First Kiss Goodbye (An Arrow Season 3 fanfic)

First Kiss Goodbye

For the second time in two weeks, Oliver Queen was late.

He was trying his best not to, especially after the first time it happened. He was on his way to dinner that Wednesday afternoon when Ray Palmer got in the way and everything came down like a butterfly effect. Palmer had insisted him on looking at his new concept on rebuilding Queen Consolidated, and Oliver decided to give him ten minutes--he could only spare Palmer no more than ten minutes--just so he could shut him up. He didn't know that those ten minutes will be equalled to getting stuck in traffic at downtown during rush hour.

And getting hell, which decided to break loose that night and nothing felt the same again.

Maybe it felt the same. Ever since Slade was captured and peace was restored in Starling City, Oliver has been trying to live a normal life. It was uneasy at first. Nothing has been normal since he got out of the island, anyway, but he tried to make it better. No more donning of the hood, no more shooting arrows on people. He even entertained the thought of dating again. He was cautious about the idea, scared of the thought of having someone in his complicated life--as if this particular someone he wanted to be with wasn't involved in his menacing crusade for the past years.

Oliver had debated on whether or not he would ask Felicity Smoak to dinner. For eight months. When it was clear that he has been losing sleep and sanity over something that can be resolved by a single conversation, he jumped at the opportunity and asked her. He couldn't have been any happier when she said yes.

And then what he had been dreading happened. Hell. In an instant, his past caught up with him: the familiar sight of violence, hatred and pain. It was worse than their encounter with Slade and his army because Felicity almost got killed this time. Just the mere vision of her lying unconsciously on the table, caked with dirt and blood on her face and arms, made his stomach churn.

Butterfly effect.

The bells jingled as Oliver pushed the door to get inside Big Belly Burger. It was ten past eight. He was only ten minutes late, but still. Look at what happened when he gave Palmer his ten minutes.

He scanned the room to look for Felicity and found her sitting on a wooden stool at the corner of the restaurant. He caught his breath, and a glint of memory flashed through his mind. It brought him to the first time he and Felicity met outside Queen Consolidated, where he was sitting at the exact spot Felicity was sitting now. It was a long time ago but it seemed like yesterday: he could still vividly remember the droplets of rain splattered on the windows, Felicity asking him if she could trust him, and the way his heartbeat stopped when he recognized the small old notebook in Felicity's hands.

A familiar knot formed in his chest. He didn't want to admit it, even to himself, but he always notice: how her wavy blond hair shine under the lights, how her bright blue eyes sparkle behind her dark-rimmed glasses, how her painted lips curve whenever she smiles at him.

Oliver shrugged his leather jacket as he approached her, hoping it would shake away his nerves. He noticed how Felicity sat like a statue--hands clasped on a white mug and eyes staring into space--and he grew worried.

"Hey," he called softly, before he tapped her shoulder with two fingers when she didn't hear him.

Felicity jumped, almost spilling her latte. She spun around and saw Oliver frowning at her.

Her heart stopped for a second. She wasn't usually edgy when Oliver was around, but the effect of his presence changed after that night at the Queen mansion eight months ago. He had told her he loves her, but only as a ruse to get into Slade. Since then, all she could think about was how those words formed on his mouth and how close they stood in front of each other.