What Happens In Russia, Stays In Russia

[Oliver Queen]

Seeing her excitement, fascination and overall enjoyment made this all the more worth it. And made him feel rather proud that he was successful in his mission to distract her . . . even if he already had every confidence in himself that he could do that. He had picked up a few things for Thea. He wanted her to know that even in another country, he was always thinking about her. They were sampling different foods, and Felicity offered him some bread that she was purchasing, which he tried to stop her from doing but . . . was unsuccessful. Instead, he took her up on her offer, not wanting to be rude and broke off a small piece, popping it in his mouth.

"It's good," he said truthuflly once he had swallowed it. "It tastes homemade." Which made it all the better. It was incredibly busy here and as suspected, it was full of tourists and people wanting to explore the capital, seeing what small trinkets they could get to remember the experience, and tasting what food they could to appreciate the culture. It felt good to be, normal. To be mixed in with this group of people, even if it wasn't for too long. "Here, try some of this," he offered, holding up a small piece of cake. Seeing that her hands were full though, he raised it to her lips so that she could take a bit from it.

[Felicity Smoak]

Felicity was not going to let him pay for anything more of her's. Just because he had money, didn't mean this wasn't a modern day relationship--FRIENDSHIP relationship! Not relationship type of--Oh crap! Now was she babbling in her head! "Here try some of this." Taking his distraction she turned to face, him only to try to shift things in her hands, but they were so full at the moment, she couldn't.

It seemed he thought of that, for he was holding up the bit to her lips. OOooooooo crappppp. Her eyes widened a little in surprise, but her lips parted of their own accord, and she could feel the blush start at her noise and work it's way to her cheeks. It took her a few seconds to even think about what he was putting in her mouth, but when she could taste it, she smiled and sucked in her lips to taste them too. "Best thing to happen all day--Taste! Best thing I've tastes all day."

Ugh! "I should buy some of that." Because every time she looked at it, or tasted it she could come back to this moment.

[Oliver Queen]

Oliver didn't fail to notice her blush or reaction, or even words. He had to withhold a smile, just as he always did. He was never quite sure what to make of her comments like this. What he did know was that he never failed to find them amusing, and knew that in his own way, he encouraged them by his actions. He never could quite predict the words that fell from Felicity's lips, and he liked that. He liked spending time with her. It was refreshing to be with someone who he did not have a complicated past with. Someone he did not have to lie to. Someone who he did not have to pretend with. Someone he trusted. She encompassed so many things that he failed were failing in other relationships he had with people. So even though he could never voice all that, he felt quite strongly about it.

But as always, he didn't comment on her slip. Instead, he just focused on the part where she said she liked the taste of the cake he had quite literally just fed her. "Allow me," he said, knowing she didn't like it when he paid for things, but he was the one who introduced her to it. So with that in mind, he bought her a small box filled with pieces of the cake. "And let me take some of that," he offered, but was already in the process of freeing her hands up by holding on to some of the things she was carrying so that she could have use of at least one hand while they were here.

[Felicity Smoak]

"You don't have to . . . do that." Her words trailed off as he did anyway. "I can carry all . . . this stuff." But again, Oliver took command, and did it his way anyway. Smiling at the sight of him being so nice to her, and covered in her shopping bags she teased. "Well, then I will just have to make sure to tip very well." Like he was her bell hop to her rich girl--when in truth it was closer to being the other way around.

Walking with him toward a more uncrowded area, Felicity wondered when the last time he just went shopping was. For something other then Arrow things, or to build his cover. How often did he just relax like this? "So when CEO Oliver Queen has free time, and nothing to fill his nights . . . what does he do?" She asked, trying to see how he would like to have his free time. What did he do just for himself? Just for fun? "If you could do anything! Something fun, and not work related. What would you do?"

[Oliver Queen]

Oliver smiled when she teased him about tipping him well. It was nice to see her relaxing, teasing, making jokes . . . when she had been so worried before, unable to focus on anything else. This was exactly what he had wanted. And so far, it was going well. As they walked away from areas with a heavier crowd, she asked him what he did in his free time; what he did for 'fun'. Oliver paused, taking a moment to think on it. Before the island, his life had been nothing but fun. And now, he could not justify not spending his time doing something productive. It had gone from one extreme to the other, and he knew that he would never be able to find that balance. He tried to think about what he did in his free time. Watch the news, train, spend time with his family . . . that was it. That was what his life had come down to. But he wanted to give a proper answer to her question, not evade it. "There was a lot I used to enjoy doing," he began to explain to her. Sports, reading, going to his favorite hang out spots with his friends. Now, most all of that had been put to rest. Though he did think of something that he had a feeling she would appreciate.

"My father was a pilot and he used to do his own maintenance," Oliver began to explain. "I used to help him. I really enjoyed it." And he had gotten pretty good at it. "So sometimes I'll find something that's broken, or take something apart, and time myself to see how long it takes me to put it back together." It was a training exercise, sure, but it was also something he enjoyed. Something that reminded him of a time when things were less complicated with his father. Since for a while, all he could think about whenever he thought of his father was the list . . . and the image of his father shooting himself. Deciding to push that out of his mind, he turned the question around. "What about you?" He asked, giving a small smile to shield his emotions. "When I am not demanding all of your time, what do you enjoy doing?" He knew that her Diggle were commited, and hardly had time for anything else . . . but he still wanted to enjoy what she liked to do in whatever spare time she could find.

