Felicity goes out of town for two weeks and Team Arrow fill up the foundry with bright colours because they miss her.
She'd only been gone for a couple of weeks and during that time she'd skyped at least one of her boys back home everyday.
But, still, the foundry grew so quickly cold and dark without her presence, her natural light - things were just different when she wasn't around.
Roy missed Felicity a lot, having become close friends with her when he'd first joined the team. He'd been worried about being the outsider, the unneeded part to an already well oiled machine, but the IT girl had opened her arms and her heart to him immediately, joking with him and making him feel welcome.
Diggle knew Felicity better than anyone else down in that basement, having spent such great lengths of time with her in the re building of the foundry during Oliver's first return to Lian Yu and he'd grown used to her presence. John Diggle was good at what he did for Team arrow, but he enjoyed it because of Felicity, and without her he felt the moral dipping substantially.
Oliver was tougher on, well, everyone. He pushed Roy to his limits and then some in training, pounded his frustrations into sparring with Diggle and was more brutal - without killing, of course - in his crime fighting. His moods ranged from lime to lemon on the sour scale and his brooding - somehow - increased tenfold.
Sara knew to keep well away from the foundry in the other blonde's absence.
Then, one day, Roy walked into the lair with a red candle which he promptly placed on Felicity's desk beside her monitors before turning to answer to the questioning looks of his team mates.
"It's apple and vanilla." He shrugged, as though that explained anything.
"So why have you brought it down here?" Oliver bit out, glaring at the candle as if it offended him on a personal level.
"Well, it's just.. Felicity always smells like apples and vanilla, and I know we all miss her, so I just thought..." Roy trailed off, gaze firmly locked on the floor.
Diggle's features softened instantly, and he'd swear he saw a slight uptick to Oliver's lip.
The foundry was silent after that, though it was filled with far less tension than in recent weeks, with the familiar scent of their absent friend wafting through the space.
When Diggle found a light blue cardigan of Felicity's balled up in the back of the foundry and he hung it from the back of her chair, he told himself it was so she'd see it as soon as she returned.
Not so that he could pretend she'd just stepped out of the room for a moment
By the end of the first week, bright green and purple pillows had appeared on the ratty old couch and flowers were dotted around the space, as well as a small teddy bear wearing a yellow dress and glasses that Oliver swore he didn't buy.
Digg and Roy knew better.
When Felicity first punched in the ever familiar door code and began her decent down the metal staircase, she recoiled almost immediately as the strong smells hit her nose.
Finally reaching the basement floor and looking around, she was sure she must have walked into the wrong secret lair because this... was not how she remembered things.
Because when Felicity set off on her trip two weeks ago, there were no scented candles in assorted colours spread around the foundry, nor were there fluffy blankets or vibrant pillows. She definitely doesn't remember the teddy bear.
Before she had the chance to take in more of the space, she was being scooped up and spun around by two strong arms.
"Roy?!" She squealed, gripping the young man's shoulders for support.
"Never leave again." He mumbled into the shoulder where he'd buried his face as he clung to her.
"Aw, Roy, I missed you, too." Felicity cooed, rubbing at the back of his head, her feet still dangling above the ground.
Footsteps sounded from the other side of the room, and suddenly Digg was striding towards them, a wide small upon his face.
"Don't hog her, kid, Diggle wants some sunshine, too."
"Sunshine?" Felicity giggled, even as she bounded happily towards the tall man and jumped up to hug him, placing a kiss to his cheek.
"I missed you, girl." He told her quietly, placing an equally soft kiss onto her rosy cheek.
Somehow, she sank even further into the warm embrace she'd missed so much and smiled lightly.
"I missed you, too, John," She whispered, "Is Oliver here?"
"Hi." A gruff voice said from behind her, and she turned to see the man in question standing a few feet away with a light smile on his face.
"Hey." She replied, waiting for Digg to release her so she could walk towards the vigilante.
Felicity expected a hand on her shoulder, her cheek, even, if Oliver was feeling especially affectionate. She was not, however, expecting to be pulled forward as soon as she was withing arms length of him and pressed tight against his broad chest, with two strong arms wrapped around her waist.
Letting out a startled yelp, Felicity flailed for a moment, before finally relaxing into her friend's embrace, raising her arms around his neck and feeling the tension there ebb away.
"I missed you." He breathed, bending a little to rest his head on her shoulder. Neither saw the knowing looks their team mates were throwing in their direction, not that it mattered when they were reunited after two long weeks.
"I was only gone for two weeks, Oliver." She laughed, turning her head to face his, just as he raised it to look her in the eyes. The space left between them was close to non existent.
"I know," he replied, quietly, looking a every bit like a lost puppy. How does he do that with his eyes, Felicity wondered, because her heart was breaking a little just looking at them, "I still missed you."
"Oh, sweetie, I missed you, too." She affirmed, earning her a bright grin just before Oliver buried his face back in the crook of her neck, where she could feel just how big his smile was against her skin.
"Oh, thank God!" Roy yelled, after another moment, effectively breaking the moment as the rooms other three occupants turned to stare at him, "I could not take another beating from Broody McHeart-eyes over there."
Felicity looked back at Oliver to see a deep blush spreading over his face as he resolutely stared at the floor, and so she reached out a hand to his arm with a smile set on her face.
Turning so she could see everyone in the room, Felicity finally addressed the elephant in the room.
"So, is anyone going to explain the teddy bear?"
I thought something happier and fluffier was required after the angst fest that was the previous chapter. Hope you enjoyed it!
Send me prompts on tumblr laurially on Tumblr