Couch, Chapter 3

Spoilers: This takes place after Unfinished Business, so anything up to that point

Disclaimer: I don't own them, just amusing myself.

Summary: Felicity wants a couch, which has some unintended consequences.

Author's note: Thanks for all the reviews! Sorry this one took a while to get out, but real life happened and the recent episodes have been both good and bad for inspiration. Bad for trying to keep things light, good for a conversation in this chapter. There will be another chapter after this one, which is partially written. I thought this would be the last one, but these two just won't shut up and this was a good stopping place. Let me know what you think!

"Oliver?" Felicity had just reached the landing of her third floor apartment and was surprised by the sight before her- Oliver Queen at her door, looking hungover and slightly guilty. She hadn't seen Oliver since last night when he had headed out to the psychiatric hospital, having left the lair before he and Diggle had returned.

"Felicity." His eyes roamed over her, clearly curious. "You've been exercising."

Felicity sighed. Of course Oliver would be bewildered by voluntary physical activity on her part given how much she had objected to self defense lessons. And of course he would come to visit when she had just come back from a run and was all sweaty and gross.

"I run a few mornings a week. In college my roommate would drag me out with her, and it's been a couple of years since then, but it's great for stress and thinking. I forgot how much I could figure out just by letting my mind wander while running." She explained, while waving him away from her door with one hand. Oliver took a step to the side and she fitted the key into the lock, "And since I met you I've realized that I'm probably going to have to run away from things, so I started again. And you know, handy for the zombie apocalypse anyway, so yeah, I run now."

"Zombie apocalypse?" Oliver followed her into the apartment, shutting the door behind him.

"Oh, come on, that was a thing before you left. The Dawn of the Dead remake. The fast zombies in 28 Days Later. Shaun of the Dead?" Seeing Oliver's blank, but amused expression she added, "Yeah, we need to have a movie night. Your knowledge of pop culture is severely lacking."

"You have mentioned that a few times now." He said, now curiously looking around her living room, this being the first time he had been to her apartment.

Feeling a little weird watching Oliver check out her living space, Felicity made her way into the attached kitchen and returned with a sport drink, "Do you want anything? I can make coffee….Wait, why are you here? And why were you lurking outside my door?"

"I wasn't lurking."

"If you weren't lurking then why did you look guilty?"

"I called and you didn't answer, so I came over. When you didn't answer your door I called again and could hear the phone ring." Oliver stopped peering out one of her windows and turned back to her. "You should run with your phone. It's safer."

"Yeah, my mother agrees with you. I haven't had a chance to get one of those armband thingies." Undeterred by his attempt to change the subject, Felicity reached a conclusion about the guilty look. "Please tell me you weren't considering kicking down my door."

Oliver went still and just blinked at her.

"Oliver." She drew his name out.

"Plan C." He admitted. "I was either going to come in through this window or pick the lock."

She decided to ignore the violation of her privacy and Oliver's unhealthy obsession with crashing through windows for a moment, "You pick locks?"

"I'm not very good at it. The island was short on doors, but I thought I'd give it a try." Oliver had moved from the window to stop in front of her and drew in a breath. "As to why I'm here, I came to take you to breakfast."

"Breakfast, or actually brunch at this point, sounds good." The hesitant smile he wore threw her off guard until she figured out where this was probably going. "So what nefarious eating establishment are we checking out? I hope their evil waffles are delicious."

Oliver ducked his head, almost as if he was embarrassed. "Um, actually, brunch is a thank you. From me to you." He looked back up at her, his eyes now seeming impossibly blue. "If it wasn't for your idea about the couch, I would be in jail right now. And recent events have made me realize that I owe you a lot more than that, so thank you."

Felicity was stunned, so she said the first thing that popped into her mind, "What kind of crazy Vertigo hangover do you have?"

Oliver chuckled, still trapping her with those eyes, before his expression turned serious again. "Look, I know I'm not the easiest person to deal with at times, but you have been a true friend and partner to me even before you knew everything. I just…I want you to know I really appreciate it, and you."

Felicity's mind was whirling with this version of Oliver- warm, sincere, grateful, and in her living room of all places. It was more than a little unnerving, and flattering. "Thank you….I mean, you're welcome? And besides, you've literally saved my life a couple of times now, so um…..I'd love to go to breakfast." She grinned at him.

"Okay." Oliver smiled back at her, looking relieved for some reason.

The silence stretched between them until the moment, whatever it was, was interrupted by her stomach growling very loudly.

Oliver chuckled, "You go get ready and I'll test out your couch."

AN2: I hope Oliver's thank you works here in the context of things. I just figured that with what happened in Unfinished Business with Diggle and Tommy (I know I did change the lair circumstances), maybe he would be nicer to Felicity (ahem, show). And now I want some evil waffles...