Enough!
"That's it," Felicity more growls than yells, loud enough, however, to stop Digg just before he knocks me on my ass on the training mat. I grab a towel and he grabs a water on our way to Felicity's desk. She's shoving her things into her oversized bag and sputtering an incoherent string of petulant what-nots. Laurel is uncharacteristically quiet. She gives me an all too innocent shrug as I round the desk. I put my hand on Felicity's arm in what I hope is a calming gesture but she jerks away as if it burns. She stumbles back and I instinctively reach for her, my hands landing on her hips. She sucks in a single ragged breath, and I step closer even though I know I shouldn't. Her breaths come quickly and her eyes are on fire. She's angry and all I can think is she is the most beautiful creature I have ever seen. "I'm sorry, Oliver. I just…" She shakes her head and steps around me. I glance at Laurel, the only person near Felicity when she snapped. She is watching Felicity's resolute charge up the stairs. The Mona Lisa smirk she wears tells me everything I need to know. I'm not oblivious to the way Laurel treats Felicity. John has been after me for weeks to put a stop to it. I should have, but being alone with Laurel is difficult, though not in the way you might expect. She asked me to train her. I tried, but every time we are physically close, Laurel pushes it one step too far. She is relentless. She calls me Ollie. Doesn't she know "Ollie" is dead? I turn sharply on my heels and grab my shirt from the med table. Laurel steps in front of me.
"Let her go, Ollie," she says and grabs both my wrists. My jaw pops when I slam my teeth together. "We can do this without her." She misinterprets my silence as an invitation to continue. "We already have Felicity's programs loaded onto the main frame. John and I know how to run them."
"Don't speak for me Laurel." Digg's voice carries a warning that Laurel, quite stupidly, ignores.
"Besides Oliver, a team is only as strong as its weakest link. I know she's your friend, but her distinct lack of fighting skills is a liability."
"Laurel," I drawl through gritted teeth, but she talks over me.
"How many times have you had to save her in the field, Oliver?"
"Enough!" I snap with a little more vigor than I intended. I don't want to hurt Laurel, but I don't want to deal with her either. I pull my wrists from her grip and she stumbles but I don't reach for her. I stopped reaching for her a long time ago.
"Wait! Ollie, No!" She follows me to the steps. "This isn't going to work, Ollie. You have to choose."
"I believe he just did," I hear Digg say as I take the steps two at a time.
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I start to worry when I reach her house and she isn't there. I wait on the porch in the shadows and try not to think about all the things that could have happened to her between Verdant and here. Finally I see her tiny car pull to a stop on the street out front. I know I should let her know that I'm here, but the truth is, I'm afraid. I'm afraid that I will see nothing but disappointment in her eyes. I'm afraid there will be a finality there that I am not ready for... that I will never be ready for, not from Felicity, not ever.
"Felicity," I say as gently as I can knowing she is too wrapped up in her own thoughts to hear me behind her. She squeals and drops everything she is carrying.
"Oliver! Damn it! How many times have I asked you not to sneak up on me!"
I lean down to retrieve the brown bag at her feet and take a peek inside, allowing myself a second to erase the amusement from my face. She just makes me so damn happy. "You stopped for ice cream?"
She rolls her eyes and digs through her purse for her keys. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."
"You never mean to scare me do you," she says more to herself than to me. She fishes out her keys and unlocks the front door. I hesitate before following her in, not sure if I am invited or not, but she makes no move to close the door behind her. Instead she makes a beeline for her kitchen and grabs a fruity cooler drink thing that she forced me to try once. A mistake I will not make again. I pull a pint of mint chip from the bag I carried in and raise an eyebrow at her. She grabs it and flings it into the freezer, abusing the door when it flies back open.
"Say what you came to say, Oliver." No one says my name quite like Felicity does. No one can because no one else matters.
"I need you Felicity. More than anyone else, I need you. '
She takes a long drink. "Oliver, I didn't walk out to get your attention. I've had enough... truly. I don't dislike Laurel. Well yeah, I guess I can of do, but not for the reasons you might think. I don't dislike her because of you exactly. I dislike her because she's… she's just so mean. She's condescending to John which is totally out of line. She treats Roy like a criminal which I guess he is, or was, but even so, she has no right to judge. And she talks to me like I'm the help for lack of a better term, not that I'm not 'the help'," she air quotes. "I mean, by definition that is exactly what I am. The very nature of IT is behind-the-scenes, keeping-things-running, kind-of-help, but she doesn't have to talk to me, or at me rather, like I'm one step less than human for goodness…"
"Felicity!" I interrupt, a bit worried that she hasn't taken a breath in far too long.
"Oliver, I'm not asking you to choose. I would never ask you to choose. We all know how that always goes. I just..."
The sheer sadness in her voice spurs me to my feet and I am off the counter stool and around the island before she can complete her sentence. Her eyes are wide and round behind her glasses as I move into her space and take hold of her arms. "Oliver," she pleads.
"I chose a long time ago, Felicity."
She searches my eyes and I think she understands until she shakes her head and looks away. She draws a breath and I feel her stiffen. When her eyes once again find mine, they shimmer behind a thin film of unshed tears. "I know," she whispers. "That's why I can't do this anymore. It was hard enough watching you fall in bed with Sarah, and I liked Sarah! But I can't do it again, Oliver, especially with Gorgeous-Ollie-I-Know-You-Better-Than-Anybody-Even-Though-I-Never-Recognized-You-As-The-Arrow-Even-When-You-Stood-Not-Two-Feet-In-Front-Of-Me-Think-Of-All-We've-Been-Through-I-Know-You-Still-Love-Me-Laurel." She takes a much deserved deep breath and I try to catch up. "I just think a clean break is better for everybody. Like ripping off a band-aide. You know its gonna' hurt no matter how you do it so why not just get it over quickly."
I grab her face, and I am struck by her softness. It occurs to me that I while I have often cradled her jaw in my hand, it is usually as the Arrow and a layer of leather is between us. "You don't understand," I say and I allow my thumb to trace the expanse of her cheek. Her eyes close and I wait for her thoughts to settle. When she has run through every possible scenario anticipating what it is I am about to tell her, her brow furrows and she steadies herself for what is coming next.
Her eyes open and I give her what I hope is a reassuring smile. "I called Sarah last week, and I asked her to come and get Laurel. I asked her to take her and train her. Felicity, there was never a choice to make. When I told you Slade took the wrong woman, I meant it."
She shakes her head and I can see the wheels turning behind her eyes. "But on the beach, you said we sold it. You said…"
"I know what I said, Felicity. I also know what I didn't say. The simple truth is, I wasn't ready"
She tilts her head to the side and purses her lips, the way only Felicity can. "And now? Are you ready now, Oliver?" There is a challenge in her voice, in the set of her jaw. I smile for her, the one that only she can tease from my lips.
I step closer to her, just close enough and I run my hand the length of her hair, watching as the ends slide through my fingers. I've wanted to do that for so long now. "I'm ready," I tell her because I am. Her eyes drop to my lips the same way they did the night I used her feelings against her, the night I betrayed us both. She glides her thumb across my chin and returns her eyes to mine.
"It's all or nothing with me, Oliver Queen. There is no in between. I love you. Do you understand?"
I nod and feel my smile grow. I couldn't not smile if my life depended on it. "I understand," I whisper and I tell her, for the second time, that I love her, and I think, surely, we both already knew that was true.
A/N: Just had to throw my post-ep thoughts in the hat. Hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you think!