xlii. jaged tips & moss
Oliver and Lilith slept with their backs facing one another. He was pretending to be sleeping but all he could do was listen to the sounds of her breaths to make sure that she was still breathing.
They got into a huge fight about what happened with Thea. The fact that Lilith was coming to terms with what she thought to be her inevitable demise.
Oliver had convinced himself that everything would sort themselves out in the end, that a year or even more from now they'd be in bed together fighting about Lilith killing someone or something they used to fuss about when times were easier.
They just couldn't see eye to eye. Oliver sighed and sat up, "come on."
She pretended to not hear him, she was too depressed to get up and possibly fighting again.
He cracked his knuckles before reaching over and lifting her off the bed. She tried to protest but he was way too strong to fight. He carried through the corridor and downstairs to the kitchen. The lightly were dim but he could make out the island to sit her down on. Before he moved he kissed her cheek making her loosen up.
"What are you up to Oliver?"
"You need a drink." He walked out the kitchen and returned a few moments later carrying a bottle of wine that probably cost as much as her apartment.
He walked over to her she smiled tightly, "Oliver don't you think my body's fucked enough without alcohol in it?"
"So no?"
She scoffed, "of course , I thought this was a test." She leaned over grabbing a wine glass and taking one for Oliver as well.
He poured a good amount into her cup but not his. When she questioned him, he simply said, "I want to be alert in case you need me."
She chugged the glass in less then ten seconds and pulled back with a disgusted look on her face.
"You don't like it?"
"I haven't drank in months, I forgot that I didn't like it unless it's fruit flavored."
"Put it away?"
"No, I have a migraine and I'd like to get rid of it before I-"
Oliver clenched the bottle, she noticed and silenced herself drinking the liquid. But Oliver wasn't having it, just the thought of losing Lilith made him want to break something.
Her mood fell again, "Barry and I should be finish with the cure in about 3 days."
"But we only have six days left to fix you... you can't go faster-"
"Oliver I don't have my powers anymore, working my body and brain like I did today is wearing on me, I will get it done, but about me-"
"We will fix you."
She looked away awkwardly, "you haven't been to work since this whole thing started, you have to take that into priority too."
"Well it's kinda hard to think about club shares when my girlfriend who was once a murdering vigilante is being poisoned and thinks she's going to die in a week by a man whose girlfriend I got killed on island I was trapped on for five years."
She smiled to herself. "Excuses, Excuses."
****
It was day two of making the cure. Barry wasn't available but Caitlin and Cisco were around. I heard that he was cheeky person but it seemed he was too scared to joke around me. Something told me that Oliver may have talked to him before he brought me inside. I rolled my eyes but feeling my head throb at the action making me tumble slightly.
Caitlin looked at me and quickly reached for a chair to sit under me. Cisco was building the device we were going to use to give to Slade.
"Pass me a rivet please." Cisco asked while welding his metal.
I quickly reached for my tool belt and passed it to him.
There was an awkward silence and not being able to handle their tenseness I spoke. "What did Oliver say?"
"What? What are you even talking about girl?- Okay he told me if I made a joke that could offend you or make you feel bad he'd buy everything I owned and sell it to me for twice the price and then he told me he was a Bratva captain and could literally make me disappear. I mean he's never mean to me but whenever you're brought up he turns into Barry with Iris but like times a million, I didn't think he actually had Bratva connections I mean... that's crazy, right?"
I looked at him with a nervous half smile and he gasped. "What he does? What the fu-"
"Cisco, he said not to say anything."
"I can't help it, look at those eyes, they're like the most puppy dog eyes I've ever seen," Cisco turned to me smiling cheekily as he brushed his hair behind his ear. "I know this is a bad time and all but... what is it like dating the ARROW? Does he were the costume in bed sometimes? Does he ever cook for you? Wait- how big is his-"
"Cisco!" Caitlin nudged him.
I laughed wheezing slightly.
"Oliver is just a normal guy."
Cisco scoffed, "he once shot Barry with arrows."
"In all fairness I don't think he actually wanted to hurt Barry."
"He shot him with an arrow."
I looked down at my fungus platter and focused on my analysis. "True."
