I haven't written in over a year and then...BOOM! I catch onto Arrow and there they are. Felicity Smoak and Oliver Queen. Just waiting to be written about. So, please, forgive the errors - I've just finished an assessment and editing this just might kill me - and forgive the length. I'm rusty and this Felicity, sort of, ran away from me. I do hope you like it! Enjoy!

Also, I don't own 'Arrow'. I do wish I could be friends with Felicity and smack Oliver on the upside of his head occasionally. Plus, this is Alternate Universe so this all occurs before Oliver and Felicity meet in canon. Even if that's your timeline, I'm not really referencing much of the show. But, I still hope you like it!

The Four Times Felicity Meets The Hood (and that one time she meets Oliver Queen)

The first time Felicity Smoak meets the Hood; she's in the process of being mugged.

She's walking to her car in the Glades, searching for her keys after a relaxed dinner with her friends when she feels the knife against her ribs and the hot breath of the mugger against the back of her neck and she freezes.

"Your purse, lady. Now."

There is enough menace in the muggers' voice for her heart to stutter and for her to fumble with her purse. Even as she fumbles, Felicity is trying to think of a way to rescue her tablet from the robbery because, well, she's not entirely sure she knows how to function without her tablet.

She then feels the knife press more firmly into her and decides that she can probably just claim her tablet on insurance.

"Okay, okay. Just, wait a second – "

She doesn't have a chance to finish the sentence.

Mainly because she's, very suddenly, falling forward onto hard concrete with her tablet still tucked safely in her bag.

The adrenaline that comes from suddenly escaping the knife at her ribs has her scrambling around to see what the hell just happened and she's confronted with a man in what looks to be green leather holding her mugger up by his ratty white shirt.

The second thing Felicity notices about the man in green leather is that leather pants look phenomenally good on him.

"…run. If I catch you again, you'll regret it."

Felicity tunes in at what looks to be the end of a very promising threat and starts to actually pay attention to something other than the leather.

It's then she realizes that the mugger who had been interrupted is bleeding from the mouth, looks terrified and is barely more than a kid. The man in the green leather, who has probably just threatened the kid into being on the right side of the law for the rest of his life, has his hood up, a bow and quiver and a very strange voice.

If she had to guess, Felicity wouldn't be surprised if he were using a voice modulator.

It takes her maybe thirty seconds to process that she's actually looking at the hooded vigilante that has been all over the news for rescuing Oliver Queen and Tommy Merlyn a couple of weeks back.

The vigilante drops the kid whose knees clearly buckle before he's scrambling away, wiping at his mouth as the knife he'd tried to use clatters to the ground.

Felicity stares after him before realizing that the kid has left her completely alone with the vigilante.

Who is actually quite imposing because she's still on the ground and looking up at him and he sort of looks like a giant whose face she can't see.

So, she decides she should probably get up.

Except she's going to look really undignified because she's wearing a pencil skirt and they're not really conducive to getting up off the ground after being rescued by a hooded vigilante who is just…standing there, watching her.

Still, she scrambles to her feet and then realizes she's still looking up at him.

"Wow. You're actually a giant. Which isn't a bad thing, but it's kind of surprising because you seemed, like, really tall when I was on the ground and now I'm standing and you're still really tall which means you're just, really, um…tall."

It's the first thing that falls from her mouth and Felicity considers just shooting herself because she's talking to a guy wearing a hood, who is in all likely has quite a few mental problems and the first thing out of her mouth is that he's a giant.

Good one, Felicity, she thinks.

"I'm sorry. It's nerves. 'Cause you know, I was nearly mugged by a kid. Who looked way too young to be leading a life of crime. But you probably don't care much about that just like you know I was nearly mugged because you rescued me." She pauses for breath for half a second and because he's still watching her, continues. "Thank you for that, by the way. He would have gotten away with my tablet and I really can't live without my tablet. Which is really sad, 'cause you should be able to live without technology but I don't think I can…and I'm still talking. But, thank you. Really. For saving my tablet."

Felicity stops talking and mentally rewinds everything she's just managed to blurt out and then blanches as she realizes she's thanked him for saving an inanimate object; he most likely has no idea she had.

"And me. Thank you for saving me. From the knife wielding kid. Oh, my God. I'm still talking. It's nerves. I swear."

