#olicity fic

[smoaking-greenarrow]

After “perfect” Ray Palmer breaks up with her, Felicity wants karma to even the score. What better way than fake date the most infamously hot bad boy in town? Taking fate into their own hands, she and Oliver Queen decide to let the world think she changed him for the better.

[smkkbert]

Time for a story - Deathstroke

“I know that you think this is crazy, but-“

“Crazy?” Felicity crossed her arms in front of her chest and shook her head. “No, not at all. I think getting in bed with the Huntress was crazy. I think believing some rumors she has heard without backchecking is crazy. Whatever this is – I think we need to find a new word for.”

Oliver paused for a moment, biting his tongue and puckering his lips. If Felicity had hoped that he would stop long enough for them to have a real conversation about his plan, she was disappointed though. Within seconds, he shook his head and continued packing his backpack with weapons and other equipment that he had laid out on the metal table in front of him to have some kind of survival kit.

Since Helena Bertinelli, aka the Huntress, had shown up here last week, their lives had been turned upside down. According to Oliver, Helena had warned him that the person who had taken her and buried her alive wasn’t done yet. He would return and take his revenge on Oliver for whatever he felt Oliver had done to him.

Felicity couldn’t say that the news hadn’t hit her hard. Hearing that the person who had put you though something like that wanted to come back for more had to unsettle you, so of course she had been nervous. She had had one or two sleepless nights about it, but she had soon come to the realization that nothing had really changed. They had always known that this person or any of the criminals they had chased could come back, and they had accepted it to some level. Why else would they still continue their vigilante work and risk to make new enemies every single day?

Besides, those news coming from the Huntress of all people didn’t make it too convincing, Felicity thought. She had been in a high-security prison for the last years. How much information exactly could you get there?

Unfortunately, Oliver didn’t seem to share the same thought of thinking. Since Helena had left their property, he had been doing the best he could have to find out more. He had talked to inmates that Helena had been close to. He had interrogated some of the gangster bosses on the street. He had looked at old traces to find out who was behind this. Nothing had led him anywhere but into the same dead-end streets that they had hit one year ago.

Since desperate times called for desperate measures, Oliver’s newest idea was to verify Helena’s words by talking to nobody else that Slade Wilson. Like she had said before, there were crazy things and then there was that.

When Oliver closed the zipper of the backpack and sat down on the edge of the metal table, he sighed. Nothing but silence followed after that. He kept his eyes lowered, looking at his feet. His shoulders slumped, and he squeezed his eyes shut.

Felicity knew how much Oliver hated to feel like he wasn’t in control. After the Gambit had gone down and even quite some time after he had returned to Starling City, he had felt out of control so very often. Most of the time when that had happened, he had some someone that he loved. Of course he didn’t want to go through that again.

It took a minute or two until Oliver looked at her again, dark shadows under his eyes. He hadn’t caught much sleep lately, and the days had been terribly exhausting too.

With a long outtake of breath, Felicity crossed the distance and sat down on the edge of the metal table next to him. She put her hands in her lap and just looked at her feet like Oliver had done before.

It had been a while since they had been in a situation like this. A lot of major crimes had ceased to happen in Starling City. Apparently, word had gotten around that you didn’t mess with the Green Arrow and his team easily. That someone was willing to confront the Green Arrow and attack him personally was something that hadn’t happened in a while.

And of course it created chaos.

“I know you’re scared.”

Felicity’s voice was low when she spoke. She turned her head to look at Oliver, who was looking back at her immediately. He reached out his hand, and she linked her fingers with his. Oliver lifted their joint fingers to his lips and kissed the back of his hand. Instead of dropping them back between his thighs, he held them against his heart. Felicity could feel how that slowed down his heartbeat a bit.

“Aren’t you?” he asked. “That guy has taken you, buried you alive, almost killed you…”

His voice broke when he said those last words, and Felicity squeezed his fingers. She knew that that time had been just as hard on him as it had been on her. It had been different, but Oliver had taken his trauma away from that too. She knew it because she had been through something very similar when Malcom Merlyn had taken Oliver and feigned his death.

“We tried to find out who did this to me, but we couldn’t find anything,” Felicity said with low voice, “so we knew that he would still be out there.”

“But now he’s coming back.” Oliver looked at her with a frown. “It’s not the same.”

“We don’t know if Helena says the truth.”

“Why should she lie?”

“Why should she tell the truth?” Felicity cocked her head. “She loves to wreak havoc. Back before we were together and she turned to you for help, you wanted me to leave. You didn’t want her near me because you knew she was up to no good.”

Felicity remembered how she had come down to the foundry and offered help, but Oliver had sent her away. Although she could have helped, he hadn’t wanted her around the Huntress.

Oliver scrunched up his nose, a sure sign that he knew she was right and still thought differently. Felicity cocked her head at him, signaling that she wanted to hear what he thought. She wanted to understand what made him think that meeting Slade Wilson of all people was what he needed just because some villainous ex-girlfriend had told him about some rumors.

“Helena was sincere,”  he said, shaking his head, “I know it’s complicated, but it’s the truth. I could see it. She was sincere. Even if all this turns out to be wrong, I need to at least make sure that I took it seriously. I wouldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t.”

Nodding her head, Felicity sighed.

“I understand that. but what I don’t understand is why you feel that you need to see Slade of all people. He is a prisoner, one that is being held captive in solitude. The only person he ever has contact to is one of the guards of A.R.G.U.S. How should he of all people know about this?”

“How did he know about us having a daughter? How did he know where Malcolm kept me captive?” Oliver asked back. “I don’ know how, but Slade just knows things. If he knows something, we will know that it’s true.”

“And you think that he will just give away what he knows?”

“No.” Oliver cleared his throat. “But I know him well enough to known when he’s lying.”

Felicity knew that Oliver was right. He knew Slade better than he knew anyone else. He would be able to detect whether or not he was lying.

“Okay, last try to keep you back from it,” Felicity said with a sigh of defeat, already knowing that she wouldn’t be able to convince Oliver to not go to Lian Yu, “but if you really think that I am in that much danger, shouldn’t you stay here with me to protect me?”

Oliver puckered his lips and nodded his head slightly. Although he did his best to hide it, a grin threatened to spread on his lips.

“Well played, Mrs. Queen, well played,” he said, “but I have already taken care of that.”

Of course he had. Felicity wasn’t surprised.

“So who was ordered to babysit me?”

As if on cue, the elevator released its low pling! to announce that it had reached the bunker. The doors opened. John and Lyla stepped out hand in hand.

“I thought it was time for you and Lyla to just hang out for a night again, maybe open a bottle of wine and-“

“-ignore the dozens of A.R.G.U.S. Agents hanging out around the house?”

Oliver nodded his head slowly. “Something like that.”

When John and Lyla stepped closer, they let go of each other’s hands. While John just shot Oliver a meaningful glance, Lyla wrapped Felicity into her arms tightly.

“For the record, I have been planning on spending a night with you, eating pizza, drinking wine and just talking, in ages. I’m sorry it had to take our husbands going to Lian Yu to actually do it.”

Felicity smiled at Lyla briefly before she turned to John. She didn’t have to ask the question on her mind. He knew it already.

“Can’t let him go alone, can I?”

With a weak smile, Felicity stepped to John and hugged him tightly. The bond they – she, Oliver and John – had formed during those first few years that they had done all of this alone was something that couldn’t be destroyed easily. It had only grown stronger when they had taken more people in and built their own families and started to take even more responsibility for the city by going into politics and doing charity work whenever they could.

“I’m gonna take good care of him,” he whispered into her ear, low enough so only she could hear it, “so Slade won’t get into his head.”

Felicity nodded and tightened her arms around John for a moment. She was so grateful that he went to Lian Yu with Oliver. The thought that Oliver would go alone to the place that had cost him so much of his peace and the man that had killed his mother right in front of him had been unbearable. It was good to know that he wouldn’t be alone. John war the right person to be around for something like that.

When John eventually let go of Felicity, he turned to Oliver.

“We have to go.”

Oliver nodded. He grabbed his backpack and stepped in front of Felicity.

“It will just be a couple of days,” he whispered to her, “so I’ll be back within the blink of an eye. I love you.”

He put a hand to her cheek, leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss to her forehead. His lips lingered there for a moment before he pulled back and locked his eyes with hers. Although he already knew that he would go, he still wanted her approval and her support. Felicity had her doubts about his plan, but since he was going anyway, there was no use in denying him what he wanted and needed. With a weak smile, she gave him her consent.

Oliver shot Lyla a brief glance, and she wrapped an arm around Felicity’s shoulders and nodded her head. Obviously, it was her way of reaffirming Oliver that she was going to take good care of Felicity. Felicity felt a need to roll her eyes at that, but managed to keep it under control.

When Oliver and John walked to the elevators, Felicity rested her head on Lyla’s shoulder. She really needed a friend tonight, she guessed.

The elevator doors opened, and John and Oliver got in. Oliver looked nervous, taking in a deep breath and looking up at the ceiling. Going back to Lian Yu, no matter how long it had been since he had made those traumatizing experience there, wasn’t easy for him. It just opened up old wounds.

John, on the other hand, smiled comfortingly. He winked at Felicity before the elevator doors closed. He would take care of Oliver as well as Lyla would take care of Felicity.

As soon as the elevator doors closed, Felicity released a long sigh. She felt tears burning in her eyes although she didn’t know where they came from. Was she sad? Angry? Scared? Frustrated? All at once?

“I guess I should tell you that our girls’ nigh include five of your and both of my children,” Lyla said, “although I am still working on convincing Laurel and Tommy to take all seven of them. You know, it’s close by, so my agents could easily have an eye on them, and we could have some well-deserved wine-time.”

Felicity chuckled. “I know it’s only three p.m., but do you think that’s late enough for wine-time?”

“You have six kids.” Lyla shrugged her shoulders. “If that isn’t an excuse to make every time wine-time, what is?”

 → → → → →

 “I know we had this conversation already,” John said slowly, putting a foot on the hatch that led down to the Lian Yu prison, “but what exactly do you promise yourself from this?”

Oliver put down the backpack, rubbed his hands over his tired face and took a moment to think about his answer. The truth was that, the more he had to justify his decision, the harder it was for him to do so. He couldn’t say that though because he couldn’t justify that decision to himself anymore, he wouldn’t be able to go through with it, and he couldn’t have left his home to do this and then not do it.

“Slade knows things. I don’t know how, but he does. When he knows about it, we know how serious it is.”

John shrugged his shoulders. “And when he doesn’t? Doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

Oliver didn’t answer to that. He knew that John was right, and he had thought about that too. If Slade knew something, he’d know that his family was in danger. If Slade didn’t know something, his family could still be in danger. He just wouldn’t know for sure.

“So you know that you will go out of this conversation as the loser either way.” John crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Are you sure it’s worth it?”

No, Oliver wasn’t sure it was worth it. He wasn’t sure at all.

“It’s too late to think about it now,” he said, pushing John’s foot aside lightly and started spinning the wheel to open the hatch, “we’re here already.”

As soon as the hatch opened, he lifted it up and took the first rung of the ladder down into the prison. The sooner he got in, the better. He didn’t want to be given a chance to change his mind, and he wanted to get back to Felicity and the kids as soon as possible.

“It’s not that I didn’t try,” he heard John murmur before his head disappeared under the ground.

He could feel Slade’s gaze on him immediately. It made his hair stand on ends and goosebumps spread all over his skin. Maybe he had underestimated the effect seeing him again would have on him.

Once his feet touched the concrete of the prison ground, Oliver sucked in a deep breath. Instead of turning to Slade directly, he turned to the A.R.G.U.S.-agent that was standing at the wall, holding his weapon in front of him like some kind of shield.

“Agent Michaels told you that I need five minutes with him?”

The agent nodded and shot a brief, suspicious glance at Slade before he looked back at Oliver again. It didn’t happen too often that someone came to Lian Yu and wanted to talk to Slade, Oliver guessed.

“Stay out of reach from the bars. The exchange of items of any kind is not permitted.”

“Understood.”

The agent looked Oliver and Slade up and down one last time before he started climbing up the ladder and left them alone. Once the hatch was closed up there, Oliver took position at the wall where the agent had stood before, leaned against the cool stones and finally lifted his gaze.

Slade Wilson had grown old. His hair was almost completely grey now. It was shorter than it used to be. His beard was longer though. He looked like a perfect exemplar of a long-time prisoner. His eye carried the same sparkle of anger or craziness or maybe even evilness though.

“What do I owe this honor to?”

“No words of welcome?”

“Time’s precious in here.” Slade looked around his cell. “Don’t want to miss a moment here, so I’d rather get this over with.”

“I heard rumors.”

“Rumors?” Slade didn’t bat his eye. He just started at Oliver blankly. “Have you brought tea and little tiaras too? Being a father of girls must have gotten into your head. What’s your latest named again? Mia? Like mommy, your mommy of course.”

He was trying to get into his head. He knew that Oliver wouldn’t stay long, so he was doing his best to start immediately. He wanted to set him off.

