A/N: As always, you guys are the best, and I love you. Thank you for all the reviews, I'm thrilled that so many of you have responded to this!
I don't own Arrow or its characters.
She kisses him.
Felicity's lips are soft and taste faintly like tears.
Oliver kisses her back, allows himself to get lost in her mouth for a brief moment before pulling away gently.
"Oh god," Felicity blurts out. "I shouldn't have done that, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry-"
"It's okay," he reassures her. "You're upset, I get it. Don't worry, okay?"
Felicity bites her lips and nods hesitantly. "Oliver?"
"Yeah?"
Her eyes are swollen and bloodshot but her cheeks are flushed and her lips are parted. God this girl is beautiful.
"I really like you, Oliver," she confesses.
He smiles and brushes her hair away from her face. "I really like you too."
She brushes his chest with her fingertips, sending sparks down his body.
"Am I just imaging this?" she whispers. "Because I feel like..."
"There's something here." He completes he sentence for her.
"Yeah," she says uncertainly.
"No," he says quietly. "You're not imagining it."
Felicity exhales loudly. "So I didn't just ruin everything by kissing you?"
"No," he says. "But maybe..."
"What?" she says nervously.
Oliver pulls her close and she settles against his chest. "Maybe we should take things slow right now. You're grieving and you're scared and we've known each other for like, three days."
"It feels longer than that," she murmurs.
"Yeah, it does," he agrees. "Hey, Felicity?"
"Yeah?"
"So where's your dad?"
Felicity's hands tighten on his waist. "I don't know," she mumbles.
Suddenly the pieces come together and Oliver shakes his head, feeling dense.
"Sara's looking for him, isn't she? That's why she got you out of Vegas."
"When I saw my mom go down," Felicity whispers tremulously, "I passed out cold. When I woke up he was gone. I called Sara and she got me out of there."
"So you're the only witness. That's why she thinks he's looking for you."
Felicity nods, fitting her head under his chin.
"I won't let him hurt you," he vows. "I won't let him anywhere near you."
"I know," Felicity says softly. "I trust you."
xxx
He wakes up in the morning wedged between Felicity's body and the couch.
"Oliver," Felicity is whispering frantically. "Someone's coming."
"What?" he says groggily, and freezes when he hears a key scraping in the lock.
"Ollie?" a female voice calls out. "Ollie, come on, I know you're home."
Oh shit. Laurel.
Oliver rolls off the couch, grateful he's at least wearing sweatpants if not a shirt. Laurel's standing in the foyer in a crisp black suit, a cardboard box under one warm.
"Hey Laurel."
Laurel's eyes go wide when she sees Felicity on the couch.
"Who are you?" Laurel asks, her nostrils pinching together. "Ollie, who the hell is that?"
Felicity makes a faint noise of distress and throws a blanket over her head.
"Let's talk in the hall," he says, and grabs Laurel firmly by the elbow and steers her out of the living room.
"You have a girlfriend?" she asks in disbelief.
"Felicity's not my girlfriend."
"Oh please Ollie, we're not together anymore, you don't have to lie to me," she snaps.
"I'm not lying," he mutters. "She's a friend."
"You don't have any friends," Laurel says stiffly. "Remember?"
He crosses his arms across his chest. "What are you doing here, Laurel?"
"I can't believe this," she says to the ceiling.
"Laurel."
"I was cleaning; I found some of your things. Old shirts and stuff." She shoves the box into his hands. "I have to go."
"Laurel, come on."
"I'm late for court, I have to go." She goes out the door and runs to the elevator.
"So," Felicity says, her head popping up over the back of the couch. "That was Laurel."
"Yeah." Oliver rubs his eyes with a fist, hoping Laurel really is late for court and not running to a bar. "That was Laurel."
xxx
He convinces Felicity to go out to dinner that night. He's can tell she's going a little stir crazy and when he asks if she likes Italian her eyes light up.
Oliver changes into slacks and a grey button down and when he comes out of his room Felicity jumps up nervously from the couch.
Her blond hair falls in soft waves around her shoulders and her lips are painted fuchsia. She's wearing the blue dress she bought the other day with Thea.
