Part 2

The kiss started out as just their lips pressed together, but then Roy's mouth began to move and Felicity moved along with it. A tiny moan escaped her throat as the incessant questions of "What's going on?" and "Is everything okay?" were soon drowned out as the intensity increased. Soon Roy's tongue began to lick across her lower lip and she moaned again, inviting it into her mouth.

For several long, heart pounding seconds, Felicity found herself lost in that kiss. It wasn't until Roy finally pulled himself away that she realized what had happened and the full weight of it finally sank in. She'd kissed Roy Harper, ex-boyfriend to her boss's little sister, newest member of their team, someone several years her junior. Oh, that had been one hell of a mistake she was already beginning to regret.

There should have been a contingency plan in place for this, one where the possibility of Bluestein's guards finding them could easily be explained away. But Roy had done what needed to be done. Although Felicity praised him for thinking quick on his feet, it didn't excuse his behavior, or her own for that matter.

As they stood staring into each other's eyes, their breaths coming out in pants, they could hear a throat clear behind them. Felicity glanced over his shoulder and saw two burly men in black suits staring at them, arms crossed over their chests.

"You shouldn't be here," the one closest to them said, giving her the appreciative once over with cold blue eyes.

"Sorry, we were just looking for a little privacy," Roy said with a practiced ease that almost rivaled Oliver's when it came to this type of tense situation. "I mean, just look at her. Wouldn't you want some too?"

The growl she heard in her ear emanating from Oliver's throat reminded them both it was time to shut up and get out of there. Grabbing Roy's hand, Felicity tugged him away from the wall and back down the hall. "Sorry," she called over her shoulder, unable to form any other coherent thoughts as her chest continued to heave from a mix of adrenaline and the closest she'd ever been to lust in a long time.

Oliver intercepted them just as they entered the ballroom, the thin line of his lips and his set jaw letting them know he was not happy at that moment. Felicity's carefully thought out plan proved to be flawed, and she knew in that instant there would probably be hell to pay once they all returned to the lair. His large hand grabbed her elbow, roughly pulling her away from Roy's grasp before leading her around the perimeter of the spacious room towards the exit where Diggle was waiting for them.

"What the hell happened in there?!" Oliver exploded once they were out of anyone's earshot. A pale-face, wide-eyed Roy had just rounded the corner from the service entrance and was headed in their direction, but hesitated for a moment upon hearing the anger in Oliver's voice.

Felicity felt sorry for the poor kid. Although what he'd done had saved their mission, she knew there would be hell to pay once Oliver found out. Her first thought was to neutralize the situation. With his hand still gripping her elbow, she reached out and wrapped her fingers around his forearm, giving it a light squeeze. His eyes immediately fell to hers and softened. Panting breaths turned into a deep sigh as he centered himself.

"Everything's okay," Felicity softly whispered. "Nothing bad happened in there. It just took a little longer than expected to hack into Bluestein's system, but Roy came up with a distraction in order to keep the guards off our trail. I've got all the information off his servers and sent the evidence of his corporate espionage to the SCPD. They'll probably be here soon so we really should get going if we don't want to get caught up in the aftermath."

Her soft tone and gentle voice managed to get Oliver to calm down even further. He relaxed under her touch, letting go of her elbow. Sirens blared in the distance as faint flashes of blue and red illuminated the sky. Felicity tugged the sleeve of his suit jacket, pulling him towards the open door of the town car where Diggle stood patiently waiting for them. Once inside, they sped off down a back road just as the SCPD arrived on scene.

"I guess we can chalk this up as another win for Team Arrow," Felicity said with just the hint of a smile playing on her lips. But the man beside her continued to silently brood, his eyes dark and staring out the window.

"You never answered my question," Oliver replied, his eyes remaining focused on the blur of city lights that passed his window.

"What are you talking about?" Felicity shot back. "I told you…"

"The distraction," he interrupted. His head whipped around, eyes zeroing in on her. "What was the distraction?"

"It's not important!" she replied.

"It is to me."

They sat there staring at each other as a stifling silence fell between them. Even Diggle squirmed in the driver's seat as he waited for an answer. It stretched on for several minutes as Felicity contemplated her choice of words.

