Felicity had just woken up when she had looked out the window to see Diggle's car just sitting outside. She sighed, knowing why he was here, and reluctantly went outside with a cup of hot chocolate that she had made him, just in case he was staying for a while.
"Dig, what are you doing here?" Felicity asked, getting inside of his car with him.
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Diggle said, knowing what today was.
Felicity just sucked in tears, knowing that today was difficult, and even though she was trying to move on, when days like today came up, it was just hard not to be sad.
"It's only been three years, but I do remember how much it hurt when he left. It still hurts, every day, and today is just going to be another day of hurt. But, I'm trying to be better. I am. Today's just harder than most." Felicity smiled painfully.
"Well, I'm here if you need me, especially today." Diggle said, putting his hand over hers.
"Thanks, John." Felicity smiled.
"Now, go get ready for work. I'm driving you today." Diggle said, pushing her out of the car gently while laughing.
"Okay, fine!" Felicity laughed, knowing that she couldn't argue with him.
So, she went back inside, put the hot cocoa in the sink, and went to get ready. She hurried, not really caring about her appearance that much, throwing her hair in a ponytail, and applying light make-up, and dressed herself quickly. She then walked outside to let Diggle drive her to work.
Once Felicity was in her office, and was trying to finish this huge workload that Ray had just given her, she got a text from Diggle.
Turn on the news. Your new friend is headlining.
Felicity laughed at his wording, but turned on the news nonethless. It had been a couple days since she had last seen the vigilante, but it turns out he wasn't the killer everyone saw him as.. According to the news, he was this man that saved Tommy Merlyn from kidnappers, and forced one percenters to pay back stolen money to the people that deserved it.
"Over the past fifteen years, Mr. Redmond has withdrawn more than 30 million dollars from the plant's account. Mr. Redmond claims that refunding the Housian Pension Plan has always been his intent... but, sources say that Redmond was coerced by the vigilante."
Felicity was thoroughly impressed that the vigilante had made this much of a difference in a week or so, honestly. Who knew a man in a mask and green hood could help the city so much?
She turned off her tablet, and put it back in her drawer, still somewhat despising watching the news because of what happened three years ago... When she found out that Oliver was missing. It was just a piece of herself that she would never get back. But, she missed it so much.
She pulled back out her tablet, and looked back at the article that broke her heart.
"Queen's Gambit Lost in North China Sea"
She was so lost in the memory of that day that she didn't even notice that Thea had been standing at her office door, and had come in.
"What are you doing?"
Felicity jumped, looking up to see Thea looking down at her.
"Nothing, nothing... Working, just working." Felicty stuttered, putting down her tablet and giving her full attention to Thea.
"You were looking back at stuff about Oliver, weren't you?" She asked, coming nearer to her desk, and snatching her tablet off the desk before Felicity could hide it.
Felicity just sighed, knowing that Thea would see that she was indeed, looking at stuff about Oliver.
Thea just shook her head, and gave the tablet back to Felicity.
"I miss him too, you know. But you're stuck in the past. It is time to move on. It is past time." Thea sighed.
"Well, what do you expect me to do? Just forget about him?" Felicity asked, not knowing whether to take offense to what Thea had said or not.
"No! You just need to move on, and stop living in the past! He would have wanted that for you." Thea corrected, sitting down in front of Felicity's desk.
"I've been trying." Felicity groaned, putting her hands up to her face, and just pulling the skin near her eyes to relieve the stress.
Felicity suddenly looked up, and back at Thea, automatically angered that she was telling her to move on when she knew what today was.
"You do realize what day it is today, don't you?" Felicity spitted out.
"Yes... I know." Thea suddenly whipsered, almost sad.
"Then why are you coming in here and telling me to move on? Hmm? Especially today of all days!" Felicity semi-yelled.
"Because today, especially, you don't need to sit here and be sad! You need to remember the good times and be thankful for the time you got to have with him!" Thea argued back.
Felicity just sat there, speechless.
"He loved you... But, he is gone. And, I hate that it's that way, but we can't do anything about it now... Except to keep living. Just like he would have wanted us to." Thea sighed, trying to calm Felicity down.
"But today is-"
"Yes, today is his birthday. And it's the day that he told you how he really felt about you. I know. It was the beginning of it all. But, today is also the day that we should celebrate his life." Thea spoke gently.
Felicity just fought back tears.
"Instead of having a party for him like last year, let's just have a girl night. That's what I came here to say anyway." Thea perked up.
"Okay... What do you have in mind?" Felicity asked, trying to move past all of the Oliver talk.
"You, me, and a club." Thea wiggled her eyebrows.
"You do realize that I haven't been clubbing since Verdant, right?" Felicity chuckled, embarrassed.
