Writer's block has been rife within me this week and it's honestly ridiculous how many times I sat down at my laptop only to write a few sentences before wanting to scream in frustration. But all of a sudden this afternoon, inspiration came back and I wrote 3000 words in one sitting, so yay! This is the last chapter that follows the script of the show; I really wanted to take it somewhere else and not have to be confined by whatever's happening in the show and I hope I can pull off something decent. In all honesty, I'm usually too lost in the preciousness of Felicity Smoak when I'm watching the show to pay close attention to details so I just know that continuity will always be too much of an issue for me to keep my writing alongside the direction of the show :P Anyway! I hope you enjoy this chapter (it's my favourite so far) and I hope you're enjoying the story as a whole! I wanted to get this chapter up before the season 4 premiere (HOW IS IT ONLY 3 DAYS AWAY ALREADY?)! because I'm just not sure I'll be able to form coherent sentences for awhile after it airs if the trailers are anything to go by! Feel free to leave me a review! xo, Lauren

"Felicity?"

"She's not here right now, she's in New York City with Carrie and Samantha,"

Oliver chuckled in spite of himself, hoping her witty and sarcastic remark meant she wasn't as angry anymore.

"Well if Felicity isn't there, can I leave a message with whoever it is in our bathroom right now to tell her that I'm really sorry for being such an idiot?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure, Felicity was really mad when she was here and I'm not sure she wants to talk to anyone or accept any apologies right now,"

Oliver sighed and leaned his head on the bathroom door.

"Well just tell her then that when she's ready, I would really love to talk about everything and apologise properly,"

There was a brief silence before Oliver heard the sound of bare feet on the tiled floor.

"Oliver?" Felicity seemed to be right behind the door now.

"I'm sorry,"

"So am I. I was such a bitch to you earlier and I don't even know why because I know it's not your fault and you only acted the way you did because you love me and I guess I just freaked out a little because no one has ever really loved me as much as you do, especially not someone as strong and beautiful and freaking gorgeous as you anyway and sometimes I-"

"Can I just come in and kiss you please?" Oliver said loudly, interrupting Felicity mid-babble.

"Didn't you say something about apologising properly?"

He couldn't tell if she was teasing, but he decided to give her a sincere answer anyway.

"I did. And I'm so sorry. I know I overreacted and I never meant to upset you so much and I... I love you," His voice got quieter as his sentence progressed and he realised he could never put into words how sorry he was for the way he acted, not just over the pizza but for every time he'd ever emotionally suffocated the people he cared about out of fear of losing them.

Opening the door a little, Felicity smiled at Oliver.

"I love you too, you overprotective idiot,"

Oliver smiled back, a small smile, and began to apologise again before he was stopped by Felicity pressing her forefinger to his lips. He covered the space between them in less than a heartbeat and she was finally wrapped in his arms again, exactly where he'd wanted her to be since they'd fought a couple of hours ago. She was wearing only the soft, white bathroom towel, tucked tightly around her body and Oliver traced his fingers along the bare skin of her upper back which was left uncovered. Her hair was still damp and smelled of strawberries, a scent Oliver had associated with Felicity for as long as he could remember due to the sweet shampoo she used regularly that reminded him of eating Jell-O with ice cream at birthday parties as a child. He didn't know what it was about that moment but all of a sudden, his entire future was crystal clear and the suddenness of his epiphany momentarily knocked the breath out of him. Felicity must have felt it too as not a second later she took hold of his face and looked into his eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concerned.

"I'm fine, a lot of things made sense all at once just then and it just took me by surprise, that's all," Oliver replied, tracing Felicity's bottom lip with his thumb.

Felicity smiled and trailed her own thumb across Oliver's wrist.

"How about we take a bath and talk about it?" she asked.

"Didn't you just take a bath already?"

"Are you objecting to taking a bath with me, Mr Queen?" she teased, rubbing his stomach gently with her other hand.

"I am definitely not, I just don't want you to turn into a prune from being in the water too long. It's merely your safety I'm questioning, Miss Smoak. I would simply hate for the most valuable, nerdy tech girl to take on the form of a dried fruit," Oliver teased back, loving the way her warm, soft skin felt against his.

"You don't think I'd look good as a prune? I think I'd make quite an alluring one if I do say so myself,"

Felicity pulled a face at Oliver, one he guessed she meant to be an offended one, one so absolutely adorable he just couldn't help but pull her back into his chest again. Feeling her relax completely into him never failed to give Oliver goosebumps.

"Lets just shut up and get back in there before the water goes cold," Oliver laughed after a few moments of holding her as close to him as space and time would allow.

"Shotgun not having the tap end," Felicity giggled, pulling out of Oliver's embrace with a chaste kiss to his chest.

"Shotgun right side of the bed," Oliver responded, winking at her.

"Fine with me,"

"If I'd known you were this easy to compromise with, we would never have to have played hide and seek!"