"So, um… I had just finished the download of our data from the server when Roy grabbed me and practically carried me out of the room because the guards were coming. I had no idea they were that close, so he came up with something on the spot. And, well, he kinda, sorta…" she rambled, almost afraid to speak those last two words. The way Oliver stared at her now as she fidgeted with one of the jewels on her bag made her feel as if he already knew. His eyes were dark and stormy just like they'd been when Barry was around.

"I kissed her," came Roy's response over the comms.

Damn, she'd forgotten they all still had those in.

"What?" Oliver growled in his Arrow voice. It was deep and low and so incredibly intimidating, more so than she'd ever heard it before. Anger flashed in his eyes, but before she could say anything to try and placate him, his head turned back to the window and he refused to look at Felicity for the rest of the drive back to the lair. She couldn't understand why he was so upset about it. They'd kissed in order to distract the guards from the real reason they'd been in that hallway. Why was Oliver suddenly so pissed off about it? Had he been there, she assumed he'd probably have done the same thing.

Upon reaching Verdant's back parking lot, Oliver stormed out of the car, slamming the door shut with such force that Felicity jumped slightly before exiting on her side. He was already at the secret door, punching in his key code and throwing it open. Heavy footsteps bounded down the metal staircase as she followed suit, kicking off her heels so she wouldn't trip and fall.

When she hit the bottom step, she found him stripping off his black suit, quickly replacing it with green leather. "Oliver, what the hell is going on with you?" Felicity asked sharply as she rushed towards him until she was deep in his personal space. Behind her, the door slammed shut as two sets of footfalls ran down the stairs. She ignored them, getting an eyeful of Oliver's angry glare instead.

"I told you Roy wasn't ready!" he shouted, making her jump back, but only slightly.

Regaining her footing, Felicity stood her ground. "What are you talking about?" she shouted back. "He did just fine! We got in, I downloaded the data, set up the bug and we left without so much as a scratch!"

"He deviated from the plan!" Oliver continued his angry triad through gritted teeth.

"Yes, my plan, not yours!" Felicity shot back.

"Yeah, your plan, with all it's contingencies and fail-safes." His voice was dripping with sarcasm as he stared at her with narrowed piercing blue eyes.

That made Felicity's blood boil immediately. "So what?" she fired back, setting her hands on her hips and glaring up at him as she got right into his personal space the same way he got into hers. "At least I had contingencies and fail safes! When do your plans ever have those? Oh, right, never! Because your plans usually depend on violence and brute force!"

"At least then I can expect things to go wrong," Oliver angrily replied.

"Yeah, and then I'm left patching everyone up because you're too injured to get down the stairs by yourself!"

"What if something had gone horribly wrong? Then where would your so called contingencies and fail safes be?"

"It's not like it hasn't happened before! If anything, Roy thought quicker on his feet than you ever have! If he hadn't kissed me, then things would have gone horribly wrong! But because he did, the guards were none the wiser as to why we were in that hallway to begin with."

Poking an angry bear with a stick would have been less dangerous than what she was saying to Oliver now, but they were both beyond their tolerance for bullshit at that moment, so anything was up for grabs.

The pure, unadulterated anger that flared in Oliver's eyes startled her, but Felicity continued to stand her ground. She'd gone toe to toe with him on many occasions. Hell, the first mission Oliver had ever involved her in had gone in a similar fashion, and she'd had the balls to walk out on it. She probably should have walked out when they first began arguing over this, but since that first time, Felicity had learned quite a bit about how to deal with Oliver when he was being a jackass.

"I never should have agreed to this stupid plan," Oliver growled as he pulled on his green leather jacket. "It never would have gone wrong if…"

"It was better than all the other plans you tried to come up with!" Felicity cut him off before he started listing his reasons for why her plan hadn't been the right plan. "If I remember correctly, they all involved shooting your way into the party and blowing the server room up!" He just stared at her, his body as tense as his bowstring. There was more to this than he was letting on, more than he cared to admit, and it had everything to do with the deviation to her plan. "But that's not why you're mad is it? You're mad that Roy had to kiss me!"

