A/N Last chapter! More notes at the end.

Felicity felt so good about the recent developments that she ceased to feel the sidewalk under her feet. The smile on her face kept threatening to split open into a wide, toothy grin, but she kept her lips pressed together to play it cool. She heard Oliver's quick footsteps behind her as he ran to catch up with her, and promptly felt his hand slip back into hers. She turned her face to look at him, and his beaming smile undid whatever control she had over herself and she grinned back at him. She held back from skipping, though, even if he made her feel like a giddy teenager on their first date.

They arrived at the ice cream shop, and thankfully, there were only a few people inside. A young couple sharing one bowl of ice cream, too wrapped up in their own date to notice anyone else; an older gentleman with two young children, who only gave them a passing glance before returning to their treats; and a trio of young, college-aged girls, talking and giggling with each other. As Oliver ordered two mint chip cones, Felicity could feel the eyes of the college girls on her. She dared a glance at them, and found them looking at Oliver appreciatively. She took a step forward to block him from their view, trying to be subtle, but the narrowing eyes in her direction told her she was anything but.

She sighed. She hated the games women sometimes played with each other. She always believed they should look out for one another instead of competing, but she knew it wasn't always like that. She just turned around and ignored them, deciding it wasn't worth getting her hackles up. Besides, she was the one that was here with Oliver, and as he smiled at her, she was reassured that none of those girls would catch his attention.

For a moment, she thought about her uneasy past with the women in her life. Growing up, she was surrounded by people who were too busy playing a part to be real with her, and she quickly grew sensitive to deception and authenticity. She developed an ability to read people, and believed herself to be a decent judge of character.

She usually found herself uncomfortable with women who hid their genuine selves behind a facade, saying what they didn't mean and not saying what they did. She thought about the various women she's come across recently. Right off the bat, she thought of Isabel, who clearly hid her true self for nefarious purposes, and Felicity had known it immediately on a subconscious level.

She thought of Sara. Ironically, even though Sara wore a mask on a regular basis, when it came to her friendship with Felicity, she didn't hide. So she liked Sara. She wasn't sure about Laurel yet; all of her interactions with her have been less than stellar to date, but she was willing to give her a chance.

She thought about Moira. As terrible as it was to think ill of the dead, she never really trusted her, because she was the epitome of someone who hid their true intentions. She supposed she should forgive her, though, because she did die for her children. Surely that makes up for something.

Then she thought about Thea. She never got a chance to really know her, and that made her sad. Just as her mother was the epitome of deceit, Thea was the epitome of authenticity. There was not a false bone in her body; everyone knew exactly how she felt about anything or anyone. She had a feeling that they would have gotten along pretty well.

Will, she corrected herself. Will get along well. Once they find her…

"Hey?" Oliver called out, interrupting her thoughts. He was holding out a cone for her.

She shook off her thoughts and accepted it with a smile. "Thanks!"

Oliver looked at her searchingly for a moment. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she replied hurriedly, "Just thinking."

His brows furrowed slightly. Just as he opened his mouth, probably to ask what she was thinking about, the shop owner handed him the other cone. Once he paid, he led them outside.

They spent a few moments eating their ice cream, walking back to his bike in silence. She wasn't sure how it happened, but the frivolity of their trip to the ice cream shop vanished, leaving a more serious silence in its wake. It was probably when her thoughts turned to gloomier things, which Oliver picked up on. He could read her as easily as she read him, after all.

"So," Oliver began, causing butterflies to flutter in her stomach. "Can I ask you something?"

Felicity sighed. "I was thinking about Thea," she said, answering his unspoken question.

"Oh?" Oliver seemed surprised. His eyebrows dropped in that adorable way when he's confused. "What brought that on?"

She laughed a little. "It's my brain, it's a weird train of thought. I saw those girls inside ogling you, and I got a little bit possessive," she explained, smiling sheepishly. Oliver chuckled. "Then I thought about how annoyingly hard to read some women can be, and then I thought about women that are easier to read, like Sara…and Thea. And then, I thought…I think I'd get along with Thea really well."

Oliver's gaze turned distant. "You would," he affirmed. He swallowed as sorrow passed over his face. "You're unfailingly honest, and she can spot dishonesty from a mile away."

She squeezed his hand. "We'll find her, Oliver," she reassured. His expression didn't change. "We'll find her, and then we'll find a way to make it up to her."

Oliver finally looked at her. "You think she'll forgive me?" he asked, both broken and hopeful.

