A/N: Sorry it has taken so long to get the next installment ready for everyone. Life has been really hectic and with the end of the school year approaching, it may only get more hectic. I will try to post whenever I can, I promise. Thank you to my beta, missmeagan666, she is the best at trying to get my edits back as soon as she can.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, they belong to Arrow and DC Comics.

It's Just a Ride

The phone beeped in Oliver's ear and he tapped the Bluetooth so he could answer it. He expected it to be Felicity seeing as how she was the only one at the bunker, but it wasn't.

"Oliver, I need you to pick up Felicity," Diggle told him. "She needs to head over to see Lance and I'm running late because Lyla called."

"I'm right around the corner," Oliver told him and took a hard left to head that way before he hung up.

Pulling his Ducati into the garage of their new lair, he still couldn't believe the amount of space the place had. It was then he noticed the van was gone. Damn. Diggle must have it. How am I supposed to get Felicity over to Lance? Of course he should have known. If the van had been there Felicity would have just taken that out. Double damn. That meant he had to take her on his bike.

He took the elevator upstairs, rubbing his head at the possibility that Felicity would turn down his offer of a ride just out of spite. When the doors opened he spotted her. She had her eyes trained on whatever was flashing on the computer screen.

"Thanks for picking me up, John. They said my car won't be ready until tomorrow. I'll be done in a minute."

Oliver waited until she finished before he said, "It's me."

Felicity spun around in her chair, her eyes searching the space. "Where's John?"

"He's running late. He asked me to drop you off with Lance." Oliver hated to sound so defensive but he still didn't know exactly where he stood with Felicity. It had only been four months since their disastrous fake wedding. The day when she handed him back his mother's ring and asked him to keep it for good.

"At least I'm wearing jeans," Felicity said with a drawn out sigh.

It was then Oliver noticed what she was wearing. A dark short sleeve sweater and tight black jeans. He swallowed hard. It was the same exact outfit she wore when she had been packing up his things at the loft.

While he was thankful for the fact she didn't choose to wear a skirt today, he still had to see her in those tight clothes. Clothes that outlined her figure to its best advantage. He clenched and unclenched his fists in order to maintain control of his body when all he wanted was for her to throw herself into his arms like she used to do.

"Okay, I'm ready." She began to shrug into her tan jacket. The one with a million metal holes in it. The one he had been secretly calling her break up jacket because she had worn it like crazy after her decision to end things.

"Wait." Oliver held out his hand to stop her. Her eyes hit his and confusion lined her features. "Put that in your bag. Wear this." He stalked over to his area and grabbed his leather jacket and handed it to her. She eyed it warily. "It's just a jacket, Felicity. It won't bite. Plus, we'll be less noticeable if you stay in dark colors."

She seemed to back down and accepted the coat. Setting it on the counter, she slipped off her own jacket and folded it carefully into the bag containing whatever she had to bring to Lance. Then she grabbed up his coat and slipped it on. It was way too big on her but it was still better than her own if they were spotted out on the road.

Oliver tried not to smile as she walked in front of him to the elevators. He had caught her sniffing his coat. When they were inside, he saw her rub her face slightly on the collar out of his peripheral vision. God, he missed her and she seemed to have missed him too. "Felicity..."

"Yes?" She turned to him. Her eyes questioning. Her face reminded him of the day he first asked her out on a date. So open and yet so confused.

The doors opened to the ground floor and Oliver shook his head. "We need to go."

He stalked over to his bike. He needed to stop. He and Felicity weren't together anymore, by her choice, and he wasn't about to push. "Grab Laurel's helmet."

"Are you sure it will be okay?"

"No one had touched Laurel's things since her death except her father. You need a helmet," Oliver pointed out grabbing his own off his bike. "If it makes you feel better take Thea's."

He didn't even bother to watch which helmet she chose. He needed to get her on his bike and over to Lance as soon as possible so they could end this.

She climbed behind him and her arms surrounded his stomach. He felt his muscles clench at the thought that they could've been like this more if he hadn't screwed up so badly. This trip was not going to be easy.

With a flick of the switch that opened the doors, they were quickly on their way. Oliver was being overly cautious with Felicity on the back of his bike, but the need to get this over with filled his head making him take a turn too fast. Felicity yelped and her hands slipped lower and clenched tighter. The tips of her fingers grazing his lap.

This couldn't be happening. Not now. He felt himself becoming hard at the contact. "Move your hands, Felicity," he growled over the line that he left open between them.

"What? Why?" Her hands eased back slightly but only tightened on his thighs.

"You need to move your hands."

She shifted closer and moved her hands in a more platonic place. However, there was nothing platonic about knowing her core was pressed up against him. He needed off this bike. Now. Thankfully, Lance's place was only around the corner. He stopped in the alleyway next to Lance's apartment and jumped off the bike as if it, or Felicity, was going to bite him.

"Are you okay?" Her voice still came through their open line since their helmets were still on and he nodded in her direction before he turned away from her. He had to will down the painful erection that tented at the tight leather pants he was wearing.

