This chapter is brought to you by two cups of coffee and Stage 3 of le Tour de France (go team Radioshack!)

I have some new ideas kicking around so you may see another Arrow fic from me later this summer. In the meantime, enjoy the ending and thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed and favorited this story. You guys are awesome!

Summary: Oliver struggles to define his relationship with Felicity.

He watches her.

He'd like to be able to say that it's not in a creepy stalker kind of way but that would probably be a lie.

In fact, he's become addicted to it. It was something he eagerly looked forward to every chance he got. Something he couldn't stop, even if he'd wanted to.

Oliver shifted to a more comfortable position from where he was perched on the fire escape outside of Felicity's bedroom window, green hood still pulled down low to cover most of his face.

He tried to tell himself that it was only out of duty and obligation that he sat outside her window each night when she wasn't at the foundry. She'd had some close calls in the past – Helena and the bomb collar incident, for example – and lately he felt compelled to keep a closer eye on her. After all, it was only because of him that she was ever in danger. That made her safety his responsibility.

At first, he'd been a gentleman about it; always averting his eyes when she entered her bedroom wet and wrapped in a fluffy white towel or when she danced around in her short, skimpy pyjama bottoms while listening to the radio.

But now he watched her greedily, memorizing every inch of her bare shoulders and admiring the pale, creamy skin of her legs.

This carefree, completely relaxed Felicity was something he never got to see and now that he'd gotten a glimpse of it, he wanted more.

Their relationship had barely progressed since their first kiss that night at the foundry when she had woken him from another one of his nightmares about being tortured on the island, and Oliver blamed himself for that. Felicity was a constant struggle for him. At first, he had found her quirkiness nothing but amusing. Then he came to think of her as a loyal friend. Now, he tried (rather unsuccessfully) to resist the fact that he ached to be with her. Literally. The desire was a constant, hollow feeling in his chest but he couldn't give in to it; her safety was more important to him. And she would be so much safer if he could just distance himself from her, but he couldn't. She was like a magnet drawing him in with her rambling thoughts and bright smiles.

So he watched her from afar, hating himself a little more each night. Because he was weak and he couldn't stay away. Because she deserved commitment and he had to stop playing this game of hot and cold with her. There were endless reasons, really.

Tonight, Oliver could see that she was tidying her apartment. She folded laundry in her bedroom while bopping her head along to some song that played on her nearby computer. She was wearing an orange tank top and loose grey sweatpants. She looked stunning.

All of a sudden the lights flickered out and Felicity's room grew dark. Oliver instantly sat up straighter on high alert.

He could hear Felicity mutter a curse from inside the bedroom. She walked out the door and Oliver's heart jumped into his throat. What was going on? Was it a robbery? An attempted kidnapping? He reached over his shoulder and fingered one of the arrows that rested on his back reassuringly, ready to draw his bow if need be.

His fears dissipated when she returned a moment later, carrying a package of light blubs in one hand and using the other to drag a kitchen chair into the room behind her.

A burnt-out bulb.

He had been prepared to shoot an intruder in the heart and it was just a burnt-out light bulb.

He leaned back against the cold metal of the fire escape and forced himself to take a few deep breaths. Never act in haste; slow down, plan, and then act. It was one of the most important rules that had been drilled into Oliver's head on the island and he had just nearly broken it. How was it that Felicity caused him to lose all sense of reason?

When he looked back into her apartment, he saw Felicity balanced on the edge of the chair, reaching up to remove the old bulb and screw a new one into the ceiling fixture.

Even with the chair, she was still a bit too short. She rose up on her tip-toes as she tried to put the new light bulb in place.

She was leaning too far forward, Oliver could see. In an instant, his hand was pulling up the window pane and he was slipping inside the apartment, making it to Felicity just in time to catch her as the chair tipped forward and she lost her balance.

Her eyes were squeezed shut, expecting the pain of hitting her hardwood floor but when she stopped falling, her eyes opened to find herself being held in the arms of The Hood.

"Oliver! Where did you come from? Not that I'm complaining, this sure beats landing on the floor. You're way more comfy and you smell really nice." She clamped her mouth shut, obviously embarrassed that her last confession had slipped out.

"Don't you have a step ladder?" Oliver ignored her comment, "It's much safer."

