AN: Anyone reading my other fic 'Peter Pan: Fate Finds a Way', never fear, I will finish it, I'm just a bit obsessed with Arrow, so once this season finishes I'll start working on it again

Summary: Set after 2x10 but before 2x13. When Oliver and Felicity have a mission that involves going to a music festival, they reach a turning point when it's all tightly enclosed spaces and distractions. Unestablished Olicity.

AN: I got this idea after a music festival I went to just yesterday (Grooving the Moo, any Australians heard of it?) and I thought it would be a good idea, but then it just escalated until I got this.

Please no hate, this is my first Olicity fic, and I don't know if I made it sound OOC or anything so yeah. Enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow or any of the characters involved in this piece.

I know I made pre-island Oliver sound kind of bad, but I can kind of see him being drunk with a group of friends pressuring a girl (not until it got too bad but still).

Oliver tightened his grip on Felicity's arm as they moved through the crowd, the thumping music growing louder with every step until it vibrated against their chest like a second heartbeat. He knew his hand wasn't hurting her, but he couldn't help holding her tightly as they weaved through the throng of people, his protective instincts were too much. He'd been to these events before the island, and if it had been pre-island Oliver here, he knew he and his friends would be the type to hackle a girl like Felicity until she agreed to a dance, and they were the tame ones of Starling City.

He'd be lying if he said this wasn't something he would have loved years ago. Now he didn't know why he'd agreed to this plan. It was dangerous and he didn't know if he could protect Felicity and find their guy at the same time.

Earlier in the week Starling City had the pleasure of meeting another bomber, but this one wasn't an activist, just a psycho with an agenda to destroy as many lives as possible. He'd already hit a benefit for rebuilding the glades – 3 dead, 16 injured – but the team had surmised that he would go for a bigger target now he had some attention.

Which is why they were now walking through the crowded area towards stage of one of Starling City's biggest music festivals. Oliver had wanted to hood up and enter through the back of the stage, searching the sound equipment like they had when Shrapnel had hit, but surprisingly they had found that it was easier to get in using the crowd as an advantage.

So now, Oliver Queen and his EA were trying to find their way through the crowd so they could find anything out of the ordinary, the closer to the stage they got the easier they'd be able to find any traces of tampering and unnecessary cords (apparently Felicity's logic on computers also extended to concert set up, he should get her to help Thea at the club some time).

Unfortunately, Oliver – who had tried to develop the habit of being a gentleman outside of being the Arrow – had a difficult time pushing people out of the way. Out of the corner of his eye, Oliver saw Felicity give an exaggerated huff before rolling her eyes and pushing in front of Oliver. It seemed she had no qualms with roughly shoving aside dancing young adults, in fact, she did it like she'd done it thousands of times.

Before she got more than a few steps, Felicity suddenly shifted and grabbed Oliver's hand, leading him to let go of her arm, before she turned and disappeared, dragging him along with her.

Eventually the crowd became too dense for them to move quickly and now it was a more lurch to the gap and stop movement. Oliver peered around him and he couldn't stop the nerves from growing, he hadn't been in an area this crowded since before the island and after being almost alone for years, it was difficult to swallow. Felicity's hand in his helped him control his emotions as he dutifully followed her a step behind.

He noticed suddenly that Felicity was dancing to the music, her hair (out of its usual pony-tail) was bouncing and she was swaying, wiggling her hips (clad in denim short shorts – which is something he'd never seen her wear, but looked good, very good- and suited her tight dark red singlet). He didn't know when she started, but he watched her, intrigued and mesmerised, as they made their way through the crowd.

When Felicity stopped, waiting for a chance to push through, Oliver tried to keep a respectable distance from her. But the crowd had grown wild as the songs base dropped and Oliver found himself shoved forward until his body was pressed against hers, line for line. His hands automatically shot to her hips, releasing her hand as he gripped her hips tightly and suddenly Oliver was surrounded by sensations.