"Wow," Felicity says, her eyes going wide when she sees him. "You can really rock a suit."
Oliver smiles. "You look pretty," he tells her, and Felicity blushes bright pink.
He takes her to Freccia, a little upscale Italian place that manifests a two top in a quiet corner of the restaurant for them the second the hostess spots Oliver handing the keys of his Porsche to the valet.
Felicity stares at him as Oliver waits until she's seated to sit down.
"Are you trying to distract me?" she asks, taking in all the candles and the leather bound menus embossed with gold script. "I didn't know we were going somewhere like this."
"Yeah, maybe," Oliver admits. "It is working?"
Felicity smiles shyly. "Yeah."
"Hi guys!" Their waitress, a pretty young girl with red hair approaches their table, and then smiles extra-hard at him.
"Hi Oliver," she says, and strokes his forearm lightly. "How are you?"
"I'm good Carrie, how're you?" Oliver sneaks a glance at Felicity, who is sizing Carrie up with a worried look on her face.
"Can I get you a drink before you order?" Carrie says sweetly, still only looking at Oliver.
"I think we'll do a bottle of something," Oliver muses, seeing Felicity's eyebrows shoot up.
"Felicity, you prefer red, right?"
Felicity smiles softly. "I would love a red."
Carrie winks at them. "I've been saving a special one for you, I'll send the sommelier out with it." She sashays away and Felicity stares after her.
"Who is that?" she asks.
Oliver chuckles. "That's Carrie."
"You guys seem friendly," Felicity comments.
Oliver shrugs lightly.
"Is she an ex?" she asks neutrally.
"No," Oliver says, trying not to laugh. "Definitely not."
Felicity wrinkles her nose. "So who is she?"
"She's, um...Carrie's a fan."
Felicity bursts into peals of laughter. "I'm sorry, it sounded like you said fan."
Oliver grins bashfully. "That's because I did."
"You have fans?"
"When I first came back from the island the media went kind of crazy."
"And now you have fans?" she asks quizzically. "Because you because famous after the island?"
"Something like that," he says, trying not to look as embarrassed as he feel.
"Yeah, I'm sure the gorgeous, charming billionaire thing didn't have anything to do with it," Felicity deadpans.
xxx
When they leave the restaurant they're immediately assaulted by flashing lights.
Felicity stumbles, throwing her arm up to shield her face. Oliver spins her by the elbow so she's facing him and walks her backwards into the passenger seat of his car with her pressed into his chest so they can't get a shot of her face.
Oliver jogs around to the front of the car, and the valet shuts his door with a contrite, "I'm sorry Mr. Queen I have no idea who called the photographers."
"What the hell was that?" Felicity exclaims, while the lights fade in the review mirror.
"The paparazzi," he says grimly. "Sorry, that happens sometimes."
"Wow," Felicity says faintly. "So you're like...famous."
"Not really," he says, feeling uncomfortable.
"Weird."
"You okay? Did they scare you?"
"Honestly it all happened so fast I don't think I even processed it."
"Fair enough."
Felicity kicks off her shoes and twists sideways in her seat to look at him. "Does that happens to you a lot?"
"Sometimes." He grins sideways at her. "But I prefer to keep a low profile now."
Felicity smiles back. "That bodes well for us."
"Oh yeah?"
"I'm a computer geek, Oliver. My idea of a party is Netflix and a bottle of wine. Low profile is my jam."
xxx
Back at the penthouse they change into sweatpants and get on the couch. Felicity hooks his computer up to his tv so she can show him something on Netflix about a doctor that travels through space in a phone booth or something like that.
It honestly makes no sense to him but Felicity is smiling and touching his wrist, and he'll do anything to keep her like this, safe and not dissolving into tears.
His phones buzzes and when he looks down he has a text from Laurel.
Ollie?
And then again, a few minutes later: Ollie I need you.
"Everything okay?" Felicity asks lightly.
"Yeah," he mutters, and puts his phone down.
Ten minutes later: Ollie where are you?
Ollie please.
Dammit.
