Dear Readers,

I like Adam. I like who he is and more importantly, I like how he makes Felicity feel. Even though this story is about an Olicity happily ever after, I don't want the choice to be an easy one for Felicity and nor do I want earning her love to be easy for Oliver.

I hope you all agree.

LadyG

"I had no idea you were such an excellent cook," Felicity praised Adam, closing her eyes to savour the delicate flavours of the melt-in-your-mouth steak he's prepared. Resting on a bed of creamy mashed potato and grilled asparagus, it was pure perfection.

They were sitting across from one another at a candlelit table in his large, airy, open plan kitchen cum dining area cum living space. The strategic lighting created by pretty downlight pendants that hung above his kitchen workspace as well as the fire that danced merrily beneath the stone feature wall opposite them, added just the right hint of romance to the otherwise domesticated scene. Adam, having removed his jacket and tie just before she'd arrived, looked comfortable and relaxed while he leisurely sipped his wine.

"Thank you. I'm glad you think so," he replied, modestly, placing his glass back on the table.

She took another bite. "Seriously, where did you learn to do this?"

He shrugged, smiling, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "It became a necessity when I eventually left home. I needed to eat so I learned to make myself useful in the kitchen."

Felicity cocked her head to the side, observing him. There was something he wasn't telling her. Not wanting to pry, she decided to drop it. When he'd asked her over for dinner she'd readily accepted because she was excited to spend more time with him but also, she was terribly curious about the way he lived. He seemed so together; sophisticated and well groomed. For starters, he didn't live in an apartment; he owned a home in one of the newer residential suburbs populated mostly by young couples and up and coming singles.

Secondly, he had immaculate taste. The walls were a luxurious creamy white that perfectly complimented the gleaming wooden floors. High vaulted ceilings assisted with channeling the abundance of natural light that spilled into the space through the large windows that completely dominated one side of the room. Although it was dark at the moment, Felicity had no doubts about how lovely it would be when the sun was out. All in all, she thought it was beautiful and a rather good reflection of Adam himself; solid, warm and inviting.

"Thank you, this has been really wonderful."

"Hey, the night's still young." Moving his plate aside, he reached for her hand, his fingers idly playing with hers. "You haven't even tried dessert."

The suggestive tone in his voice made her stomach do back flips. "I'm stuffed. Perhaps we could take a break between courses?" she suggested.

He laughed, standing and moving around the table to draw her up beside him. Of their own accord, her arms lifted to circle around his neck as his hands came to rest on her hips. Kissing her softly with enough enthusiasm to get her heart skipping beats, he slowed down and raised his head. "Let me clean up while you relax in front of the fire."

Felicity shook her head. "No. You cooked, so I clean."

He placed a finger under her chin and lifted until their eyes met. "I won't allow it. You're my guest. Put your feet up and make yourself at home. I won't be long, promise."

His blue eyes smiled down at her and she felt all her crumble. "Alright. But only this one time," she warned.

"Deal." Satisfied, he dropped another kiss onto her eager lips before gently steering her in the direction of the comfortable looking sofa in front of the fire.

Taking her glass with her, Felicity sank into the soft seat and sighed with pleasure. It was nice to have someone take care of her for a while. In the background, she heard Adam moving back and forth between the kitchen and the table, carrying cutlery and crockery to and fro. Setting her glass aside, she noticed an open file on the seat beside her. Intending to close it and move it out of the way, her eyes caught and lingered on the words Starling City Orphanage. Intrigued, she called out, "Adam, you left some paperwork here. What should I do with it?"

He approached from behind. "Sorry, I was doing some work just before you arrived." He smiled apologetically and neatly placed some of the loose sheets of paper inside the file.

"Starling City Orphanage?" she asked curiously. "Not usually the DA's line of work?"

He moved around the sofa and sat down beside her, placing the file on the table before him. "No, it's not. If fact that work has nothing to do with my office."

She frowned. "Then what does it have to do with you?" A shadow passed over his face. "Adam, are you okay?" She raised a hand and touched his cheek softly.

He reached for her hand and cradled it in the warmth of his palms. "Yeah, I'm fine. I, err, I do some pro bono work for the Orphanage."

Interested, Felicity turned to face him. "Okay. What kind of work?"