Felicity – who had stiffened for a moment, before relaxing – was pressed against him, the top of her head under his chin. Her hips burned through the thin material against Oliver's hands and he closed his eyes as he fought against his body's reaction. Felicity had stopped bouncing on her heels, but for that moment before she realised Oliver's whole world had narrowed down to the girl in his arms.

He'd be lying if this wasn't something he'd imagined whenever he saw Felicity upstairs in the club on some nights before they left.

Oliver tried to remove his hands but before he could Felicity's hands had shot down to hold his firmly on her hips, twining them together.

"Felicity!" He hissed in her ear as his hands flexed and he could almost see as Felicity's breath hitched at the contact.

"Look, Oliver, if you want to pull this off you're going to have to play the part! We need to get through and no one wants to let some guy with a serious brooding face through when they're trying to have a good time. So if we look like we're together – which we aren't – they may let us through more easily - not that I prefer this situation, with you holding me and – not that I don't enjoy your contact, its just… three, two, one."

Felicity looked up at Oliver apologetically and he couldn't help the small quirk of his lips from her babble. He was still deciding whether her ability to make him smile in the most serious of situations was good or bad. But as he looked at her he found himself relaxing against her. Eventually he nodded and she turned around, quickly dodging forward into a space that had opened, and Oliver followed her dutifully, hands never leaving her hips for a second.

Eventually they had reached the front 10 metres before the stage and Oliver was unable to resist wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her head as a slightly slower song came on. He smiled, a genuine relaxed smile as she leant back against him and his right thumb brushed against her left hip gently. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't letting her release the stress in him. He knew she was right technically; they had hours before the bombs predicted release time. But that was the key word – technically – he may strike early and he and Felicity were in the centre of the danger zone. Peaceful mood gone, Oliver leant up on his toes to search for any cords on stage that looked off, but he couldn't see clearly through the mass of hands up and people.

Felicity turned her head to say him something and Oliver leaned down so he could hear her over the thumping music. Suddenly he realized the precarious position they were in, her nose was almost touching his, his hands on her hips, and her ass was pressed against his groin. Oliver knew he'd be lying if he said he wasn't tempted to kiss her right then, but he knew he couldn't, he didn't want to hurt her, that's all he did, hurt people.

But it felt so right.

"What?" He shouted over the music, leaning closer and inhaling her scent, difficult due to the surrounding smell of alcohol, smoke and weed.

"I said I need a boost up! It's a better vantage point! We'll be able to see where the guy is!"

Oliver groaned again in frustration, it would have been so much simpler if they could just go out back. But, she'd been right yesterday; this was their best chance.

"You ready?" He said in her ear and his hands left her waist and travelled down to her thighs. Felicity nodded and Oliver gripped her thighs harder, before pulling her up, over his head and onto his shoulders in one motion.

She let out a shriek of surprise, and even the surrounding people seemed shocked by his athleticism. Oliver couldn't help the shit-eating grin that spread over his face. What kind of vigilante/hero was he if he couldn't lift a woman onto his shoulders? His hands gripped her knees to keep her balanced as he swayed to the music to keep up appearances.

Felicity threw her hands in the air, and if it weren't for the fact that Oliver knew Felicity, he'd say that she was completely lost in the music. But he did know her, and he could see her squinting slightly as she scanned the stage. It was dusk, but fortunately the sun was now behind the stage, rather than glaring in their eyes.

After a couple of minutes Felicity tapped his head and Oliver pulled her down, but this time she was facing him and he could feel her breasts against his chest. Her face inches from his as she spoke.

"I can see it, he didn't do a good job at concealing it – but then again, you'd have to be me to understand it, it's a…" Felicity kept talking, blurting out a sequence of technical garb that he would have had a hard enough time following even if he could hear her properly.

"Felicity!" He cut her off, looking down at her, his lips pressed together.

"Right sorry," she replied as she blushed, before continuing again, "the device needs a trigger, but he needs to be within a short distance. And given it's a bomb; I'm guessing he's not out here, but backstage."

