#Hook & Ladder Company 8

[rabbitcruiser]

Ghostbusters was released in the United States on June 8, 1984.  

[stormiebreaks]

Said I was gonna start posting here more often and what better way to start than with the Ghostbusters?

I sculpted this crew for the 40th anniversary, then just so happened to be in New York City back in April. Couldn’t pass up the chance to shoot them in front of Hook & Ladder No. 8, the Ghostbusters HQ.

Each figure was sculpted using a Heroclix as a base while Greenstuff made up their hair, jumpsuits, and all their gear. Each figure was made to be as accurate as possible based on their Real Ghostbusters designs and they came out great. Now to see about making the Extreme GBs…

[telaviv-delhi]

Mindeközben a Ghostbusters Headquarter-nél... mellesleg ez egy működő tűzoltóállomás, egy autóval, Tribecában, nem messze a néhai Twin Towerstől. Arra tippelek, hogy más állomások kollégái sokat ugratják a Szellemvadász állomás kollégáit :)

Located in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan, the Firehouse at 14 North Moore Street was built in 1903 and originally served as a fire station for the New York City Fire Department (FDNY). It was chosen as the set for the Ghostbusters film after an early draft of the script envisioned the Ghostbusters as a public service, much like the fire department. The writer and actor Dan Aykroyd reportedly chose the building because he knew the area and liked the building.

The Firehouse at 14 North Moore Street has a distinctive red brick and white stone exterior, that stands three stories tall at a height of 46 feet. It has an estimated floor area of 5015 square feet and a gross floor area of 5947 square feet.

While the exterior of the Firehouse at 14 North Moore Street served as the set for the Ghostbusters film, the interior was shot in a Los Angeles studio. However, the building has made appearances in other movies and television shows, including Hitch, Ghostbusters II, Seinfeld, and How I Met Your Mother. It has also become a popular tourist destination for fans of the Ghostbusters franchise, and an annual fundraiser is held at the firehouse each year in early June to celebrate “Ghostbusters Day.”

The 1903 Beaux-Arts building, home to the real-life Hook & Ladder Company 8, was used for the exterior scenes of the fictional firehouse where Peter, Ray, Egon, and Winston set up their ghostbusting operations.

[newsper]

The iconic Ghostbusters firehouse, located in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood, has become a popular tourist hotspot. The Hook & Ladder Company 8 firehouse, featured prominently in the classic 1984 movie Ghostbusters, attracts fans from all over the world. Local residents describe the firehouse as “a shrine” for Ghostbusters enthusiasts. Visitors flock to take photos in front […]

[wonderlesch]

A Stands for Amazing Travel Adventures - New York

A Stands for Amazing Travel Adventures – New York

This week I am sharing Amazing Travel Adventures New York style. Here in my Travel Destination Guide for New York find the best places to go and to see. Start planning your next vacation or getaway to New York State. Yes, New York City is an Amazing Travel Adventure but there is so much more to discover. Let’s explore. Waterfalls and Piers and Wine Country – New York 1. Niagara Falls State Park…

[scottparkillustration]

I was recently invited to participate in the Hero Complex Gallery's LANDMARKS NYC mini-show. And when I think of New York, I think of Ghostbusters. In my mind the two are permanently linked, and I think my love of NYC comes directly with my adolescent love of Ghostbusters. So enjoy my latest: Dogs and Cats Living Together. A tribute to the Ghostbusters, and the denizens of Hook and Ladder Company 8, located at 14 North Moore Street in Tribeca, Manhattan. 

[petri808]

Nalu Yakuza Au *cover art by @jmoart214 💜

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |

This chapter came out a little longer than usual. lemony teasing

Natsu’s secretary called her boss from the front office. “Mr. Dragneel, Mr. Avatar is here.”

“Thank you, Ms. Kinana. Send him in.”

Because no one in the organization was a computer whiz, he contracted with an independent IT person who was recommended by Yura. The guy, Jerome Avatar wasn’t skittish, didn’t care who he worked for as long as it paid well, and generally had a pleasant demeanor. As the accountant, Yura was in contact with Jerome the most, but for any major issues or changes, those had to be cleared with Natsu first. It was mostly quick, in and out of the office dealings.

Jerome shook Natsu’s hand over the desk before taking a seat.

��So,” Natsu questioned, “what brings you here today? Is there something I need to approve?”

“No, nothing new. I asked for this meeting because I came across some intelligence you might be interested in.”

“Oh?”

“I learned that your rival Heartfilia had been in contact with a new cyber security client, Mikage Kaishā who’s into a lot of shady dealings with government contacts.”

Natsu shrugged his shoulders. “Sounds like just a typical client for her, probably has her launder money for them. I don’t really pay attention to her clients because we deal with different things. But I do appreciate you telling me.”

“Should I keep an eye on them?”

“That’s fine if you believe it’s worth it. And if you learn about anything that could hurt us let me know immediately. By the way, how did you find out this information?”

“A friend in the field told me about it, then I hacked into Heartfilia’s computers to authenticate the information.”

Natsu sat forward in his chair. “You hacked into her computer? I’m surprised her employee didn’t catch that, cause I know she’s good at this stuff too.”

The man grinned. “Well, not as good as me.” He pointed to Natsu’s laptop. “If you’d like, I can set it up so you can access her system from your computer too.”

“Oh, I don’t want to tamper with her company—”

Jerome waved a hand nonchalantly to stop him. “I wouldn’t advise it either, if you touch things, that’s what’ll get attention, but you can watch what’s going on. Keep an eye on her calendar, meeting dates, whatever you want.”

Natsu sat back, rubbing his chin. The offer was a very tempting one indeed. A chance to stalk his ex through cyberspace… someone must have mentioned to this Jerome guy their history. It wasn’t exactly hidden, but not something talked about either amongst lower ranking employees. This wasn’t the first time Jerome had brought them intelligence info, so maybe he was looking to increase his usefulness, climb the ladder so to speak? Being connected to a powerful Yakuza house was certainly handy, and what better way than to tap into such a personal subject.

“That could be interesting,” Natsu finally responded. “Alright, what do you have to do to set it up? And make sure it’s nothing I could screw up accidentally cause I really don’t want her to find out.”

Jerome looked at his watch as if calculating his options. “I could do it now. Might take me about an hour if you can go without the laptop for that amount of time.”

“You have to take it back to your office or something?”

“No,” the man shook his head. “I can do it right here, so I can explain along the way.”

“Perfect.” Natsu then called his secretary and requested she double his lunch order due to an extended meeting.

While the computer tech fiddled, Natsu just sat back with his meal, watching him work. Math wasn’t his strong suit— nor academics for that matter. Growing up, his father had always told him he would be next in line as boss, so he only learned what he needed to for that world. One needed strength, cunning, street smarts, not book smarts. Though he had to admit the things these hackers could do was scary when you thought about it. Lucy was lucky in that her best friend was just a wiz at language— including computer languages. It all looked like gibberish, but the woman interpreted it almost like a savant. According to Jerome, from what he’d seen so far, Levy was not yet at his skill level, but that could easily change with time and experience like he’d been through.

“Natsu you—” Gray paused his knock on the doorframe. “Sorry, I thought the meeting would be done by now.”

“It’s fine, Jerome is hacking Lucy’s system for me right now.” Natsu responded with a grin. “Now I’ll see what she’s up to in real time.”

Gray groaned and ran a hand down his face in disgust. “I’m not even gonna respond to that. But I will tell you I told you so when it blows up in your face later.”

“Tch. She won’t know, right Jerome?”

“She shouldn’t unless you touch something.” The man answered while continuing to type.

“See. It’ll be fine.”

“You’re an idiot. Anyway,” Gray waved a hand nonchalantly as he left, “call me when your free to go over the new orders.”

“It will be fine, right?” Natsu asked Jerome a second time with a bit of anxiety in his tone.

Jerome stopped typing. “As long as you just observe they shouldn’t see you, just don’t get excited and touch something.”

“I don’t plan to; not like I’ll know how to do that anyways.”

“I’m almost finished, but do you want me to turn on her web camera so you can see through it?”

“But she won’t see me?”

“No, for you it’ll just be like watching a one-way video feed with image and audio.”

After a momentary pause, Natsu’s eyes narrowed with a mischievous grin. “Do it.”

Being able to see Lucy every day and feed his addiction was just too tempting, ‘I’m turning into a junky.’ But Gray’s words entered his mind. What if the man was right, could this bite him in the ass later? Probably… Though how bad could it really be? He really had no plans to interfere with Lucy’s business, just her personal life— and yes, he knew it sounded horrible. What right did he have to stalk his ex? None. ‘I just worry about her, is that so wrong?’ Lucy’s tough, but she’s just a woman and their world didn’t always treat women fairly. His desire to protect her bordered neuroticism, but could anyone blame him considering the underworld they worked in. ‘I’m just doing it to protect her,’ Natsu justified it to himself. Guys like Gray who haven’t fallen in love yet, ‘they just don’t understand.’ If anything were to happen to Lucy, he didn’t know what he would do. Probably move Heaven and earth and kill any in his way for what they’d done.

It took just over an hour before Jerome finished installing the spyware and making sure the systems were still secured. Just a one-way mirror that Levy shouldn’t catch unless really digging for it. Another 20 minutes were spent explaining to Natsu how to do the accessing part, including pulling up the webcam whenever he wanted to. “Or just leave it running,” Jerome noted. “It’ll just show up in this window,” he pointed towards the screen, “and as long as you don’t log out completely from your computer it’ll stay open.”

“Who turns off their computers?”

“Actually, it’s a good idea to turn them off now and then so any software updates can be completed, but since I manage your systems, there’s not really a need to.”

“Great.” The two men stood up and shook hands. “Thanks, Jerome.”

“It was my pleasure.”

When Natsu arrived each day at headquarters, the first thing and last thing he did was check to see if there was anything new or interesting going on Lucy’s side. It was like being hooked on one of their products, because the high it gave sucked him right in. But so far, he also stayed away from the video feed. Looking through her calendar or emails were cold and impersonal, but maybe the video was too close, too real, too much of a moral dilemma in crossing that line of a peeping Tom. That didn’t mean his addiction may one day require more feeding…

October had rolled around, and the air outside grew crisp and cold. It was a beautiful time of the year with the color changing leaves, reminding that winter was soon upon them. How quickly the time sure flew. The Dragneel Yakuza clan had already started preparing for their end of year Bonenkai to happen in mid-December. This plus the Shinnenkai in January were the two biggest parties the clan threw for all their members. The first is to forget the stresses of the past year, while the other was to welcome a successful new year. Natsu spared no expense on the food and drinks to take care of the loyalty and hard work their members contributed. From the emails, he knew that Lucy’s group had also started preparing for theirs. ‘Maybe I’ll crash her party,’ he mused to himself. ‘Oh, what’s this?’ His eyes fell on a new email of an appointment reminder for the next day. It was for Lucy’s monthly massage at an upscale spa. Natsu checked his own calendar and noticed he had nothing booked, no meetings, no shipments arriving— a perfect opportunity.