Felicity snaps her mouth shut after that and silence falls between her and the, so far, inscrutable vigilante who has simply stood and listened and watched.

Squinting at him, Felicity suddenly realizes that the vigilante is giving off an air that she could possibly liken to amusement.

Feeling slightly indignant – and relieved, at least he wasn't going to hurt her if he's amused, right? – Felicity feels her mouth open when he cuts her off.

"You're welcome. I hope your tablet is alright."

The mechanical voice freaks her out slightly. At the mention of her tablet, Felicity glances down at her bag for a second, checking that it's still there. When she looks up, the vigilante has disappeared and she's standing on the sidewalk, alone.

For a second, Felicity simply stares at the spot where he was.

"Well, that was weird."

The second time Felicity finds herself facing the Hood, she is genuinely confused as to why he's there.

Her car has broken down. At least, she assumes its broken down because it won't start and there's smoke coming from the engine. So, really, she's not making an assumption just a conclusion based on the information at hand.

Her broken engine doesn't exactly explain why the Hood has randomly shown up, though. Felicity is pretty sure she doesn't need rescuing from a broken down car and – unless he's a qualified mechanic, which she highly doubts – then his presence is pretty much useless.

She doesn't say that to him though. Especially given that would probably have been less embarrassing.

No, she has to open with: "Are you stalking me? Seriously. How did you know where I was?"

It takes her maybe point five a second to realize that the Hood? Had definitely not realized who she was when he'd appeared out of absolutely nowhere.

"No. No, don't answer that question. It was a horrible question because why on earth would you be stalking me? That would totally imply that you remember exactly who I am and I have a feeling you rescue damsels in distress all that time and I'm just one of a number of blond damsels you've rescued. Come to think of it, you must get laid a lot because – oh my God, ignore that last sentence."

It's times like this, Felicity decides, that she'd really like to have more control over her brain to mouth filter. Or, you know, just control over it would be really nice.

She leans back against her car, pressing the heel of her hand to her forehead and counting down to ten in her head. She's actually hoping that by the time she hits ten, the Hood will have disappeared the way he came. Which could be any direction really because she has no idea where he'd come from in the first place.

Unfortunately, when she opens her eyes, he's still there. Clearly, he has issues because there is no way that anyone would stay to hear what she said next.

Felicity doesn't even want to stay to hear what she has next. Unfortunately, she can't go anywhere because her car has broken down and well, she's in the Glades, so going anywhere on her own would attract the wrong kind of attention.

'Cause, you know, she is a blond and she's fairly attractive and she's alone.

"You shouldn't be out here alone."

Felicity jumps at the growled words that have come from the vigilante she's forgotten was standing there.

The fact that his words mirror her thoughts has Felicity staring at him like he's grown a second head. Or pulled down his hood, so she can see who he really is. Because if there's one thing she knows about superheros it's that when they reveal themselves, they are never who anyone expects them to be.

"What? Are you a mind reader too? Because if you are, why would you need an arrow?" Felicity pauses and then finds herself going on. "Seriously. If you're really a mind reader than that's your super power and you wouldn't need bows or arrows because then you could hear what they were thinking and fix it, right? Because, lets be honest, archery is kind of ridiculous and – "

The Hood cuts her off and Felicity is almost positive his shoulders are shaking slightly. "I'm not a mind reader, Miss Smoak. But a beautiful woman alone in the Glades is bound to attract the wrong kind of attention."

Felicity stares at him.

Because…is the Hood actually flirting with her?

That would totally be a first and a last. Felicity can't remember the last time someone flirted with her.

But it really would just be her luck that the first guy to flirt with her would be a wanted criminal.

"Um. I know? Not the beautiful part because, really, beautiful is such a heavy word and well, the last guy that called me beautiful wanted to distract me from the code I was writing because he knew that it would beat his code in this competition we both entered in college. At least, I think that's why he did it. It wasn't like he wanted to get into my pants except my friends really did think that's what he was doing. But that's not what you're doing! I'm not trying to say you called me beautiful to get into my pants and – "

A strangled cough interrupts her monologue and Felicity stares at the vigilante because it sort of sounds like he's choking. She's not sure why he's making that noise until she replays the last few seconds she'd been talking.

