"They have a six month old baby girl. Her name is Emily." He frowned. "I would have thought you knew. If it's on the internet you can find it, right?"
Felicity ducked her head. "I, uh..." She adjusted her glasses unnecessarily. How did she tell him she hadn't looked them up at all? She had wanted to, so many times, but had resisted the temptation, for the sake of her heart as well as her safety. Then again, ARGUS had found her despite all her precautions. Still, her heart...she thought she'd never see any of them again, and she thought it would be too painful to keep tabs on them. She had needed to make a clean break and it had been the right decision. "I didn't actually keep tabs on you guys," she said seriously. "I thought it would hurt too much."
A look of regret flashed across his face. "Felicity, I'm..."
She reached for his hand, clasping it in hers. "I know," she said softly, preempting another apology. "The only thing I feel you needed to apologize for was for using me, and you did that. And it suddenly occurs to me that I never actually told you that I accepted your apology, so...I accept your apology. As for the other reasons I left, that's just life happening. Nothing for you to beat yourself up about..."
"Except for Slade," he interrupted. "I was the one who put you on his radar by using you as bait..."
She interrupted him right back. "If you hadn't used me, I would have volunteered - well, if you'd told me about your idea, which knowing you, you might not have - the result would have been the exactly the same." She raised a finger to silence him as he opened his mouth. "And don't give me that 'I should have cured him/killed him/cured him then killed him back on the island' crap. You couldn't possibly have known where all this would lead. But enough of that," she continued quickly when she saw he was going to argue with her. "I want to hear more about Digg and Layla's daughter."
Oliver shrugged. "There's not much to tell. She's a cute, six month old baby. They don't do much at that age."
Felicity bit back a giggle, stacking the dishes and silverware. "You are such a guy."
He stood up to help. "Well...yeah. Thanks for noticing," he quipped, taking the dishes out of her hands and ducking his head to give her a quick kiss on the lips.
She admired his retreating back. "Do you have a picture, at least?"
He put the dishes in the sink leaned back against the counter. "Uh, no. Should I?"
"Oh my god," she muttered, rolling her eyes and turned to clear away the rest of their meal. She inhaled audibly when she felt his hands on her hips, and let him turn her around.
"Why don't you call him?" he suggested gently, slipping his hands to her back and reeling her in.
She ducked her head. "I don't...Do you think...?" He nudged her chin, lifting her face and looking at her encouragingly. "Is he upset with me?"
He smiled. "Of course not, Felicity," he said softly. "He loves you. If anything, he's incredibly proud of you for doing what's right for you."
"He is?" Her voice shook slightly, and very much against her will, he eyes welled up. Oliver took the mugs out of hands, put them in the sink, and returned to pull her back into his arms. She put her hands flat on his chest. "What about you?" she whispered. "Are you upset with me?"
"I..." He stopped, running his hands up and down her back, and looking over her head.
She put her hands on his cheeks and tipped his face down so he was looking at her again. "The truth, please," she continued, looking searchingly into his eyes.
"I'm not upset." He paused. "I was...hurt."
In true guy fashion, he didn't elaborate. But he really didn't need to. She had a pretty good idea of what she'd done to him. "Hurt is upset," she said quietly, filled with regret, "and I'm sorry. Maybe I should have found the strength to talk to you, instead of just sneaking off..."
"Felicity." Now it was his turn to put his hands on either side of her face to ensure she kept her eyes on his. "You were right. I would have tried to talk you out of leaving, and I would have probably been successful. I would not have understood how serious you were, how badly you needed to go. And you wouldn't have turned into this even more amazing woman you've become. I would have endured a lot more to see that happen."
Her lower lip was dangerously close to trembling, so she bit down on it lightly to prevent that from happening. He smiled a slow, sweet smile that softened his eyes, and wrapped her in a all-encompassing hug. She tucked her head under his chin and sighed deeply, relaxing in to him.
If she hadn't been in love with him before, she certainly was now. Head over heels, to be exact. That thought should have terrified her, considering she had no idea where they were headed, but she was surprised to find that she was absolutely at peace with her feelings. Whatever happened, happened. She would deal with whatever came along.
They stood locked in their embrace for a long moment, both eventually pulling away at the same time.
"So..." Oliver asked, tucking a loose curl behind her ear. "What do we do now? What do the Greeks do with their afternoons?"
"Well, for the most part, they take a nap. Or at least lie down for a rest, or...you know, other bedroom activities. It's too hot between noon and three or four to do much else."
She kept talking as Oliver took her hand and led her back to the bedroom. "Around four o'clock, people start showing up for pre-dinner drinks. We don't serve dinner here, but people in the know will occasionally ask for leftovers from lunch. In any case, it's pretty quiet around dinner time. Then things pick up later on in the evening, and Dimitri usually closes down when the last person leaves. Or when he's had enough, then he kicks people out. I kind of leave it up to him."
"That's not exactly the best way to run a business, Felicity." Oliver started unbuttoning his shirt.
She opened the balcony doors and reached out close the shutters, then took the screen out of the window so she could close do the same there. It dimmed the room and kept it a little cooler. She'd had the screens installed herself, all over the house - except for the doors to the balconies - in an attempt to keep as many of the insects, spiders, scorpions and other intruders out of the house as possible. Screens weren't typical on the island where people were used to sharing their homes with all of the above, and with the geckos and praying mantises who moved in and helpfully kept the insect population under control by snacking on them.
