On Borrowed Time

14. Strictly Arrow

PART ONE: RUN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: STRICTLY ARROW

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TEAM ARROW, STARLING , USA

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Felicity felt out of place as she descended into basement of Verdant once more. It had been what felt like ages, but she had finally convinced herself that it was past time she put her hours in with the team. Diggle and Oliver were already in the Arrow cave she noticed as she slipped in the door. 

Oliver was first to look up at the sound of her clicking heels, his face awash with enough grief to make her stomach drop into her feet and make her wish she had stayed home. He was taking this whole timeline thing hard. Diggle on the other hand, broke into such a grin that she couldn't help but smile back. "Welcome back!" he greeted her, ignoring Oliver's mood the way only he could. "It's about time someone came back to keep him in check," he said, the twinkle of amusement in his eyes the only giveaway to his sarcasm. 

Felicity gave him a soft smile as Oliver scowled at him and she laughed then, unable to shake the feeling that everything was exactly as she left it and she intended to keep it that way. "Alright, let's catch some bad guys!" she finally said as Oliver's expression lightened and Diggle gave her a quick, brotherly squeeze.

And all was well, all was normal as she strode to her computer and booted it up, the familiar blue light sparking to life before her. She watched in a serene peace as the other two-thirds of the team geared up. She took no pains to try and cover her stares as Oliver stripped off his shirt in favour of his Arrow jacket. When he caught her stares she boldly kept right on staring which caused a small smirk to pull at the corner of his lips.

Felicity looked away as the computer prompted her to begin her setup and she let her fingers guide her to the familiar corners of the screen and initiate the communication lines, the facial recognition software, and the street cameras before making sure the police scanner was on and functioning. Her monitors flickering with the familiar darkness of Starling City nights. She put her headphones on and tested the comm lines as Oliver and Dig adjusted their ear pieces. 

"Ugh, Felicity I can't tell you how good it's going to be to hear your voice on these missions instead of Diggle's," Oliver said with a relieved smile as Dig only rolled his eyes. 

"And I'm sure this isn't the only place you like hearing her voice," he muttered and Felicity nearly choked on the coffee she had just pulled off the coffee maker. Oliver stared at him in surprise, mouth half open in disbelief. 

"As if you just said that," he finally responded, pulling his bow off of the rack and slinging the quiver over his back.

"Is it not true?" Diggle asked, looking knowingly at the pair and Felicity felt herself blush a deep crimson before hastily turning her attention back to the monitors before her. She pretended not to hear their banter as she searched for criminal action on the scanners. Her ears perked up as she listened to a BOLO go out on a blue Honda Civic - stolen. 

"We've got a BOLO out on a stolen car," she offered helpfully, not sure if it was worth their while but she flipped through the street cameras anyways in search of the missing vehicle. It wasn't much of a challenge though, and she found the vehicle down by the waterfront. "Currently parked on Harbour Boulevard, lights are on so it's possible someone's still with it." That seemed to be enough for them and Oliver swept past the desk on his way to the stairs and planted a kiss on her temple before disappearing. 

She could hear Oliver's bike come to life over the comms feed and then she watched the security cameras as he sped out of view. So she was left in the basement alone, sipping coffee from the safety of her seat behind the screen. She guided Oliver around a car accident and away from patrolling police cruisers and to the waterfront with practised ease.