The next day, Natsu went to the spa early and spoke directly to the owner, paying them a nice chunk of change to allow him access and to play along. Lucy was scheduled for 2pm and arrived right on time. So, as he waited behind the scenes, the receptionist acted like normal and directed her inside. She had a regular masseuse, something Natsu knew he couldn’t fake upfront, so that person stood inside the room to greet her.

“Welcome, Ms. Heartfilia. I’ll step out while you get ready. Please lie on your stomach like normal.”

“Thank you, Kenji,” Lucy smiled. She’d been coming here for a couple years and was aware of the routine. The male masseuse had strong, but gentle hands and knew her body well by now.

Natsu had to admit he wasn’t happy to find out Lucy’s regular masseuse was a guy but held back from lashing out. He didn’t want to do anything to mess up this adventure— and oh, he planned to have his own revenge. It wouldn’t be as sexual as the soapland incident but knowing many of her trigger points meant he could do a bit of damage well enough. Now, Natsu had noted that Kenji’s voice was a bit deeper than his own, which would be difficult to fake, but the man explained he didn’t do much talking while working and played relaxing music during the session. Perfect. Natsu could just hit play and not talk at all.

“Ready, Ms. Heartfilia?” Kenji called out through the closed door.

The muffled yes was heard, and the man stepped away, leaving Natsu to his business. He entered the room and immediately turned on the pre-set music, a light instrumental with Asian undertones. It was quite pleasing to listen to. And there Lucy was under a silk sheet to cover her naked body, with her arms up and crossed, head perched on the relaxed hands, and hair up in a loose bun, revealing her beautiful neck. Natsu almost shuddered at the sight and knowledge he would get to touch her skin… it was the one thing she didn’t allow him to do at Soapland— touch. His grin grew as he rubbed his hands together to warm them before making the first move.

He moved the sheet to uncover Lucy’s lower half, up to the thighs, then applied a film of scented massage oils to his hands with a few drops over the taut muscles along her long legs, chasing the dripping liquid along her skin to smooth them over. His hands glide through several passes to the swell of her ass, then back down again all the way to the ankles, fingers applying pressure against the tendons and ligaments to gently work out any tension it encountered. Lucy sighed wispily as his hands massaged each foot, squeezing, smoothing, paying attention to each digit and every curve. His thumbs applied pressure at the arches, kneading the tight knots there from wearing heels all day long. He stayed focused on the area, her toes curling and flexing as the mewls leaching from her show their pleasure, until Natsu felt the knots give and relax away.

“Mmm, you’re getting good at that Kenji,” Lucy purred with a little huskiness in her tone.

Natsu grinned to himself as he lowered the sheet back down, so she stayed warm and moved onto her supple ass. Using both hands, he took his time to knead each cheek through the silken fabric, using his fingers to follow the gluteus muscles, starting near the leg, and following the swell of her curve upwards, slowly riding the fibers looking for any knots or tense areas. One cheek, then the other paying loving attention to and listening to the sounds Lucy made to clue him in on where to go. Every sigh a notch in his belt, each mewling purr a win. Natsu grew bolder, fanning out his thumb each time it got closer to her thighs to touch…

“Oh, Kenji,” Lucy whined, “you’re being a naughty boy today— keep it up.”

‘What?!’ Natsu’s hands paused and tensed for a split second before catching himself. Does Kenji mess with her too?! He shook his head and finished up in the area quickly trying not to let such thoughts stop him. ‘Just focus…’ Natsu grumbled in his head.

After applying more oil to his hands, he moved the sheet down to reveal Lucy’s back and for a second time, Natsu paused on what it contained. Her tattoo… It symbolized… he took a deep breath and dropped more oil on to the skin, willing away the memories breaching his mind. He didn’t want to think about it, not now. It was too painful.

“You okay, Kenji?” Lucy questioned as if noticing the slight pause or tremble in the man’s hands.

Natsu mumbled a soft Mmhmm and dived into the massage so Lucy wouldn’t grow more concerned, missing the uptick in the corners of her lips. He slowly smoothed along the skin using the base of his palms for pressure, each hand following the muscles, moving out from the waist, up the center of her back, and flaring out towards the sides just below the shoulder blades, repeating the same movement, each time increasing the speed while lessening the pressure. Next, he targeted the upper back and shoulder blades, an area he knew Lucy held a lot of tension from carrying the weight of her voluptuous bosoms. With precise ministrations, Natsu applied careful pressure with his thumbs and follows the curve of the blades up and around to the top of the shoulder. He then searched with the pads of his fingers for any knots along her trap muscles, moving up along the spine and fanning out to the top of her shoulders.

“Oh, yeah, right there,” Lucy mewled when he reached a specific spot.

The area around her spine, between the shoulder blades held the most tension and knots from constantly holding the upright, flexed posture that wearing heels will create. Her wispy sighs signaled the release of her tense muscles, bringing another wave of pride swelling in him. Natsu continued onto her neck, his strong hands kneaded the supple flesh, fingers palpating and soothing all the knots. Her neck too, held a few tense areas, especially around the base of the head, so he did his best to melt them away. He worked through Lucy’s mewls and moaning sighs, almost sexual in nature, aroused and a little heated in the face knowing his handiwork brought forth such sounds. Ugh, how he wanted to hear more of it! Lucy putty in his hands and spread between his thighs, calling out his name…

“You’ve gotten better at this… Natsu,” the cocky teasing tone, snapped him out of his dream.

“Natsu?” He tried failingly to disguise his voice. “I’m Kenji, Ms. Heartfilia.”

“Uh-huh. You think I can’t tell the difference Natsu?” Lucy quipped back with a chuckle. “Kenji’s routine is very different. Plus, I knew the moment I smelled your cologne.”

Busted.

“Tch. Well, if you knew it was me all along, why’d you let me do this?”

“Making you work is my payback.” She settled back down, relaxed on her arms. “Now, chop, chop, finish the job.”

This little minx! He was the one supposed to be torturing her this time, not the other way around! “Fine, kitten.” Natsu gritted out a smile and took hold of her neck again to placate and lull Lucy back into thinking he would go along. He massaged the sides with the tips of his fingers Both hands wrapped around, and his thumbs pushing up through her hair against the muscles on the back of her head.

“If only you’d taken care of me like this before,” Lucy mumbled.

Natsu paused and leaned over her ear. “Why not let me take care of you now?”

“You know the answer to that.”

“No, I don’t know the answer, that’s part of the problem!”

Lucy sighed. “Natsu, I don’t want to fight right now. I’m here to relax, not fight. If you’re done, then leave and send Kenji back in.”

“Oh, yeah. Why? Because he’s another one of your boy toys? He gonna be naughty again with you once I leave?!”

“Pfft, I said that knowing it was you, idiot.”

“I think you live to torture me, Angel. But you’re right. I don’t wanna fight right now either, so—” Natsu leaned down quick and latched his mouth onto the area between her shoulder blades, sucking hard.

Lucy squealed and reached back frantically trying to claw at his face, but he grabbed her hands, knowing if she struggled any harder, she risked completely exposing herself. He held her for a few seconds, and once satisfied he’d achieved his goal, let go.

“Natsu! Did you put a hickey on me?!”

“This Angel,” he trailed his fingers over Lucy’s tattoo as he spoke, “belongs to me. Will always be mine,” he whispered close to her ear. “You know it, I know it, and your boy toys will know it too.”

“I hate you.”

“Nah,” Natsu stood up and covered her back up with the sheet. “You hate that you don’t hate me. It’s okay. I still love you too. See ya around kitten.”

Natsu heard the woman’s sigh as the door closed behind him and smiled to himself. He knew she didn’t actually hate him, their relationship was just complicated at the moment, never love the actual problem between them… Though, it had been a dick move to give her a hickey, but that’s what Lucy gets for leading him on like that. She could’ve just stopped the massage immediately if she knew it was him all along, so to let him go through the entire process, it was tit for tat— and hey, at least it’s only temporary.

‘It’s your move next kitten…’

[thebookreader12345]

Stories

Pairing: Blake Gallo x reader

Summary: Being the youngest member at the firehouse, Y/N wants someone her own age to fill the open spot on truck, and when she meets Blake Gallo, she instantly knows that he’s the one

Requested: No

Warnings: mentions of death by fire

Word Count: 1,408 Words

Note: Pulls from the events of Chicago Fire, Season 8 Episode 2, A Real Shot in the Arm

“Casey! Hey,” I greet. “I was just wondering how the search for the new firefighter for truck was going.”

“I haven’t found the right person yet if that’s what you’re asking,” Matt said.

“That’s great. Well, not great because we really need a new member and all but- okay the reason I asked is because I was hoping you would consider getting someone around my age,” I tell him.

Matt laughed and shook his head. “Now why would I do that?”

“Because, no offense Captain, a lot of the people in this house are way older than me, and while I appreciate everything you and the rest of Firehouse 51 have taught me, it would be nice to have someone I can really connect with. All I ask is that you consider it,” I exclaim. Just then, the alarm blared throughout the firehouse, and someone came over the speaker.

“Truck 81, Ambulance 61, person trapped, 9724 North Dayton.” Matt and I sprung into action immediately, running from our spot in the sleeping corridor to the apparatus floor where we put on our gear. After that, we climbed into the truck along with everyone else and sped off towards the scene. At the address, we found a guy tangled up in some rope hanging from a building. There was another truck company there, but apparently, their ladder wasn’t long enough to reach him. As I was standing around waiting for orders, a younger firefighter whose coat read Gallo ran over to me.

“Can you give me a hand?” Gallo asked.

“Uh, sure,” I respond. Gallo lead me over to a ladder, and we both picked it up, bringing it over to the side of the building. He then started climbing the ladder to get up to the balcony, and when he was at the top, he turned around and gave me a smile. 

“You coming?” 