"Oh, my God. You didn't need to know any of that. I'm so sorry. Not that I think you were calling me beautiful to get into my pants or anything." Felicity pauses and then continues because she has no control over her mouth. "Because, you know, we've already established that you get laid a lot. Which means you get into girls pants a lot. Because of the whole hero thing…and leather pants."

She's made it worse. Felicity has no idea why some unknown higher being decided to gift her with foot-in-mouth disease, she really doesn't but it's times like these she wishes she wasn't that lucky.

Because she's talking about pants, specifically his leather pants and her pants and it's not like she's being casually euphemistic, either. She's actually talking about getting into his pants and him trying to get into hers and if the ground could swallow her whole, Felicity really wishes it would happen now.

It doesn't.

But the tow-truck she totally forgot she called does make an appearance and Felicity really considers that a win.

Right up until the Hood steps maybe a little too close and she catches a glimpse of a drool-worthy jawline and a whiff of leather.

"You know, you're wearing a skirt."

Felicity is pretty sure she blushes so hard; her cheeks are permanently stained red. Because the Hood?

Was totally flirting with her.

The third time Felicity runs into the Hood is also the second time he saves her.

Except this time, there's no kid wielding a knife and she's most definitely not babbling about her tablet or how tall he is.

She's not really saying anything because the Hood? Is on top of her.

And, okay, he's on top of her because she made the horrible decision of stepping onto the road without looking and was surprised to find out that there were actual cars around at this time of night.

This is what she gets for wanting ice cream after working late, Felicity supposes as she hits the ground with the solid weight of the Hood falling on top of her.

Felicity is also surprised to find that the hooded vigilante is out at this time of night.

Which she shouldn't be because it's night and common sense tells her that vigilantism probably should be undertaken in the middle of the night in order to conceal identity and all that.

Plus, criminals seem to operate almost exclusively at night, so there's that.

Felicity is almost sure all of this is going to come spewing out of her mouth because – if the last two times are any indication – she has no control over her mouth when she's around him.

Except, this time? The Hood beats her to speaking.

"Are you alright? What the hell were you thinking? You could have been killed!" His voice is deep and growly and Felicity flushes because it's hot.

It takes her a second to also realize that this is the vigilante's real voice and not one coming through a voice modulator.

Come to think of it, the last time she spoke to him – merely a week and a half ago – he hadn't been using a voice modulator.

He'd also given her a good view of his jawline before and Felicity is pretty sure that he isn't doing a whole lot to hide his identity from her.

Mostly because she's pretty sure that she could pick his jawline out from a line up because she's spent the last week and a half remembering it and the fact that he may or may not have been flirting with her.

She'd decided this afternoon that he was flirting with her. After spending the morning convincing herself that he hadn't been flirting with her.

"I'm fine." Felicity spits out after a second. "You're still on top of me."

Felicity isn't pointing it out because she wants him to move or anything. In fact, now that she's coming to her senses and not thinking about his jawline, she is starting to appreciate something she suspected.

The Hood is totally built.

He's all big, hard muscle pressing her into the ground. She knew he was a big guy – her mouth made sure that he knew that too – but she is now gaining a purely feminine appreciation for his size and the very firm, very big muscles that have her surrounded.

"…what?"

Felicity blanches.

She's said that out loud. All of it, from the totally built thought right down to the fact that she really appreciates the feeling of him on top of her.

Felicity closes her eyes and counts backwards from ten. Then her eyes shoot open because the Hood is on top of her.

She has to see who he is.

Except when Felicity opens her eyes, she discovers that his hood is really effective in creating a shadow that completely obliterates any defining feature apart from his jaw. Felicity can't see anything.

"Wow. Who knew a hood could be so effective?" Felicity knows she sounds surprised and that's really because it's a hood. They're not generally very effective at hiding anything or keeping things like the weather off one's face.

Except the vigilante's hood, apparently. Because not only does it hide his identity, it also appears to be glued in place because in five seconds flat the Hood has pushed himself off her and is looming above her, all with his hood perfectly in place.

Felicity sits up, wincing slightly as she starts to realize how hard she hit the ground. Now that the hard body of the vigilante on top of her isn't distracting her, Felicity can feel the pain in her back from where she landed and scrunches up her nose as she reaches behind to rub it.