Oliver decided not to focus on that. Instead, he wanted to focus on the fact that he had been right. Slade still knew things and he had kept an eye on Oliver even from here. If there was something, he would know.

“Speaking of mommy, how’s our sweet blonde with the glasses? Fe-li-ci-ty.”

He emphasized her name the same way Oliver did so often, syllable by syllable.

“Someone tried to killed her last year.”

“Buried alive. I’ve heard.” The corners of Slade’s lips twitched into a smile for a second. “A great bedtime story. I’ve been sleeping like a baby thinking about how close to being destroyed you came.”

He certainly did.

“The person who’s behind this will come back to end what he started.”

Slade stepped to the small cot at the back of cell and sat down there. He enjoyed this. He enjoyed this way too much.

“But you don’t know for sure. That’s why you’re here. You want me to tell you whether it’s true or really just some rumor.”

Oliver clenched his jaws. Sometimes he forgot that Slade could read him as well as Oliver could read Slade. When he already knew why Oliver had come here, it would be harder for him to tell whether Slade was saying the truth or playing with him.

“I could tell you,” Slade said, “but your wife has already claimed the favor that I owed you for letting me see my son instead of killing him.”

“I know.”

Back when Malcolm had faked Oliver’s death, Felicity had gone to Slade and asked where Malcolm could have possibly held him captive. He had told her because Oliver had spared the life of Slade’s son although he had abducted Felicity while she had been pregnant. That favor would have come handy now.

“I’m not going to tell you,” Slade said, his voice uninterested.

Oliver nodded his head slowly. He hadn’t expected anything else. The problem was that he wasn’t sure if Slade knew or didn’t know. He had really thought that he would know, but the fact that Slade had known why he had come here and the long time that had passed since they had seen each other the last time, made it difficult. He really wasn’t sure.

For a split second, he considered offering something to him. There had to be something that Slade would want. Maybe seeing his son again.

Then again, Oliver was sure that the more desperate he’d appear, the less Slade would be willing to help him. He would enjoy seeing him suffer, and it would be worth more to him than any brief moment of reward. Besides, letting Slade see his son would only cause new problems. Slade might love his son and want what was best for him, but Oliver wasn’t sure that he wouldn’t use him for his own plans if necessary.

“Goodbye, Slade.”

Slade seemed surprised that the conversation was over for Oliver already. Apparently, he had calculated on that. Just like Oliver before, he seemed to consider saying something to make Oliver stay a little longer, but he didn’t.

“Give your wife my regards. She can visit me anytime.”

Ignoring that comment, Oliver climbed the ladder back up. He punched his fist against the hatch that was opened for him immediately. As soon as he had climbed up the rest of the way and was back on the overground, he grabbed his backpack and turned to John.

“Let’s go.”

He didn’t wait for John to reply. He just made his way to where their boat was waiting for them. He didn’t want to stay here for even a second longer than necessary.

It took John barely a minute to catch up to Oliver. He walked next to him in silence for a short while, but he soon cleared his voice.

“So I guess the conversation didn’t go the way that you thought it would?”

“Worse,” Oliver replied, “it went exactly like I feared it would.”

John nodded his head slowly. “So we don’t have any new information?”

“Wouldn’t say that.” As soon as Oliver arrived at the boat, he threw the backpack into it and started pushing the boat further into the water. “We know that we need to tell Lyla to hire a different agent to watch Slade because that one is definitely doing all kind of networking for Slade. And now I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I just want to go home.”

 → → → → →

 Felicity woke up to the familiar feeling of a strong arm wrapping around her. His chest pressed against her back, his legs tangled with hers. Still half-asleep, she could feel Oliver pressing his nose against her neck and breathing her in.

With tired sigh, Felicity grabbed his hand from her stomach and pulled it to the top of her chest to press it against her naked skin there. She hadn’t slept much that last night when he had been away. She just couldn’t get used to sleeping without him there, especially knowing where he had gone.

“You’re back.” Felicity scooted back in bed a little, so her body was even closer to Oliver’s. If she could, she would just crawl right into him. “That’s good.”

“I didn’t mean to wake you.” Oliver’s voice was hoarse. “Sorry.”

“I’m glad I know you’re back here with me.”

Felicity was so tired that she could easily just close her eyes again and fall back asleep. She could just feel in the tension of Oliver’s arm and chest that there were things that he needed to talk about. He probably wouldn’t want to, but he needed to nonetheless.

Gathering the little energy that she still had left, Felicity opened her eyes and stared into the darkness. She considered turning around and facing Oliver, but she kind of liked the way he breathed into her neck. It made her hair move and sent chills all through her body. Rubbing her hand up and down his forearm, she let him know that she was truly awake now and not in some sort of half-sleep.

“How did it go?”

“As bad as possible, I fear.”

Felicity frowned for a moment, considering what exactly that could mean. Knowing Oliver, she guessed that she knew the answer though.

“You can’t tell whether Slade is saying the truth or not?”

Oliver released a breath of relief at the fact that she knew already and he didn’t have to explain it. The tone of her voice had been rather neutral instead of reproaching as he might have thought it would be. She wasn’t holding it against him that he had gone there although it hadn’t helped him, and she had seen that coming.

“No, I can’t.”

Felicity lifted his hand to her lips for a moment and placed a kiss to the palm of his hand.

“How are you feeling now?” Felicity asked. “You wanted clarity. You didn’t get it.”

Not answering yet, Oliver moved his foot up and down Felicity’s calf slowly. His nose pushed against her back once more, breathing in the scent of her body again. Felicity knew that apperceiving her helped him keeping a clear head and staying grounded.

“Yeah.” He sighed. “I’m not a step further than when Helena has left.”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

Felicity reached out her hand and turned on the small light on the nightstand before she turned around in bed. Oliver slid up the mattress and rested his head on the pillow next to hers, so they were face to face. Barely a couple of inches separated their lips from each other. Felicity could feel his breath on her skin.

“I know why you feel like that.” Felicity put her hands to Oliver’s cheeks and stroked her fingertips through his stubble. “But that’s not true. You have that information, and you have done whatever you can to verify it. You haven’t found anything.”

“I didn’t find anything to falsify it either.”

Felicity pulled his face closer and touched his lips with her. It was a long but chaste kiss and still made her skin tingle. When their lips parted, Felicity didn’t pull very far away. She just angled her head back enough, so she could look at Oliver and see his entire face.

“We are warned,” she said firmly. “In case anything happens, we are warned. We know where to start. We know – at least in parts – how that person thinks and operates. That’s allowing us to be at least a tiny step ahead.”

“I am not sure that it will be enough.”

“It has to be,” Felicity insisted, “because just think about how long it took Slade to come back here for revenge after he found out how Shado died. Think about how much time Malcolm took to plot his revenge on you. Whoever did that, if he comes back at all, might take years to do so. We can’t spend years watching our backs every step on the way. We are careful as it is, but we can’t live in constant fear.”

She could see in Oliver’s eyes that he knew she was right. He had spent years of his life, expecting nothing but the worst and keeping everyone at arm’s length because he feared what would happen to them. He had lived with that extra cautiousness for so long, and it hadn’t made him happy. It had ben the very thing that had kept him from being happy for so long.

Oliver rested his forehead against hers once more and closed his eyes. She could feel him frown against her forehead, while he was trying to find out what was the right thing to do and say right now.

When he opened his eyes, he pulled back an inch and sucked in a deep breath through his nose. He didn’t look relaxed, but Felicity hadn’t expected him to anyway. Whatever the result of his thought process was, he wasn’t really satisfied with it.

“Just one more week,” he asked with hoarse voice, “give me one more week to find out something more. I’m not going to leave Starling City for it. I will not break more laws than we do on a daily basis, but… I can’t let it go yet. I need… I need a little more time.”

“Okay. I guess that’s fair. You get more time.” Felicity nodded her head and pecked his lips briefly. “And now you need sleep. We both do.”

“Couldn’t agree more.”

They got into their usual sleeping positions with Felicity lying on her back and Oliver on top of her, his ear pressed to her chest. Like usually, he fell asleep to the rhythmic beating of her heart. It might be the calmest night he had had in a while.

* * * 

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[lacrimae23]

oliver queen is in love | one shot ✦ ao3

[originalhybridloverfics-backup]

Ch11 The Gift You Gave Me

Oliver watched Felicity in concern, his eyes moving over her, taking everything in about her there was to take.

Her movements were slow as she poured herself a glass of orange juice.

She had sworn off coffee for the duration of her pregnancy. The lack of caffeine tended to make her a little grumpy in the mornings. He could handle grumpy Felicity in the mornings. She handled him when he was grumpy most of the time.

What he didn’t think he could handle was Felicity suffering in silence.

The dark circles under her eyes, pale skin, the tiredness in her movements were all indications she wasn’t sleeping well.

She hadn’t woken him up like she did that first time almost two weeks ago, but he was certain she was still having nightmares. He heard her crying in the shower sometimes. He thought the nightmares were about Tommy. Felicity would flinch whenever he was mentioned and she could no longer bring herself to visit his grave.

However, this was all speculation on his part. Felicity wouldn’t talk to him about her nightmares. It was a little frustrating when all he wanted to do was help her, but he understood. 

There were things he couldn’t bring himself to talk about with anyone.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

Felicity sat at the table, and Oliver put a plate of toast and fruit in front of her. 

“Fine.” Felicity answered.

Oliver sighed inwardly. It was no wonder why Felicity hated it when he said he was fine, when he was anything but fine.

“You look tired.” He tried again, mentally slapping himself as soon as he said it. Even he knew you didn’t tell any woman, let alone a pregnant one, that she looked tired. 

“Growing another person is exhausting.” Felicity replied, deflated.

Oliver sat across from her. “Maybe you should take the day to rest, then?”

“No,” Felicity shook her head.

“Felicity, you said it yourself. You’re exhausted.” 

“I also said I’m fine and I am.” Felicity was firm in her words. “You don’t need to worry about me.”

But he was worried. Still, he nodded, letting the discussion drop. He didn’t want to argue with her and add to her stress.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Felicity removed her glasses and rubbed at her eyes, a yawn pulling at her. Her vision had started to blur and every half hour she had to shut her eyes for just a few minutes.

She would stretch her legs whenever she felt sleep pulling at her.

She really was exhausted. She hadn’t had a good night's sleep in weeks.

Nightmares continued to haunt her. Nightmares filled with Tommy spitting venomous words at her, blaming her, promising she was going to kill their baby like she killed him. Words that he hated her and regretted every moment he spent with her.

Most nights, she avoided sleep until she could no longer keep her eyes open.

Exhaustion was preferable to dreaming of a volatile Tommy who blamed her for everything. 

Her phone buzzes on her desk with Oliver’s contact picture flashing.

“I promise I am going to take a break and go for lunch.” She said in greeting as she answered his call.

Since the night she woke him up, Oliver had been a bit of a worrywart and she felt like she had to manage him or he would continue to hover around her like a mother hen.

John had taken a more laid back approach and preferred to watch their back and forth, only intervening when he felt it necessary to do so.

“Actually, I was wondering if you want to grab lunch with me. There’s this little place not far from here that makes the best bagels in the city.” Oliver suggested. “On the drive to work, you mentioned wanting cream cheese and bagels.”

Felicity bit her lip, her stomach growling with the mention of bagels and cream cheese." I’ll meet you in the lobby in half an hour."

“See you then. If you’re late, I will come and get you.”

“I won’t be late,” said Felicity, ending the call.

“He’s the one who’s always late. Not me.’’ Felicity said to herself.

“If you’re late, I will come and get you,” she mocked with a shake of her head.

Please, she was not gonna be the one who was late.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Felicity was late.

Oliver looked down at his watch as people passed him in the lobby, never failing to linger and stare.

She was twelve minutes late, but Oliver figured he give her five more minutes. However, after Bethany from PR stopped to ask him to dinner, pushing her chest out, batting fake eyelashes and squeezing his biceps, he excused himself and headed back up the elevator to Felicity’s floor.

Oliver passed cubicle after cubicle. A few employees were brave enough to approach, but with a polite smile, he continued on his way. Only stopping when he reached Felicity’s little corner in the IT department.

She didn’t look up as he filled the open doorway.

He stood there for a moment, watching her. She was engrossed in her work. Chewing on a familiar red pen as her fingers danced over the keyboard in rapid movements.

It was so reminiscent of the day they met. It brought a soft smile to his lips. After a moment, he cleared his throat and rapped his fist on the doorjamb.

Felicity’s head shot up. She pulled the end of the pen from her mouth. "Oliver, what are you doing here?"

“Lunch,” he reminded, stepping further into the room.

“I still have..” Felicity glanced at the clock. “Oh, I’m twenty minutes late. Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Oliver stuffed his hands in his pants pockets. “Ready to go.”

“Yeah, just let me close out of this,” Felicity answered. She had made him wait long enough, and she was hungry.

With a few quick clicks, Felicity was standing from her desk, slipping her phone into her pocket.

Oliver helped her into her jacket as she grabbed her bag.

They easily fell into a discussion about their earlier part of the day as they walked through the IT floor. Oliver’s hand had instinctively found its way to her lower back.

There was no mistaken the familiarity between the pair.

