Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note: I really think Sara and Felicity could have a cool friendship, so this is my take on how that might start. This piece is set shortly after 2x14 because I felt like the tension between them magically disappeared rather than being dealt with. I also think Sara would struggle with readjusting to life in Starling, so this story also touches on that. I had some trouble getting all of the dialogue right, but I think I'm pretty happy with it now. Enjoy!

A Friend in Me

Sara pulls back her fist and slams it into the punching bag. Normally she would be doing something more productive like climbing the salmon ladder or working out with one of Oliver's training dummies. But at the moment she desperately needs to hit something. Hard. Since maiming old acquaintances is generally frowned upon and any broken bottles will come out of her salary, she's resorted to the punching bag.

The door at the top of the stairs opens and closes, signaling that she's no longer alone. Sara uses her hands to steady the punching bag before looking over her shoulder. She can see a pair of heels coming down the stairs, and then a moment later Felicity comes into view.

"Hey," Sara calls.

"Hi," Felicity says in surprise. "I didn't know anybody was down here."

"Just me," Sara says. She grabs a towel off the desk and uses it to wipe the sweat off of her face. "Oliver has a meeting and Dig's with him, so I thought I'd work out some frustration."

"I just came down to run some diagnostics on the computers," Felicity says awkwardly. "I had to reinstitute most of the security protocols after Tockman blew them up. Apparently they weren't as effective as I thought. But I can come back later..."

"Go ahead," Sara tells her. She picks up the water bottle sitting on the table and takes a big drink. "I'm done anyway."

"Okay," Felicity says awkwardly. She heads over to the computer table and sits down. The system comes online with the press of a few buttons. While she waits for everything to boot up, Felicity turns the chair around to look at Sara. Then she frowns in concern. "Um... Your hand is bleeding."

Sara looks down at her right hand to see that Felicity is right. Four of her knuckles are spilling blood. She lets fly a string of something that definitely isn't English before setting down the water bottle and pressing the towel over her bleeding hand. Then she gets up and heads over to the cabinet where they keep the first aid kit. Felicity turns her chair around so her eyes can follow Sara.

"Was that... Arabic?" she asks curiously.

"Yeah," Sara says. She pulls open the cabinet and grabs the bottle of rubbing alcohol. "Another thing I learned with the League."

"What does it mean?" Felicity asks. Sara glances over her shoulder to see if Felicity is actually serious. She is.

"Something you shouldn't say," Sara says flatly as she turns back to the cabinet. She unscrews the bottle top and dumps a bit of alcohol on her knuckles without so much as a flinch. Felicity's eyes widen a bit. She's always surprised by how immune Sara seems to be to pain.

"Well, it's all Greek to me anyway," Felicity says in an effort to keep the conversation going. "Except that it's... not actually Greek. But I wouldn't know. I'm not really a language person. You don't even want to hear me trying to order Chinese food. Or Mexican food. I actually took some Spanish in high school, but that was just because it was required. I got a C both years, which completely ruined my 4.0. I'm still mad about that."

Her rambling is stopped abruptly by Sara slamming the cabinet.

"Am I bothering you?" Felicity asks nervously. "Because I can go-"

"It's not you," Sara tells her. The former assassin comes over to the table and sits down in the chair beside it. A piece of gauze is taped neatly across her bleeding knuckles. Despite her workout, she looks incredible tense. And her eyes are red. If Felicity didn't know any better, she might think Sara had been crying not long ago.

"Are you... okay?" Felicity asks carefully. "I mean, clearly you're not okay. Not that you look bad! Just... not okay."

"It's been a long week," Sara says without looking up.

"Tell me about it," Felicity says drily. She looks back at the computers. "You would not believe how long it's taken me to get this system back in working order. And I haven't been able to sleep much because usually I sleep on my side, but I got shot in the shoulder so obviously I can't do that right now..." She trails off and clears her throat. "Sorry. I ramble when I'm nervous."

"I make you nervous?" Sara asks curiously.

"Sometimes," Felicity admits. "Well, not as much as when you first got here. But you are kind of intimidating with all of your... kapow."

She karate chops the air to demonstrate, and it draws a smile from Sara.

"You're cute," Sara says for what has to be the tenth time.

"Thanks," Felicity says awkwardly. She still hasn't decided how to take that statement. "I think... But enough about me. What made you wanna kill the punching bag?"

She immediately regrets asking because Sara looks down and her smile fades.

