Author's Note: SPOILER ALERT. Set after Damian Darhk and the Limo incident, and before Felicity and Oliver get trapped in the Bunker. I just had to get these two back together properly. Enjoy!
Oliver woke up besides Felicity on a wide bed in a strange room. Once he determined there was no immediate threat, he turned to her to check she was all right.
"I'm okay," she stated sitting up. "And my chip hasn't fried, so that's good."
He smiled, then began to carefully analyse the room they were in, checking for any tell-tale signs of a door or hatch. "Since we were put into this room, there has to be a way out," he stated, more to himself.
"Not necessarily," she reasoned, "since magic or metahuman abilities are involved. And they tend to bend the laws of physics."
"There is that," he murmured.
"There's food – which since we're not Barry could last us a few days – and water," she informed, tossing him a bottle he deftly caught. "So we haven't been put in here to starve." She stilled.
"What?" he asked, a trace of a growl in his voice. Her eyebrows raised. "Sorry," he breathed. "It wasn't intentional."
She nodded her acceptance. "Barry gave me a bit of a cryptic warning that something was likely to happen, and that I would need to talk through it." She met Oliver's eyes. "I think, we've been brought here to talk through the issues we've been dancing around." He sat down heavily on the bed. "I know that talking isn't really your thing," she admitted pulling a face.
"It used to be," he murmured.
"Really?" He glanced at her. "You never mentioned that."
"I never mentioned much of anything did I?"
"Unless it was pertinent…" she trailed off. "Not so much," she added slightly sheepish. He let out a gusty sigh. "Look, Oliver, I know that those five years on the island were the worst experiences of your life, and besides the fact that talking about trauma helps to deal with it, I don't want you to talk about it just to relive it, it's just that our experiences make up who we are…even the worst ones," she added in a rush.
"I wasn't just on the island," he admitted, making her blink. "In those five years, I was at Lian Yu, China, Lian Yu, Russia, and then briefly at Lian Yu again to get 'rescued'," he informed, even using air quotes to make her smile. He glanced at her, with a fond smile. "Do you remember a moment when you went into the CEO office of Queen's Consolidated, saw a picture of me and rambled about the fact I was attractive and it was a pity I was dead?" he asked softly.
"You heard that?" she gaped, flushing. "But that was years ago!"
"I had a…brief return to Starling City, I tracked down Thea, found her getting a score from her drug dealer…and I killed him," he admitted softly. "It was what convinced me that I wasn't safe to be around my loved ones, and why I then ended up in China. Waller," he explained with a shrug.
She nodded. "I remember that," she murmured. "That must have been difficult to see, and you weren't exactly in the best head space-"
"There's no need for you to make excuses for me Felicity. I made my choices, and I have to live with them."
She let out a noise of frustration. "Oliver, everyone makes mistakes, and if the guy was selling drugs to your underage sister, the guy obviously wasn't a saint." She paused for a brief moment. "I may have…looked into the case – purely out of curiosity – and found out that the guy was such a scumbag that the police only did a cursory search for the culprit. The general consensus was that the city had been done a favour – even if they didn't approve of the methods."
He remained silent as he assimilated this information. "I suppose if I would have mentioned this incident before, you would have already told me this," he murmured softly.
"Well, since I didn't know it was you, and there was no record of Thea being one of his clients, I couldn't see any reason why you might be interested," she replied.
He glanced at her briefly, then looked away again. "I…might not be the best of men now, but I definitely wasn't before. I was a rich brat, that had little thought of how my actions might effect others – to be honest I have no idea how my parents could love me as unconditionally as they did, even knowing some of the hard choices they had to make," he admitted softly. He glanced at her again and found nothing but patience and acceptance. "If I explain – about Sam and William – can you please let me just say it? I think that if I pause, I won't be able to…"
"Get it all out?" she suggested. He nodded. "My lips are sealed," she promised, miming turning a lock at the corner of her mouth.
He smiled, then had a swig of water, trying to think of where to start. "I was a rich brat, like I said, and before I dated Laurel – and Sarah – I was dating Sam…and she told me she was pregnant. I remember talking to my Mom about it, and then a few days later Sam told me she lost the baby. She moved away, I didn't think anything of it, it made sense she'd want to get away given what she went through, and it also made sense that she would want to break up. It wasn't until I went to Central City, and saw her with a boy, about the right age that I began to wonder if maybe…she had lied to me about the baby.