Upon mentioning the kiss, Oliver's head snapped up, and he glared at her. Those sharp blue eyes gave him away. Felicity could see the jealous rage building behind those azure pools quickly simmering to a boil. If she thought she'd been poking an angry bear earlier, she was now playing with an angry bear holding a lit fuse. It should have stopped her from prodding, but Felicity was already too riled up to care.

"That's it, isn't it? That's why you're so pissed. You're angry that Roy got to kiss me before you did!" She laughed bitterly. "Oh, the irony. All this time, we've been dancing around each other with fake 'I love you's and loaded looks. Well, guess what, Oliver! You had plenty of chances to do something about that, but you never took them! What did you expect me to do? Wait? Because I'm done waiting! Kissing Roy was nice. Kissing Roy was fun! It's been three years since I last kissed someone, and when that opportunity came up, I kissed back! So go ahead and have your little hissy fit because what happened between me and Roy shouldn't be any of your concern!"

There, now everything was out in the open, at least from her end. Felicity stood there, her chest heaving as her body flushed from head to toe with her anger. She stared up at Oliver with stormy blue eyes daring him to do something, say something in response. All he did was stare back at her with that same dark expression, anger and frustration simmering beneath the tense set of his jaw.

"Guys, maybe it's time you two took a little break, you know, before you tried to kill each other," Roy stepped in, one hand falling on Felicity's shoulder as the other pressed against Oliver's chest in an attempt to pry them apart. She hadn't realized they were now standing mere breaths from each other, the tension rolling off them in waves.

Without so much as a warning, Oliver took half a step back. What happened next felt like a blur. His right hand swung up and connected with Roy's face, knocking the youngster flat onto the cold concrete floor. Felicity squeaked in surprise, jumping back just as he pounced on his protégé's prone form and began to pummel him with punch after punch.

"Oliver, stop!" she yelled to no avail. He kept going as Roy quickly countered his attack, throwing his own punches in self defense. They rolled around on the floor for several more seconds before Dig came rushing to pull them apart. He grabbed Oliver by the collar of his jacket and shoved him off Roy.

"That's enough!" Diggle yelled. Still holding Oliver by the collar at an arm's length, he extended his free hand towards Roy, helping the kid up. Both he and Oliver had suffered bloody noses, split lips, and bruises in the altercation. Diggle pushed the youngster in Felicity's direction. "You take care of Roy. I'll deal with Oliver," he said before turning his friend around and shoving him away from the center of the foundry towards the training dummies.

Felicity led her charge to her computer chair and sat him down before heading towards the med bay for supplies to clean him up. When she returned, Roy's head was down, his eyes glued to the floor at his feet. Gently, she slipped her hand beneath his chin and raised it. Bruises had begun to form where Oliver's fist had made contact with his jaw and left eye. Although Felicity was no stranger to these types of injuries, knowing that they'd been caused by a member of their team, over her no less, made her cringe.

"I'm sorry I kissed you," Roy mumbled as she swiped a warm, wet washcloth along his cheek, cleaning up several minor cuts and abrasions in one go. His eyes avoided hers, choosing instead to stare at the beaded straps of her dress.

"You have nothing to apologize for," Felicity firmly replied, her hand forcing his eyes to look at her as she continued to wipe blood off his face. "You did what you had to do in order to save the mission and protect me. If anything, Oliver should be apologizing to you for being a complete and total idiot."

"I still love Thea even if she hates me and never wants to see me again," Roy said. "I shouldn't have kissed you. It was out of line and…"

"No, stop," she interrupted by putting a hand on his chest. Roy stared up at her, blue eyes wide. "What you did kept everyone safe and it kept us from blowing our cover. I got the data transferred and the bug planted, and that's what really matters. Our mission succeeded because you were thinking quickly and clearly. Stop apologizing." She swiped the washcloth over his lips and smiled. Besides, it's not everyday I get to kiss a handsome young man.

Roy chuckled and smiled in return. "That's okay, Blondie. It's pretty hard for women to resist my charm," he replied with a smirk. The color immediately drained from Felicity's face when she realized she'd said that out loud.

