A/N: So, here we are again. The second to last Chapter! Hope you guys like it, I sure did my best on it. Or: I sure took my sweet time. Maybe it is not at all what you want but bare with me and please give it a chance ;). Thank you for going out on an adventure with me, so far! Only one more chapter to go after this~!
p.s. I call this story 'The Bees Knees' when I save it on my pc- because B & Q ok idk why it seemed fun- and every time I scroll past it I giggle. Anyway, on with the fun.
Chapter 7
x
Sunday night. A normal night for the citizens of Starling City.
Completely normal- but maddening for Felicity Smoak.
Cursing, said blonde ran around her living room, grabbing her coat and looking for her purse. When her phone started ringing on the table as well, the girl stilled. She looked from phone to purse and back without doing anything.
Then she started, grabbed her purse. Then, she picked up her phone while on her way to the bedroom to find her bag. As she answered the phone, she located the bag on her bedside table and stashed the purse into it.
"Hi, Digg," she said, clenching the phone between her shoulder and her ear.
"How did you know?"
Felicity smiled as she zipped up the bag.
"Call it a hunch," she answered. Diggle chuckled on the other side. Standing up straight, she moved the phone to her other hand and narrowed her eyes as she continued. "You didn't answer your phone."
"So you noticed, after eight calls?"
She huffed and grabbed her bag, walking to the living room again to grab her lipstick.
"Don't start with me," she warned.
Diggle hummed.
"Sorry, I was working," he answered cheerfully. This, she knew to be true. "How happy was Norah with your panic-dial?"
Felicity snorted as she fished her keys out of her purse and moved through the front door. To be honest, Norah had been delighted to hear about the date and to help pick a dress. But she had become significantly less interested after an hour.
"She was okay. I think she never wants me to date again. Something about how I blabber about computers too much when I'm nervous. She says hi, by the way."
Behind her, Felicity locked the door and made her way to the elevator. When she looked at her watch, though, she took the staircase instead. She was early. As she picked her way down the stairs, she thought she might seem eager for it. Oh well, no use denying it: she was eager. She'd been eating candy from the shop for two days in order to cope with the stress.
Diggle chuckled at her words.
"I somehow feel happy I wasn't part of that conversation," he answered.
"Well, we only threatened to kill each other twice."
This time Diggle outright laughed.
"Right," he answered. "So where are you going tonight?"
She hummed in response, at first. Getting down the stairs alone was a feat; doing so while on the phone and thinking felt like a safety hazard.
"Italian, but I don't know where. I hope it's not that place we got pizza from last week. Though I think I told him about that."
"Either way, you just make sure not to drink too much red wine and you'll be fine."
"You can never drink too much red," she replied as she stared down the next flight of stairs.
It had seemed like such a good idea, at first. Sighing, she took the first step.
"I'd say we have a few consecutive Christmas parties to prove that you can."
She pursed her lips. He snorted when she was silent.
"I hate when you act so rational," she answered.
Once more, her friend snorted.
"As if Norah hasn't told you the exact same thing," he retorted.
Felicity turned the corner and went down the last flight of steps.
"She might have mentioned it," she acknowledged distractedly. She glanced at the watch on her wrist and sat down on a step near the bottom. A few more minutes to go. As she looked at the door, she started fidgeting with her hands. "Digg, what do I do if it is a bust?"
Diggle sighed, as if he knew this was coming.
"You've known him for weeks, now. You've talked, flirted, shared and worked together. It's not going to be a bust. Even if there is no chemistry, you'll at least have a nice night with a friend."
Felicity took a deep breath and breathed out evenly. She nodded as she repeated the action, non-verbally agreeing to Digg's words.
"So, just prepare for a nice night out."
Felicity breathed in deeply again. When she did not feel the constricting feeling in her chest anymore, she stopped the deep breaths. For a moment, both of them were quiet. Felicity observed the wooden door that was her front door. It had been painted an ugly brown.
A sigh escaped her lips.
"Thank you, Diggle," she whispered.
Diggle was silent and Felicity thought he might be nodding.
" 's Okay. That's what friends are for, right?"
Felicity snorted. Looking at her watch, she stood up. It was time. She walked down the last few steps and crossed the hallway. The doorknob was in reaching distance when she answered Diggle.
"You say the exact same thing when you feed me drunk," she retorted.
Diggle's smile was audible as he answered her.
"Well, I never said it was a good thing to be my friend."
Felicity started to respond as she pulled open the door.
"I should have know-!"
The door slammed open. She called out, left reeling on her feet. Eventually, she tipped forward, right into the person on the other side of the door. They collided with a deep thud, but he was steady on his feet and stopped her with his body. His hands were on her shoulder before she had even touched him.
When Felicity had realized the ground wasn't coming, that the man had just pushed her back up and that he smelt like cedars and honey, she opened her eyes. Soon after, the facts aligned and she snapped her head back to look at the man. Their gazes connected.
She groaned.
"We have to stop meeting like this."
Oliver smiled genuinely.
"Hello, Felicity."
His voice was like clear water, making Felicity's straining shoulders let go of their tension as she heard the way he said her name. She disentangled herself from the man and stepped back.
"Hi, Oliver."
The unmistakable sound of a dial tone interrupted them.
They both peered at the phone in Felicity's hand. Felicity surmised Diggle had hung up, after which she slipped it into her bag and looked up at Oliver. He raised an eyebrow at the action, but then his eye was caught by her dress. So he stepped back more, looked at her dress appraisingly and let her make a small twirl to show it off. Genuine surprise slipped onto his face as Oliver watched her do so.