He stared into the fire, his hands still holding hers. "I personally handle the legal side of all the adoptions and I assists Social Services with screening the applicants."

"Why?" She was stunned. It didn't seem like the kind of thing that someone at Adam's level would have the time to get involved with. She was aware of his case load and the amount of pressure he was always under.

He sat back and turned towards her until their knees touched. "My parents died when I was six. My Dad's only sister couldn't afford to take me in, so I entered the system."

Felicity's hand tightened around his, her heart in her throat.

"When I was eight, I was fostered by an older couple who couldn't have children. They put on quite a show for the social worker and the attorney handling the adoption. All they really wanted was cheap labour and a monthly check. Occasionally they got someone they could slap around too." He laughed bitterly.

"Adam," she said, her voice unsteady. She couldn't imagine what that must have been like.

He looked at her and shook his head. "Don't cry, Felicity. I made it out okay. When I graduated from High School I hit the road and never looked back. I worked three jobs to put myself through law school and I promised myself that when I made it, I would do whatever I could to prevent the same thing from happening to other kids." He reached for the file on the table and flipped it open. "Whenever a couple wants to adopt, Social Services contacts me. As DA I have the resources to do more than just the basic checks, so I make the time to help."

Looking into the file she saw a photo of a little girl, probably around five or six, with blonde pigtails and piercing blue eyes that smiled into the camera. "Was she adopted?"

"Yes. The papers were filed nine months ago."

"She looks happy."

Adam smiled. "She is." He pulled out a small square note with crooked writing on it and handed it over to her.

Deer Mr Adam

Thank you for my new home. I love my mommy and daddy and they love me to.

From Rebekah Moore

PS The gum drops is for you but my mommy says its bad to eat all at once becors your teeth will rot. Pleese be carful.

Felicity wiped a tear from her cheek. The letter was adorable. There was so much more to Adam Donner than what met the eye. Who would have thought that a man judged from the outside to be cold and calculated made it a priority to place abandoned children in a loving and secure home? "What you do, it's incredible."

"I'm not a hero, Felicity. I don't always get it right. I'm not the one the Starling City community cheers for whenever a criminal is apprehended, despite the fact that I've made it my life's work." His voice contained no envy or malice, just fact.

She reached over and cupped his cheeks in her hands. His stubble was starting show and it scratched against her palms but she hardly noticed. "Not all heroes walk around in capes and masks. Some of them hide in plain sight. You are a hero, Adam. To that little girl and to the countless others just like her."

He gathered her into his arms and kissed her long and hard. Breathless, he lifted his head. "When you say it like that, I can almost believe it."

She smiled and lowered her lips to his until they were mere inches apart. "Perhaps I need to try a little harder to convince you."

Laughing softly, his hands tangled in the soft mass of her hair. "By all means," he whispered seconds before her lips touched his.

Later, after Adam had dropped her at home, Felicity lay in bed wide awake. The evening's revelations had been surprising but she was glad he'd shared it with her. It made her feel closer to him and affirmed that her instincts about him had been true. He was a good man, doing good work, but seeking none of the glory.

Then there was Oliver. After their encounter the day before, she'd come to some realizations about herself. The first was that she wasn't completely immune to him, but that was okay. She wouldn't beat herself up about it. She was confident that she'd wake up one morning soon and be completely over it. The reality was that if feelings went unnurtured long enough, there was nowhere for that affection to go but to disappear. At least that was what she told herself.

The second was that despite the fact that it was still early days in her relationship with Adam, the more time she spent with him, the more she cared about him and she was sure that given enough time, she may have to face a very difficult decision.

At the foundry, Oliver was hitting his workout routine hard. It was late and everyone had already left for the day. Upstairs the music was pumping as partygoers had a good time at Verdant. He however, was not having a good time. He was annoyed and irritated and on edge. Felicity had been all politeness, as though the encounter at Big Belly had never happened. He knew he was being irrational, nothing had happened, but he somehow hadn't expected her to be so…normal. Things had been like old times. She'd laughed and joked with him, even made him coffee when she'd gone to get one for herself. Then she'd left early because she was meeting Adam for dinner. At his place.

Perhaps that thought, more than any other, was really what had him wanting to throw a few punches. He shouldn't care what she was doing, or with whom, but he did and the idea that Donner was on the receiving end of her affection was a little more than his mood could handle at present.