She slapped his arm. "Don't get cocky," Felicity halfheartedly warned before throwing the washcloth into the water bowl and reaching for a couple of bandages. One was place against his jaw where Oliver had hit him first, tearing the skin so it turned an angry shade of red and bled profusely. Another was placed over his left eyebrow. The rest of his cuts were minor, but there was no doubt in her mind Roy would end up with a black eye by morning.

Just as she finished cleaning him up, his expression darkened. The smile that had played on his lips faded into a tight-lipped frown. For a moment, Felicity wondered what had soured his mood, but then a hand fell against her bare shoulder and she nearly jumped. Turning, she found Oliver standing behind her, leather jacket still on and face just as bruised and battered as Roy's. The youngster had done a good job defending himself judging from the cuts and abrasions high on her boss's cheeks and the bruise forming on the right side of his jaw.

"What do you want, Oliver?" Felicity grumbled before turning away from him and back towards Roy. She checked the young man's face over once more, all the while Oliver's hand remained on her shoulder. The feeling of his calloused fingers against her soft skin tied her stomach in knots. On one hand, she'd finally made her feelings known. On the other, he hadn't said a word about his own making her think that maybe this was one-sided after all. But then why would he be so angry at Roy for kissing her? It made no sense...

"I want to… apologize," Oliver ground out, his hand gently squeezing her shoulder before coaxing her to turn around and face him.

Felicity averted her gaze from his, choosing instead to focus on cleaning up the medical supplies that littered her desk. After taking several deep breaths to center herself, she finally looked up, her eyes meeting the soft blue of his that told her he wasn't sure of himself at that moment. "To who: me or Roy?" she asked, gathering the trash and throwing it into the bin beneath her desk. "Because quite frankly I think Roy deserves the apology way more than I do. After all…"

"Felicity," Oliver cut her off with the simple whisper of her name on his lips. She slowly turned to face him. Their eyes locked and the myriad of emotions she saw warring in those deep azure pools nearly overwhelmed her. Oliver took a deep breath and added, "Both of you."

Felicity stood slightly shocked. Whatever Diggle had said to him at the other end of the foundry had to have been life-altering, otherwise Oliver wouldn't be apologizing right now. He'd be running up the steps, hood and mask in place with his quiver strapped to his back and bow in hand, ready to beat down any criminals that crossed his path. She knew that was his usual way of dealing with anything that rattled him. Well, that or beating training dummies senseless.

"Roy, I'm sorry for losing my cool. It was… uncalled for," Oliver said evenly as he turned to his teammate, his hand extended as a peace offering.

They stared each other down for several seconds as Roy shifted in his seat. The tension was so thick Felicity could cut it with a butter knife. The men eyed each other for a full minute, both waiting to see what the other would do until Roy finally stood from his chair and warily replied, "Apology accepted," then shook Oliver's hand.

Felicity sighed inwardly, glad that the two of them had made up, but it was her turn now, and she wasn't sure she could deal with Oliver at that moment. Not after all that she'd said to him. It was an awkward conversation best saved for a later date considering they had an audience. Roy and Diggle did not need to hear about their personal lives.

"Felicity…" The low whisper of her name spilling from Oliver's lips broke her train of thought. Why did he have to say her name like it was a blessing and a curse all rolled into one? It made Felicity's heart squeeze as the butterflies in her stomach went from dormant to chaotic fluttering in less than a second.

Closing her eyes to take a deep breath, another hand fell to her forearm, this one slightly smaller than what she was used to, but still just as comforting.

"You gonna be okay, Blondie?" Roy murmured so only she could hear. Her eyes opened and were met with the soft, reassuring blue of his own. When Felicity nodded, he let her go. "I'm going home to get out of this monkey suit," he said. "I'll see you guys later." And with that, he fled up the stairs.

"I'm headed home too," Diggle added as he walked up behind them. "I think I've seen enough action today." He stepped past them and said, "I'll see you guys in the morning." Just as he made it to the stairs, he added, "And Oliver, keep in mind what I told you."

Oliver nodded sharply before his gaze turned to Felicity. When the door slammed shut, he quietly said, "I'm sorry about tonight."

"I am not some piece of meat to be fought over, Oliver," she sternly replied before tearing herself away from his grasp. Over the course of their partnership, he'd apologized to her many times, but none felt as charged as tonight's apology. He'd treated her like some prize to be won at a fair instead of like the woman she was, and that made Felicity angrier than she'd been in a long time.