As soon as they were enclosed in the elevator, the door closing behind them, the whispers on the IT floor began, hushed discussions taking over.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Felicity cast a look around the quaint cafe. It wasn’t overly fancy; it was nice enough to be casual.

She and Oliver were seated on the outside deck. There was an extra chair and placement. 

“What’s good here besides the bagels?” Felicity wondered, picking up the menu, peering at the listed choices.

“The coffee.” Oliver answered.

“I can’t have coffee.” reminded Felicity.

“The French toast is really good,” Oliver added. “I had it a few times.”

Felicity hummed. She wasn’t really Feeling French toast at the moment.

Oliver’s phone buzzed, and he pulled from his pocket. Reading the text, he glanced over at Felicity. “I hope you don’t mind, but we have a plus one, joining us for lunch.”

“John?” asked Felicity, not looking away from the menu.

“Thea.” Oliver corrected.

Felicity dropped the menu in surprise, her eyes shooting at him.

Felicity had very limited interactions with Thea. Two that she could recall.

Before she could react farther, Thea appeared.

“Ollie!” she smiled.

Oliver stood to greet his sister and pulled her chair out for her.

Felicity stood and only sat down after Thea did.

“Thea, you remember my friend Felicity?” Oliver said.

“Of course.” Thea grinned at Felicity. “I’ve been nagging Oliver to bring you to dinner at home for weeks.”

“Oliver, never said anything.” Felicity offered a polite smile. "It’s nice to see you again."

“Same. I’m glad it’s under better circumstances than last time.” Thea said.

Felicity’s smile dimmed at the reminder of Tommy’s funeral.

Before Felicity could respond, Oliver’s phone vibrated, and he was excusing himself a moment later. “I promise to make it up to you both, but I have a last-minute meeting with Walter I can’t miss.”

Oliver lifted Felicity’s hand, pressing the back of her knuckles to his lips in apology.

Thea raised an eyebrow, barely batting an eye when Oliver stood, stopping long enough to press a kiss to her forehead and continuing on his way.

“How long have you been sleeping with my brother?” asked Thea.

Felicity choked on air, her arm instinctively curling around her front as she attempted to clear her throat.

“I’m not. It’s not like that,” Felicity protested. “We’re just friends.”

“That’s what Ollie keeps telling me.” Thea said, her eyes doubtful.

“Hi, what can I get you?”

Felicity smiled up at the server that appeared at their table. “I’ll have a hot chocolate with whip cream and a bagel with cream cheese and a buttery croissant.”

“And for you, Miss Queen?”

Thea didn’t look away from Felicity. "I’ll have a Java chip Frappuccino and chocolate chip pancakes."

“Your order will arrive shortly,” the server informed them before stepping away from the table.

Thea leaned forward, her voice lowering to a murmur. “If you’re just friends, how are you pregnant with my brother’s baby?”

“I’m not.” Felicity spluttered.

“Oh,” Thea leaned back. “So, you’re not pregnant, then?” She arched a perfect brow in challenge. 

“I mean yes.” Felicity’s eyes widen. “No.” her face scrunched, and she leaned forward speaking in hushed tones. “Do I have pregnant imprinted on my forehead or something?”

Thea leaned back in her seat, her eyes taking Felicity in. “Most people are coffee drinkers. You purposely steered cleared at caffeine even though I noticed you breathe in deeply just so you can inhale the smell of coffee in the air. Plus, you can’t keep your hand off your stomach.”

Felicity’s hand fell away from her body, self-consciously. 

“So?” asked Thea, expectantly.

“Can we talk about this later, somewhere more private?” Felicity asked, casting a furtive glance around the cafe.

Thea followed her eyes. There was no one looking at them. But she could understand Felicity’s caution.

“Certainly.” Thea answered.

Felicity let out a relieved breath.

“Tonight. Dinner at the mansion. Around 7.” Thea said.

Felicity had felt relief too soon.

“Until then, why don’t you tell me about yourself?” Thea suggested.

“What do you want to know?” asked Felicity, resigning herself to an interrogation.

“Everything.” Thea answered. “You can start with how you met my brother.”

“He walked into my cubicle and asked for help with technology. Being stranded on an island left him with a lot of catching up to do.” It wasn’t a lie. It just wasn’t the whole truth.

“I guess you’re pretty good at your job then. Walter’s mention you a few times.” 

“I like to think so,” Felicity replied modestly.

“How good?” Asked Thea. “What is it that you do at the company exactly besides help lost billionaires?”

“I write computer codes. Cyber security and, quite frankly, I do it better than the head of my department. I’m not sure he know’s his head from his ass, let alone how to write codes to improve the company’s firewalls protecting its sensitive data.”

“I have no idea what you just said, other than you are brilliant,” said Thea. 

“Among other things.” Felicity replied.

“Tell me more about you and Ollie?” 

Felicity leaned back, settling in for a long lunch.

Oliver was going to owe her one after this.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Near the end of the day, Oliver rode the elevator with John down to the I7 floor. 

“You left her with Thea?” asked John.

“For lunch.” Oliver clarified.

“Intentionally?” he asked

“Of course not. Walter called. I had to go,” Oliver defended. “But Thea’s been wanting to meet her.”

“Please, tell me you did not set up that lunch, knowing you would have to skip out?” asked John.

Oliver was silent, and it was answer enough for John.

“Oliver, man.” John shook his head.

“It’ll be fine,” Oliver said as the doors opened.

John sent him a doubtful look.

Oliver stepped out of the elevator and headed down the familiar path to Felicity’s cubicle.

He was expecting a silent treatment, a scowl, her loud voice.

What he wasn’t expecting was Felicity’s laughter.

He could barely recall the last time he heard Felicity’s laugh.

He turned the corner to see Thea sitting across from Felicity, her own laughter brighter than he heard it in weeks. 

“Thea, what are you doing here?” asked Oliver.

Thea turned, shooting him a grin. “I’ve been keeping Felicity company. You should have introduced us earlier. I love her.” 

“You spent the last couple of hours together?” asked Oliver, surprised.

“We have.” Felicity answered. “Thea is quite the interrogator.”

Oliver winced.

“But once got past all the questions about me and moved on to you. We hit it off, no problem.” Felicity said. “Thea has no shortage of stories about you in your youth.”

She didn’t. Oliver turned to Thea. “What have you been telling her?”

Thea grinned. “Nothing that’s not true.”

Oliver looked at John.

“Don’t look at me,” said John, raising his hands up. “You set this in motion. Not me.”

Yes, he did, and Oliver wasn’t sure he had made the right decision.

[maidmerrymint]

This is one of the best Olicity fanfictions I've ever read. It's kind of a, what if Oliver and Felicity met before the island. It's also got an Ugly Betty theme to it.

[littleedragen]

Family Beyond Blood

Chapter: 1/?

"The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other."

~Richard Bach

Family Beyond Blood

After one of the most tragic nights in Felicity's life, everything changes. In so many different ways.

OR

I've had this Fic idea in my head for a long time now, so I decided I'd try to write it.

That is, a Supernatural x Arrow crossover

And how Felicity Smoak has found a new family, which mostly consists of hunters.

[skcolicity]

So I've started writing drabbles of Act II of Open Your Eyes, and man.... Ra's Al Ghul is so fucking evil and conniving, and I'm here for it.

[shoulda-been-a-redhead]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014), Green Arrow (Comics), DCU Additional Tags: Oliver Queen Needs a Hug, Protective Felicity Smoak, Whump, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, olicity - Freeform, Cute, Injury Recovery, Protective Barry Allen, Oliver Queen Whump

“How’s it feel? Nerve-wracking? Not being able to feel each prod or movement, having to wonder how bad it will be when you finally can feel it all compound?” ...,,,... “Hey, Ollie, you’re okay.” Felicity placed her hand on the side of Oliver’s face and he leaned into it.

Comfort after whump one shot fic, Arrowverse team fluff and love. <3

[onanomnomotopoeia]

ABONT is so good!!

thank you! I'm hoping to pick it back up soon, we'll see!

[smoakingskye]

For anyone that still cares, I finally finished the Olicity fic I started in 2017. The ending isn’t perfect, but we have one and that’s what matters. 

Work Summary, if you haven’t read it: 

In 2021, Felicity is abducted, pulled from her life as a wife, mother, and CEO, and forced to work for an underground organization. Oliver fights to find her, but with the threat of her death from her captors looming over him, all searches have to be kept discrete. For three years, he keeps searching. When he finally finds her, though, the real difficulty begins, as Felicity struggles to return to a normal life. (mostly canon through 4x06)

[punchdrunkdoc]

Hi! I just read your fic "Present Tense" and I /loved/ it! I really like fics dealing with Oliver's PTSD/trauma, but it's hard to find salt-free ones. I really liked how it was canon-compliant too! I loved Martin, especially in the epilogue! And going to the archery range was a nice touch. I know the CW has problems, but I still love Arrow and have watched it all. So knowing how it ends, the little references to Oliver's future made me sad! But it was an amazing story; you're so talented! 🏹💚💚

Thank you so much for getting in touch and leaving this lovely comment.

The fic was in response to a throwaway line from the showrunners at the time of season 4 premiering about how Oliver's PTSD was basically cured now, and it annoyed me so much! I wanted to see that journey...so I wrote it myself!

I fell out of love with Arrow by season 5 (because of the way they treated Olicity) but I loved being part of the fandom and it inspired me to actually start writing fanfic after years of just reading it, so I'll always be grateful for that.

Thanks again for letting me know how much you enjoyed it.

(and to anyone who's read both Present Tense and the latest chapter of my new fic Just Breathe you may have spotted some borrowed lines - they just fit so well with Bruce and Beth that I couldn't resist using them. Probably because the Bruce/Beth dynamic is similar in some ways to the Oliver/Felicity dynamic - both involve the 'grumpy/sunshine' trope which I love so much!)

[smoaking-greenarrow]

Karma is a Queen - Chapter 14

After “perfect” Ray Palmer breaks up with her, Felicity wants karma to even the score. What better way than fake date the most infamously hot bad boy in town? Taking fate into their own hands, she and Oliver Queen decide to let the world think she changed him for the better.

[smkkbert]

Time for a story - A.W.O.L.

Looking at the other side of the bed, Felicity decided that she had to kill Oliver.

Five seconds ago, she had been caught in a wonderfully steamy dream. She had been lying on the top of the desk in Oliver’s office at City Hall with the hem of her skirt pushed up over her hips and her panties discarded on the floor. Oliver had been about to give her exactly what she had wanted. He had dropped his pants, and he had taken his member into his hand, pushing his tongue against the inside of his cheek and giving her that kind of look. Then he had taken a step forward and-

- she had woken up. She had been lying in bed the same way that she had been lying on his desk. Her hands had been clenched to fists over her head. They had been holding onto the sheets instead of some random papers though. Her back had been arching off the sheets like it had been arching off the cool wood of the desk. Her legs had been spread to give room for the tingling feeling between her legs and for the man that had promised to make the best of that tingling feeling.

The abrupt ending of her dream had left her with a feeling of emptiness and dissatisfaction. She had been so close to have her husband give it to her in his office. Having that taken away from her so relentlessly had been just too much to take for a Sunday morning.

Of course Felicity had known an easy solution to her need of bringing her dream to a satisfying ending. She had turned around in bed under the blanket, willing to seduce her husband that never really needed much seduction anyway. When she had reached out her hand to touch his naked chest and start seducing him, the only thing her fingertips had touched had been the empty sheets.

So here she was now, lying in bed and staring at the empty side of the bed where her husband should be and hating him with every inch inside of her. She really needed Oliver right now, and he wasn’t here. She was sure that it went against the rules of marriage.

Felicity guessed she should have known that he had left the bed as soon as she had woken up. Usually, when she woke up, Oliver would lie on top of her with his head resting on top of her breasts. He always said that he loved listening to her heartbeat. She hadn’t noticed him sneaking out of bed though, so she hadn’t thought that he had actually left the bed.

Reaching out a hand, Felicity grabbed her hand from the nightstand and checked the time. It was eight thirty, a time Oliver was often out of bed already. He was probably out for a run. She got it, but it still wasn’t fair, and it definitely wasn’t okay.

Since she knew that she needed a quick solution to this problem, so she could solve the bigger problem of needing that damn orgasm, she started texting.

FQ: Had a special dream & am horny now. You better swing your ass back into bed before I take care of this myself in five minutes max or we might head into our first real marital crisis.

As soon as she had pressed ‘sent’, she swung her legs out of bed. After the terrible start into the day she had so far, she needed a coffee even more than she would need it after a good start into the day.

Felicity had just reached the door when a noise behind her made her turn around. Frowning, she looked around the room, but there weren’t any changes. Whatever she had heard must had come from outside. Someone had probably booted their trash can or something.

She was about to turn back to the door and get that coffee when a movement at the window made her flinch. She barely managed to bite back a screech, realizing that the movement came from a person that was right in front of their second-story bedroom window.

Within two seconds, she realized that the dark blonde hair and blue eyes didn’t belong to a stranger who would try to rob or kill them. Instead, they belonged to the very man that she had ordered to come here, so he could take care of her.