"So!? It'll be fun! Pleaseeeee!" Thea begged, standing up and leaning over the desk.
"Fine, fine. What time tonight?" Felicity gave in.
"Eight-ish? That work for you?" Thea asked.
"Yeah, yeah. Sure. Just let me get all this work done." Felicity laughed.
"Okay. See you tonight. And, Felicity?" Thea called out before walking out.
"Yeah?"
"I didn't mean to move on from him. If you're not ready yet, you're not ready. I just meant to move on with your life. Don't stop living because he stopped." Thea smiled, and blew Felicity a kiss, and then she walked out.
Felicity just sighed, wishing that today wasn't so hard, but it was. Especially with remembering the night of Oliver's birthday party that he finally told her he loved her.
Oliver's party was cut short by the sound of a tornado siren.
It was weird because Starling City rarely got tornadoes, and it just happen the day that Felicity and Oliver were going to finally spend the night together after the party. It wasn't to be intimate or anything, it was just to be there for each other, and to finally let Oliver in her life more. They had been together for some time now, and she just wanted him to stay the night with her.
But, as the tornado sirens were getting louder, people began to panic, and it wasn't until rain and wind started getting heavier that the people that were attending the party began to flee to their cars and try to get home as quickly as possible.
Felicity felt Oliver tug at her hand and bring her into the darkened living room, since the electricity had just shut off, and she suddenly became very confused as to why he was bringing her in here.
"Oliver..." Felicity started but he just shushed her by groaning.
"Erg, you need to stay here." He sighed.
"What? Why? You can't just ask me-"
"I'm not asking." Oliver interrupted her, shutting Felicity up, yet again.
She was frustrated. She knew that the city was in a black-out, and that things were going badly, but she wanted to stay by Oliver's side. Being without him in something scary like this, it just didn't feel right.
"I will come and get you when this is all over." He said, walking away, back out into the storm.
Felicity wasn't going to let that happen. She wasn't going to let him leave her here, while he went out there to help people. She needed him. The people could get home on their own. They didn't need Oliver's help. She needed him too much.
"No!" Felicity cried, as he was walking away.
She tried catching up with him.
"Feli-city." He groaned, knowing that she was going to argue with him, but still turning around to face her nonetheless.
"No! Not unless you tell me why!" Felicity cried.
"Because I need you to be safe." Oliver responded.
"Well I don't want to be safe... I want to be with you, unsafe." She pleaded.
"I can't let that happen." He looked into her eyes.
Felicity reached out to touch his arm.
"Oliver... You aren't making any sense."
She didn't understand. Oliver was being breathy and vague, and it wasn't like him to just tell her things like that without having some sort of reason.
"You're the woman I love." He whispered, looking straight at her, like he was looking into her very being.
She... She didn't know if she had heard him right. Did he just... Did he just say that he loved her?
Oliver reached for her face, and cupped her cheek.
"I love you."
Felicity was rendered speechless. They had been together, but he had never said those words to her. Ever.
He suddenly leaned in, and just kissed her. It was passionate, yet completely one of need and want and desire. It was if it was rough, but it was rough in all the right places. It was so desperate, like he had been holding this in for a long time, so Felicity just let herself go. She kissed him back with so much love, and so much of everything she was holding back. He seemed to pull back too soon.
"Do you understand?" Oliver asked, referring back to the fact that he needed her to be safe.
"Yes." Felicity responded, and let him go.
He walked out the door... As she just stood there, watching him leave.
Felicity felt herself get sad again, and suddenly wished that he was here with her. But, knowing that wish would never come true, she just shook it off, and tried to get back to work. Right when she was beginning to finish everything up, Ray walked into her office.
"Hey, you can go ahead and take off." He smiled at her.
Felicity just looked at him, confused. And, he must have noticed because he kept explaining further.
"Look, I know about today... And, I want you to take the rest of the day off. You shouldn't have really come in the first place." He said sympathetically.
Felicity was honestly stunned. She didn't know how to respond. Ray was never this nice, at least not to her. He was usually hot-headed and a know-it-all, and frankly very annoying.
"How did you know?" Felicity asked, quietly.
"You forget that Oliver Queen used to be all over the tabloids." Ray chuckled, but then turned quite serious.
"That was until he met you. Then, he became the perfect guy. But, look, I might not know exactly how you're feeling, but I've been in a simliar situation." He sighed.
Felicity's jaw dropped a little, and her stunned look pleaded with him to continue.
"My fiancée, Anna, she... died." He whispered, sadly.
Felicity was completely taken away by his sudden secret. It made sense all of a sudden, why he pushed people away, and tried to be the best he could be. Maybe he went about it all the wrong way, with sarcasm and a cold demeanor, but that's how he coped with her death. Felicity just dealt with Oliver's death differently, and that was okay.
