A/N: Merry Christmas! Huge shout out to Liv (sweetoctopodes on tumblr) for beta'ing this chapter for me at one-friggin'-am on christmas freakin morning! You are a doll! So happy to meet another night owl. ;) Not tooo smutty, more fluffy than anything. Enjoy!

Watching Felicity eat raspberry rugelach was a secret fetish of his, something he never admitted to anyone, although Diggle might have suspected at one point. It was the reason he kept buying them for her. She always paid all of her attention on each pastry as she pulled it apart layer by layer, licking the jelly off if one particular piece had too much. She inevitably dropped some crumbs, but her clothes were always protected by a perfectly placed napkin on her lap. Or her belly, in this instance, as she slouched halfway down the couch with her feet on the coffee table, paying attention to each pastry with incredible focus. After she finished each piece, she licked each finger that came into contact with it, wiped her fingers on the napkin, and then reached into the bag for another. She chased every other pastry with a sip of coffee. He used to watch this ritual surreptitiously when they had a glass wall and several yards separating them.

The first time he caught her eating rugelach, he was instantly mesmerized. But he only took little peeks at her, not wanting to get caught looking. After a while, he realized that she almost never paid attention to anything outside of her happy little bubble, and he became bolder about watching her. He would have a report in front of him with pen in hand, ready to look down if she did happen to look up. But she never did.

Now he had front row seats to the view. He could see her tongue more clearly as it peeked out to lick jelly off her fingers. He noticed with more clarity the fullness of her lips as each finger entered her mouth and came back out with a little pop.

She reached into the bag, pulling out the last piece. "Last chance, Oliver," she teased, waving it in front of him. "You sure you don't want any of this sweet fruity goodness?"

He let out a huff of laughter and shook his head. "I'm good. It's all yours."

"Okay," she intoned with a shrug, and went about savoring the last piece.

Oliver was overcome with a compulsion to taste her fingers before she licked them, and he pounced on her hand with his mouth. She squeaked in surprise, and then giggled as he took her other hand and brought it to his mouth. When he was done with her fingers, he devoured her lips, tasting the remnants of raspberry on her tongue. He sat back with a sigh, licking his lips with contentment. "You're right, that is good."

She was looking at him with amusement, her cheeks slightly pink from his attentions. A mischievous glint came into her eyes, and without breaking eye contact, she brought each finger that he had just tasted into her mouth, completing her ritual. He inhaled sharply, his eyes widening with lust at the suggestiveness of the action.

She quirked an eyebrow at him. "Were you even watching that at all?" she asked, pointing her thumb at the TV, which had been droning with the morning news.

Oliver blinked his eyes once, putting on an innocent expression. "Hmm?"

Felicity pitched her head forward as she snorted. "You're such a bad liar."

He shrugged. "I was multitasking."

"Mm-hmm." She sipped on her coffee. "So what's next?"

"Still have that blanket from last night?"

She nodded.

"Bring it."

He could tell she was speculating, her eyes twinkling as she smiled. "A picnic in the park?"

He shook his head. "Stop trying to guess. Come on," he said, grabbing her hand and standing up. "Let's hit the road."

xoxoxoxo

They spent the one hour drive chatting about nothing and everything, developing a rhythm of playful conversations and comfortable silences. For the first few minutes, she sprinkled in a guess or two about their destination, to which Oliver said nothing and just smiled. She eventually gave up and simply focused on enjoying their drive. She played DJ as she connected her phone to the car speakers, emitting her choice of music, which was mostly of the top 40 variety.

"Oh, Sam Smith," she crooned, as a beautiful piano based song came on. "His music is just amazing. This is an acoustic version of 'Latch.' Listen to the lyrics, they're so good." She turned up the volume for him, and he made sure to pay attention.