I returned the smile and stepped onto the first step of the ladder. “Definitely.” It came to me soon after about what Gallo was trying to do. He was going to scale the balconies so that we could get up to where the man was quicker than the ladder on the truck. I grabbed onto the balcony above me and pulled myself up, then attempted to grab the rail at the top, but I missed, and my hand fell away from the metal. I let out a small shriek as I hung one handed from the balcony. If I let go, I would fall to my death. And I couldn’t reach the top railing any more since I was hanging down. That’s when Gallo appeared above me and offered me his hand. I reached up as high as I could and grasped it, resulting in him pulling me up and over the balcony. Gallo instinctively pulled me to his chest, and when my feet touched solid ground, I let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you,” I breathe out.

“No problem. You okay to keep going?” Gallo questioned.

“Yeah. I’m good. Lets go,” I murmur. Gallo and I scaled the rest of the balconies fairly quick, and just as we got to the one at the same height as the man, Matt and Kelly started climbing up the ladder. There was a balcony separating Gallo and I from the man, meaning we had to jump across. I climbed onto the ledge and grabbed the pole connecting the next balcony to the wall before leaping over the gap. Gallo followed my lead, and now we were both right by the man hanging from the roof. Gallo jumped into action and slid himself between the poles connecting our balcony to the wall, and then wrapped his legs around the man to keep him in place. I came up from behind and hooked my arms under Gallo’s armpits to keep him steady, and to make sure he didn’t fall. Seconds later, Matt and Kelly appeared on the ladder and helped get the man down. As soon as we all got to the ground, I pulled Matt aside. “Look, I know I don’t have any say in picking the new firefighter, but I think you should consider him,” I say and gesture to Gallo. “He saved my life, so he’s already earned my trust. And yeah, he may be daring, but inside, all of us are. I think he’d be a great addition to Firehouse 51.”

.......................................

“Everyone, I’d like you to meet our new candidate, Blake Gallo,” Matt spoke and gestured to Gallo, who was at his side.

“Well, if it isn’t my knight in shining PPE,” I announce. “It’s nice to finally get to officially meet you, Blake. I’m Y/N. Y/N L/N.” Blake shook my outstretched hand, and as soon as our skin touched, I felt butterflies in my stomach.

“Y/N was our previous candidate, so she is going to be keeping an eye on you. Y/N, I want him on a short leash,” Matt ordered.

“You got it, Captain. Come on, Blake. Let me give you the tour. Oh. And welcome to Firehouse 51,” I add and give him a small smile. That night, after our first shift, I invited Blake over to Molly’s to get better acquainted with him. We were sitting at a table with two beers in front of us, and Blake was telling some funny story about his last firehouse. I laughed and took a sip of beer, enjoying the liquid’s taste as it went down my throat. For awhile, we just talked, and I felt so comfortable around him already even though we just met a few days ago. “So,” I say and take another swig of beer. “What’s your story, Blake?”

“My story?” Blake questioned.

“Yeah. Your story. Every person has one, and they’re all different. Our stories are what make us unique.” Blake still seemed confused by what I had said. “The reason you became a firefighter,” I clarify. Gallo hesitated, and I could tell that he had a big story, but by the looks of it, it definitely wasn’t a happy one. “You don’t have to tell me if you’re not comfortable. We just met. I don’t want to push you.”

“No. It’s uh, it’s fine. When I was 12, there was a fire at my house. I hid in the closest when the smoke started making it’s way into my bedroom. When I was finally rescued by firefighters, I found out that the rest of my family was dead. I lost my mom, dad and little sister that night,” Blake confessed.

“I’m sorry to hear that. I also want you to know that you’re not the only one,” I tell him.

“You mean.....” Blake trailed off.

I nodded. “I was 16. My older brother, he was 18. It was the summer right before he was going to start college, so my parents wanted to have a nice family vacation to send him off. We rented a log cabin in Wisconsin right on the lake, and we were going to spend the week there. The last day of the vacation, my brother and I went into town to see if we could find any neat souvenirs, and when we got back, the cabin had been burned down. There were firefighters everywhere, along with two body bags. My parents, they didn’t make it. It happened awhile ago, but the pain never really goes away.”

“Yeah. I know the feeling,” Blake agreed and downed the rest of his beer. “Listen, I know we just met and all, but uh, I um.....” It seemed that Blake couldn’t find the right words to say. Finally, he took a deep breath, and looked up at me. “Would you maybe want to go on a date sometime?”

“You do know that there aren’t supposed to be in-house romances, right?” I ask, a playful tone hidden in my voice.

“But I thought Severide and Kidd were-” Blake cut himself off when he saw me trying to hide my smile. “There’s no rule, is there?”

“Oh, there is,” I admit. “But so many people have broken it that Boden doesn’t care anymore. And I would love to go on a date with you, Blake Gallo. How does after next shift sound?”

“That sounds great,” Blake replied. “I will text you with the details when I have them.”

“I can’t wait. I’m really excited to see where this goes,” I disclose.

Blake smiled. “Yeah. Me too.”

____________________

Tag List:

@prettypyschoinpink @securityfriendly-jay @scarletsoldierrr @lorenakaspersen @virtualreader @carnationworld @caitsymichelle13​ @anotherfan07​

[kaoticspoonie]

Also the line that was down was the cable wire.

We called the power company that hired the tree company and they said they couldn't fix it. Got an appt with the cable compan (somewhere between 8 am and 9 pm maybe). Got a phone call back from the tree company (we called them first) and they sent someone out. He was like yea not my job and we were like uh can you do it anyway? And he did!

I thanked him and then awkwardly tipped him in all ones (we only use cash at farmers market so we both only really have ones).

It really wasn't a huge thing, the wire has a hook that they knocked lose when they knocked a branch down. It probably would have taken them a few minutes to fix since they already had ladders out. But instead we had to call a bunch of ppl.

[omgjasminesimone]

Disaster Holiday Prompts

1. Huge fight erupts at holiday dinner.

2. Gets into a physical fight with the jerk who stole their parking spot at the very crowded mall.

3. Forgot to get their significant other a present.

4. Got their significant other a gift card when their partner went all out with something thoughtful and sentimental.

5. Knocks over the Christmas tree.

6. Gets way too drunk at dinner with their significant other’s family/friends.

7. Credit card declined while buying presents.

8. Misses their flight back home for the holidays.

9. The puppy that was supposed to be a surprise present has run away.

10. Ruins the food for the big holiday feast.

11. Gets caught hooking up at company holiday party by boss.

12. Forgot about secret Santa exchange happening at work today, forcing them to gift something from their desk.

13. Lost their wedding/engagement ring somewhere in the dozens of presents they just spent hours meticulously wrapping.

14. Photos with Santa go terribly wrong.

15. Costco run just before Christmas goes terribly wrong.

16. Ladder falls while they’re up on the roof putting up lights.

17. Starts a fire while attempting to get cozy in front of the fireplace.

18. Small child who still believes in Santa catches them putting the presents under the tree.

19. Not being able to hide their disappointment when they get socks for the first day of Hanukkah.

20. Attempting to celebrate Kwanzaa despite not knowing any of the traditions.

21. Agreeing to go to a party during Ramadan and having to avoid the temptation of all the tasty food.

22. Attending holiday religious services with their partner for the first time, not knowing the services go on, and on, and on....

23. Getting into a huge fight on Christmas Eve and then having to pretend to be a happy couple Christmas Day in front of family/friends.

24. Being terrible at gift giving.

25. Proposing on Christmas Day in front of their entire family and being turned down.

[tacticalcinnamonroll]

This makes me snort-laugh every single time I see it! But it also reminds me that, in an Afterlife deleted scene, Egon's ashes are in a box with the Hook & Ladder Company 8 insignia on the lid. This suggests they were fully in on treating him as one of their own, fallen comrades. And, here, we see a firefighter talking about the First Responder Food Pyramid, which seems to closely mirror what we see of Egon's own. So, I kinda feel like they could really relate to him. (The Ecto-1 being a modified boo-boo bus can ONLY HELP.)

[rabbitcruiser]

Ghostbusters was released in the United States on June 8, 1984.  

[ftslianne-blog]

            (  KIM  DOYEON  ,  CIS  FEMALE  ,  SHE/HER  )  did  you  just  see  LIANNE  RYU  pull  up  on  campus  for  the  new  semester  ?  they’re  the  TWENTY  ONE  year  old  in  DELTA  ZETA  ALPHA  right  ?  i  heard  they’re  a  TREASURER  .  it  makes  perfect  sense  because  they’re  RANCOROUS  ,  but  at  the  same  time  BEGUILING  .  i  wonder  when  the  black  sheep  is  going  to  drop  the  big  secret  that  they  PAID  OF  THE  PEOPLE  SHE  USED  TO  BULLY  TO  KEEP  HER  REPUTATION  INTACT  .  anyway  ,  i  constantly  hear  them  blasting  SPICE  GIRL  BY  AMINÉ  ,  tell  them  to  keep  it  down  ,  it’s  quiet  hours  .

            whew  ,  miss  doyeon  could  step  on  my  neck  !  hello  angels  and  gems  ,  i’m  koa  and  i’m  super  excited  to  be  here  .  i  love  a  good  greek  life  rp  ,  so  i  was  happy  to  come  across  this  in  the  tags  !  i’m  not  gonna  lie  ,  lianne  is  a  pretty  brand  new  muse  but  kind  of  a  mosh  of  characters  that  i’ve  played  in  the  past  ,  so  let’s  cross  our  fingers  that  all  goes  well  .  my  discord  can  be  shared  dependent  on  request  as  sometimes  it  doesn’t  want  to  let  people  add  me  ,  but  if  you’re  down  to  plot  in  the  dm’s  i’m  fine  with  that  too  .  i  have  a  link  to  some  connections  that  can  be  found  here  ,  and  at  the  bottom  of  this  intro  you  can  find  some  more  !  without  further  ado  ,  here  is  miss  lianne  ryu  !

