Note: Hey guys! Long time no see, right? I am so sorry for not updating this story for so long and unfortunately, I have an announcement to make to those of you who don't follow me on tumblr or twitter.

I have been having A LOT of school work going on recently, and I'm juggling this story as well as one for The Walking Dead at the moment and it's becoming a bit much for me. I'm going to take a small posting hiatus on this story, which means that there won't be any new chapters of this for maybe like a month or so... I need to take the pressure off myself for a while and get my head in the game at school. That doesn't mean that I won't write though, so hopefully, I'll be able to finish a couple of chapters before I start posting again and then be able to start posting more regularly!

So, that was that, I suppose... Don't worry about me giving up on the story completely, because I have it all planned out, but I just need some time, as I said... I hope you understand.

Thank you for all the love I have gotten so far and don't forget to read the end note, because I have something to say there as well! :)

Please enjoy!


Hunted

Supernatural hunter Oliver Queen's latest mission's name is Felicity Smoak; a new born hybrid who has gone rogue and left her master. The new hunt brings unexpected twists and turns and when the young hybrid saves his life, Oliver realizes that there might be more to the girl than meets the eye. The hybrid might not be the biggest monster in Starling City and as their unexplainable bond grows stronger, he learns that you can't plan who you fall in love with.


Chapter 13: The Revelation

"Tell me again why you couldn't just wait for Barrera to give you the information himself?" Felicity complained as she hooked up the phone Oliver had given her to her computers.

Oliver rolled his eyes at her before stripping off his hood. "I told you that we needed to try those hook things you built," he said. "What better way to try them than to kill a vampire assassin with them?"

Felicity circled around in her chair and rested her elbows on the desk before burying her face in her hands. "I can't believe I'm an arms-dealer," she muttered.

"Felicity, you're not an arms-dealer," Diggle said. The man was currently standing by his weapons arsenal, cleaning his guns while he watched Oliver and Felicity's exchange with something that Oliver could only describe as amusement.

"I made the device, didn't I?" Felicity retorted. "I've become the Arrow's own personal weapons specialist for killing Dark Ones, but I guess I'm not evil... Right?" She looked over at Oliver who shook his head at her in confirmation.

"You're not evil," he told her, walking over to where she was sitting. He put his hand on her shoulder and she smiled up at him a little before turning back to her computer.

"So will you at least tell me whether it worked?" she asked, still not looking at him.

"You heard me say that he was dead, didn't you? The device had a controlled explosion that embedded a bunch of small stakes into the vampire's chest. He died instantly," Oliver said.

Felicity covered his hand that was still resting on her shoulder with her own. "I know that he was a bad guy, but it makes me feel a bit better to at least know that it was quick," she admitted. Oliver's thumb brushed her shoulder as he stood by her side and gently, she squeezed his hand.

Two weeks had passed since that night that Felicity had once again saved his life and the night that she had slept over in his mansion. A lot of things had changed between them since that night when Felicity had opened up about her past. He understood her a lot better than he had before and both of them were a lot more comfortable with each other. Maybe it had to do with the fact that he now knew that Felicity wasn't technically dead like the majority of the other Dark Ones were? Or the fact that he now saw her as someone who had once been innocent, only to be mixed up in a world that she had never wanted to be a part of?

Nevertheless, things had changed and in his mind, it was for the better.

That morning after they had woken up, the two of them had gone down to the kitchen together, expecting to be the only ones in the mansion that late. However, apparently both his mother and Thea had stayed behind that morning. Felicity had been embarrassed at first when Thea had literally squealed at the revelation that Felicity had slept over. His younger sister had insisted on showing Felicity around the mansion and Felicity had seemed thankful to get away from his mother at least, so she had gone with Thea. Oliver had watched them leave, his heart doing strange things in his chest when Felicity glanced back at him one more time before rounding the corner. He had fully expected his mother to begin lecturing him on inappropriate behavior with his Executive Assistant, but for some reason, no such comments had been made. Instead, his mother had simply asked if there was a reason that Felicity was there and he had gone with the excuse that a pipe had burst in her apartment and that she had needed a place for the night. His mother had seemed to accept that and when Thea and Felicity had returned, she had surprised him even more by actually being polite to Felicity while they all ate breakfast together. What had been even more surprising was that when Felicity had pointed out that she would probably get lost again in their mansion, despite Thea showing her around, Oliver's mother had laughed before easing into a simple work-related conversation with Felicity.

According to Felicity, it had been a little strange, but at the same time nice. She had told Oliver later as they drove to Queen Consolidated together that his mother wasn't so bad when one got to know her.

Moira's changed attitude toward Felicity wasn't the only thing that was different about his mother. The woman seemed to only become more secretive and distant as the days passed. Oliver hadn't wanted to think much of it until Walter had come forth and expressed his concern for his wife. Oliver had since then been keeping an eye on his mother and also asked Diggle to help in case he noticed something strange. So far, two weeks had gone by and they hadn't seen anything off with her.

"Are you seriously going with that name?" Diggle asked Felicity, causing Oliver to get back to reality. "'The Arrow' sounds a lot better than 'the Hood' but I didn't know that it was going to become a thing," the older man mused.

"Yeah, it does sound better," Felicity agreed. "It's more heroic, which I think suits Oliver just fine. I'm trying to spread the name around on the Internet so maybe more people will catch on," she grinned at them.

"Felicity..." Oliver sighed, shaking his head at her. They had far more important things to think about than what people were calling him out on the streets.

"Oliver," Felicity drawled, pointedly looking up at him from under her lashes. "Don't deny me this, please?"

Oliver only shook his head at her, but couldn't help the twitching in the corner of his mouth. He let go of her shoulder, just then realizing that he had been resting his hand there for well over ten minutes, before walking off to the training area where he immediately began his workout. He heard Felicity sigh behind him and smirked, knowing very well that the hybrid had been watching him as he took off his shirt.

"You're going to try to see who it was that hired Barrera and who the assassin was hired to kill?" Diggle asked Felicity.

"Yeah, it might take a couple of minutes to decrypt the phone," Felicity replied.

Oliver did a few more sets of workouts before grabbing a towel. "You get that phone decoded while I take a shower," he told Felicity. "We need to figure out why Barrera was in town tonight. Otherwise his target is going to get someone else on his back."

"And what if the target is a criminal too?" Felicity questioned.