You lift my heart up when the rest of me is down
You, you enchant me even when you're not around
If there are boundaries, I will try to knock them down
I'm latching on, babe, now I know what I have found

The lyrics stirred something in his heart as he listened, and he quietly let the words express his feelings for Felicity. He reached over to hold her hand, squeezing it once to let her know he was hearing and feeling the song with her.

I'm so encaptured, got me wrapped up in your touch
Feel so enamored, hold me tight within your clutch
How do you do it, you got me losing every breath
What did you give me to make my heart beat out my chest

He pulled her hand to his heart, holding it over the gentle ache he felt in his chest. She giggled at his actions, pleased that the song was moving him. When the song drew to a close, he took his eyes off the road briefly to look into her eyes. "Thank you," he murmured hoarsely. "That was beautiful." With one final squeeze, he put her hand back down between them, not yet letting go, and turned his eyes back to the road.

They pulled off the highway and continued on local roads. They started passing signs pointing toward a place called Fresh Farms Orchard, and Felicity perked up in her seat.

"Apple picking?!" she squealed with joy.

Oliver pressed his lips together and laughed at her exuberance. She turned to look at him, her eyes wide with excitement.

"Tell me we're going apple picking!" she demanded.

"We're going apple picking," he complied with a smile.

She let go of his hand to clap enthusiastically, bouncing a little in her seat. "I haven't gone apple picking in years! Not since I was at MIT! Oh!" She grabbed onto his arm and heaved a loud sigh of contentment. "You're right, I like this surprise."

The ache in his heart grew larger as he fell more deeply in love with her. He didn't even know that was possible. "I'm glad," he replied, sneaking little glances at her as he drove. She was like a little kid sometimes, easy to please and filled with innocence, untouched by the darkness that surrounded their lives. As long as he had her in his life, she would keep him young and optimistic.

They pulled into the orchard and parked amongst hundreds of other cars. It was the height of apple picking season, so it only made sense that so many people were here. He grabbed the blanket from the back seat before taking her hand and walking toward the main buildings.

"There's one stop we're making first," he informed her as they neared one of the side buildings.

"Oh?"

He opened the door for her and whispered as she walked past him, "They have a winery here."

She stopped halfway through the doorway and stared at him. "Wine tasting?"

He nodded, and laughed when she clapped again.

"This day just keeps getting better!" she cried, and continued into the building.

He trailed behind her as she browsed the shelves of various wine accessories and glasses, and he told her to pick any pair to bring with them on their picnic. She looked at him with surprise, a tentative question in her eyes, and he nodded in confirmation. She moved in swiftly for a kiss, and went about browsing the glasses with purpose.

Once she made her choice, they approached the U-shaped bar area and sat on the far end, tucked into the corner. They spent the next half hour tasting various wines produced from the surrounding vineyards, laughing quietly with each other as the wine got to their heads. He told her to pick one for the picnic, and she settled on a Cabernet Sauvignon.

"Can't help myself," she explained with a grin. "I'm a sucker for a good Cab Sav."

"I remember," he remarked with a smile.

After the winery, he brought her to the orchard's market to pick up a few more supplies. As they began strolling the aisles, hand in hand, people began recognizing him and causing a low-level stir.

Oliver cleared his throat and whispered to Felicity, "Sorry, we'll just get what we need and get out of here."

She laughed. "I'm okay. This happens to you a lot, I guess."

"Not so much in Starling anymore, everyone's used to me there. Or they're more quiet about it, unless I'm in the middle of a public scandal. Out here, I'm kind of a novelty, I guess."

She giggled at his apparent discomfort. "Oh, you lead such a hard life."

He grinned down at her, laughing at the way she poked fun at him. The irony was that he did lead a difficult life, but bantering about something so normal was a refreshing change of pace.

The owner came out to meet him in response to the stir, and Oliver's face paled. "Mr. Miller!" he called as a face from his past came back to taunt him. He could feel Felicity's curious eyes on him.

"Oliver Queen," the older gentleman rasped, looking at him with one eye squinting. Then he brightened up with laughter and pulled Oliver into a hug.

