Author: Some1FoundMe
Title: The Long Way Home
Rating: K+ (for now)
Summary: AU Felicity Smoak-Lance hasn't been back to her home on Star Island in five years. She has avoided it at all costs. She has made her life in Coast City, settling in at a job she enjoys with a man she could someday love. But when she makes the trek home at her mother's request, everything she thought she knew is unraveled. **Fair warning, this starts as Raylicity but Olicity is endgame.**
A/N: So this fic is being born out of a novel that I wrote a couple of years back, a complete orginal work that I've been fighting to get published for a while. While I was working on editing it, it dawned on me that this could make a pretty cool AU Olicity story. So here it is. Please let me know what you think!
Chapter One
Cold, crisp October air tugged strands of blonde hair free from her ponytail, whipping it across her face. The body of the man at her side did little to shield her as they stood at the bow of the ferry. Not that she minded. Felicity relished the bite of the ocean air. It reminded her of the life she'd left behind. It reminded her that this was real, that she was finally going home.
Ray's arms tightened around her waist and she sighed, leaning into his embrace.
"You okay?"
She nodded, "I am."
"You seem nervous."
She snorted, "You think? It's been a long time, Ray. Years. And I just – I don't know. Maybe I'm a little freaked out about coming back here."
He chuckled at her rushed response and settled his chin on the top of her head.
They'd met at work almost two years earlier. She had taken a job as the head of research and development at Palmer Technologies, the company that Ray now ran after his father's retirement. She hadn't meant to end up in a relationship with the boss' son, it had just happened.
"Wow, Felicity…"
The awe in Ray's voice brought her eyes up from where they'd been focused on her shoes. Star Island appeared like a mirage before them. The early morning fog had lifted and from the direction of their approach, they had an unimpeded view of its southernmost point. On the cliff overlooking the channel, her family home stood proud. She pointed it out to Ray.
"There it is. That's Verdant."
Ray let out a whistle of appreciation.
"The way you described it doesn't do it justice. It's beautiful, Felicity."
She couldn't find the words to respond. It had been a long time since she'd stepped foot on Star Island. Five years, to be exact. And seeing it now before her, rising out of the Pacific with such grace, caused a swarm of butterflies to take flight in her belly.
Felicity hadn't wanted to come, she had - in fact – adamantly refused. Until her mother's guilt trip had become too much to bear. She hadn't really given an explanation as to why it was suddenly so important for Felicity to return, but her mom's persistence had finally worn her down.
When she'd brought it up to Ray that she was taking a week to return home, he'd invited himself along.
She couldn't exactly tell him that she'd prefer it if he didn't join her. They'd been a couple for more than a year. They lived together, worked together, spent almost all of their time together. And while Ray was a great guy and they had much in common, her heart and her brain couldn't get on the same page where their relationship was concerned. She had wanted to ask him to stay home in Coast City but she hadn't been able to come up with a reasonable excuse.
When the ferry reached the dock, the fluttering in her stomach erupted like a volcano. She thought she might hack.
They left the boat with their luggage in tow. Felicity clutched the strap of her bag with both hands to hide the fact that they were shaking. She moved on autopilot with Ray right behind her and when her mother suddenly appeared on the crowded pier, tears sprang to her eyes. She released the handle of her suitcase and rushed into her mom's arms.
"Oh my baby girl, I've missed you."
A tiny sob escaped her and Felicity buried her face in her mother's shoulder.
"What is it? What's wrong, 'Lis?"
She sniffled, drawing away, and wiped at the tears behind her glasses.
"Sorry, Mom. Nothing's wrong. I – I just missed you," she explained, hating how vulnerable she sounded.
A throat being cleared behind her reminded Felicity that she hadn't come alone.
"Mom, this is Ray Palmer. Ray, this is my mom, Donna."
Ray stepped forward to shake her mother's hand and Felicity didn't miss the appreciative gleam in her mom's blue eyes. She rolled her own. Ray was an attractive man, she couldn't deny that, but it was her mom's obvious approval that she found amusing.
"Mrs. Smoak, um, Smoak-Lance?"
Donna smiled, "It's just Lance. 'Lis is the only one who chose to hyphenate. Not that her dad and I mind, of course. It's nice to get both family names out there. And please, Ray, call me Donna."
Ray graced them with a brilliant smile.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Donna. Felicity has told me so much about you."
It was the appropriate thing to say but Felicity knew it couldn't be further from the truth. She never talked about home. Or her family, as much as she loved them. When she'd run from Star Island, she'd left everything behind.
She reclaimed her bag and followed after her mom and Ray as they headed toward downtown. Her mom had her arm looped with Ray's, guiding him along as she spoke animatedly about the island and its residents. Her voice acted as narrator to the scenes playing out before Felicity's eyes. She found herself examining everything, her gaze wandering from storefront to storefront, person to person. Memories came flooding back quickly and a sense of longing shook her to her core.
"Our family has lived here going back three generations now," her mom explained, "Of course, the island and the village were originally founded by the Queen family. They're still here, as are a handful of other families that live here year-round. It's mostly seasonal, I'm sure 'Lis explained that, but there are a couple hundred of us who stay during the off-season."
