11174/Just grabbing a few things

Just grabbing a few things
Date of Scene:	15 May 2022
Location:	Arrowcave
Synopsis:	Felicity comes in to grab some work for home, and Oliver arrives. The pair have a talk.. mostly constructive.
Cast of Characters:	Felicity Smoak, Oliver Queen

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Felicity Smoak has posed:
Sunday night in Starling City. The weather is warming up, though a touch humid, thanks to the proximity of the water. The sun is setting just a little bit later each day, which allows for an early dinner and a few errands before heading home.

Felicity is actually taking a night off. Sort of. Instead of spending time downstairs in the dark of the Arrowcave, she's planning on actually working from her apartment, and in closer proximity to her ice cream. And the television, though only to stream for background noise.

Dressed in a pair of skinny-jeans, she has a pair of lower-length heels, a light pink t-shirt with a darker pink cotton jacket over it. Her hair is up in a pony tail, subdued jewelry round her neck and in her ears, and of course, her glasses. In hand, her purse, which she is drawing off her arm even as she crosses the room to her computer station.

Quick and easy.

Oliver Queen has posed:
What could possibly make it NOT be quick or easy? The unexpected arrival of Oliver Queen. On a school night, no less.

"Oh, hey," he says as he spots Felicity. "What are you doing here? I figured you'd be at home relaxing." He doesn't mention what he is doing there. But there is a certain lived in quality to the clothes he is earing that seems to suggest that they might just be the same clothes that he was wearing yesterday.

She certainly has seen that from him often enough.

Felicity Smoak has posed:
Felicity sits down at her machine and plugs her dongle into one of the ports, and begins to pull some information she's got. Nothing Earth shattering, nothing that even begins to hint that she's 'moving out'. Just, taking work home.

And there's his voice.

Turning her head so quickly could cause whiplash, but it does nothing but cause her pony-tail to fly around. "Oliver." It's a statement, and something of a hushed if not hurried one. "Just.. uh.. grabbing some work. Have some popcorn waiting for me, or some ice cream. Figured I'd get that done back home rather than spending another night with you, Alone." She pauses, and makes the grand attempt to at least temper what it is she's said, and begins again, stuttering slightly, "Not that that's a bad thing. Being alone with you. But, it makes it just a little harder.."

Sigh.

"Never mind. I.. I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and won't talk."

She has noticed the slightly unkempt.. not what he usually does, wearing the same clothes as if he hadn't changed. She's facing her monitors again, willing the download to complete. Even so, without looking back, she calls out, "How's the ankle?"

Oliver Queen has posed:
Oliver is used to the word tumble from Felicity. He waits for it happen, tries to process it out and sor t out what it all means. She can see him mouthing the words "alone" and "with you", as if trying to determine how that exactly works, before he shakes his head, instead answering her question.

"It's better, actually. Thanks." He flexes his foot a bit, rolling it around. "I tested it out, and it seems to be working well enough. Not about to go on a hunt for killers with it just yet, but..." He shrugs slightly, and then seems to notice that she seems somewhat less than chirper.

"Hey, what's going on with you?" Perhaps he forgot. He is prone to that.

Felicity Smoak has posed:
*ding*

The dongle finishes, and Felicity pulls it out with a satisfied flourish. For the rest, she starts shutting down the unnecessary programs now running in the background, keeping only a couple of processes alive. "You, I'll see tomorrow," she promises one of the screens. It's showing little else but a side street, but it must hold something for the computer nerd to talk to it.

Or not. It is Felicity, after all.

Standing up from her chair, once it's spun around and rolled slightly away, her expression is tight, and theatrically 'normal'. She's a really, really bad actress. "Going on? Nothing." The words come out strained, and reaching for her purse, she's putting her dongle in. "Nothing but following the Hand.. you know. The normal stuff." She's not hiding a secret-secret.. just..

"Everything is fine. I'm fine."

Oliver Queen has posed:
Oliver is thick, sometimes, when it is about him. But he is at least capable of reading Felicity when it is not about him. Maybe it's not a reading issue, but a comprehension issue.

"You literally told me last week that fine is not fine, Felicity. So either you're slipping, or..." He trails off, and points with a hand back to her chair. "Barry has his hallways, we have the rollychair. What's going on?"

Felicity Smoak has posed:
Felicity pauses in her step, her voice low, "I did, didn't I." It's a statement that is seconded with a self-deprecating, "Why can't I just keep my mouth shut." Looking up at Oliver behind thick glasses, she continues, a little louder, "Out of everything I tell you, why did you remember that?" Rats.

"Nothing is wrong, Oliver." Felicity pushes up on her glasses, and while she's talking, trying to convince him, she's also looking away, looking over his shoulder, towards the exit. "Really. I mean, I don't care.. It doesn't matter to me who you see. I .. I know it wasn't a date. We're friends.. and Vera, she's.." something else. "Means nothing. I'm fine."

Oliver Queen has posed:
Oliver laughs, and shrugs. "It seemed important?" He sighs quietly. "I really appreciate how much you've been helping me, Felicity. You know, I never really was the best at paying attention to other people's feelings back before I left on that cruise. I was a little shallow." He reaches up and runs his fingers through his short hair. "Spending all that time on an island didn't help. So, it's helpful to have a friend like you clue me in to these things." He smiles towards her. "If I keep listening to you, maybe someday I can be a halfway decent boyfriend for someone."