"What's going on?" Felicity asks.
"Nothing, its just Laurel."
"Is she okay?"
He shrugs uncomfortably. "I don't know."
No more texts but twenty minutes later his phone rings and when Oliver looks down he's not surprised to see Laurel's name flashing on the screen.
"Shit," he mumbles, trying not to get pissed off. This is so Laurel.
Felicity nudges him. "You gonna answer that?"
"I don't know."
She reaches over him to pause the show. "It's fine, answer it. I'm sure she wouldn't call if it wasn't important."
Oliver snorts. "I wish," he says but he answers the phone.
"What, Laurel?"
"Ollie?" she slurs.
She's drunk. Just fucking perfect.
"Laurel, you're drunk."
"How would you know? I only said your name."
"Because you're slurring."
"Fuck you, Ollie."
"And you're being belligerent."
"Who cares?" she drawls. "You don't care. You have Fliss...Felic...Lissy"
"Felicity."
"I can't even say her stupid name."
"What do you want, Laurel?"
"I need a ride home, can you pick me up?"
"I'm busy right now," he says shortly.
"Busy fucking her?" Laurel says angrily. "Fuck you and your stupid slut, Ollie, what is it with you, can't keep your dick in your pants ever, can you?"
"I'm hanging up now, Laurel."
"No wait, please, I'm sorry!" Laurel starts to cry into the phone. "I'm sorry I'm being a bitch, it's just hard, Ollie, it's so hard."
"I know," he sighs. "I know it's hard."
"Please, can you come get me Ollie? I just need a ride home."
"Can't you take a cab?"
"I can't find my wallet. Please Ollie, I need your help," she cries. "Please help me."
Oliver groans and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Where are you?"
"My usual place."
"The one on Camden?"
"Yeah," Laurel sniffs. "Please Ollie, can you get me?"
Oliver glances sideways at Felicity. "I'll call you back in a minute, Laurel."
"Ollie-"
"I promise I'll call you back, just hang on," he says, and hangs up the phone.
"What's Laurel want?" Felicity asks quietly, picking at a cuticle.
"She's at a bar. She wants me to pick her up."
"Are you going to?"
He shakes his head. "I'm not leaving you here to pick up my drunk ex."
Felicity frowns. "Is she okay?"
"I don't know. She was upset. She's had a hard time ever since Tommy."
"Maybe you should get her," Felicity says.
"What?"
"She shouldn't be by herself," Felicity says. "If I was her I'd want you to get me."
"You're in a lot more danger than Laurel. You come first."
Felicity smiles gently. "That's sweet Oliver, but I'm in a penthouse with a guard downstairs and three locks on the door. Go pick up Laurel, I'll be okay."
"No."
"Oliver."
"I promised Sara. No."
"Wouldn't Sara want you to look out for her sister?"
"Oh for fuck's sake," he grumbles. "Then you're coming with me."
"Um, no offense, but that's a terrible idea. Laurel freaked out when she saw me this morning, I'd really rather not be in a car with her."
Oliver stares at her. "You want me to leave you here and go drive my drunk ex home?"
"Well when you put it like that-"
"This is a really bad idea," he says. "At least let me call Thea and Roy, they can stay here with you while I'm gone."
"By the time they come over you could already get her and be back. Oliver I know you promised Sara but I really don't think anything is going to happen if you leave me here for half an hour."
"I don't know," he hedges.
"Oliver," Felicity says firmly. "I'll be fine. Go be a hero."
"Felicity, are you sure?"
"Yes."
"For the record, I think this is a terrible idea."
"Go," Felicity says. "I don't need to be babysat twenty-four/seven. Help Sara's sister. It's the right thing to do."
"Lock the door behind me," he instructs, shrugging on his jacket. "And stay away from the windows."
"Oliver-"
"There's a baseball bat in the front hall closet," he tells her. "And a panic button on the buzzer, it'll immediately go through to 911."
"Oh my god, relax. I'll be fine. I'll see you in a little bit."
Oliver leaves with his keys clutched in his hand and a ball of lead in his stomach.
xxx
A/N Please review ;)