Oliver tilted his head back, looking up in frustration as he scrubbed his hand over his face. He kept his other hand on her hip though before looking back down at her. "So we need to get backstage?"

"Yes, but that should actually not be too hard, you can get through over to the side, the tech team use that, but there's security. Probably light, just to stop fans from sneaking backstage to meet the artists. If we were too act like our intent was innocent or something, the security wont know we're a threat until too late and –"

"So you're saying we have to act like we didn't realize we were where we were until a security guard waves us off, then I knock them out and we get through?"

Felicity nodded and Oliver pursed his lips. He hated harming security, most of the time, they were just doing their job, especially in this case, but when the alternative was hundreds dead he decided pretty quickly. He nodded back at Felicity before scanning around the crowd for inpiration.

The idea snapped into his head and Oliver would be lying if it didn't cause butterflies in his stomach from anticipation (of course, something more manly then butterflies). He looked anywhere but at her as his eyes scanned the crowd for the best path through. He hesitated though, firstly, the sound would be deafening, his path through would lead them straight past the speakers and boxes of equipment, which means one of their defences would be down if he had no hearing, also, what was required for the two of them with this plan, he didn't know if he could do it.

"Felicity… I have an idea, but…-"

"Let's do it."

Oliver looked down in surprise, their faces once again inches from each other, majority of their conversation had been lip reading, so he needed to make sure he'd heard correct. Judging from the complete faith her face held, he had. His heart contracted at the thought and he pursed his lips, brow furrowing.

He didn't know if he could go through with this, he didn't want to hurt her. What if he couldn't stop? Looking back down at her, he made up his mind. He told her his plan and her eyes widened, before she looked down to try and hide her blush. His heart picked up and Oliver felt guilt invade him, he'd wanted their first to be special, he shook his head quickly, he couldn't think like that. Felicity deserves better, but that didn't stop the adrenaline rush that this plan was giving him.

Oliver fished around in his pocket before pulling out some ear buds. They were some pretty fancy tech that QC Applied Sciences division had come up with, dulling certain sound sources and allowing someone to zone in on background noises. It would lower the volume of the music, and hopefully pick up on anything else easier, people talking or a gun being loaded. Once they were in Oliver almost sighed with relief, the music was still playing, just not at dangerous levels anymore. Telling her to follow him, he pulled her through the crowd, off to the side. Once they reached the boxes he glanced around, the security were further along, near the stairs leading up behind the stage, it was surprising that this area was unguarded, then again, possibly more than one guy was in on the ploy, meaning Oliver had to be extra cautious.

Felicity released his hand and stepped away, looking around before she turned to Oliver, she was wringing her hands and he realised she was nervous, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't nervous as well. But it was time for action, so, swallowing his doubts, Oliver walked towards her.

Oliver walked forward until she was pressed against the back of the speakers. The music was literally vibrating them as he placed his hands on her waist. Her top was tight and he could feel the warmth of her skin beneath. Eagerness bubbled up in him as he looked down at her.

But he had to make sure she was okay with this.

"Are you sure?" He asked, looking down at her. He gently brushed a strand of hair back from her face before resting his palm on her cheek and watching her in concern. Her lip was between her teeth as she stared at his lips. He could say that she was watching so she could lip-read what he was saying. But if he did, he'd be lying.

Felicity's eyes flickered up to him and determination blazed in them. She simply nodded and tilted her head up closer to him, lifting her arms and wrapping them around his neck. It pulled them closer together and he could feel her breath on his face.

Oliver took a deep breath and looked down at her, so beautiful, so strong, yet so fragile. His eyes fell down to her lips, luscious pink, and he realised that he would finally feel them on his.

Oliver leant in slowly, watching as Felicity's eyes flickered shut, before he gently pressed his lips against hers.

He'd be lying if he said it wasn't one of the best feelings he'd had in years.