He pauses as Felicity brings up Vera. "Uh. She's just someone I knew a long time ago, Felicity." He shrugs. "I mean, sure, it's nice to catch up and think about old times sometimes, but do you think she really knows who I am now?" There is a bit of a frown that creeps over his face. "Honestly, most of the people who knew me back then, they wouldn't understand who I am, and what I have now." He looks to her. "That's why I'm so appreciative of always having you in my corner."

Felicity Smoak has posed:
//Friend//. There it is again. Felicity smiles and there's that spot juuuuust over his left shoulder, so she's looking at him, but not really. "Yeah, maybe.." she muses, repeating the words quietly. "I'm sure you'll be fine for someone out there."

Right!

"Well, she looked like she wanted to get to know the new you, and you were looking as if you were more than willing to oblige her." Felicity pauses, gathers herself slowly and carefully. It's a rough subject, and she's so far managing through it. Mostly. And that damnable chair, she won't be sitting in it because she won't be here much longer. At least for tonight.

"Which is fine. I mean, it's okay. Understandable. Pretty. Rich. Smart.. though, I'm still smarter." She has to get that dig in. "36 hours." She smiles tightly; an expression that keeps anything else from breaking through.

"I'll always bail you out. Or Thea. Or, you know, whisper in your ear. I-I-I mean, talk in your ear. With the earbud.. during missions."

Oliver Queen has posed:
There is a look on Oliver's face. It does not appear often. Surprise.

"Felicity. Vera and I were...I mean, that was a long time ago, and..." He tilts his head, studying her. "Are you - are you jealous?"

He seems to not quite get that concept, shaking his head. "I mean, sure, maybe it /sounds/ like a great lifestyle, jetting around to foreign cities, modeling, and all that, but..." He sighs. "She has nothing in her life. I could tell, from looking at her." He tries reassuring smile towards Felicity. "If she had anything going on, do you think she would be trying to convince me to go out and join her at that show?" Another laugh from him. "She doesn't have friends who care about her the way that you do, Felicity. She's alone in a crowd. You are..."

He waves his hand vaguely around. "You might be alone sitting in a cave, but you have people connected to you. All the time." Another shake of his head. "She doesn't have anything that you don't have, that you would want. Trust me."

Felicity Smoak has posed:
"Me? Jealous? NO... no. Of course not, no." There's a bit of nervous laughter as she shakes her head, underscoring that negative. "No. We're just friends, you and I." Her hand moves back and forth in gesture, accenting the words, "Like.. like you said. And she certainly didn't interrupt a dinner date at a slightly expensive Chinese restaurant.. that you drove me to in a new, convertible sports car." And she took a cab home.

Finally, Felicity's hand reaches up to rub at her eyes under the glasses frames, setting them askew a moment. "Are you telling me that she didn't have anything better to do than you?" Beat. "I mean, why wouldn't she want to rekindle her relationship with you? I mean, look at you. And she had her hands all over you, so.. she must have felt.." those muscles that she enjoys from afar.

"I am.. Felicity." Her hand drops, and she exhales in a long sigh, nodding. She holds her hand up, warding off anything more. "She's got a lot of things I don't have, Oliver. I'm not saying the grass is greener, but it is a little more plush and well manicured than this side. I never said I didn't like my weed garden, but an occasional daisy would be nice to see."

Oliver Queen has posed:
At first, Oliver looks /more/ confused by what Felicity was saying. "I meant of /her/ not of /me/, Felicity." It's getting there. Slowly but surely.

He arches an eyebrow at Felicity's assessment of Vera's intent. "I'm sure she just wanted to catch up on old times. Trust me, I am not the guy that I was back when I knew her." There is a shrug. "Look, if she wanted to rekindle the relationship, all she would have had to do was email or call me or something. And she didn't."

Oliver sighs and shakes his head. "I wish you could see yourself the way I see you, Felicity." He shrugs at that, not sure what else to say.

Felicity Smoak has posed:
"Oh, I'm pretty sure I see myself the way you see me, Oliver." On this, she doesn't elaborate. "I know you need me around here." As she talks, she's looking around the room; the tech is all to her specs, built almost exclusively by her. The programs? All loaded and run by her. Even the routines that the rest can run were all written by her for their use. "I'm smart, I'm funny, and .." She pauses before adding, "...always there." Even when she's not, there isn't a moment in time when she wouldn't move heaven and earth for him.

"I'd.. uh.. better go. I've got some work to do, and I've got my movies all queued and ready."

Oliver Queen has posed:
Something may have clicked in his head. Oliver has that look about him. Some revelation has kicked off, and he has finally put two and two together. She has said her feelings, and he has heard it. Slowly, he nods.

"I get it. I'm sorry." A brief pause. "I'll keep an eye out for someone who can help us. You need your time to have time off, too."

Once again - nailed it.

Felicity Smoak has posed:
Felicity isn't going to wait around for any more Oliver revelations. She's honestly done this time, really. Really and for true.

No, really. It's dumb, it's stupid, it'd never work.

Really done. Easy enough because //it// never started.

"An eye out for.." now it's her turn to be confused. It's not a state she wants to remain in, however, and it's just much better if she goes. Finally.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Oliver." She puts her head down slightly and makes her way to her entrance. "Good night."