Spoilers: Some major spoilers for "The Odyssey," 1.14, and other general spoilers for season one.

Disclaimer: I'm a poor college student with very little money. Please don't sue.

A/N: I love the idea of Oliver and Felicity as a couple, but I imagine their relationship developing slowly over time. This is meant to explore the very beginnings of that. Can be set during late season one, or any time afterwards. :)

As always, I thank my Lord Jesus Christ for his incredible mercy and grace, and his many blessings.

I hope you enjoy this, and please let me know what you think!

Awareness

Oliver watches Felicity.

It's a habit - one he'd learned on the island. Always be aware of your surroundings. Observe. Analyze. Look for strengths and weaknesses. So, he watches everyone…Felicity, when she's nearby, and that's been happening a lot lately.

She watches him too, though judging by the blush on her cheeks any time he catches her, she's not looking for weaknesses. He doesn't mind - there's still a part of him that enjoys the attention. He just doesn't know what to do with it…not when it's from her.

On one hand, he's not entirely sure that he could ever be interested in her that way. She's different from any of the other women in his life, different from anyone he's ever met. Before the island, he probably wouldn't have looked at her twice.

Now…if there ever came a time when he wanted more from her, he knows that it would be a bad idea. She's a friend and an ally first and foremost, and anything else would be unnecessarily complicated and dangerous. For the good of the city, he can't risk losing such a valuable asset.

And she is valuable. Her computer skills guarantee that, but they aren't the only reason.

She'd surprised him that night, when he'd shown up in the back of her car, bleeding. He'd been pretty certain that she wouldn't turn him in and that she would be able to get him to Diggle, but he'd expected lots of panicking, nervous babbling, and tears along the way.

Instead, the panic had been kept to a minimum, the nervous babbling had been a deliberate attempt to keep him conscious, and though her eyes had shown with tears once or twice, she'd stubbornly refused to let any of them fall.

Then she'd saved his life by fixing that defibrillator.

She'd kept thinking and kept moving, in spite of her fear. He knows it wasn't a fluke, because she's wound up in the line of fire too many times since then, and every time, she's done the same thing. She might worry and hesitate, but in the end, he never really has to push her. She pushes herself.

That's more than he'd managed when he'd first landed on the island. On Lian Yu, he'd frozen…and then he'd ranted and raved about the unfairness of it all.

Necessity had forced him past that. He'd been thrown headfirst into the deep end, and left with just two options: learn to swim, or drown. He'd learned to swim, and swim well.

Felicity…he hadn't meant to throw her into the deep end too, but he had, and now, like him, she's swimming. She's learning. She's adapting. She's surviving.

So, Oliver watches her.

And more and more…his eyes linger.

Fin

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the fic and please let me know what you think!

Take care and God bless!

Ani-maniac494 :)