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine," Felicity says hurriedly. She starts to turn her chair back to the computer. "It's really none of my business."

"No, it's... it's okay," Sara says. She sighs heavily as Felicity turns back around. "I just thought the hardest part about coming back would be getting Laurel not to hate me. But that was nothing compared to trying to get my life together. Turns out former assassins don't make such good civilians."

She means for it to be a joke, but her tone causes it to fall flat.

"It can't be that bad," Felicity says in an effort to be encouraging.

"It's bad," Sara assures her. She looks down at her bandaged hand. "Sometimes I think I made the wrong choice staying here. Maybe I should've just gone back with Nyssa."

"But then you'd still be killing people," Felicity says. She's beginning to get a little worried with where this conversation is headed. If Oliver were here, he would know exactly what to say. But Felicity has finally managed to convince him to turn off his phone during business meetings, so calling him is clearly out.

"But at least I could do that," Sara says in frustration. "Killing seems to be about the only thing I'm good at."

"That's not true," Felicity tells her. "You're good at being a vigilante."

"That doesn't pay the bills," Sarah points out.

"Well, you're a good bartender," Felicity says.

"I can't do that for the rest of my life," Sara says. "And there aren't many other jobs that want a former assassin with a five-year gap in their resume."

"What about your family?" Felicity says, trying another angle. "They need you here."

"No, they don't," Sara says quietly. "They just need the idea of me. They want me to be the same Sara Lance I used to be. But I'm not." She brings her fist down on the metal tabletop in a sudden show of frustration, and Felicity jumps a bit at the sound. Sara doesn't seem to notice her reaction. "Everybody keeps expecting me to be normal. But after today, it's pretty clear that I can't pull that off."

"What happened?" Felicity asks in concern. Sara sighs before looking up.

"I had lunch with some friends from college," she says. "It was Laurel's idea."

"I'm guessing it didn't go well," Felicity says slowly.

"It was a disaster," Sara tells her. "Half of them are ladder-climbing CEOs in pencil skirts, and the other half are model trophy wives with picket fences and golfing husbands and 2.5 kids. All they wanted to talk about was the stock market or how talented their kids are. I thought I was going to barf."

"That would be why I don't have girl friends," Felicity says. "Actually, I don't have girl friends because most girls think I'm awkward and nerdy. Which I guess I am... But I'm okay with it because they make me want to barf anyway. And that wouldn't be good for my tablet."

"I don't even know why I was friends with them in the first place," Sara says. She leans back in her chair and crosses her arms. "They're so shallow! They all gave me these big weepy hugs, but then they just wanted to know about me and Oliver. Like that was the only thing in my life that mattered. None of them cared about where I was or what I've been through. They all just expected me to jump right in and join the airhead club."

"So what did you do?" Felicity asks in interest.

"I made up an excuse and I left," Sara says flatly. She holds up her bandaged hand for Felicity to see. "And then I did this."

"You shouldn't worry about them," Felicity tells her. "If they don't care about you, then you don't need them anyway."

"It's not just them," Sara says. "It's everyone. They all have these expectations about who I'm supposed to be." She leans forward in the chair and begins to angrily count people off on her fingers. "My dad expects me to settle down and get a normal job and behave like a normal functioning person. But I'm not. Half the time I can't even get a decent night's sleep without having a nightmare. My mom is delusional and thinks that I'm still the same sheltered kid I was six years ago. Oliver understands me better than anyone, but he keeps pushing me to be this... hero. And despite all of his good intentions, I'm not that person. Laurel's been pretty accepting lately, but there are things I can't tell her. And she's trying really hard not to nag, but I know she wants to know about what happened."

"Maybe you should tell her," Felicity offers.

"I can't," Sara says quietly. She looks down at her right hand as her left plays with the edges of the gauze. "If she knew what I've done, who I've become... She'd never look at me the same."

"How are people supposed to accept the person you are if you never let them see who that is?" Felicity asks thoughtfully.

Sara is quiet for a long moment. When she looks up, there is the tiniest hint of a smile pulling at her the corner of her mouth.

"You're pretty smart," she tells Felicity.

"That's what my IQ test said," Felicity says with a smile. "And, you know, who cares what those girls think about you? They probably spend their nights watching Jersey Shore reruns while you're out there beating up bad guys. You're actually making a difference. So they have pencil skirts and 2.5 kids. How many of them could've survived what you went through? You're stronger than they are. And you don't have to be who they want you to be because you're better than that."

