Title: Storm Clouds May Gather, Stars May Collide
Words: 2369
Pairings: Laurel/Oliver, Diggle/Felicity
Genre: Romance/Drama
Status: Done
"Oh my god, Oliver I had him. I did NOT need you to save me." Laurel screamed as they came into the cave. They were at again, lord have mercy on their souls, everyone's souls really, Laurel and Oliver were at again.
He slammed his bow on the table and looked at her, "You were taking a risk with your life and it wasn't going to work out. I had to shoot him."
"Like we don't take risks with our lives everyday? In case you don't remember, out there, Black Canary and the Green Arrow, we risk our lives making this city better. You are not the only one who gets to put your life on the line defending the city,"
"Guys-" Felicity tried to get in between them, but nope, they didn't hear her. She supposed she should have recognized that, because last time even Diggle couldn't come between them when they decided to fight, but she thought she might try.
Oliver huffed, "Yes, we risk our lives, but not unnecessarily and you seem to be on a reckless streak lately,"
"That seems to be your favorite word. And it's like I can't do anything right with you. But guess what I would have been fine without you swooping in and getting all manpained up because you thought that for one second that he might have the advantage and I might let him use it. Did you ever think that maybe I was lulling him into a false sense of security, since it's easier for him to underestimate me and let his guard down than it is to triple backflip, roundhouse kick him into submission?"
Diggle came in and saw Oliver and Laurel fighting. He sighed. Poor bastards didn't even know what they were fighting about. He walked over to Felicity and shook his head again. "How long have they been fighting, hun?"
"Oh, since they came back. Probably before that, but I turned it off when the fighting of bad guys was done," She told him with a frown. Oliver and Laurel had their differences, but it wasn't this bad normally. "They've really been at it for the last week and yeah, I didn't want to hear that fight,"
Diggle wrapped his arms around Felicity. "I'm sorry, Felicity. I wish we could leave them, but I feel like they might actually kill each other if we do." He said and then kissed the top of her head.
"Yeah, well, if we're gonna stay here and watch them fight, one of us should at least get dinner," She said a little bitterly.
He kissed the top of her head. "Why don't you go ahead, Liss? I'll get in between the lovebirds if they haven't stopped by the time you get back. Or I get annoyed with them. Whichever comes first."
"We have a baby, Laurel, do you want to take their mother away from them?"
"Oh fuck you, Oliver. You want to take about taking someone away? You want to talk about how if I have to raise this baby with Felicity, it's automatically down one important male role model in it's life?"
"That baby has plenty of role models in it's life, but it only has one mother that it came out of and I would really like her to be around to see the important things like the first soccer game and the high school graduation and the first breakup with a boy...or girl, but that's not the point,"
Diggle looked at his watch. It had been about fifteen minutes since Felicity had gone to get food and quite frankly, this was bullshit. He got out of Felicity's chair, that he was only allowed in because he was dating her, and only when she wasn't there, and went to stand by the quarreling lovebirds.
"I never should have let you go out in the field tonight. You're not trained enough and you handling that stick like your sister did, you didn't do it right. You could have gotten hurt. Or killed. Or both. Or worse. And Dammit, Laur don't you understand that someone is gonna use that against us? They could torture you and kill your family, because you didn't take one little precaution,"
"You're not my father, Ollie. You don't get to condescend to me about my abilities. You never trained me. I trained myself. And you, you run around the city like an idiot with his head cut off so I don't really see why you can't let me do what I was doing. I knew what I was doing. And you didn't trust me to do it in a way that wouldn't get us both killed. So stop acting like you're protecting something. You're being a coward,"
"It's better to be a coward than to to be reckless. What you did out there was dangerous. And it hurts to see that you might hurt yourself because you don't know how to handle your weapon properly."
"You think that I'm not smart enough to realize that maybe what I was doing was experimental? You know what I don't yell at you about? The fucking bomb arrows that you constantly whizz by my head. Seriously, if there is anyone who has endangered my life here any number of times, it's you."
"Those bombs are safe. Felicity wired them to make sure they don't detonate till impact. And you're aware of where there going so you know where to move. There is no danger in that. What you did, out there, that was dangerous."
"Stop it, Oliver, you don't trust me with my own life. Just say it. You don't trust me to make choices about my own life."
"Laurel, I care about you. I just don't want to see you dead. It would turn my whole world around and I would hate for that to happen."
"So this is about you?" Laurel asked.
That was it. That was the point. Oliver had put his foot in his mouth and he was going to get his ass kicked by his own girl and while he and Felicity enjoyed Laurel not putting up with Oliver's shit, it would be hard to deal with the city's sludge down one guy. "Hey, both of you!" He boomed.
For a second, they were both so shocked to hear a voice that wasn't theirs that they looked at him.
"Good," He said as he looked to the both of them, "I know this crime fighting couple with a baby thing is hard, but you're driving the rest of us nuts worrying about you.
"None of us can leave you alone in the cave because we think you might get violent with each other. And we know that at your heart, that you would hate us if we did. So you both need to listen to each other. Communicate.
"Love is not about trying to force change on a person. It's about wanting to change. And you both have changed a lot, for the better, for each other, but right now, you're forcing it. And you're both resisting it. Take that sign and realize that means something."
