Title: My Heart Starts Skipping (When You Look At Me Like That)
Pairing: Oliver/Laurel
Words: 2624
Genre: Romance/Friendship
Status: Done. But I think a sequel is in order. You tell me. :P

Coming to one of Laurel's AA meetings felt strange, but Quentin urged him to and so he went. It didn't cut into being the hero he needed to be and it was a way to reconnect with Laurel.

"Hi, I'm Laurel and I'm an alcoholic and prescription pill addict," She said, with a smile on her face.

"Hi Laurel," They all said.

He smiled despite it all. She should be proud of the work she did. She could genuinely smile in a room full of strangers and that had been his Laurel, the one he wanted to get back. "It was a good week this week. I felt more energy than I have since starting this path and I got my job back. Just working again, it's crazy. It's a little step of getting back to the best me. I never thought I would be able to crawl out of the hole, but I guess I found some purchase."

She talked a lot about finding hope again and how wonderful it was to see her animated. The girl he fell in love with telling stories at her AA meetings and laughing and people who he didn't know opening up to her about the good days they had on the wagon.

The whole group went around, at least sharing tidbits if not actively being part of the discussion. They talked about the judgement that came and he remembered the shame he felt when he told Laurel to get help. She needed him telling her that, because they were honest with each other, but he was sure that this girl still resented him a little bit for the things he said. These people helped her more than he had. Supposed to be her friend and he turned his back on her.

"Would you like to share with the group?" Someone asked.

He looked around and they were all looking at him. Oh. Well, shit. "Sure." Oliver looked around the room, but there was Quentin standing in the back, just nodding at him. He sighed. "Hi, I'm Oliver Queen. I'm not an alcoholic, but I know a couple. And in the past I've treated them pretty badly.

"My best friend in the whole world, I could tell she was going down. I wanted to help, but I didn't know how. And then things happened. And long story short, I ended up repeating a past mistake and rubbing it in her face. She was near the breaking point. And I knew I had to help.

"So I tried. Except when I did, I blamed her for a lot of things that weren't her fault. I shamed her for trying to cope after literally being through the pits of hell. I made bad choices. And I could see the rage in her eyes when she walked away from me. I threw it back in her face.

"I was so used to living in a world without consequences. My whole life people told me that my money could fix everything. They told me not to worry and I took it to heart. I live a no worry lifestyle. Booze, sex, drugs, the lap of luxury. And I lost five years to an island because I didn't want to face growing up. I didn't want someone who would call me out on my bullshit. And then I came back, and I'm an adult and everything has consequences. Work overloads me. A friend of ours died. My family isn't what I thought it was. And everyone expects me to have it all figured out, but I don't. And that's what I took out on her. And god, if she knew how everyday I regretted some of those words, I hope she'd forgive me, but I'd understand if she didn't."

Quentin smiled. Stupid kid was still so in love with her, it was ridiculous. And he knew that she was in love with him. It seemed like they were finally ready to not be stupid about each other. He put his hand on Oliver's shoulder, "It's important that you recognize that forgiveness isn't always easy. I think that you'll just have to open up to this girl and tell her exactly what you told us."

The leader of the group, made a motion to stand up and so did everyone else so he quickly joined step, "Great job everyone, let's join hands for the Serenity Prayer before everyone leaves," She said in a hippie voice and he looked to his left and right to see Quentin and Laurel, both holding his hands.

He gazed into Laurel's eyes as he chanted with the group, "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." They took a moment of silence and then there was a pleasant break from it as people milled about the room, getting more coffee or a cookie.

Laurel and Oliver stood in the exact spot they had for the prayer though, "So you came to my meeting," She stated.

"Yeah," He put his hand on his neck. "I wanted to see you, but I also thought learning about what you were going through might help me process how to use my words."

Her eyebrow quirked and she smirked. "You mean how to apologize for being a jerk?"

He cleared his throat and let go of his pride. "Yeah, that, I let things that didn't deserve to get in the way, get in the way." He nodded to her. His whole face went red. He'd been a jerk and that was something that he needed to work on. He forced his feet not to move, uncomfortable as it was.

For her part, eyes soft and sparkling , her lips quirked up and she put her hand on his bicep, "Well, why don't you buy me some coffee and we can talk about the things that have happened. But Ollie, I forgive you. You gave me back my life. We're honest with each other. Period."

He opened the car door and she got in and he closed it on her. He went to the driver's seat and drove to Big Belly. "I know it's not exactly coffee, but I like it here." He said. "Is this okay?"

"Dinner sounds great," She said, unbuckling herself and pushing herself out of the car.

He thought about that stupid little speech he gave in the hallway. Always running after her. He was going to stop chasing her. Yeah, like that would ever happen. Oliver had been chasing her practically his whole life and would continue to do so.

They were seated at a booth and she looked at the laminated menu, "Don't worry about price. Just get what you want," He offered.

He'd worry about the check. This was about him making it up. She didn't have to do anything but sit there and listen to him as long as she wanted. They gave their waitress, thankfully not Karly, but a thin olive skinned woman, almost wispy in a way.

The silence was deafening between them. He rolled his wrist, cracking it to make himself feel better, but he couldn't. Laurel nodded to him and he breathed in really quickly, before going in for the plunge. "So what do you want to hear about?" He asked, looking away from her. She deserved way more than him. She deserved a man who could deal with consequences. But dammit if he didn't want her to pick one of those men.

she thought about it for a minute. He went over a lot of things in his little speech to her group. She admitted that it was pretty brave for him to lay it all on the table. Sure, he didn't talk about the details, but he gave them the feeling that he'd really fucked it up bad. "Why don't we talk about your family. You seemed pretty upset about that." She said, putting her hand on the table, palm up, vulnerable.