Satisfied that he had some control over his body, Oliver turned back to her. She was taking off Thea's helmet and set it on top of the bike. He took off his own helmet and held it in his hand. "I'm fine."

"You have angry face."

"It's not anger," he told her softly, even if his voice was still gruff from unrelieved lust.

"Then what is it?"

He was about to answer her when something exploded. Oliver grabbed Felicity and shoved her against the side of Lance's building, shielding her body with his own. It ended up being nothing more than a car backfiring.

"Are you sure you are okay?" She studied his face.

"I told you, I'm fine." Oliver took a step back. He didn't have much of a choice. If she remained in his arms much longer he was probably going to throw Felicity's feelings to the wind and just kiss like he had wanted to do way too often since her return to the team.

"You don't look fine."

He glared down at her. "I need you to be safe."

"It was only a car. I perfectly fine." Felicity rubbed a hand across his cheek and he leaned into it slightly before she quickly drew it back and held it behind her back.

"I'm not." Oliver stepped forward so that he had her pinned to the wall and pressed his lower half into her.

"Oh. Oh!" Her lips rounded with the sound before she grimaced and her eyes dipped down to the tenting in his tight pants. "The leather pants thing."

He could do no more than nod, his eyes closed as he did so.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry." Oliver opened his eyes and stared hard down at her. "There isn't anything for you to apologize for."

"Then thank you for making sure I was safe."

"I don't want your thanks."

"What do you want?" Felicity's words were whispered but he heard them as clearly as if she screamed them at him.

"You. I need you". He watched her face as his words sunk in. "You are my light, Felicity. Every time I faced Darkh I could've died. And the only way I pushed through it was because of your light, your hope, and your belief. I need you and you won't let me back in."

He stepped back but she held his arm. "Oliver."

"Damn it, Felicity. I need you. And I can't keep doing this." He rubbed at his forehead trying to ease the tension in his body. "Maybe you made the right choice when you decided to leave the team. Me."

Her hand came up and cupped his face. "I need more time, Oliver. I can't get over the fact that you couldn't trust me. Plus, with Havenrock and Darkh… I'm still a little overwhelmed. I still need that space I asked for."

"I trust you. I've always trusted you. With my secret. With my life. With every part of me. And if you need space, I'll give it to you, but it's not easy to be with you and not be with you."

Felicity nodded solemnly. "You're right. It is hard, but we've done it before. But your son, that's a different story. You wouldn't let me in. When everyone else knew, I didn't."

He hated the fact that there were tears in her eyes. "It wasn't my choice. I begged Samantha to let me tell you."

"Yes, it was. She might have told you not to tell me, but that doesn't mean you couldn't. You trusted her more than you trusted me."

"That's bullshit," he practically yelled at her. "I don't trust anyone more than I trust you. Not even Diggle."

"Then I feel sorry for everyone else because they've risked their lives for you."

"Felicity. What the hell do you want me to say? To do?"

Felicity threw her hands up. "I'm not sure. That's why I need time. I don't know any more than you do about how to fix this."

"When you figure it out let me know." He stalked over to his bike and got on. Oliver secured the helmet Felicity had worn to the bike and gunned the engine. He shoved his own helmet on and glanced back at Felicity huddled in his jacket. She looked so small and sad.

He shut off the engine and threw down the kickstand. The helmet flew from his hand as he jerked it off. "I love you. Can't that be enough?"

Oliver pressed Felicity to the wall, hiking her up in his arms. He kissed her like he had been wanting to do for weeks, his hands skimming over her body in an effort to recommit her to memory. "I love you. And I'm sorry for everything."

"Are the two of you going to stand there all night necking like a couple teenagers or are you coming in?" Lance asked.

Felicity blushed and hung her head down into the corner of Oliver's neck. "I should go."

"Yeah. But I'm not ready to let you go."

"Maybe we can talk about that," she conceded. "I was going to ask Lance if he could drive me home after we finished, but maybe you could come back and get me."

Oliver heard the question in her voice and nodded. "Anytime you need me, I'll be there. I promise. Just let me back in, Felicity. I can't keep living in limbo knowing you are so close and yet I can't even touch you."

"I know. You don't even run around shirtless anymore or use the salmon ladder." She let out a watery laugh, which meant that she must have been crying.

Tilting her head up, Oliver wiped the tears from her face. "I was too afraid that I'd be rejected. Not that I don't have a lot on my plate right now with being Mayor, as well as Green Arrow." Oliver touched forehead to hers. "I want us to be okay. I want my friend back even if I can't have you any other way."

Felicity kissed his cheek. "We'll work on it." She groaned. "Lance is still watching us. If I don't go soon, he's going to tell my mom and I'll never hear the end of it."

"Call me when you're ready to head home," Oliver told her with a hope in his heart that he wouldn't see her rejection again.

She nodded and grabbed his hand, squeezing his fingers. "We'll talk tonight."

"That's all I've wanted." Oliver watched her go and was never so happy that the tight leather pants had forced his hand into making him confront Felicity about how he felt.

fin