"Then we'll deal with it," Oliver winked before walking away. Before he turned, he caught the sight of Felicity's cheeks turning a little red and he had to admit to himself that he kind of, secretly of course, liked it.

-§-

Felicity turned back to her computer but turned to face Diggle when she sensed that his eyes still hadn't moved from her.

"May I help you with something, Mr. Diggle?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.

"If you can answer a question, maybe you could," Diggle chuckled even though there was a hint of seriousness on his face.

"Yes?" Felicity inquired.

"Did Oliver just wink at you?" the older man wondered.

Felicity cleared her throat. "Yeah, uh, so?" Diggle shot her a look and she sighed. "We're friends, Dig... Or well, I'm assuming we are."

"You've certainly changed around each other since you slept over at his place," Diggle mused.

"Oh, come on, Dig," Felicity snorted.

"I'm serious," Diggle deadpanned. "Ever since I picked you both up at the mansion, Oliver has been nicer to you and you keep getting that twinkle in your eyes when you look at him!"

"Are you accusing us of something?" Felicity couldn't help but giggle. Diggle was being ridiculous. Sure, she and Oliver might have grown a bit closer since that night in the mansion and he was being nicer to her, but from what Felicity understood, it was all about them finding common ground. He understood more about her now that she had shared a part of her story and she was thankful for the fact that he hadn't pushed her away.

She had begun to think that she would never get Oliver to truly trust her, but it seemed like all she had needed to be, was patient and honest with him. He had listened to her that night and they had connected on a deeper level than she believed she had ever connected with anyone before.

"Not accusing, merely pointing out," Diggle smirked. "Although, I have to say that the change is nice. You both seem more relaxed and comfortable around each other."

"And by that you mean that Oliver doesn't look like he wants to shove a stake in my heart every time I say something," Felicity laughed.

"Pretty much, yeah," Diggle chuckled. "I'm guessing that you, just like Oliver, won't tell me why you slept over at his place?" Felicity played with the hem of her skirt, her foot tapping lightly against the floor of the Foundry. "Was your condition worse than we thought after Alonzo?" Diggle asked, suddenly serious again.

She looked up at him, seeing genuine concern in the older man's eyes, so she couldn't not answer him. "I was fine, Dig," she said calmly. "I didn't even drink the blood Oliver gave me... I think everything about that night just kind of blew up in our faces and we-" She cut herself off and shook her head. What was she even supposed to tell Diggle? It wasn't as if anything huge had happened between her and Oliver that night, even though they all felt the change in both their relationship and their dynamic.

And by 'relationship' she clearly meant 'friendship'.

"We talked things over," Felicity settled. "We sorted a few things out and I guess we kind of accepted that we're both a part of the same team."

Diggle hummed and nodded thoughtfully, "That's good. It feels good to come down here and not have to worry about forcing the two of you off each other..." Felicity could feel her eyes widen at Diggle's statement and the man in question groaned. "I mean that it's nice to know that you're not trying to kill each other... Christ, is your rambling contagious?"

Felicity couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up in her throat and she giggled a little, but pretty soon her shoulders were shaking as she laughed out loud. Diggle joined her just as they both heard the bathroom door open. They looked over, still chuckling a bit, but when Felicity's eyes settled on Oliver's bare chest, still dripping from the shower while he wiped his face with a white towel, his dark jeans hanging dangerously low on his hips, her breath caught in her throat.

He looked over at her and Diggle with a confused look on his face, "What are you two laughing about?" His blue eyes seemed to be a thousand times bluer and Felicity found herself wondering how it was even possible for a man like him to have been created.

"Diggle just told me a funny story," she said quickly, perhaps a little too quickly because she could smell the doubt coming off of Oliver's body. Doubt and something else that was so purely Oliver that it made her stomach tighten in a weird, but kind of nice, way.

"Oh?" Oliver raised his eyebrow. "Mind telling me what it was about?"

"Oh, come on, Oliver," Felicity smiled. "You don't really want to know."

"It wasn't that funny anyway," Diggle offered.

"Are the two of you ganging up on me behind my back?" Oliver frowned.

"Maybe," Felicity teased lightly, meeting Oliver's eyes. They stared into hers for a moment before he looked down, a smile playing on his lips that made him look younger and more relaxed.

"How's the decrypting going?" he asked, effectively changing the subject.

"Slow," Felicity shared. "Seems like whoever hired Barrera made sure that it would be difficult to get to them."

"Do you think we'll learn something new tonight?" Oliver frowned.

"Well, since I'm staying here, I can always text you both if something important comes up," Felicity shrugged. "You've had a long day, both of you. You should head home."

Diggle nodded in agreement, "I'm all for that."

"Mhm..." Oliver agreed, but his hand was kind of twitching. Felicity tilted her head and looked at him curiously. He was clearly thinking about something and whatever it was, it was bothering him.

At times Felicity wished that Oliver would just speak his mind. He had never had a problem with doing so before, when the two of them had (as Diggle had in a way put it) been all over each other. Since the two of them had become...friends, she had noticed that he kept a lot more inside, even if he on the other side was a bit more open with her when it came to showing affection.

"Is something wrong, Oliver?" she wondered and he shrugged before grabbing his shirt, pulling it on. Felicity ignored that feeling in her stomach when she watched his ripped muscles move with his motions and then focused on his face again.

"I've been thinking about you," he said and Felicity swore that if she had had water or something else in her mouth she would have choked. "About you staying here in the Foundry, I mean," Oliver quickly added when he got a side glance from Diggle who was gathering his own things.

"Oh?" Felicity inquired and Oliver nodded.

"I was thinking that after we deal with the Undertaking, maybe you can get an apartment or something of your own?" he said, his fingers playing with the edge of her desk. He wasn't looking at her anymore and she could swear that she could see a small blush on his face. "Until then though, I want you to be safe, which I guess means that you either stay here in the lair at night, or you come home with me... Or Diggle."

Felicity stared at him, her mouth falling open a bit. Was he actually telling her that she should come and stay with him if she wanted to get out of the lair? And that he wanted her to be safe? When she had thought about wanting him to be more open with her, she never would have expected it to be in this particular way.

"I, uh... You thought about all of this in the shower?" she asked, instantly face palming herself mentally. "You know what I mean," she mumbled when she saw the hint of a smile on Oliver's face.