Giving his punching bag one last stress relieving punch, he moved toward the back table to collect his bottle of water.

"You seem pissed off," came Roy's voice as he descended the stairs.

"Shouldn't you be carrying around cases of beer, or something?" Oliver deflected.

He snorted. "Trust me, there is more than enough to go around. Besides, Thea in bossy mode is a thing I try to avoid." He came to stand beside Oliver, leaning back against the table Oliver was facing. "So what's caused the bee in your bonnet?"

Oliver shrugged. "Can't a guy just work out around here without attracting attention?"

Roy raised an eyebrow. "Usually, yes. But since you were trying to knock that bag off its hinges, I'd say this is no ordinary training exercise."

He frowned. "Since when did you become all touchy feely?"

Grinning, Roy crossed his arms over his chest. "Since I met your sister."

Acknowledging his statement with the shake of his head, Oliver turned around and leaned back beside Roy. "How are things going with Thea?"

Roy paused, suspicious. "Good. Is this going to be another one of your speeches where you tell me that it's in your sister's best interests if I leave her alone?" His voice rose slightly. "Because I'll tell you what I told you the last time-"

Oliver held up a hand. "Whoa. Roy, no. It was merely a question." Oliver clenched his jaw. "What is it with the people around here snapping at me lately?"

"You mean you don't behave like an ass that probably deserves it ninety percent of the time?"

Glaring at the younger man, Oliver conceded. "Okay, I guess I deserved that."

Roy's eyes widened. "You're admitting that you're an ass?"

"Hey, I wouldn't go quite that far, but I admit," he took a swig from his bottle, "that I haven't exactly been a ray of sunshine."

Bemused, Roy shook his head. "Is this the part where you shoot me with an arrow in order to prevent me from telling anyone else what you just said?"

Exasperated, Oliver rolled his eyes.

"I'm kidding, okay? You know, while we're on the subject of your many flaws, you should probably learn to lighten up a bit too. You're way too intense."

"Why thank you, Roy. I'll take that under advisement," he replied sardonically.

Ignoring the glaring sarcasm, Roy grinned. "So, you gonna tell me what all this is about, or what?" He gestured between the punching bag and Oliver's bound knuckles.

"Do you ever mind your own business?"

"No."

Oliver grasped the end of a piece of fabric and started unwinding it from around his hand. "I just needed to blow off some steam." He couldn't believe he was actually answering the question.

"This have anything to do with Felicity?" Oliver glanced at him sharply and Roy shrugged. "You may think we're all blind idiots, but we're really not."

He went back to unwrapping his hands. "You don't know what you're talking about."

Roy stared at him. "I see that you want to be a better man, but you don't quite know how. I see the way you look at Felicity but you keep your distance because you don't believe you're good enough for her. And I see how you're trying to be the bigger person by letting her run her own life without interfering. How's that working for you?"

Oliver remained still. What the hell? Since when had he become an open book? "Am I supposed to answer that?" He kept his tone neutral.

For a moment Roy didn't say anything, he just watched Oliver. Then, as though he'd made an important decision, he asked, "Do you wanna know why I haven't dumped Thea like you've asked?"

"I didn't ask you to dump her," Oliver exclaimed, offended.

Roy rolled his eyes. "You did. But that's not the point."

Sighing heavily, Oliver asked curiously, "Why?"

"Because even though I know that she could do a whole lot better than me, she doesn't believe that. Even after all I've done to push her away, she just keeps coming back. Then I realized why. It's because she believes in me. She knows I can be better, do better. But she also knows that I'm not perfect, but that I try, everyday, not to let her down." Roy looked down at his sneakers, suddenly a little reticent. "I don't try to be a better man for her, Oliver, I try for me. Because the day I stop caring about how I treat her, is the same day I no longer deserve her. So you see, every day when I open my eyes, the fight to be worthy of her is what keeps me going."

Deeply affected, but unable to meet the younger man's eyes, Oliver asked, "How does this pertain to me?"

"Maybe you need to decide what it is about you that you need to change in order to be worthy of someone like Felicity."

With those heavy words hanging between them, Roy patted his shoulder and walked back up the stairs leaving a thoughtful Oliver staring after him.