Felicity spent the majority of her weekend with Adam. It was a novelty being with someone other than Diggle, Oliver or Roy in a setting that didn't feel like an underground bunker most of the time. She wasn't complaining though, she loved her work and took pride in the contribution she made to the team. However, it felt good to have an interest that wasn't solely based around Oliver Queen and his constantly evolving needs.
On Saturday night she'd returned the favour and cooked for Adam. This time, however, it had been a dual effort and she couldn't remember the last time she'd had so much fun or laughed so loud. Who knew that her tiny kitchen was capable of creating such an intimate and cozy atmosphere? Their meal had been delicious, made more so because they'd both enjoyed the process from start to finish.
The following morning Adam picked her up and whisked her away to a quaint bistro for an unexpected, yet delightful brunch. Afterward, strolling amid the various market stalls selling everything from fresh produce to little trinkets, Felicity caught sight of what her life might be like with Adam as a permanent fixture in it. There'd be laughter and lazy days spent indoors watching movies and cuddling on the couch. There'd also be times when they'd ventured out to explore, trying new things and making new memories. It wouldn't grow dull or boring, she knew that instinctively. He was the kind of guy who kept a woman on her toes, definitely one of the things she liked most about him. He'd also make sure that she felt safe and loved and cared for because that was the kind of man he was; he put her needs first.
Just the other day they'd grabbed lunch together when he'd bumped into an important colleague. Instead of making her wait while they chatted business, he'd introduced her and tactfully informed his associate that they'd catch up when he was back in the office. Steering her away and following close behind, he forgot the other guy within seconds. She smiled thinking about the memory. A future with him would hardly be a hardship.
"A penny for your thoughts?" Adam asked as she slipped her arm through his.
Looking up at him, so handsome in jeans and a jacket, she replied, "You'll be pleased to know that I was actually thinking about you."
His eyebrow rose, amused, "Contemplating my good looks and charm, were you?" he teased.
She studied him with false seriousness. "You're good looking?"
He burst out laughing, clutching his heart theatrically. "The Lady wounds me."
"So dramatic," she jested, rolling her eyes. "Actually, I was remembering how you sent your colleague packing when we had lunch the other day."
"Was that unusual?"
She nodded. "In a word? Yes."
He directed her left to avoid colliding with a woman pushing a stroller. "Why?"
"Most people tend to be so far up their superior's behinds that you can see them emerging from their mouths."
He chuckled at the analogy. "If I hadn't been with you, I would probably have invited him to sit with me. But since I wasn't alone, it wouldn't have been appropriate to spend the time I was dedicating to you, listening to him. Besides, I was going to run into him at the office anyway, so it could wait." He looked down at her. "You're far too important for me to ignore."
Her heart swelled and she looked away, a little embarrassed by the warmth in his gaze. "Hey, look." She pointed to an elderly gentleman caressing the spine of a well worn tome. "There's a guy selling vintage books. Maybe you'll get lucky and find Mrs. Maybrick."
Adam loved conspiracy theories which was ironic considering that he only ever applied logic and reason when it came to his profession. He called the contradiction in his nature escapism; Felicity found it fascinating. His current interest revolved around the Jack the Ripper murders. Having read up on all the supposed suspects, he'd finished off with James Maybrick. Convinced that he wasn't the actual killer, but intrigued enough to want to know more, he was in search of a rare copy of Maybrick's widow's autobiography.
"Today's the day," he vowed. "I have my lucky charm." He flashed her a smile as he grabbed her hand and made a beeline for the vendor.
Felicity was having so much fun that she was startled when her phone rang midway through laughing at Adam as he bargained with the seasoned dealer.
Moving away slightly when she saw it was Diggle, she answered, "Dig?"
"Hey, Felicity. Listen, sorry to ruin your Sunday but we have an emergency at Verdant."
Alarmed, she glanced at Adam who thankfully had his back to her. "What's going on?"
He sounded apologetic. "I was trying to show Roy how your tracking software works and he inadvertently pressed something that caused the whole system to shut down. Oliver isn't here at the moment, but should anything happen, we have no way of keeping tabs on him."
Felicity sighed. She could attempt to explain the recovery procedure over the phone, but that would probably take longer than just going in and doing it herself. Dammit. "Alright. I'll be there in just under an hour."