"I've been thinking about it for a few days actually," he confessed. "It's just a suggestion, since I know that you could use a change of scenery from time to time."

"In that case," Felicity nodded slowly, "I think it might be easier if I slept at John's place."

Even a blind person would have been able to see the change on Oliver's face. The easy smile that had been there just a moment ago fell away and something akin to disappointment took it's place. Although, Felicity thought, it couldn't be, could it? Surely, Oliver understood why she wouldn't be able to come and sleep over at the mansion anymore. What would Thea say? Walter, Moira or anyone else who knew that Felicity was just supposed to be Oliver's E.A?

"I guess if Dig's fine with it," Oliver said after a while, turning to Diggle who nodded.

"Sure, I've got the room," the other man smiled at Felicity.

"But I can't tonight," Felicity said. "I need to get this phone decoded and I have some other things to look up, and it won't be a regular thing, just a once every other week or so in case I need a change of scenery."

"My door is always open for you, Felicity," Diggle said and Felicity thanked him with a smile.

"I guess we'll go then," Oliver said, looking back at Felicity. "Call me if anything comes up, okay?" He took a few steps toward her and rested his hand on her shoulder again, his face calmer than it had been a moment ago.

"Okay," Felicity agreed.

Oliver squeezed her shoulder a bit before letting go. He got his jacket and his things and then he and Diggle walked out of the Foundry, leaving Felicity alone. The blonde hybrid leaned back in her chair and sighed deeply, frustrated at whatever it was that she was feeling on the inside. She didn't want to ruin whatever it was that she and Oliver had started; this friendship meant a lot to her and she wouldn't just throw it away. It was clear to her that she needed to be careful and not get too attached to Oliver. As a hybrid, all the things she would normally feel were heightened, at least during the first year of being one. She had gone through the same thing when she had been just a simple werewolf, but now it was at least ten times worse.

No, she needed to stay focused at the work they had in front of them and she absolutely couldn't get involved with Oliver in any unprofessional way. Their mission was way too important for her to screw things up like that.

-§-

It turned out that it was the Triad, a network of made vampires, lead by the lamia vampire China White, who had hired Barrera. Or at least, from what Felicity had been able to tell, the Triad was involved in some way. Felicity, Diggle and Oliver had been speculating for two days now about who they might have hired to finish the hit.

In the end, Felicity had shared that a security camera at an airport had picked up the face of Floyd Lawton, and they had all decided that it was too much of a coincidence to not be him. When Diggle had learned that Lawton was back in town, he had gone home to get his head together and Felicity and Oliver had shared another conversation about who the hit was on. There were still parts of the phone that she was working on decrypting, but it was proving to be more difficult than they had initially though too, which meant that they still had no idea where to even start looking at potential targets.

Felicity suggested that she could seek out Lawton herself, since he hadn't wanted to hurt her despite the price on her head, but Oliver had told her sternly that she would be doing no such thing.

Since then the Felicity had angrily been ignoring him and Oliver really didn't understand why she was doing so. They had been busy at Queen Consolidated too, which meant that he hadn't been able to get her alone to actually talk it over and get things between them sorted again.

"Mr. Queen," Felicity said from the door between their offices. Oliver looked up at her, his eyes moving over her form as they usually did nowadays before meeting her gaze. "Mr. Merlyn is here to see you."

"Please, Felicity," Tommy smirked as he passed her in the doorway. "No need for formalities. We're all friends here, aren't we?"

Oliver stood from his seat, instantly putting the report that had been boring him to death away and stepped forward to embrace his friend. "Tommy? What are you doing here?" he asked, genuinely surprised.

"I came here to personally invite you to my father's benefit," Tommy said. "I didn't want to go first, but Laurel insisted that I work on my relationship with him and all that... Either way, I would like for you to come and be there as mental support."

"Mr. Queen is already invited to the benefit," Felicity spoke up. "I was just looking at the invite on my tablet."

Oliver looked over at her, but he could still see the slight coldness in her eyes. It was clear that she still wanted to try and get a hold of Lawton, despite Oliver telling her that there was no way to reason with the lamia vampire.

"Great, then you'll be there, right?" Tommy asked Oliver who kept looking at Felicity. "Or do you have too much work going on here...?"

Oliver knew that Tommy was still as curious as he had been since Thea had shared that she believed there was something going on between Oliver and Felicity, but his best friend understood when his questions weren't wanted.

"He can be there," Felicity said firmly.

"That's wonderful!" Tommy exclaimed happily.

"Felicity," Oliver said. "Didn't we have that other thing to take care of?" he asked her cryptically and she shook her head.

"It's nothing that I can't handle," she told him, a smug smile covering her face.

Was she really suggesting what he thought she was suggesting? That while he attended the benefit and Diggle worked his cover as his bodyguard, she would be going after Lawton like she had wanted to?

No way in hell.

"I do believe I have a plus one on that invite, don't I?" Oliver drawled, a smirk appearing on his face as he looked over at Felicity, completely forgetting for a moment that Tommy was there. "Would you like to accompany me, Felicity?"

Felicity's eyes widened visibly before she narrowed her eyes at him. He was clearly pissing her off, but he didn't really care at the moment. All he wanted was for her to be by his side so that he could keep an eye on her in case she decided to do something stupid. He was certain that it Diggle questioned him about it, the man would understand his reasoning.

"Oh, Thea would love having you there," Tommy told Felicity. "The entire Queen family is going to be there, which includes Thea. I think she mentioned that she might be bringing that boyfriend of hers..."

"The guy who stole her bag?" Oliver frowned.

"He gave it back," Felicity and Tommy said at the same time before looking at each other, laughing.

"Come on, Felicity," Tommy grinned. "You can't let Thea handle her overprotective big brother all by herself while her boyfriend is there? Isn't that against the girl code or something?"

Felicity side-eyed Oliver and then finally shrugged. "I suppose I can't," she said. "I'll be your plus one," she agreed. "And I'm wearing navy blue, so you better have a nice tie." She shot Oliver a pointed look before walking out of his office.

Tommy whistled a little and then turned to Oliver grinning, "Aren't I the best wing-man ever? Thea is going to love this."

Oliver rolled his eyes at his best friend before glancing over at Felicity. He was sure that the blonde had heart Tommy's comment due to her hybrid hearing. His thought was confirmed when he saw Felicity smirking down at her papers while clicking through a couple of files on her computer.

