Taking precautions

He finds her beating on the punching bag in their lair. Her hair is up in a ponytail and it bounces and flips with every punch she delivers. He can tell that she's actually following Digs instructions this time. Her position is pretty much perfect: right leg back, heel turning with every punch; left foot slightly turned and knees bent to give her stability; left hand always up to protect her face and used only for fast jabs. She is not holding anything back either.

"Hey" he calls out when a moment or after he comes down and she hasn't noticed him yet. "What are you doing?"

"Training"

"I can see that"

"Well…"

"It's just that I have never seen you so into it"

"I'm always into things that leave me sweaty and breathless" She pauses abruptly and turns to him, "that came out wrong"

He chuckles. He resists the temptation to tease her with something like: are you sure that came out wrong? Because all you have to do is ask. He is distracted by how much skin she is showing in her training outfit. Concentrate, Olive Queen. There is something going on here.

"What I meant is that you are usually coming out with a thousand of different excuses not to train, and suddenly here you are. By yourself, training."

"Not a thousand excuses" she pushes a strand of hair back behind her ear. "I'm only up to excuse number 36, really"

"Felicity," his eyes find hers, "does this newfound passion for trying to kill the punching bag has anything to do with what went down with the Count?"

Her eyes leave his and focus on a point left of his head. "No, maybe"

"Felicity"

"I don't ever want to put in a position like that again" Her eyes go back to his and his breath leaves his lungs.

"Felicity"

"I know what you said. That there wasn't even a choice and all that." She is earnest and beautiful and it is all he can do not to touch her. "But I got myself into that situation and I should have been able to get myself out it without you having to kill to save me. I don't want you to have to break your promise to Tommy for me. I don't ever want to cause you that pain. And I don't want to be a burden."

This girl, this woman really, he would never deserve her. But he knows that he would do anything to protect her. He meant what he said to her, there was never a choice to make. The Count was going to hurt her. It didn't even cross his mind to let him live because he would have tried to hurt her again and he couldn't allow that. He won't ever hesitate to kill or to die for her.

His hand goes to her shoulder. Her skin even softer than it looks.

"You could never be a burden to me." He rarely smiles honestly unless it is with her. "But if it would keep you safer, I'll help you train." He skishes he shoulder lightely. "But I want you that that between keeping promises and you, I will always choose you. No hesitation and no regrets."

He pulls a surprised Felicity away from the punching bag and into the training mats.

"Come on. Lets get you all sweatty and breathless again"

That shakes out of her stupecfaction. "Did you just made a joke? You? Serious and grumpy Oliver Queen?"

"Hey, I'll have you know I can be fun and funny." With that he gets himself in a defensive stand. "Okay, now hit me as hard and fast as you can"

"I have the small suspicion that yours and mine idea of fun differ in some significant ways." She gets herself into a fighting position and then throws a punch. It is faster than he expected and he is pleasently surprised.

"Your form is almost perfect, but you tend to lower your left hand a tad too much when you throw a cross." He nods to himself. "Okay, let's do some basic routines to improve that. Jab, jab, cross, duck and duck, okay?"

"You are the sensei, Miyagi?"

His lips pull into a smirk and he holds his left hand up for the jabs. Then he raises his right hand for her punch with a cross. Then he gives a slow jab and then a cross for her to duck from. They spend the rest of the evening like that. Neither pays much attention to the reporter appearing in one of the screens in the background talking about the particle accelerator innaguration date fastly approaching.