"Why so long? You not home?" he asked, interested.
"No, I'm with Adam," she explained. "So it will take me a little longer to get back into town."
"Sorry about this," he ruefully apologised for a second time.
Felicity swallowed her disappointment. This was bound to happen at some point. "Its okay, Dig, don't worry about it. I'll see you in a bit." She signed off in time to see Adam sauntering towards her, the book he was after clutched triumphantly in his hand. At the look on her face, his expression changed instantly to one of concern.
"Everything alright?" he asked, touching her cheek gently.
She smiled. "Yeah, I just have some bad news." At his questioning look, she explained, "That was…err…one of the guys from the IT Department. There's been a…server crash and they need my help to fix it." She hated lying to him and felt even worse when she saw the genuine understanding in his eyes.
He tried to hide his disappointment but didn't quite manage it. "Of course they need you. You're the best they have."
She felt horrible. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologise. I hate that you have to go, but I do understand." He gathered her into the circle of his arms and bumped his nose against hers. "Come on, I'll drop you off."
She leaned up and gave him a kiss filled with promise. He truly was amazing. It would mean texting Diggle and asking him to fetch her at Queen Consolidated instead of heading straight to Verdant, but she didn't know how to explain wanting to leave alone, so she didn't bother.
Oliver arrived at Verdant just as Diggle and Felicity climbed out of the Lexus. Felicity, Oliver noted, looked different. "Hey," he said by way of greeting. He nodded at Diggle who walked a little ahead of them. "You look nice," he told her softly, realizing that this was the first time he'd ever seen her in jeans. Or perhaps it was the first time he'd ever really noticed.
She looked at him curiously before focusing ahead. "Err, thanks."
Diggle turned back. "You should probably know that Roy kinda locked us out of the system. Felicity is here to fix it."
Oliver frowned at the other man. So Felicity hadn't intended to come in. That meant one thing: She'd been with Donner. His stomach tied itself in knots but he didn't say anything. He was newly resolved to make better choices and he was damned if he'd allow his envy to derail him. Felicity deserved to have some fun and who she spent her time with when she wasn't at QC or in the bowels of Verdant was none of his business.
Nodding in an attempt to reaffirm his will, he followed them toward the computer terminals. Diggle's mobile rang so he moved aside to take the call. Oliver cleared his throat. "I'm sorry if your afternoon was ruined on account of this."
She smiled briefly, but he could tell that disappointment lingered. "It's a part of the job and I accept that."
"You were out?" he inquired casually.
"Yes."
When he just looked at her she reluctantly explained, "With Adam. We had plans and midway through Dig called. He, err, dropped me off at QC."
He put the pieces together. "So Dig picked you up."
She nodded, smiling faintly. "Couldn't exactly ask Adam to drop me off a night club on a Sunday afternoon."
"I see how that could be a bit awkward."
She dropped her purse on the table and handed him a bottle of antiseptic standing before her. "I assume this is yours?"
"Yeah. A few minor cuts." He reached forward and their hands briefly made contact. He swallowed. It was an innocent, insignificant detail that had occurred a million times before, but now it felt different. Now he was aware of the warmth of her skin against his, the softness of her touch, the- Stop!
She smiled at him, completely ignorant to his inner struggles. "Don't pack it too far away. You'll probably need it again soon."
He watched as she removed her coat to reveal a feminine pink blouse underneath. "So what's the plan now?"
She sat down. "Sort this out and then run updates. Since I'm here I may as well get some additional work done."
He shouldn't have, but he felt happy knowing she'd be around for the rest of the day. He missed her company. Since she'd started dating the DA, it severely cut into the time they spent together. Something, he was ashamed to admit, he'd taken for granted for a long time. "I have some-"
"Crap! My tablet's still in the car." She swiveled toward him and stood abruptly, the suddenness of her movement throwing him off balance when she unexpectedly collided with him. "Oh!"
His reflexes kicked, catching her around the waist to steady her before she toppled over while her hands grasped his shoulders as though her life depended on it. Back on her feet, she looked up at him.
"Are you okay?" he asked softly. Behind the lenses of her spectacles, her eyes were like two bright blue orbs, her gaze unwavering.
