that made him the man she had fallen for. A sudden urge took over as she traced an old bullet wound placed just underneath his ribcage, lifting his shirt up further she placed a delicate kiss in its place. Oliver could tell what she was doing; replacing every dark memory with love and passion. Their eyes met, hers asking silently about his scars. It made his heart race, that she was making sure he was comfortable with her touching his scars; such a locked up part of his past.
Pulling away, Felicity locked her eyes with his, breathless and slightly dazed. It was only the sound of Dig clearing his throat that fully brought the pair back to reality. Immediately taking in Felicity's swollen lips and her blushing cheeks, Dig sighed.
"I take it the talk went well, then?" Not expecting a response, he continued, "Oliver, we need to leave in an hour if you want to make your family dinner." Shaking his head, Dig left, knowing the pair needed privacy.
"Wait, what talk? Oliver, what talk?" Noticing Oliver's hesitance, fear washed over Felicity. Reaching for her hand, Oliver guided her to the other end of the foundry, perching on the edge of the cot.
"I'm so sorry. I wanted to protect you but I don't think I can." The immediate change in atmosphere was evident throughout the basement, creating an uneasy feeling between the two of them.
"Oliver, you're scaring me," a small whimper left Felicity's lips as she spoke; The Arrow was supposed to be fierce and brave, somebody strong, someone that made others cower in fear. But this time, Oliver had turned a pale shade, a thin line of sweat lined his skin and his eyes had widened in fear.
"Promise me one thing first."
"Of course, anything."
"Promise me that you won't leave. That no matter what happens, you won't leave. Team Arrow, we need you, we can't manage without you."
"Oliver, you all managed perfectly fine before I came along," she retorted, confused at what Oliver was saying.
"I can't manage without you. I can't live without you. Ever since I got back from the Island, even before, I was miserable. Before you came, I was a killer, not a hero. But then you came. You are my light, Felicity, you were the one that made me into a hero, and if you left I couldn't carry on, and I wouldn't be able to go back to how I was, I would be lost. So promise me that, no matter what happens, you won't leave me, because I need you in my life."
Felicity's lips formed into a perfect circle, a small gasp escaping at his confession.
"I promise,' she smiled, never breaking eye contact, watching as his face mirrored hers, "I would never leave you."
Taking a deep breath, Oliver began to talk. He told her about his meeting with Detective Lance, he told her that The Reaper Brothers were after her, not the city, he told her about the break in, the way the attacker threatened Thea, looking for her, and he held her in his arms as she broke down each sob that erupted, causing her whole body to shake.
Finally pulling away, Felicity stood up slowly turning to face Oliver who had followed her up.
"Thank you," she smiled shyly. Oliver bent down and grabbed his dropped bow from the floor. "By the way, are you going to explain why you are all arrowed-up?" she teased him, snatching the bow from his hands and mimicking firing it.
"I needed to clear my head before I came here." Opening her mouth, she began to ask him to expand, but quickly changed her mind, knowing he would open up when he was ready.
"So why did you decide to come here? You could have just gone straight to your family dinner rather than being late, and I have heard from Thea that your mom is not one to be messed with!" she chuckled softly, glad that Thea had seemed to include her as part of their family.
"Truthfully? I left the comms on to check on you, and it had been quiet for too long, so I was worried."
A large smile broke onto Felicity's face as she playfully punched his arm; "Spying on me, were you?"
"You wish!" he grinned back, pulling her into a hug. Placing a sloppy kiss on her forehead, he caught her eyes in concern. "You will be okay, right? I can easily cancel this-"
"No." Her curt reply cut him short. "Your mom has flown halfway across the world to see you and Thea. You can't just abandon the meal now."
Oliver sighed exasperatedly and stuck his bottom lip out.
"Fine. But I'm calling Sara and Roy to come check on you.' Felicity shook her head, watching him walk away, when would he realise she wasn't fragile and made of glass? Normally she would be angry at somebody treating her this way but, for some reason, she didn't mind Oliver doing it- it made her feel special and cared for and, although she would never admit it, she actually enjoyed it.
As Oliver arrived at the mansion, he barely noticed as one of the maids took his coat as he rushed into the dining room. After making a rushed apology for his lateness, his mother stood from her seat and walked over to greet him.
"Oliver," Moira enveloped him into a warm hug, "'Thank God you're okay. Thea told me what happened." Oliver looked across the room towards his sister who shot him a cold glare, breaking eye contact immediately. A pang filled his chest seeing his sister so cold and afraid of him- he had been protecting her and there was no choice to make.