Felicity hurried to the window and opened it. She grabbed Oliver at the shoulders and pulled him into the room although she was sure that he didn’t need her help at all. The fact that he just landed on his feet easily and didn’t look stressed at all proved that. His shirt and forehead were sweaty and he was slightly out of breath, but Felicity doubted that it came from climbing up and in here.

In her hand, her phone started vibrating. The alarm for the unauthorized open window had gone off immediately. The system was exactly as reliable as it should be, Felicity thought, and typed in the code in before tossing her phone to the bed carelessly and turning back to Oliver.

A long moment of silence passed. Felicity was still looking at Oliver in disbelief, trying to understand what had just happened. Oliver, on the other hand, just grinned.

“And I thought this house was safe from anyone who would try to break in,” Felicity said eventually, “so much for that.”

“Of course it’s safe from people that want to break in.” Oliver’s grin widened. “I am living here. That doesn’t count.”

Felicity hummed and took a step forward, poking her forefinger into Oliver’s chest.

“For the record, if you had fallen down there and died, I would have killed you.”

Oliver grabbed her hand before she could poke his chest again. He lifted her hand to his lips and peppered sweet, little kisses to the tip of each finger. It made it impossible to even fake being mad at him.

“Whatever,” she told him, rolling her eyes and pulling her hand away from him, “I am need of some coffee.”

She turned around and took the first step to the door. Unsurprisingly, Oliver was faster than her. Within the beat of a second, he had pushed himself between her and the door, blocking her way out of the room.

“As far as I know,” he said slowly and waved his phone in front of her face, “you were in need of something entirely else.”

Felicity snorted. “That was before you scared the hell out of me, so if you excuse me and let me- down! Let me down!”

With a low chuckle and a shake of his head, Oliver had thrown his phone to the bed, stepped forward and lifted Felicity over his shoulder.

“Yeah, no way,” Oliver said, crossed the distance back to the bed and dropped her on it, “because you told me that you needed me to take care of you and your needs, so that is what I will do.”

He dropped her on the bed, so Felicity jumped up and down on the mattress a little. Within two seconds, he covered her body with his. His sweaty form pressed against hers. His lips started exploring the side of her neck.

Though she wanted to give into him instantly and continue where her dream had left them, she couldn’t resist the idea of teasing Oliver a little.

Wriggling underneath him, she tried to pull away from him. “You’re sweaty. And you stink.”

Oliver faltered, but she saw him roll his eyes. With a long sigh, he crawled back out of bed. Felicity had to admit that she was almost a little disappointed that he stopped so easily. There had been a time when he would have needed more convincing.

When he suddenly grabbed her hands, pulled her back into an upright position and lifted her over his shoulder once more, Felicity laughed though. Apparently, he wasn’t that easy to push away after all.

Without saying a word, Oliver carried her into the bathroom. He let her down on the floor right in front of the shower only to pull down her panties and drop them to the floor. Instead of taking off the shirt she had been sleeping in too, he pulled her close to him at the neckline of the shirt.

“Since I seem to be in need of a shower,” he whispered to her and leaned his lips so close to hers that Felicity could feel his breath against her skin, “I suggest that you come with me.”

Oliver didn’t leave her any time to object to his suggestion. He moved his hands to the back of her knees and lifted her into his arms. Her legs came to wrap around his hips, and her arms wrapped around his neck tightly. He carried her into the shower and pressed her back against the cool tiles. His lips started exploring the side of her neck.

Felicity loved it when they had sex like that. She loved it when it was somewhat rough but also very soft. Besides, since they had moved in here, the shower hadn’t been used properly, so it was about time, she guessed.

While Oliver was kissing and nipping at her neck playfully, Felicity just leaned her head back against the tiles and enjoyed. Oliver was very good with his lips and after all these years he knew exactly where to kiss, where to scrape his teeth against and where to bite down gently to bring her to the highest forms of pleasures.

This morning was no different. Felicity knew that she was wet and ready for him even before Oliver slipped a hand down her body and cupped his sex with his fingers.

“Oh god,” Felicity whispered and held onto the back of Oliver’s neck so tightly that her fingertips certainly dug into his skin there, “that’s so good.”

Oliver leaned his face against the side of her neck and hummed against her skin. The vibration made her skin tingle.

“And how good is this?”

Asking that, Oliver slipped two of his fingers into her tight channel. A long moan escaped Felicity’s lips, and she turned her head, so her nose pressed against Oliver’s temple. She breathed him in and dug her fingernails into his skin a little more.

“So good,” Felicity whispered.

Oliver started thrusting his fingers in and out of her. He curled his fingers inside of her while he was doing so. He just knew exactly how he got Felicity to where he wanted her.

It didn’t take Felicity long to feel a wave of pleasure washing around her. It was more of a splatter, but she could hear the loud roar of a giant wave. It was coming closer and closer and closer until-

“Ohhh!”

With a long moan falling from her lips, Felicity came. The pleasure rushed through her body and created little fireworks at the end of each nerve ending it seemed. She lost all sense for time and space. She couldn’t see or hear anything but Oliver. There was nothing but them and the way he made her feel.

Although the hot water from the shower caused steam to fill the air, she could feel Oliver’s warm breath against her ear. He had leaned his lips against the side of her face.

“Was that close to your dream?”

Felicity couldn’t say that she was really down from her peak of pleasure yet, but she knew that she would want and need more in seconds, so she didn’t want to waste any time.

“No,” she said with somewhat strong voice, “not yet.”

With quick hands, she hurried to pull down the zipper of Oliver’s jacket and pushed the fabric down his shoulders. She wanted him – all of him – and she wanted it now.

“I guess we have to continue until I have gotten it right then.”

Felicity chuckled and lowered her feet to the ground, so she could stand on her own feet. Doing so, she could push him a few inches away and make quicker work of his clothes. She took off his shirt and let the wet fabric fall to the floor. She hurried to unknot his sweat pants after that, hooked her fingers into their waistband and pulled them down with his boxer briefs in one go.

Stepping out of his sweatpants and boxer briefs that pooled around his ankles, Oliver took a step forward. He pushed Felicity back against the tiles at the wall and pushed one hand under her knee to wrap her leg around his hip and open him to her. Felicity could feel him hot and ready for her already. Obviously, she hadn’t been the only one that had been utterly turned on by the events this morning.

She moved her hands between them, took hold of his erection and moved her hand along it slowly. A guttural sound fell from Olive’s lips. His eyes went dark, and his jaws clenched together tightly. She could see it in the way his jaws tightened. His hips moved in rhythm to her hand’s strokes, pushing his cock into her hand eagerly.

As much as Felicity loved when Oliver took control and just took her, she also enjoyed moments like this very much. Oliver was so used to be in control over everything that it was good to see him give up all control and just hand it all to her. He trusted her so much that he would allow her to take all control. Just like that.

When his breathing quickened, he pushed away her hand and placed the head of his cock at her entrance. Raising his gaze to hers, so their eyes locked, he pushed into her and filled her completely. He only stopped when he was buried into her to the hilt. He paused then, giving them both the moment to adjust and enjoy.

Having sex with Oliver always felt so special. It didn’t matter how often they had done it already or where and how they had done it already. Every new time was special, and Felicity doubted that she could ever get enough. As corny as it sounded, it was simply because she loved Oliver so much. She loved him so much that every time felt like it was new and special.

Felicity moved the tips of her fingers through Oliver’s stubble. She started at his chin and moved them all the way to the lope of his ear and from there to the back of his neck. She placed her hand there and pulled him closer until they lips came clashing together. Oliver’s tongue slipped into her mouth, while his front teeth were scraping against her bottom lip.

Moaning into his mouth, Felicity wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she could. Balancing on the toes of her left foot, she started moving her hips. Oliver chimed in with her movements instantly. He tightened his hand behind her knee and put the other hand against the tiles of the shower. His lips never let hers.

They both moved unhurriedly. Despite their need for each other and the way they had planned to ravish each other, they just took their time now. Lazy morning sex was what they were going for because the lazier they moved, the longer it would take for them to end this. There was no rush. They could take all the time in the world.

While the water kept pattering down on them, they kept kissing, touching and thrusting. It was a perfectly quiet Sunday morning. It was a morning to memorize for sure.

Time became irrelevant. Felicity had no idea how much time passed until she felt another orgasm approaching her. Her toes started tingling, and her breath became more and more erratic. She was about to get lost in Oliver, and she could feel that he wasn’t far from hitting his peak of pleasure either. His thrusts weren’t as controlled as they had been at the beginning. His fingertips were digging into her skin so much that they might leave marks there.

“You know,” he whispered, visibly trying to hold on to his self-control long enough to say whatever he felt he needed to say, “if that is my punishment for being absent without leave, I might do that more often.”

Felicity grinned as much as she could because her body was slowly stopping to listen to what she wanted it to do. She grabbed some strands of his hair at the back of his head and pulled at them firmly.

“Don’t you dare,” she pressed out between gritted teeth, “or I will show you how mad that can truly make me.”

“Oh, don’t tempt me.”

“Trust me. There is nothing tempting about it.”

Felicity scratched her fingernails down Oliver’s back, making him groan. His lips lost his rhythm at the same time, and Felicity felt her own orgasm being triggered by Oliver’s orgasm. Both of their bodies were shaking, still holding onto one another.

Maybe he would get a real punishment for going AWOL the next time. This morning, he would just take the reward he was offered for it.

[yourenotdonefighting]

Sometimes I read something so beautifully written that I think, “How could anything I write ever compare?” But isn’t that the point? It’s not about comparisons or being better. It’s about being who you are as a writer. If anything, it inspires me when I find authors in my fandom who I can’t get enough of. Because yeah, I love to share my work. I love the comments and encouragement. But I also love the experience of being completely immersed in someone else’s story. It’s a feeling I can’t even explain.

[originalhybridloverfics-backup]

Healing and Scars - Having the Strength to Move Forward

Summary: Oliver, Felicity, John, Thea and Tommy deal with the aftermath of the Undertaking, some struggle to move forward more than others.

A/N: This is the longest one in the series and takes place after the Undertaking in between season one and season two.

I hope you like it.

All mistakes are my own.

It was days later, and Felicity was still feeling the effects of helping Tommy. 

Sometimes, she felt like at any moment her body would give out, and she ached all over. 

She felt like a freight train hit her and dragged her for miles. 

She had sharp pains that would come and go. She would get winded sometimes and light-headed. 

She wasn’t used to feeling like this for such long periods of time. 

It was scary. Especially for her. She never been sick in her life and wasn’t used to feeling like crap for long periods of time. 

And then there was the fear of what she was capable of. 

If she could heal someone who was all but at death’s door, what could she do for someone who was dead for only a few minutes?

Was it possible for her ability to bring someone back?

And if so what would happen to her?

The thought was horrifying. 

No one should have that power. 

As she struggled with the fear of what she was capable of, her mind supplied other scenarios, only making her fear worse. 

What about terminal conditions? Could she cure someone of cancer?

The way her power worked was, she took on their pain as her own. If she healed someone of cancer, did that mean she would take on the cancer? 

How would her body handle it? 

Would her body fight it off or succumb to the disease? Would it be temporary? 

After healing Tommy, she had so many questions about her abilities and no way of answering them. 

It was not only terrifying, but it was also frustrating as hell. 

She felt isolated in a way she had never been before. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

There was a knock on her door, and Felicity forced herself off the couch with a groan. Moving was the last thing she wanted to do for many reasons. 

“Felicity? Are you alright?” John’s voice sounds through the door, filled with concern and caution. 

Felicity could picture him clearly in her mind, poised in front of her door, hand on his gun, ready to defend her if need be. 

“Everything’s ok, I’m coming.” She stumbled over a pair of shoes she left in the hallway and caught herself from tumbling face first into the door the last second.

She kicked the shoes to the side, righted her glasses and pulled the door open.

John stood on the other side, hand on his gun, a bandage on his leg. “Your a sight for tired eyes.” 

“I thought the saying goes, ‘you’re a sight for sore eyes’?” Felicity’s brow furrowed. 

“Yes, but my eyes are tired.” John countered. 

“Right,” said Felicity. She opened her door wider wordlessly, inviting him inside her home. 

John stepped inside, moving his hand from his gun, and Felicity shut the door behind him. 

“Can I get you anything? Water? Coffee? Muffin?” Felicity asked, moving to her kitchen. 

“I won’t say no to a coffee,” said John. “Black. Two sugars.” 

Felicity moved about her kitchen, pouring them both a coffee. 

Felicity placed his coffee in front of him. “How did you know where I lived?” 

“I followed you home occasionally to make sure you got home safe.” John answered. 

“I don’t know if I should be offended you followed me home without my knowledge, or thankful for you looking out for me.”

“Do I get a vote?” asked John. “If so, I pick grateful.” 

Felicity grabbed a banana muffin from her pantry. “What brings you by?”

Felicity tore into the muffin. She was always hungry when she was healing. 

“Oliver told me what happened.” John took a drink of his coffee and set it down on the counter. “He said you saved Tommy’s life.” 