Felicity attempted a shrug but it didn't quite come out right, given that half of her body was pressed against Oliver's chest. "Too lazy. It's all the way in the storage closet."

Oliver shook his head in disbelief, "Promise me you'll get the ladder next time. I may not always be around to catch you when you fall."

Felicity bit her lip and nodded, sensing that there was a deeper meaning to his words. "But you caught me this time. Thanks for that. You're like my knight in shining armour...or, knight in scuffed green leather, more precisely."

Oliver cracked a smile and reluctantly set her down on her feet, trying to remind himself that distance was important.

He started to back away from her but was surprised to find Felicity grabbing both the sleeves of his Hood outfit in her fists, keeping him from withdrawing any further. Slowly, she reached up and pushed the oversized hood off his face.

"Better." She spoke softly, her hands resting up on his shoulders while her eyes studied his face. Then she cleared her throat and quickly disappeared through the door, calling out behind her, "I'm thirsty, want some water?"

Oliver was momentarily stunned. For one crazy, unlikely moment he had thought Felicity might kiss him...and for one crazy, unlikely moment he had hoped that she would.

Wishful thinking.

He exhaled loudly and scrubbed a hand over his face before finally following her into the kitchen, where he found Felicity leaning against the counter with a glass of water in hand. A second glass meant for him sat on the countertop next to her.

Oliver grabbed the glass and downed its contents in two big gulps. Beside him, he heard Felicity try to hold back a snicker.

"What?" He asked after setting the glass in the sink and copying Felicity by letting his weight rest against the kitchen counter.

"Nothing." She answered innocently.

Oliver turned to face her with a look that said 'come on, out with it'.

Sure enough, she had more to say. "It's just...don't you ever savour anything? I know it's only water but jeez, slow down. Stop and smell the roses, you know?"

Oliver gave the question some thought before replying, "I savour Big Belly burgers."

This time, Felicity gave a small snort, "Yeah, but everyone savours those. They're extraordinarily good. You'd have to have no soul to say no to a Big Belly burger. Try again, mister." She bumped against him playfully with her shoulder.

Oliver could feel a small grin tugging at his lips. He always enjoyed these kinds of conversations with Felicity. They were a few precious moments of relaxation for him where he could have a normal discussion without feeling the pressure of having to keep up his pre-island persona.

"Okay then," Oliver turned to face Felicity, wetting his lips apprehensively before speaking, "I savour you. All the times you hold my hand or touch my shoulder, I savour the feeling. That night at the foundry..." he stopped to clear his throat which had suddenly gone dry, "we kissed, and every moment of it is ingrained in my head."

He knew he shouldn't have said any of that out loud. It completely undermined all his attempts to keep himself distant and professional around her, but he couldn't help it. He needed to see her reaction.

"Oh." Felicity's voice was soft and surprised. She played with the empty water glass in her hands to avoid looking up at him, "I remember it too. Actually, 'remember' isn't the right word. It's more like it's burned into my memory and I see it every time I close my eyes."

Her quiet admission made Oliver's heart soar. She felt the same. But then reality came crashing back down on him. This didn't change anything; he still couldn't risk her safety by being with her.

He must have been too quiet for too long because Felicity was suddenly very close to him with a look of concern on her face.

"I can see the wheels turning," she said, reaching up to tap a finger against his temple, "what's going on in there?"

He opened his mouth to give his standard response of 'nothing' but Felicity cut him off as if she had read his mind.

"Don't tell me it's nothing." She said sternly, "That might work on everyone else but it won't on me."

Oliver sighed. Sometimes she was just too damn perceptive.

"I worry about you." He finally admitted, "I can't stop worrying about your association with The Hood. I don't want you to get hurt because of me."

"Oliver, did you force me into joining Team Hood?" Felicity spoke slowly and patiently, as if she were addressing a child.

"Yes," Oliver answered immediately with no hesitation, "That night I broke into your car, when..." when my own mother shot me, were the words he couldn't get out, "I made you a part of this."

"No! You're supposed to say 'no, Felicity, I didn't force you'." She had lowered her tone in an awful attempt at mimicking his voice. "It was my decision. Everything I do is my own decision. You're not the boss of me...except, yeah, you actually are. But you know what I mean." She pushed her glasses up and met his eyes determinedly. "'Destiny is not the path given to us, but the path we choose for ourselves'." She quoted to him.

Oliver stared at her blankly.