That benefit surely was looking more interesting in Oliver's eyes now.

-§-

There were a lot of people in the building.

Oliver looked over the crowd as he waited for Felicity to arrive with Diggle since Oliver had just gotten a ride with his mother and the rest of his family. The kid that Thea was seeing, Roy, was the only thing that was entertaining Oliver at the moment. The young man seemed to be feeling out of place and nervous all the time and Oliver loved playing the part of disapproving older brother, even though Thea would punch him in the arm for it from time to time. His mother and Walter didn't seem to mind the kid though, and truth be told, neither did Oliver really, but it was fun to tease.

"Did your date stand you up?" Tommy asked as he and Laurel approached him. Oliver had been standing in the corner of the room, not wanting any unnecessary attention and some peace and quiet.

"She's on her way," Oliver said, before adding: "And she's not my date."

"She's your plus one, isn't she?" Laurel smiled. "That kind of does make her your date."

"The two of you have been talking to Thea, haven't you?" Oliver groaned. "She hasn't shut up about me bringing Felicity to this benefit."

"Yeah, she said something about this being like your third date or something," Tommy said. "I think she counted her birthday party too since you spent most of your time with Felicity there."

"I'm not going to respond to that," Oliver told his friend, shaking his head while taking a sip from the champagne in his glass. Since he had returned from the Island, he hadn't been much of a drinker because he always needed to be alert and aware of his surroundings. Even tonight, he had told Diggle to take his Arrow suit with him in his trunk, just so that he could be sure that if anything happened and he needed to get out of there fast to deal with it, he would be ready.

"Hey," someone behind him said, and he instantly turned around when he recognized the voice as Felicity's. He wasn't able to keep his eyes from traveling over the formfitting, navy blue dress that fell to her feet. There was a slit on the left side, which showed off one creamy, smooth leg that made his mouth go dry and his mind fill with highly inappropriate images of having said leg wrapped around his waist while he–

"Felicity, right?" Laurel's voice cut off his thoughts. Oliver watched as his ex-girlfriend held out her hand for Felicity to shake.

"Yes," Felicity nodded. "You're Laurel... Gorgeous Laurel."

"Excuse me?" Laurel laughed.

"I meant that you look gorgeous," Felicity offered, brushing one of her loose locks behind her ear where an earring was dangling and glistening. "Sorry, I'm a bit awkward when it comes to social interaction," Felicity sheepishly added. "Tommy," she nodded curtly at Tommy who grinned at her.

"You look stunning, Felicity," Tommy complimented her before turning to Oliver. "Doesn't she, Ollie?"

Oliver glared at Tommy before turning back to Felicity. He could see that she was still a little mad at him over the whole Lawton deal, but she seemed to be expecting an answer to Tommy's question either way. "Yeah," Oliver cleared his throat. "You look beautiful."

Felicity's mouth twitched a little and she looked down as a light blush crept up her face. It was clear that he had managed to break through her wall at least a little and he was glad for that. If he was going to be stuck here all night long, he wouldn't want to have to deal with an angry Felicity too. He liked her a lot better when the two of them were on good terms with each other.

"How about you and I get the ladies some refreshments, Oliver?" Tommy suggested.

Oliver looked at Felicity's hands, noticing for the first time that she didn't have a drink.

'Of course she doesn't have a drink,' he thought. She had just arrived after all. He could see Diggle hovering in the background by the door, easily playing the part of the bodyguard.

"Yes, of course," Oliver answered. "What would you like to drink, Felicity?"

"Some champagne would be nice," she replied politely, but he could see that she deep down still wanted to punch him.

He nodded curtly and Tommy led him off toward the bar. "There should be more waiters circling around," Tommy pointed out. "Weird..."

Oliver looked around, noticing indeed that there seemed to be a lack of staff members there at the benefit tonight. A frown covered his face and a chill went up his spine, making him instantly on alert.

Something was definitely off.

-§-

"Felicity!" Thea exclaimed, walking over toward Felicity and Laurel who had been engaged in a conversation about Laurel's work as a lawyer and her involvement in some of the bigger cases around town. Felicity turned her head in Thea's direction, smiling when she saw the younger girl dragging a guy behind her. "I'm so happy you're here," Thea said, letting go of the kid's hand before throwing her arms around Felicity. "I would like for you to meet Roy," Thea introduced, motioning to her date.

Felicity watched his curiously because he seemed to be very uncomfortable and twitchy. "Hi, Roy," she smiled softly, holding out her hand for him to shake. "I'm Felicity, Thea's friend."

"And Oliver's date," Thea added, nudging Laurel in the side as she winked suggestively at Felicity.

"Oliver's plus one," Felicity corrected through gritted teeth. "That doesn't mean that this is a date."

Roy looked between the three women confusedly as he shook Felicity's hand gently.

A current of something ran up Felicity's spine and instinctively she tightened her grip on Roy's hand, staring at him, her lips parting. Roy too seemed to have felt something because he stared a little at Felicity, clearly even more confused than he was before. She could feel his grip on her hand tighten a little as well before he promptly let go of her hand and took a step back, as if Felicity had just invaded his personal space. The action caused Felicity to wake out of the slight daze as her eyes moved over Roy, trying to figure out what had just happened.

"What did you say your name was again?" Felicity frowned.

"Roy, uh... Roy Harper," the young man replied, shifting from one foot to the other.

"Right, the purse thief," Felicity nodded before wincing. "I didn't mean that the way it came out. Sorry."

Her slip caused Roy to relax a bit and he chuckled. "Thea has told me a bit about you," he said.

"Only good things I hope," Felicity joked, looking over at Thea who was watching them bemusedly.

"Well, I'm off to see where Tommy disappeared," Laurel said. "He's been gone for a while now and it feels like he might have gotten lost or something... I'll send Oliver your way if I see him, Felicity." The lawyer offered them all one last smile before walking away, her engagement ring glistening in the light of the room.

"Well, we're off too," Thea said. "Sorry for leaving you like this, Felicity, but I'm sure that Oliver will be back soon. I need to get Roy on the dance floor before midnight, or else I'm losing a bet against Tommy."

"I don't dance, Thea," Roy said, looking embarrassed.

"Come on Roy," Thea smiled. "Just one silly little slow dance and I'll be a hundred bucks richer if you manage not to step on my toes."

