Title: Thunderstorm Forevers
Words: 2139
Pairing: Laurel/Oliver and Diggle/Felicity, Laurel/Felicity friendship
Genre: romance
Status: Done.
Prompt: ohhsoadorkable - thunderstorms
Story: Under the Cut. [links after I finish this round of prompts]
Summary: Laurel, Diggle, Felicity, and Oliver are rained into the Queen Mansion and Oliver has something that he wants to say to Laurel, meanwhile Felicity and Diggle quietly observe the soon to be couple and each other.
As the thunder cracked and the lightning lit up the windows, Oliver sighed as he looked at Laurel, "Looks, like we're gonna be rained in tonight."
She put her hand on his shoulder blade and nuzzled his shoulder with her head. "We're gonna be alright, I promise." She told him and they stood there for a moment looking at nature brutally showing them that they were not invincible, that she still had some power. "I should go tell the others." She said as she dropped her hand.
He took that hand in his for a minute and squeezed. "When you're done telling them, can we talk?" He asked, quietly, gentle, scared that she would say no maybe?
She nodded. "Yeah, do you want me to come back here?"
"No," He said and cracked a smile while shaking his head. "Can you meet me in my bedroom?" He asked.
She nodded one more time and climbed the stairs. She found Diggle and Felicity sitting in the Queen Library as Felicity typed on the computer furiously. Diggle was talking at her. Supposedly it helped her think, but from what she saw Felicity never really needed help in that department.
"Laurel," Felicity said, not breaking her gaze with the computer.
Diggle and Laurel shared a look, "How'd you do that?" Laurel asked.
"Your feet make different noises than the guys. It's pretty easy. While i'm technically in a zone, doesn't mean I'm not aware. Don't worry freaks everyone else out too the first couple of times, you'll get used to it."
"Right," Laurel laughed. "No need to be in the zone tonight. We're not going anywhere, stormed in."
Felicity looked up from the computer and to diggle who shook his head. "Does Oliver have any recommendations for us?" He asked, eyebrow quirked.
Laurel's eyebrow raised at the question and cackled. "This is the Queen Mansion, I'm sure you can find a room with a bed and some clothes. Raisa might even be able to help."
"How can he afford Raisa, I thought the family was kinda broke?" John queried.
Laurel shrugged. "I may or may not pay her to be here."
"You're paying for two housekeepers, DA must pay a king's ransom for you." He chuckled as he left the room.
She looked at Felicity who was logging out of her computer and looked back to Laurel. "So you're actually paying for Raisa to be here?" She asked.
Laurel shrugged, nonchalant. "She's the only family he has left right now. Thea will come back eventually, but he needs someone familiar around."
"The DA doesn't pay you that well." Felicity stated.
Laurel blushed, her secret slowly unfolding. "I still keep my apartment, but I've moved in here. Into the master bedroom. So I don't need two housekeepers."
"But you leave..." Felicity sputtered.
Laurel chuckled, "Yeah, I go around the block about four times before you guys leave and then come right back in. We figured it would be easier. Raise less suspicion."
"right. next thing you'll say is that you totally aren't sleeping together." Felicity snorted.
"We're not sleeping together," Laurel said, shocked.
Felicity laughed. "Right, we'll see how long that'll last."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you want me to sleep with Oliver." Laurel teased.
Felicity shrugged as she put her laptop and tablet in her bag and then looked up, "It might help you two work out a couple of kinks. Just a thought. From a friend." She grinned and patted Laurel's shoulder as she left the room.
"Right," Laurel said as she shook her head and grinned a little to herself.
Oliver's door was open when she came around and she looked in to see him looking out the window. "You know, some might call your behavior obsessive."
He looked over to her. "Sorry, old habits, die hard." He blushed as he came further into the room and stood opposite her.
"How long did you spend looking out windows thinking of this place in the five years you were gone?" She asked quietly.
He lifted a stray piece of her hair on his finger and tucked it behind her ear as he looked into her eyes. "Too long. But in truth, I spent more time looking out windows, thinking of your face. That was my home. God, if I could take back all the hurt from those five years away from you, I would. I was so stupid back then."
She stood on her tiptoes and hugged him, "shush." She said as she shook her head. "You don't have to take that hurt away. If I hadn't gone through that I wouldn't have gotten here."
"I'm not sure I want you here to begin with Laurel," He stifled a laugh. They had to deal with the truth. This was a dangerous situation and she could get hurt or worse and he did not need another Lance death on his hands. Sara's twice was already enough.
She shook her head. "Well, you're not shoving me away this time. This city needs real help and helping you means helping this city some more. So you're not getting rid of me anytime soon."
"Look, that's not what I want to talk about. I'm not gonna win that argument anyway." He sighed as he looked out the door, into the hall. It was easier to deal with now that there were people roaming at least occasionally.
She pressed her cheek into his chest. "You wouldn't." She grinned. "But what do you want to talk about?" She asked as she let go of him.
He shut the door and went over to the bed and sat. "I want to talk about us."
"What about us, Ollie?"
He sighed. It was not the easiest relationship they had. "I like fighting with you. You keep me on my toes. Sometimes it's frustrating because you want everything to be mostly by the book, but I think there is more to our relationship than just that." He finished.