BIRTH  NAME  :  ryu  do - hee  .  PREFERRED  NAME  : lianne  ryu  .   NICKNAME(S)  :  lia  ,  exclusively  . BIRTHDATE  /  AGE  : january  17th  ,  1999  /  21  . ZODIAC  :  capricorn  .   HOMETOWN  :  sherman  oaks  ,  california  (  take  a  peek  )  . GENDER  : cis  female  . NATIONALITY  : korean  -  american  . ETHNICITY  : korean  . HEIGHT  : five  foot  ,  eight  inches  (  5′8″  )  . LABEL(S)  : the  sovereign  ,  the  million  dollar  baby  ,  and  the  amaranth  . ROMANTIC  ORIENTATION  : biromantic  . SEXUAL  ORIENTATION  : bisexual  . OCCUPATION  : international  relations  major  at  ucla  ,  treasurer  of  delta  zeta  alpha  ,  and  outsider  hitter  for  the  women’s  volleyball  team  . LANGUAGES  SPOKEN  : english  ,  korean  ,  and  conversational  french  (  as  a  major  requirement  )  . POSITIVES  :  beguiling  ,  candid  ,  ebullient  ,  intelligent  ,  and  cosmopolitan  . NEGATIVES  :  rancorous  ,  haughty  ,  bull - headed  ,  unscrupulous  ,  and  sanctimonious  .

background  .

            bang  ji - eun  and  ryu  tae - ho  were  students  at  the  university  of  southern  california  when  they  met  one  another  .  tae - ho  was  a  human  rights  student  with  intent  on  becoming  a  lawyer  ,  and  he  encountered  the  beautiful  romance  language  and  literature  major  that  was  ji - eun  when  they  both  attended  a  peaceful  protest  .  the  two  wound  up  next  to  one  another  and  sparked  a  conversation  from  there  ,  and  once  their  protesting  was  over  ,  they  decided  to  go  on  a  date  that  very  same  night  .  their  relationship  was  something  of  a  whirlwind  ,  and  within  a  year  ,  the  two  were  eloping  at  the  courthouse  .  

            their  families thought  they  were  crazy  ,  especially  since  their  rings  consisted  of  little  cheap  ones  from  macy’s  (  and  tae - ho  proposed  with  her  favorite  food  )  but  it  was  that  shared  weirdness  that  kept  the  couple  together  .  as  tae - ho  worked  his  way  through  law  school  following  their  graduation  from  usc  ,  ji - eun  jumped  right  into  working  for  a  publishing  firm  .  the  couple  didn’t  come  from  a  wealthy  background  by  any  means  ,  but  they  were  living  comfortably  .  after  a  couple  of  years  of  marriage  ,  tae - ho  graduated  from  law  school  and  went  to  work  as  a  defense  attorney  .  it  wasn’t  an  easy  job  ,  but  he  loved  what  he  did  and  made  that  evident  in  the  work  that  he  did  .

            fast  forward  a  few  more  years  ,  and  ji - eun  has  moved  up  in  her  company  as  has  tae - ho  .  they’re  making  more  money  ,  and  they  make  their  move  to  the  beautiful  suburbs  of  sherman  oaks  .  they  work  hard  for  more  years  ,  and  just  as  they  enter   into  their  mid - thirties  ,  they’re  welcoming  their  first  and  only  baby  girl  into  the  world  .  they  decide  to  name  the  big  brown  eyed  baby  do - hee  ,  and  she’s  showered  in  their  love  .  her  parents  began  calling  her  lianne  from  the  time  she  was  a  baby  ,  often  switching  between  korean  (  where  they  called  her  do - hee  )  and  english  (  where  they  called  her  lianne  ,  but  sometimes  the  lines  blurred  )  .  as  lianne  grew  older  ,  her  parents  made  even  more  money  with  her  mom  becoming  the  editor - in - chief  of  the  publishing  house  and  her  father  becoming  one  of  the  most  sought  after  defense  attorneys in  the  los  angeles  area  .  

            for  lianne  ,  that  meant  growing  up  with  whatever  she  wanted  .  however  ,  her  parents  were  still  quite  hands - on  with  her  ,  so  she  was  never  left  in  the  care  of  nannies  .  she  grew  up  doing  everything  she  could  imagine  ,  but  that  didn’t  stop  her  parents  from  putting  her  in  different  week  long  camps  over  the  summers  .  she  tried  her  hand  at  tennis  camp  ,  basketball  camp  ,  ballet  camp  ,  and  even  a  stem  camp  ,  but  when  she  was  in  middle  school  she  attended  a  volleyball camp  right  before  her  seventh  grade  year  .  she’s  been  hooked  ever  since  .  lianne  always  made  sure  to  keep  up  her  grades  while  playing  because  she  never  wanted  to  miss  a  game  ,  so  it  was  no  surprise  when  she  obtained  a  partial  athletic  scholarship  to  ucla  !

            during  her  high  school  years  ,  though  ,  it  was  no  secret  that  lianne  was  at  the  top  of  the  social  ladder  .  she  played  a  sport  ,  was  whip  smart  ,  and  was  student  body  president  so  it  wasn’t  all  that  shocking  for  her  to  be  mean  to  the  students  around  her  .  it  wasn’t  necessarily  on  purpose  ,  but  she  can  be  quite  domineering  at  times  .  she  didn’t  know  how  to  take  no  for  an  answer  despite  not  being  ridiculously  spoiled  as  she  grew  up  ,  but  she  was  also  in  the  mentality  of  being  an  only  child  so  she  ultimately  did  get  what  she  wanted  .  she  definitely  wasn’t  the  bully  that  got  onto  people  about  their  lack  of  money  ,  but  she  was  definitely  going  to  get  in  your  face  about  voting  for  her  for  something  she  was  running  for  until  you  stuffed  the  ballot  with  her  name  .

            lianne  is  an  international  relations  major  at  ucla  and  she  joined  delta  zeta  alpha  during  her  sophomore  year  ,  and  worked  her  way  to  becoming  the  treasurer  of  the  srat  .  she’s  super  into  her  major  and  will  probably  go  off  to  work  in  politics  as  a  political  analyst  ,  or  she  might  pull  a  meghan  markle  (  also  an  international  relations  major  )  and  dismantle  a  royal  house  .  you  know  ,  icons  only  .  that  being  said  ,  she’s  still  relatively  new  so  i’m  still  working  out  some  kinks  ,  but  that’s  the  gist  of  my  daughter  !

headcanons  .

she  cruises  around  los  angeles  in  a  white  volvo  xc60  .  we  love  a  practical  queen  .

she’s  been  playing  volleyball  since  she  was  in  middle  school  ,  and  has  stuck  with  it  ever  since  .  she  does  club  during  the  summers  to  remain  in  shape  ,  but  she’s  sad  that  it’s  coming  to  an  end  .  

some  people  don’t  think  she’s  an  international  relations  major  because  she  wants  to  be  ,  but  she  does !  

that  being  said  ,  she  doesn’t  dress  as  conservatively  as  most  business  majors  but  she’s  very  serious  about  her  major  .

she’s  100%  based  on  red  head  doyeon  at  this  current  moment  but  black  haired  doyeon  is  gonna  make  an  appearance  once  i  get  tired  of  it  lmao  .  

a  tennis  skirt  enthusiast  .

she  uses  way  too  many  emojis  in  her  texts  and  that’s  never  going  to  change  .

she’s  most  comfortable  in  her  own  space  ,  but  she  likes  being  around  other  people  as  well  .  her  favorite  thing  to  get  food  from  is  leo’s  taco  truck  and  that’s  probably  never  going  to  change  .

personality  .

overall  ,  lia  is  a  girl  who  knows  her  worth  and  isn’t  going  to  let  you  forget  it  .  she’s  really  smart  ,  but  not  in  an  annoying  way  ,  and  she  definitely  won’t  dumb  herself  down  for  anyone  .  she  likes  to  have  fun  and  when  she’s  out  for  the  night  she  definitely  won’t  be  thinking  about  school  ,  but  if  she’s  studying  ...  don’t  even  ASK  her  to  go  out  .  you  gotta  have  a  solid  work  /  life  balance  ,  y’know  ?  very  headstrong  and  it  takes  a  lot  to  admit  that  she’s  wrong  ,  but  she’s  also  the  worst  person  to  cross  ,  so  be  careful  !  she’s  fun - loving  and  she  isn’t  an  outright  bitch  for  no  reason  ,  but  she’s  not  gonna  take  that  and  just  sit  back  with  it  .  she  barks  back  .

desired  relationships  .

            as  for  some  connections  ,  i’d  genuinely  love  just  about  everything  !  i’ve  listed  some  specifics  down  below  ,  but  if  you’d  rather  work  based  on  chemistry  or  if  you  want  to  simply  brainstorm  we  can  do  that  !  also  ,  if  you  had  anything  that  you  wanted  to  do  ,  please  let  me  know  !

a  best  friend  !  they  don’t  necessarily  have  to  be  from  delta  ,  but  honestly  someone  who  she  gets  along  with  the  best  and  who  she  can  really  be  herself  around  .

i’d  die  for  an  enemy  /  rival  ?  someone  who  she  genuinely  does  not  vibe  with  or  like  at  all  ,  and  there’s  really  no  way  of  them  ever  becoming  friends  .  they  probably  subtweet  each  other  or  be  really  shady  on  instagram  ,  but  they  feed  into  their  dislike  for  one  another  and  probs  let  their  friends  hype  them  up  sometimes  ?  i  don’t  want  to  godmod  the  plot  ,  but  it  could  it  could  be  fun  !

some  generic  things  like  friends  with  benefits  ,  gym  buddies  ,  high  school  friends  ,  confidant(s)  ,  good  or  bad  influence  ,  one  night  stand(s)  ,  ex(es)  ,  enemies  with  benefits  ,  and  frenemies  .

ooo  ,  a  squad  from  high  school  !  maybe  they’ve  since  drifted  a  part  or  they’re  still  as  close  as  ever  ,  but  omg  reliving  high  school  memories  🥺  .

alright  i  am  a  lover  of  any  and  everything  written  in  angst  ,  so  please  give  me  an  angsty  exes  thing  so  i  can  hand  you  my  heart  on  a  silver  platter  !  

a  slow  burn  /  will  they  ,  won’t  they  would  be  so  much  fun  too   ESPECIALLY  if  there  are  extenuating  factors  on  why  they  can’t  be  together  and  ugh  .  please  rip  my  heart  out  i’m  actually  begging  you  to  .

[baltimorelocksmith9-blog]

Baltimore locksmith

One of the more unique fire fighting forces in Maryland is that of Baltimore County. Its combination service contains several volunteer fire companies in concert with the all paid Baltimore County Fire Department Maryland's oldest municipal county fire agency. This revered and unique cooperative force protects a big suburban county surrounding Baltimore City.

At the center 1800s the county area surrounding Baltimore locksmith becomes known as "The Belt" home to various mills and industrial complexes. Through the 1870s, mills and adjacent company villages increasingly fall victim to fire. The closest firefighting resources will be the steam-powered fire companies from the by then mostly paid Baltimore City Fire Department. In 1878, the Waverly Fire Department organizes as the very first in the county. The Towsontown Fire Company forms soon after, in the county seat known today simply as Towson. Local residents fund the county investing in the fire houses and apparatus. While much better than nothing that is inadequate for protecting the developing industrial areas surrounding Baltimore.

