Between Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak and John Diggle and Thea Queen as romantic.
The evening air of Star City was cool and crisp, a gentle reminder that the sun had set on the vigilante life of its once-celebrated hero, the Green Arrow. In the spacious loft that hosted an array of screens, once used to monitor the pulse of the city's underbelly, silence hummed a lulling tune. Just outside, the city lights twinkled, blissfully ignorant of the shadow that once glided between their towering companions.
Felicity Smoak, with her golden locks and determined eyes, sat on the couch, a laptop resting on her knees. The rhythmic clicking of her fingers against the keyboard was a soft yet persistent sound, echoing off the walls. The hacker extraordinaire had swapped saving the city with data for creating algorithms that benefited it in other, less dangerous ways. Her company, Smoak Technologies, was on the verge of revolutionizing clean energy motivations.
Shifting in his armchair, Oliver Queen watched her, his gaze carrying a mixture of admiration and concern. Since he hung up his hood, his muscles relaxed, not always tensed for a fight. He embraced a civilian life, supported Felicity's ambitions, and cherished the calm that he had once believed was beyond his reach. Yet, as peaceful as this life was, Oliver couldn't ignore the sense that every smooth sea faced the threat of a storm.
"You’re going to burn out if you keep going like this," Oliver finally broke the silence, his voice hinting at a jest to mask his worry.
Felicity glanced at him, a playful smirk tugging at her lips. "Says the man who used to patrol the streets in leather and greasepaint. I think I can handle a little coding."
He smiled back, rising from his seat to join her on the couch, the familiar scent of her hair as he leaned in causing a comforting warmth to spread through him.
A sudden jarring ringtone cut through their intimate bubble. Felicity's phone lit up, a number flashing on the screen that didn't register in her contacts. Hesitation creased her brow as she considered letting it ring out, but as it persisted, curiosity won. "Hello?" she tentatively answered.
A voice from the other end, smooth and all too familiar, caused Felicity's spine to stiffen, and her blood to run cold. "Hello, Felicity. It’s been a long time."
Oliver's senses sharpened at the auditory cue of distress in Felicity's posture, his former life's instincts kicking in. Many had come for his city, his family, and no one had left without facing the Arrow. Yet, he was no longer that man—at least, that’s what he kept telling himself. But could that really ever change?
Muted apologies and vague plans were exchanged before Felicity ended the call, avoiding Oliver's questioning eyes. It was a harbinger—a blast from the past—that threatened the new life they built. Felicity was ready to bury it, to ignore the call and its implications. But the echoes of the past have a funny way of resounding in the present, and they were about to find out that some threats refuse to be ignored.
Later that night, trailing after another successful attempt at homemade lasagna, with Thea regaling them with her travel stories, their peace would be breached. Reports of a high-scale cyber-attack on the city's infrastructure would flood the news, turning Felicity's and Oliver's quiet world into one of chaos and urgency once more.
As the credits of a life once lived beckoned, the chapter of their story had just turned a page, waiting to be written in the ink of perseverance and undying love. The city needed the Green Arrow and Overwatch, but how would Oliver and Felicity answer the call?