I had this idea after season 3 and I just couldn't shake it. With the way the proposal went down I decided to change some things up and post it. Just a short one shot that I hope you'll enjoy. It's my first Arrow fanfic :)

Roy's phone dinged in his pocket, startling him enough that he almost dropped the carburetor he was installing.

Normally his phone ringing wouldn't be such a startling thing, except that he didn't know many people in this town, aside from his boss who was currently working on a Ford ten feet away.

Wiping his grease stained hands on a rag, Roy pulled his phone from his pocket, reading the notification on the screen.

"Star City's Oliver Queen Engaged After Romantic Christmas Proposal."

Felicity had set the alerts up on his phone. "So you always know what's going on, even if you're not here," she'd told him. He'd told her it was kind of creepy to stalk them through the news, but in the months since he'd left Starling he'd been glad for the alerts. It was an easy way to keep up with his friends lives without having to call them incessantly to find out what was going on. He found the fewer phone calls he had to make, the easier it had been to move on.

Still, Roy grinned when he opened up the news alert to see a picture of Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak grinning goofily at one another in front of a twinkling Christmas tree. The photographer had captured the moment of the proposal. Oliver on his knee, Felicity grinning down at him.

Underneath the photo were a few words describing the event, a Christmas tree lighting, and a video clip of the proposal. Roy clicked the play button with a goofy grin of his own spreading across his face.

Oliver made a beautiful speech about how Felicity stood by him through the dark times and helped light his way. Then he got down on his knee and asked her to make him the happiest man on earth, to which she agreed immediately.

Roy's eyes teared up a little while his smile grew wider. He knew that if his boss looked over and saw him staring at his phone like that he'd wonder if Roy was losing his mind, but at the moment he just couldn't care less. Oliver and Felicity, two of his best friends, we're finally together. Finally!

Roy had known they were. He'd spoken to Felicity a dozen times over the summer, he'd even talked to Oliver once or twice. But the last time he'd seen them in person Oliver was possibly about to go off and join the League of Assassins and Felicity was dating Ray Palmer. Seeing them together now, even just in the video clip, felt like a gift.

He couldn't remember how many times he and Digg stood in the foundry, shaking their heads and rolling their eyes at their two idiot friends. Well, one idiot friend, anyway. Felicity always had her head on straight, even when she was dating Palmer. It was Oliver that needed to get his head out of his ass and man up.

In the video, the camera panned to the crowd, showing citizens of Star City celebrating alongside his friends. Laurel and Lance were grinning. Felicity's mom was there. Thea was standing next to them, her nose crinkled up adorably as she watched her brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law embracing each other in front of hundreds of twinkling lights.

A pang went through him at the sight of Thea. He hadn't spoken to her since she'd shown up at the garage last year. He'd left the city after that, knowing it was best if he kept his distance from her. Talking to Thea would only make things harder for him, even though he missed her more and more every day. But he'd done the right thing, Roy knew he had. Thea needed her brother, her family, more than she needed him right now. And he needed to figure out who he was and what he wanted from life, now that he had a clean slate. Part of him knew that the answer would always be Thea, but for now he was content to be on his own, traveling from place to place on a whim.

Maybe someday, when the time was right, he and Thea could figure things out. Be friends again, at least. Be more than friends if he was lucky. For now, knowing she was happy was all he needed. Knowing his friends were happy was all he wanted.

Smiling as Oliver thanked the crowd and whisked Felicity from the small stage, he knew, without a doubt, that sacrificing Roy Harper for the man in the video had been worth it. Because Oliver was family. Thea and Felicity, Digg and Laurel, they were all Roy's family. And if trading his identity made all of this possible, then he was happy giving up the opportunity to be there himself.

Still, he'd call Felicity later to offer his congratulations. And to let them know that he would be back for the wedding, so they should plan accordingly. No way would he miss being present for that.

It was barely an hour later when his phone dinged again. This message, however, did not bring a smile to his face.

"Star City Mayoral Candidate, Oliver Queen, and Palmer Tech CEO, Felicity Smoak, Involved in Violent Shooting Minutes After Engagement."

Roy quickly scanned the story, but there weren't many details yet. He wanted to call Oliver and Felicity directly, but the article said that they were rushed to the hospital, which scared Roy more than anything else. As long as he'd known Oliver, the man had never gone to the hospital. The only reason he'd go was if he was so severely injured he wasn't conscious enough to stop it.

Or if Felicity was injured.

That thought caused his breath to hitch in his throat. They were his friends. They'd always been there for him when he needed them. And now they could be hurt or worse and he wasn't there. He might never see them again.

After everything Oliver and Felicity had been through together, everything Team Arrow had overcome, a few bullets might have destroyed his friends' happy ending before it had even truly begun.

As he dialed Diggle's phone number, Roy could only hope that the next time he stepped foot in Star City it was for a wedding and not a funeral.