Cisco talked up a storm but his jokes lessened once he saw the more I laughed, the more sick I seemed to be getting. I hated it! I hated being so weak and helpless. I hated to fact that I could even go home without Oliver with out getting sick. It wasn't even that he was forcing me, it was that everyone thought I was dead and also I couldn't handle walking home alone. Oliver kept me safe.
"I'm sorry," Cisco said as he put down his torch and began tweaking his device, "what is it like? Ya know... being V? Saving neighborhood women?"
The question hit me hard, it hit me on my core. In this same body I had killed tens of men. I ripped there testicles off and danced around them. I was V, the Vixen with a Vendetta reduced to mush.
"It was...amazing, I don't know, being out there, helping those girls, it was a part of me."
"Yeah, since you came around the sex trafficking in Star City and the kidnapping/ rape has gone done extravagantly, as much as I love Quinten, the police force wasn't doing much in that area." Caitlin added disappointedly at her work.
"Yeah, who's gonna help them now? We live in a society we're the pizza boy will get to your door before a cop." Cisco agreed.
"Well I don't know. All I know is that before all this shit goes down, this cure has to be ready; I will not die knowing Slade is alive. He's lucky that I don't just kill him like I did Tobias Church.
Caitlin looked wide eyed obviously not fond of the idea of me chopping Slade's head off.
"Wait... what do you mean-"
"Oliver thinks I'm gonna make it, but I'm a scientist and contrary to what he would like to think, the odds are not in my favor. He's going to have to kill me, he's denying it but I know how this is going to work out. He will have to kill since he's the only one that can," I stopped to have a coughing fit before I continued. "And if he doesn't kill me, I'll just have to kill myself. I will not risk the lives of everyone on this planet for my selfishness-"
I stopped mid sentence when I saw the look on Cisco's face. It was bone chilling; like he saw a ghost.
I knew immediately then that Oliver was standing behind me. I felt his sharp in take of breath. I knew him, I could feel the anger and dissatisfaction radiating off his skin.
I sighed, "give me a minute I'm almost done with the tigger antidote."
He didn't speak as I quickly mixed the substances in a vile and handed it to Cisco.
"Dude... he looks pissed." He whispered and I shrugged knowing what was going to happen.
"He's a big boy, he'll get over it."
I got up and Oliver walked over to take my hand just incase I fell or something like that. He snuck me out back to the car and the whole walk there was tense way about him. It was like when I first met him. He was wearing his black Armani suit, he was freshly groomed, he had the spark of intensity in his eyes that made me feel like I was right back at square one.
"Oliver put me down." I demanded we came up to a the ramp.
He didn't listen as he carried me with ease.
"Stop treating me like a fucking baby-"
"Maybe I'd stop treating you like a baby if you'd stop bring up that you want me, your boyfriend, to murder you."
"Can we not do this for the millionth time?" I sighed as he sat me on the passenger side. After he slammed the door behind him he stomped over to his side placing a hand on his torso before he sat down.
He didn't speak as he drove, obviously furious with me. The car ride home seemed to go as slow as possible until we reached the house.
"Stay inside." He demanded and I raised a brow.
"Oliver you've seemed to forget your manners."
He cleared his throat and glared at me, I glared back and he walked into the house.
He was only gone for less than five minute but he came back with a duffle bag.
I looked up confused and bent forwards to see if he was carrying something else. But he just threw the bag in the trunk and sat back on the drivers seat.
He drove faster than before and I looked at him waiting for an explanation.
Obviously not paying attention to me he just kept looking at the road.
"Oliver."
"Yes?"
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see in fifteen minutes."
Fifteen minutes passed and I was more confused than fifteen minutes ago.
"Why are we in the middle of no where?"
"Well it's definitely not to kill you, is that's what you were hoping."
"Haha." I laughed dryly opening my side of the car.
He help me out the car and I looked at the steep moss filled path I knew we were going to have to take.
"Oliver?"
"Come on." He insisted as he grabbed the bag from the back. He started walking and I frowned at him.
"Oliver."
He smirked at me, "you want me to carry you?"
I blushed and looked away.