"You look beautiful."
Felicity smiled and looked down at his white dress shirt, black tie and suit trousers. His shoulders looked broad in it and the dress shirt fitted him to a tee. Leaning over, she pecked his cheek.
"Ditto," she answered.
Eyebrows arched up high, Oliver looked after her as she walked off towards his car.
She turned around when he didn't follow and raised an eyebrow at him. Grinning, he walked over, opened her door for her and got in on the other side. When he turned on the car, he looked next to him and saw Felicity hunched over in her seat. The moment she came up, he raised both eyebrows in response and she held up a hand. There was a shoe dangling from it.
He opened his mouth to say something, but she shook her head resolutely.
"You only get to complain when you start wearing them."
Oliver shook his head with a grin and pulled out of the parking lot.
"Guess I'm not saying anything, then," he replied.
As they drove out of her street, Felicity glanced at Oliver. She did so frequently, the first few minutes. In front of a traffic light, she looked at the car next to them. Worriedly, she wondered if this had been such a good idea. The whole date thing was very formal and really, all she was used to was a coffee counter and an administration office.
"You're awfully quiet," Oliver interrupted her musings.
When the light went green, she looked at her hands and realized she had been fidgeting with them. She supposed she was. Embarrassed, she stopped. Yes, the shop had definitely been easier. Known territory, at least.
As non-verbal encouragement, Oliver's hand reached out to her. It slid over her leg to grab her hand and squeeze in it. Felicity raised her head and looked at him.
"Are you okay?"
The blonde nodded frantically and turned to look in front of them.
"Yeah- sorry," she hurried. Another squeeze in her hand made her explain further. "Just wondering about who was working with me in the shop tomorrow and what I have to do at Walker's Inc."
What, a little white lie never killed anyone.
"I think I have to update the system at Walker's, I remember Pete being irritated. There's bound to be a few do-it-yourself issues with some computers around the building- would you believe someone at Security downloaded porn last week and got a virus in and- well, of course you'll believe someone downloaded porn because you're a guy and, oh god, you probably download it too, frequently and-"
Oliver chuckled.
"Alright, alright. Nice to know being on a date makes you think about work," Oliver teased.
Shutting her mouth, Felicity hummed in response. They drove in silence, but they were going maddeningly slow due to the amount of traffic on the road.
"So, dinner," she stated. A thought struck her. "We're not going to that Italian on Shaftesbury Avenue, are we? Because I went there once and that didn't end well. I didn't eat pizza for a month, after. I love Italian- but food poisoning? Not so much."
A grin slowly found its way onto his face as she rambled. She raised an eyebrow and continued before he could say anything.
"Also, why are you grinning like a psycho murderer? Here's a tip, don't do it on the first date."
Now chuckling, Oliver turned left, getting off the main road they had been on.
"Not sure how to take that as a compliment," he admitted. "But I'm going to try."
She shot him a look. He gave in as soon as he peeked back at her.
"You seem nervous," he explained.
Felicity closed her mouth a bit and opened it to reply, then reconsidered and closed it. She looked out the window and at the street they were turning into.
"Maybe I am," she acknowledged, looking back to find his eyes fixed on the road. He glimpsed at her, though, and his features softened after he did. "I don't have the best track record in history. One guy ended up in a coma."
Oliver looked at the road again.
"My hands were shaking before," he admitted in a soft voice. She peered up at him, a small smile of relief on her face. In a comforting voice, he continued. "We'll be fine."
His thumb rubbed across her thumb. Then, he went back to driving.
Similarly, Felicity went back to staring out the window. As they drove through town, Felicity wondered where they were. She had never gone to this part of town for food so she wanted to pay extra attention. Plus, it irked her that not one of the Italian restaurants she had found on Google was in this area. As they slowed down in a seemingly normal street, Felicity leaned forward to see more of it. She hated to admit it, but sometimes things slipped past her Google searches. Maybe there was a restaurant here, after all.
When she saw no restaurant signs outside and they stopped, she raised an eyebrow.
"Are you sure you got it right," she doubted. Oliver squinted his eyes at her, unbuckled and stepped out of the car. Felicity followed him and she leaned over his chair to continue talking. "No, really, Oliver, this looks like a completely normal street. It's just apartment buildings."
Oliver, however, didn't answer her and just stared at the flat building in front of the car.
Shaking her head, she got out of her side of the car too. She put on her shoes clumsily and shut the door behind her. The clacking of her heels still echoed through the street when she stopped next to Oliver.
"Yep. See. Just a normal apartment building."
Oliver nodded and they looked at the building in silence. Felicity made a popping sound with her lips.
"So," she drew out, half turning back to the car. "Take-away pizza, then?"
"Let's go in," Oliver said.
She heard something metallic jingle and she turned back abruptly.
"What?"
Oliver looked back at her and reached out a hand. In his other hand, she could see a bundle of keys. The blonde looked from Oliver to the building behind him and the street around them. It would be a lie to say she did not doubt for a second. After all, going to his apartment was not really what she had in mind for a date.
But she grabbed his hand nonetheless and led him towards the building, too curious to say no. Honestly, the building was nothing short of an artwork and she was dying to see how it looked on the inside.
The blonde marveled at the enormity of the building and the luxury of it. Large windows, balconies, marble steps and a big mahogany door. When they got to said door, Oliver opened it with his keys and stepped aside to let her in first. Once she was inside, Felicity turned to look at the marble hallway as a whole.