“I only healed his injuries.” Felicity dismissed. 

“He had a rebar in his chest. There was no chance of him surviving. You saved his life.” John said. “How are you feeling?”

Felicity’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“I know you don’t like to talk about yourself, but that doesn’t mean we don’t notice. I’ve seen what using your ability does to you.” 

Felicity’s heart pounded in her chest. She didn’t want John to know about the consequences of using her ability because then he and Oliver might not let her use it to help them. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb, Felicity.” John shook his head. “Healing people drains you. It takes your energy.”

Felicity was internally relieved he didn’t know the full extent. “It’s nothing a little rest won’t recover.” 

“Maybe not, but you need to be careful not to overdue it. Oliver and I need you.”  

His words touched felicity. “I promise I’m okay.” 

John nodded. “Good.”

“What about you? How are you feeling?” asked Felicity. 

“I’m a little banged up, but I’ll live.” John dismissed his current injuries. 

“I could take care of them for you.” Felicity didn’t want anymore pain right now, but it was John and he has always been a good friend to her since she joined the team. 

“No,” John shook his head. “Just because you can heal doesn’t mean you always have to do it. Some wounds should be left to heal on their own.”

“Okay,” Felicity conceded. 

“Speaking of healing, is Tommy going to keep your secret?” John asked. 

Felicity noticed the hard edge to his voice. “I haven’t talked to him, but I hope so. I don’t like the idea of being strapped to a table and dissected by scientists.” 

“I would never let that happen.” John promised. “If Tommy so much as thinks of telling anyone your secret, they will never find his body.”

Felicity smiled faintly. It was nice that John cared so much, but she didn’t want him killing anyone for her, even if he was only joking. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Slowly, over the next few days, Felicity felt the pain finally start to ebb, and it was such a relief for her. 

Unfortunately, she hated the ugly scar she was left with. Freshly showered, she stood in front of her floor-length mirror in her room in nothing but a pair of matching green bra and panties and stared at the scar on her torso. The skin was raised angry and red. 

She frowned, tracing the scar. 

Her eyes moved to the bullet scar from healing Oliver. 

It was the next wound she had traced. 

She half thought that as long as she remained on Team Arrow, she was going to end up with as many scars as Oliver and John. 

She turned away from the mirror, grabbing for the old gray MIT shirt she had and slipped it on. 

She was pulling on a pair of black joggers when there was the sound of a faint knock. Running a hand through her damp hair, she left her room. 

The knock sounded again, louder this time. 

She grabbed her phone from the side table, checking the time. It was almost seven in the evening. She wasn’t sure who that could be. 

The knock sounded again, louder. 

She pulled the door opened and her eyes widened. “How did you know where I live?”

Tommy stood in her hallway with a bag of Big Belly Burger. “My family name may be in the dirt, but I still have connections. Can I come in?” 

Felicity hesitated. It wasn’t like she was inviting a complete stranger into her home, but she didn’t really know Tommy well enough to be inviting him inside. 

Tommy saw her hesitation. “I would’ve asked to meet with you somewhere else if I could, but the media is out for a blood and I rather not be caught off guard by them, but I can leave if my presence is making you uncomfortable.” 

Felicity shook her head at herself. She was being ridiculous. She had nothing to be wary of. Tommy wasn’t a bad person. “Sorry,” she apologized. “You just caught me by surprise.” 

She stepped back, pulling her front door open wider. “Please, come in.” 

A look of relief crossed his face. “Thank you.” 

Felicity closed the door behind him and led the way to her living room. “Do you want to have a seat?” 

“Whatever makes you comfortable.” Tommy sat down in her recliner, setting the takeout bag on the table. 

Felicity set on the couch and turned to him. “How can I help you, Tommy?” 

“I think you have helped me enough, don’t you?” asked Tommy, his eyes full of gratitude. “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you.” 

“I don’t know about that.” Felicity looked away, avoiding his gaze. 

“Ollie said you would say that,” said Tommy, and Felicity turned back to him. “He said you weren’t great about accepting praise after using your ability.” 

“I don’t know what you want me to say here,” said Felicity. “I don’t know what you want-”

Tommy shook his head quickly. “I don’t want anything,” he was quick to assure. “I just wanted to thank you for saving my life. I know greasy takeout and an unexpected visit isn’t a great way to really go about it, but I didn’t have a lot of options.” 

“You don’t have to thank me,” Felicity said, letting her guard down. “You were dying. It was the right thing to do.” 

“Just because it was the right thing doesn’t mean you had to.” said Tommy. “What you did it was amazing, and it was selfless. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. How is it possible to do what you can?”

“I’m still trying to figure that out some days.” Felicity looked at Tommy. “Please, don’t tell anybody about what I can do.” 

“I would never tell anyone your secret.” Tommy swore. “I will take your secret to my grave. I would never repay what you did for me by betraying you.” 

“Thank you,” Felicity said in relief. For days now, it had been in the back of her mind that her secret would no longer be her own. More and more people were finding out about her secret, and that was a terrifying notion. 

Tommy chuckled. “I came here to thank you and yet you’re thanking me.” 

“You keep my secret, then we’re even,” said Felicity. “But out of curiosity, what did you bring me to eat?”

Tommy grinned. “I have it on good authority that you enjoy the belly buster with a side of onion rings. I thought we could share a meal and get to know each other a little better.”

“Why do you want to do that?” Felicity asked, tilting her head at him. 

“When you save my life at the cost of yourself, you bet your beautiful sunshine self that you will be a friend for life,” said Tommy, pulling his own food from the bag. 

“What do you mean by that?” Felicity asked warily. “At the cost of myself?”

Tommy turned serious. “Contrary to what most people believe, I’m not an idiot and I’m observant and I felt you when you were healing me. I can’t explain it, but it felt like you were giving your own life for mine. This ability of yours comes at a high cost to you.” 

Felicity’s heart thundered in her chest. “Please, don’t tell anyone.”

“I already told you I wouldn’t,” said Tommy.

“I mean, anyone.” Felicity stressed. “Don’t tell anyone.”

Tommy’s eyes widened. “Ollie, doesn’t know?”

Felicity shook her head. “And I want to keep it that way.” 

Tommy’s eyes softened. “Your secret is safe with me, Sunshine.” 

“Sunshine?” Felicity questioned, even as a relieved smile graced her lips. 

“You glowed like the sun when you were healing me. It was warm like the sun,” Tommy explained. 

“No one’s ever told me that before.” Felicity reached for her own food. 

“How many people have you healed?” Tommy asked. 

“You, John, Oliver, and my father once.” Felicity answered. 

“And no ones ever told you what it feels like when you heal them?”

“I try to avoid talking about it.” Felicity answered. 

“Well, I can’t speak for them but it reminded me of the sun,” said Tommy. “Hope you don’t mind, but I will be calling you Sunshine for the foreseeable future.”

She’d been called worse. She didn’t really mind. 

It was a nice nickname if she had to have one. 

She glanced at Tommy, a smile played at her lips. Maybe he was right, and they were going to end up good friends. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Tommy left shortly after sharing a meal with Felicity and thanking her again. 

Felicity wasn’t expecting anymore visitors so when there was a knock on her door near the stroke of midnight. She was wary. 

Grabbing the closest thing she could as she went to answer the door. Which happened to be her yellow polka dot umbrella. 

She undid her lock, but not the chain. Pulling the door open just enough to see who it was and was greeted with wide shoulders and a broad chest, she would know anywhere. With a sigh of relief, she shut the door with a click and undid the chain before fully opening it. “Oliver, what are you doing here?” 

“We haven’t talked in a few days. I wanted to see how you were doing?” 

“Its almost midnight.” Felicity pointed out. 

“That’s why I brought a gift. Ice cream. Chocolate swirl.” Oliver presented the bag to her. 

Felicity scrunched up her nose but accepted the bag. “I prefer Mint chip.”

Oliver followed inside her apartment to her kitchen. “I’ll remember that for next time.”

“What really brings you by?” Felicity asked, retrieving two spoons and retaking her spot on the couch.

Oliver took off his jacket and joined her. “I’ve been feeling restless.”

In truth, he didn’t want to spend another night alone. He got used to spending his nights with John and Felicity. It felt wrong when he went days without seeing them. 

“You should be taking the time to take a beat. The city is gonna need you again soon.” Felicity replied. 

Oliver avoided her eyes. He wasn’t sure about picking up his hood again. Especially not after he failed it so epically. So many people were dead because he failed to protect the city. “If anyone should be taking the time to rest, it should be you.” 

“Me?” Felicity replied, scooping a spoon of ice cream into her mouth. 

“Healing Tommy seemed to really take it out of you. More than will you healed me.” Oliver commented. 

“You had different injuries.” Felicity reasoned. “But as you can see, I’m fine. Nothing a little time didn’t take care of.” 

Oliver turned toward her, taking a bite of his own scoop of ice cream, his look thoughtful. 

“What?” Felicity asked. 

“How does your ability work?” Oliver questioned. “I mean, I know you healed me and you were tired afterward, but seeing you use it is entirely different. It looked like it more than tired you. It looked like it drained you.” 

Felicity was quiet for a long time. She didn’t want to lie to him, but she also didn’t want him knowing the full truth of her ability. 

While she feared her own ability. She still wanted to use it to help Oliver and John when they needed her, but if Oliver knew the truth of her ability, she wasn’t sure he or John would ever let her heal them again. 

“Felicity?”

Felicity jumped at Oliver��s voice, having gotten lost in her thoughts. “Sorry, I was trying to organize my thoughts. Honestly, I don’t know a lot about my ability.”

It wasn’t a lie. It just wasn’t the full truth.

“What do you know?” Asked Oliver. 

“I never got sick as a kid,” Felicity answered. “Never had the flu, a cold, fever, chicken pox. Nothing. I didn’t have allergies growing up.”

“Your parents didn’t find it a little strange?” asked Oliver. 

“My father wasn’t really around much,” Felicity kept the information vague. She didn’t want to get into how he abandoned her and her mother shortly after the first time she used her ability. 

There was nothing more soul crushing than realizing you were too much of a freak for your father to stick around. 

“It was really just my mom and me,” Felicity said. “It was odd, but my mother didn’t really think much of it. Not until the first time I used my ability.” 

“What happened?” Oliver asked, leaning back against the cushions, feeling at ease in Felicity’s presence. 

“My father got into a car accident, he spent a few days in the hospital, when he came home, I sat with him and I put my hand over his side where he had a few shallow cuts, my hand glowed and when I removed it, he was healed.”

Felicity paused, taking a moment. “My father and mother stressed how important it was that I not tell anyone about what I could do. My father forbid me from ever doing it again.”

“He was probably scared of what could happen if people found out what you could do,” Oliver reasoned. 

“Maybe,” she doubted it. He left not long after that, and she never heard or seen him again. 

“My mother she thought it was amazing, but she wanted me to be careful.” Felicity said. “And I was careful. I didn’t want to end up in some lab being experimented on.”

“I only used my ability when I had to. It’s how I was able to keep it a secret for so long.” 

“And then I showed up in your backseat,” said Oliver. 

“Yeah,” Felicity nodded. “John and you are the only ones I ever told my secret and now Tommy.” 

“Thank you,” said Oliver. “For trusting us.” 

“You keep my secret, I keep yours.” Felicity said with an air of understanding and friendship that Oliver appreciated. 

“Does your ability have drawbacks?” Oliver wondered, “beyond the draining?”

“No,” Felicity lied. 

She hated lying but she couldn’t see Oliver reacting well to finding out the wounds she heals she takes on as her own. 

She had scars that weren’t even rightfully hers. 

“Are wounds the only thing you can heal?” Oliver wondered. “What if someone had a cold or something?”

Felicity shrugged. “Never tried.”

“Cancer?” 

“Don’t want to find out.” 

“Why not?” asked Oliver. “Do you not like what you can do?” 

“It’s not that I don’t like it,” Felicity said honestly. “Its more that it scares me. Healing someone the way I do. It’s not natural or normal. I don’t understand it and I hate that. I hate mysteries.” 

There should be a limit to what she could do, and she never wanted to find out what those limits were. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Oliver while he enjoyed just talking with Felicity, it felt natural to be in her presence. 

A light shining in his darkness, however, it didn’t take away from the weight of his failure. 

The body count weighed heavily on him, his mother’s imprisonment, the rift that was still there between him and Tommy, his mistake with Laurel. 

All of it was his fault. 

He came back to help the city and all he did was make it worse and cause more pain. 

He wasn’t a hero. He wasn’t even a vigilante.

He was a failure. 

He didn’t deserve to go on living his life. He didn’t deserve to move on past the Undertaking. 

Making a choice, he left a gift for Felicity on her fire escape. The bottle of wine he promised her long ago. 

He left a vast sum of money in both her and John’s bank accounts, his way of thanking them for their help. 

He wrote a letter to Laurel, ending things with her officially. 

He boarded a plane. He couldn’t say goodbye to Tommy or Thea, but he hoped they would understand why he had to leave. He left a letter for the both of them.

He needed to be alone, isolated from everyone. 

It was his own punishment for his failures. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Tommy walked into the living room of the Queen home and found Thea, eating her way through a pint of ice cream. 