Ushering Oliver to his seat, Moira began to make small talk, chatting away about Queen Consolidated's shares abroad and bragging about the new investor her and Walter had gotten from their business trip. Although Thea had been deliberately avoiding eye-contact and had brushed off any remark or question Oliver threw at her, at least she was being civil due to their mother's presence. Oliver's train of thought drifted from their conversation as he thought of how their mother would react if she ever found out what the siblings true argument was about. She would be horrified, he knew that, but would she be disappointed? Afraid that her son had killed a man in cold blood without even flinching?
A light voice broke his train of thought, but it hadn't come from the room. Oliver relaxed at the sound of Sara's voice over the comms; Felicity was no longer alone. He knew it was stupid but whenever Felicity wasn't around, it was like part of him was missing and he found that his mind always drifted back to her, wondering if she was okay. Ever since he watched her die in his arms, Oliver had deliberately left the comms on whenever they were apart, making up various excuses that he was expecting an important business call to anyone that queried his earpiece. Nodding occasionally to keep up the appearance that he was engaged in the conversation about Queen Consolidated, he listened for the sound of her voice. He could hear Roy and Sara joking with each other amongst the clanging of bo staff against each other. And then he heard her laugh, a small giggle, but Oliver recognised it immediately. A wide smile appeared on his face, a glint of light making his eyes shine happily.
Noticing Thea raising an eyebrow at his sudden change in posture, he quickly masked his features, clearing his throat. Focusing back on the conversation he smiled at his mother.
"I think that's a great idea, mom," he supplied to the conversation, knowing that the slight compliment was what his mother was looking for. His ears pricked at the mention of his name over the comms and his mother's voice became dull background noise once again.
"So where is Oliver?" Sara asked, glancing over at Felicity as she lay her bo staff on the training mats and made her way over to the desk.
Roy grabbed the water bottle from Sara's hands and joked, "I'm surprised he let you out of his sight for this long." Sara snatched the bottle back whilst Felicity's fingers came to a halt across the keyboard as she tried to hide the blush taking control of her cheeks.
"Family dinner," she smiled back, watching silently as Sara took a long gulp of water.
"Ahh the nightmares of family dinners right?" Sara smiled, lost in a memory.
Before Felicity's brain could stop her, she commented quietly, "Like I'd know.'
But Sara had picked up on Felicity's uncomfortable posture and reddened face.
"What did you say, Felicity?" Felicity just shook her head, turning back to her computers and mentally cursing herself. "Hey, whatever it is you can tell me, you know?" Sara stepped over and placed a hand on Felicity's shoulder, encouraging the blond to share.
"What's it like? Family dinners? I mean you all talk so much about little things, annoying siblings, interfering parents … family dinners. But what's it like?" The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could even stop herself. She saw Sara's mouth drop open slightly at the realisation of how Felicity had grown up and had noticed that, despite having his back turned, Roy's full attention was on her. She knew little about Roy but was sure his lack of sharing had to do with his absent family as he had never mentioned them once.
Before Felicity had spoken, Oliver had known that she was uncomfortable and, knowing her, probably blushing. He recognised the small hitch in her breath that marked the conversation, stating that she was about to talk about her past. Suddenly it was like the entire room faded into black and white. He no longer pretended to join in to the conversation. Felicity was vulnerable and her question made Oliver feel like he was sinking. The sound of Thea and Moira's voice became as insubstantial as the ticking of a clock.
"Sorry I didn't mean... It doesn't matter." Felicity started to ramble out an excuse but Sara quickly stepped in.
"Hey, it's okay. Family... well it's like… Team Arrow's a family?" Sara began to explain, completely baffled at where to start. "We might not be blood related or even have that much in common personality-wise, but we stick by each other and love each other no matter what. Someone once told me that family is precious and it is love, in spite of everything, that makes it precious. My dad's always been there for me, he's someone who looks after you, keeps you happy, comforts you when you are down and someone to tuck you into bed each night. I was always closer to my dad but mom was the same; she gave me advice, took me to movies and played with me when I was little. My sister Laurel, though, we had our ups and downs and were constantly bickering but, it was the little moments; secrets we shared, late nights curled up on the couch sharing pizza and gossiping. Those are the days I miss, but everything at some point comes to an end. Family is great when you are younger but, the older you get, the more you realise that family isn't just blood related, your family is those around you that put in the effort to make you happy, that are always there for you no matter what."
Oliver smiled sadly at Sara's speech, everything she had said was true, but it hurt him so much that Felicity didn't have any of that, no-one to look after her. She had been brought up alone.
Roy had been gradually getting closer during Sara's speech, watching the glint of happiness brighten Felicity's face at Sara's memories of her family then suddenly dull as reality set in and she realised all she had missed.
"Surely you must have had someone there?" Roy questioned, curious to know more about the girl's past.