By 1881, city budget tightening brings a request that the county pay an at the start fee for fire protection. Negotiations for a smaller amount are fruitless the town to fight fire in the county no more. With only two volunteer fire companies, County Commissioners contract with Charles T. Holloway. A past Chief Engineer and Fire Inspector of the Baltimore City Department, Holloway also began the city's Insurance Fire Patrol. He also designs and builds chemical fire engines and hook and ladders and recently helped form the Pittsburgh Fire Department. Holloway agrees to help create a county fire department over which he'll serve as Chief Engineer for six months.

In July 1881, the Waverly Fire Department disbands directed to turn their station and apparatus over to the new county fire department. On September 1, the Baltimore County Fire Department begins with seven horse-drawn chemical engine companies all but one built by Holloway. They're housed in as much fire stations in "The Belt" each including the Waverly Station with paid firefighters. The more distant Towsontown company remains volunteer with just a hook and ladder. Property of the Towsontown Fire Company transfers in 1883 to the County Baltimore locksmith although it remains reliant on volunteers. On January 8, 1884, Chief Engineer Holloway resigns, his six-month tenure having lasted several years.

By the very first 1 / 2 of 1888, the County Fire Department has nine stations each with a chemical engine plus four hook and ladders. The county owned Towsontown Station still utilizes volunteers with an identical operation developing in Catonsville. On June 1, Baltimore City annexes the northern 2-miles and western 1-mile of "The Belt ".Seven county fire stations are lost adding apparatus, firefighters, horses and equipment to the Baltimore City Fire Department. The county department is left with fire houses in Highlandtown and Canton each with chemical engines plus two hook and ladders one in Canton one other at volunteer operated Towsontown.

In subsequent months the department rebuilds. In 1890, the new Catonsville Station opens beneath the county department the volunteers at Towson replaced soon after by paid personnel as well. More county stations follow by 1892. In 1894, the county department begins adding steam-powered pumping engines. About the turn of the century, various volunteer companies form often funded in part by the county bringing suggestions by 1901 the paid county department with its 10 stations be abolished. One volunteer group the Sparrows Point Volunteer Fire Department has seven companies in as much fire houses protecting the expanding Maryland Steel Company complex and shipyard in the southeast county.

[simdoughnut]

Hook & Ladder Company 8

This city block in the Spice District is home to a Book Shop, Pub, and Neighborhood Pizza joint. Oh yeah, there is also an old Firehouse on the corner that some oddballs who call themselves "Paranormal Investigators" now call home. Those guys seem a bit “dodgy” if you ask me.  I’m not exactly sure what's going on at the Book Shop right now, but it seems to have caught the attention of the local TV News crew, and those oddballs from the old Firehouse are there as well. It might be worth checking out.

This month the lovely Cimbthabestb247 is hosting a NYC build challenge, and this build was my entry.  The goal was to recreate something from one of the Five Boroughs of NYC in the Sim 4.  I went a tiny bit “rogue” and recreated the iconic Hook & Ladder Company 8 Firehouse that was featured in that  popular ghost something or other movie from the 80′s.  I mean it’s in NYC right?  

I had a lot of fun working on this build challenge, and trying to get it to look ‘just right” required a lot of time and effort.. This build features a full Firehouse residence for your ghost busting Sims, as well as a haunted book shop (with apartment), a bar, a pizza joint, and several empty apartments you can decorate to your hearts content. You can find the Hook & Ladder Company 8 build in my SimDoughnut gallery (userid: simdoughnut). This NoCC  residential build sits on the 30x30 lot in the Spice District of San Myshuno. I hope you have as much fun telling “Ghost Busting” stories in your game with this build as I did creating it.

Have Fun :)! 

[smkkbert]

Mothers know best

Summary: Since they have been kids, they have been best friends. Since they have been friends, their mothers wanted them to be together. After coming back from the east coast, Felicity takes over a position at Queen Consolidated, the company her best friend will soon take over from his father. Their mothers still push for them to be together, and they seem closer to that goal than ever because wedding bells are ringing. The only problem is that they both plan to get married to someone else.

Rating: Explicit

Previous chapters: 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  

Chapter 9 of 22: Eudaimonia

= The deepest kind of fulfillment that is often comprising a flourishing work and love life (Ancient Greek)

“Keep your head in the game, Oliver.”

Oliver sucked in a deep breath and gritted his teeth. He knew that John was right. He had to keep his head in the game, so he did his best to focus on the punching bag his friend was holding for him. He tensed his muscles and used as much force as possible to hit it, one punch harder than the next.

Harder. Harder. Harder.

He repeated those words in his mind again and again like that alone would help him to focus back on the training. Although he really tried to make himself believe that, he doubted that it would make much of a difference. Repeating those words as often as he could would not help him to erase the memories that were still clinging to him and making it hard to stay in the exercise at hand.

Indeed, Oliver was right about that. Soon the sigh of the punching bag blurred in front of his eyes and all he could see was Felicity’s face. It was so close to him that he could even see what was left of the small scar at her chin where she had needed stitches after she had fallen from the ladder to their treehouse when she had been twelve. Her pupils were widened slightly as she looked at him.

All his senses were occupied by her presence. He could see that scar on her chin and the change in her eyes. He could smell the sweet scent of her skin mixing with her flowery parfum that matched her in a way Oliver couldn’t describe. He could feel the softness of her skin where his hands were cupping her cheeks and he could feel her rapid heartbeat against his ribs where their chests were pressed together. He could hear her breath hitching before it stopped altogether the moment that he leaned in to kiss her.

Gritting his teeth even harder, Oliver tensed his muscles and used even more force to punch against the punching bag. He had to focus.

“You are wasting energy there, man,” John told him. “Fasten your stand. Move more from the hip. Ease your arms.”

Oliver tried to do exactly what John was telling him, but he just knew that he was bound to fail. No matter how much he was trying to focus on John’s instructions, it just didn’t work.

Like so often in the past seventeen hours since he had kissed Felicity at The Geek Squad, he found himself thinking back to it. Whether he wanted it or not, those memories just continued to come back to him. Images of that one second between making the decision to kiss her and the moment their lips had brushed together as well as those three seconds of kissing her were flashing in front of his inner eye.

He just couldn’t get it out of his head, and Oliver didn’t even understand why. He had just kissed her as a ruse to fool Carrie. That has been it.

Or that had been supposed to be it.

Groaning, Oliver punched the punching bag one last time before he turned away. He took several steps away, bumping his gloved fists together a couple of times.

“Your form today is even worse than the last weeks which means a lot. You have slipped a little since you have gotten engaged. You do know that the usual custom is to let oneself go only after the wedding, right?”

Oliver didn’t answer to that though he knew that John was right. His form had slipped quite a bit these last weeks. It had nothing to do with his engagement with McKenna though. There had just been a lot going on in his life these past weeks. While he had done his best to save time for training, he hadn’t always managed to implement his plans. He had cut his runs short a lot of times and might have skipped one or two training sessions. His regular trip to Big Belly Burgers with Felicity hadn’t helped either.

Opening the hook and loop fastener of his gloves with his teeth, Oliver sat down on the small bench at the wall. He threw both of his boxing gloves away and grabbed his bottle of water. He lifted it to his lips to drink a few sips before he noticed that he wasn’t thirsty at all, so he poured it over his head instead. The cool water did little to clear his head, but it felt good to him nonetheless.

With closed eyes, Oliver leaned his head back against the wall. He was tired, maybe because of the training or maybe because he had lain awake all night to think about that kiss and a million other things too. Maybe it was both. He wasn’t sure and it didn’t really matter either.

When John sat down next to him, Oliver turned his head and blinked at him through one eye. John was looking at him without saying a word. He didn’t have to say a word though because the look on his face was enough for Oliver to know that John was just waiting for him to answer his question.

Releasing a deep breath, Oliver lowered his face and stared at his feet for a moment. He knew that, if there was one person that he could trust with what had happened, it was John. He could keep a secret and he wouldn’t turn this into something it wasn’t. Aside from Felicity, he was his best friend.

Oliver just wasn’t sure that there was anything to talk about in the first place.

He had kissed Felicity to get rid of Carrie. Since there was a lot going on in his life – starting with this new position as Junior CEO over his engagement up to Felicity moving back here, getting engaged and breaking that engagement again – he was just confused about what had happened. Kissing your best friend was just bound to be confusing.

Nobody kissed their best friend after all and there was a good reason for that.

“John, how did you know that Lyla was the one?”

Oliver finally lifted his gaze to look at John’s face, and he regretted it immediately. John looked at him with surprise on his face, his eyebrows perked up. Though he caught himself quickly and chuckled, Oliver hadn’t missed that expression.

“Are you getting cold feet now?”

As much as Oliver wanted to deny and just say that John was crazy because of course he wasn’t getting cold feet, he just didn’t get the words over his lips. They were formed in his head, but they got stuck in his throat. He wanted to say them, but something inside of him fought the urge to do so.

When he looked at John this time, his friend seemed to have his facial expression more under control. He was looking at Oliver with quiet in his eyes, just waiting for him to tell him what exactly was going on.

Oliver knew it was one of the best traits of John. He might have a lot of thoughts on things that were happening around him or things people said, but he barely ever judged.

“I am just wondering sometimes.”

He whispered the words as quietly as possible. He knew how much could change if he said them too loud. Oliver hadn’t come to a conclusion yet. He hadn’t even really wondered for long yet. Because of that he didn’t want to make it sound like he had any doubts. He didn’t have doubts. He really was just wondering – wondering how he had become a guy that wanted to get married and wondering why he had suddenly decided to get married.

It really had nothing to do with doubts.

“I- I just- I-“

Oliver released a long breath and lowered his head. He scratched his fingers over his scalp and closed his eyes.

The day Oliver had decided to propose to McKenna had been the very same day his father had told him that Felicity would think about his offer to work at Queen Consolidated. It had always been the first thing he remembered when he thought back to his decision. Oliver didn’t know why.

Or maybe he did know why. He had just been so furious about it. The fact that she had said that she would think about it had just gotten under his skin in a way that he hadn’t expected, probably because he hadn’t expected Felicity to take time for that decision in the first place. He had honestly believed that she’d drop everything she had been working on and decide to come back to Starling and her mother and ultimately him.

He guessed her decision had just prompted him to rethink his own decisions for the future. Felicity had been strong enough to make profound decisions for her future by withstanding the temptation of going back to her past just because she had once been happy there. She hadn’t let her memories allure her and had instead looked at what she had now and could possibly have in the future.

Oliver had done the same. He had sat down and thought about what was really working in his life. His relationship with McKenna had been such a thing. He had never been in a relationship for as long as he had been with her. Being with McKenna was easy and good. It was something in his life that could certainly go on like that.