"Come on." With his impressive strength he, with no resistance, picked me up and began walking up the hill.
"Oliver-"
"You'll see when we get there." His voice was so low, I forgot how intimidating his voice could be.
I muffled a sigh and snuggled into him. With all the fighting, we barely ever got to be like this.
It didn't take to long before we came to a stop and he put me down and I stood up and looked around. It was the pretty late and he had brought me to a lake. It was so clear I could see myself in the water. The grass was green and the area was covered in flowers.
"Oliver?"
"Yes Love?"
"What are we doing here?"
"We're on our first date."
I immediately sucked my lips into my mouth feeling my heart pound violently in my chest. I felt it in my ribs, my finger tips, my jaw.
I stood there just shocked as I saw Oliver digging around in the bag and he pulled out candles and lit them with his lighter. He pulled out drinks and snacks like fruits and chocolates. There were blankets and as I looked at him setting everything up I realized how absolutely perfect it was. It wasn't cold like it had been for the passed couple of days, it was quiet except for the sound of a few crickets, the lake, and my speeding pulse.
Oliver pulled me to the blanket and pulled out his phone to play some movie.
I didn't even realize there were tears steaming down my face until he pulled me in close and wiped my tears. The sound of the streaming waters just a few feet away was calming. We were propped up against a near tree and Oliver wrapped his jacket around me to keep me warm.
I suddenly felt underdressed as always. He was wearing his fancy suit and I was wearing Mom jeans and some ironic tee shirt. My hair was up in a careless bun with curls falling on my face.
"Baby, I'm sorry." I whispered into his chest and he didn't say anything, he just held me.
I'm sorry that this will be it. I don't want to leave you. I don't want to die.
"Why'd you bring me here?"
"I've been dating you for months and we haven't had a real date yet. Just consider this the first of many." Oliver ran his fingers along my bare arm making me shiver.
"I love you Oliver...you know that?"
"I love you babygirl."
He lowered his head and kissed me. I felt a spark between us that brought me back to the days when he'd touch my hand or bump shoulders. We had chemistry.
I sighed taking his fingers into mine. "What are we to do?"
The look on my face had to be heartbreaking cause he looked at me with big sympathetic eyes.
"Let's go in the water."
I looked skeptical at the clear water.
"Oliver Queen, if something slimy touches my foot I will raise hell."
"You don't have to be nervous Lilith. I'm already yours."
He seemed to pickup that I was trying to use humor to deflect my nerves. He bit his lips and I pulled off my yellow shirt and tossed it to the side. I was just wearing plain white bralette but he was looking at me like I was some Greek goddess. I blushed violently as he started to unbuckled my pants and pull down the jeans to expose my matching boy shorts.
"This is new? The underwear?"
I felt insecure and covered myself. He just chuckled when he saw my embarrassed expression. "I like it." He put his hands on my hips looking me up and down, "I like it a lot."
I smiled and kicked my pants to the side sticking my tongue at him.
He rolled his eyes helping me walk the grassy ground and pull me towards the water. He led me into the shallow parts of the water and I felt the surprising warm feeling.
He looked up and saw my smile and although I didn't have much strength I kept walking until I was by the banks. The mooned glistened off the water perfectly so I could see my reflection off of it.
Oliver was just staring at me as he was running his fingers through my curls with his hand on my lower back.
"Look," he smiled and slowly pushed my chest down whilst raising my legs. At first I was freaked out but then I was floating on the water with my hands at my sides with a perfect view of my Oliver.
"You okay?" He asked sweetly as he caressed my body to his.
Looking up at the glistening stars with my eyes right on the Little Dipper I realized; I was scared to die. I was scared and I felt my heart quicken suddenly but I kept the smile on my face. A lumped formed in my throat as I thought about a word without Oliver and I. I didn't want to die, but that was my fate. I felt my facade falling when Oliver asked again but this time conceded.
"Lily? Are you okay?"
I bit my lips and put the grin back on my face, "I'm prefect Oliver. "This is perfect; I just wish it could last forever."
"It will."
I forced the smile to stay on my face feeling bile rise in my throat. I couldn't bare to look at his hopefully smile.
"Okay Oliver."