Roy rolled his eyes but Felicity could see that the kid was ready to give in to his girlfriend's wishes. There seemed to be something about Thea that made one want to make her happy at all times.

"I'll see you both later," Felicity told them before Thea dragged Roy away. She thought she would finally get some peace and quiet, so she brought out her phone to check how the decoding of Barrera's phone was going.

She had left it on in the Foundry, making sure to stay connected to it at all times since she was sure they would be able to figure out who the Triad's target was before the end of the night. Oliver had called Detective Lance and informed him that there was something happening and Lance had told him not to call back without an actual name to the target. Felicity was still a little mad at Oliver for not letting her look for Lawton by herself, but at the same time, she understood that he was just trying to keep her safe. Despite the fact that Lawton hadn't taken her out or captured her when he had found her all those months ago, it was still clear that the sniper was not to be trusted.

"Ms. Smoak."

Felicity looked up, immediately putting her phone away again. Malcolm Merlyn was standing in front of her, two glasses of champagne in his hands as he smiled charmingly at her, offering her one of the glasses.

"Mr. Merlyn," Felicity acknowledged, politely taking the glass from him. "Congratulations on the award you'll be getting tonight."

"Oh, that's nothing," Malcolm said, his eyes twinkling with something that Felicity couldn't quite put a finger on. "Did Oliver leave you all alone here?"

"He went to get me something to drink since I arrived a little later," Felicity replied. "Although, it seems like you beat him to it."

Malcolm chuckled, eying her. "Still, he shouldn't have left you here all alone," he said. "There's no telling who might come and sweep you off your feet while he's not here."

Felicity chuckled uneasily, her grip on the champagne glass tightening slightly as she watched Tommy's father take a sip from his own champagne, still watching her intently. There was a bad feeling in her chest that only grew when she noticed that Malcolm was watching her glass, expecting her to drink from it. Offering him a small smile, she began bringing the flute to her lips, when she spotted Oliver walking rather hurriedly toward her from behind Merlyn.

"Felicity," Oliver breathed, coming to stand next to her as she brought the champagne glass back down. He frowned at her glass and then looked at Malcolm, as if noticing first now that the man was standing there. "Mr. Merlyn," he said, immediately shaking Malcolm's hand. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to steal my date away for a dance. I do believe that this is one of her favorite songs."

Felicity listened to the song that was playing softly and nearly snorted, but she kept her face straight and smiled encouragingly at Oliver.

"So that's the hurry then," Malcolm mused thoughtfully as Oliver took the champagne flute from Felicity and put it away at a table before taking Felicity's hand.

"Excuse us," Oliver said before pulling Felicity with him. They walked to the corned of the dance floor and luckily, Felicity couldn't see neither Tommy nor Thea anywhere. She was sure the two of them would have had a field day with her and Oliver dancing again.

"I hate this song," Felicity pointed out as Oliver took one of her hands in his, settling his other one on her waist as he slowly led their dance. Felicity's hand rested on his shoulder and he rolled his eyes at her before looking down to meet her eyes.

"I'm well aware of that," he told her and she couldn't help but quirk a questioning eyebrow at him. He let out a low chuckle, the hand on her waist tightening a little before relaxing again, "You forget that I was in the Foundry when you had the radio playing classical music and you almost threw it against the wall when you sped to turn the channel once this song came on."

A laugh escaped Felicity's lips as she recalled the event that had occurred about a week ago. "I can't believe you remembered the song," she said.

"I always remember the things I can use to annoy you later on," Oliver teased lightly, a smile forming on his own lips.

Felicity shook her head at him, "Oh, and by the way, when did we ever say that this was a date?" She was referring to the words he had said to Merlyn a little earlier.

Oliver winced a little, "Merlyn is old-fashioned..."

"With him being the owner of a multi-billion dollar company in America in the twenty-first century, I kind of find that hard to believe, Oliver," Felicity said.

"Did it bother you that I told him you were my date?" Oliver asked then. Felicity met his gaze and shrugged.

"According to Thea, 'plus one' is just synonym to 'date' so I don't see why it should bother me," she said dismissively. "But why are we dancing?"

"Why are you mad at me over the thing with Lawton?" Oliver countered.

"Did you get me to dance with you so that you could corner me and ask me that?" Felicity's eyes narrowed. By the look on Oliver's face, it was clear that that was the reason he had indeed asked for a dance. "I'm not mad at you, Oliver," she finally sighed. "I just don't think you understand that you basically forbidding me from trying to reach Lawton felt like you were..."

"That I was what?" he pressed, his tone surprisingly soft.

"It felt as if you were putting me in a cage," she admitted, meeting his eyes again. She saw something similar to hurt flash in them and she instantly regretted saying anything or even thinking the thought. "I'm being ridiculous. I know that you would never actually lock me up," she said, squeezing his shoulder lightly.

"I did though, didn't I? When you first joined me and Diggle? I didn't let you out of the Foundry for so long... I'm sorry for that," he said, pulling her a bit closer.

"I don't blame you for being careful, Oliver," Felicity told him. "We should just let it go and move on, okay?"

"Mhm..." he hummed in agreement. "Anything new from Barrera's phone? I have a weird feeling."

"Nothing yet," Felicity frowned. "Speaking of weird feelings... Malcolm Merlyn is officially freaking me out and I don't want to worry you, but Thea's boyfriend kind of zinged me."

Oliver stopped dancing abruptly and stared down at her. "Wait, one thing at a time," he said, letting go of her. "Thea's boyfriend 'zinged' you? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Let's go somewhere private," Felicity said, taking his hand without thinking as she led them toward an exit. She met Diggle's questioning gaze, but she shook his head, silently telling him that everything was fine for now. Diggle nodded curtly and the two of them walked out in the hallway where they were finally alone.

"Tell me what happened with Roy," Oliver demanded instantly.

"Take it easy," Felicity rolled her eyes at him. "It might not be anything, but I just got a feeling when I touched him."

"Touched him?"

"I shook his hand, Oliver!" Felicity exclaimed when she saw the look on the hunter's face. What was he even thinking? Why was he being this way? Acting as if he was...jealous or something.

"What did you feel?" Oliver wondered, a bit calmer now.

"Just a small current. Something familiar, I suppose," she shrugged.

"Like supernaturally familiar?" Oliver frowned. "Is he a Dark One?"