He might have never considered getting married to her before that day, but that had just been because he hadn’t felt ready. Pushing himself out of his comfort zone a little hadn’t been necessarily bad though. He had had to get ready eventually, and he guessed that that time was now.

Of course he could have waited longer and longer until he had been sure, but why? Oliver’s life with McKenna was a good one, so why would he possibly want to change it? Why shouldn’t he settle for it?

At some point he guessed he just had to take that step and maybe even think about having kids. His parents would be more than delighted to become grandparents. They had been bugging him about it a couple of times already, especially with how much he and McKenna had urged for their wedding to take place soon.

The thought of having kids scared him and he didn’t want that right now, but down that line he guessed he did. In a few years. Eventually.

“I think I just haven’t slept enough,” Oliver said eventually and released a long breath. “I am just tired.”

With that, Oliver grabbed his towel and dried his face from the mix of water and sweat there. He rubbed it over his skin a little bit more firmly than necessary maybe, but he just needed that right now.

Oliver could still feel John’s eyes him, but he didn’t dare to lift his gaze just yet. He was too ashamed about what he had said and what he had been thinking. He had decided to get married to McKenna, and he’d live up to the promise he had made by proposing to her. Even a sleepless night couldn’t apologize this.

When Oliver eventually check for John’s gaze, he was grabbing his own towel and drying the sweat from the back of his neck though. He didn’t look at him any longer.

Getting up on his feet, Oliver sighed. He threw his towel over his shoulder and grabbed his bottle of water.

“You are leaving already?”

Oliver nodded. “I promised Felicity to help her move into her new townhouse.”

The thought of seeing Felicity again elicited mixed feelings inside of him. He was always happy to see her. She was his best friend after all. After that kiss, he was worried that it would get awkward between them though. He had seen in her eyes that she had been just as confused as he had been.

Maybe he should cancel for today.

Oliver shook his head at that thought. He was sure if anything was going to clear his head, it was talking to Felicity. When they were together, they could talk about what had happened and finally laugh about it. They would just add it to the long list of funny memories they shared the way it was supposed to be.

“See you tomorrow.”

With that, Oliver turned around and walked towards the door. His hand was already wrapped around the door handle when John held him back.

“Oliver?”

Oliver pursed his lips and bit down on his tongue. He had really hoped that his friend would spare him whatever he felt he needed to say. Still, Oliver turned back around to him with perked up eyebrows.

“Word of advice?” John asked, but he didn’t wait for the answer. “If you aren’t sure, you shouldn’t do it.”

Of course John was right. He usually was. It didn’t matter though.

“I am sure,” Oliver said and was almost surprised how firm his voice sounded. “Getting married to McKenna is the right thing to do for my future.”

John didn’t look exactly convinced, but he nodded his head. “If you say so.”

“I say so.”

Oliver lifted his hand for a brief wave and disappeared out of the door before John could say anything more. He didn’t want to talk about this any longer. He didn’t even want to think about this any longer.

The sooner he and Felicity would calm the waves, the better.

* * *

Even a hot shower, a nerve-wrecking drive through the city and several hours after their training sessions, John’s last words at him still echoed in Oliver’s head.

If you aren’t sure, you shouldn’t do it.

Oliver knew it was his own fault that John thought he wasn’t sure about his wedding with McKenna. What he had said about wondering if McKenna was the right one sometimes must have sounded like he was having real doubts about it. The truth was that he was just a little nervous now that the wedding was coming closer so quickly.

When he was thinking about it thoroughly, Oliver knew that there was no reason to doubt his decision though. Getting married to McKenna was what was best for him and his future.

Getting up from the edge of the bed, Oliver walked over to the small dresser where McKenna was keeping some of his stuff. He opened the topmost drawer and took the small velvet box that was resting between the few pieces of jewelry she owned.

Looking at the two rings that were inside, Oliver smiled.

He had imagined picking out their wedding bands was going to be difficult, especially since neither of them was really used to wearing jewelry. The only thing Oliver wore was a watch. While McKenna loved wearing jewelry, she barely ever got around doing so. Long necklaces or big earrings didn’t come handy while she was working her shift for the SCPD.

They had entered that jeweler without any expectation of finding the right rings. When Oliver had taken a look at the sets, there had only been one that he had liked. He had suggested it to McKenna and she just agreed to it. They had tried the rings and taken them despite the saleswoman’s protest that they couldn’t take the first rings they liked.

Oliver’s ring was made of a tungsten steal with a shiny platinum line in the middle. McKenna’s ring was the exact opposite of that. Her ring was made of shiny platinum with a dark line in the middle. The rings complemented each other.

The saleswoman had guessed that the rings were complementing each other as well as they probably did which had made both of them chuckle. The idea might be very romantic, but it didn’t fit them at all. He and McKenna were just too similar to each other to complement each other.

It didn’t make their relationship any less valuable though. He and McKenna were harmonizing well because they shared a lot of interests and hobbies. Being so similar to each other was their strength to because it meant that they barely ever got into those little fights that eventually added up and led to a heartbreaking break-up.

If Oliver had had to plan his honeymoon with anyone else, he was sure it would have been difficult to find a compromise. With McKenna, it had been easy because they both wanted adventures. They had planned a climbing tour and skydiving and a million other things he was sure most women didn’t want to do during their honeymoon.

McKenna made it incredibly easy to be with her and Oliver loved that. He had had his fair share of complicated relationships, and he didn’t need any more of those.

When he heard the keys turning in the lock of the front door, Oliver put the velvet box back to the drawer quickly. He walked over to the bed and grabbed his leather jacket before he hurried downstairs.

By the time he had reached the foot of the stairs, McKenna stepped into the loft. She dropped her keys to the floor and let her jacket follow with a long groan. She looked like she had just returned from a trip to hell and the thought made Oliver chuckle.

“That bad?”

“Worse.” Oliver chuckled, and it elicited a tired smile from her before she added, “First I had to do a lot of unnecessary paperwork. Then Captain Pike sent me into the Glades to arrest a drug dealer that I had to chase for two blocks which admittedly was kind of cool, but I did end up in a dumpster before I caught him. Just when I was showered and feeling ready to beat that guy’s ass in the interrogation room when one of his clients threw up on me.”

“So that is what you call a bad day?” Oliver asked, cocking his head with an amused smile. “Spending most of your shift under the shower?”

McKenna shot him a look that made Oliver bite back on a chuckle. He guessed it really was the worst kind of day for her, and he couldn’t hold it against her. Having someone throw up on you was probably one of the grossest things that could happen to you. He had experienced it once, and he would have probably been more than disgusted if he hadn’t been so worried about Felicity’s wellbeing that he had forgotten about anything else.

Moving her fingers through her hair, McKenna approached him. With a deep sigh, she stopped in front of him and put her hands to her hips, looking him up and down.

“Are you leaving?”

“I promised Felicity to help her move into her new townhouse.”

“Right. You told me.” McKenna rubbed her hands over her face and yawned. “I’d come with you to help too, but-“

“You should go to bed and catch some sleep,” Oliver told her. “And maybe shower a couple of times more.”

McKenna narrowed her eyes at him. “You are mean.”

Oliver chuckled. “Maybe a little.”

Putting his hand to her hip, Oliver closed the distance between his and McKenna’s lips and kissed her gently.

The moment his lips came into touch with hers, the familiar memories that had been haunting him all day flashed through his mind again though. He saw Felicity. He heard her. He smelled her. He felt her. He tasted her.

When Oliver stepped away quickly, McKenna made a face. She lifted her hair in front of her nose and smelled at it.

“Is it still that bad?” she asked and smelled at it again. “I swear I showered like three times. It’s just impossible to get the stench of vomit out of your hair.”

“It will go away eventually.”

“Well, I hope so.” McKenna chuckled. “I don’t want my hair to smell like vomit on our wedding day.”

“I am sure it will get out until then,” Oliver replied. “I’ll see you tonight. Do you want me to bring something for dinner?”

“Are you sure you will make it back in time for dinner?”

Oliver shrugged his shoulders. “I guess I can make it work.”

McKenna smiled, but she waved it off. “Let’s just delay our dinner to tomorrow and-“

“Thea convinced me to go to the movies with her tomorrow.”

“So, we are ordering Sushi on Sunday,” McKenna corrected her suggestion. “Take your time to help Felicity today. I know how much she means to you.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“Of course,” McKenna replied. “I mean we don’t want to be the kind of couple that suddenly forgets they have friends just because they are getting married, do we?”

“No, we don’t.” Oliver pecked McKenna’s lips. “Definitely not.”

With that, Oliver walked over to the door and left the loft. He almost fled from it, unable to stay any longer. He just couldn’t look McKenna in the eyes as long as McKenna was so wonderful and he just continued to think about that his kiss with Felicity.

He needed to talk to her.

The drive through Felicity’s townhome was long and the traffic was terrible like it always was on a Friday afternoon. That way, Oliver had enough time to think about how he was going to address this kiss.

Well, at least it should have been enough time. He had had time to think through a thousand different scenarios and imagine how they were going to play out. When Oliver arrived in front of the house, he was still completely clueless about it though.

Taking in a deep breath, Oliver decided that he would push that thought out of his mind for the next hours. As long as the furniture movers were here, Oliver guessed that there wasn’t any time to have a real conversation anyway. It would just have to wait for a couple of hours until they were alone and could really talk.

While Oliver was getting out of his car, he looked at the house and smiled. Even without knowing the address and without the truck in front of it, he was sure that he would have known that it was Felicity’s new home. It was a little hidden behind a big tree and it looked unobtrusive compared to the others houses in the street.

Just looking at the exterior, Oliver was almost sure that Felicity would be happy here. At least it was a place that she could be happy in. He could see her in a rocking chair or a holiday swing on the front porch, enjoying a mug of coffee while she was reading a book or working on a tablet.

Oliver had just reached the small path that led to the front porch when Felicity stepped out of the house. She had holding a clipboard in her hands and had a pen tugged into the mess bun of her hair. As soon as she saw him, she smiled.

“There you are,” she said. “I already feared I would have to carry all those boxes around by myself.”

Frowning, Oliver shot a look at his watch. “It’s not five yet.”

“Yeah, but I asked you to come here at four.”

“Oh.”

Felicity chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. I am used to it.”

She passed the distance towards him and hugged him briefly. Oliver didn’t even have time to get over his surprise how comfortable and easy she was around him despite their kiss. She just pulled away again quickly and flashed him a smile before she lowered her eyes to her clipboard and looked around.