He had started staying with Thea and Ollie after the Undertaking. It was on the awkward side with what was going on with him and Oliver, but it was safer than saying at the Merlyn Estate. 

Everyone left in the Glades wanted him as dead as his father. Riots calling for Merlyn blood. 

Then there was the constant hounding of the press. 

It was by far the worst attention Tommy has ever gotten. 

He was trying to handle all his family's legal affairs. He had taken over his family’s company and was in the process of selling it. 

He wanted nothing to do with anything related to his father. He planned on using the money to rebuild the Glades and help the families that had lost loved ones in the Undertaking and rebuild his mother’s hospital. 

He spent most time in meetings dealing with all the red tape and rarely saw Thea and Ollie. 

He’d been screening Laurel’s calls. He wasn’t ready to face her. Avoidance was his friend when it came to her. 

“Hey,” he greeted her with a smile. “I brought Chinese.”

“I’m good.” Thea waved her ice cream around. 

“I can see that,” he said, taking a seat at the other end of the couch. 

“Raisa finds out you chose takeout over her food, she’s going to be crossed.” Thea warned, half heartedly. 

“It’s late. I didn’t want to put her out,” said Tommy. “You know, I love Raisa’s food.” 

“Be sure to remind her of that,” said Thea. 

“Where’s Ollie?” asked Tommy. 

“He left.” Thea said, tone flat. “Where?” asked Tommy. “Will he be back tonight?” 

“I doubt it. When I say he left. I mean, he’s no longer in Starling.” 

Surprise filtered across Tommy’s face. “What are you talking about?”

Thea reached between the couch cushions and pulled out a letter, passing it to Tommy. 

Forebodingly, he read the letter, a slow simmering anger forming in his stomach.

Ollie had changed a lot since he came back, but some things he saw were still the same. 

Oliver still ran away when things got tough, choosing the easy way out. 

He gave the letter back to Thea. “I’m sorry, Thea.” 

“I don’t know why I’m surprised,” said Thea. “This is classic Ollie. Walter’s not around. My brother’s gone, mom’s in jail. Other than Roy, I’ve got no one.”

“You have me,” said Tommy, reaching across and squeezing her forearm. 

Thea smiled gratefully. “You have me too.”

“We’ll get through this together,” Tommy said.

“We will.” Thea agreed. 

Tommy smiled faintly, even as anger for his friend churned in his stomach. 

He wasn’t sure if he was more angry that Ollie left or that he didn’t even bother to say bye to him. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

“What are you doing here?” Tommy asked, staring across the Queen foyer at Laurel. 

“I think’s it about time we talk, don’t you?” asked Laurel. 

Tommy wanted to turn away, wanted to continue to avoid this, but he was just running away and he didn’t want to be the guy who ran away from his problems. 

“Yeah, it is,” he said finally. 

“I don’t understand, Tommy,” Laurel grabbed his hand. “The world was coming down. I almost died, but you saved me. You risk your life for me, told me you loved me, and then you avoid me. Why do any of that if you were going to just ignore my calls and cut me out?”

“I did that because I love you, but it doesn’t erase what you did.” Tommy pulled his hand from hers. 

“What are you talking about?” Laurel shook her head, confused. “I didn’t do anything.” 

“I saw you,” Tommy’s jaw tightened as he recalled seeing Laurel wrapped around Oliver through her bedroom window. 

The anger that had simmered inside him just then resurfaced the bitterness he felt. 

“Before the Undertaking, I went to your place. I was going to tell you that I made a mistake in ending things, but then I saw you with Oliver.” 

Laurel frowned deeply. “I’m sorry,” 

“Are you sorry that you did it or are you sorry I had to witness it?” Tommy asked. 

“I didn’t cheat on you. We were broken up.” Laurel reminded. 

“We were,” Tommy agreed. “But with the way I felt about you, I could have never done that to you.” he laughed ruefully. “I guess that’s my answer. You don’t love me the way I love you.”

Laurel shook her head and took his face in her hands. “I can,” she kissed him. 

Tommy found himself leaning into the kiss for a moment, but then he pulled away as the anger in his chest didn’t fade. “I don’t want you to. Not anymore.” 

“Tommy,” Laurel protested. 

“I refuse to be someone you settled for because Ollie decided once again you weren’t what he wanted. I will not be a stand in for him. I am not a placeholder.” Tommy said firmly, brushing her hands away. 

“You’re not.” Laurel said, eyes flashing. “I don’t see you that way.” 

“You’re lying to me,” said Tommy. “You’re only here because Oliver left. Tell me, did he even say goodbye to you?”

Laurel looked away, refusing to answer, but Tommy watched as tears gathered in her eyes. 

“I’m not trying to hurt you,” said Tommy, and Laurel looked back at him. “I just want to be honest. I spent most of our relationship living in my best friend’s shadow and that is not the way I want to live my life. I am done begging at your feet for you to feel just a half of what you felt for him for me.”

“I wanted to love you,” Laurel felt a tear slip beneath her eye. “I don’t know why I couldn’t let him go. Why I still can’t.”

Tommy nodded sadly. “Then let me go.”

Laurel nodded and swallowed thickly. “I’m sorry.”

“So am I.” 

Laurel pressed a kiss to his cheek in goodbye. 

Tommy watched her leave and while it hurt to finally put her behind him, he knew it was the right choice. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

The first time Tommy was attacked was a shock. 

He was going to meet with lawyers. He had barely taken a few feet from his car when he was being knocked down.

Shocked by the suddenness of it all, he stared up in confusion. 

A group of men surrounded him with weapons, crowbar and pipes. 

He felt their kicks. They were bearable, but the true pain came when they cracked his ribs with the crowbar and then his knee with the pipe. 

He cried out. Thankfully, his attack was short-lived. To his surprise, John Diggle came to his rescue, making quick work of the men and calling the SCPD. 

John promised to take him to the hospital once the SCPD had finished getting their statement from Tommy, declining an ambulance.

Tommy wasn’t all that surprised that instead he called Felicity on the phone and she told them to meet her at her place. 

John followed Felicity’s instruction, finding her hidden key and unlocking the door. He then helped Tommy inside. 

While they waited for Felicity, who was at work. 

Tommy winced, his body seizing up as he settled against the cushions on Felicity’s couch. 

He couldn’t stand to put any weight on his leg. It hurt to breathe; his face hurt. 

He understood that the city was angry, and it was hurting and they wanted his father’s head, but he never imagined that they would come for him instead because he shared his blood. 

He was paying for his father’s crimes. 

This wasn’t good.

He had a target on his back that he feared would never go away. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Felicity rushed up the steps to her apartment, her stomach in knots. 

When John called her and told her Tommy had been attacked, she was shocked and then she was worried. 

Tommy had called her almost every day since he had thanked her for saving his life. He had become a friend.

She hated to think about any of her friends hurt.

She hoped it wasn’t bad. She didn’t save his life just for him to be killed in a senseless attack because of his father’s actions. 

She saw no other reason why someone would want to hurt Tommy Merlyn. 

She breezed into her apartment. “What happened?!” she demanded before even laying eyes on Tommy. 

“Angry citizens.” John answered her. “I’m glad I was in the area. They were out for blood.”

Felicity stepped around him and when her eyes fell on Tommy, she couldn’t help but gasp. “Oh, Tommy.”

“I usually hear those words under better circumstances.” Tommy tried to lighten what happened with a joke. 

Felicity sat on the edge of her table in front of him. “What hurts?”

“It hurts to breathe and I think my leg is broken.” Tommy confessed. “And my face feels like I went a few rounds with Mike Tyson.” 

“It looks it,” Felicity admitted, tentatively touching the swollen and bruised skin of his jaw and eye. 

Tommy pulled back with a wince. 

“I was worried about taking him to the hospital.” John said from behind her. “Until the riots and the protest die down, I thought it best he not be seen.”

“You did the right thing bringing him here.” Felicity said. “I’m nobody. I have no connection with him. No one will look for him here.” 

“My father really fucked things up,” said Tommy darkly. 

“He did, but we’ll get through it.” Felicity promised. She looked over her shoulder at John. “Could you run to the store and get me a first aid kit? For obvious reasons, I’ve never needed to keep one in my home.”

“Sure thing.” John nodded. “I’ll be back.”

Once he was gone, Felicity turned back to Tommy. “You said you would keep my secret,”

“I will.” Tommy’s response was immediate. 

“I need you to keep another one for me.” Felicity told him. 

“I don’t know if I can heal all your wounds, but I’m going to try.” 

“I don’t know for certain my leg is broken. It could just be busted,” said Tommy. 

“Remember to tell John that when he returns.” Felicity advised. 

Tommy's brow furrowed. “I don’t understand.”

“You will.” Felicity placed her hands over his side. 

Tommy watched in fascination as her hands glowed like the sun. Warmth spread through him and the pain disappeared. 

When he looked back up at Felicity, he was surprised to see her face pinched in pain. “Felicity?” 

“It’s okay,” she said, feeling a lingering pain in her ribs. She moved to his leg. 

Felicity bit down on her lip so hard she drew blood. The pain was sharp, shooting through her leg. 

She had healed a broke bone once before. It had taken almost a full day to heal, but the pain was an almost constant during the time. Fortunately, it didn’t leave any marks behind. 

“Sunshine?” 

Tears gathered in her eyes and Felicity's lips parted as she blew out a breath, breathing through the pain. 

“You’re in pain.” Tommy moved from his seat. He helped her from the table and into his spot on the couch, most of his injuries gone except for the bruises and swelling on his face. “Why are you in pain?”

“I need to call into work,” Felicity blew out another harsh breath. “I need to call in sick for the rest of the day.”

“Why are you in pain?” Tommy repeated, taking her hand, hoping to ease her pain. 

Felicity gripped his hands tightly. “You can’t tell anyone.”

“Your secrets are my secrets,” he answered without hesitation. 

Felicity looked into his eyes, looking for honesty and sincerity. She found it. “When I heal someone I don’t just exhaust myself, I take on their pain and their injuries to an extent.”

“What?” Tommy was horrified.

“I mean, I don’t get the broken bone exactly, but I take on the wounds and they heal at a rapid pace. I get the scars.” Felicity confessed. 

“That’s terrible,” Said Tommy, guilt filling him. “You have a scar to match where I was impaled?”

Felicity nodded.  

“I’m sorry, Felicity.” He apologized. “I didn’t know.” 

“No one does.” She answered. “Healing comes at a price.”

“That doesn’t make it right.” Tommy shook his head. “You can’t keep using your ability if it hurts you.” 

Felicity smiled at him and squeezed his hand. “I will always choose to help my friends.”

Tommy shook his head. “You’re too good for this world, you know that?”

Felicity smiled faintly. “It’s nice to hear.”

“It’s the truth.” Tommy's eyes narrowed. “You’re not allowed to heal me anymore.” 

“If your life is in danger and I can do something about it, I will.” Felicity closed her eyes against the pain. 

Tommy moved to sit beside her and pulled her to lean against him. “We’re going to have to disagree on that one, Sunshine. 

“Thank you for caring.” Felicity told him. 

“You make it as easy as breathing.” Tommy said. 

Felicity turned and reached her hand toward his face. 

Tommy caught her hand in his, stopping her from touching his wounds. “No,” he shook his head at her. “It will heal on its own.”

“You sure?” Felicity gave a teasing smile despite the pain she was in. “I know how important that pretty face is to you.” 

“You’re more important.” Tommy held her hand, not letting go. “I hope you know from now on you’re never getting rid of me. Someone has to take care of you when you’re in pain.” 

Felicity smiled faintly, leaning more into him. “You’re a good friend, Tommy.”

“You too, Sunshine, you too,” he said and felt as her breathing even out, telling him she fell asleep against him. 

For the first time, Tommy was glad Oliver was gone because if he was here, he would be out on the streets, possibly getting hurt, and Felicity would heal him because she cared too much. 

She would be in pain, and she didn’t deserve that. 

She didn’t deserve to suffer other people’s pain, but she would if it help them. 

Her heart was too big and too selfless and he worried for her more than he could put into words. 

He made a promise to himself that while Felicity was busy taking care of others, he would take care of her. 

And he intended to keep that promise. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

The city fell apart, crime started to run rampant in Starling City, no longer keeping to the Glades. ‘

There was a rise in robberies, OD’s, break in’s, assaults and sexual assault. 

Starling PD was becoming overwhelmed. The Glades were more dangerous than ever that even Starling PD wouldn’t answer a call without back up. 

When the criminals of Starling realized the Hood was nowhere to be found, The Glades became their chosen playground.

Tommy felt the same anger when he first found out Oliver’s secret resurfacing, that same bitterness when he saw Laurel and him together brewing inside. 

Anger and bitterness for Oliver. 

Oliver could do something about what was happening, but he ran away and left everyone to fall victims to the predators. 

Oliver could’ve made a difference, but he chose to abandon them all. 

Tommy wanted to hate him for that. God, he was so angry with him. He wanted to see Oliver just so he could punch him in his stupid face. 

