Ok, so I'm the worst ever. So sorry for being so slow with the updates! Tis the season to be stressed out and super busy, am I right? Ok, so here's the 3rd chapter, this one all about the cover kiss. I know the show did something like this already, but I decided to ramp it up a notch! And seeing as how we (finally!) got an Olicity hug, I'm thinking an Olicity kiss should be in the works sometime soon. I think I would die on the spot if we got a forehead kiss, just saying….

Felicity shifted uncomfortably next to Diggle. "Where is he?" she hissed at him, all the while maintaining her smile as future possible investors entered the private suite.

Today's meeting came at a request of a few interested investment parties, something that Felicity was quite proud of Oliver for. He had been working so hard to revamp the image of Queen Consolidated after the Glades fell, and this meeting was proof that his efforts weren't futile. The meeting was being held after the new musical that had opened in Starling just a week ago, of which one of the investor's daughters was the lead role. The invitation to watch the musical before the meeting had taken Felicity pleasantly by surprise. She had planned on seeing the musical by herself later that week, and was glad to be able to avoid the embarrassment of going alone. Not to mention, watching the musical from a private suite was much better than the back row seats she could afford.

Her smile remained plastered to her face all the while her eyes never stopped their fervent scanning of the entrance, searching for the extremely late Oliver Queen.

"There was an emergency on the way here. He called to say he was on his way. He should be here any minute now."

Felicity shot Diggle a look. "You let him go out alone?"

"Relax Felicity," Digg said as he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Remember, he handled himself just fine without us in the beginning."

Felicity scoffed at him under her breath. Like she needed to be reminded that Oliver Queen didn't need her. She was acutely aware of that fact. Or at least, she had thought it was a fact, the bittersweet truth, up until last week. She had replayed Oliver's words to her the night of the Verdant party over and over in her mind until she was sure they were making her crazy. She had thought of every possible insinuation coupled with every possible outcome of that insinuation. Why couldn't Thea had barged in 5 minutes later? No, of course that damn cake had to be cut right after Oliver had told her that he wanted her to be more than his assistant.

Felicity knew she had a wild imagination. Her love of sci-fi thrillers coupled with hours spent staring at computer screens often caused her eyes to play tricks on her. It was beyond her to imagine the subtle touches that had increased between her and Oliver though. His hand somehow always seemed to find her elbow or her shoulder when he was speaking. He had started to lean in closer to her when they spoke, so close that Felicity had begun sucking on mints constantly in fear that he would catch what she had for lunch on her breath. She had even caught him staring at her through the windowed walls of his office at Queen Consolidated in a way that immediately had a flush creeping up her chest and neck into her cheeks. Her imagination was wild, but not even her whacked out brain could imagine circumstances like those.

It wasn't lost on Felicity that things had changed between them. Even if she had imagined the touches and the glances, the way he spoke to her was enough to send her heart into rapid palpitations. His voice would lower when he was speaking to her, almost as if his words were meant only for her ears. A normal conversation between them now seemed so intimate, with his low voice and his close proximity. Felicity found herself more than once fixed on his lips as he spoke, only to be jolted from her reverie when his hand would find her elbow.

As if thinking of him had caused him to materialize, Oliver bounded up the steps to the concert hall. Felicity scanned his body for any sign of injury, paying close attention to any grimace or wince that should appear on his face. He strode through the hallway towards her and Diggle without a hitch, allowing Felicity to release the breath she didn't realize she was holding. An investor stopped Oliver's trek to them, and he gave her a quick smile before he turned his complete attention to the man.

Felicity watched as Oliver turned on the charm. She was always amazed at how seamlessly he could go from Arrow to CEO. Only someone who knew him well could see the exasperated sigh he'd let out before slipping into another alter ego. It had surprised her at first that he had been able to fool Moira and Thea for this long, but the truth was that neither of those two knew him well enough to notice. To them, he was just Ollie.

Felicity sighed quietly to herself. It saddened her that those Oliver loved and worked so hard to protect couldn't know the truth. It didn't seem fair that he had to sacrifice himself day after day, only to be viewed by the world as a spoiled billionaire. If only they knew the truth, they could see what she had seen since day one. Oliver Queen was a hero.

An all too familiar glint on Oliver's right cheekbone suddenly caught Felicity's attention.

"Is that…?" she heard Diggle say, but she was already flying across the hallway toward Oliver.

"Mr. Queen!" she said as she walked over. Both the investor and Oliver turned to look at her, bringing the offending green mark out of sight of the other man. Recognizing that she had no other option, she rose on to her toes and quickly pressed her lips to Oliver's cheekbone, right across the left over paint. She stepped back in relief when she saw her red lip print securely covering the damning green evidence. She sucked in a breath when she noticed the darkened look of Oliver's eyes

"Apparently this lipstick isn't as infallible as was advertised." she said with a smile as she dug out a makeup wipe from her purse, dapping at Oliver's cheek. "Much better. I just wanted to thank you for sending those flower to my mother. They really brightened up that hospital room as well as her spirits."

A myriad of emotions flashed across Oliver's face before he reined them in. By now he knew Felicity's diversion tactics like the back of his hand, but the feel of her warm lips against his cheek had thrown him off guard. Oliver smiled at her hesitantly. "Tell her she can repay me by getting back on her feet soon."

The forgotten investor cleared his throat. "It's nice to know that you care as much about your employee's lives as you do your family's company. Consider me impressed Mr. Queen." The man nodded to Oliver and then walked into the concert hall.

Felicity exhaled as Digg approached the pair. "That was some save Felicity," he said with a wink. Felicity blushed as she tossed the used makeup wipe back into her clutch.

"Can someone please explain to me what just happened?" Felicity turned to see Oliver's utterly confused expression and couldn't help but stifle a laugh.

Digg just shook his head. "You still had part of your costume on."

"I didn't mean to make you look bad in front of a possible investor, but I didn't have many options. Actually, I think I made him like you more, so maybe it was a good thing. I'm surprised he didn't say anything about the paint though, it's not like it's hard to notice. Although maybe I'm just used to it, since I see it on you all the time. Not that I was staring at your face or anything, I was just looking at you. Not, in that way, I was just watching your conversation. Oh my gosh never mind." Felicity said, her palm coming to her forehead as she squeezed her eyes shut to regain her composure.

Oliver placed his hand on the small of her back and pushed her forward towards the suite, leaving Diggle by the door as security. The suite was dark by the time they had entered, with the show curtains just beginning to rise. Felicity sat forward in her seat and Oliver sat back with a bemused smile on his face as the light from the stage ignited Felicity's features.

"The show is on the stage Mr. Queen," she whispered to him, catching his staring out of the corner of her eye. Oliver's hand on her knee had her head snapping in his direction.

"Thank you," he whispered as he leaned towards her. His breath ghosted over Felicity's ear, sending chills down the length of her body. Felicity was certain that Oliver could feel the goose bumps on her knee and the small smile that appeared on his face confirmed it.

"You're lucky I carry those makeup wipes in my purse. Otherwise, you would have had to go through your meeting with Fire Engine Red lip prints on your cheek."

"I can think of worse things," Oliver said, giving Felicity's knee a squeeze and effectively rendering her speechless. It wasn't until after the curtain fell and the lights came back on that Felicity realized Oliver's hand had been on her knee the entire time.

As you can see, things are slowly but surely progressing! I wanted to write a few chapters from Felicity's perspective, so I think the next one will be from hers as well. Stay tuned for what's coming next, things are about to get intense! Coming up: Felicity sacrifices herself to save Oliver.