"You know, if I'd known that getting ice cream would have ended like this, I would have waited until I got home." She grumbles and then huffs as she realizes that the cold ground is starting to seep through her clothes.

Before she can scramble up in an undignified manner, Felicity finds a gloved hand in front of her face and is sort of shocked that the Hood hasn't bailed as soon as he realized that she had tried to see beneath his hood.

If she had a secret identity someone had just tried to discover, Felicity knows she would have bailed on the person who tried to find it out.

Mercifully, though, those thoughts don't have time to leave her mouth because as soon as she grasps his hand, Felicity finds herself pulled up and right into him. Robbing her completely of the ability to speak let alone think.

Except for one fleeting moment when it occurs to her that those muscles? Are just as amazing vertical as they were horizontal.

Felicity pulls away only slightly to look up at him and finds that though his face is still in the shadows, she has no doubt that he is focused solely on her.

"I'm glad you didn't." He says it quietly, a growl edging through the last word and Felicity blinks because there's something about his tone that is strangely intimate.

Because, what? Then she remembers. The waiting until she got home comment. Apparently, he's glad that she didn't go home.

"Wait to get ice-cream? I don't know. The bruise on my back might – "

Felicity stops speaking when he raises his hand and pushes some hair behind her ear. The feel of leather should be cold and, well, really weird but it's not.

It's really kind of hot and Felicity isn't sure what she's staring at but the feel of leather on her face and the intensity that seems to be radiating off him is making her really, really aware of the fact that she is decidedly female.

And that she'd really like to kiss the Hood.

Like, now.

Except, headlights suddenly flash and Felicity realizes that they're still standing near the road and it's a miracle that another car hasn't come along to interrupt them before now.

"Bye Felicity."

Felicity stares at him even as he manages to jump up onto a fire escape on the building they're standing by and disappear into the night. He moves like a predator, smoothly and confidently and it's really kind of hot.

Felicity turns to, well, she assumes by now she's supposed to go home but something is niggling at her now that the presence of the Hood isn't hovering over her – literally and figuratively. Like, where does he go to the gym? What's so special about his identity? Does he use glue to keep his hood in place? Did he practice the way he just said her name? All low and growly and really, really sexy?

Felicity frowns because there's one question that she really should be asking herself, that she hasn't yet.

When the hell did the Hood learn her name?

The fourth time the Hood finds her; Felicity is still thinking over the fact that he knows who she is.

While she has absolutely no clue who he is.

When he appears in front of her – on the fire escape by her window, thank you very much – Felicity finds herself making a concentrated effort to glare at him and demand an answer.

She's hoping that he'll ignore the fact that she's only wearing her massive Snoopy shirt, which hangs off one shoulder and reaches her knees – sort of. And that her hair looks like a birds nest because she got home, pulled it out and then kind of left it and her make-up is, well, gone and – Felicity shakes her head because this is so not the point.

"How do you know who I am? How do you even know where I live? Is this going to become a creepy stalker thing? Because if it is, I have to say, I'd rather have Iron Man. RDJ would be so much more fun. You know why? 'Cause I know who he is!" Felicity pokes his chest at her words and whoa, his pecs are rock solid. "Have I mentioned I hate mysteries? And that's what you are! A gigantic, well-built, green leather, arrow-wielding mystery! And I hate that! What are you even doing here? That's another mystery. You. Being here. On my fire escape. No-one uses a fire escape except for smoking and drinking. I mean, seriously, I know I wouldn't. If there was a fire in my apartment, you know what I would do? I would totally run out to the lift because nobody in panic thinks 'now, let's be logical and use the stairs outside that are named after the exact – "

Felicity knows she would have kept going. She is absolutely certain that she could have kept going and eventually circled back to the whole point of wanting to know how he knows who she is. She really would have.

If he hadn't gripped her waist and – in a truly impressive move – lifted her clean off her feet and kissed her, of course.

Felicity lets out a muffled squeak as she leaves solid ground and then she's pressed against the rock solid body she's had so much to say about and his mouth is on hers, hard and insistent.

Her fingers scrabble to find purchase on his leather jacket and end up latching onto the strap of his quiver.

