IMPORTANT: THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN POSTED BEFORE TO THIS STORY, A MISTAKE I DID NOT REALISE I HAD MADE. HOWEVER, BOTH THIS AND CHAPTER 14 ARE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT, SO BOTH ARE GOING TO BE LEFT UP, AND THE ACTUAL NEW CHAPTER WILL BE POSTED LATER TODAY. THANK YOU.

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Felicity goes out of town and returns to find Team Arrow have filled the foundry with things that remind them of her so it feels like she's still there.

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 their time spent building the new 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 usually 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 squeaked, gripping the young man's shoulders for support.

"Never leave again." He mumbled into her 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?"

Before he had the chance to reply, Oliver appeared in her line of sight, silently as ever, with a small smile on his face. He strode towards her, Diggle stepping back as the other man grew closer, and raised both arms towards her.

She expected him to simply lay his hands on her shoulders, but was pleasantly surprised when he used them to pull her into his chest. Her initial shock wore off quickly, though, and she raised her own arms to wrap around his shoulders, raising on her toes to do so.

"Felicity." He sighed into her hair, a warm breath against her ear, arms tightening around her waist.

"Hey." She replied, though it sounded more like a question even to her own ears.

"I just- I really missed you." Oliver breathed, burying his face into the space between her neck and shoulder, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair.

Roy had been right; apples and vanilla.

If possible, Felicity felt herself softening even more against him, practically melting into his embrace.

"I missed you, too," she murmured, afraid she'd break their quite moment if she spoke too loud, "I promise I'll come back sooner next time."

Suddenly, Oliver pulled back slightly to look into her face, his arms still holding her securely against himself.

"No next times," he stated, "no more leaving."

Even they both knew it was an irrational request, Felicity found herself nodding her agreement anyway, earning a bright grin from Oliver.

"Good." He whispered, before pulling her back into his chest.

A few moments silence passed before Felicity couldn't wait any longer to ask, pulling her head back to look into Oliver's eyes.

"So, are we going to talk about the bear sitting on my desk, or...?"

So, this has been in the works for a while now, but with exams coming up, this has been my first chance to finish and post it. I'm ill at the minute, a cold/flu type thing, so hopefully I'll bee able to get a few more chapters written over the next few days while I'm at home.

Hope you enjoyed this one and, as always, comments are really, really appreciated - I read every single one. Thanks a lot, guys :))