He guessed if Felicity had no trouble with the kiss, he didn’t have to have any either. He actually felt some of the weight he had been carrying dropping from his shoulders.

“Searching for something?”

“My pen,” Felicity replied. “I swear I had it a couple of-“

“Here.” Oliver pulled the pen from her hair and held it out to her. “We don’t want you to mess up your neatly done check-list here.”

Felicity puckered her lips and turned her head to look at Oliver with narrowed eyes. She just loved to be prepared and to be organized. He loved to make fun of it as he was happily living in chaos all day every day.

“Stop making fun of me and my list,” Felicity told him, holding the clipboard to her chest. “Without this list, I wouldn’t know that only five boxes, three new pieces of furniture that I ordered and a lamp are on the truck. The movers will leave us in about twenty minutes I guess.”

Oliver perked up his eyebrows. “Already?”

“Well, you have been an hour late.”

“At least on your schedule.”

“Which is the only schedule.”

Oliver hummed thoughtfully. When Felicity slapped his chest, he chuckled though and lifted his hands in defeat.

“Okay, what do you want me to do?”

“I will make sure the last boxes and the pieces of furniture are taken to the right rooms,” Felicity said. “Can you go upstairs and set up my bed please?”

“You trust me to set up your bed?” Oliver asked, perking up an eyebrow. “Didn’t you once say that spoiled, little billionaire brats like me don’t even know how to set up an IKEA cupboard?”

“Yeah, but I then I tried to set up one on my own and realized how hard it really was, so I have to revise my statement. Absolutely nobody knows how to set up an IKEA cupboard. I am giving you a real try here to show me that you can mount a piece of furniture, one that’s not made by IKEA obviously.”

If Oliver was completely honest, he doubted that he could set up a cupboard of any manufacturer, never mind a bed. He wasn’t going to let Felicity win now that he finally got the chance of proving her wrong though. She had teased him with that so long that he’d do anything to make her take it back now. He was competitive like that.

“Where’s the bedroom?”

“Upstairs, second room to the right.”

Oliver saluted to her before he turned around and headed up the porch quickly. He released a breath as he did so, relieved that all this nervousness and all this confusion was solved now.

As he stepped into Felicity’s now home, he looked around. Oliver couldn’t say what it was – maybe the dark wooden floors or maybe the large windows that invited a lot of light inside – but he could just feel like this really was Felicity’s. It suited her.

Upstairs in her bedroom, a room with large windows and broad window sills that Felicity would set up as a reader’s corner, there were several boxes. He had to push them out of the way to even get inside and get to the large package with the construction plan of a bed on it.

Oliver took in a deep breath. “I can do this.”

Kneeling down on the floor, Oliver ripped open the first package and grabbed the mounting construction from it. His hope was fading slowly. Even just understanding this construction seemed impossible, so it seemed like another word needed to be invented to describe what implementing it meant.

At other times, he would have probably just given up. Since he didn’t want Felicity to be right, he knew he just had to find a way to montage this bed and make it look like a professional had done it. It couldn’t be that hard, right?

It didn’t take long for Oliver to revise that statement. Just figuring out which shrews belonged together took him forever it seemed. He almost expected Felicity to show up in the door frame and ask him why it looked like he hadn’t even started yet.

Somehow, he managed to build up the entire thing. It looked stable and it felt stable. When Oliver moved the frame of his bed a little, it didn’t break at least. He guessed he shouldn’t be bothered by the fact that three screws had stayed unused and quickly dropped them into the pocket of his jeans.

He cut open the foil around the mattress unrolled on the floor. If he remembered correctly, it needed at least 48 hours for it to unfold its full comfortability. He hoped Felicity knew that and hadn’t canceled her hotel room already.

“The bed is all set up.”

Oliver lifted his gaze, almost surprised to see Felicity standing there. She was walking past him and taking a thorough look at the bed. Just like he had done before, she moved it quickly. Luckily, it didn’t break down now either.

“Surprised?” Oliver asked.

“Maybe a little.” Felicity chuckled before she sat down on the frame of the bed and stretched out her legs a little. “And you really managed to make it stable enough for me to give it a try to sleep in there.”

“You really are surprised.” Oliver chuckled as he glanced at his watch to see that it had taken him almost two hours to put this bed together. “Where have you been this entire time?”

“In the office,” Felicity replied. “I needed to set up my computers and the wi-fi. I want to live here after all and not just exist.”

Oliver crossed his arms in front of his chest. “And you really want to tell me that you set up your desk, a giant desk I guess since I know your computer systems, all by yourself?”

“Of course not.” Felicity snorted. “I let the guys from the moving company take care of it.”

“And they couldn’t take care of the bed?”

“No.” Felicity grinned. “Otherwise, I couldn’t have forced you to do it.”

Oliver tried to glare at Felicity, but he couldn’t hide the smile that was cracking on his lips. He just couldn’t be mad at her for longer than three seconds, well, two and a half probably.

When their eyes met as they were both smiling, Felicity suddenly blushed and looked away. A few strands had loosened from her messy bun, but they didn’t do anything to hide that she was biting down on her bottom lip.

Clearing his throat, Oliver sat down on the frame of the bed next to her. His thumb rubbed against the other fingertips like it always did when he was nervous. Talking with Felicity about the kiss did make him nervous though he wasn’t as nervous as he had been about it earlier this day.

“About that kiss.”

Felicity shot him a brief look before she lowered her gaze again, looking at her hands in her lap. Only now Oliver realized that her hands looked a lot more normal to him again now that she wasn’t wearing an engagement ring anymore.

“That Carrie-girl really is into you, isn’t she?”

Oliver already opened to his mouth to reply when he noticed that he didn’t really know what he could say to that, at least not as long as he didn’t know how Felicity was feeling about all of this. So, he looked at her face closely. He had just come to the conclusion that Felicity had used that little comment as a comedic relief like she did so often when she was trying to escape the tension of a situation as well as her own feelings.

“I am really sorry, Felicity.”

Felicity frowned, finally looking at him. “For what?”

“For ambushing you with that kiss,” Oliver replied honestly. “I shouldn’t have kissed you without asking you. I thought it was a good way to get rid of her, but I didn’t want things between us to get awkward. I mean I have been thinking about this kiss all day, wondering if I ruined our friendship and-“

“You could never ruin our friendship.”

Felicity’s voice was quiet and soft, but Oliver stopped nonetheless. He looked at her intently, trying to find any doubt in her eyes. There was none to be found though.

“Oliver, the kiss was a hundred shades of awkward,” Felicity told him with a chuckle, her face lighting up like she hadn’t laughed in a long time. “Best friends really should never try to kiss each other. I mean you wouldn’t kiss Thea like that either, would you?”

“God no.” Oliver screwed up his face. “Gross.”

“See?” Felicity nudged his side. “We are just going to add this to the long list of awkward things our friendship survived, and we are going to laugh about it as soon as we have lived it down for a while.”

Oliver smiled to himself quietly. Hadn’t he thought the same thing earlier today when he had thought about the kiss? He and Felicity were just thinking incredibly alike.

“Like me massaging that balm on your ass?”

“Like that,” Felicity replied, nodding her head. “Speaking of that, let’s agree never to talk about that again either.”

Oliver chuckled. “You were the one who brought it up again in the first place.”

“I know, and I now I want it to be forgotten again. Please.”

Grinning, Oliver leaned over and nudged her shoulder with his. “Never.”

“Fine, but just because you set up my bed,” Felicity said with a groan and got up on her feet. “I am going to order some burgers for us. After that you could help me with some boxes downstairs. Or do you have to leave?”

“No, McKenna specifically told me to make sure I did everything you needed me to do before I came home.” Oliver smiled. “Anything for you.”

Felicity leaned into the frame of the door. “It’s why you are my best friend.”

She winked at him, and Oliver winked back at her. The next moment, Felicity disappeared to go downstairs and order them burgers. He knew he could trust her with the order. She knew what he liked even if it changed depending what he had an appetite for.

Left alone in the bedroom, Oliver figured that he should be relieved about how this conversation had turned out. Still, he couldn’t get rid of the dissatisfying feeling that was spreading in his stomach.

* * *

After almost ten minutes of waiting in his car, Oliver turned off the engine with a long sigh and hurried over to the mansion. When he stepped into the foyer and found that Thea wasn’t even down here, he rolled his eyes.

When it came to being in time, he wasn’t the only Queen family member that had a bad reputation. Thea’s was actually worse than his he guessed. He was just a little dopey. He forgot about meetings and about time. Thea almost seemed to plan being late. She just got ready fifteen minutes later than she should even if she had time.

Oliver stepped to the foot of the stairs. He wanted to go upstairs and pick up Thea from her room if that was their only way of leaving anytime soon. He could almost see her lying on the bed and talking on the phone with one of her friends already. She needed someone to remind her to come downstairs and get ready.

Before he got to take the first step, his mother approached from the living room though.

“Oliver,” she said, seeing him before Oliver could hide from her. “There you are.”

“Hi, Mom.”

Oliver pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans, turning around to her. He glanced upstairs. Hopefully, Thea was going to come downstairs quickly. He didn’t have the nerve to talk to his mother right now though he really couldn’t say why.

“How are the wedding preparations going?” she asked. “The ones I am not included in?”

Oliver sighed. He doubted that his mother would ever not hold it against him that he hadn’t wanted her to be included in all the decisions they were making for the wedding. He knew that she had just wanted to help, but he and McKenna had eventually felt like Moira’s ideas for their wedding had differed too much from theirs to continue planning the wedding together.

“It’s going great,” Oliver told her. “We are perfectly in time with the preparations.”

“It’s less than four weeks now.”

“I know.” Oliver smiled. “I can’t wait for it.”

His smile widened as he felt the words sinking in. Since his conversation with Felicity yesterday, he had had a lot of time to think. He knew now that his confusion had just been a temporary thing caused by stress and a brief touch of panic at the finality of his decision to get married. It was a big decision after all.

Once he had taken a good night of sleep, Oliver’s head had cleared though. He knew now what he had known before. Getting married to McKenna was the right decision.

“You aren’t nervous about it?”

“I was.” Oliver shrugged his shoulders. “I know that this is the right thing to do though. Getting married to McKenna is a good decision. We are looking into a great future together.”

Moira chuckled. “I don’t think I have ever heard you talking this formally outside of Queen Consolidated.”

Oliver hunched his shoulders and lowered his eyes to the floor, shuffling his feet. He didn’t know why he failed to make it sound romantic or heartfelt whenever he was talking about McKenna and him. It was probably because he really wasn’t the romantic kind of guy. Romance was just not his area.