"I'm not sure," Felicity said. "All I know is that I felt something, but I would need to get closer to actually figure out what he is, if he's anything at all."

"I knew there was something off with that kid," Oliver growled, his hands balling up in fists. Felicity reached for one of his hands with hers and gently brushed her thumb against his knuckles, trying to get him to calm down. "There's nothing off with Roy, Oliver," she told the hunter. "I didn't get a bad feeling. He seems to be a good guy."

"Well, in my eyes, they're all evil until proven differently," Oliver said, his eyebrows still creased together.

"Tell me about it," Felicity rolled her eyes. "I know how long it took for you to accept me, but I'm hoping that if Roy really is something, you'll let me handle the situation."

"Felicity..." Oliver looked like he didn't like the thought very much, but she took a small step toward him, tightening her grip on his hand.

"Please, Oliver," she whispered. "If we go about this the wrong way, Thea could get hurt."

Oliver looked away from her, his jaw clenched as he seemed to contemplate her words. She knew that she was right. It could all be a misunderstanding and in that case, they would have split Thea and Roy up for nothing. Either way, it would be better for Felicity to handle it and when Oliver looked back at her, she could tell that he was agreeing with her.

"Okay," he said, his voice still low as he looked down at her. Their height difference was ridiculous, really, because she was wearing high-heels and he still had a good head on her. All of the sudden, Felicity realized just how close they were standing together and she forced herself to take a step back from him.

"What about Merlyn?" Oliver asked, his grip on her hand tightening, keeping her in place, close to him. Felicity found it a bit difficult to breathe properly when she gazed up into his eyes, but she swallowed it down before speaking.

"He's just creeping me out," she admitted. "It felt like he had been watching me for a while before he approached me, and then I got the strangest feeling that he was trying to poison me."

Oliver raised his eyebrows at her and looked at her skeptically. "You got the feeling that he was trying to poison you?"

"I'm just telling you what it felt like, Oliver," she sighed exasperatedly. "There's no need for you to make fun of me." This time, when she let go of his hand and took a step back from him, he let her.

"I'm not making fun of you, Felicity," he told her. "I just find it hard to believe that Malcolm Merlyn, my best friend's father, would try to poison my Executive Assistant."

"Then I guess I must be paranoid," Felicity deadpanned, just as her phone pinged. She looked down and took it out of her clutch and her eyes widened. "Oh my God..."

"What? What is it?" Oliver asked.

"I got the name of the target," Felicity said, looking up at him. "It's Malcolm."

-§-

Oliver didn't understand how things went to hell that quickly after Felicity's revelation of the target. He had immediately called up Detective Lance, disguised as the Arrow, and informed the man about Malcolm Merlyn being the target.

While Felicity had gone to fill in Diggle on the turn of events, Oliver had gone and changed into his Arrow suit only to be cornered by police officers who were trying to catch him. During Malcolm Merlyn's thank you speech, Felicity and Diggle had been in the room when the lights had gone out and Felicity had informed Oliver over the comm-links that the Triad was evidently making their move.

After Oliver managed to shake off the officers, he got to the building, engaging in a fight with the vampires while he ordered Diggle to get Felicity out, because he didn't want anyone to see the blonde hybrid and blow her cover as one of his team members. After killing the vampires, he had run after Malcolm and Tommy, who had disappeared up the stairs of the building according to Diggle and Felicity and he had found his best friend leaning over his father who had been shot several times in the chest.

Luckily, however, it seemed like Malcolm had been prepared for a potential attack and he had been wearing a bullet proof vest. Although soon, Malcolm began mumbling incoherently and Oliver stepped forward, still in disguise as the vigilante, telling Tommy to step back. Tommy had jumped, realizing that the hunter was in the room and then yelled at him to get away from both him and his father. Oliver had tried to desperately reason with Tommy, telling him that Malcolm had been poisoned by curare, Lawton's poison of choice, but Tommy wouldn't listen. Malcolm had been losing time and Oliver had had no other choice but to reveal himself to Tommy, taking off his hood as he showed his face beneath it.

Never in his life would he have expected to see such a look of disgust and hatred on his best friends face and it made Oliver feel absolutely horrible inside to receive it from him.

Nevertheless, his revelation to Tommy caused his best friend to spring into action and he allowed Oliver to hook him up on set with a make-shift blood-transfusion for Malcolm and Oliver proceeded to make his exit before the police show up with Detective Lance in a tow.

Two hours later, Oliver, Felicity and Diggle were down in the lair again. Felicity was still wearing her dress, but her high-heels were off and her hair was messier than it had been before.

"He hates me," Oliver said, his glum voice surprising even himself.

"He doesn't hate you, Oliver," Felicity tried to be encouraging. "Tommy's just in shock."

"No, Felicity," Oliver shook his head. "You didn't see the look on his face when I pulled the hood off. I have never seen him look at anyone like that..."

"He's just hurt, Oliver," Diggle said calmly. "Although you could maybe have planned your reveal a bit better, considering that you've been the Arrow for two years now."

"I didn't have a choice," Oliver snapped. "His father was dying and the only way to get him to trust me in that moment was to show him who I was!"

"We understand that, Oliver," Felicity said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"He told me that I was a murderer when I saw him afterward," Oliver said, looking up at her before running a hand through his hair frustratedly. "He doesn't know about the Dark Ones, so he thinks that I've been killing innocent people."

"You should have told him the truth then," Felicity said.

"He already hates me," Oliver shook his head. "Tommy would never have believed me if I had tried to tell him the truth about the People of Darkness. He would have thought I was crazy too."

"Oliver..." Diggle sighed, but Oliver simply shook his head.

"My best friend looked at me tonight and only saw a killer, Dig," he said, standing up from the chair, shaking off Felicity's hand. "What if that's really what I am? What if I won't be able to stop once this is all over? What if I'm really crazy and just move on to killing humans?"

"Stop it, Oliver," Felicity pleaded. "You would never hurt an innocent, we all know that."

"We don't know what will be left of me once this is all over though," he told her, pulling on his jacket. "I'm going home. I think I need a day or two to make sense of things and decide my next move..."

"Oliver, we'll handle this together," Felicity said, taking a hold of his sleeve. "Please don't just walk away from us. Don't push us away now. We're a team."

He looked down at her before slowly moving her hand away from him. "I just need some time alone, Felicity. I'm not walking away."