"Look at what you did, our fighting upset everyone and now they hate us because you think that I don't value my life. Which is stupid. It's literally the stupidest thing I've heard in a long time."
"What I did? No no no no. You did this. You didn't involve me in the plan and you knew how much it would make me crazy if you pulled a stunt like that. Bringing you into the field, I didn't do that just because I thought it'd be great to have my girlfriend with me. I did it because I trusted you. I trusted that you could save yourself. That I wouldn't have to worry about you. But I do worry. And you're not taking that seriously.
"Children," Diggle commanded and they stopped once more. Really, they probably would have still gone on for another week and a half if he hadn't stepped in. But he was right. They needed to stop forcing it and just go with it.
They both looked at each other and then looked back at Diggle. How had they even gotten to this point where all they did in their freetime was fight in the cave? "Laurel," Oliver broke. "My god, I'm an idiot."
He put his arms around her and she smiled into his chest, firm and strong underneath her cheek. "You are an idiot, but you are my idiot. And my baby's idiot father."
He cradled her head in his hands. How could he think that she would let something like her life go? How could say all of those awful things? She was the only thing he really cared about in the world. Her and his daughter that he'd been so blessed that she gave him. His Sun and his moon. His night and day. His tides and warmth. "I'm sorry that I said you were reckless with your life. I'm just so scared of losing you."
"Ollie, you won't lose me. I'm always gonna be by your side. And we're always gonna take care of each other. Fact." The idea that he had in his head that they could ever lose each other was stupid. "It'd kill me if I lost you too. But I know this is who we are. Canary and Arrow, in it always and forever,"
Felicity came in and smiled. This was good. Mushy was good. Mushy wouldn't ever result in having to clean blood off her monitor from where one of them had smacked another too hard too close to the computer (which was when the rule was instituted, there's no fighting in the cave, unless it's in the ring).
"So what made it come down from the fight?" Felicity asked as she sat on Diggle's lap, Big Belly in her own.
He took a couple of fries from the bag and smiled, "Some cold hard truth they were too stupid to realize," He shook his head. They were just kids and they needed each other more than they needed breathe, but as so often happens, they got intoxicated by the scent and let the consumption control them and not the other way around.
Felicity smiled at him, "So you dropped some fact bombs on 'em?" She asked as she ate with a fervor.
"Yeah," He snuggled her in close, "Just for you, babe. Because I know it was bothering you that they were fighting."
And at this her face practically broke into three pieces, the eyes, the smile and the lower half and Diggle couldn't have swelled with more joy. He did things to make his girl happy always, but seeing that smile, that one was different. She was proud of him. She didn't give it easily and he didn't expect it.
"Gah, guys, get the sex eyes out of here, that's not cave appropriate," Oliver blurted out seeing the two of them having fun with each other.
And at this, Felicity took the challenge up. "Queen, don't even start. I could tell you stories of the things I've seen you and Laurel do in here. So don't even start with me that sex eyes aren't appropriate. Because you always make the sex eyes. At everyone. It's your natural state," She puffed out her chest and tried to look tough but everyone just laughed, goodnaturedly, of course, but still laughter was had.
"Did you bring enough dinner for us?" Laurel asked as she saw that Diggle was still happily working his way through the fries in the bag that he and Felicity were sharing.
Felicity chucked a bag at Laurel, "I figured when you two were done love fighting that you might be hungry. It's a good thing I love you, because any normal person would have let you starve with the way you two have been acting."
"Thank you. Both of you." They were both angels for dealing with her and her boyfriend's issues. Sure, they were always and forever, but that didn't mean that always and forever didn't have some rocky moments, especially in the crime fighting business. "Come on you," She said to Oliver and went to sit on the cot from his days of sleeping with Sara.
Felicity assured her that were no fluids on it, so there hadn't been any shenanigans with her on the cot, which while she didn't oppose them having a physical relationship, it was weird to think about sleeping and sitting in the place where they did. "I love you," Oliver said because it was the truest thing he could come up with and the purest form of apology. I accept you and love you, despite and because of all your flaws.
She passed him his hamburger and gave him a peck on the lips, "Even when I'm reckless with my life?" She asked him, with an eyebrow quirk, this was it, the test.
"Especially then," He said, bumping his shoulder into hers and unwrapping the burger. He passed, because he knew that Laurel was a bird who could never be caged and he was fool for ever thinking he could trap her in the first place. It was like trying to trap sun rays between his fingertips. "I'd love you even if you decided you never wanted me again."
She rolled her eyes, "I love you too," She whispered to him, as she bit into her burger.
"Why do we keep them around, they're so nauseatingly cute, it's unbearable," Felicity said as she looked on them making up. This was when it got good.
Diggle just smiled to her. "Because allowing them to be, allows us to be, and there's no one I like to gross out more than Oliver Queen with my affection for you,"
She giggled as he kissed her all over the face and Oliver made that disgusted face he did whenever he caught anyone kissing or worse in the cave that wasn't him and Laurel. "See, doing it right now," He smiled to her.
"God, we're all dorks."
"Oh, but the fun we have while doing it."