"I'm really sorry, Ray." Felicity cooed, knowing firsthand how difficult it was to lose the love of your life.
He just merely nodded.
"So, take the day off, because I know how hard their birthdays are when they aren't here. Trust me. Take the day off for yourself." Ray sadly smiled, before turning away to walk out of her office.
"Hey, Ray?" She called out to him.
"Yeah?" He turned around.
"Thank you... for understanding." She genuinely said.
"Sure thing." He smiled, and left her office.
Felicity got up and gathered her things, making sure not to forget anything. As soon as she double-checked everything, she headed to her house. Tonight was going to be fun. It needed to be fun.
God, she missed Oliver.
~•~•~•~•~•~
It was his birthday. And, he had never felt more alone.
Oliver just kept himself distracted. He worked on the salmon ladder, did a few workouts, and glanced at the list in his father's book a few more times.
He just needed to keep his mind off Felicity, Tommy, and everyone else that he so desperately missed. But, bringing back Oliver Queen...? It would be a distraction, and it would bring everyone he loved and missed so desperately. It just... It was so hard on him.
He suddenly knew what he needed to do.
He quickly put on a gray hoodie, and began walking to the Queen Mansion. He didn't care how far of a walk it was, he needed the air, and the space. Seeing Tommy the other day, and seeing Felicity at the scene of a crime, it was just all too much.
He wanted to talk to his father.
Or, at least to his grave.
It felt like an eternity before he saw his old home come into view. It held so many memories, but the one he seemed to remember most was when he told Felicity that he loved her. That night, it held so many things... It was frightening because of the tornado, but overall, it was where he was finally able to tell the woman that he loved that he loved her.
Oliver had finally gotten everyone he knew to safety, and now he could finally go back to his house, and see the girl that he loved.
Oh god, he had finally told her.
He had felt that way since the moment he saw her, or at least it felt like that, looking back now. He had always cared for her more than anyone else... That caring had just finally turned into this raw and unbreakable love.
As soon as he came through the door, Felicity jumped on him.
"Oh, god. You're here. You're safe." She cried into his shoulder.
He just wrapped his arms around her, and gently set her back down on the ground, but still keeping her in his tight embrace. He didn't want to let her go, ever.
"I'm here. Shh. It's okay." He murmured into her hair, kissing the top of her head.
She suddenly pulled back, angrily.
"Don't do that ever again!" She yelled.
"Felicity..." He started, but she just cut him off.
"No! You don't just tell me you love me, kiss me like it's goodbye, and then leave! You don't get to do that to me!" She cried.
He reached for her, and cupped her face with both of his hands.
"I'm sorry." He whispered, searching her eyes to see if she was still angry with him.
"I love you too much for you to do that." She whispered, and then just looked at him.
He just looked at her, and felt a smile creep onto his face. He didn't have words to respond. She said that she loved him. She said it back.
He just kissed her. It was the most passionate kissed they shared yet, because it was full of love, and anger, and passion. He felt her hands comb through his hair, and he just kept his hands on her face, rubbing circles in her cheeks. Eventually, his hands slowly made their way to her waist, pulling her in closer, and tightening around her. She pulled at his hair, making him moan in pleasure against their kiss.
"Stay here tonight, with me." He whispered against her lips.
She pulled back.
"I thought we were staying at my place." She smiled.
"I don't care where we stay. I just want to be with you." He smiled back, pulling her back in for another kiss.
She laughed against his lips.
"Let's stay here." She whispered.
"Let's." He agreed.
The memory hurt more than it should have. But, he tried smiling at it, regardless. She had told him exactly what he wanted to hear that night, and he missed her so much.
He quietly jumped the fence, and made his way to the cemetary.
When he saw that no one noticed him here, he took off his hoodie, and leaned down at his father's grave.
"Hey, Dad." He smiled, sadly.
"I didn't know how painful it would be to keep my secrets." He whispered, letting tears fill up his eyes.
"I miss her, Dad. God, I miss her." He closed his eyes.
He just looked at his father's grave.
He quickly stood up, and when he turned around, Tommy stood there, speechless.
"Oliver?"
YAYAYAYAY. Chapter doonneeee! I loved this chapter, omg. So many Olicity feels. And, Tommy knows Oliver is alive! Gasp...
Anyway, next chapter will be up soon, hopefully, because it's girl's night for Felicity, and hopefully it'll be happier and focus on present day stuff more!
More vigilante stuff will probably be in the next chapter too. :)
Picture attached is Oliver leaning in to kiss Felicity in the flashbacks. So enjoy THAT!
I love you guys so much, and this is dedictated to peetaology because she's literally the greatest. And, I love love love her stuff. :)