"Wow," she mouthed at Oliver.
Oliver looked around briefly, then walked to the other side of the hallway to press the button for the elevator.
"What do you think," Oliver asked.
Felicity made an impressed face and came to stand next to him as they waited for the elevator. She smiled.
"Kind of screams murder in the lobby," she teased. Oliver snorted and looked around. "But, really, it's a nice place. I didn't think you'd live this fancy. I took you for a bare room-with-bed-kinda guy."
Oliver shrugged.
"I don't need much," he agreed.
"Excuse me?!"
Felicity looked around at the room with an accusing open mouth. Oliver shook his head.
"I don't live here," he clarified.
Felicity pursed her lips together in thought and wondered where his keys had come from as the elevator doors opened. Oliver grinned at her stupefied face as she stepped into the elevator with him. He pressed for the top floor and cerulean met stormy blue when he turned back to look at her again.
The doors closed behind him. He stood next to her again and when he did so, curved his arm around her waist from behind and held her like that. The move took her by surprise and she looked up immediately. Not that she minded the feeling. Not at all.
She didn't avert her gaze when he peered back down at her. Instead, she moved her arm under his and put her arm around his waist as well.
"So, why the top floor," she asked. "Other than, of course, your master plan to drop me off the highest balcony? You're lucky I'm not a cat – did I tell you I owned a cat? When I was younger it fell off my balcony. The ninth floor, that is. And it survived! I read it has something-"
"Felicity."
"-to do with their weight and flexibility. Or the fact that they have nine lives. The flat neighbor, in a normal house, used to chuck his cat out via the balcony on the first floor every day. He was a sadist, to be hon-"
"Felicity," Oliver said, pressing her closer against him to gain her attention.
The feeling of being pressed against Oliver completely shut her right up and made her stomach flutter.
"We're going to eat there."
"What, on the balcony?"
Oliver smiled secretively.
"You'll see."
She glowered at him. Mysteries. Mysteries and secrets.
Not that it stopped her from looking into the mirrors on the wall of the elevator and fixing her dress nervously. Oliver let go of her waist, without even looking. He took the hand she was fixing her dress with in his. He waited a second, making a soothing gesture on the inside of her palm with his index finger, before he laced their fingers together.
"So," he interrupted. He moved his head sideway down to hers, but didn't look at her. "Who were you talking to when we bumped into each other, earlier?"
Felicity was transported back to their bump-in, for a second. She remembered Diggle's supportive words and Norah's help before that. A small smile formed on her face at the thought of her friends.
"Diggle," she responded and looked up. Oliver studied her face and copied her smile. The thought of Oliver wanting to know the small details made her squeeze his hand. "He was a bit insulted I hadn't panic-dialed him."
Oliver's eyebrows shot up.
"Panic-dialed?"
"Yes-well- it's not about you. I just get nervous and then call someone to deal with it and it's usually Diggle. Usually with a question about which color to wear. Soon afterwards they regret answering their phones."
Oliver's face relaxed and he leaned forward a bit to catch her gaze.
"So, red won tonight," he observed while scrutinizing her.
Squirming under his gaze, she nodded and breathed out a 'yeah'. Oliver whistled softly and leaned down to whisper in her ear.
"Good call," he said in a husky tone.
The blonde breathed out shakily, which made the man laugh under his breath. When Felicity moved her head to look him in the eyes while answering, she was silenced by the sheer exterior of the man in front of her. His blue eyes had started to sparkle with passion, his jaw tense due to the way he was biting his teeth together. Captured and emboldened by his look, Felicity turned fully towards him. She raised a hand to his neck and let her thumb rub lazy circles on it.
"How do you know," she babbled. "You've never seen the blue one."
Oliver put his hand on her hip and grinned. He leaned forward to answer her.
"Because you wouldn't have let Diggle pick this one if you weren't sure it was the nicest," he stated.
Felicity huffed, smiling at his words and deciding that they definitely called for a date in a track suit. Still, it was nice to know he understood how she worked. Disconcerting, but nice. How had he managed to get to know so much about her in so little time?
"Plus, you look breath-taking in anything you wear," Oliver said with a saucy wink.
Felicity rolled her eyes at the pick-up line but couldn't help but chip in.
"I thought it was me being a computer genius that made you notice me," she teased with a grin.
Oliver chuckled and it made her weak in the knees. He leaned back and regarded the delicate lines of her profile.
"I noticed you most when you're yourself."
The simplicity of the words had Felicity leaning forwards and moving into Oliver's personal space quickly. She pecked his cheek and hung her head next to his. She breathed in his smell.
A bell rung to signal their arrival. Soundlessly, the doors slid open. They didn't move for a second until, with a small tug on her arm, Oliver got both of them outside the elevator.
Once outside, there was a small hallway with the end of the staircase to their left and a big door with an emergency exit sign in front of them. To be honest, the hallway was rather dirty and the air stuffy.
"Well, this looks promising," Felicity joked. When Oliver walked over to the emergency door, she hastily continued. "Oliver, you can't open that, it'll set off the alarm. Oliver? Oliver! Stop it or we'll both-"
He opened the door and there was no sound.
"Well, now you've really done it," she concluded. "We've got five minutes before the police gets here."
Oliver rolled his eyes at her words and stepped outside the door.
"Everybody comes here. Will you come over here and let me show you this thing out here?"
Doubting, Felicity walked over to him. Then, she gasped.
