A/N: It has been way too long since I've updated and this chapter isn't even that good... It was originally gonna be a lot longer, but I decided I would split it into 2 chapters. So keep your eye out for another chapter soon :)
The next morning Felicity did not want to get up. At all. She stayed up all night digging into the Ruther case and now she had to attempt to make it through the day.
Leaving her house a little earlier than usual, she stopped by the foundry before heading to QC. She walked briskly in and straight to her computers; completely oblivious to Oliver who was hanging from the salmon ladder.
"Felicity," Oliver said, dropping down to the ground, "what are you doing here?"
"Gah!" Felicity exclaimed, swiveling around, eyes wide. "What are you doing here?" She asked, picking up her tablet and quickly checking his schedule. "You have a meeting at 8:30, Oliver, and if you're late it might ruin all your chances of bringing QC back."
Oliver rolled his eyes. "I have over an hour. I'll be fine." He said dismissively. "I want to know what you're doing here though," he said stepping closer to Felicity and studying her features. "You rarely stop by the foundry before work."
She quickly turned back to her computers. "I just wanted to start some searches and let them run through the day," she murmured, typing furiously.
Oliver put a gentle hand on her shoulder and turned her towards him. "I know you told me you were looking into Ruther's file last night, but exactly how late did you stay up looking into it?" Oliver questioned as his eyebrows furrowed in concern.
Felicity shrugged and replied, "Just a little later than usual." Her hand fidgeting with her buttons and her eyes darting around the room were dead giveaways that she was lying.
Oliver sighed and let go of her shoulder, instead he leaned down to look her straight in the eye. "How many hours of sleep?"
"Maybe 3 or 4 at most..." Felicity said sheepishly.
"And you're telling me I should sleep more!" Oliver said, his voice a mix of anger and humor.
"You do need to sleep more!" Felicity said exasperated. "Imagine if you fell asleep while interrogating a bad guy or something!" She said trying to stifle her grin as she imagined the scene. She pressed a few more keys on her keyboard and then began packing up. "I've functioned on 2 hours of sleep before. It was at MIT and I had to rewrite my entire essay the night before it was due! But then the next day I think I slept through half of my classes... So I guess I can't really function," Felicity pursed her lips. "Anyways, I'm gonna head to QC. I better see you there preferably before 8:30 so you can go over the notes I have for you and actually know what's going on."
Oliver gave her a nod, "I'll see you at the office, Felicity."
Felicity reached the bottom of the stairs and turned around to face Oliver who was now over at the training mats. "Hey, uh, could you pick up-"
"Yes, I'll pick up coffee on my way to QC," Oliver said rolling his eyes.
"Awesome, thanks," Felicity grinned and left the foundry.
Oliver glanced at the time displayed on Felicity's computers. It was a quarter till 8. He had to train quickly if he wanted to make it to work in time.
Oliver got to Queen Consolidated at 8:28, carrying 3 cups of coffee. He offered a nod of greeting to Diggle who was standing by the door and handed him a cup. Oliver then proceeded to place Felicity's coffee on her desk. Felicity looked up at him, annoyance etched in her face as she handed him a file.
Oliver grinned. "Hey, I got here before 8:30," he said turning on his heel to head into his office. "Oh, and I gave you an extra shot of espresso. Figured you might need it."
Felicity picked up her coffee, took a sip, and let out an appreciative sigh. It was just the way she liked it, per usual. He winked at her.
"Get in there, Queen," she said, jerking her thumb in the direction of the conference room. Oliver decided to humor her and looked around all wide eyed and confused as if he didn't know where the conference room was. He glanced back at her shrugged apologetically. Felicity shook her head and chuckled at his crazy antics.
The good mood that filled the office quickly dissipated as the meeting dragged on and on. The Director of Finances finally called for a break after two very long hours. Oliver walked briskly out of the conference room and went and stood by the window overlooking the city. For all he knew, this window might not even be his by the end of the week. He scrubbed his hands over his face and let out a big sigh. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Felicity walking towards him with Diggle not too far behind.
"How's the company looking?" Diggle asked.
"Well, we're at rock bottom, so it can't get any worse, which could be considered a good thing," Oliver said turning around to face them, "But in order to get QC back to where it was-"
"We need that investors party. And soon," Felicity finished.