Oliver looked over the owner's shoulder at Felicity, who was looking on with delight. Her look of blazing curiosity was not lost on him.

"Mr. Miller," he repeated as he was finally released from the hug. "You still running things here?"

"Forty-five years, since my father before me, and his father before him," Miller pronounced with pride. He looked over at Felicity. "And who might you be, young lady?"

"Felicity Smoak," she answered with a smile, shaking his hand. "So nice to meet you, Mr. Miller."

"Such a proper little thing," he commented as he beamed at her. "There's no need for such formalities with me, you can call me Abe."

"Thank you, Abe. You can call me Felicity."

"Can I call you Abe?" Oliver joked, already knowing the answer.

He turned a withering glare at Oliver. "You'll call me Mr. Miller," he growled playfully before dropping a wink at him. He turned back to Felicity. "Did he ever tell you about the great orchard debacle of '98?"

Felicity shook her head with a curious grin, and Oliver stepped forward to put his hand on Miller's shoulder. "There's no need for rehashing old memories right now," he interrupted as quickly as he could. "Mr. Miller, I wonder if you could point us in the right direction." He pulled out the bottle of wine from their bag. "Could you help us find some cheese to pair with this wine?"

Miller squinted at Oliver suspiciously, knowing he was changing the subject, and leaned to whisper conspiratorially with Felicity. "Make sure he tells you that story, and then come find me to hear my side of it."

"Okay," Felicity replied with a giggle.

Miller took the wine from Oliver's hand and put on the glasses that were perched on his head. "Cab Sav, good choice by the way," he said to Felicity, and she laughed, "you could always go with cheddar, that's the easy choice, or you could try a camembert, that's what I would choose. And if you're planning on pairing this with apples, I'd look for the red delicious grove. It's the last one on the right side of the orchard, I believe." He handed the bottle back to Oliver.

"Thanks, Mr. Miller. We'll do that."

"It was a pleasure meeting you Felicity," he said, shaking her hand once more. He turned to Oliver. "And you!" he said in a stern tone, pointing a finger at his chest. "Behave yourself, you hear?"

He laughed, and then nodded. "I will."

"Good." He winked at Felicity before walking away.

"Well that was fun!" Felicity chirped, hooking her elbow with Oliver's. "What's this story he's talking about?"

Oliver shook his head, grinning. "I'll tell you later. Let's go get our cheese."

They got the rest of their supplies and then lined up for the tractor that would take them to the end of the orchard. They ignored the surreptitious looks that they were getting, simply lost in each other's presence. Once they arrived, Oliver hopped off, and turned to help Felicity, but she hesitated.

"What's wrong?"

She looked at her shoes. "My heels are a little pointier than is healthy for this grass. I'm afraid of making holes everywhere."

He shook his head in wonder at this woman, who was more concerned about the health of the grass than the state of her shoes, which were no doubt a designer brand.

"I have an idea," he offered, and gave her the bag and blanket to hold on to. "Do you think you can carry those? It's not too heavy, right?"

"Yeah," she assured. "Why?"

He turned around and stood with his back to her. "Hop on." He turned his head to look at her, and she had a shocked expression on her face.

"What?"

"Come on," he urged. "Hop on!"

With a little head shake, she wrapped her arms around his neck and followed it up by wrapping her legs around his torso. Oliver gripped her under her thighs, and turned his head toward hers.

"Felicity," he murmured.

"Yeah?"

He smirked at her, his dimple coming out in full force. "Hold onto me tight."

March 13, 2015 Author's note: I am so, so, so sorry that I haven't updated this fic in such a long time. I know that it's been almost three months. I know that you're all anxious for these two to get it on. I am too. Please know that I will not abandon this fic. If you really want to know what's going on, and why I haven't updated, go to my forum. Paste this after the "net/": myforums/skimmy77/2194678/