He tastes minty and unique and she can smell the leather and sweat on his skin. She knows she makes a breathy noise when he angles a particular way and oh, yep, there's the stubble she's only just noticing.

Felicity feels him start to pull away and she can't help herself. She follows him, tugging at the strap she's gripping to bring his mouth back to hers.

He groans when their lips meet again and Felicity feels the slide of his hand down her back and she shivers as his tongue sweeps into her mouth.

Felicity is starting to feel really overheated and her knees are becoming steadily weaker as he pushes her against the railing of the fire escape they're standing on, pressing himself even more firmly into her and gripping her waist even more tightly.

It's not actually that comfortable but it is really, really hot and Felicity doesn't really care that the handrail is pressing into the bruise that's only just started to fade from the curb last week.

He pulls away slowly and Felicity can feel his hands flexing on her waist before he lets it go and she slides down the length of his body.

For a moment, they just stand there. Felicity still gripping the strap of his quiver and his hands are on her waist and Felicity just…well, she wants to drag him into her bedroom and pull off the leather and just, she'll totally care who he is after what she is pretty sure would be mind blowing sex.

Except, he clears his throat as a car backfires and she becomes aware that her back is throbbing, all at the same time.

She also remembers that she's annoyed at him.

Clearly, he sees that she's just remembered that and before she can say anything, he cups her cheek and leans down and presses one, last hard kiss to her lips and then he actually jumps over the railing of her fire escape.

Leaving her standing there torn between wanting to see if he just became a green pancake and wanting to know what the hell had just happened.

Then she huffs.

"Mystery well solved, Smoak. You idiot."

The first time Felicity meets Oliver Queen, she makes a total fool of herself.

To be fair, she's in the middle of answering a mindless question from someone in accounting and trying very hard to not reanalyse what happened on her fire escape two weeks earlier.

Felicity's failing at not thinking about it because it is literally all she can think about and she keeps getting these shivers up her spine whenever she thinks about the way he lifted her to kiss her.

Although she has to admit; it wasn't the first thing she thought about that morning, so that's an improvement on the week before.

So, she's only mildly distracted when she hears someone clear their throat.

"Felicity Smoak? Hi, I'm Oliver Queen."

What leaves her mouth after that is just…it's not good. Especially when there is a man standing in front of her who is unbelievably good looking and she thinks that she'd totally be more willing to buy the latte story if she wasn't still so flustered by the thought of the kiss on her fire escape.

So, is it really surprising that it doesn't click with her right up until he leaves with the laptop that she knows is not his?

Oliver stands and Felicity finds herself standing with him and watching him because, well, there something that isn't right with him.

Still, she accepts the hand that he offers and finds herself surprised by both the calluses and the firmness of his grip.

"Thank you." She nods at him, a professional smile tugging at her lips. "Bye Felicity."

Oliver lets go of her hand mostly because it goes slack because his words echo in her head and she suddenly needs to sit down.

Because Oliver Queen? Is totally the Hood.

It was the farewell, the cadence, the words and the way he said her name just now all match when the Hood said it to her weeks ago.

"Oh, my God. That did not just happen." Felicity says it aloud because maybe she'll be wrong then.

But she's not wrong. Felicity has just spent the last month running into the vigilante. Who also just so happens to be Oliver Queen.

Oliver Queen saved her from getting mugged. He also saved her from a car and listened to her rambling. It was Oliver Queen flirting with her that one time when she spent way to long discussing pants.

It was Oliver Queen who…Felicity suddenly sits down. She's pretty sure she's turned white and she'd rather not know if her hands are shaking.

Because it was Oliver Queen who kissed her on her fire escape two weeks ago. She'd made out with Oliver Queen as the Hood. It was Oliver Queen who lifted her clean off her feet as he kissed her.

It was Oliver Queen who she was willing to drag into her bedroom without a care to who he actually was.

Felicity leans back in her chair and breathes deeply because she is sure of only one thing.

She is in so much trouble.

So...this is my first foray back into writing in over a year. I'm feeling a little rusty and I think that's partly why this was insanely long. The other part is because I'm not entirely sure Felicity knows what succinct means. Anyway, I've repeated myself. So, for those who are reading this end note, congratulations! You made it to the end of the fic! Thank you for reading it! Please let me know what you think! I'd really appreciate it.