[Felicity Smoak]

Hearing him speak of his father again made her feel good that he could. He could drop is guard enough not to let that casual mention ruin his day. Even she knew that, that wasn't easy for him. So instead of lingering on his father, she decided to answer his question.

Excitedly! "I am inwardly freaking out right now! I have something in common with Oliver Queen?" She teased, "I like to take apart computers and build them back quicker and better.....lets see, hacking you are aware of." She teased and pretended to think. Something she liked that would shock him? Or surprise him at least. "I like. . . . " She laughed and looked up at him, "okay, don't judge me, but I love to look at your fan club sites, both yours and the other you. For the later they are always guessing who you might be. I like to put things there to throw them off."

"Like this one time a woman posted a photo she took with her phone of you on a roof top running past. So I hacked it and edited your profile to make you look shorter, and your nose longer, and for weeks everyone swore 'he' was Sebastian Blood."

[Oliver Queen]

Oliver looked at her, when she began to reveal one of her hobbies. He knew that his own would resonate with her, as it was indeed something they had in common. And as predicted, she had expressed such excitement. However, it was hearing that she liked to go no his 'fansites' and mess around with people's perceptions of The Hood. It was actually, a bit amusing to think of that. While he didn't dare google his own name, or even The Hood, he would occasionally see himself on the news and could never help but smiling to see what the newest mystery surrounding the vigilante was. But that was also in very small doses. Oliver didn't do this for the fame. He didn't care about the attention, nor did he want it. "Well at least I can rest assured that they won't match me to the vigilante based on pictures then," he said, slightly teasingly. But really. She didn't get enough of all this when they were working together?

It truly showed how devoted she was to the cause she fought for with him and Diggle. And it actually meant quite a lot to him. More than he was capable of expressing right now. "Just so long as you don't start warping pictures of Oliver Queen," he added, in the same teasing tone. The purpose of this outing was to lighten her mood . . . though he wondered if it was to lighten his own too. For he felt comfortable in engaging in jokes, teases, and even talking about subjects unrelated to the mission. It felt . . . nice. Casual. Normal. And normal wasn't something they all had often. "Though I am surprised you don't get sick of all this," he added. It was meant as once again, a teasing and joking comment . . . but it did hold some truth. He wanted her to sometimes step away and just not think about any of this. But at the smae time, was very aware of how difficult that was. When he had asked her and Diggle to be a part of his cause . . . he knew full well that he had been asking them to devote a huge part of their lives to it. And so just stepping away from it all, became nearly impossible.

[Felicity Smoak]

He teased her about not being matched to the Arrow. "Every photo looks a little different, and the sites loose a lot a credit." Mostly because she was playing with them. "They are written off of fake." Which made it harder to find real photos of him on-line. It was apart of her job to protect him, and she wasn't going to fail. "Just so long as you don't start warping pictures of Oliver Queen," "What's there to edit?" She said, not thinking then realized what she said.

"I mean, cause I don't have too." Not because she thought him perfect. "Cause your you. Not that---3-2-1 . . . " "Though I am surprised you don't get sick of all this," Oh good! "I might not have been thrilled in the beginning, but . . . " She looked up at him, her smile fading into an honest look. "I've really come to believe in what we are doing. I want to help. I'm glad that there is something I can do to help."

[Oliver Queen]

He listened to her explain how every photo had looked a little different, which discredited them. And thus, being considered fake. That was good to hear. Reassuring that no one would be able to find a photo and somehow determine the man under the hood. It also gave him a strange sense of relief to know that she was not only helping him during a mission, but that she was also looking out for him outside of the time they spent together when working on a case. Her response to his words that had meant to be joking, cause him to hold back a smile and she went into her typical babbling state. He had only meant it as a light tease, but leave it to Felicity to let something slip out . . . which was something he enjoyed about her. Deciding not to comment on her ramble -- which he usually didn't -- he instead, focused on her next words.

It meant a lot to him, that both her and Diggle believed in the cause. He never wanted them to do anything for him, but rather, with him. He wanted them to do this because they believed in it, not because they believed in him. It was a group partnership, not a leader of a team dynamic. "I don't know how I would have done all this alone," he said, because that had been something he'd been planning to do when he first started all this. "And I'm glad I didn't try for longer than I had." Since he had brought in Diggle fairly early, and Felicity not too long after. "Besides, I had a good feeling about Diggle and you," he added, slightly teasing, though he meant his words. He would not have willingly revealed himself to them had he not trusted them.

[Felicity Smoak]

His words of Diggle made her pause, and remember why they were here. Diggle had an ex wife, and he was here risking his life for her. Anything could happen to him and he was out of her reach to save. Felicity didn't like her boys out of her reach. It made her feel helpless, and like she should be doing more then just waiting and helping Oliver buy a car.

"You know, I don't think you or Diggle have ever told me how he came to work with you." She was trying not to let her worries ruin the moment, but she wanted to know the story too. She was hoping he would tell her the story, and let her know a bit of their past. She knew they were friends--great friends--but other then that Diggle was his body guard and later begin helping him she didn't know the details.