"Then why does it feel like it?" she whispered back. "Tonight has shaken you, clearly, but you really shouldn't be alone."

"I'll go home and spend some time with Thea then," he told her. "I'll see you both tomorrow, but I don't think I can put on the hood for a few days at least... Good night." He pulled away from her and walked up the stairs, his heart clenching painfully in his chest at the mere memory of having Tommy, his best friend, look at him with such hatred.

Then he recalled the hurt look on Felicity's face just a moment ago and felt a thousand times worse.

-§-

Felicity wasn't sure she was making the right choice, but she sure as hell wasn't just going to sit back in the lair and think about the broken look on Oliver's face when he had told her and Diggle about Tommy's reaction to him being the Arrow.

Diggle had tried to talk her out of it, uncertain of what Oliver's reaction would be when he found out what she had done, although nothing he had said had made Felicity change her mind.

She got into the elevator and pressed the button to the penthouse she had checked the address for before she had gotten into her mini, tapping her foot against the floor impatiently. The ride up was going to slow and she regretted not taking the stairs and just speeding up instead. When she got to the top floor, she walked confidently to the front door of the apartment before knocking and ringing the door bell.

She was one hundred percent sure that he was there, mostly because he had tracked his phone and made sure that he was. There was a loud bang on the other side and some cursing followed before she finally heard someone walking toward the door. She rang the bell again, purely to put some stress into him and when the door opened, she was met by an angry looking Tommy.

"What?" he snapped and it took him a moment to recognize her. She was sure she looked at least a little more composed than he did at the moment. His hair was disheveled and there was a frown on his face that she had never seen before. "Felicity?" he asked, finally recognizing her. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk," she explained. "May I come in?"

"I, uh... Laurel isn't here. She's back at our place..." he trailed off.

"I came to talk to you, Tommy," Felicity said. "It's about Oliver."

Hurt flashed in Tommy's eyes and a second later, it seemed to have been replaced by anger that was reeking off of him. "What about Oliver?" he asked. "If you haven't noticed, he's the last think on my mind considering that there was an assassination attempt on my father tonight."

"I know, Tommy," Felicity said pointedly.

"Then you understand that I really don't feel like talking," Tommy said, beginning to shut the door in her face, but Felicity stopped him by putting her foot in the doorway.

"I know about Oliver, Tommy," Felicity clarified. She saw him pause and look at her curiously before opening the door to let her in wordlessly. She nodded at him gratefully and stepped inside.

Tommy closed the door behind her and locked it before walking over to the living room, running his hands through his hair. "I'm sorry for being rude," he said apologetically. "Everything that happened tonight really messed with my head."

"You should try and get your head together then," Felicity told him, sitting down on the couch that he had clearly been laying in before if the blanket on it was any indication. "Oliver has gotten it in his head that you hate him now."

"I don't know what I feel about what I've learned tonight," Tommy shot her a look. "All I know is that I feel everything I've known about him is a lie. He's a killer, Felicity." Felicity kept looking at him, her face completely impassive, causing him to frown. "How long have you known exactly?" he then asked her. "Has he threatened you or something? To keep his secret?"

"Oliver has never made any threats to me," Felicity said, but then shrugged. "At least not recently. Besides, his threats were justified before."

"How can you be so calm about all of this?" Tommy stared at her. "Did Oliver send you here to talk to me?"

"He doesn't know I'm here," Felicity said, still as calm as ever. If she wanted her plan to work, she needed to make Tommy understand; she needed to tell him the entire story.

"I can't believe that Oliver is the vigilante," Tommy said, sitting down on he armchair in front of Felicity. "He's a murderer."

Felicity leaned forward a bit, looking him dead in the eyes, "Is that really what you think about your best friend, or are you just hurt that he didn't tell you sooner?"

Tommy looked at her and glared, "I don't even know him anymore."

Felicity shook her head. "Oliver is still a good man, Tommy," she told him. "He's still your best friend and you shouldn't doubt that. What Oliver has been doing is justified. You don't know the whole truth."

"He's killing people, Felicity!" Tommy exclaimed, standing up from his seat. "He's killing them in cold blood and has been doing so for two years now! He's clearly all messed up in the head after what he went through on the Island!"

"Oliver isn't a murderer!" Felicity said, standing up herself. "He isn't killing people, he's killing Dark Ones!" she hissed.

Tommy stared at her blankly. "What the hell are you talking about?" he demanded to know.

"There's a secret society of sorts," Felicity began explaining. "It's an underground network of supernatural beings that call themselves the People of Darkness. Oliver is what they refer to as a hunter, which is a person who hunts and kills these creatures that no one even knows exists."

Tommy's mouth dropped open, "You're crazy. You're just as nuts as he is!"

"I'm not," Felicity said, suppressing a chuckle that threatened to make its way out of her mouth. "I am not crazy and neither is Oliver. The things he hunts are monsters, Tommy. The police force in Starling City is corrupt, as are the people ruling the city, including the Mayor. They cover the truth up and make it seem like the vigilante is killing innocent people when he's really protecting them."

"No," Tommy shook his head. "There's no way. You're making all of this up to try and convince me that Oliver isn't crazy. You should go."

"I'm not leaving here until I make you see the truth," Felicity narrowed her eyes.

"Well, you really are insane if you think I'll buy all that shit," Tommy shot at her. "Get the hell out of my house."

Calmly, Felicity took off her coat, never taking her eyes off of Tommy. "I really didn't want to do this, but you're giving me no choice," she told him.

"What the hell are you– Ah!" Tommy screamed when Felicity sped forward at an inhuman speed. In less than a second, she had him pinned to the wall on the opposite side of the room, her hand around his throat as she lifted him slightly from the floor, eyes glowing yellow and fangs bared.

"Oh my God," Tommy stared with wide eyes. "Oh God, oh God..."

"I'm telling you the truth," Felicity repeated. "The People of Darkness are the bad ones here, Tommy, not Oliver." Slowly, she lowered him back to the floor, closing her eyes, willing her fangs back in. She hadn't wanted to resort to this, but there had been no other way of showing him that she wasn't lying.

"What are you?" Tommy asked, his voice shaky as he kept staring at Felicity.

"I'm a hybrid," she answered. "A combination of werewolf and vampire, but originally a wolf... It's a bit confusing but I can explain it to you another time."