In front of them, the expected blue of the sky had been mixed with green, lots of green. Instead of the grey stone she thought the door would give way to, there was a big garden on the other side. There was grass, trees in pots, bushes, flowers- she even spotted some daisies next to the entrance. On this lovely warm summer evening, most flowers were still in bloom and the sight was magical. Nature seemed to have exploded on the roof and Felicity didn't know where to look.
When Oliver made way for her, she followed him outside and saw a small seating area down the path. To their right, she spotted a greenhouse with a man spraying the plants. When the man stood up at the sound of the door closing behind her, Oliver waved at him and he waved back. It was then, after watching the exchange, that Felicity found back her voice.
"Oliver – what is this place," she wondered aloud.
When she gaped at him, he was standing there with one hand in his pocket and one hand in hers, staring up at the sky. As though he had been here thousands of times already. He breathed in deeply. She followed his example and was excited by all the smells around them mixing together.
"The inhabitants of the flat – mostly Alfred, who you see over there – wanted something special here and raised funds. He is into gardening, so it became a garden."
Felicity whipped her head from left to right.
"All this is Alfred's work?"
Oliver nodded.
"And some others."
She shook her head and marveled at the amount of color on the rooftop. She put her arm through Oliver's as she peered at a nearby rosebush.
"It's beautiful," she said.
There were probably more elegant words for that, but she figured it would do just as well. Honestly, Alfred deserved some appreciation for this. She idly wondered if there were rooftop gardening championships out there as Oliver led her over the path.
The seating area consisted of a construction of four poles, a glass roof and curtains to close it off on the sides. The green around it had started to wind itself around the poles to climb towards the light. Felicity recognized grapes, hanging from the vine tangled around the far right pole. Underneath the contraption was a couch to the left, a table for two and two chairs in the middle and a large dresser on the right. The floor underneath it all was wooden and when they walked onto it, Felicity's heels broke the silence between them. She wondered how he had gotten everything here and the table laid out. How he had gotten inside.
Once she was seated, Oliver moved across and sat down. The table had been laid out and there was a large silver platter with a cover separating them. When Felicity sat up, she could look Oliver in the eye. His eyes were twinkling enthusiastically.
"Hungry," he asked. When she nodded, he removed the cover of the platter and revealed boxes of take-out from 'La Dolce Notte'. Felicity looked from the boxes to Oliver and then back again.
"You got us take-out for our first date," she noted.
Oliver nodded and looked to the side.
"Yes, well, this is not a place to get a chef to cook for us, believe me. I tried, but-"
Felicity leaned forward and put her right hand on top of Oliver's, beaming at him.
"Stop- stop! I don't think you understand," she urged. "I love take-out."
Oliver looked up at her and gazed into her eyes. She nodded enthusiastically, since she truly wasn't lying. Frankly, she wanted the boxes to be opened already. La Dolce Notte was the best Italian in town and her mouth was watering at the thought of pasta from that place.
Apparently, she had somehow convinced Oliver of the truth of her statement, because he nodded and gestured to the boxes.
"The closest one to your plate is the starter."
Without missing a beat, she located the box and opened it. There was a card on top of the dish explaining it was a salsa Verde with toasted baguette but she dropped it next to her plate. On the other side of the table, she saw Oliver had already commenced loading his plate. She followed his example and shoved some of the salsa on the bread. When she'd had her first bite, she moaned around her bread and leaned back in her chair.
"I'm definitely keeping you," she told him while chewing on her food. Oliver laughed and she shrugged. "What can I say? Give me good wine, good food and I'm satisfied. Plus, this place is beautiful."
Oliver nodded and looked around, too. Then, he started, held up a finger and rushed to the dresser. He got a bottle of red wine from it and returned when he had uncorked it.
"Almost forgot," he muttered.
He filled their glasses with the red Bordeaux, a Chateau Potensac from 2000, and clinked his to hers when he sat down. When she'd tasted the wine, she leaned back in awe, again. Yup, definitely keeping this one.
"People could literally start worshipping this wine and I would follow them into battle for it," she remarked.
Oliver chuckled.
"Sounds like you say that about every vintage wine."
"And so I should," Felicity argued. "Nothing better than a good vintage."
Shaking his head and grinning at her defensiveness, Oliver took a sip of his glass. Felicity joined him and took another sip of hers to calm down and then gestured at the garden around her with the glass.
"How do you know this place?"
Oliver looked around the garden. Felicity eyed the big, creamy curtains around them as they rustled in the wind. She bit into another piece of toast when he answered.
"I used to live here."
She swallowed.
"What? How?"
As far as she was aware, Beans Consolidated was doing fine, but not nearly well enough to buy apartments in this kind of building. A smile hid around the corners of Oliver's mouth when he answered.
"I used to be a lawyer, before I met Isabel and she took over my company. I kind of got into it because of my ex Laurel. I did well enough to buy my own place by the time I got with Isabel, so I bought one in this building."
Felicity's mouth was open and she looked down at the floor next to her. Now, all the missing facts of the night made sense. How they'd gotten in here, how he knew the place, how Alfred had waved back, how he'd been able to set up the table beforehand: all because he knew the people in the building. But instead of all the intelligent things she could have said, all the questions that still remained to be asked, all she managed was:
"Here? You lived here?"
Oliver inclined his head. He looked at his fork as he tilted it to get it to catch the light.
"I still had bare rooms," he amended. She snorted. "But yes, I lived here. It was a different time – I was a very materialistic man and I loved to boast."
