Thank you to quisinart4 for picking up on the typos, listening to me rant and fuss and be self-conscious, and finally for your honest thoughts and suggestions.

This is the last chapter for this little journey (which I deliberately waited until today to post). Welp, it's been fun exploring their minds post 2x06. I hope you all enjoyed reading it.

four

He thought that avoiding Felicity would somehow counteract his growing feelings for her and make him see sense that being with him wouldn't be good for her. It's almost like building an anti-Felicity dam and blocking out the water - the water being his emotions for her. And it worked. Or at least it did until he saw her and Barry at the same cafe two blocks down. Seeing them together was like breaking the dam, and the onslaught of all those piled up feelings and missing her just came crashing back tenfold.

His heartbeat had slowed with the way she thought she was a little too enthusiastic with her wave, judging by her embarrassed slump, a pretty rose tinted on her cheeks. He thought it was enchanting, and he had to smile because he did miss her. More than he wants to.

A month after Russia, he's glad that things are finally back to the way they were. Mostly. Barry's still here and something about the guy just irks him, and Felicity is still spending a lot of time with him outside of work. He's happy that she's enjoying herself with people other than him and Digg, but he kind of wishes she has girl friends she spends her free time with.

After they agreed to open up communication channels between them again, it was difficult at first due to the lingering awkwardness from weeks of strain. But when Felicity began eating with him and Digg in his office again, the teasing and banters (and embarrassed countdowns on Felicity's part) between the three came naturally. Normalcy was par for the course from then on.

"Oliver, you need to calm down."

"Did you not hear me? She always answers her phone. Always," he stresses, ignoring the incessant whispers in the back of his mind. "Felicity's in trouble."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Then you need to calm down. You won't be doing her any good if you're emotional; you could jeopardise her safety."

He feels his breathing become heavier as adrenaline pumps through his veins with nowhere to drain it. He's tempted to punch the closest thing just to feel something, but he doesn't think Felicity will appreciate him breaking her monitors. If she's alive to admonish him about it. His fists clench and the pain offers some release. "I'm calm," he heaves between clenched teeth.

"Let's try tracking her phone first." Digg turns her computer on and starts typing, but he's moving too slow so Oliver shoves him aside and takes over.

His fingers slam a little too roughly on the keys as he activates one of the chips she put into each of their phones. "It says she's at Big Belly Burger for almost four hours now." He pushes off the table and stalks to the door leading up to Verdant, throwing Digg a crossbow before grabbing the Oneida Kestrel Compound bow and his quiver on his way out. "Let's go."

Felicity isn't inside or in the area surrounding Big Belly Burger, and Oliver can feel his eye beginning to twitch as the whispering in his head grows louder.

"Oliver," Digg calls, picking something up in front of the fast food chain's door. It's her phone.

It crosses his mind that it's possible the criminals they've started tracking down could have noticed someone looking into them. Felicity's always careful to cover her "virtual tracks," as she calls it, but she's been… distracted by Barry. (The heaviness upon his heart vanished after she told him that they are just friends, but he still doesn't trust the guy.) "What has she been working on recently?" He hates that he doesn't know much about her recently, but at least they can both count on Digg.

"She mentioned a lead on Billy Hayes she was working on at her apartment last night."

This time, Digg stalks off to the car first, but Oliver's hot on his heels.

He had called her half an hour ago, needing to know where she had placed a file he needed to sign to enable the purchase of new raw materials. When she didn't answer the first time, he texted her. Then dialed her number again. He was already making his way to his car before he got her voice message for the second time. ("Hey, it's Felicity. I'm obviously not with my phone right now - which if you know me, is strange. So leave a message… Or don't, whatever.") Each time he called her and she didn't pick up, the needle of the speedometer jumped up a number on his race to the Arrow's base where he knew Digg would be.

"We can't go through the lobby, the security guy's a real prick," Oliver says gruffly.

From the corner of his eye, he sees Digg frown at him skeptically. "Then how do you suppose we get into her apartment?"

"We scale the building."

"Now's not the time to joke."

"Not joking."

"Fuck."

He crawls through the window she had left open a crack to let in the cool city breeze and finds himself on the floor of her bedroom, all the while listening for any signs of life as Digg climbs in after him.

