One More under the Mistletoe?

A/N: This is my first Flash Fic challenge in response to SmoakandArrow's Flash Fic Prompt #23: Mission: Mistletoe. Written in 60 minutes with a quick edit. I hope you like it.

The holidays had seemed less so without him. Felicity had lighted her menorah, gone through the motions, but she could hardly summon a smile. Oliver was still gone, and he should have returned by now. How could he tell her he loved her and then not come back? How was she supposed to live with this kind of regret? It clouded every aspect of her life, and she was sick to death of pretending that everything was okay. Nothing would ever be okay again if he didn't come home to her. There were things she needed to tell him, and if he never came back, if he was—she shook her head, cut off the thought before it could finish. Merlyn said he was, but she didn't trust him to tell her the truth. She couldn't accept it, not in her heart… even if she was terrified it might be true. She chose just to avoid thinking about it, because if she stopped to think about it, she'd fall apart.

The Arrow cave (she'd taken to calling it that again, at least in her head) was devoid of holiday décor, and she liked it that way, but for one exception, a bit of mistletoe Roy had hung before she and Oliver had their one date. Before Oliver had gone to meet Ra's. Before a lot of things. Dig had left it there once he'd seen it, joking that maybe her and Oliver would get caught under it and he'd figure out what he was missing. The "Lucky Mistletoe" had become sort of a joke among the three of them, strategically moving the mistletoe each day to some place that Felicity couldn't reach it. One day they put it on one of the poles of the salmon ladder, and Oliver rolled his eyes but left it in place.

After their rather explosive date and the break-up before the get-together, the boys forgot about it, and Felicity ignored it. Oliver avoided it; not once did he stand directly under it. That felt like a deeper rejection somehow, that he could regret their kiss enough to actively avoid mistletoe.

When he'd gone off to fight Ra's, Felicity had forgotten about the mistletoe. Until now. It hung from the ceiling over the base of the stairs, a painful reminder of a happier time (which was sad because it wasn't a very happy time, but it was better than this.) Felicity's lips trembled, she pressed them together and looked away from it. She'd ask Roy to take it down tomorrow. Oliver would never kiss her under the mistletoe. If she could just kiss him again one last time… but he'd never kiss anyone again. She blinked rapidly to clear her clouding vision. No! She cleared her throat and swiveled around to face the monitors again, trying to get lost in lines of code as she built a program.

She heard the door, but didn't look up from her program to see who it was. Probably Dig coming to check on her. Again. She'd just send him away. Again. Whoever it was descended the stairs slowly, and the sound of the footfalls brought back memories of Oliver with such a sure familiarity that she was scared to turn around to see who it was. It sounded like Oliver, but it couldn't be him. She closed her eyes and pretended for a moment, just one moment, and then she drew in a deep breath and blew it out, swiveled her chair and braced for disappointment.

"Felicity?"

She opened her eyes. That voice…

"Felicity, I—"

"Oliver? You were dead."

He stood at the base of the stairs as if he wasn't sure of her welcome, concern and weariness etched deep on his face.

He shook his head, "I'm here now."

She was on her feet and running to him. His arms opened and he pressed her close to his broad chest. She breathed him in, listened to his heartbeat hammering hard within his chest. Oliver pressed kisses to her hair, holding her so tightly it was almost painful, but she didn't mind… it was real. Real. Hot tears tracked down her face, soaked into his shirt. He didn't seem to mind because he just held her closer. He murmured words of comfort in her ear, apologized over and over. She was afraid to let him go, but she needed to see his face. She compromised by loosening her grip just enough to look up at him.

She studied his face, saw a new sorrow behind his eyes, "I thought I'd lost you."

He smiled down at her gently, the one he saved just for her. "I had to make it back to you."

She sniffled, "I let you go, and I never told you. I never told you, and you died."

Hope lighted the sorrow behind his eyes, "Tell me now," he said softly.

She pressed her hand over his heart, comforted by the feel of his heart beating. "I love you, Oliver. I have for a long time."

His smile was something amazing, like he wore pure joy on his face. She saw it so seldom, and right now she knew it was all for her. He opened his mouth to speak, but she went up on her toes, pulled his head down and pressed her lips to his, cutting him off. She'd swore if she ever saw him again, she'd kiss him like she wanted to. A moment's shock, and he returned it hungrily. His body trembled, and she held him closer, deepening the kiss, meeting him passion for passion. They broke for air, leaving both of them panting and trembling.

She was right, everything would change between them now. It had to after he kissed her like that. She glanced up at the mistletoe and smiled before going in for another one.

END

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! Comments are always appreciated… it's a nice tip for a hardworking author. ;)