"There was this one guard. He said his name was Tony, and he always felt sorry for me. I must have been about five when he joined, he was the one that gave me my name," she smiled sadly. A startled gasp rose from Roy at her words.
"Wait, what do you mean 'gave you your name'? What were you called before?"
Felicity shook her head at Roy's innocence. "Roy, I was a project to them, an experiment, not a child. Do you really think they bothered to give me a name? But Tony, he called me Felicity, said the name meant light and happiness, that no matter what happened I always had a smile on my face, that I brought a light to my father's dark ways."
Sara could see the ache in Felicity's eyes at the mention of the man so knew something horrific had happened. "What happened?"
Felicity sighed, uncomfortable with opening up the wound to her past, but the team had done so much for her so she needed to at least try and open up. "I was too nosy. I wanted to find out who my mother was so Tony asked around, found out her name was Meghan Smoak, although, after I got out, I researched and discovered that name was an alias anyway. So I decided to name myself Felicity Meghan Smoak and I was so pleased with myself. But then my father caught wind of what had happened and the next thing I know, Tony is gone and the guards are too scared to even make eye contact with me anymore. I refused to accept it at the time but I think you can guess what happened."
The weight of Felicity's story shook Oliver to his core. His fingers turned numb, causing his fork to clatter against the china plate attracting the worried looks of both Thea and his mother. Mumbling out a quick apology he reached for his glass but his shaking hand just drew more attention to himself. Grabbing a napkin he proceeded to fiddle with it, avoiding the glares of both women.
Sara and Roy had rushed to her side and, all at once, Felicity found herself enveloped in hugs and comfort. She smiled through her tear ridden lashes and spoke.
"You're right. You guys- you're my family. You are the ones comforting me and caring for me. You two are always squabbling with each other and it makes me smile, you have inside jokes, know what makes the other tick but whenever you need it you guys are there for each other. Roy, you and Dig are like my siblings."
"But I'm the fun one, right?' Roy butted in, making her laugh.
"Yeah you are, despite your bad humour, your overly sarcastic comments always make me smile. And Dig, he always gives the best advice. It's normally only a couple of words but he always says the right thing. Sara you helped me learn control, not only teaching me how but you sat with me for hours making sure I had got the relaxation right, you never judge me just treat me like everyone else." For once, Felicity's smile was genuine as she watched the others fight away their watery eyes.
"So what about Oliver?"
It was the question Oliver had been waiting for, this was the moment he would finally find out what Felicity felt for him. He straightened up, anticipating her answer and fearing the worst; what if Felicity only saw him as a friend? Was she still mad at him for breaking up with her before? Was she fed up of him pushing her away? Did the kiss earlier complicate things or destroy any obstacles in their way? Deep within his thoughts, he was oblivious to the confused looks shared between Moira and Thea, just entirely focused on her next few words.
"Oliver. I... I don't know. He's been a friend to me all this time, helped me out and always cared for me but I don't know if I see Oliver as my family or not." Felicity started, guilt fraying away at her for speaking about Oliver in front of the team.
Oliver felt his heart drop. Felicity only saw them as friends, this was nothing special to her, nothing like it was for him. He felt his breath go ragged, his smile drop from his face. Her revelation hit him hard, knocking the air out of him.
Felicity continued, the silence given by the others forced her to explain further. "It's just I have never trusted anyone at all really, but the second I saw Oliver I knew I could trust him. He makes me feel emotions I didn't know even existed and to be honest it terrifies me. I have never needed anyone in my life before but now I find myself dependant on him, my whole life revolves around Oliver, from what time I get up in the mornings even to when I eat or how I spend my day. I just… I don't know."
Sara spoke up, she knew Felicity was keeping something from them, but she had no idea what.
"Felicity, what is it that's stopping you being with Oliver?"
Wiping away stray tear falling from her eyes, Felicity said the words that she refused to even think to herself.
"What Oliver and I have is special but I just..." Taking a deep breath Felicity continued, "I have never felt this way about anyone before. I realised something when we had broken up; I love him. I love him so much, but I'm scared, petrified actually that he doesn't feel the same way, that I'm trusting him with all my soul when he doesn't love me back"
A single tear found its way down Oliver's cheek as Felicity's words reached him. Words could not even express how he felt about her, he thought he had been in love before but he had been so wrong. With Felicity everything was different he could just stare at her smile contently for hours on end, her voice so precious he felt lost without it. As the tear made its way onto his lips, the salty taste filled his mouth as it open slightly. Temporarily forgetting the now blur of his dining room he was lost in the moment, with her words playing on a loop in his head as he whispered.
"I love you too."
A/N: I hope you all liked this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Please review and let me know what you think or any suggestions about scenes you want to see. I know I have said it loads but thank you all so much for all your support!