Twinkling lights, fresh night air and the promise of a future filled with love and joy.
When they decided to get married, Felicity suggested doing the ceremony in the garden of the burned down Queen Mansion. They both knew that it would be tricky, but with him being the new Mayor of Star City they were able to buy back the land. Obviously they knew that they wouldn't be able to have the Mansion back to its full glory in time for the wedding, but the gardens were still intact which was surprising after the fire and despite the excessive damage, they could rebuilt the ball room in time for them to host the reception in it.
He initially thought she was crazy to add so much more pressure to their already hectic schedule, but later realised that she made the suggestion more for his sake than hers. She knew that even though he had conflicting feelings towards his parents, getting married where he grew up would have it feel like his parents were there with him on their special day.
He has always shied away from showing his true emotions, but being with Felicity taught him to open up a bit more. Even though today can easily be constituted as one of the best days of his life (if not the best) he is completely overwhelmed by everything going on and decides to take a walk in the garden to take a breath, away from the crowd.
He hands Diggle a small piece of paper for Felicity and makes his way toward the gazebo in the garden where a few moments ago they were declared husband and wife. He sits down on one of the cement benches on the side of the gazebo. Little Sara's flower petals on the ground catches his attention.
"Oliver, you have shown me what it means to be strong. You have unmasked strength inside me that I never knew I had until I met you. You're my anchor and I promise to always be your light. I can't wait to start this new journey with you….our future together. You make me happier than I ever thought I could be. I love you."
The tears are stinging at the back of his eyes thinking back to their vows as he picks up one of the petals off the ground.
"Felicity," he starts and struggles to get the words out. He takes a deep breath and tries again. "Felicity, I have no words to describe how you make me feel. You have shown me what it's like to be truly happy...to not be afraid to be me. You see past my fears and my failures and I want you to know that I love you with my whole being. I promise to always protect you, to be someone you can rely on. Today I promise you that I will always be committed to you and you alone until the day I breathe my last breath. You are everything to me Felicity. I love you."
"What are you thinking about over there?" He smiles when he hears a familiar sound behind him interrupting his thoughts.
"You." He says softly as he drags her closer to sit on his lap.
"Good answer Mr Queen." She jokes and kisses him softly on his lips. "Something wrong?" She looks at him intently with her sparkly blue eyes momentarily being replaced with worry.
"Hey, no, nothing's wrong." He smiles and strokes her cheek with the back of his hand causing her to close her eyes at his touch. "I have something to show you." He says changing the tone of his voice so she knows he's okay.
"Really?" she answers exited.
He smiles as he leads her outside the gazebo onto the lawn. "Stay here, I'll be right back". He kisses her on the cheek, smirking at the curios confusion displayed on her face.
Within seconds he pushes a telescope on a trolley to where she's waiting for him and unloads it on the lawn. Still confused she silently looks on as he sets everything up.
"We're going old school tonight I see, if that thing had Wi-Fi I could have had it up and running by now." She jokes, receiving an annoyed stare from her husband, "Don't spoil the moment honey." desperately trying to get the focus settings right.
"Okay, all set." He finally says. "This..." indicating to the telescope, "is your present."
"Oliver, honey, I don't remember us registering for a telescope, did we?" she jokes again coming closer kissing him on the cheek when he rolls his eyes at her.
"Well….this isn't really just for you…."he explains, "it's for us….let's say it's a commemoration of our wedding day and something that will always remind us of how we felt at this exact moment."
"Oooh Mr Queen, quite the romantic are we?" She jokes again at least this time receiving a huffed chuckle. "Okay, so what is it?"
"Before I show you, I want to tell you a story first…" He gently takes both her hands in his and kisses the ring on her left hand before continuing. "…after our first time together in Nanda Parbat you found me looking at the sky on the balcony."
"Yes, before I drugged you." Felicity blushes at the thought.
He laughs at her words, "Yes Felicity, before you drugged me." Giving her hand a squeeze. "Anyway," he continues. "That night there was a star shining so brightly and I couldn't take my eyes off it. It reminded me of you and even though I knew what was waiting for me, I was so happy to be with you at that moment….After I survived my excessive torture and training I used to stand on that balcony every time I had the chance. That same star was in the sky and for some reason it soothed the burden of what I was doing and planning, even if it was just a little."
She gives him his space when she sees how hard it still is for him to talk about that time.
"I would stand and wonder if you were looking up at the sky and even though I knew it was unlikely, in my mind I pictured you staring at the exact same star. That even though we were so far apart and you thought I had changed, that star would connect our hearts at that moment because we were both staring at it."
"After I had to lock you in that dungeon and see the look of fear and disappointment on your face I went back to that balcony and stared at that star again. I knew then that I had to sacrifice myself and die, to make sure that you and everyone else could be safe. I so wanted one last chance to tell you how much I loved you and just hold you, but I couldn't. So I stared what felt like forever and hoped that when you were awake and safe, that you would be able to forgive me and trust in my feelings for you."
Her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she listened to the raw emotion being spilled from his heart.
"I know it sounds really corny, but that star kept me sane. The thought of you is all that got me through that time."
"Oh wow Oliver, you never told me this." She says softly, trying to keep the serenity of the mood.
"When we came back to Star City I realised that our lives will always have some form of tragedy, but as long as we have each other, no matter where on earth we are, we'll be fine. So basically when I thought about what to get you as a wedding gift I didn't have to think too hard." He lets go of her hands, takes out a sealed envelope from his suit jacket pocket and hands it to her.
She opens the envelope and takes out the content. At first she's confused, but then the information on the piece of paper makes sense.
"You named a star?" She asks amazed as the information sinks in.
He can barely hold his excitement and nods his head, when she immediately moves in for a hug. He picks her up and twirls her in the air as she cries out from excitement.
"Oh Oliver, this is amazing!"
"Well, the only thing I had a bit of trouble with was the name. I wanted to name it 'Felicity', but I thought that even though I love your name, it would be better to name it something that's a bit more sentimental to the both of us…."
"…like 'red'." She interrupts. "It's perfect!"
He can't stop smiling at her. He knew this would make the best gift ever.
"So can we look at our star?" She asks turning toward the telescope.
"Sure, that's why I brought this. The coordinates are on the certificate if you want to use your Wi-Fi settings later, but it's been set up, so look away Mrs. Queen."
She rolls her eyes at him and moves closer to the telescope to see their star for the first time.
"Oh Oliver, it's beautiful! This is the most incredible thing anyone has ever done. I love you so much!" She says hugging him again with this smile still very much intact.
They stay like that for a moment until she can hear the orchestra playing a familiar song. She breaks contact and looks him in his eyes.
"I know you have an 'I don't dance' policy, but would you mind breaking that rule tonight? I would really love to dance with my husband on our wedding day."
He bends down placing a kiss on her lips and extends an open hand toward her. "May I have this dance Mrs. Queen?"
She smiles and places her hand in his, "You certainly may Mr Queen." as he pulls her closer to him swaying to the music.
"Not bad." She says jokingly.
"It's not that I can't dance."
"Okay, so why don't you dance then?"
"It's because I haven't found the right partner."
"Oh." She says her lips staying in her usual 'O' position when reality dawns on her.
"Felicity?" He asks softly.
"Mmmhmm?"
"I wanna dance all my dances with you."
She leaves his shoulder to look at him again and softly kisses him on the lips as 'red' twinkles away while the star-crossed lovers dance in celebration of a love literally written in the stars.