Tommy tried to make the city better by beginning the rebuilding and helping with all the resources he could, but it wasn’t enough. 

He knew that, but that point was driven further when he came across a girl being assaulted in broad daylight in an alley not far from Felicity’s place. 

He couldn’t stand by and do nothing and while he saved the girl, he got stabbed in the process. 

Felicity had to heal him, and he hated it. 

He was done being the one who needed healing all the time; he was done, causing her unnecessary pain. 

He was done standing by, watching his city fall apart. 

He asked John to train him. At first the other man was against it but he didn’t stop, insisting he was going to go out there to help people, but he was less likely to get himself killed with John’s help. 

Felicity was ultimately a deciding factor, reminding John that they could help the city and if Tommy knew how to take care of himself, she wouldn’t have to heal him all the time. 

John caved, and he was harsh with his training, but Tommy was not going to complain. He wanted John to turn him into the soldier he needed to be to help Starling City in the Hood’s absence. 

In time, it became just the three of them rebuilding the foundry. Tommy helped Thea rebuild verdant. 

Tommy was green, too green to be on the field, but John believed he had potential. But this was not an easy life he was choosing. 

Tommy was fully aware and gave it everything he had, leaving little room for anything else. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Thea scowled, sitting across from Tommy.

It wasn’t the first time he was late for their planned dinners. 

Tommy was all the family she had left, and she did not like how he was beginning to remind her of Ollie with his tardiness, absence, and lame excuses. 

“Look, I’m sorry. I missed our last two dinners, but Felicity was helping me with lawyers and finances and-”

“Who’s Felicity?” Thea's eyes narrowed. “You keep mentioning her. Is she your rebound girl from Laurel?” 

“No, I don’t have a new girl.” Tommy shook his head. “And Felicity could never be anyone’s rebound girl. She’s far too smart for that. And she’s special.”

Thea looked at him, considering. “You’re just friends?” 

“Yes. She has become one of my closest friends.” Tommy smiled. “Do you want to meet her? I’m sure if you got to know her, you would be great friends.”

“It would be nice to meet the reason why you keep bailing on me,” said Thea. 

“I’m sorry.” Tommy apologized again. “I will work on it.” 

“I don’t need another Ollie, Tommy,” Thea said. “I need someone who's not going to leave me behind.”

Once again, Tommy felt his anger at his friend resurfacing. “I’m never going to leave you behind.” 

Thea smiled faintly, not entirely sure she believed him. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Thea tipped her head back, a moan drawn from her lips as Roy sucked at her neck, her legs hooked around his waist and he was rocking against her. 

“I’m supposed to be meeting with contractors in ten minutes.” Thea panted, chest heaving. 

Roy buried his hands in her hair. “You can be late.” he reached his hand beneath her dress. 

Feeling his hands on her body, the hardness rocking against her, his lips on her skin, Thea’s focus was zeroing down to the two of them. 

Nodding frantically, she reached for his pants, pulling at his belt. “We have to be quick.”

She can do quick and dirty, then freshen up. Being a little late, couldn’t hurt that much. 

The door to the office opened, “Hey, Thea- Oh God!” 

Thea pushed Roy away, jumping down from the desk she was on just as Tommy turned his back to them. 

“I did not need to see that,” he groaned. 

“Sorry,” Thea's skin flushed, embarrassed, straightening her dress. “You should have knocked.”

“This used to be my office,” Tommy slowly turned around, and found Roy looking like he had his hand in the cookie jaw. “Shouldn’t you be helping down stairs?”

“I’ll see you later.” Roy kissed Thea quickly and passed by Tommy out of the office. 

“I didn’t know you were going to be here today.” Thea said. She and Tommy had been working together to get Verdant up and running, but he was letting her have most of the final say. 

“I wanted to get lunch and introduce you to Felicity,” said Tommy. “Think you can spare an hour of not sucking Roy’s face-”

“Do you really want to judge?” Thea quirked an eyebrow at him. 

“No,” Tommy conceded. “That just wasn’t anything I wanted to see. It’s like I saw my sister making out with a frat boy.” 

“I thought you liked Roy,” 

“I like him, doesn’t mean I want to see him sticking his tongue down your throat.” Tommy shook, like he was trying to shake the image free from his brain. 

“Is Felicity meeting us there?” Thea asked, running a hand through her hair and grabbing her purse.

“Yes, she is,” he offered her his arm. “Let’s go. I can’t wait for you to meet her.” 

Twenty minutes later, Tommy and Thea were walking into Big Belly Burger. He was glad that his work to help the city had deterred any further attacks on his person. He could go out and not get mobbed. 

Felicity was already seated at a booth in the back, she was messing around on her phone. 

Tommy led Thea over. 

Thea’s brow furrowed as she slid into the booth next to Tommy, across from the blonde. “Haven’t we met before?”

Felicity smiled nervously, setting her phone down. “Yes, when Walter was found. I brought him get well flowers while you and your mother were at his bedside.”

“Right, you came with my brother,” said Thea. “He and Walter said you were their friend. Did Oliver introduce you and Tommy?” 

“Yes,” Felicity nodded. “I worked for QC. That’s how I met Oliver and Walter.”

“How did you become friends with all three of them?” Thea questioned. 

“Thea, this isn’t an interrogation.” Tommy nudged her. 

“I know, I am just getting to know Felicity..” Thea looked at Felicity expectantly. 

“Smoak,” Felicity suppled. “Felicity Smoak. And it’s fine, Tommy. I can handle a little questioning. To answer your question, I got to know Walter working on a project for him and he recommended Oliver to me when he was having computer trouble. He wasn’t too good with the new advanced technology and kept coming back for help.” 

“And Tommy?”

“Oliver hired me to set up the club’s internet and Tommy kept me entertained. We became fast friends.” Felicity said. 

“Just friends?” asked Thea. Tommy told her that’s all they were, but she wasn’t going to just take his word for it.

“Just friends.” Felicity confirmed. She sent Tommy a teasing grin. “Merlyn couldn’t handle more than that.” 

“I’m willing to get burned,” he teased back, good-naturedly.

Felicity laughed. Tommy was a natural flirt, and Felicity handled it well. 

Thea looked between the two, seeing the easy banter and friendship. “Well, it’s great to meet you. Again. I look forward to getting to know you as well as the men in my life have.” 

“Can I take your order?” A server appeared at their table. 

“I’ll have a cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate shake,” Felicity listed off. She smiled at Thea. “They have the best fries.”

“I’ll have the same.” Thea smiled. “I know. I’ve been here a few times with my boyfriend.” 

“Roy, right? Tommy and Oliver both mentioned him a few times,” said Felicity. 

“Yeah, that’s him.” Thea agreed. “He’s a good guy. Unlike this one here,”

“Hey,” Tommy put a hand on his heart. “I take offense. I am a great person.”

“You are,” Felicity agreed easily. “Still, we all have our moments.” 

Thea laugh. “I think I like you,” 

“Good, you’ll be seeing more of her.” Tommy looked at the server. “I’ll have the same, but make it a double cheeseburger with a side of onion rings and fries.” 

“Did Oliver say goodbye to you before he left?” Thea asked her. 

“Yeah,” she answered. In a way, he did. It just wasn’t in person.

Thea nodded. “Did he tell you when he might be coming back because I am still trying to figure it out,”

“No, sorry.” Felicity said apologetically. “But I’m sure he’ll come back when he’s ready.” 

Thea nodded, but said nothing more. 

Felicity could see she was a little crestfallen by Oliver’s disappearance and smiled faintly. “At least you still have Tommy. He’s great for standing in for Oliver.” 

Felicity sent Tommy a teasing grin. Wanting him to know she meant nothing by the innocent words.

“Some would say better,” Tommy interjected. 

“Yeah, I wouldn’t disagree.” Felicity nodded. “You’re here.”

Thea turned and looked at Tommy, and smiled. “Yeah, he is.”

Tommy grinned at both women. 

“So, Felicity, I have to ask, are you single?”

“Why do you need to know this?” Felicity asked with a small laugh. 

“You’re pretty, you’re smart, and as far as I can tell, a good friend. You having a boyfriend will be the only thing that would make sense for either Tommy or Ollie for being only friends with you.” Thea inclined. 

“No, I do not have a boyfriend. I suppose I am just not their type.”

“That is a lie,” Tommy interjected. “You’re just too good for me and you know it.” 

Felicity laughed. “I’m nowhere near your brother’s radar, and I am no one’s rebound.”

She wanted nowhere near the mess of Oliver, Tommy and Laurel’s drama.

“A girl with respect for herself, I like it.” Thea’s eyes narrowed. “Where do you stand on girls?”

Tommy’s eyebrows raised in interest. 

“If the chemistry is there, attraction is attraction, love is love regardless of gender.” Felicity replied easily. 

“Now, things are getting interesting.” Tommy leaned forward. “Did you experiment in college and if so how-ow!”

Tommy rubbed the back of his head and sent Thea an accusing glare. 

Felicity laughed, and Thea grinned. 

Tommy leaned back in his seat with a smile as Thea moved onto complimenting Felicity’s nails and while he did not care for the talk of the importance of nail polish matching ones outfit, he was enjoying seeing Thea and Felicity hit it off so well.  

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Felicity was surprised when Detective Lance ask to meet with her. 

A part of her was worried it was a follow up to when he had her come to the station, but she agreed and met with him for coffee one morning. 

“Ms. Smoak,” he greeted, waiting for her outside of a coffee shop a few blocks from QC.

“Detective Lance,” she returned. “I hope you don’t plan on bringing me in.” 

“No, I wanted to talk with you.” he motioned for her to join him at one of the outside tables.

He passed her the extra coffee in his hand. 

Felicity thank him and waited for him to continue. 

“Since the Undertaking your friend has slacked off on the crime in the city, things have been escalating. I’m working on a series of house invasions. I believe they're all tied together, and I was hoping you could help me.” 

“Why come to me for help?” Felicity question. “As you said, my friend has taken a step back since the Undertaking. He didn’t take it well, that we couldn’t save everyone.” 

“Normally, I wouldn’t ask, but it’s not just house invasions.” Detective Lance produce a file from his jacket and slid it over. “I hope you will keep this between us.”

Felicity understood, if it got out he was showing her case files it could end badly for his career more so than it already had. 

Because of his work with the Hood, he had been demoted to a beat cop, but Felicity would always see him for the detective he was. 

Felicity set her coffee down and leaned forward to go through the file. It seemed pretty straightforward and simple. A string of break ends, no casualties, no injuries, safes, wallets, jewelry boxes emptied out. The victims woke up from a deep sleep. It was determined that the suspects were using sleeping gas. The targets were a little on the richer side, there was security footage but they wore mask, protecting their identities. It was the last one that caught her eye. 

Felicity looked at Lance, her expression one of horror. “13?”

Lance nodded, his eyes darkening. “It’s one thing to be chasing down robbers, but raping that girl while she thought she was safe in her bed…It has to end. I don’t want another girl to become a victim. I want to stop it before it can happen again.”

Felicity closed the file. “I’ll do everything I can. I’ll have your suspects narrowed down soon.”

“If they keep to their current pattern, we have two days before they hit someone else,” said Lance. 

Felicity hesitated. “Did the little girl get a rape kit?”

“Yes,” Lance nodded. “One of our female detectives was able to convince her to get one.”

Felicity nodded. “Expect a call from me soon,”

Felicity stood. “I’ll get right on this.” 

Lance stood and extended his hand. “Thank you,” he said gruffly. 

Felicity nodded, shaking his hand, and bid him goodbye. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Felicity took the rest of the day off and went to the foundry. 

She was happy that the rebuilding of the Foundry was mostly done and that her computer station was already set up and ready to go. 

She set straight to work. She went over the file thoroughly. Reports from the victims, pictures of the crime scene, forensic evidence, she hacked into the Starling Police mainframe, checking out the victims and the security footage they had from their homes, and was able to hack it. 

All the victims used the same security company and Felicity didn’t think it was a coincidence, furthermore the sleeping gas being used was high dollar and you could only get it in a few places in Starling. 

If they were hitting another house in two days, it was possible they would be looking to buy more sleeping gas. 

Felicity hacked into the hospital’s records for the rape kit results and ran the DNA recovered from it in the system. 

The scumbag wasn’t smart enough to use a condom and left evidence that she could use. 

Unfortunately, he wasn’t in the system. 

Felicity cursed loudly, her fist coming down hard on the table. 

“Whoa, Sunshine, what’s raining clouds on you?” Tommy came down the stairs with a takeout bag. 

John followed behind him. “You didn’t tell me you were taking a day off from your day job.” 

“Sorry, I met with Lance for lunch and he has me working on something,” Felicity answered. “And I have to get this done. I don’t want to think what can happen if I don’t meet the deadline.” 

“What are we working on?” asked John, showing his support. 

“There’s been a series of break-ins of some of Starling’s higher suburban areas, it was just robberies, no casualties, it was just a simple break in until last night.” Felicity answered. 

“Was someone killed?” Asked Tommy. 

“No, but in some ways this is worse,” Felicity shook her head, and brought up a picture of of the young rape victim. “They use sleeping gas and this time, a girl was raped while she was kept unconscious.” 