His eyes sweep through the darkness, absorbing in her little trinkets on her vanity, a beautiful painting on her wall above her unmade bed, and framed pictures on her nightstand. He spots her tablet on the desk in the corner of the room and steps over scattered clothing to reach for it.

Digg comes back in from searching the rest of her apartment and shakes his head as he flicks on the lamp by her bedside. A dim, warm light floods the room, giving life and colour not at all different from the personality and clothing of the person residing here.

As he waits impatiently for the tablet to turn on, one of the framed pictures catches his eye. It's of the three pulling their scariest Arrow faces at the camera from her computer monitor after a successful mission. Her sweet face is pinched tightly, her glasses on their way to sliding off her nose, the blues of her eyes hiding behind her squint, and lips scrunched into a tiny bow. She looks more adorable than scary. He thinks that's what scares him most. She's incapable of looking fierce and that makes her susceptible to the creeps who want to take advantage of her. But he knows better. He knows that under that sweet exterior, there's a tough and intelligent woman who is willing to fight back when pushed. He's experienced her wrath himself once or twice.

Her tablet brightens from the corner of his eye and he tears his gaze away from the picture. "What's her password?"

Digg shrugs, pulling out her laptop from under her bed. "I don't know, but she wouldn't use personal details."

"Well that narrows it down to about a billion and one combinations."

"This is completely ridiculous. How are we supposed to find her if-"

"Shh."

Digg snorts, affronted. "Did you just shus-"

"Shh. Did you hear that?"

From the front of the apartment a door's lock slides and clicks, the sound ringing in Oliver's ears and drowning out the roaring from the back of his mind. Blackness encompasses them as Digg switches the lights off and they both dive to hide behind different furnitures.

The pulse in his ears is so loud he almost doesn't hear the familiar muffled laugh before the door bangs open. His heart jumps into his throat, and it's only Felicity's absentminded, "Oops," that manages to push it back down in his chest. He hears Digg sigh on the other side of the room, and they move from their hiding spaces just as the light to the bedroom flashes on and:

"Ahhh!"

"Felicity, it's us!" Digg announces quickly, his hands up in surrender.

She slaps one hand to her forehead and the other to her chest, heaving deep breaths as she leans forward slightly. "Oh dear god," she wheezes. Her eyes clench shut before her posture straightens so fast he's worried she's thrown out her back. "What are you two doing in my apartment! No, wait - how did you get in! We're close, but this is just a little too creepy, guys!"

"I was calling your phone like crazy an hour and a half ago," Oliver remarks hotly, the whispers thundering back when she turns wide eyes to him.

"We were worried someone had snatched you," Digg explains calmly.

"My phone? I didn't hear…" she trails off as she digs around in her bag for the offending item. "Oh. I could have sworn I put it in my bag on my way out of Big Belly Burger…"

Digg pulls her phone out of his coat pocket and her eyes light up in joy.

"Oh yay, you found it!" His defenses begin to lower at seeing her grin. "I must have dropped it somewhere after Barry hit me."

"He hit you," Oliver repeats, balling his fists so tight the blunt ends of his fingernails bites into his palm. He takes a step toward her with an arm outstretched to check for any sign of injury on her person before she waves him off.

"Not like that. It was an accident."

He's about to press her into telling him how exactly Allen "accidentally" hit her when an unknown voice shouts her name. He and Digg move quickly; Oliver notches an arrow as Digg picks up the crossbow and both leap to Felicity's side.

The front door bangs as a male voice yells out again, "Felicity! It's Gill. Are you okay? I heard you scream."

"That's my neighbour," she explains, taking a step forward. Digg grabs her arm and holds her back, Oliver tightens his grip on the bow.

"Are you sure?" Digg whispers.

"Yes," she returns, exasperated.

"Felicity?" Gill hollers, knocking on the door again.

"I'm fine," she yells back, shrugging Digg off as she goes to appease this Gill guy, explaining to him that she just saw a spider, but it's all under control now.

Oliver closes his eyes, his shoulders growing slack after what feels like hours of tension stomping across one muscle to another. He drops the arrow back into his quiver and falls into her desk chair, scrubbing his face with his hands. His arms flex restlessly as he yearns to wrap her up in them. It almost kills him that he's not allowed to just do that and not let go.