Tommy slid to the floor and sat down, leaning back against the wall. "Oh my God... If you are... Does that mean that-? I mean, is Oliver really just killing-? Fuck, none of this makes any sense," Tommy swore, burying his face in his hands.

Felicity slowly sat down next to him on the floor and Tommy flinched. "I'm not going to hurt you, Tommy. I like to consider myself one of the good ones," she joked. "I even managed to convince Oliver who was the ultimate hater that I am, and if anything, that means a lot."

Tommy looked at her and Felicity inhaled, trying to get a read on him. There was still a hint of fear in the air, but it was quickly being replaced by confusion.

"How can you be so normal, if you're...?" Once again he trailed off, not finding words.

"A monster?" Felicity suggested with a snort. "I held on to my humanity, Tommy. Most born werewolves do which makes us more human."

"But you said you were a... hybrid, was it?" Tommy frowned.

"I was turned into one against my will," Felicity explained. "We should just leave it at that for now."

They sat in silence and Felicity waited for him to say something else. It was clear that he needed to work through what she had just revealed to him but deep down Felicity hoped that it would make him see that Oliver wasn't a murderer, but actually a protector.

"This is all so weird," Tommy mumbled after a while. "It feels like my entire life has been a lie."

"Hardly any humans actually know that this world exists," Felicity said. "The ones who do believe in it though are considered crazy."

"So what do you do then?" Tommy asked. "Oliver dresses up as Robin Hood, but where do you fit in in all of this, if he supposedly hunts your kind?"

"There's something big going on in the city," Felicity explained. "I contacted Oliver in hopes of stopping whatever it is that the Dark Ones have planned. We've been working together for months now trying to figure it out and stop it before it happens... Actually, I don't think it's such a good idea for me to tell you this since I don't want you to freak out," she said thoughtfully.

"You tell me that monsters are real and don't want me to freak out?" Tommy choked out. "Are you for real?"

"I just wanted you to know that Oliver isn't the bad guy here," Felicity said. "You should talk to him when you're ready and maybe he can fill in the gaps better than me..."

"You're not going to kill me for knowing the truth?" Tommy asked once they both got up from the floor. He seemed to be a little more put together now but Felicity shot him an incredulous look. "Sorry," he held up his hands in surrender, "I just had to check."

"No one is going to hurt you or the people you care about," Felicity said. "Oliver is doing everything to make this city safe for you all. The Dark Ones are scared of him... He's making a difference."

Tommy sighed deeply, looking at her. "You really trust him, do you?" he asked.

"Of course I do," Felicity replied. "He's literally putting his life on the line every time he puts on that hood, even though at least ninety percent of the people in this city think he's villain."

"Heroes and villains..." Tommy mumbled. "So he hasn't killed humans?"

"Perhaps he has, once or twice," Felicity admitted and Tommy flinched again. "But maybe you should talk to him about it. He had to do a lot of things to survive those five years that he was away and I think that he would be willing to talk about it more openly now that you know the truth."

"And you? Have you killed?" Tommy asked.

"No," she replied as she grabbed her coat again and put it on.

"Would you?" Tommy pressed. "For Oliver?"

Felicity froze briefly, her hand hovering over one of the buttons on her coat. Would she kill for Oliver? Would she throw away her spotless record as a hybrid, years of learning how to control her wolf form, all for the one man that she may have started to feel something more for?

"I will always be grateful to Oliver for accepting me into his team," she replied slowly, closing up the last button on her coat.

"Team? How many of you are... Wait, don't tell me," Tommy said. "His bodyguard is in on it too, isn't he?" Felicity nodded curtly, not knowing just how much she should give away, but she had already said so much that she figured that Diggle's involvement in all of this wouldn't be kept secret for long anyway.

"I need alcohol," Tommy groaned, running a hand through his hair again. "God, and I can't tell Laurel any of this, can I?" Felicity shook her head. "This is so messed up."

"All you have to remember here is that Oliver isn't your enemy," Felicity said. "He's protecting Starling City and he's going to need to know that you don't hate him."

"How do you know what I feel?" Tommy challenged. "Maybe this doesn't change anything."

"I can smell it on you," Felicity replied. "I can sense that there's a change in you when you say his name compared to when I first got here. You won't tell anyone about this and if my guess is correct, you're going to call up Oliver first thing tomorrow morning and have him come over so that you can talk things through."

"That sounded a lot more like an order than a guess," Tommy told her and she smirked at him.

"Well, I guess it's in my nature to be a little bossy from time to time," she shrugged. "You have a good night, Mr. Merlyn. I expect to see a smile on Oliver's face before the end of the day tomorrow, or else I might visit you again before the day is over."

Tommy's mouth dropped open, "You told me you didn't kill!"

"Who said anything about killing?" Felicity winked. "I'll probably just keep nagging at you until you stop being stubborn. Just ask Oliver, I'm a very patient woman."

With those words she stepped out of his penthouse and walked off. Hopefully, her revealing the truth to Tommy about the People of Darkness wouldn't backfire on her and the team, but Felicity knew that there had been no choice to make. If Tommy had continued to be angry at Oliver, Oliver wouldn't have been able to get his head in the hunt and focus on their mission and he would probably have ended up dead. There was no way in hell that Felicity had been about to let anything bad happen to Oliver, if she could prevent it, ever again.

The realization of that as well as Tommy's question from earlier echoed in her mind all the way back to the Foundry.

Would she kill for Oliver?

The answer felt so obvious, because she knew it in her heart, although Felicity pushed the thoughts away and buried the things she felt deep down, hoping that she would never have to resolve to making the choice, knowing very well, that it would be the easiest choice she ever made.

And knowing that, scared her more than anything had ever scared before.


Note: Oooookaaaay! So now Tommy knows! And Felicity went and revealed the who truth to him about the Dark Ones! What did you think of the chapter? :)

Now, my second announcement is that while I may not post anything on this particular story for a month, I might be able to finish that five-part companion piece to "A Life Without You" which was the alternative ending for "Crumbled Papers"... It would be angsty as hell though, but would you guys like for me to post that once I finish it? :)

Thank you so much for all the support and again, I really hope you understand my need for a break. School sucks, but you gotta do what you gotta do, right?

I love you all! xx

P.S. What did you think about the Roy thing? The explanation to that one will be coming in the next chapter...