A/N: Okay, I hope you all love this chapter because I had a lot of fun writing it! Thank you Spitfire303 for the awesome idea =).

There is one assumption in here that I should mention: I have Oliver as CEO of Queen Consolidated again because I think that he will get his company back soon.

Enjoy!

"Why can't you just listen to me?" Oliver's frustrated voice floated up the stairs to where Diggle had just entered the lair.

He heard Felicity huff as he started down the stairs. "You're not in charge of me, Oliver." There was a distinct edge to her voice that Diggle was much too familiar with.

The two of them came into his sight. Felicity was standing with her hands on her hips, glaring up at Oliver. Only inches from her, Oliver's mouth was set in a frown and his arms were crossed. "This isn't a discussion, Felicity," he told her, his voice steely.

"You're right. It isn't. It's my choice." She narrowed her eyes at him as if daring him to contradict her statement.

Pausing, Diggle debated whether or not he wanted to get into the middle of this argument. Again. It was true that he hadn't been involved in Team Arrow business much lately due to Lyla's pregnancy, but another contributing factor to his absences was the tension surrounding Oliver and Felicity. Every time he arrived, they were either fighting or giving each other the silent treatment, and, no matter how often he tried to talk to them, he couldn't figure out the root of their issue.

"Still having problems?" he asked, alerting both of them to his presence.

Felicity whirled to face him, her eyes lighting up. "Digg, tell Oliver that…"

"Woah, woah," Digg held his hands up in a placating gesture. "Not getting involved."

"But Felicity is being…" Oliver started to protest, but stopped as Diggle glared at him.

"No. I've had enough from you two."

Oliver's frown deepened and Felicity pursed her lips, but neither said anything. Both of them knew that they were being ridiculous, but neither would admit it. Apparently, their brilliance and bravery didn't translate into admitting that they were in the wrong and apologizing.

"Close your eyes," Diggle ordered, his tone militant and demanding obedience. "Now."

Felicity's eyes snapped closed even as she asked, "Why?"

Echoing her question, Oliver obeyed as well.

Unable to suppress a bit of a grin, Diggle reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of handcuffs, careful not to let the metal clink together. "It's a surprise. Hold out your hands."

Immediately, both their expressions lightened and they obeyed much less reluctantly. Diggle carefully judged the distance between them and formulated his plan. Felicity first.

"No peeking," he cautioned, moving towards Felicity. "Lyla made this for you, but don't look until I tell you."

He waited for her answering nod before he snapped the cuff on her left wrist. As expected, she didn't even flinch at the feeling. Diggle had suspected that she wouldn't know what handcuffs felt like.

"Can I look yet?" she asked excitedly.

"Are we almost done?" Oliver demanded at the same time in an aggravated tone.

"Almost. Take one step over this way, and there." Diggle snapped the other half of the cuff down on Oliver's right wrist and quickly stepped back.

Oliver's eyes flew open and took in the scene in one horrified glance. "What. Have. You. Done?"

A wide-eyed stare was Felicity's shocked response.

Diggle smiled and held up the key, then very deliberately put in into his pocket. "It's called mediating. Now talk."

He left without a backward glance.

…

"Can't you just get these off?" Felicity shook her left arm, making the links in the cuffs rattle. She fully expected him to get them out of the mess that Diggle had left them in without a problem, but so far he was just sitting there, looking as annoyed as she felt.

"With my left hand and without hurting one of us?" he asked insultingly. "No."

Sighing, Felicity leaned back against the wall. There were sitting side-by-side on the floor as that was the only comfortable position they had managed to find. "So then what do we do?"

Oliver grimaced. "I have a meeting at work in," he glanced at his watch, "thirty minutes. And as the newly reinstated CEO, I don't feel like I should miss it."

"Great," Felicity muttered under her breath. "Just great."

...

The drive to Queen Consolidated was uncomfortable in more ways than one. The handcuffs made driving difficult. Oliver, as the driver, had things easier than Felicity did as the passenger, because he just had to keep both hands on the wheel. She, however, had to squish herself as close to the driver's side as she could so that Oliver could have a firm grip with his right hand.