Sara leans forward and rests her elbows on her knees in a sign that she's listening intently. So Felicity keeps going.

"Nobody ever thought I would amount to anything," she continues. "My mom was, well, is a cocktail waitress in Vegas. And she wanted me to become just like her. I had to spend every single day proving to her and everybody else that I was better than that. And now I get to be tech support for a superhero. I did that myself because I didn't listen to what everybody else wanted me to be."

"Maybe you should've been a motivational speaker," Sara tells her. Felicity quickly shakes her head.

"I can't handle public speaking," she says with a shiver. "My palms sweat and I get really dizzy. I actually passed out in tenth grade. In twelfth grade I threw up in front of the entire school. It was completely mortifying. And the quarterback was sitting on the front row right in front of the podium. He had this brand new letterman jacket on. Whoever did his dry cleaning definitely deserved a raise after that."

Sara laughs aloud. It takes Felicity by surprise. She's never heard Sara laugh like that.

"Well, you're in luck," Sara says with a grin. "Secretaries don't have to do much public speaking."

"They just have to take phone messages," Felicity says darkly. "And schedule appointments. And get coffee." She pauses and her brow furrows. "I ran away from cocktail waitressing so I could be Oliver Queen's coffee girl. There's gotta be some irony in there somewhere."

"You're not just a coffee girl," Sara tells her. "And you're not just tech support either."

"Yeah, I know," Felicity says, waving her off. "I'm irreplaceable. Dig already gave me the big happy family speech."

"I mean it," Sara says seriously. "We need you, Felicity. And not just because you're good with computers. You hold this team together. Without you, it all falls apart. You remind us what we're fighting for. You keep our eyes on the goal, and you pull us back when we start to go too far. You see the best in us, and you push us to become that person. You make us better. You make us heroes."

A grateful smile has appeared on Felicity's face, and it's slowly getting wider.

"I know you've gotten used to being the only girl around here," Sara continues. "I can only imagine how hard it is having me suddenly show up. If it were me, I'd feel pretty threatened. But I'm not trying to replace you. I couldn't even if I wanted to. You're too important. This team needs a Felicity Smoak. Don't ever think that we don't."

Felicity looks about to burst with emotion. She glances away briefly as she quickly reaches up and wipes her damp eyes.

"Thanks," she says softly.

"You don't have anything to prove, Felicity," Sara tells her. "Just because you're not a physical fighter doesn't mean you're not brave. And just because you don't have battle scars doesn't make you weak. It makes you lucky. You have an innocence that the rest of us have lost. And that's a gift. Don't be in such a hurry to lose it."

"Okay," Felicity says quietly. Then she perks up a bit. "Although the next time you guys start comparing scars, I have one too."

"Yes, you do," Sara says with a smile. She lifts her elbows off her knees and leans back into a normal sitting position. "Welcome to the club."

"Do I get a medal?" Felicity asks hopefully.

"Unfortunately not," Sara says. Her eyes narrow mischievously. "But maybe we could talk to Oliver about getting shirts."

"Ooh, I like that," Felicity says. She starts to turn her chair back to the computer, but then she turns back. "And for the record? I don't have any expectations."

"I know," Sara says quietly. She looks over at Felicity with a smile. "That's part of what I like about you." She tilts her head as an idea suddenly occurs to her. "You know, we should hang out some time. I mean really hang out. Just you and me. Oliver and Dig are great, but there's only so much testosterone a girl can handle."

"I'd like that," Felicity says honestly. "Preferably somewhere besides the Arrow cave. Not that I don't like it down here. It feels very... vigilante like. But sometimes it's nice to see sunlight."

"Believe me, I get it," Sara assures her. "I'm basically living here. I could use some time away."

"Are you busy tonight?" Felicity asks curiously. "You could come over. I mean, if you want to. We could... watch a movie or... something. Whatever it is that normal people do."

"Normal's over-rated," Sara says. "But a movie sounds fun. If you want, I can even pick up some food on the way over."

"Can you go by that Chinese place down the street that has the really good dumplings?" Felicity practically begs.

"I could probably make that happen," Sara agrees. She stands up and grabs her black leather jacket off the table where she left it. "And I can also teach you how to correctly pronounce their name."

"I told you I'm not much of a language person, right?" Felicity says with a wince.