"I don't see it as a business, Oliver," she said as she replaced the screen. "I see it as part of our lives, not something that runs our lives, if that makes sense. And certainly not something that should get in the way of actually living. If someone has to run errands on the mainland, or if there is a wedding, or something more important than work going on, then we either close, or if it's just Maria who can't make it then we stay open but don't serve lunch - we always have plenty of Mezes on hand, if nothing else, just in case..."
She turned back, and stopped talking immediately. Oliver was lounging on her bed in only his boxer briefs.
"What?" he said at the look on her face. "It's too hot to nap in clothes."
"We're going to nap?" Felicity felt relived and disappointed at the same time. She craved him, but didn't feel she could take another battering the likes of which she'd endured - happily - last night.
"When in Greece..." He grinned. "Besides, I saw the way you were walking earlier. It think you could use some recovery time."
"You don't need to be so smug about it," she muttered, climbing onto the bed with him. "And you should probably leave the thinking to me. I'm much better at it than you are."
"Ok, well, do you think you could lose this, then?" he laughed, toying with the hem of her - his - t-shirt. "Much as I like seeing you in my shirt, I'd much rather see you out of it."
"What's the point?" She flopped dramatically down on the mattress. "We're only going to nap after all..."
"Take it off, Felicity," he rasped.
"I don't think so, Oliver," she countered primly, propping herself on her elbow. "Tell me about Starling," she added quickly when a challenge flared in his eyes, hoping to forestall a tussle over the shirt that she would almost certainly lose. "How's Detective Lance doing?"
"He's an actual Detective again. He's been reinstated, and he's pretty much fully recovered. He's been working with us a lot more since we lost you; we've had to find different ways to get information. Laurel is still with the DA's office and Roy is running Verdant. Quite well, as a matter of fact."
Felicity frowned. "Verdant? I thought you lost the building."
"We opened up again over the new lair with the help of the money you left us. I own the building. I had no idea when I would get Queen Consolidated back, so we needed an additional source of income, and a reason to be close to the lair. It worked out perfectly. Our customers followed us there, and business is booming."
His eyes dimmed, and she knew talking about Verdant had brought his sister to mind. "What about Thea?" she asked gently. "Any news from her?"
He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. "Nothing. Not a trace."
She reached for him, placing a comforting hand on his arm. "Are you OK?"
"I have to be." He turned his head to look at her, reaching across himself to twine his fingers with hers. "She's an adult. She has some resources of her own; I think she can take care of herself."
"Couldn't ARGUS have helped? They helped you find me after all."
Something in his expression shifted, and he let go of her hand. "I only got one favor from them.," he mumbled, turning his face back to the ceiling.
Shock hit her like a physical blow as the implications of what he'd said sank in. "You...Are you telling me you used your one and only favor to find me instead of your sister?" she said incredulously, rising to her knees and staring at him in outrage.
He rose to his elbow. "Of course!" he said sharply, looking angry for some reason.
"What do you mean, 'of course'? She's your sister!" She was getting close to loud-voice territory.
Oliver charged right past "close" and headed straight for the upper altitudes of loud-voice territory. "She can take care of herself, Felicity!" he yelled, rising up to his knees as well.
"So can I!" she yelled back.
He grabbed her shoulders. "Yes, but you're..." He cut himself off suddenly, eyes wide, and let her go again.
They both stared at each other in shock as words unspoken hung in the silence between them. "I'm...what?" Felicity whispered after an endless moment, surprised at how quickly tempers had flared and then subsided again.
"I...I don't..." He seemed to be almost choking on his words. "All I know is I needed to find you. I just...I couldn't stop until I found you."
Felicity understood. She understood more than he was actually communicating, because Oliver's actions had always spoken louder - and better - than his words. She decided to let it go for the time being, trusting that he would unfold at his own pace.
"You said Walter is back as CEO" she commented, giving him an out.
He visibly relaxed. "Yes." Oliver lay back down on his side, pulling her down with him until they were curled up facing each other. "After everything Isabel had done was revealed, I was able to get QC back on the condition that someone else came on as CEO, at least until it was back up and running successfully again. I had already asked Walter to step in for me and he agreed. Everybody was happy, and I was able to dedicate myself to being the Arrow full time, and helping Roy out with Verdant. In short, I'm a billionaire again. Not quite to the level I used to be, but with Walter at the helm that will probably change."
The adrenaline surge brought on by their brief fight had receded, leaving Felicity suddenly feeling tired. "I'm happy for you," she murmured sleepily, reaching out to trace her fingertip under his eye. "You look much better. The shadows are almost gone. But you've got years of lost sleep to catch up on, so close your eyes..." She brushed her fingers lightly over his eyelids, and they closed under her soft touch. "...and let's take that nap."
Just as she was slipping into sleep, a thought that had been circling her subconscious came to the fore. "Wait," she mumbled, dragging her eyes open. "Why did ARGUS owe you a favor anyway?"
There was no reaction or reply from Oliver. Used to catching sleep wherever and whenever he could take it, he was already out cold. Filing the mystery away for future solving, Felicity let sleep take her.