The silence was even worse than the physical discomfort, in Felicity's opinion. Normally, when she was this close to Oliver in a confined space, she couldn't help but breath in his scent and imagine his arms around her and his lips on hers. This time was different, though. Instead of sexual tension there was just plain tension, dampening both their moods and making normal conversation impossible.

A sharp corner sent Felicity flying into Oliver's shoulder, making her gasp more in surprise than in pain.

"You okay?" he asked immediately, shooting her a concerned glance as she righted herself.

"I'm fine."

And that was all their conversation for the whole trip.
…

"A brighter future, for both Starling and Queen Consolidated."

Felicity rolled her eyes at the forced enthusiasm in Oliver's tone. As far as she could tell, his only real job was to pretend that he knew what he was doing, approve other people's decisions, and give cheesy pep talks.

An idea wormed its way into Felicity's brain. An idea that would irritate Oliver, but would finally get her point across. And besides, there was nothing he could do to her in front of all the people present.

Holding up their linked hands suddenly, Felicity jumped in. "And one way we, Queen Consolidated, intend to build this brighter future is by improving cooperation and communication among employees."

Oliver stared at her, slack-jawed and with a glint of annoyance clear in his eyes. He saw what she was doing, and he didn't like it. But she didn't care. Ever since the Goblin incident and their subsequent kiss on the training mat, things between them had been weird. He had started backing off emotionally and treating her like she was made of glass. Every time Felicity had tried to confront her about it, he had pushed her away or changed the subject. Finally, she had snapped and constant tension had erupted between them. Now, she finally had the chance to figure out why.

"Mr. Queen and I," she continued, "are demonstrating how difficult cooperation can sometimes be. However, good communication can ease these difficulties and pave the way towards a better tomorrow." She shot him a meaningful glance, hoping he would catch her hint and realize that she wanted them to talk about their issues.

He glared at her, but there was nothing he could do now. "Thank you, Miss Smoak, for explaining our little exercise." Raising his voice, he addressed the room at large, "But I believe that the results are still inconclusive. Sometimes, excess communication and cooperation can be dangerous in certain situations." Seeing blank looks greeting that statement, he amended it quickly. "I mean, it can dangerously impede creativity and innovation among our staff."

Before Felicity could jump in with another pointed statement, he changed the subject. "Moving on…"

…

"It's about the Goblin, isn't it." It was more of a statement than a question, but Felicity still wanted confirmation. They were back at the lair and it was getting late, so she judged that one last attempt to break the icy silence and talk to Oliver was worth a try.

He sighed, but he finally responded. "Yeah."

"Okayyy," she dragged the word out. "So what's the big problem?"

"You almost died."

Slowly, Felicity slipped her hand into his. "I know the dangers of being a part of this life, Oliver. It's my choice to make, and I made it."

"You don't understand, Felicity," he growled. "I care about you, and you almost died. It's what happens to everyone I care about."

Suddenly, Felicity understood. Her near-death experience coupled with their passionate kiss just reminded Oliver of all that he had lost. All the people who he thought had died just because he loved them.

"Babysitting me isn't going to change anything," she whispered softly. "I make my own choices." His shoulder was tense as she leaned her head on it, but she felt the muscles slowly start to relax under her touch.

"I know," he mumbled unhappily.

"So you're going to start acting normally again?"

"Do I have another choice?"

She chuckled. "No."

His head tilted to lean against hers on his shoulder. "Fine."

And Felicity knew that they would be fine.

…

Diggle crept into the lair early the next morning, preparing himself for the outrage and yelling to come from his angry friends. What he saw instead came as a pleasant surprise.

The spare double cot was set up next to the salmon ladder. On it was Oliver, his back to Diggle, arms holding Felicity close to his chest. Both were asleep. Judging by the wrinkled state of their clothing, they had obviously been there all night and hadn't bothered to go home and chance. However, he assumed that they had worked out their difficulties.

Quietly, he walked over to them and placed the key to the cuffs in Felicity's slightly open hand.

They would thank him later.

Please review! Did it feel too choppy?