When his mother rested her hand over his on the baluster, Oliver lifted his gaze. Moira had stepped closer to him and was looking at him with the same love and warmth in her eyes that had always been there when she had sat at his bedside in his childhood, reading him a story before kissing him goodnight. Now, there was something more in her eyes though. There was pride.

“I am really proud of you,” she said eventually, confirming what Oliver had seen in her eyes already. “You have come a long way, and the person you have grown into is a really good man. You are taking responsibility for yourself and for the people around you. You are settling for a wonderful life even though it means giving up on some of the freedoms you love. Your dad and I are really proud of you.”

Oliver smiled, feeling his heart warm with joy. Although he had never felt unloved or like they were approaching him with disdain, Oliver had always wanted to hear his parents say this. With someone like Felicity – someone who was incredibly smart and goodhearted and another million things that were admirable – growing up alongside him, it hadn’t been easy to impress them.

“Thanks, Mom.”

“And of course I am very happy for you.”

Oliver looked at his mother closely. “You really like McKenna, don’t you?”

As soon as he had asked the question, Oliver regretted it. He really needed to stop saying things that allowed his mother to talk about her wild dreams of him ending up with Felicity. Of course this insight came too late.

“She is not Felicity,” Moira replied. When Oliver released a sigh, she chuckled quietly. “Honestly, Oliver, I like McKenna very much. She is smart and funny and really nice. She is wonderful.”

Oliver just nodded. He knew that his mother didn’t mean bad with the mentions of Felicity, but given the two days that were past him, it felt like rubbing salt into the wound. Of course his mother couldn’t know about that.

“Speaking of Felicity,” Moira added eventually, “how is she doing?”

“She’s fine,” Oliver answered immediately. “Why?”

“Well, Donna is worried about her.” Moira sighed. “Felicity doesn’t talk about the break-up, and she has the weird feeling that there is more to it than Felicity is letting on. She just wants to make sure that Felicity really is alright. She is very busy with the new job and living here again. That’s already a lot of change to take, especially since she moved here for Carter too. This split engagement has a bad timing.”

“Can a split engagement ever come at the right time?”

Moira smiled. “Probably not.”

Oliver nodded slowly. He understood Donna’s worry because he had been worried about it too. After talking to Felicity in the night that he had found out about the break-up, Oliver was almost sure that he didn’t have to worry about her. He couldn’t stop thinking that there was indeed something about her and Carter breaking off their engagement that she hadn’t told him though.

“I think Felicity needs some time to process what has happened. She will come around and tell us what has really happened between her and Carter eventually.”

“And you will be there if she’s ready.”

“Of course I will.” Oliver frowned. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Moira smiled gently. “Honey, there are a lot of people that forget how important it is to maintain friendships, especially when they get married. Friends suddenly get less important because your life revolves around your partner and the future you are building together. You start leaning on your partner and only your partner. Don’t get me wrong. It’s important that your partner is the most important person in your life, but that shouldn’t stop you from maintaining relationships outside of your marriage. It’s important to have someone outside of your marriage to lean on. It’s always good to have a friend because there might come a day that you feel like you need someone to talk about your marriage or about something that you feel you can’t talk to your partner about.”

Oliver wasn’t sure if his mother was talking about herself. He knew that, after she had gotten married to his dad, she had neglected some friendships for a while. She and Donna hadn’t had contact in a while before she had called her for help. It didn’t matter whether or not she was talking about herself though.

“Mom, Felicity will always be my friend,” he told her firmly. “Whether I am married or not, whether she is married or not. We will be best friends. No matter what.”

That elicited the widest smile on his mother’s lips that he had seen in a while. Oliver had trouble not to roll his eyes at that. His mother was happy what he was taking responsibility for the company which was basically his family’s heritage. She was happy that he was getting married and settling for what was his parents’ vision of an adult, fulfilled life.

The fact that he was reserving a place for Felicity in his future was a reason for her to throw confetti around though.

“I know that Donna and I were always driving Felicity and you insane with telling you that you should date,” Moira said quietly, shooting him a soft smile. “I hope you also know that we were only joking, at least mostly.”

As much as he tried to, Oliver couldn’t contain a smile at his mother’s last words. Of course she couldn’t leave it to it being a joke. She had to add that it was mostly a joke.

“I know,” Oliver replied, nodding. “Felicity and I both know.”

Oliver and Moira smiled at each other for a long moment. Once more Oliver realized that he had always been closer to his mother than he had been to his dad. He loved his dad, and he knew he loved him. Robert had just always been a little fonder of Felicity because they just shared the same interests and the same intellect. Oliver had left his dad to Felicity gladly since she hadn’t had one in her life.

When Thea came almost running downstairs, Oliver and Moira took a step apart. Oliver turned to face his little sister and was greeted by her with a tight hug that almost made him tumble a step or two backwards.

“Sorry, Bro,” she said. “I called Sin about something and it just ended in a long conversation about how much boys suck.”

“Oh, thank you very much.” Oliver chuckled. “I am trying not to take it personally.”

“Well, you’re not really a boy anyway, Ollie.”

Oliver put his hand to his heart. “Right in the heart, Sis.”

They both chuckled though before they said goodbye to their mother and left the mansion to go outside. Oliver pulled his keys from his jacket. Before he managed to click the button to unlock the doors, Thea had snatched the keys from his fingers though.

“No way,” Oliver said immediately, trying to get those keys back. “You are not driving.”

“Oh, come on, Ollie!” Thea’s fist tightened around the keys. “I got my driving license months ago and you still haven’t let me drive your car.”

“Yes because-“

“Pretty please!”

Thea fluttered her eyelashes, smiling at him in a way that only she could. With a defeated groan, Oliver nodded his head. He knew he didn’t have any chance here. Thea would get whatever she wanted from him. She was his little sister after all, and he couldn’t say no to her.

During the drive to the cinema, Oliver watched his sister closely. Sometimes, it still felt like yesterday that she had been a baby that he and Felicity had liked to play with. Then she had suddenly been a toddler that had chased them around the house, trying to follow them wherever they had gone. Now she was already an adult.

Time just passed incredibly quickly, and Oliver didn’t know how to feel about that.

Fifteen minutes after they had left the mansion, they arrived at the cinema. While Thea was directing the car into the parking lot, Oliver looked at the building. Through the wide windows, Oliver could see that it was dark inside the building.

“Thea, did you check the program?”

“Yes, of course,” Thea replied, turning off the engine. “Why?”

“Because it looks dark inside.”

“Weird.” Thea shot a brief look over her shoulder, frowning. “Let’s check. Maybe they had to close spontaneously.”

“I can check on the website and-“

“You are not Felicity, Ollie.” Thea chuckled, opening her door. “You don’t have to use the internet for everything you do.”

Oliver grinned, thinking to himself that Thea wasn’t wrong. Felicity would probably check on the website what the deal was. She wouldn’t have even announced it. She would have just done so because the internet was like her outsourced brain. It was what she had always called it during their youth.

Anyway, he and Thea could as well just take the few steps over there to the door and check if there was something that explained this.

He and Thea walked towards the entrance side by side. Indeed, everything was dark inside. Not a single person seemed to be here tonight. Although there was no message that informed about the cinema staying closed today, Oliver guessed it was what was happening.

“Looks bad for our movie night,” he said with a sigh. “What do we want to do instead? Should we go and grab some dinner or-“

“Wait,” Thea said. “The door is open.”

When she just pushed the door open, Oliver wanted to hold her back. After all the horror movies Felicity forced him to watch with him, he knew this was the perfect beginning for one. Thea just went inside though, so he followed quickly. He didn’t want his little sister to go inside of there alone.

“Surprise!”

Just as Oliver had put a foot over the doorstep, the lights were switched on and his friends were jumping out of the different corners of the room. Everyone was applauding and laughing. They were having fun.

Oliver had only eyes for Felicity though. She approaching him with quick steps, allowing him to take her in closely. She was smiling joyfully, making her face look even brighter as it did already. She had pinned up her blonde curls, but they were still framing her like a halo. She was wearing a red dress with gold embroidery. With its deep neckline and its short hem, it left a lot room for imagination.

For most men, Oliver added mentally. He was her best friend. He didn’t see her like that. Of course he didn’t.

“Hey,” Oliver said when Felicity put her hands to his shoulders and kissed his cheek. “What is all of this?”

“This, my friend,” Felicity replied, stepping next to him, “is your bachelor party.”

“My bachelor party?”

“Of course.” Felicity nudged his shoulder. “I am your best woman. I took care of everything like every good best woman would. You will love it. You just have to love it because I swear that I will kick your ass if you don’t love it.”

Oliver didn’t doubt that. He didn’t doubt any of that. If there was someone who knew what kind of parties he enjoyed, it was Felicity. If she was wrong, she’d never admit it though. She’d just make him love it one way or the other.

He shot Thea a look. “You knew about that?”

“Of course I did.” Thea chuckled. “It was my task to bring you here, so you can celebrate which I guess is my clue to leave.”

“You are not staying?”

Thea chuckled, shaking her head with a roll of her eyes like the idea of staying here for the party was completely absurd. She wrapped her arms around his neck to hug him and kissed his stubbled cheek.

“You have fun,” Thea said, rubbing her hand over his back. “I will abduct your fiancée now, so she can celebrate her bachelorette party at the mansion. Mom and I have planned everything for her. You don’t have to feel guilty about having fun here, and don’t worry if McKenna is not coming home. I asked Raisa to prepare a room for her in the mansion. She is probably going to sleep there.”

“Thank you, Speedy,” Oliver said, hugging her back. “For everything.”

Thea smiled at him when she pulled back. She hugged Felicity and whispered something into her ear before she left. Oliver looked after her for a moment, smiling with happiness and relief. He was glad that he had been able to spend some time with his little sister, but he was certainly happy that she wasn’t joining them for his bachelor party too.

It would have been weird if Thea had stayed here.

When Felicity linked her arm with Oliver’s, he turned all his attention towards her. She was looking at him with a quiet smile on her red lips.

“So, I planned this whole night for you,” Felicity told him, “and it’s a real event. Are you ready for it?”

Oliver grinned. He knew a lot of crazy plans Felicity had made in her life. They had indeed implemented some of them together, and he guessed neither of them could deny that they hadn’t always gone well. They had had a lot of fun, but they had also gotten in a lot of trouble.

“I doubt that I will ever be ready for something that you have planned, but I am happily joining in on whatever fun you have in store.”

Felicity smiled at him. “Perfect answer.”

* * *

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