Lyla calls and Felicity has to reassure Digg one more time with a hand on his arm that yes, she is safe, and yes, she will be more careful with her phone from now on.

He mutters something too low for Oliver to hear, but it doesn't really pique his interest until Felicity rolls her eyes and shoves him out the door, Digg laughing all the while.

"Are you going to stay a while longer?" she asks, clearing the coffee table. "Because I really need to take a shower."

He takes the empty soda cans from her and urges her away with a nod of his head. "I'll wait for you."

As she runs off into her bedroom, closing the door on her way in, Oliver busies himself emptying the scraps into her trashcan before situating himself back on her couch, rubbing his eyes. The past two hours, he couldn't keep his eyes off her as she paced around the apartment, fussing over him and Digg. She apologised countless times for her messy apartment and that she didn't have any "manly beer" in her fridge for them despite the two reassuring her they didn't want anything.

He watched her like a hawk, afraid that if for one second he looked away he wouldn't be able to find her again. It was irrational, but after a whole hour of worrying about her safety; her life, his heart constricted when he'd think of all the time he's wasted. Whether if it was avoiding her because he was afraid of feeling something for her, or making the wrong decisions over and over in choosing the right girl, or sleeping with… The point is, he doesn't want to live life being afraid of losing someone important who he's never had in the first place. He wants to know what it means to love Felicity. He wants to know how it feels to wake up and see her face first thing in the morning. To fall asleep cuddled on the couch with film credits rolling in the background. To hold her hand and take walks to the park just because. To fight over the sink when brushing their teeth before deciding to share. To kiss her lips every night before pulling her close to his side and closing his eyes. To hear her tell him how much she loves him for the rest of his life…

He's startled when Felicity falls down on to the chair adjacent to him. "I'm really sorry I worried you guys."

He opens his mouth to respond, but becomes distracted by her hair, spilling over her shoulders as she runs a hand through her shiny locks. He bets they're as unnaturally soft as the colour. And smell unique like her sense of humour, sharp like her wit, or maybe sweet like her personality. He uses the excuse of a loose strand of hair tangled in her earrings to touch it. She's wearing one of her more intricate pairs today that she most likely forgot to take off before her shower. His fingers slide along the silk-like strand. Soft and smooth. She looks down shyly as he tucks it behind her ear.

"I'm just happy you're safe," he says softly, a voice he's just now aware he reserves only for her. The corner of her eyes dip and her look grows soft, a certain warmth in her gaze creating a chill that runs pleasantly down his spine. He doesn't know if it's because the look she gives him melts his heart and soothes his tone of voice, or if he softens his voice because he unconsciously yearns to see the look. He doesn't care. Nudging her cheek with a finger, he whispers, "Hey. Look at me."

When she does, he takes a moment to assess her heartbreakingly innocent face. He feels a small smile pull at his mouth when she bites her lip, her gaze flickering down his face before they return to his eyes. He inches down and unhurriedly captures her lips in a soft kiss. He isn't sure anymore where she stands about her feelings for him, but nothing feels better than when she starts kissing him back.

His mind is fuzzy and he can't comprehend any thought, but he's able to recognise that she's too far away from him, so he falls between her legs on his knees as her soft lips continue to caress his smoothly, gliding against his slowly before sipping his top lip. His tongue slips out to lick her bottom lip, tasting cherry. The sound from the back of her throat urges him to kiss her harder. When his hands slide into her hair, she places her hands on his shoulders and uses her hold to push him away. His lips cling desperately on to hers until his mouth is tingling from the ghost of her lips.

"Oliver," she breathes, "what about-"

"I love you." The commotion in his mind halts and it's like he can see everything clearly for the first time in four hours. Her fingers clutch at his sweater, her breathing heavy, her eyes an unfamiliar, but beautiful nonetheless, shade of blue. His fingers are tangled in her hair and the faint scent of peaches and something else exquisite drowns his senses. It's sharp and sweet and unique, but most of all, it's Felicity.

Her mouth hangs open as her words die on her lips. He bites down on his tongue to stop himself from leaning forward to kiss her again, but his head gravitates toward her anyway. He settles for caressing the soft skin of her cheeks with his thumb, his forehead resting against hers.