The blonde looked at the garden with a new point of view. Once, this had been a regular thing for Oliver. At one point, he had been with people who didn't bat an eye at this kind of luxury. At this beauty. People like Isabel.
She locked her eyes on Oliver again, who was gauging her reaction. But what was there to say? There was a world of difference between then and now. So, she shrugged.
"As long as you don't expect my place to look like this, I'm fine with yours being this way," she replied. She sipped her wine again, then added: "In fact, expect me there 24/7."
Oliver grinned.
"My new place has no rooftop garden."
Felicity groaned.
"Way to lead me on," she complained.
"That is not to say you couldn't make one," he offered. "Add a few ferns to my balcony."
Felicity waved him off as she opened another box, ready to get to the pasta.
"Too much work. We'll just go here."
Oliver followed suit and opened a new box. As she studied him while he ate, Felicity pieced things she knew about his past together and wondered why he'd chosen exactly this place to move into and, more importantly, why he wanted to have their first date here.
Before she could ask, though, Oliver started talking about Roy and Thea and she told him about their dating life. The Queen prodigy mentioned something about it being a risk to let them work together because they needed to get a room, but Felicity pleaded in favor of their shifts. More brownies were sold as a result of everybody needing comfort food to soothe their loneliness: it was true. Oliver told her, in return, that Thea seemed genuinely happier, which Felicity had been itching to hear. This, of course led the conversation to her and Diggle's bet on Thea and Roy, on all other bets they'd made the last five years and betting as a whole.
Throughout their conversation, they ate their food, occasionally stopping to comment on the quality of it. Both of them thought La Dolce Notte ought to be the most famous restaurant in town and Felicity had decided to spam any review site with positive reviews. Maybe even hack into the Michelin database.
As they ate, Felicity observed Oliver's habits kick in. How he knew exactly which fork to use with what, how he wiped his mouth, how he tilted his head to the side to show he was listening as he ate his food. Most of the time in conversations, he did not look at people at all. He had a habit of listening to people while looking away, as if that gave him more opportunity to file the information away. It was such a small thing, but she liked it about him. In fact, she liked how focused he was during their conversation now, able to crack jokes, interject with his opinion and admire her for hers. Out here, he seemed so very centered, not worrying about the world around him. Not ready to jump at the slightest movement.
As she watched him pile pasta on his plate and explain where he had been when he went away, she watched his facial expressions. One by one, she categorized and treasured them. She recalled that Roy had once said that Oliver could look completely expressionless, but nothing could be more wrong, she thought. Oliver's expressions told her anything. The tiniest twitch of his eye or corner of his mouth told her more than his words sometimes did. The more time she spent with the man, the more she relied on trusting his body language. And right now, that body language kept telling her that Oliver was, in fact, feeling content and happy.
During their conversation, she had experienced the same thing. In fact, a steady fire had started burning inside, distracting Felicity a bit at all times. Not anything shocking, just a warm glow that got warmer and warmer the more they talked, laughed, discussed. Being with Oliver, talking with him, felt good, she realized. Normal. Excellent. Like falling into a bathtub full of warm water.
As she observed him and thought about how he had gotten under her skin, Oliver reached out and started toying with her hand, but just enough to let her keep her focus. Felicity cocked her head to the side, pushing her hair behind her ear as she listened to him. Watching Oliver's blue eyes sparkle as he told her about the time he broke his leg, she realized she would tell the man across from her anything. She trusted him.
As a matter of fact, she had already told him so much about herself – she'd been trusting him for a long time, now. He would keep her secrets, though, stay on her side. More importantly, he trusted her just as much as she did him. He'd told her about his life, his problems. And now, here they were.
And it felt good. Good, trusted and warm.
Like coming home.
x
x
x
Some of the things Felicity didn't understand about Oliver yet, got their explanation during their dinner. Oliver had even explained how his mother had started the shop with his father and how, even though his father had died, Moira had continued it. It had, after all, become a place for the family to wind down. Thea loved to read there and Oliver had swung by daily. When he recounted the history of the shop, Felicity filled in the story from where she had started working there and as they talked about the normal things in life, they emptied the boxes. Felicity told Oliver about her coffee addiction due to Norah's first job as a waitress at another coffee shop and how they now joked that Felicity was currently nourishing Norah's addiction with her job. Oliver admitted to thinking the Indian Nights special was his favorite coffee special and that, that was the moment Felicity's plate was empty.
So, she did what any woman would do in such a situation: she subtly glanced around and leaned from left to right to get a better look. As she did so, Oliver stopped talking. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Felicity leaning this way and that as she looked around her some more.
"What are you doing," he asked.
Though his tone indicated impatience, Felicity knew better than that. He was just at a loss. She stopped moving.
"I'm looking for dessert," she answered simply.
Now, Oliver's brow was knitted in a frown.
"I felt like dessert," she tried to explain.
Oliver put down his fork and swallowed his last bite. When she didn't move another muscle, Oliver shook his head, smiling, and looked up at the sky.
"Dessert it is. I'll take you there," he replied.
"We don't have to- wait. There's more secret gardens to visit?"
Oliver shook his head.
"No more gardens. But," he leaned forward at this, "I think you'll like it anyway."
Felicity nodded, impressed, and then looked at her empty plate. Two locations, she thought to herself, was twice as much chance to make a fool out of herself. Well, on the bright side: Oliver would be there. And food.
She sought out his eyes again.
"I thought you'd be a reservation-at-a-restaurant kind of dater," she said. "Not that this is bad."