Her lips were soft and warm and Oliver couldn't stop the groan that left his throat as he closed his eyes and pulled her waist tighter to him, feeling her against every inch of him. Felicity responded by tightening her arms around his neck and deepening the kiss. He couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips when he realised he was finally kissing Felicity, too absorbed in his emotions to notice that Felicity's lips had also curved up.

The music, that had been painfully loud minutes ago, then bearable, now faded as they picked up a tempo, his arms banded around her waist, lifting her onto her toes in her already high heels, her hands running along his back and through his short hair.

After a few moments, unfortunately, Oliver remembered the mission, and started walking backwards, his lips never leaving Felicity's as they moved in unison. He kept one eye open as he navigated through the speakers and boxes and cords, they stumbled their way through the boxes, imitating a perfectly drunk couple. He was astounded at how easily she played it. And once again, he'd be lying if a part of him weren't hoping her instability was caused by his presence.

But as he pressed her into a different box that rattled as he leant into her, allowing his lips to trail down her jaw, he heard her giggle, it was a perfect imitation of a drunk girl during a heated make out session. Oliver moved one hand from her waist to twist it in her hair, tilting her head to the side as he placed kisses from her jaw down to her collarbone.

Then they were moving again as Oliver hiked Felicity up so she had both legs wrapped tightly around his waist and hey continued kissing. When their tongues brushed again Oliver groaned, but when he noticed the noise was also made by Felicity he felt a smug smirk come across his face, before deepening the kiss further.

Oliver knew they were nearing the security guards, in fact, he could see them coming towards him. Oliver went back to kissing Felicity's neck to hide his face as they approached, being Oliver Queen made him quite recognisable, unfortunately. Hopefully they wouldn't see too much of Felicity though.

Once they were close enough Oliver abruptly released Felicity. She dropped her legs from his waist and stepped back in alarm as he turned and quickly knocked out the three guards. Felicity had a hand over her mouth and was staring down at the guards when he turned back to her.

"I hate watching you do that."

"I'm sorry." He replied, and his words spoke legions between them. I'm sorry you saw that, I'm sorry I kissed you, I'm sorry I stopped kissing you, I'm sorry I'm not the man you want me to be.

Felicity pressed her lips firmly together and glared up at him, fire in her eyes in an instant. She stepped forward and stared straight into his eyes.

"Oliver! You have saved me multiple times! –"

"Because I'm the one who put you in danger!" He cut her off, his voice rising as he looked down at her. But no matter how much he towered over her he knew she would not feel threatened, he'd never hurt her.

"Let me finish! It doesn't matter what the circumstances were, you saved me and I know you will continue to do so! No matter what happens between us, I will always be in danger, in fact, the further away from you I am the more danger I'm in. So you need to get over this guilt and realise that whatever happens to me ever is not your fault, okay!"

Oliver didn't know how this escalated from him kissing her to her telling him that it was her choice, but it had. She always knew what was going on inside his head, he sighed, as he realized the truth in her words.

Slowly, Oliver leant forward and pressed his lips against her forehead. He stayed there for a moment, eyes closed, before stepping back and opening his eyes to see Felicity also with her eyes closed.

"Let's go." He said, before taking her hand and pulling her along behind him.

When they got backstage Oliver knocked out a few more guards before finding their guy dressed as security with the trigger in hand. It wasn't until Diggle knocked the guy out from behind that Felicity stepped forward from her space in the corner.

She smiled at Oliver and Oliver couldn't help the sigh of relief that left him. Maybe she was right, maybe he could protect her.

He'd be lying if he said that wasn't his dearest hope.

"What the hell happened guys?"

Digs voice brought them back and they turned to look at him. Diggle's eyes scanned over them, before he let out a rough laugh, a wide smile spreading over his features.

"Of all the times, really?"

Oliver glanced at Felicity in confusion before she gasped and her cheeks flushed in colour. He turned back to Diggle, who was trying to keep a straight face.