"Ollie..." Laure started.
He shook his head and looked down at his feet and then the window where thunder cracked in the distance. "Before you say anything, I know I have no right to ask that of you. I have no right because I was a terrible boyfriend five years ago and I've been a pretty terrible friend since I got back. Especially the five month vacation when you needed me. I just didn't know how, you know? I've never been there for the aftershocks. I haven't done the hard stuff."
"You know I wasn't the best person for you either before either. I was pushy and you didn't feel like you could be honest with me. I let you feel like there were things that you had to hide from me when we were together back then. I should have told you that you never had to hide from me. Because I loved you. I just I didn't see what I had and I don't think I appreciated it either."
"Look, Laurel, you were amazing back then. You saw things in me that no one else did. I wasn't the man you deserved. I loved you and I was in love with you, but I did terrible things to you. I cheated on you. You know too. You were the smartest person around. I don't know why you kept me around but I love you. It has always been you. Always has and always will. Always."
"Always and forever," Laurel said.
Oliver looked up to see her beautiful grin. God, he could die in that grin. He'd be a happy man too. "What?" He asked as she sat by him.
She took his hand. "Always and forever. It was our thing, remember?" She asked him as she entwined her fingers in his.
He looked down at their hands which fit so perfectly together. "Yeah," He said. "Always and forever."
"Look, I know I don't deserve it, but do you think you could give me another chance?" He asked as he kissed her knuckles.
She grabbed his face, feeling his skin underneath her fingertips and pressed her lips to his. "Ollie, I'd give you all the chances. I'm a sucker for true love. And even after six and a half years, it still feels the exact same as it did as the best moments from back then." She said, before she went in for another kiss.
The lightning struck and lit up the entire room. Felicity and Diggle, who had been looking for Raisa, stopped for a second and saw them and Felicity smiled and jumped up and down. "You need to pay up, John." She said as they passed.
"How'd you know anyway?" Diggle grumbled as he pulled out his wallet and gave her fifty bucks.
Felicity looked at him. "Please, let's just say, I built that cabinet. I've seen the hood outfit and he keeps that picture she gave him five years ago, next to his heart. And he practically gets heart eyes whenever she comes into the room."
"And her?" He asked.
Felicity shrugged. "Her favorite book is The Fault in Our Stars. She won't shut up about it. He's her Augustus."
"Her Augustus?" His eyebrow quirked.
Felicity threw her hands in the air, "It's a metaphor about the extension of life and whatnot. You should have seen her before he came back home. She wasn't living. She was surviving. She was post-miracle but pre-Waters"
"I have no clue what you are talking about. You know that right?"
Felicity just pat his arm, "I'll lend you the book once we can get out of here. Get you caught up on all the metaphorical resonances of Laurel Lance."
"Right," He said as he chuckled a little. They got to their rooms, right across the hall from each other, and he opened his door and looked back over to her, also opening her door. "Felicity, what's your favorite book?" He asked her with a smile.
As the heart eyes were starting to evolve in the guest wing, Laurel and Oliver's returned from a lifetime ago. They were better than before too, because at least now there were no secrets, except what happened on "the island" which matter little to Laurel.
"Life is crazy." Oliver said as wrapped his arms around Laurel.
Laurel shrugged. "Life is a lot like a thunderstorm. It grows steadily until it starts pouring and then it just keeps going and going and going and then it stops. Sometimes suddenly, sometimes gradually. It might go one for what seems like an eternity and then it sometimes doesn't even go on for nearly long enough. And it can be violent and exciting or a little bit dull. But the reality is that the storms, like life are only as good as the companions you share it with."
"did you study philosophy as well as law while I was gone on the island?" He asked her with a grin.
She gave him peck and smiled, "Well, maybe you'd be a philosopher too if you applied yourself at one of the four colleges you dropped out of."
He shook his head. "I like that you're the smartest person in the room. You kick my ass in that area. Although, I might I have to go back to school, because you might be able to literally kick my ass."
"You just might, Einstein." She said as she held his hand and looked up at the ceiling. "I love you too."
"Always and forever?" He asked as lightning struck and then the thunder clapped.
She rolled over to look him in the eyes. "Always and forever. My thunder companion for life."
"There's still a lot of kinks to work out with this, you know?" He asked.
She nodded. "For a minute, just let me relish in the kept promise, okay?" She asked him.
"Okay."
"You know that Digg and Felicity totally know right?" She asked him.
He chuckled. "I thought I was subtle. I thought we were subtle."
"Raisa gave us away. Since I have an income and I pay for her to be around. They put two and two together." She told him, nodding.
He shook his head. "But we didn't get together till tonight."
"Won't matter." She told him as she stretched her arm, the one attached to the fingers entwined in his. "They'll probably ask what took so long or something. Just figured I should let you know."
"Does that bother you?" He asked.
She shook her head, "Not at all. You are my always and forever."
"And you're mine." He said. "But for now, let's just be right now. And maybe get some sleep?"
Her face broke out into a grin. "As long as I can wear one of your shirts to sleep in."
"Deal."