"I know, and it wasn't my intent to treat you that way," Oliver said, stepping around her so they could look at each other, but she continued to evade him. "I was an idiot to let my emotions get the better of me. I am so sorry I made you feel that way."

"Apologizing doesn't excuse your actions. It's one thing to question my decisions. It's another when you start to fight over me like I'm a toy!" Felicity's voice slowly grew in pitch as she looked up to glare at him.

Oliver's head hung in shame, his gaze falling to the floor. "Deja vu," he muttered before he turned and began shedding the green leather jacket.

"What? Deja vu? What do you mean by 'deja vu'?" Felicity prodded, but he refused to answer, focusing instead on slipping a plain white t-shirt over his head. "Answer me, Oliver! I've had enough of your evasive bullshit tonight!"

"I don't wanna talk about it," he said from between gritted teeth.

"Oh, yes you will!" she scoffed. "I wasn't the one running hot and cold all night. I wasn't the one making his partner question herself about everything. I wasn't the one who got in a fight with his teammate over a kiss! No, I was the one who actually made her feelings known, unlike you, Mr. 'I'm too dark and brooding to let my emotions show until someone does something I don't like' Queen!"

Felicity was in his face again, her finger poking him in the chest as he stood there, stoic as ever, absorbing her wrath without so much as a twitch. It only served to riled her up even more. "Damn it, Oliver! Say something because I will walk out and you'll never see me again!" she seethed. In the heat of the moment, she hadn't planned to make such an ultimatum, but seeing how he just stood there staring at her with nearly empty eyes made Felicity's heart crumble.

The silence stretched on. With every passing moment, Felicity knew she wasn't going to get an answer, no matter how desperately she hoped he would say something. But he remained stoic as ever, and her shoulders slumped in defeat. With a sigh, she turned to her desk, grabbed her purse and began making her way towards the stairs. "Goodbye, Oliver," she whispered without turning to look at him.

This was it, the straw that broke the camel's back. Felicity couldn't stand it anymore. She'd had enough of Oliver's silence and she couldn't take anymore. Chunks of her heart broke loose with every step she took up the stairs. It was over; their partnership, their friendship, everything she ever held dear. Tears began to stream down her cheeks, and when she reached the landing, an ugly sob threatened to escape her throat if she didn't get out of there.

Slipping into her shoes, Felicity was about to reach for the door handle when she heard Oliver call out her name. A moment later, he was bounding up the stairs at lightning speed until he reached the landing and put himself between her and the door.

"Laurel," he simply said.

Felicity's jaw dropped as a fresh set of tears streaked down her cheeks. Why was he bringing his ex into this conversation? Was he trying to get her to leave even faster?

"What? No!" Oliver quickly replied as his hands fell to her shoulders. Felicity's eyes shot up and she realized she'd voiced her thoughts. "Deja vu. I had this conversation with Tommy before…" The forlorn look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know, but Oliver quickly picked himself up and continued. "Anyway, we had this same conversation about Laurel before I went and screwed everything up between the three of us, and honestly, I thought I'd done the same thing tonight."

He was struggling with his words, pausing, shifting on his feet. Felicity gave him a moment to gather his thoughts, urging him to continue with a silent gaze.

"I am… terrified… of screwing things up with you," Oliver finally admitted. "I care about you more than I've ever cared about anyone in my life. You… You're the glue that holds this team together, that holds me together. If I lost you, I don't know what I'd do."

Silence stretched between them for several moments before Felicity replied, "Then tell me, Oliver. Don't hide from me anymore. Don't shut me out. Talk to me. You know I'm here for you. And you know I care about you, too."

He stepped closer, his hands trailing down her arms until their fingers laced together. "Then I'm telling you, I don't want to lose you. Not now. Not ever," Oliver said in a voice barely above a whisper. "Please don't walk out that door." He paused, took a breath, and leveled her with a gaze so deep and intense that Felicity could see down to the very depths of his soul. He was laying himself bare for her, putting his cards on the table, and in an instant, she felt as if she couldn't breathe. The emotions she saw swirling in those deep blue pools took the air right out of her lungs.