That probably wasn't a bad place to start, but it was definitely a hard one. "Well, you know more about it than anyone. Except possibly Walter. And Felicity."

Her eyebrow rose, "Felicity knows and I don't?"

"It's a long story, I'll tell you it sometime. But about my family, you know my mother had an affair with Mr. Merlyn, but it actually goes a little further than that," It hurt him to tell this story, because Thea didn't deserve that man as father. He wasn't even sure how he felt about the whole thing. The only two people that Thea had ever known as fathers were Robert Queen and Walter Steele and he was more than happy to let that be the end of it. It took more than just a contribution of DNA to be a father. "Apparently, they were intimate without protection."

He could see her mind turning the gears and her eyebrows stitched together, "Keep going,"

"Apparently, Malcolm," He said, looking down at the table. "Malcolm is Thea's father."

"Oh," She knew exactly what this meant. Thea had been one of the people who hated mom most as her trial got under way. She hated that her mother lied to them. She hated that she had killed so many people (indirectly). And to think about Thea's father being the real mass murderer of the Glades. What would she think? Malcolm didn't deserve Thea. He didn't deserve Tommy, beloved son and friend, murdered by his own father. "You've told her, right?"

"No," He said, embarrassed about this.

She looked appropriately horrified, "Ollie!" She scolded him.

"I can't." He admitted to Laurel. "I mean think about how it would destroy her. She doesn't need to know she's directly related to a mass murderer. And she and mom. They were all each other had for a long time. I feel like if I tell her about this, she's got no one to go with it."

She reached for his hands and clutched them in hers, which warm. "She deserves to know. You and your mom can't keep this from her. She should know who her father is. She doesn't have to accept it, but she's been through so much. She's gonna hate the both of you for keeping this from her."

"I know," He said. He sighed. It was good to be talk to someone other than his mother about this. Even though Felicity was the one who came to him with it, it was a personal matter and they didn't exactly know each other well enough for him to be gushing all of his feelings to her. "I just, I feel bad for lying, but I also know she's not any better for knowing."

"Getting to take ownership of that fact would help though. Right now, you're taking that off the table for her,"

The food came and Laurel looked for the fork and knife on the table before just picking it up with her hands.

He grinned. It was so different seeing Laurel with her hands on a big greasy burger as she plowed it into her mouth. She looked more casual than usual, which was good.

Those were the moments that he missed from when it was just the three musketeers, he, laurel, and tommy. She was so ungaurded with them. He didn't get to see if she was that way with Tommy alone, but the hardened stare he saw the first day he came back, it couldn't have looked more foreign on this girl. She looked up to see him smiling like a big goof.

"Do I have something on my face?" She asked, a little shocked. She dropped the burger back into the basket and started touching her face.

He shook his head. "No, you look perfect,"

She blushed and swung her feet and pretty soon they were playing footsie. How long had it been since he'd done that? He beamed at the idea of getting back to who they were.

He was right when he told her that she was the only one who saw the man he was underneath, the man the island revealed. And in that moment, it felt exactly like that. This was the person she was. This fun and flirty person with the easy smiles and bright eyes and glowing aura. And AA had revealed that to the greater audience. There would still always be things that only the other saw though, because they paid more attention to each other than anyone else ever cared to.

They finished eating in a comfortable silence and uncovering the lies that they had been telling each other and he just couldn't believe that he had her back. And that she forgave him.

When she was finished, she was a mess, but a beautiful one with grease drips, lightly running down her forearms, which he wiped away.

He paid the bill and they exited Big Belly. "Thanks, for the meal." She said, putting her hand in her back pocket.

"Not a problem, Laurel. Truth is I missed having a meal with you." He leaned down and gave her a small kiss.

"Well, then," She grinned as she circled her hands around his waist, "We should do it more often. Make time for each other." She returned his kiss, with a slightly longer one.

He really liked that idea of spending time with her having meals. "Sounds good. Want a ride back home?" He asked her. He didn't focus on the kissing, because they were in a good place and while he really wanted that, they both still had loads to talk about that would get in the way.

"I don't wanna go home." She said into his chest. He understood. He didn't want the magic to end either. It was perfect. And they still had things to talk about, but it was a start and one he was very keen on keeping up with.

He brushed a hand through her hair, "Where do you want to go?" He asked. He didn't have anyplace to be and who was kidding, he'd walk the earth for her.

"You want to share popcorn and go to a movie?" She asked him.

That didn't sound bad at all. Seeing a movie with her would be like old times. He went to open the car and smile to her "Anything you want."

"Oliver," She called. He looked up and she jumped in his arms and laid a big kiss on him and he opened his mouth and she just eagerly went for it, and oh god, how good it felt be with her. He slammed her against the car and she pulled away and pulled his hair. He ground into her to make her stop and she didn't, but she moaned. She looked into his eyes. "Ya know, I don't really feel like the movie anymore,"

"Where to?" He asked, breathless.

She kissed him again and smiled. "Come home with me."

"That sounds perfect," He said, "But no more till we get there. I don't want to crash."

"What makes you think that we'd crash?" She asked, blinking her faux innocent eyes at him.

He shook his head at her and kept her close, "Because you're a little vixen," He whispered. It caused a little ripple through her and he was proud of that. "And because your father had to have a talk with us about public decency we got last time we got revved up in public."

"Well, then get us there fast, Mr. Queen." The glint in his eyes told him that this was a challenge and he was distinctly at a disadvantage. Somehow, that also seemed perfect.