Office Space

Apartment

She wakes up and he’s gone. Her first instinct is to call him.

“’Lo?” he says when he picks up, sleepy.

“You know, I kinda just….called you and didn’t think of why.”

He laughs low. “S’alright. I’ve slept long enough.” She curls up on her side and smiles.

“So, when am I going to see you again?”

“Any time. I don’t have much to do, now that…well.”

“You’re going to stay in Starling, right?” she asks anxiously.

“Yes.”

“Good. That’s…good, really good.” He laughs again. “Look, I have a few days off, and Oliver promised that he and Digg could take care of everything, so…”

“I’ll be there in ten.”

Felicity doesn’t know what to wear for once, what do you wear to hang out in your apartment with your mercenary soulmate? Her hair is a mess and she’s only wearing a long t-shirt and her makeup’s not done and…there’s a knock at her window. Okay. Okay. She takes a deep breath and grabs a gun, cause it can’t hurt to be careful. It’s just Oliver, which is…great. He’s wearing the leathers, which actually is great, because she has eyes and she’s not dead.
She hasn’t told him about Slade yet, due to a mix of cowardice and still not being sure if she can trust the man who was once their enemy. “Uh, hey. I have a door.”

Damnit. Slade will be here in a few minutes so she needs to get Oliver out and fast. He steps into her apartment looking all intense, as usual. Even finding his soulmate again didn’t relax him.

“I’m just here to warn you,” he says without preamble. She makes a go ahead gesture and waits. “Slade hasn’t been bothering us lately, and members of the League have been seen around Starling. I’m worried something big is about to go down.”

“You came all the way here just to tell me that?” she says instead of panicking because a worried Oliver is an Oliver who asks a lot of questions and finds out that her soulmate is Slade freaking Wilson.

“Yes. My phone’s dead.”

“Uh huh. Okay. Do you want me to get on him?” She can feel the flush spread along her skin. “I mean, not on him, on him. I in no way want to be on top of, uh, Slade. Ever. I meant that I’ll find out what I can.” Oliver gives her a weird look and one of his quick smiles before he slips away.

Slade shows up minutes later, frowning. She frowns in return when he sniffs the air. “Uh…hi,” she says slowly, moving aside as he takes a step forward.

“Queen was here.”

“Yeah...How’d you know?”

He glances around, distracted, and brushes his nose. “Mirukaru enhanced my senses.”

“Oh. Um. He just came by to say hello, and talk about work.”

“Yeah?” His face clears and he finally seems to notice that she’s wearing a tee and not much else. “I like the outfit.”

She tugs the hem down and walks over to him. “Yeah, I didn’t have any time to change.”

“You look good.”

“Why do you hate Oliver?” she blurts out, then bites her lip. “I mean…ugh. I’m sorry. I can’t do casual.”

He shrugs and sits, patting the spot next to him. “S’alright. You’re blunt, ask the hard questions. That’s good.”

“Are you going to tell me?”

“Of course.”

She’s all nervous now, and he hates that. Fear smells awful, sharp and bitter. He prefers her warm vanilla scent of her contentment. He puts a hand on her thigh and squeezes.

“Queen probably hasn’t told you any of this, but on the island, there was a woman named Shado. I loved her. She loved Oliver. But, as you know, Sara Lance is his soulmate. I knew Shado wasn’t mine, but I always knew there was a good chance I might kill my soulmate, due to the tone of my words, and she was…”

He rubs a hand over his jaw and sighs. She nudges his side, frowning. “Hey. If it’s too hard, you don’t have to say anything.”

“No. I’m fine. Like I said, I loved her. I didn’t know the Lance girl was Queen’s soulmate, so when I learned he chose her over Shado, I went beserk.”

“Then you came to Starling, tried to kill all of us, and…eventually figured out why he picked Sara?”

“Yes.” He curls a hand around the back of her neck, feeling the pulse, already so grateful that she’s his.

“Why didn’t you stop then? I mean, you backed off a lot, but you still attacked us sometimes, which was awful, by the way.”

“Revenge is powerful, Felicity. Once I started, I couldn’t stop.”

“Alright. Well, that’s enough painful past talk for a while, I think. You want oatmeal?” He raises an eyebrow and she grins, eyes sparkling. God, she’s lovely. “It’s got these little eggs in them, and they turn into dinosaurs as you eat, they’re the greatest. I buy them in bulk.”

He laughs and pulls her close to kiss her temple. “Yes, dinosaur oatmeal sounds good.”

Slade eats with single minded focus. Oliver is the same way. Eats staring straight ahead until she coughs out an “Oliver!” or forces his attention to her. Actually, now that she thinks of it, Sara’s like that, too. God, she’s surrounded herself with damaged people.

“Slade.”

He glances up, spoon halfway to his mouth. “Mm?”

“You’re doing the mechanical eating thing. This is dinosaur oatmeal. Enjoy it.” He nods and slows down. “What do you want to do today?”

“Haven’t seen much of the city.”

“Kay, I’ll show you the good stuff,” she says around a mouthful of tiny, awesome, edible dinosaurs.

“Sounds great.”