Oliver shrugged.
"Restaurants are our daily life. I thought we'd do something that fit our situation."
She stared at him, creased forehead and all.
"Situation? Which situation?"
Oliver stood up and gathered the empty boxes. He took his sweet time in answering her, which made her purse her lips as she eyed him.
"You know how Isabel and I ended, right?"
Felicity nodded.
"And you and your mother had a rough couple of years?"
She nodded again.
"Well, since we both have histories, I thought I'd bring you here."
Her brow crinkled.
"Here? Because the view would make us forget?"
Oliver smiled but shook his head.
"The apartment I lived in here, was the one the media forced me out of," he said. She still looked at him, not really following the explanation. He gestured at them and then at the building, getting frustrated with himself. "So I thought we'd build something new on top of something old."
The thought was so deep, it meant so much, that Felicity couldn't do more than nod.
"Oh," she answered. "Good idea."
It was a thought to pick apart when she was not on their first date, when she did not have to worry about her dress or how her feet hurt from her heels already. She followed his movements as he chucked away the boxes. He kept rubbing the thumb and middle finger of his left hand and she recognized it as a nervous gesture. It made her smile, the fact that his admission made him nervous.
She marveled at the little things that made the man across from her. The way he had been taking care of her lately, whether at the staff dinner or when she was feeling sad, or how he had realized her friends and family were everything to her and was interested in hearing about them from her. How the first thing he'd asked about her mother was how she was doing now and if Felicity herself drank alcohol.
It showed he had remembered the small things about her and it made her feel safe under his care. He knew how she liked her coffee, convinced his mother to let her work on the shop's filing system and he cared as much about the people around them as she did. In fact, he even took their opinions about the shop into account and though he was starting to call the shots, he made sure to help out at the counter whenever he could.
She couldn't help a loving smile at the memory of him slipping his hand into hers at the staff dinner, when she was having a difficult time, and changing the subject.
Oliver looked back at her and saw her smile. He stopped in his tracks and slowly, his lips gave way to a broad smile of his own. The sincere smile made Felicity look down bashfully. Grinning, she stood up to help him clear the table. When they were done, Felicity stilled and looked at the stars from next to the dresser. Oliver stopped next to her and she peeked up at him through her eyelashes. He looked back at her, unabashed interest clear in his eyes. She felt her heart skip a beat. Wrecking her mind for anything to say, she asked him a question.
"So," she drew out. "Where to next?"
Oliver smirked.
"You'll find out," he said as he turned away. Felicity groaned and followed him as they walked to the door.
"You know I hate mysteries, right," she whined as she came up to walk next to him.
Oliver looked down at her face with a grin.
"I know."
Her breath hitched at the low tone and she moved a bit closer to him as they walked on. While she looked at the garden surrounding them, she remembered Oliver's words. He wanted to build something new on top of something old. That meant he was serious about this – right?
She failed to stop a small smile from slipping past her defenses. Oliver's shoulder bumped against hers almost rhythmically and she felt a rush of excitement at the thought of this becoming a normal occurrence. A rush of static, making her body tingle, at the thought of really building something after all they'd been through.
She peered up at Oliver and spotted that he was smiling, too. Slowly, she searched for his hand and slipped hers into it. His eyes widened minutely and then searched for hers. When they met, Felicity stretched out her fingers and laced them together with his. Her whole body was thriving on the static they were creating together. She squeezed his rough hand. Her heartbeats quickened at the realization that holding hands could be a normal thing, from now on. Oliver squeezed back and then they were at the door.
He opened it and stepped inside, but Felicity turned around and let go of his hand to look at the place one more time.
"It really is beautiful here," she acknowledged.
Oliver waved at Alfred and tilted his head in her general direction while answering. He had told Felicity earlier that Alfred was going to clean the dishes for them. Really, the man was too good to be true.
"I know. I spent a lot of nights here, relaxing or reading for work."
Felicity couldn't help but wonder if Isabel had been there, at those times, but kept quiet. It was hardly the time for jealousy. Instead, she walked past Oliver and waited for the elevator.
"That doesn't mean anything, though. I used to play online poker and though I'd rigged it, I hate it now," she said. When she peered up at Oliver's face, she continued. "But I guess there are cases where you're right. I've been to the shop a thousand times and I still love the lay-out and-"
"Felicity," he stopped her.
"But what I was trying to say was- was that okay? Was that… a good version of building something new on top of the old," she asked as they walked into the elevator.
Oliver looked at her and spotted her biting her lip. His teasing smirk disappeared and his mouth opened as he looked at her. Then, he answered.
"Yeah- Yeah. It was good," he answered. "What about you?"
Felicity looked up at that.
"Yeah. Wonderful," she replied softly, nodding.
Oliver's mouth curled at the corners when he smirked and bumped against her again. It made Felicity shiver in anticipation, a familiar feeling of liquid heat riveting through her body.
"I thought you might be contemplating whether you'd have a better time eating dinner alone," he teased.
Comfortable with the teasing game, Felicity looked at the ceiling in mock-thought, then nodded. She moved a step closer to him.
"Yeah - I'm still not sure," she answered.
Oliver turned his body around towards her in fake anger. Her heartbeat spiked at his curt, quick movements.
He bridged the gap between them and tugged on her hand to make her stumble into his chest. She gasped as electricity ran up her arm.
"Oh? Really," he growled.
Their faces were inches apart and the air between them swelled with the sound of breathing. She tried to focus on forming a reply.