"It's from Megamind. You know, the superhero movie? Will Ferrell is a villain who turns into a good guy...?" Felicity tried to explain. She shook her head sadly, "You really need to get caught up on some pop culture."

"Your point?" Oliver asked gently, trying to nudge her back on track.

"My point is that I'm here willingly," Felicity replied, driving her point across my poking him in the chest with her finger, "and you know that if I have doubts about what we do, you'll hear about it, thanks to my giant mouth with no filter. So stop feeling guilty."

"Easier said than done. I'll try, though." Felicity was still gazing up at him with a fierce look on her face and Oliver couldn't help but smile at her.

Her expression melted into a smile as she changed the subject, "So what are you doing here? I mean, I'm grateful you were here to catch me earlier but I'm a big girl, I don't need a babysitter."

Oliver shrugged, "I was in the neighbourhood." He answered vaguely. "You should really think about moving. A few weeks ago there was a shooting just a couple of blocks from here."

"I know," Felicity sighed, "You've been bugging me about it ever since. Moving is just such a hassle and the rent here is cheap."

"I'll find you a new place." Oliver stated, "With 24-hour security and an alarm system."

Felicity laughed, shaking her head. "No way can I afford a place like that."

"I'll speak to your manager and get you a raise," Oliver reasoned, "I'm sure you deserve it."

She shook her head. "I don't want any special treatment. It'll give people at work the wrong impression."

"What impression would that be?" Oliver asked, leaning closer to her and crossing his arms over his chest.

"That, uh, we are somehow involved...romantically." She was getting flustered.

"What if we were?" Oliver asked before he could stop himself.

"I'd probably have to fill out some kind of waivers and speak to HR and everyone would treat me differently-"

Oliver cut her off, "No, Felicity. What would happen with us?" He stepped forward and placed his hands gently on her hips, punctuating his last word.

"Oh." The small sound escaped her mouth and Oliver took advantage of her parted lips by leaning in to kiss her.

She responded eagerly, matching his mouth's movements with her own.

Much sooner than Oliver would have liked, she pulled away.

"If we do this," Felicity warned breathlessly, "you can't have one foot in and one foot out of this relationship. You can't always be carrying around guilt about my safety or my happiness. Can you do that?"

The seriousness of her words startled Oliver. He rubbed the back of his neck and considered her demand before answering truthfully. "I can't promise that, but I hope you would realize that any time I over-react or get frustrated, it's only because I care so much. You mean the world to me, Felicity Smoak." He tightened his grip on her waist. "You deserve much more than I can give you, but I would try every single day to be enough for you."

Behind her glasses, Oliver could see her eyes shining with unshed tears, "Wow. That was super poetic." She blinked a few times and cleared her throat before standing on the tips of her toes to plant a small kiss on the underside of his jaw. "You mean the world to me too, Oliver Queen."

They made quite the picture, Oliver thought as he pulled Felicity's mouth to his once again, a vigilante decked out in green and his lion hearted IT girl locking lips in her tiny kitchen.

It had been a long time coming; he could see that now. They were inevitable. The first time he laid eyes on her, when she had eyed him so skeptically after he passed her a weak explanation and a bullet-ridden laptop, he'd felt a spark ignite that he'd been trying to ignore ever since. He was so tired of fighting his feelings for her on top of everything else he fought for daily as The Hood.

"Oliver?" Felicity mumbled against his lips.

"Hmm?" He replied wordlessly, too wrapped up in running his fingers through her soft blonde hair to properly respond.

"You can kiss me all you want but you're not buying me a new apartment."

Oliver smiled. There was the stubborn Felicity he knew and adored. "We'll talk later." He whispered lowly in her ear before placing a quick kiss to the side of her neck.

A shiver ran through her but she soon composed herself and brought a pout to her lips. "I forbid you from messing with my living situation."

Oliver raised his eyebrows, "Really, you forbid me?"

Felicity smiled up at him sweetly. "Yep" she said, popping the 'p'. She settled her arms up around his neck, fingers dancing over the soft green leather collar.

"Two minutes into this relationship and you're already telling me what to do." Oliver smirked teasingly, running his hand down her back.

Felicity rolled her eyes as her mouth stretched into a grin, "This shouldn't be news to you. I've been telling you what to do for months now."

"True," Oliver admitted, "and I wouldn't have it any other way."