“Jesus, she looks barely fifteen.” Tommy said in disgust, staring at the school picture of a girl with vibrant red hair, blue eyes, and a freckled face.

“Thirteen.” Felicity supplied. 

John cursed. “What can we do to help?” 

“I was unable to match the rapist's DNA with any in the system, but I have another lead. If it pans out, I’m gonna need you to do some recon.”

John looked at Tommy. “You ready for some field work.” 

Tommy looked at the image of the girl, and he nodded. “I will be.” 

“Good,” Felicity said. 

Felicity took a long enough break to eat the food Tommy brought and the drink John brought before returning to her task. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

After tracking down the security company that the families used, Felicity discovered that they were using a new state of art company and that all the families were hit had been recently installed. 

Using her skill, Felicity discovered that the security company using special teams to install their security systems. She manages to link one of their teams to all the robberies from there. She looked into each and every one, narrowing it down to one.

It consisted of two men, Anthony Scott and Eddie Owens. 

Felicity was able to run a background check on both men but it came back clean, still she wasn’t about to give up. 

From there, she moved to the sleeping gas lead and found that only three stores in Starling sold it. 

If they were lucky, they weren’t having it brought in outside city limits.

Later that night, the team coordinated with Lance, Tommy and John would each take a location and Lance would take the last with Felicity overseeing everything from comms. 

It was a little tricky with Lance not aware of Tommy and John, determined to keeping their identities undiscovered, Tommy took over as the Hood. 

Lance wasn’t entirely convinced, but the Hood and his accomplice were not on his list of concerns for the time being. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Recon was slow going, but just a little at midnight, they hit gold. 

Tommy got to showcase John’s training and subdue the two men in the alley and waited on a rooftop for Lance after tying up the suspects. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

It wouldn’t be for a few days when the next robbery never happened that Lance ask to meet with Felicity again and when she did he informed her, he was able to run DNA and linked Eddie to the rape of the thirteen-year-old and with a little pressing on his partner got everything they needed. How they did the job, the money, their targets, all of it. 

He thanked her for her help and to pass on his thanks to the rest of her team. 

Felicity, John, and Tommy went out for drinks to celebrate the win. 

It felt good to be helping again. 

They doubled down their efforts to get the foundry up and running. Tommy trained more with John. He wanted to be able to go out again and help, but he wanted to do so without getting injured. 

He still promised himself he would not let Felicity heal him unless it was life and death, and even then, he hated to think about it. He didn’t want her to suffer more than she already had for them. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

On the nights John was out with Carly and AJ, Tommy and Felicity took the opportunity to hang out with Thea. 

The three would go out to restaurants, big belly burger or a night in, watching movies at The Queens. Some nights Roy would join them. 

Some days, Felicity and Thea made a day of shopping. 

As the weeks passed by, time was quickly going by.

Crime rate was still going up. John and Tommy started going out with Felicity on comms. 

Lance came to them with a few more cases. 

Felicity found herself forming a closer bond with Tommy and a close friendship with Thea. 

Lance and she shared a working relationship that was going well. 

John and she were closer than ever. 

Felicity felt like they were all really starting to recover from the Undertaking. 

Except there were moments where she would catch herself thinking of Oliver, wishing he were there with them. 

She felt his absence more than she thought she would. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

“Wow, Sunshine, you’re turning up the heat tonight.” Tommy grinned. 

Felicity's cheeks heated as she took a seat at the bar. 

She wore a red dress with cutouts on the side and stopped a few inches above her knees. She let her blonde curls down to frame her face, but chose to keep her glasses. She paired the dressed with a gold clutch and stilettos. 

“I’m meeting Thea and Carly for a girls’ night.” She accepted the glass of red wine Tommy slid over to her without batting an eye. “I was told to dress club appropriate.” 

“Well, you look beautiful.” Tommy complimented. 

Before Felicity could thank him, the sound of a voice clearing sounded just behind her and she looked over her shoulder to see Laurel Lance. 

“Tommy, it’s been a while.” She moved to take the seat next to Felicity. 

“Laurel,” Tommy said. “Surprised to see you here, I heard from your dad you’ve been burning the night oil, night after night.” 

“I had to come up for air at some point.” She looked between him and Felicity. “I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she looked Felicity over. 

Felicity didn’t like the way she was looking at her. Like she was someone not worth her time. 

“Felicia, was it?” asked Laurel. 

“Felicity.” Tommy corrected before Felicity could. 

“I wasn’t aware you knew Tommy, too. Did you meet him while you were fixing Ollie’s internet?” 

Felicity didn’t know it was possible, but Laurel made fixing Oliver’s internet sound like sucking Oliver off. 

There were disrespectful undertones. 

And by the way Tommy’s eyes narrowed, she wasn’t the only one who thought so. 

“We met through Oliver,” Felicity answered. “And built a friendship.” 

“Tommy and Ollie aren’t really one for female friendships.” Said Laurel. 

“You would know, wouldn’t you?” Tommy snapped. “After all, you couldn’t be just friends with me or Ollie.” 

Felicity appreciated Tommy coming to her defense, but he didn’t need to. She opened her mouth to reply but was cut off. 

“Felicity, wow, you look great.” She turned to see Thea. “You ready to head out to meet Carly?”

Thea barely spared Laurel a look. 

“Yeah,” Felicity quickly finished her wine, and slid her glass back to Tommy. “What do I owe you, Merlyn?”

Tommy tore his angry gaze from Laurel to smile at Felicity. He leaned across the bar and tapped his cheek in answer.

Felicity rolled her eyes but leaned forward, brushing her lips across his cheek. She waved over her shoulder as she left. “See you later, Tommy.”

“Later, Sunshine.” he said. 

“Sunshine?” Laurel mocked. “How long have you been sleeping together?” 

“We’re not.” Tommy turned his eyes back to her, glaring. “And what is your problem? You were completely disrespectful to her.” 

“Why should I respect your flavor of the week and Ollie’s leftovers?” Laurel countered. 

“Are you sure you’re not talking about yourself?!” Tommy snapped.

Laurel reared back as if he slapped her. “How dare you!?”

“No, how dare you! You don’t even know Felicity and you were horrible to her. She’s a good person. She didn’t deserve that.”

Laurel scoffed. “Can you just pour me a drink?” 

Tommy glared at her. 

“Tommy.” Laurel insisted. “Look, I had a bad day and can use a drink.” 

“I don’t care if you had a bad day. That’s not an excuse to treat someone like shit!” Tommy snapped. “Felicity has done nothing but been a good friend. She’s been there for me, for Thea, and she doesn’t expect anything in return.”

Laurel opens her mouth to respond. 

“No, I don’t want excuses.” Tommy cut her off. “You can’t treat someone like trash because you’re jealous or because Ollie left. You don’t get to take that out on an innocent person who has nothing to do with our mess. You’re an adult, so fucking act like it!”

Laurel flushed, feeling contrite. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not the one you owe an apology to,” he said, his anger unrelenting. 

“You’re right.” She said. “None of this is easy for me, but I shouldn’t lash out.” 

Tommy sighed, forcing his anger down. “What are you drinking?” 

“Tequila.” she answered. 

Tommy poured her a shot and slid it to her. 

“I just, I thought things would be different.” Laurel ran her finger along her glass. “I’m not handling any of this well. thought Ollie was done running away. When I let you go, I thought, he and I would give us a real shot. All I did was throw away a good thing for someone who doesn’t feel the same way about me.”

Tommy poured himself a drink. He was the last person Laurel should be confiding in. She was hurting and couldn’t see it. 

“The question you need to ask yourself is, when is enough, enough?” Tommy advised. “How much more of his disappointment, the hurt he causes, can you take? How much are you willing to put up with?”

Laurel looked at him for a moment. “Is that what you ask yourself about me?” 

“Yes,” he answered honestly. “I deserve more than to be a side character in my own life. I know that and I won’t settle for less.”

Laurel wished she had Tommy’s strength. She knew she should walk away and leave her history with Oliver in the past, but there was a part of her that was still holding on. It made it impossible to let go. 

She wanted her career. She wanted Tommy’s friendship. She wanted Oliver’s love. She wanted the life she always wanted with Oliver. 

Tommy was more grateful for Felicity than Laurel would ever know. She helped him see; he deserved more, that he was better than being a stepping stone in someone else’s love story. 

He deserved to find someone who would love him without restraint and wanted a life with him and not his best friend. 

That woman would never be Laurel. He accepted that, and he was better for it. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Weeks passed and then months. 

Tommy and Thea had become a permanent fixture in Felicity’s life. 

John and Carly ended their relationship. 

Laurel kept her distance from Tommy. 

Lance and Felicity struck up lunch once a week, talking about crime rates and cases. He often came to her for assistance. 

Crime continued to rise in Starling. The Glades were practically open season. 

It made John, Tommy and Felicity more determined than ever to do what they can to help the city. 

Once the foundry was rebuilt and Tommy’s training with John was good enough, Felicity had a suit made for Tommy. 

It was dark blue, and he had yet to come up with a code name, but he and John started going out. Stopping crime. 

For now, they were calling him Blue. It was completely unoriginal, but Tommy was undecided on what he wanted to be called. 

It was an adjustment fighting the fight without Oliver. It wasn’t the same, but they were doing good and that was what mattered. 

Tommy wasn’t reckless. He was cautious in his fights, calculated. 

He didn’t want to be the reason Felicity had to use her ability. Felicity appreciated that he thought of her well being so much. 

He was the friend she didn’t know she needed. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Oliver sat on the water’s edge, the water lapping at his feet. 

A small fire burning nearby. 

The waves were moving in faster, and the winds were strong. The smell of rain filled the air, clouds scarred across the sky, mixing with the sunset. 

A storm was brewing. He could feel it. 

Ever since the night of the Gambit, he hated storms but here of late, not as much. 

They started reminding him of grey-blue eyes. 

They reminded him of Felicity. 

She proved herself strong to withstand any storm. 

She was determined with an unbendable will. 

She came into his world and blew away everything he thought he knew, he felt apart, like the most powerful of winds. 

Distance, looking in from the outside, people often said it was a way to gain a different perspective. 

And he did. 

Only a few weeks into his own personal banishment to Lian Yu, Oliver had started dreaming of blue eyes, blonde hair, pink lips, a babble that never failed to make him smile. Not even in his dreams. 

He was confused at first when he started to dream of Felicity. 

Then he was thinking about her when he was awake, recalling every moment they shared, looking for a deeper meaning and finding more than he realized. 

She was never far from his thoughts. 

She was a light in his darkness. Something he didn’t know he desperately needed and while she was similar to a storm; she was also the sun.

She was warmth, and she burned brightly, she shined like the sun. 

She was everything good.

When he thought of her, he realized that he wanted to be more than a vigilante; he wanted to do more than right his father’s wrongs, atone for his parents’ sins. 

He wanted to make a difference for her and everyone like her. 

He wanted to make his city a better place; he wanted to do good; he wanted her light to shine through him. 

Looking out at the setting sun, feeling its warm rays on his skin and looking out at the incoming waves, the wind brushing against his skin; he realized how much he missed her.

Felicity. 

If he regretted anything about leaving Starling, it was that he left without taking the time to say goodbye to her in person, committing her to memory. 

He wondered if she was angry with him, if she was still trying to make the city a better place in his absence. 

He had no way of knowing, but he hoped the best for her. 

He thought of Laurel briefly, in passing, hoping she had moved on. 

He thought of Tommy and Thea. He hoped they were doing well. 

He thought of John, hoping that he kept in touch with Felicity.

Standing slowly, as the sky opened up and began to pour down rain, he knew no matter how much he may miss the people he left behind, he wouldn’t go back. 

Much like the corrupted elite, he was a cancer to those around him. 

Everyone was better off without him to spread his darkness in their lives. 

He was where he was meant to be. 

Alone. 

No matter how much he wanted to bathe in the warmth of the sun, grey-blue eyes or the light he craved. 

[frosty-the-killer-doll]

Chapters: 1/3 Fandom: Arrow (TV 2012) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Sara Lance/Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak, Sara Lance/Oliver Queen, Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak, Sara Lance/Felicity Smoak Characters: Sara Lance, Felicity Smoak, Oliver Queen Additional Tags: Angst and Romance, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Porn, Pre-Relationship, on the smoaking canary and olicity, Established Relationship, on the canarrow, First Kiss, Masturbation, Mutual Pining, Trans Female Character, Girl Penis, Anal Sex, Semi-Public Sex, Pre-Poly, canarrow want felicity so much its nonsensical at this point, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arrow (TV 2012) Season 2, Mostly Canon Compliant, Multiamory March, Multiamory March 2024 Series: Part 72 of take me to your best friend’s house (I loved you then and I love you now) Summary:

Sara offered an innocent shrug. “I bet Oliver that I could steal a kiss from you before he ever did.”

Hurt flashed across Felicity’s face, but awkward laughter spilled out of her lips. Oh, yes, she was sold before she even knew it.

Or, the one where Sara makes a bet with Oliver that she can get a kiss from Felicity before him. Prompts: Kiss, struggling and journey.