Written for SmoakAndArrow's Olicity Flash Fiction. The prompt was "Into the Wild."
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She can't help but laugh when she sees it.
"What's so funny?" Oliver settles into the seat next to her. It's been half an hour since their ARGUS jet took off from the mainland. Diggle and Lyla are holed up in the back, deep in conversation.
"You didn't want to pilot this plane, too?" Felicity counters his own query with one of her own. "Are you ever going to tell me exactly when and how you learned to fly?"
"Yes." But then he's quiet. Felicity cocks her head, and Oliver gives a little grin. Not today, is his unspoken answer to her silent question. Instead, he asks again, "What's so funny?"
Felicity nods at the monitor affixed to the seatback in front of her. "Amanda Waller has a sick sense of humor when it comes to in-flight entertainment." She scrolls through the options. "The Swiss Family Robinson, Shipwrecked, all six seasons of Lost…Notice the theme?"
"Lost. That's the one with the plane and the polar bears, right?"
"I know you were still here when it was on."
"Yeah, but I never got into it. What happened? Did they make it off the island?"
"I'm not going to ruin it for you!" she exclaims. "It's on Netflix. You can watch it yourself."
"With what free time?" He points to another title. "What's that one?"
"Into the Wild. Indie film that came out a few years back. It's about a rich kid who leaves it all behind and goes into the woods and gets eaten by a grizzly bear. Or something." She adjusts her glasses. "I didn't see it." She continues scrolling through Waller's oh-so-thoughtful options. "Hey, The Blue Lagoon! I tried to watch it once and my mom turned it off and sent me to my room. You ever see it? I can – Hey!"
Oliver reaches over and turns off her monitor. "You aren't supposed to be looking at screens, Felicity."
"Because I have an undiagnosed concussion?"
"It's not undiagnosed."
"You and Diggle do not doctors make."
"You were in a car crash. You're supposed to be resting."
"And what about you?" she counters. "If I remember correctly, you were in that car right behind me. You went through a lot more that night than I did, so until I see you resting, I'm watching my movie about sex on an island, and you are free to do it with me." His eyes crinkle at the edges, the way they do when he's trying to suppress a grin. "Free to join me in the watching! Not…Not…" She takes a deep breath through her nose. "Besides," she scoffs, turning the monitor back on. "We both know the car crash was not the worst thing that happened to me that night."
The words are out before she can think, and when she sees Oliver's face all she wants is to take them back.
"I know," he says quietly, and although he's looking right at her, she can tell that his mind is a thousand miles away, back in that old factory, watching as Slade slides his blade along her throat.
She wants to take his hand. She wants to cup his cheek. But she can't, especially after all that happened between them that night, real, fake and unsaid. So she settles for making eye contact with him, waiting until it's really her he's seeing. "Hey," Felicity says softly. "We made it." Oliver nods. "And that wasn't the worst part."
"What was the worst part?"
"The waiting," she whispers.
"Felicity." Slowly, almost haltingly, Oliver reaches out to squeeze her shoulder. "That was the worst part for me, too." His hand lingers another second before he pulls it back.
She smiles at him. "Yeah, but at least you got to shoot things."
She says it to diffuse the tension, and his smile tells her it has. "Okay," he says, turning off her monitor. "Rest."
"I told you, I'll…"
"Rest when I do, I know." He adjusts his seatback so that he's lying down and motions for her to do the same.
"You want to sleep here? With me?" Again the words are out before her brain can filter them and she squeezes her eyes shut, keeping them closed until she hears Oliver's soft chuckle.
"I'm not sleeping with you, I'm sleeping next to you. Or trying to, at least."
"Fine," she mutters, adjusting her seat. She'll say this about ARGUS – flying with them sure beats flying commercial. Felicity closes her eyes and tries to shut off her mind, to push out all that has happened in the past few days, few months, few years, to finally, finally re –
"Felicity."
She opens her eyes at Oliver's voice. He's moved so he's on his side, facing her, and she finds herself shifting to mimic his pose. "Hmm?"
"The people on Lost. Did they make it off the island?"
She knows him well enough to know that he's not really asking about a show.
"Yeah," she says softly. "Yeah, they got off the island. And they found peace."
"Good." Oliver reaches out and takes her hand in his. "Good."
They sleep until the jet touches down in LA.
