Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy!
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Oliver and Felicity end up sharing a bed. Oliver finds new ways to be overly protective.
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"What are you doing?" Felicity asks, as she walks into her bedroom, running a hand over her tired face.
"Moving your bed." Oliver replies, as if it's the most normal thing in the world.
"Yes, I see that," Felicity sighs, "I was looking for a reason."
It had been a stressful week for team Arrow, this night imparticular; they'd finally caught a fresh leed on the latest killer they were chasing and things had been looking up, but when Oliver reached the old warehouse that Felicity had tracked the man to, all he found was another body.
At first, Oliver had been angry, but his anger was soon forgotten as exhaustion set in. They'd left the foundry late, later than usual, and he had taken it upon himself to make sure Felicity got home safe. Oliver hated the idea of Felicity going through the glades in the middle of the night, completely alone, especially when there was a pshycopath out there somewhere, killing women.
When Oliver had walked Felicity to her door, he had suddenly realised just how tired he was. She had, of course, noticed this and insisted that he stay the night. Oliver had offered to sleep on the couch, but Felicity made it clear that that wasn't happening; not when it was so small and definitely not after the night he'd just had. She would have offered him the guest bed, but she was far too tirde, herself, to make it up. So, Felicity told him to take hers and she would spend the night on the couch.
But, Oliver didn''t want Felicity to have to sleep down there while he took her bed from her, so after a few minutes of awkward babbling and negotiating, it had been decided that they were both mature enough to share Felicity's bed.
That is how they ended up where they were now; with Felicity standing in her bedroom doorway and Oliver pushing her wooden bed towards one of the walls.
"Because I need to." Oliver says, pulling at one of the corner posts so he can turn the bed so one side of it is pressed up against the wall.
"Is this one of those weird feng shuai things? Because I really didn't have you pegged as the kinda person to be bothered by all that stuff."
"What? No, of course not, don't be ridiculous." As he says this, Oliver is moving towards the window, checking that the locks on it are secure.
"I'm being ridiculous? You're the one rearranging my bedroom for no reason." Felicity replies, both curious and exasperated as to what exactly the man before her is doing.
"It's not for no reason," He grumbles, finally turning back to face her, and it's then that Felicity sees a nervous, almost scared, look in her friend's eyes.
"Oliver," her tone is soft, now, as she approaches him slowly "what is going on? Why did you have to move my bed?"
"I'm trying to keep you safe." Oliver states, sincerely, his strong gaze piercing right into her soul.
"By moving my bed?" She asks.
"I need to be between you and the danger, Felicity, I always need to be." He's confusing her now; she doesn't understand how rearranging her furniture is going to make her any safer.
"Oliver, there's no danger here, we're in my house, everything's fine." She tries to soothe him, but he just shakes his head and clenches his fists.
"There is a man out there killing women, Felicity. Killing them. And some of them were taken from their homes, from places they thought they were safe. I can't let the same thing happen to you." Oliver is loud and close, trying to make her realise how important to him it is that she is safe. "And that means, being between you and anything that can hurt you."
Felicity still doesn't understand what any of this has to do with her bed, but it does answer a lot of other questions she's had floating around in her head. Oliver was acting strange because he's worried about her, he thinks she's going to get hurt, he's putting himself in a position to shield her from harms way again.
She's about to say something when Oliver carries on, and Felicity finds herself surprised at just how much the usually quite man has to say tonight.
"I had to move your bed because I couldn't prtect you from all possible threats from where it was." He begins, "There was a door on one side and a window on the other, I couldn't protect you from both entry points that way. With the bed how it is now, you're between the wall and I; nothing can get to you without having to go through me first."
Felicity can feel both her cheeks and her heart warming as she listens to him talk, though she also feels the slightest bit of fear creeping in. Fear that this man, this man that she knows she loves, is so ready and willing to put himself in danger if it means keeping her safe. Felicity doesn't think she could handle it if he got seriously hurt on her behalf.
It's not until she feels cold hands on her cheeks that Felicity realises there are tears rolling down her face, silent sobs racking her body as she stands there, clad in the least dorky pyjamas she could find.
"Please don't cry, Felicity. I didn't mean to make you cry, I'm sorry, I'll put it back." Oliver says, quietly, his thumbs gently wiping away her tears.
"No, no it's not that, it's just," she lets out a choked little laugh, "I've never had any who cared about me enough to worry so much." Felicity finishes, quietly.
"Come on, let's get some sleep, okay?" Oliver says, hands slipping from her face, one of them reaching down for hers.
He shuts off the light and guides Felicity to the bed, letting her slip in first so she lies facing the wall. When Oliver climbs in behind her, he surprises even himself with his natural instinct to wrap her up in his arms, though it's not the first time he's felt the urge. He decides that if ever there were a time to give in, this would be it.
Felicity's body still shakes slightly as her sobs fade away, but she settles fully when she feels herself being pulled against a hard chest, and Oliver's nose nuzzles her neck.
"Thank you." She whispers, burrowing further into his embrace.
"For what?" Oliver asks, his voice somewhat muffled.
"For protecting me," Felicity responds, "even if your methods are sometimes a little unorthadox."
She feels his body shake as a deep, rumbling laugh escapes Oliver's lips, his breath warm against her skin.
"Thank you for letting me."
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So, the first thoughts for this were about Oliver moving the bed around in attempt to protect Felicity, and the rest just sort of fit around it so it all made sense. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please let me know what you think; good or bad.
Thank you for reading.