"Got a little something on your face there." Diggle elaborated, and it clicked in Oliver's head.

Trying to hold onto as much dignity as he could after being caught, he anwered Dig with a straight face. "We needed a cover to get through so I could knock out the guards."

Diggle's face fell as he heard his tone of voice, obviously realizing that it was just a plan, and Oliver thought he saw Felicity also swallow, before looking at the ground.

He lied, when he said the kiss was just apart of the plan.

Once they were back at the lair it was back to normal, albeit slightly awkward. Oliver went straight to the training dummies in an attempt to work off his excess adrenaline and frustration, Diggle went straight to the computers to look at the newsfeed about the bomber being apprehended, and Felicity was updating software on the computers opposite of Diggle.

When Diggle decided to call it a night, he sent an anxious glance at the pair before leaving. They hadn't spoken since they left the concert and Oliver was trying to decide what he wanted to say. Could he let it happen? He knew she harboured feelings for him, and he knew now that he returned them, especially after the Barry incident, but he didn't trust himself.

He didn't make his decision until Felicity stood up and began walking towards the stairs, calling a goodnight over her shoulder. But something in the air felt more final. He knew she'd come back, she would never abandon their cause, but she may distance herself, and Oliver didn't know if he could deal with that.

"Felicity!" He called, just as she reached the bottom of the stairs. He rushed forwards; still slightly breathless from the aggressive beating he just gave the dummy.

She turned towards him, an eyebrow raised. She replied by simply stating his name, and Oliver almost smiled at her awkward humour. He opened his mouth to say something, but he didn't quite know what he could say, all he knew is he had to stop her from leaving.

"Don't go." He said quietly.

Her eyebrows rose further as she stepped down from the step and walked forward until she was just in front of him, her arms folded across her chest. Her face was emotionless, so Oliver didn't know what she was thinking about this confrontation.

After staring at her for a few seconds Oliver lifted his head, staring at the far wall of the Lair as he formulated a response. He needed to tell her how he felt, how he was ready to do this. Because he was, he knew he was, being scared of hurting her wasn't an excuse.

When he turned back to her he smiled gently. H remembered how just a few hours ago he had held her as they danced to the music, and how right it had felt.

An idea popped into his head, and he spoke softly as he reached forward and took her hand. She smiled back up at him, obviously surprised, and pleased with the turn of events.

"Tomorrow evening, I was wondering if you'd like to go back to the music festival. We could go get something to eat afterwards, make a night of it."

Well that was definitely not what Felicity had been expecting, her jaw almost dropped but she held it up. Swallowing the lump in her throat she eventually spoke. "The two of us?"

Oliver grinned the, a full-blown grin as he nodded his head, bringing it closer to hers. "Yes, just the two of us. I can pick you up from yours around 7 and we'll head out."

Felicity smiled back at him, a sweet smile that made him just want to hold her until they fell asleep. "Sure." She replied, before turning and slowly making her way back up the steps.

She'd only made it up to the fourth step before Oliver called out again.

"Did I forget something?" She asked in confusion, a smile ever-present on her face.

Oliver grinned as he walked forward, leaping up the steps and again pressing her against the wall. They smiled at each other so blindingly you'd think they were high school sweethearts about to get married.

"Yeah," he whispered in her ear as one hand moved to cup her face as the other took her hand, interlocking their fingers and splaying them on the wall next to her head. "This," then he leant forward and kissed the corner of her mouth sweetly, before meeting her lips fully.

It was soft and gentle and so pure to begin with, before it became heated to the point where Oliver almost jumped over the steps in an attempt to pull away from her.

But that only lasted until he'd pulled her up the stairs, to Felicity's car, and drove them to her place. Once they got there all pretences left them as they moved to the bedroom, crashing into things along the way, loosing clothes.

That night was the first night Oliver got to hold Felicity until they fell asleep.

He'd be lying if he said they went to the music festival the next night, rather than opting to spend the night in bed. Then again, as he told her, they had a lot to catch up on.