"Hide and seek is a vital part of every relationship in my opinion," Felicity laughed, climbing into the bath and unwrapping her towel to drop it on the floor before submersing herself in the warm, vanilla scented water.

Chuckling, Oliver followed suit, removing his clothes and sinking his body under the bath water. As the water stilled around them, Oliver noticed Felicity smiling intently at him.

"What are you thinking about?" he questioned.

"That I was so right about you being adorable," she replied, matter of factly, her smile widening.

Oliver felt himself blush slightly at her teasing compliment and took the opportunity to hide his face by turning himself around and settling his body against hers, his head leaning on her chest and his hands trailing along her thighs under the water. Felicity sighed audibly and kissed the top of Oliver's head.

"So, those things that just made sense to you?" she asked, quietly after a few minutes of comfortable silence, the only sound the occasional movement of the water as their hands found new ways of exploring each other's skin.

"There's a lot of them," Oliver replied, his eyes closed, enjoying simply being close to Felicity this way.

"Go ahead, it'll make a change for you to be the one speaking for minutes at a time without pausing," she laughed, kissing the top of his head again.

"Difference is, I think I'll remember to breathe more often than you when I'm talking,"

"That's not exactly difficult," Felicity giggled, moving her hands to his shoulders, beginning to massage them softly whilst Oliver gathered his thoughts.

Oliver relaxed deeper into her chest and tried to think of a place to start. He was unlike Felicity in that he never spoke without careful consideration, except of course in the heat of a moment when his anger and insecurity sometimes took over the filter in his mind. He envied the way she was able to say whatever was on her mind, whether she intended to or not, and he more than admired her openness and her ability to trust almost anyone easily. While those exact personality traits made her extremely vulnerable, Oliver couldn't help but think it was a fair price to pay for emotional expression, as opposed to his tendency to bottle everything up and take it out on himself before inevitably breaking down and letting everything out, usually in a self destructive way. For once, Oliver tried to adopt Felicity's way of thinking, and to the best of his ability, began to speak without much pre-meditating at all.

"I don't want to do it anymore, Felicity. Be The Arrow, I mean. I just want to keep my somewhat normal job at Queen Consolidated and spend my evenings taking my girlfriend on dates or watching mindless TV shows or loading and emptying the dishwasher instead of firing arrows at bad guys. It was fulfilling whilst it lasted but it's served its purpose now and I'm tired of feeling like I'm always running from something or someone. You know, ever since I left the island, I told myself I'd be different than I was before. And by before, I mean the obnoxious little rich boy who got drunk and got laid and not much else. Being away for 5 years made me see a lot of things differently. I thought saving the world was the answer but it's not, Felicity, it's really not and I still feel like the same Oliver most of the time, with a big ego and the audacity to believe I'm more special than any other human on earth. I don't regret the last few years one bit because they brought me to you; you're the only good thing to come out of all of it. But I've lost so much, pretty much everyone I ever truly cared about. You and Thea are the only two people left who could be taken from me and I mean, Thea already was once and I still don't know if I've processed what happened to her and who she is now, and I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to her again. And I can't even think about anything happening to you without wanting to make myself disappear forever. None of it is worth anymore, not one bit of it, and I just want to start over from here on out. Whatever it takes to start fresh, I want it all. But most of all I want us, always. You're the only thing that makes sense, the only thing that has made sense for a very long time, and every time you've ever thanked me for saving your life, you were saving mine. When I'm with you, I lose the old me almost completely and that's always been so, ever since the day we met. Everything you said to me earlier, regardless of whether you insist you didn't mean it, was true and I needed to hear it from you, because from anyone else it wouldn't have meant the same thing. I'm tired of being scared, Felicity, and I don't even know if I'm making sense anymore but this is right. This right here, is right, it makes sense. Whenever I'm with you, I'm home, and I'd never felt at home anywhere until I fell in love with you,"

Felicity didn't realise she was crying until Oliver stopped speaking, the sudden silence making her aware of the tears that had been silently falling down her cheeks for awhile. Her hands were still on Oliver's shoulders, only now she was gripping them tightly, afraid that if she let go this beautiful man would somehow disappear.

"Oliver, I-" she tried to speak but words failed her.

"Sssshshhh, it's okay, you don't have to say anything," Oliver said quickly, sitting up and turning to face her.

Noticing her tears, he traced his thumb along her cheek, catching the falling salt water with his skin. The slight contact was all it took for Felicity to lose it, and she was barely aware of what was happening before she grasped Oliver's face and pulled it to her own, slamming their mouths together quicker and harder than ever before. Her fingernails dug deeply into the skin of Oliver's back from the strength of which she held him against her as they kissed, his hands gripping her around her waist with practically the same force. Felicity's heartbeat began to quicken and she couldn't think of anything else besides her need to be closer to him, despite the fact that their bodies were already pressed tightly together.

Breathless, she pulled her mouth from his and let the sudden rush of oxygen dizzy her.

"I don't want to do this here," she whispered, her sentence fractured by her body's attempt to refill her lungs with air.

