I'm Fine (An Arrow Fanfiction)

Chapter Ten

At the end of the night, though they had accomplished their goal, no-one was excited. Felicity was sitting down in her swivel chair, studying Oliver who was still in his costume, leaning back with his eyes closed. Diggle was simply staring into space. They all leaped out of their chairs when Oliver snapped his head down, sneezing into the back of his wrist. It was deafeningly loud to the other two, who hadn't yet bothered to take off their headsets.

"Oh God," Oliver winced and sniffed heavily. "Sorry guys." He sneezed again, his eyes screwing shut. This time both Diggle and Felicity ripped their headsets off, not wanting to hear another excruciatingly loud sneeze. "I think I'm gonna go home now." He stood up and started to walk out the door.

"Wait!" Felicity yelled, startling Oliver.

"What?" Oliver replied, irritated. He just wanted to get home and sleep.

"Oliver, look at yourself," Diggle said, pointedly. He really was out of it tonight, wasn't he?

Oliver creased his eyebrows, confused. Then he realised that he was in his full arrow suit. He looked up at his friends and began to laugh. Soon all three of them were laughing, their exhaustion melting away for minute; or maybe it was the exhaustion making them laugh. Eventually, Oliver pulled himself together, changed out of his green costume and redressed into casual clothing.

"C'mon, I'll drive you back," Diggle said to Oliver.

"No, Dig, you brought your own car, I'll drive mine, you drive yours."

"I don't like the thought of you driving when you're sick. Especially in the dark."

"I'm not sick," Oliver gave a half-hearted protest before coughing into his fist.

"Sure. Because you always sound like you're trying to breathe underwater. Whatever, man." Diggle gave up, not willing to argue anymore. Oliver sure could be stubborn sometimes. With a quick "bye," Diggle left the building.

After a few seconds, Oliver was ready to leave as well. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said giving Felicity a small smile, then turning to the door.

As he started toward the exit, Felicity touched his back lightly, making him bristle. Feeling him tense at the touch of her hand, she stepped backwards in fear, she knew he could sometimes be dangerous. A second later he relaxed--if you could call his normal stance "relaxed"--and turned back around to face her. Most of the lights had been turned off, and the few that were still on raked Oliver's cheekbones and forehead in a way that made him look menacing.

"Don't do that. I could have hurt you," Oliver said, his eyebrows knitted.

"You wouldn't have hurt me, Oliver," Felicity replied quietly, but confidently, looking up into his bloodshot eyes.

"Not on purpose. Just . . . don't surprise me like that, my immediate reaction is to take out anyone who comes up behind me." He hesitated, his expression pained. "I'm trying to work on it, but just," his voice cracked and he coughed a few times, covering with his fist, "sorry, hold on a minute," Oliver started coughing, gripping the wall for support. Felicity stood at his side once again shifting on her feet awkwardly. After a few seconds Oliver straightened up again. "Sorry about that. Um, yeah, I just need you to help me out by not touching me from behind, I don't want to hurt you."

"Okay, I'm sorry I didn't mean to . . ." Felicity trailed off. She felt ready to cry, but she wasn't entirely sure why, she knew that he wasn't angry with her. Part of it may have been that she felt terrible for Oliver, knowing the initial reaction to touch being a punch in the face wasn't something acquired naturally, but through necessity. She swallowed hard and dropped her gaze from his eyes.

"Hey," Oliver said gently, tilting her chin up. She pulled away and bowed her head, but not before he noticed a silent tear glittering in the dim light. "Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

She bit her lip and nodded. "I know" It came out a lot weaker than she had hoped.

Oliver slipped his arm around her back and pulled her against his chest. "Aw, Felicity," he whispered. After a second of shock, he felt Felicity's hands slowly rub across his waist and up between his shoulder blades. Eventually he could feel her tears soak through his shirt. He wanted to hold her like this forever. He wanted to reach down and trace her lips with his. But he couldn't, of course. What he could do is make this last as long as it can. He hugged her tighter, but not too tight. In a few seconds, she also tightened her arms and splayed her thin fingers across his back. Soon, Oliver also had tears streaming from his tired eyes. He didn't even know why; it was probably the stress from the last couple days catching up with him. Oliver bit his lip hard and stared at the ceiling, trying to pull himself together before he let go. He didn't want Felicity to see him cry.

Eventually, Oliver tensed again.

"Felicity," he said gently, pulling away a little.

Instead of letting him go, Felicity held on tighter, her fingers curling slightly. "Mmm?"

"I have to let go, I don't wanna cough on you."

There was no response. She just twisted her head so her ear laid against his heart. She could feel it beating irregularly fast. She, Felicity Smoak, was making Oliver Queen's heart speed up. She really didn't want to let go.

"Felicity, sorry but I really have to cough." His voice was getting rough and scratchy.

Felicity pulled back slowly, tilting her head up to look at Oliver, hoping for some guess at what might be going through his mind. But instead, she found a forced smile concealing his uncomfort. After finally processing his words and noticing the gravel in his voice, Felicity pulled back faster.

"Sorry," she apologised quickly, but was cut short by his sudden cough.

The second she let go, Oliver turned away and coughed heavily. He slumped against the wall. After a few uncertain seconds, Felicity leaned next to him and tightened her hand on his shoulder, not knowing what to do.

Her head was reeling. That hug seemed more than a "co-workers" hug. She remembered the feeling when he tightened his warm hands around her waist. The thought made her shiver. To keep her mind off of it, she directed her attention back to her boss' condition. He had stopped coughing, but still looked miserable. "Are you okay? And I don't want your 'I'm fine' bullshit, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I might have a cough. I'm really just tired. I think I'm going to go home now. Care to walk with me?" Each word he spoke felt like fire in his throat.

"Sure." Felicity wasn't completely satisfied with Oliver's half-answer, but it was the most he'd admitted yet. She knew he was feeling worse than he let onto.