"Just before we faced off against Vandal Savage, I'd gotten my hands on one of William's hairs, and was going to ask Barry to do a blood test for me. The only thing was, Barry was on a do-over, and in the original he had done the test, and found out William is my son, you found out and we had an argument. He didn't know the specifics, but he knew it was bad. So I kept it to myself, determined to talk to Sam about it before I told you. I confronted her about it, she eventually told me the truth, and told me that the only way I could be part of William's life was if I told no one about our connection, not even William." He glanced at her briefly, before looking away again. "I told her about you, not by name, but I told her that I had someone special in my life, that I trusted implicitly. But still she refused to budge, so I agreed, not that the secrecy went well," he added dryly. He sighed again. "If I'd only told you, before I went to see Sam, then I wouldn't have had to keep it a secret from you-"
"Oliver," she interrupted gently, placing her hand over his. "We all make mistakes, there's a reason people say hindsight is always 20-20; outside of the moment it's easy to see all the choices we could have made." She made sure his eyes met hers. "The reason that I would be upset about you getting Barry to do a blood test, would not be because you have a son, but that you kept it secret from me. I know keeping secrets is your thing, but if you shared something like that, then you wouldn't have to go through it alone. I also know that you like to keep emotions bottled up, but even you would have gone through a lot of them just suspecting the truth, not to mention once you had a confirmation."
"I really am an idiot, aren't I?"
"Only sometimes. Like when it comes to emotions, or romantic relationships."
"Romantic relationships?" he repeated with a smile.
"Well, yeah, you have no problem with your relationship with Thea, or Dig, or Barry. Familial, Fraternal, and Friendly you're good at, it's just, you know, dating that you have an issue with."
He laughed. "I don't have the best track record."
"Understatement."
He laughed again. "I don't know what I'd do without you Felicity," he admitted softly. "I…I didn't just go to you for your tech skills – though they were invaluable – I went to you, because you reminded me how to be…human." He licked his lips and looked away again. "I'm sorry, for what happened in the limo. If I hadn't goaded Damian Darhk-"
"Oliver," she interrupted fiercely, making him look at her. "You are not to blame. He attacked us, knowing that it would hurt you, so he could kill you all the easier. It was entirely his fault not yours. Do you understand me?" He smiled softly and nodded. "I need you to say it, and mean it."
He gazed at her, expression soft, and linked his fingers with hers'. "What happened to you was not my fault," he stated, voice soft but full of feeling. "I love you, Felicity, I couldn't stand the thought that I'd hurt you…" he trailed off, and glanced away, attempting to compose himself.
She gently turned his face back to hers'. "You don't always have to be strong," she breathed. "You could let yourself take a moment, to process, to feel." She cupped his cheek. "I love you, Oliver, and I want to be there for you, but you have to let me."
"Will you show me how?"
She leant forward and gave him a sweet kiss he happily returned. "You've made a good start," she responded with a smile. She stroked his cheek gently. "Share what you can with me. It doesn't matter if it's silly things, little things, or some of the antics you and Tommy got up to long before the island. Anything of what makes you Oliver." She smiled warmly. "And when you have something…big, or complicated, or potentially difficult, tell me. Even if you don't, can't, tell me specifics, just letting me know there's something that's eating at you, so I can be there for you, with you, and give you whatever you need." She kissed him softly at the corner of his mouth. "Whether it's tracking down a bad guy for you to take your frustrations out on, snuggling close so you can hold me, or joining you for a glass of wine. You know vodka isn't really my thing," she stated semi-teasingly.
He laughed softly. "Is that it?"
"You're there for me whenever I need it, you just need to let me do the same."
"I'll try," he promised. "And you have full permission to confiscate my bows if I'm being particularly dense," he added making her grin.
They heard a slight click from behind them. They turned as one and saw that there was now a door, that was wide open. "I guess we unlocked it," she murmured, as they both rose. He kept her behind him as he cautiously stepped out of the room.
They found themselves in a corridor filled with rooms, with a pretty young woman grinning at them, her golden curls forming a halo around her head. "Congratulations!" she beamed. "You did that much quicker than I thought you would, then again, Barry warned you, didn't he?"
"Very cryptically," Felicity replied. "Was he here with Len?"
"Mmhmm."