Oliver nodded grimly. "But if we take our attention away from the Ruther case to plan some party, he might steal another hundred-thousand dollars before we know it," he said with a frustrated sigh.
Diggle shrugged and said, "I guess we'll just have to get this case done as fast as possible."
Oliver looked up at Diggle and Felicity. "You're right," he said, "This needs to end tonight. We have all of the information on him, so we're gonna catch this guy."
Both Felicity and Diggle nodded agreement, and Felicity just opened her mouth to reply when the Director called for the meeting to resume. She shut her mouth and looked up at Oliver who had a pained expression on his face. Felicity gave him a tight-lipped, reassuring smile and straightened out his tie. Oliver shot her a grateful look and then slid back into his CEO facade.
When the meeting was finally over, they all decided it would be best to get started on the case.
"Could we stop somewhere for lunch first?" Felicity asked, as they all got situated in the car. "There's this tiny, little restaurant on the corner of 2nd and Waterview that I've been dying to try." She looked up hopefully at Oliver. He in turn glanced at Dig.
"I'm cool with it," Diggle said, starting the car.
Oliver nodded, "Let's do it."
A few minutes later they arrived at the restaurant. Felicity wasn't lying when she said it was 'tiny'. There were just under a dozen tables, but surprisingly, it didn't feel cramped. Felicity noticed Oliver surveying the restaurant. "We could order something to go and eat at the foundry if you want," Felicity offered.
Oliver shook his head. "Let's eat here. It's been awhile since the three of us have had a chance to just sit down and enjoy a meal." Felicity smiled at him and felt his hand rest on the small of her back to guide her to a table.
The food was delicious, and they all agreed that this restaurant was a close second compared to Big Belly. Diggle talked about his time at boot camp, and Felicity told the guys about her experiences at MIT. Although Oliver didn't talk as much, he still laughed along and shared the occasional story about his childhood. They sat and talked long after they finished their meal; none of them wanting to go back to the hectic life they had outside of the booth where they sat.
Diggle sat back and watched Felicity talk animatedly; arms grasping at the air to emphasize whatever she was saying. Out of the corner of his eye, Dig saw that Oliver had his full attention on her. He was leaned forward in his seat and looked almost enraptured. Diggle couldn't believe that they were so oblivious to the obvious bond that the two of them had. From the outside, it might look as if Felicity did everything for Oliver with nothing in return, but after spending so much time with the two of them, Diggle knew it wasn't true. Oliver appreciated every little thing Felicity did and showed his gratefulness through respect, trust, and kindness for Felicity.
He looked at his watch, and was surprised to see it was almost a quarter past two. He cleared his throat-cutting off Felicity mid-sentence-and stepped out of the booth. "It's already past two," he said shrugging on his suit jacket, "We should get going."
Felicity pulled out her phone, to check the time herself. She glanced up apologetically at Oliver. "I'm so sorry, Oliver. I didn't realize we'd been here for so long," she started to babble, "You said you wanted to get started in the case, and here I am making you sit down and have lunch and then forcing you to listen to all of my horrible MIT stories. You're probably sick of hearing me babble, aren't you? I'm sorry, I-"
Oliver smiled and grabbed her flailing hands with his own to try and calm her down. "It's okay, Felicity," he said, still holding her hands, "This was the best lunch I've had in a very long time. So thank you, for making this lunch so enjoyable."
She smiled back-slightly embarrassed. "Well, um... You're welcome," Felicity said, pulling her arms back and nervously tucking stray hairs behind her ear.
They both slid out of the booth, and after slipping on his suit jacket, Oliver helped Felicity into her coat. He gave her shoulders a light squeeze before dropping his hands, and together they walked to the waiting car.
As they were driving to the foundry, a strange buzzing sound came from the floor of the car. "Oliver," Felicity said tentatively, "Do you hear that buzzing? Or am I going crazy?"
Oliver gently pushed Felicity to the opposite side of the car and then turned in his seat so that his body was positioned in front of Felicity's.
Noticing the movement in the backseat, Diggle glanced back and asked, "What's going on back there?"