"Yes, really," she whispered into his ear.
Oliver rumbled under his breath at that and she could feel the ripple of his stomach against hers as he did so. His smell was downright intoxicating by now.
"Can I do anything to make it better," Oliver rumbled.
The heat his body was emitting was seeping into her skin and combined with her own heat, it made her feel feverous. Grasping at her concentration, Felicity tried to think of what to say as their breaths synchronized. She held his gaze and then found her words, smiling cheekily at the thought of uttering them.
"I might have some ideas," she offered in a breathy voice.
Oliver's breath hitched at the words and she felt a spark of pride at the sound. At the fact that she could make Oliver Queen lose composure. Before she could comment upon it, though, Oliver put both his hands on her hips and pushed her against the wall of the elevator with his body. He leaned in with his face, lips almost touching hers.
The feeling of him this close and his body pushing against hers made Felicity move her head against his jaw and push against it in her light-headedness. His stubble scratched her forehead and only added to the burning inside.
Oliver tilted her chin up and started kissing the side of her face he could reach and whispered into her ear hotly.
"Well, care to enlighten me?"
Felicity groaned softly when his hands started roaming over her ribcage, his thumbs fanning out onto her stomach. Oliver's silent laugh made her gulp. She felt like her body had been turned into liquid and when he leaned back to look into her eyes as his hands touched her, like she was threatening to spill.
"Or am I doing okay?"
Her groan turned into a moan when his kisses darted from her face to her neck.
"I think," she started, trailing off to arch off the wall as he bit her neck lightly. "I think you've got the gist of it."
Oliver laughed against the shell of her ear and she chuckled at her own words. When they'd both stopped, Felicity turned her head and held his gaze. Suddenly, the hands of time seemed to become sluggish. Instead of the hot fever she had felt before, her whole being slowly warmed up and she bit her lip at the word love that tried to get at her from the edges of her consciousness.
In that moment, she remembered. As she looked into his eyes, she remembered who they were, where they came from, how she had demanded a date and how well this was going.
"Hey," she said, softly, remnants of a smile visible on her face.
"Hey."
Something in his throat roughened the sound and intense concentration darkened his eyes. Yet, he was smiling and there was an undeniable twinkle in his eyes.
She couldn't stop herself anymore.
She lunged up and kissed him without abandon, the hot fever back instantly. Her arms reached around to pull him taut against her. He pushed her back against the wall in response.
Next to them, the doors of the elevator closed after a lack of buttons being pressed. They paid them no mind.
The kiss was frantic, Felicity knitting her hands into the hair at the nape of his neck and Oliver placing his at the hollow of her neck, her ribcage, her hips, her hair. It was all heated breaths, bruised lips and burning lungs. He was everywhere and she needed him to be, both satisfying a feeling of longing they had not realized was there, all night.
When Felicity untangled her hands and started alternating between roaming Oliver's back under his shirt and holding his face, their arms got tangled in the heat of it. Oliver growled and grabbed her hands in his. He moved them above her head as he mapped the inside of her mouth and she surrendered to him eagerly. With no means left to show her longing, Felicity was left squirming beneath his body. She was slowly melting and seriously wondering how long her legs would hold her. Oliver did not stop the onslaught, however, traitorously slow as he slid his fingers over her lower stomach. When she moaned and pulled on her hands, he growled and trailed his fingers over her stomach once more. This time, his fingers didn't stop at her stomach and slid down her hip, down her dress until the very end of the fabric. She whined softly into his mouth when he trailed his fingers over her bare leg. Desperate to keep touching him, she followed his tongue into his mouth, tasting every bit of him. Pushing her body against him, she moaned again.
Relenting, Oliver let go of her hands and she put them on his face eagerly. She bit his lip as revenge and he growled. He kissed her hard, pushing her head against the wall and slowly let go of her lips, after.
Their foreheads collided, both of them panting. The world narrowed down to nothing but them and their breathing. Felicity sought out his eyes, which were slightly dilated but still blown bright like new glass. Through the haze of it all, she used them to anchor herself, to get her focus back again. But they betrayed her and sparked a current of electricity into existence that curved through her body and made her shiver in happiness.
She pushed her body against Oliver's in an attempt to show it.
"I should challenge you more often," she smiled.
"And I you," Oliver agreed.
Then, a moment of clarity as Felicity looked around and spotted the panel with buttons. She looked back at Oliver, who was watching but not quite scrutinizing her yet. She let out a breath too short to be a sigh.
"I have to work tomorrow," she murmured.
With an actual sigh, Oliver nodded, moving his head on top of hers and scraping his stubble against her forehead in the process.
"Dessert it is, then," he mumbled.
They stood still for a few minutes to let the heat subside. When they had calmed down a bit, Oliver leaned over and pressed the button for the ground floor. Felicity held onto him when he returned, arms encircling his waist. Oliver pressed his lips against hers lazily, in a soft but lingering kiss.
Slowly, they shared intoxicating Sunday morning kisses. She stood on tiptoes to kiss his jaw and he leaned down to draw patterns on her back as she did so.
When the elevator bell rung, they were still standing there. Arms wrapped around one another and tangled in each other's thoughts.
x
x
x
The ride to their next destination was filled with little touches and conversations about Thea and Norah. When Felicity had explained what Norah meant to her, Oliver had asked to meet her. This, of course, led to a discussion on whether or not anyone with cerebral activity should want to meet Norah and why. The outcome was undecided, however, since Oliver decided that cerebral activity and courage were not interchangeable, to which Felicity had to concede. So, Oliver would meet Norah – but, as a compromise, it would happen with other people present, first.