"But they're already together, did they have a fall out or something?"
She blushed. "I…was not aware that they were already a couple," she admitted, embarrassed, just as a moan filled the corridor. "But they didn't hold it against me, so, all's well that ends well right?"
"Who are you?" Oliver asked.
"Thanks for not using the scary voice," she replied. "Not sure if it'd be intimidating in person, and think of me as your Fairy Godmother," she said brightly. "I hate it when two people are perfect for each other, but don't get – or stay in your case – together, so I provide a needed nudge." She grinned. "Don't worry, you will be returned to where you came from."
"And we're still here because?" she asked gently.
"Because I figured you'd have questions?" she replied, a questioning lilt in her voice. "Most people do. Just to head you off," she stated holding her hands up in a 'wait' gesture. "You have already figured that you're not alone at the moment. Since you can't hear a thing when you're in a room, I figured it wouldn't hurt to have several couples here at the same time. You are the second couple to emerge, and there is only one more left. I knew they'd take the longest, since they had the sex treatment, and don't feel bad about being second – they had a lot less to talk through."
"Sex treatment?" Felicity repeated.
She nodded. "There are some people…that need sex to loosen their tongues, so a surge of hormones later…" she trailed off suggestively. "I was advised that that was not the way to go with the two of you, and I had figured that out on my own." She grinned wickedly. "The physical side you have no problems with, it's the talking and sharing bit."
Oliver bit back a smile, while Felicity snorted. "Who else is here?"
"I can tell you, if you really want to know. Shall I start with who was here?" Felicity nodded. "Cisco and Lisa left here, oh about ten minutes ago. It was rather amusing, he was adamant he didn't want to know who was in that room," she gestured with her thumb to the occupied room, "while Lisa wanted to know."
"So which one did you satisfy?" Oliver asked curiously.
"Both. I whispered in Lisa's ear. It was a pairing she'd never considered, but she agreed that it might work."
"Do I know them?"
"One you know, and one you know well," she replied with a knowing smile.
"One is Ray isn't it?" she asked in a rush. "Not that that sounded like Ray, but I do know what he sounds like, I'm going to shut up now."
She visibly fought back laughter, then gave into it. "What I think she means is, that of those she knows well, Ray is the only one she can think of that isn't in a committed relationship," she stated.
"That, and the women I know would find the sex treatment counterproductive, so it has to be a guy." A beat. "The curiosity is killing me, please tell me," she begged.
She looked to Oliver. "You may as well tell me, Felicity would later anyway," he stated.
She smiled. "Before I tell you, be warned, you cannot get into that room, nor will you be able to wait until they get out." The couple looked at her with a mix of curiosity and weariness. "It's Mick."
"Mick Rory?" Felicity gaped. "Heat Wave?"
"He is a Legend too, and the two of them have bonded – in an unconventional fashion. Ray is such a boy scout, sorry eagle scout," she corrected dryly. "That he took a beating for Mick in a Russian Gulag, and despite it crippling his chances of escape, Mick carried an unconscious Ray out."
"Hmm," she hummed, clearly thinking.
"Sorry, sweetie, but you've learnt that you can find someone the perfect characteristic match to yourself, and it won't work out. You need someone different, opposite in character, with enough common ground to understand each other."
"Like Barry and Len," Felicity mused.
"And Cisco and Lisa, and the two of you. If you have issues with it, take it up with him after they get out," she added after a brief pause.
Felicity snorted. "That's a conversation that'll go well."
"Any other questions?"
"Who are you setting your sights on next?" he asked curiously.
"No one you know," she replied gently. "Now be warned, mess up your relationship without fixing it, and I will interfere again."
"Consider us," Oliver began, and realised the two of them were back in the bunker. "Warned," he finished.
"That's one way to have the last word," Felicity murmured, tapping away at her phone.
"Who are you texting?"
"Barry and Cisco," she replied. "Just double checking," she added with a grin up at him. "It was pretty vivid to have been a hallucination, even a shared one, but it doesn't hurt to check."
He leant down and kissed her sweetly, pulling back only when she made a little sound of happiness. "How about, after you've had your confirmation, we go to my place and have dinner? Maybe after a glass of wine, or two, I could share some of the things Tommy and I used to do when we were young and stupid."
Her phone pinged, and she continued looking at him. "I'd love that," she breathed, leaning up to kiss his willing lips.