"There's this buzzing sound coming from underneath Oliver's seat, and I think it's a bomb!" Felicity blurted out, clutching onto Oliver.
"A bomb?!" Diggle said incredulously, "I'm stopping this car right now."
"Wait, Diggle," Oliver said, leaning down to look under the seat, "Don't stop the car."
"Oliver..." Felicity said, grabbing his arm tighter. "I don't want that thing blowing in your face."
With his face inches from the floor of the car, he could see the source of the buzzing. He inhaled sharply, and picked it up. It was his phone.
He straightened back up and showed the phone to Felicity who let out a sigh of relief and a small laugh. "It's his phone, Diggle," Felicity said, which earned an eye roll from him.
"It must've fallen out when you took that sharp turn earlier," Oliver said, shooting a look at Diggle.
Diggle glanced back at Oliver and chuckled-remembering how Felicity fell into Oliver's lap when he had veered a sharp right. Their faces were priceless.
Oliver scrolled through his phone and saw that he had three missed calls from Laurel and five text messages. He quickly hit redial and held the phone up to his ear.
"Oliver where are you?" Laurel asked, picking up on the second ring. "Why haven't you answered any of my calls?"
"I'm sorry, I left my phone in the car, and Diggle, Felicity, and I are on the way to the foundry." Oliver answered. "It'd be great if you could swing by and help us with the case. We're planning on wrapping it up tonight."
"I've been sitting in your little lair for two hours now, Ollie!" Laurel practically shouted.
"How did you get in?"
"Your friend Roy let me in, and I've had to sit here doing nothing while listening to him beat up dummies."
"Okay, we'll be there in a little bit." Oliver reassured, "Why don't you do some searches while you wait."
Felicity abruptly reached over and slapped Oliver on the arm. He looked at her incredulously and mouthed 'what'. "Nobody touches my computers!" She said between clenched teeth, "And I already have searches running; I don't want Laurel to mess them up."
Oliver rolled his eyes. "Never mind, don't touch Felicity's computers. Just sit tight, we're almost there," Oliver said and then hung up. He rubbed his hands over his face.
"Angry Laurel?" Diggle asked, shooting Oliver a knowing glance.
"Something like that," he said, turning his head to look out the window.
"Where did you guys go?" Laurel asked once they entered the foundry.
Oliver looked at her and said, "I thought I told you you didn't have to come to the foundry till six?"
Laurel shrugged and walked over to Felicity's chair. Oliver glanced over at Felicity and saw her jaw clench slightly when Laurel made herself comfortable in it. He stifled a smile as she tried to hide her annoyance.
"Yesterday you told me you had a meeting at nine, so I assumed you'd probably get back here by noon, but the only person I found when I got here was Roy," she said glancing over as Roy who was trying to do one handed push-ups.
"We stopped for lunch," Oliver said curtly before heading off to change. Laurel scowled slightly at his dismissal.
"It was my idea to get lunch," Felicity cut in, to ease the blame off of Oliver. Laurel's gaze slid over to her. Felicity raised the paper bag she was holding. "I didn't realize you were going to be here until after we left, so we only ordered for Roy. But if you want, I can go out and pick something up for you," she offered.
Laurel gave her a small smile. "Thank you," she said, "but I already ate earlier."
"That's good, cause I'm starving," Roy said, coming over and getting the take-out bag from Felicity.
Oliver and Diggle were over by the med table, and Laurel watched as Felicity and Roy walked over to join them. Felicity hopped up and sat on the table next to where Oliver was leaning against it, and judging by Oliver's confused and frustrated expression, Laurel guessed that John was trying to explain something to him. She tried not to watch as they talked, but it was obvious they were practically family; you could feel the close bond they all shared. She wondered if she would ever find her place down in this cave, but thinking about making Starling City a better place and what Sara did while she was here, Laurel wanted to be a part of it. She wanted to prove to the others that she was an asset, and that Laurel could help save this city, too. She decided she would do anything it takes to be a part of this team.
Laurel glanced over and saw Felicity's hand on Oliver's shoulder, and his hand resting on her knee as they smiled at each other.
Anything.
A/N: I swear the whole 'Ruther case' will be wrapped up and done in my next chapter. I am soooo sorry for dragging it on.