A/N: This chapter was inspired by StoryLover6998 - I hope you like how it turned out =). As always, I love hearing your thoughts and ideas, so please review!

This chapter does briefly reference the events of last chapter, just fyi.

Enjoy =).

He didn't know what he had done, but he knew that it must have been bad. Really bad.

After the recent publicity nightmare uncovering his supposed secret love affair with Felicity, he had decided that it was pointless to continue ignoring the attraction between them, and so they had become a couple.

Everything had been going so well. Actually, maybe 'perfectly' had been a better word to describe their relationship.

Then something, something that Oliver couldn't identify, had changed. Felicity had become a lot more closed off and distant. She still went through the motions of being his girlfriend, but the passion between them had inexplicably vanished.

Perhaps the strangest part of all of this was that every time he tried to bring the subject up, she would suddenly find pressing Arrow business that required her full attention. Or it would be some other flimsy excuse to escape his company. That behaviour was so unlike the usual, bubbly Felicity he knew that it worried him a little. Was there something wrong that he was missing?

"Why the long face, Ollie?"

Oliver looked up and met Thea's eyes. She was standing in the doorway to his room, holding a glass of orange juice and still her pajama pants. She yawned and strolled casually into his room, then sat next to him on his bed. He scooted over slightly so that she had more room to perch.

"Not trying to intrude or anything, but you just looked so depressed. What's wrong?" She stared at him expectantly.

Hesitating, Oliver struggled with the best way to explain his situation without sounding like he couldn't communicate with his own girlfriend. But having a woman's perspective in this case could be invaluable. "It's Felicity," he finally admitted.

"Girl trouble," Thea nodded understandingly, taking a sip of her juice. "Go on."

Oliver spread his hands helplessly. "I'm not even sure how to explain, Speedy," he admitted. "Everything was great, and then all of a sudden, it wasn't. She pulled away from me and I can't figure out why."

"Hmm," Thea's eyes unfocused as she thought. "And she won't talk to you?"

Oliver shook his head. "She leaves every time I try to bring it up."

"Have you tried showing her how you feel?" she asked casually. "I mean, you guys kinda started dating without really dating, if you know what I mean."

Her statement made Oliver pause. It was true that their relationship had gone from zero to sixty in the space of a couple days, but it had never occurred to him that she might have been bothered by that. "And that's a problem?" he asked, honestly confused.

'Oh, Ollie," Thea patted his shoulder fondly. "Woman like to be wooed. Courted. Romanced. Try some of that, okay?" she smiled. "Anyway, I have to get ready - I'm meeting Roy soon for brunch."

"Okay," Oliver responded vacantly, deep in thought. "And Speedy?" she turned around on her way out to face him. "Thanks for the advice."

...

Felicity exited the small dress shop, a pink bag on her arm. She didn't even notice him. From his position leaning against the wall behind her, Oliver watched her pause and lift her face towards the sky, soaking up the morning sunshine. It was a beautiful sight. Her blonde hair gleamed, adding another dimension of colour to the simple ponytail she always wore. She looked more relaxed than he could remember seeing her lately - there was no mission, no danger, just pure enjoyment of nature.

Before he was done soaking in her beauty, she started off down the street, her low heels making clicking sounds against the cobblestone sidewalk.

This is it. Oliver pushed off from the wall and started after her with long strides, quickly catching up to her more leisurely pace.

"Felicity," he greeted her warmly while slipping his hand into hers. "What a coincidence, running into you here."

She didn't let go of his hand, but she did shoot him a look that clearly conveyed her disbelief that this meeting was an accident. "Oliver," she imbued her voice with false enthusiasm. "Great to see you." The tension was back - he could see it in the way she held herself. It hurt to know that he was the one who had put it there. But, that was quickly going to chance. He hoped.

"So, do you have any plans for today?" he asked, trying not to show her how desperately he needed her to say that she was free.

Hesitatingly, she replied, "No, I guess I'm free. Why?"

Oliver grinned in boyish excitement. "Because I'm taking you on a proper date."

"Uh," she stared at him like he had lost his mind. "You're what?"

Chuckling, Oliver tugged at her fingers, leading her towards their first stop. "You'll see," he promised.

...

"Favourite flower?"

She thought for a moment, biting her lip absentmindedly. "Hmm. It's clichéd, but I really like roses."

Grinning at the sight of her lost in thought, Oliver almost didn't hear her response.

The day was turning out even more perfectly than he could have imagined. They had gone out for lunch at a little Chinese restaurant and had ordered just a couple dishes to share. He couldn't imagine that eating with chopsticks could be sexy, but somehow, she had managed to make it so that his blood heated up with every bite she took. Aside from the sexual tension charging each moment, they had had some great conversation for the first time in a long time.

Now, they were walking along, still hand in hand, on their way to a little flower stand Oliver had seen earlier.

"Roses," he finally repeated absentmindedly. "Those are good." He smacked himself mentally for his dumb response. Pay attention Oliver, he ordered himself.

Luckily, they turned the corner and the stand was right there, saving him from having to fix his reply.

"Oliver?" she breathed. "Are you buying me flowers? Because no one has ever bought me flowers before and I think it is so romantic and a little cheesy. But in the best way," she hastened to add.

"Stay right there and close your eyes," he told her, stopping her rambling. Gently, he ran the pad of his thumb over her cheek, the touch sending tingles down his arm. He heard her breathing speed up to match his already elevated breathing. Finally her eyes fluttered closed and her lips parted slightly.

Oliver nearly groaned at the sight. His big plan involved a passionate kiss at the end of their day, but his self-control told him that there was no way he was going to make it that long without kissing her. Cupping her cheek, he pulled her towards him and covered her lips with his in a feather-light touch. She exhaled, the feeling of her hot breath against his mouth nearly undermining what little self-control he had left. By some superhuman force of will, he pulled away.

"Wow," she breathed, her eyes wide and pupils dilated.

"That's just an appetizer," he promised, his voice deeper than usual. "Now, keep your eyes closed and try not to tempt me any further?" He didn't realize he had said that last past aloud until she laughed, a throaty chuckle that nearly made him forget his master plan altogether. He noticed that the tension in her frame was gone.

Gathering his shreds of self-control, Oliver took a deep breath and turned to the elderly woman minding the stand, who was grinning widely at him. "A bouquet of roses, please. Fuschia, if you have them." He didn't meet the woman's eyes.

"Oh, the joys of young love," she enthused, gathering the flowers he had requested into a plastic sleeve to protect them. He took the flowers and paid her, ignoring her suggestive wink.

Returning to Felicity, he whispered in her ear, "Open your eyes."

Slowly, she blinked them open and stared right into the bouquet. Oliver noticed with a mixture of amusement and desire that the roses were the exact colour of her lips. She leaned in and inhaled the scent, her eyes half-closing in pleasure. "They're beautiful. Thank you."

The way she looked at him, with love and need in her eyes, made him glad that he had taken Thea's advice to try being a little romantic.

"Not nearly as beautiful as you are." He was glad that his cheesy comment made her blush instead of laugh. "And I give up." That last comment was directed at himself, not at her, but she looked confused. He didn't clarify - it was too long a story to explain how he couldn't stick to his plan and he had to kiss her right now, while her cheeks were heated and the memory of their last kiss was fresh on his lips.

He wrapped his arms around her, careful to keep the flowers safe behind her back. Heedless of anyone watching, he crushed his lips to hers, breathing in her scent and reveling in her softness. She moaned against him, and he immediately deepened the kiss, reacting to her wordless request.

From that moment on, Oliver knew that he and Felicity were going to be fine.

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