"Why?" Felicity managed to ask before her throat complete closed on her.

"Because I love you." Oliver said it with such ease, like he'd been saying those three words to her all his life when in reality this was only the second time she'd ever heard them pass his lips. "I've been in love with you for a while, and I want more than partners and friends, I want us, but I'm scared that if I try, it'll blow up in my face like everything else has. I'm scared that if this doesn't work out between us, I will lose you… for good."

Felicity was still too stunned to speak as she processed his words. Oliver loved her, had been in love with her for a while. It should have scared her considering she hadn't even thought it was possible until this very moment when he was pouring his heart out to her, but it didn't. Instead, she felt as if she was floating. Her heart hammered in her chest, feelings she'd been refusing to pay any attention to suddenly bubbling to the surface.

"That night in the mansion… It wasn't a ruse. You… you weren't just saying that to throw Slade off. It… it was the truth?" Felicity stuttered.

"Yes," Oliver said. "That night, I thought it was the last time I'd ever see you. So I had to tell you. And when I say 'I love you' now, it's not to hear it back. I say it to make sure you know. I don't know if you love me. I don't know if you'll ever love me. But just know that I love you and that…"

Standing up on the tips of her toes, Felicity cut him off mid-sentence by pressing her lips to his. It was the most heartfelt and sincere moment that had ever passed between them. She could feel Oliver's words seep into the broken pieces of her heart, mending it almost instantly. Never in her life had she expected this kind of raw expression of love from this man, but here he was, saying things she thought had only been a lie to defeat a madman. It made Felicity want to sing with joy.

Oliver stiffened for a moment, surprised by what was happening, but quickly got over it and returned her kiss with fervor. His hands released hers and one sank into the loose curls against the back of her head while the other came up to cup her face. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Felicity pulled him closer and nearly lost her balance in the process.

When she stumbled, Oliver was quick to catch her before she fell. His arm flew to her waist, banding around it so he could firmly press her to his chest. All the while, his lips stayed on Felicity's, deepening the kiss further until she had to break away for oxygen. Together they panted for breath, their eyes locked as he let his forehead rest against hers.

"I'll always love you," Oliver breathlessly whispered as the hand that was once in her hair now gently cupped her jaw, his thumb stroking away the tear tracks that still stained her cheeks.

Felicity's heart fluttered in her chest as she gazed up at him, a smile spreading out across her lips. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she asked. "We could have avoided this mess."

"Because I was scared. You mean more to me than anyone else ever has. You're all I think about. You're everything I want."

Felicity smiled. "And you're everything I want," she replied. "But you have to promise me you won't act like that selfish asshole I saw an hour ago."

Oliver groaned, but the smile remained. "I promise," he murmured, dropping another kiss to her lips.

"You know I'm still mad at you about what happened with Roy," Felicity mumbled against his lips as he continued to kiss her.

"How about I take you home and make it up to you," Oliver replied, "in your bed? Once…? Twice…? Three times…? Maybe more?" He punctuated his words with kisses that trailed down the exposed flesh of her neck until he reached the hollow of her throat and his tongue swept across her skin.

Heat radiated throughout Felicity's body until it manifested in a moan that reverberated off the cold concrete walls. Her brain told her to stop, that she was being too easy on him for his transgressions, but her heart told her this was a great idea. The war raged on as his hand crept beneath the slit in her dress and began trekking up her thigh.

"How about dinner first?" Felicity replied, finally coming up with a compromise between her head and her heart.

Pressing one more kiss to the pulse point in her neck that made her shiver and regret her question, Oliver pulled away. He was still smiling, though, his eyes alight with a fire she'd never seen before. "It's a date," he whispered into her ear before pulling away from her completely. "Tomorrow night?"

Felicity nodded. "Tomorrow night sounds perfect," she said.

"I'll pick you up at seven. See you then." And with that, Oliver made his way back down the stairs as she tried to gather breath into her lungs.

The loss of his heat pressed against her body made Felicity wish she had given in to her needs, but as she stepped outside into the cool night air, she knew it was the right thing to do. Besides, absence made the heart grow fonder. Right, if only her body understood that.