Hive of Scum and Villainy

Chapter One

AN: Bruce Wayne is based on no particular incarnation but rather, is reimagined for the Arrow universe.

Chapter One

Felicity backed slowly out of the foundry and gently closed the door behind her. She didn't think they had heard her, which was odd given their preternatural instincts but then again, they had been otherwise occupied at the time.

She should have known when she heard the first moan, it was obvious really but like a glutton for punishment, she had rounded the shelving and seen Oliver and Sara going at it like a couple of horny teenagers.

That was the moment at which her heart shattered, because she could no longer lie to herself.

She used to tell herself that she wasn't Oliver's type, he liked brunettes, which she was not. A few times she had considered dying her hair back to it's natural brunette but had reasoned that if Oliver so shallow as to judge by hair colour, she didn't want a relationship with him. Felicity wasn't going to change for any man, not even a billionaire hero like Oliver.

After Russia, she had clung onto his words, wanting to believe that he couldn't be with anyone he cared about. Now she saw that it had been a lie, because she knew from previous interactions, that he cared a great deal for Sara.

The simple truth was, he didn't think she was good enough for him, and that hurt more than she would like to admit.

She made it to her car before the tears overcame her, and she hunched over the wheel, willing her vision to clear for long enough to get home.

It didn't, so she was stuck in the alley behind Verdant, worried that at any moment, Oliver might happen across her and demand to know what was wrong.

Luck finally seemed to be with her as when her tears did abate, she was still alone. She drove home as quickly as she dared.

Once there, she changed into her night clothes, retrieved a tub of vanilla ice cream from the freezer, then sat on her couch to watch Dr Who DVDs.

She supposed that she had known the truth all along, she just hadn't wanted to admit it. She knew that since Lance already used her as his contact to the Arrow, she was in danger; if he had made the connection between her and the Arrow, others could too, so being with Oliver didn't increase the risk she was in. Indeed, hardly anyone knew that he was the Arrow, so being his girlfriend was probably safer than being the Arrow's sidekick.

She could argue herself into or out of almost any frame of mind however, and she had argued herself into believing that Oliver cared about her, or at least, he could care about her, if he ever dared to take the plunge.

Now she couldn't deny it any longer, not without insulting her intelligence, and she wasn't that naive.

'So what now?' she wondered, taking another spoon of her ice cream. Then the irony of her actions hit her. Vanilla ice cream? That was it, wasn't it? She was too vanilla for a man like Oliver. He liked his women to be murderers, cops with guns, assassins and evil business women. Felicity wasn't any of those things. Felicity was nice, normal, and safe. She would probably never know how it felt to be a cold blooded killer. She would probably never experience torture. She would certainly do her best to avoid both experiences.

But she was couching it in nice terms there, the truth was, Felicity Smoak was boring, at least as far as Oliver was concerned.

It was good that she had found out though, because it gave her time to consider how to react. The word, 'Leave,' floated through her mind. It wasn't as if she had to stay, she was contacted an average twice a month by firms wanting to headhunt her, so she had plenty of offers.