Felicity shrugged. She didn't want to give him any false hope. "I think that all we can do is lay it all out for her, show her our sincerity, and leave it up to her. I really hope so, though."

She had a thought just then, but was cautious about sharing it, as it had potential for a lot of angst. She thought the payoff might be worth it though. "I think she will, eventually, because she's your family. I mean, you forgave your mom, in the end."

Oliver seemed to consider this.

"Um, Oliver?" Felicity looked at his ice cream with worry. "You're melting."

Oliver blinked rapidly, coming out of his thoughts, and noticed the melting ice cream trailing down his fist. He brought his hand to his mouth, and lapped at the ice cream with an outstretched tongue. This made Felicity giggle.

Oliver looked instantly at Felicity at the sound, mid-lick. With a smile, he continued cleaning his hand and catching up to his ice cream. Her mirth was contagious, and Oliver found himself laughing along, dispelling all remaining tension.

They spent the rest of the walk in a much more comfortable silence, walking hand in hand, enjoying their dessert. Felicity enjoyed it a bit more audibly than Oliver, much to his amusement.

"You always this noisy when you're…eating ice cream?" Oliver teased.

Felicity scoffed. "Of course, have you met me? I have a glitchy filter."

Oliver smirked. "Good to know."

She was momentarily thrown off by his smirk, until she figured out the double meaning of his question. She ducked her head and blushed. She looked at him through her lashes, and with a coy smile, she purred, "I get much louder than that." She watched with delight as his eyes widened and his smirk fell. She laughed out loud.

The corner of his mouth ticked upward. "I can't wait to hear that," he murmured, drawing her body close to his. He leaned down for a kiss, and she tasted the mint chip that lingered on his tongue.

She indulged in the kiss for a little bit before pulling away. "I am so glad we can do that now," she said, smiling up at him.

He leaned his forehead against hers, smiling back at her. "Me too."

They stayed that way for a few breaths, sharing the air between them. Felicity felt such contentment in his arms that it filled her heart to the brim with happiness. She felt safe and protected, cherished and adored in his embrace. She felt that as long as he kept holding her like this, day after day, nothing would ever bother her again. He was all she needed, and she was glad he finally had the courage to reach out for this.

"Oliver?" she asked softly.

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

She took a breath. "What were you thinking about last night? Before you asked me out?"

He didn't answer right away. He took a deep breath, pulled back a little bit to look at her in the eyes, and smiled. His gaze turned upward and distant, as he thought about what to say. The silence stretched out a little longer than was comfortable, but she remained patient, giving him space to say whatever he wanted.

"You once asked me if I had any happy stories from my time away, do you remember?" She nodded. He smiled at her. "I'm starting to remember them."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Oh?"

His hand came up to cup her face, his thumb caressing her cheek. "I was thinking about Shado." His eyes begged her to understand, and she did. He was not bringing up Shado to cause her any pain, but to open up to her. She nodded at him to continue.

"She taught me how to meditate, and I thought about those times we meditated together." A small smile graced his lips. "I realized after a little while that it was the first time I thought about her without pain. And I thought, maybe, that I was beginning to heal."

Felicity beamed at him. "That's good news."

"And then I imagined meditating with you," he continued. "I imagined it was you there with me, on that island, next to the fire, just existing together. I realized there was nothing I wanted more, and that's why I decided to ask you out."

Warmth bloomed in Felicity's heart at his words, and a slow smile spread across her face. There was no other way to respond to that than to pull him down by his lapels and kiss him with all her might.

"I'm glad," Felicity said, smiling. "I thought you were thinking about Laurel."

Oliver shook his head. "There's only one girl for me now, and that's you, Felicity."

"Your girl-girl?" she asked with a teasing smile.

Oliver laughed out loud. "Yes."

Felicity grinned. "Well, I guess if I'm your girl, then you're my guy." She punctuated this with another kiss.

Oliver chuckled against her lips. He pulled back with a sigh. "I better get you home before we stay out here all night."

"So soon?" Felicity mourned.

"I know." Oliver kissed away her frown. "Don't worry, we'll do this again. Preferably tomorrow night?"

Felicity laughed. "I don't know if Digg and Roy will like the sound of that."

"Don't worry about them," Oliver said absentmindedly, capturing her lips again. "I'll work it out. Go out with me tomorrow night." He kissed her a little harder and a little longer.

Felicity moaned. "You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Queen," she murmured into his mouth. "The answer is yes."