She had explained the gist of it on their drive from the city. Star Island had been founded in the mid-1800's by the Queen family as a home for their summer house. Over the years, it had turned into a permanent residence for the family. Rumor had it that a scandal on the mainland had chased them to the island in the forties and they'd simply chosen to stay. Whatever the reason, Star Island had become a flourishing spot for vacationing families of all shapes and sizes.
But for Felicity, it was home. It was where she had met her first friend, where she had ridden her first bike, kissed her first boy, built her first computer. It was the place all of her memories centered around.
"No way! I must be dreaming! You're a hallucination, right?"
Her mind didn't register the voice quickly enough and she was swept up in a crushing hug before she could prepare herself.
"Barry! Put me down!"
She was laughing by the time he set her on her feet and she smacked at his arm.
"Wow, look at you, little 'Lis is all grown up."
She was sure she was blushing but she couldn't wipe the stupid grin from her face. Barry grinned back.
"I don't look all that different, Barry. Where are you headed to this early?" she questioned, "Catching the ferry?"
He nodded, "Some of us do work for a living. I didn't know you were coming home, though, or I would've taken some time off. Wait 'til Caitlin finds out!"
She hadn't seen Barry and Caitlin since their wedding almost a decade earlier.
"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry. Barry, this is my boyfriend, Ray. Ray, my cousin Barry."
Barry hesitated for just a moment before taking the hand Ray had extended to him. She didn't think that Ray had noticed, but she certainly had.
"Nice to meet you. Felicity doesn't normally bring her boyfriends home. As a matter of fact, 'Lis doesn't normally bring herself home so…"
The awkward silence that would've inevitably followed that statement was avoided when the blast of the ferry horn cut through the air.
"Shit. I'm going to miss it. I've got to go! I'll see you later!"
And then Barry was off and running, heading in the direction from which they'd come. The three of them watched him go for a moment before resuming the trek to the inn.
"Any other family members that we can expect to run into while we're here?"
Her mother explained to Ray that Cisco, Barry's younger brother, and their parents lived on the island as well. Cisco, Felicity discovered, was on sabbatical from his job at Star Labs after an accident in the lab. It was more than likely that they would see her cousins and her aunt and uncle before they returned to Coast City.
"And what about your oldest daughter? Laurel, right?"
Ray's question was so unexpected that Felicity stumbled. He didn't seem to notice.
"Laurel isn't here," her mother answered softly, "As far as I know, she's fine."
Felicity watched as her mom disengaged herself from Ray's side and continued up the road without them. He turned to her, clearly confused, and she sighed.
"Should I not have asked about Laurel?"
She rubbed at an ache that seemed to be forming in the middle of her forehead.
"I should've told you. My sister is kind of a sore subject for my parents. We don't … it's probably in everyone's best interest if we don't talk about her."
Ray took her hand as they trailed after her mom.
"What's the deal with that?" he asked, "You never really talk about her. I guess it didn't dawn on me that something was wrong there."
She let out a huff of frustration. This was exactly why she hadn't wanted him to come with her. His line of questioning, while not ridiculous, was unwelcome and while she hadn't set the decorum of what she did and did not want to talk about, she had hoped the fact that she avoided talking about her family at all would've been a big enough hint for him.
"Laurel is just- we don't… please, just don't bring her up again, okay?"
Her tone was more harsh than she'd really intended but after only twenty minutes on the island, he'd upset her mom and caused her own hackles to rise. She'd known that bringing an outside to Star Island was a mistake.
"I understand, Felicity. I'm sorry."
Her ire faded in a rush and she squeezed his hand.
"It's fine, really. Come on."
She tugged him forward and as they reached the crest of the hill, Felicity stopped to look out over the harbor.
"I can't imagine what it was like growing up with this as your view day in and day out."
She nodded, "It's breathtaking. You should see it in the summer. Boats dotting along the horizon for as far as you can see. And during a thunder storm, lighting flashing out over the water. It's incomparable."
They turned together to face the house behind them.
Verdant. Her parents' livelihood, their inn. Her home. It was just as she remembered it, its tall turret a sign of the Victorian architecture that was prominent on the island. The soothing green wood shingles and white trim the reason for its name.
Her mother waited on the front steps.
"The house looks beautiful, Mom. Has Dad painted it recently?"
It looked to be in impeccable shape, better even than when it had first opened, and as she took in more of the details, Felicity noticed a number of small improvements.
"Dad's been working so much down at the docks that he hasn't had time to do anything around here at all, really," her mom explained, "We've actually hired someone on to do the maintenance for us."
Felicity frowned. She wasn't keen on the idea of anyone outside of their family working at the inn. It meant too much to her parents.
"Anyone that I know?"
Her mother didn't respond and Felicity felt the hair on her arms rise. When her mom turned to face her, there was something in her expression that Felicity didn't recognize.
"Mom?"
"Honey, I've been meaning to te-"
"Mrs. Lance, I took care of the ceiling fan on the back patio but I couldn't –"
She felt herself moving, knew that she had turned to face the person whose voice she had recognized the moment that he'd spoke, but she hadn't consciously decided to do so. Her eyes met his, dark blue and haunted and staring back at her for the first time in longer than she could remember.
A ghost. He has to be a ghost.
Her heart was thrumming loudly in her ears, so loudly that it drowned out the sounds of her mother and Ray beside her.
"Oliver?"