"You don't?" Oliver was equally as breathless.

"The water is in the way, I can't feel you properly," she responded, taking Oliver's hand and standing up, pulling him with her.

They climbed out of the bath together and headed for the bedroom, dripping water everywhere as they went, too preoccupied with anticipation to notice, gripping tightly to each other's hand.

They'd barely made it through the bedroom door before Felicity turned abruptly and collided with Oliver, eager to have her mouth on his again. This kiss was unlike any Felicity had ever experienced before. She'd never felt need and desire like this and even though her tears had subsided, she felt sure they would appear again soon if she was unable to release some of the tension building in the pit of her stomach.

"Oliver, I need you," she gasped, breaking their kiss for as little time as possible.

"I'm here, always," Oliver whispered back, picking her up and wrapping her legs around him.

Felicity worked her mouth against his neck as he walked them over to the bed, the moans escaping her throat completely uncontrollable. She wasn't sure if the wetness between her legs was remaining bath water or her own desire but the sensation of it against Oliver's stomach increased the tightness in her lower belly and she couldn't help but squirm in his arms, trying to press her hips forward against his skin even more. Climbing onto the bed, Oliver laid her down underneath him and began to ravish her chest with his mouth, working his way down her body leaving Felicity writhing with need that just seemed to keep on increasing when she thought it had reached its peak. Finally his mouth reached the bottom of her torso, her hips keening to meet his mouth as he kissed and sucked between her thighs. She curled her fingers into his hair, pressing his face down into her as his tongue licked through her desire and she knew she was seconds away from orgasm.

"Wait, I can't- I want you- Please- oh fuck!" she tried to form a sentence but words once again failed her and she felt the tension in the pit of her stomach begin to uncurl.

Screaming Oliver's name as she came, Felicity's climax ripped through her body unlike anything she'd ever felt before and she was sure that if her eyes were open, she would've seen stars. Her entire body felt as though it was on fire as Oliver rested his tongue against her clit as her orgasm began to fade, a seemingly impossible amount of time later. Uncurling her fingers from his hair, she felt him smile into her and her stomach fluttered, desire already beginning to pool deep inside her again.

"You are so beautiful when you come," Oliver growled, gazing into her eyes, leaning forwards to meet her mouth again.

She blushed slightly, her already pink cheeks flushing even more. Oliver pressed his lips to hers and slid his tongue inside her mouth, letting her taste herself. Her back arched as Oliver's knee pushed between her legs, opening them up for him. She was already breathless again, her body begging to have him inside her. He didn't make her wait too long before he slipped into her, making sure to stroke her still sensitive clit with his length as he did so, making her cry out with a mixture of pleasure and pain. Sensing her discomfort he leaned forward and kissed the end of her nose, giving her some time to relax again by tracing patterns along her chest with his mouth for awhile.

"I'm okay," she smiled after awhile, reaching her arms tightly around his waist to pull him closer.

After receiving the consent he'd been waiting for, he let himself fill her completely, her moans arousing him more than he thought was possible. Knowing it wouldn't take much for him to reach his release, he instead focused on Felicity, desperate to get her to orgasm again, with him this time. He adored how responsive she was; his every touch seemed to ignite something inside her and she moaned his name loudly, endless times. Everything about the relationship they shared felt different after he'd opened up to her in the bath, as though the few remaining guards between them had finally been knocked down and they each knew exactly how the other felt. Oliver sensed that he'd never be afraid to open up again, not to her anyway, because the strength increase in their connection was undeniable and the most magical sensation he had ever experienced.

"Oliver, please," Felicity moaned, her hips bucking against him, her breathing elevated.

"Tell me what you want," Oliver whispered, her plea taking him right to the edge of orgasm.

"I want you to come with me," she begged.

Feeling her walls tighten around him, he couldn't hold back anymore. Oliver came loudly, crying out her name, his muscles failing him as pleasure consumed his every thought causing him to fall onto her chest as she followed suit, his orgasm the trigger for her own. Her arms cradled around his neck as she exploded around him and it was all too evident in her racing heartbeat that she simply couldn't imagine life without Oliver anymore. He filled her in every sense of the word and the only thing she wanted for the rest of her life was him.

"You know, you were wrong about one thing you said earlier," she breathed, once she was able to form coherent sentences again a little time later.

"Hmmm?" Oliver replied, his voice muffled against the warm skin of her chest.

"You are more special than any other human on earth. Maybe not in the most general sense, but to me, absolutely,"

Oliver smiled and pressed a soft kiss to her chest.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," Felicity whispered back, feeling for perhaps the first time that they were equally as infatuated with each other as she'd always hoped they were.

"Was I right about everything else then?" Oliver asked, and his tone made Felicity unsure whether he wanted a serious answer or not.

"Especially about this being the only thing that makes sense," she replied, "And maybe about the big ego part too," she added, teasing, giving him both a serious answer and a not so serious one.

Oliver laughed and sat up to look down at her. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he smiled.