She felt Oliver's lips stretch into a smile as he wrapped his arms around her.

After a long minute, he broke the kiss and released her. "Let's get you home."

xoxoxoxo

As soon as they got off the motorcycle in front of Felicity's apartment complex, Oliver reached for her hand and didn't let go. They walked into her building and waited for the elevator in contented silence, communicating in gazes and touches—a lingering look, a squeezing hand, the tucking of hair behind her ear. Once in the elevator, he pulled her into his arms and took advantage of the ride up to her floor to indulge in her lips again. He couldn't get enough.

They reached her floor far too soon for his liking, and before he knew it, they were standing in front of her apartment door. She turned to face him.

"Well, this is me," she stated jokingly.

He smiled widely. "Did you have a good time tonight?"

Felicity smiled. "I did, thank you." She looked deeply into his eyes for a moment, then pulled him in for a hug. "Thank you," she repeated in his ear, softly and full of meaning.

"Yeah," he murmured in reply. He pulled back to capture her lips with his, taking in her flavor, her texture, the feel of her tongue stroking against his. He drank her in with all his senses, trying to memorize this first goodnight kiss between them. His fingers brushed the back of her neck, playing with her hair, while his other hand held her hip, his thumb rubbing circles into her waist. He breathed in her perfume, something that was fruity and floral, mingling with the scent of her hair, which still had some product in it. He could just barely taste the mint chip ice cream still lingering in her mouth. He listened as her breath quickened in time with his, and he could hear his heartbeat in his ears, beating quickly.

He slowly, gradually eased up on the kiss, respecting her desire to be patient and take their physical relationship slowly. He finally pulled away to see Felicity looking up at him with a dreamy expression on her face. She looked so adorable in that moment, he couldn't help but plant one final kiss on her lips.

"Goodnight, Felicity."

"Goodnight, Oliver." With that, she entered her apartment, and with one last lingering look, she closed the door.

Oliver slowly turned on his heel, a small smile on his face and an even bigger smile in his eyes, and made his way home.

He was already looking forward to tomorrow.

xoxoxoxo

Felicity went through her bedtime routine in a semi-daze, replaying their entire date like a movie in her mind. Her thoughts lingered on all the big moments as well as all the small moments and everything in between. Just as she was getting into bed, her phone buzzed with a text. Knowing immediately that it was Oliver, she opened the message.

I'm glad we did this tonight.

Felicity smiled. She typed out her response (me, too), and added a kissing emoji. She imagined him settling in for the night, clutching his phone like she was clutching hers, waiting for each other's reply with baited breath. She didn't need to wait long.

I don't know how to do that, but here's me kissing you back xo

Felicity laughed. The man was brilliant but technologically challenged sometimes.

I'll show you again, she texted.

Thank you.

There was a long enough pause that she thought they were done texting for the night, and was about to put her phone on her nightstand when it buzzed in her hand again.

Lunch at Big Belly tomorrow?

Felicity's eyebrows shot up. That's not the date, is it?

No, business lunch. I have other plans for dinner.

Felicity smiled. Okay.

Great, see you in 12 hours. xo

She smiled again. Goodnight Oliver.

Goodnight, Felicity.

Felicity held her phone to her chest, feeling his affection through the words on her screen. She searched for her charger cable and plugged it into her phone, and fell asleep with it held against her heart.

To be continued...

A/N Thank you all for the favorites/follows/reviews to this story! You've made this first time fanfic writer feel very welcomed. For those of you who have been following the Arrow spoilers this summer, this story started from the one where we were told Oliver was going to ask Felicity out on a date. It grew from there. I began this story with the intention of playing it somewhat close to canon, but I can't pretend that anymore, not after all the other spoilers we've received. So, this is essentially AU at this point. Think of it as a little bit of fluff in the face of an angsty storm coming our way in Season 3. (Not that this fic is devoid of angst...we all like a little bit here and there, don't we? What does that say about us?) Anyway, you can look forward to a second date in the near future, and also a third date. (Although, i'm going to post THAT inevitable chapter only on AO3, because I don't want my fic to be booted off here.) There are also drabbles in my head set in the future of an established Olicity. So, there's that.

There are too many reviews to respond to one by one, and I've tried to reply to as many of you as possible, so for all of you guest reviewers, THANK YOU! Thanks for reading and taking the time to review. And to all the lurkers out there, I love you too. I was a lurker for many years, so I get you. No worries.