"Fine," she replied. They stood like that for a few seconds, their eyes locked, neither saying a word. Oliver felt his heart begin to hammer, his eyes taking in every detail as though he hadn't seen her in months. Her hair, pulled back in its usual ponytail looked so soft and shiny he was tempted to run his fingers through it. Her cheeks, stained with a light blush seemed to add to her general glow of good health and vitality. Her lips, lush and full, colored a bright pink, had never been more distracting. Stuck in some kind of infatuated stupor, he was thankful when Felicity seemed to realize their awkward position, turning away before he did something stupid. Roy, who'd apparently been loitering in the back, stepped forward looking nervous. "Felicity, I didn't mean to mess things up," he said earnestly.
Oliver cursed beneath his breath. His palms were sweaty. He couldn't remember the last time that had happened - probably not since he was in kindergarten. Roy's timing was impeccable as ever.
Felicity smiled at the younger man indulgently, clearly unaffected by their closeness a moment before. If she could be impervious, then dammit, so could he. Yeah right. "It's okay, really. You didn't do anything that can't be fixed with the flick of these babies." As if to demonstrate, her fingers flew across the keyboard and within seconds they were back online. "Voila." She grinned, clearly chuffed with herself.
Oliver thought she looked adorable. Scowling, he spoke in a tone sharper than he intended. "Be careful next time."
Diggle rejoined them in time to see Roy turn red. "I said I was sorry."
The accusing stares he received from Diggle and Felicity made him feel like a fool. Much gentler, he added, "Maybe Felicity should be the one tutoring you. Dig clearly doesn't know what he's doing."
The snort the came from Diggle's direction easily diffused the situation. "Come on man, I panicked, okay? Cut me some slack."
"Panic is an understatement. You went green," Roy taunted.
"Who was green?" asked Sara as she descended the stairs.
Oliver smiled in her direction and she returned the gesture. They were okay. "Digg, apparently. He nearly broke Felicity's power house."
"Seriously? That's how you wanna play this?"
Felicity giggled and glanced at Sara and Oliver. She seemed to be looking for something but he wasn't sure what. "In case you're wondering, he didn't come close," she explained.
Roy was hooting with laughter. "This just gets better."
Diggle went over and playfully punched him in the arm. "You owe me one, man."
Oliver turned toward Sara as the background chatter faded. His attention, however, was never entirely off the woman sitting in front of the computers pressing a complicated combination of keys. "Are you okay?"
Sara shoved her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket. "I'm good, thanks. My Dad's relieved that you're no longer my boyfriend," she teased, easing back to lean against one of the chairs.
Oliver let out a low laugh. "Now that I can believe. Laurel?"
"Initially she was indignant on my behalf, as I'm sure you can imagine." She rolled her eyes. "But I explained without going into the specifics and I think she gets it."
He nodded looking around. "We must all have no lives for this to be the highlight of our weekend."
Felicity turned in their direction. "Speak for yourself. I was mid highlight when Dig called."
Her words caused his stomach to drop to the floor. The image of Felicity and Donner clasped in a passionate embrace was raising his blood pressure. Because Sara was looking at him, he kept his expression neutral.
"Yeah, it's his fault," Roy said with mock solemnity. "So inconsiderate."
Diggle shook his head. "Kid, I'm getting you back for this."
"You two are like two year olds," Sara added, humor lacing her words.
Oliver's attention was caught when he saw Felicity reach for her phone. Turning her chair away from their chatter, she answered. After a few whispered words she ended the call, pressed a few additional keys on her keyboard and stood. "I'm running updates, so you can use the terminal, just don't shut anything down." The latter she said with a smile while looking at Diggle and Roy. Turning to Oliver she asked, "You need me for anything else?" It was hard to miss the tinge of hope in her voice as she waited for his response. The fact that she was standing packed and ready said it all.
Disappointed that she was leaving, especially since he had an idea of who she was going to, he shook his head. "There's nothing. Go have fun." The way she beamed at him twisted his gut. He could have made up something plausible to keep her there and probably would have a few weeks ago. Jealousy still burned within him, but he knew better now. Despite how much he wanted her to stay, ultimately the choice needed to be hers. Clearly it wasn't.
With a heart that felt heavier than before, he headed toward the training mats and called Roy and Sara over to join him.