Before Felicity had time to explain why the people and how many exes had been scared off, Oliver stopped the car. Thankful for a distraction, Felicity leaned over to grab her shoes and bag.
"So, where is this next place," she asked. "There cannot possibly be a better place to kill me than the last location."
When she looked up, Oliver was beaming at her like a maniac and though it was adorable, it was also decidedly creepy.
"Uh, why are you laughing creepily? Again?"
Oliver shook his head, entirely unruffled at the comment.
"You'll see," he answered cryptically as he opened his door. She opened hers and struggled with putting on her shoes after having the wine earlier. While she closed the door behind her, Oliver had come around to take her arm and she looked around. Right about that time, she spotted the Beans Consolidated sign and stopped short. She looked from it to Oliver and back.
"Work?"
Oliver nodded with a boyish enthusiasm that made her skepticism crumble at the edges.
"New on top of the old, remember," he replied, pulling on her arm.
Felicity rolled her eyes.
"I can't believe I'm letting you escort me back to my workplace on a free day," she muttered.
But really, it was all because of those dimples in his cheeks when he smiled.
Grudgingly, she followed the man and walked the familiar path to the entrance of the shop. When they walked past a window, she saw two flickering lights inside the shop. Curious as to what he had done inside the shop, she was the first to get in after Oliver had unlocked the door. As she took off her coat, she eyed the table near the counter, where two lit candles lit up the room. On it, another two boxes. The rest of the room was dark but the presence of books and most of all, the smell of books, made that none of it was frightening.
She felt rather than saw Oliver come in and smiled back at him when he brushed against her as he hung up his coat next to hers.
"I've got to say, it's an elaborate way to ensure a safe firewall, bringing me to work on a date," Felicity called back to him as she walked towards the table.
He sent her an awry smile.
"I didn't feel like paying extra hours," he answered as he picked his way between the tables.
"And you even sacrificed your Sunday night," Felicity answered, turning around at the table and waiting for him. She smiled at his suit, before looking into his eyes. "Aren't you the epitome of a devoted boss."
Oliver grinned at her.
"My mom sees a bright future for the shop," he agreed.
Felicity snorted.
"Oh, I've no doubt she agrees, what with your satanic ways," she answered.
A peal of laughter blossomed from both their chests. Felicity held his hands in both of hers for a second when they had stopped, then reached up and pecked his cheek with a smile. When she was back on her feet, Oliver's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.
"You seem happy," Oliver observed.
"I can't be happy on our date?"
He smiled and put a hand on her back, guiding her to her chair slowly.
"Depends," he answered pensively. "Are you happy about the date itself?"
Felicity looked up from the table to Oliver as he moved across to sit down. When he gestured to the white box in front of them, she pulled off the lid and smiled happily at the mint chocolate chip ice-cream in front of her. She hummed as she pulled the plate towards her and pushed the carton to the side of the table. Across from her, Oliver did the same.
When she had had her first spoonful of ice cream, she closed her eyes to memorize the taste for later. When she'd pulled the spoon from her mouth, she answered.
"That, and the ice cream," she concluded with a mouthful.
Though a smile toyed with the corners of his mouth, Oliver rolled his eyes at the comment.
"Well, now that we've gotten back to insulting one another again," Oliver stated. "I feel like we're back right where we started."
Another spoonful of ice cream found its way to her mouth and she eyed Oliver as she ate it.
"In my defense, I was insulting Diggle at the time, not you."
Oliver smiled around his spoon and she felt his ankle touch hers under the table.
"It didn't feel like it."
"Well, if you can't get used to things like that, you'd better pack your bags," she replied simply, going in for another bite.
As they bickered about who insulted whom when and how and where, they ate their dessert. Felicity enjoyed her mint chocolate chip thoroughly, happy enough even to discuss the many times they had served customers in this very shop and how some of them had acted. When they started exchanging stories about horrible customers, Felicity tried Oliver's yoghurt with forest fruits ice cream, which turned out to be rather good. As they talked, they pushed their plates closer together and ended up eating more of the other's ice cream than their own. Neither of them minded, though, because they reveled in one another.
Slowly but surely, they got into a steady pace of telling stories, teasing each other and mentioning some of their dreams and hopes to one another. It was odd how alike some of their hopes for the world were and how much they valued the same things. Almost as if they had lived the same life, but not completely. Like they had gone through all of the same essential things that formed their opinions, but on the other side of the country, under a different roof. It was maddening, heart-warming and curious at the same time.
They spent their drive home wondering about how Oliver should change the shop and when the time came to say goodbye, it all felt very natural. There was no pushing from Oliver to come inside and Felicity didn't really think about inviting him in. She had work tomorrow, after all.
So, she darted in for a slow kiss on the lips and when she let him go and walked back inside, the sides of her mouth hurt from smiling.
The elevator doors had just opened when she dashed into the hallway. She followed a neighbor in and when he peered at her, she wondered fleetingly if it was obvious that she'd been on a date, but then she shrugged.
Maybe it was obvious.
But then again, whatever was wrong about being obvious about something as positive as love?
A/N: AND? Was it what you hoped it would be? By the way I hate the fact that I cannot properly use enter anymore on this site. WHAT ABOUT LAYOUT, FANFICTION. LAY OUT.
Anyway, please Review!
p.s. One more Chapter to go.