"That's okay," Sara assures her as she pulls on her jacket. "Believe it or not, I flunked high school Spanish."

"Really?" Felicity asks in surprise.

"Really," Sara confirms. She walks over to the table Felicity is sitting at. "I thought I was bad at languages too. Now I speak four and dabble in a few others."

"Wow," Felicity says, impressed.

"And you know," Sara says, crossing her arms and leaning against the table Felicity is sitting in front of, "if you ever want some 'kapow' of your own, I wouldn't mind teaching you a bit of martial arts."

"Okay," Felicity says excitedly. "Maybe I can... teach you about hacking."

"That'd be cool," Sara tells her with a smile.

The door at the top of the stairs opens then, and they both look up to see Oliver and Diggle coming down.

"Sara," Oliver says in surprise as he and Diggle reach the bottom. "I thought you had lunch plans."

"I got bored, so I left early," Sara says with a shrug.

"You got time for some sparring?" Diggle asks as he takes off his suit jacket and sets it on one of the tables.

"Actually, I need to get going," Sara says. "I told my dad I'd swing by the police station." She looks over at the IT girl sitting beside her. "I'll see you tonight. Seven work?"

"Seven sounds good," Felicity agrees.

"What's tonight?" Diggle asks in interest.

"Girl's night," Felicity says smugly. She spins her chair around fully so she can face him. "You're not invited."

"Oliver is," Sara says with a smirk. Diggle chuckles as he picks up a wooden staff. Felicity just manages to suppress a snort behind her hand. Oliver gives her and Sara a long look.

"I'm not sure I like having two women down here," he says to Diggle.

"I don't have a problem with it," Diggle says with a grin. "Maybe between the two of them, they can find a way to keep you in line."

"Whose side are you on?" Oliver asks in mock offense.

"The winning one," Diggle tells him.

Sara holds up her hand and Felicity gives her a high five.

"What happened to your hand?" Oliver asks in sudden concern. Sara glances down at the gauze she had almost forgotten was there.

"I was just working out some anger issues," she says as she flexes her hand. "I'm fine."

"You sure?" Oliver asks.

"Yeah," Sara says. She glances over at Felicity who smiles back at her. Then she uncrosses her arms and pushes herself off of the table. "I have to run. I'll see you guys later."

She heads for the metal staircase, stopping on front of Oliver just long enough to give him a kiss. Then she hurries up the steps. A moment later the door at the top opens and then closes behind her. Once she's gone, Oliver turns around to look at Felicity.

"Are you really having a girl's night?" he asks in interest.

"Yep," Felicity says, popping the last sound of the word.

"We should have a guy's night," Diggle says teasingly. "We could make those little charm bracelets that say BFF."

"Now that I would like to see," Felicity says with a grin.

"Not happening," Oliver tells her as he takes off his own suit jacket and begins undoing the buttons on his dress shirt. "But as a consolation prize, you can watch me beat Diggle with a bow staff."

"Bring it on," Diggle says gamely.

"No offense, Dig," Felicity says, turning her chair back around partway, "but my money's on Oliver."

"Thanks a lot," Diggle says in mock offense.

"I rest my case," Oliver says with a giant grin and a mock bow.

Diggle just shakes his head. Then he walks over to Felicity, who has turned back to face her computer.

"So," he says, putting his hand on the back of her chair. "What's the verdict on Sara?"

"She can stay," Felicity says, glancing up with a tiny smile.

"Good," Diggle says, returning her smile. "It's nice to see you two getting along."

"She's not so bad," Felicity admits.

"You ready?" Oliver calls from the mat.

"Are you?" Diggle shoots back. Oliver gives the bow staff in his hands a fancy twirl to show that he is. Diggle just shakes his head. Then he turns back to Felicity. "If you'll excuse me, I have to go knock our billionaire down a few pegs."

"Good luck," Felicity tells him with a smile.

She turns her attention back to the diagnostics on the screen as Diggle heads over to the mat. A moment later the lair is filled with the repetitive sound of wood cracking against wood. Felicity shakes her head and tries to focus on her screen. Sara was right. Oliver and Diggle are great, but it'll definitely be nice to have another girl around.

If you liked this piece, you should go check out my other Arrow story "All My Secrets" which is a multi-chapter story about Sara and Laurel's relationship from her return up through the season finale. But first, please leave a quick review telling me what you thought of this story. I would greatly appreciate it. :) Thanks for reading!