"That kept running through my head since the moment I thought you were missing. And then that ache I felt in my chest at the thought that you'd never know… I don't want to feel that way. These past few weeks I've been keeping a secret from you and from myself. But I don't want any secrets between us. Especially about this. I love you and I don't want to spend the rest of our days with you not knowing that."

"I can't…" Her sentence fades as she shakes her head. His hands drop and his heart follows. His brain forces him to breathe and it comes out harsh as he tries to fight against it. He's about to move away from her when her hands rush to hold onto his. "I love you too," she exhales shakily.

He looks up at her sharply. "You do?"

"Of course I do." She laughs on a breath before she draws him closer and collides into his lips so suddenly he nearly falls back. Her arms slide around his neck and he grips her waist as he steadies them, pulling her into him. He wonders if she can feel how powerfully his heart is dancing. Then he decides he doesn't care when she bites his lip, evoking a groan from him.

Her thumb caresses a scar on his shoulder as they lie across the couch with her safely tucked between the back of the couch and him. He's been studying her face for the past few minutes, discovering tiny freckles and new specks in her eyes, revelations possible from the intimate proximity he previously lacked. When he's satisfied he's explored her face entirely, he moves down to her neck and comes across a faint scar on her collarbone. The blemish triggers the memory of Felicity stating so offhandedly that Barry had assaulted her. His breathing picks up as he studies her more closely for any sign of bruising or cuts, his hands carefully running over the arm of her long sleeve t-shirt.

Her thumb stops moving along his shoulder as she picks up on his change in demeanour. "What are you doing?" she asks, stilling his hands with her own.

"Where did Barry hit you? I swear to god I will-"

Her sudden laugh catches him off guard and temporarily diverts his attention. Her nose scrunches slightly as her warm breath splashes against his chin.

He shakes his head. "Felicity, it's not funny. I knew there was something wrong with-"

"Oliver," she utters appeasingly. "He was trying to show me he could do the running man."

Frowning, he shakes his head again. "How did he get you?"

"He can't dance - at all - so his moves were over-exaggerated and his elbow rammed into my arm as I was putting my phone away."

"Are you hurt?"

"No, I moved with the impact. Just like you taught me."

He smiles slightly.

"You don't always have to worry about me, Oliver. I can take care of myself." She tilts her head back to flash a sweet grin at him before kissing the end of his chin.

"Can I stay the night?" He adds quickly, "I'll stay on the couch. I just…" He needs her to be close to him so his mind and body can catch up with the fact that she's safe and sound. He grips her hip, feeling her peck his chin again.

She nods, mussing her hair slightly as the movement rubs the side of her head against his bicep. "Sure."

His mind runs through the night again. "What's your password?" he asks suddenly.

"For what?"

"For your tablet." He had felt overwhelmingly frustrated as his mind unsuccessfully attempted to get into her clever head. "What happens if you're not here and we need something?"

She looks uncertain, fiddling with his collar.

His head moves the necessary inches to rub his nose against hers. "Don't you trust me?"

"I do!" she assures immediately, holding onto the side of his neck tighter. "I just…" She sighs through her nose. "Okay, fine. Are you ready?"

He waits, unsure what she means. "Um. Yes."

"03LG14TO01COH."

He stares at her blankly before his face scrunches into a frown. "Is that a pattern or something?"

She laughs quietly, a glint in her eye. "There's no pattern."

"How am I supposed to remember that?"

He stays up half the night trying to recite her password from memory, and for the other half he watches as her eyes grow heavy and she slowly drifts off to sleep. He promises himself he'll hold her just a while longer before he carries her off to bed.

The next morning, he finds himself on the couch with Felicity still wrapped around him. He smiles, ignoring the kink in his neck, and presses a kiss to her forehead before closing his eyes again. As she unconsciously snuggles closer, he tightens his grip on her. He's sure when she wakes up she'll be stumbling over her words, and he'll look on amused as she paces and overanalyses what happens next. But for now, Oliver's content just listening to her even breathing and incoherent mumbling. He's happy just feeling her warmth, her skin, her.

Virtual cookies to whoever can figure out the code to Felicity's password ;)

Final thoughts? Please?