A/N – This is a Skyelicity friendship crossover story in which Skye and Felicity were childhood friends and will be about 8 chapters in length, depending on how I cut chapters for length. As always that is subject to change because sometimes I edit/add and stories grow by a chapter or two. It was inspired by a Tumblr post someone sent to me that made it look like Skye and Felicity were friends - I can't find the post anymore or I'd link it because it was really funny. I might reference it later in the story, though. This is a sequel to the Skyeward short story (2 chapters) titled 'Things We Lost in the Fire' – it is AU so Ward was never Hydra, but you do need to read that one first in order to understand what's going on here, why Skye left, and exactly why she's felt so isolated. This is an altered Agents of SHIELD early season 2 and Arrow early season 3 story. Assume spoilers up to 3x05 The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak for Arrow, and I'll be bringing in some history on Skye's background from seasons 1 and 2. Since these characters are new to each other, I can get away with kind of explaining things as I go along, which should help if you're not totally familiar with one show or the other.
There is NO HATE on characters in this story and it will feature all of the characters from Team Bus, Team Arrow and a few from The Flash. I am doing my best to be fair to all characters but if you watch Arrow, you'll see that I changed some things from early season 3, and that will become clear in later chapters. The main reason is because some things that happened early in Season 3 would take too much focus away from where I wanted it in the story, which is on Skye and Felicity's friendship. For example there's no Ray Palmer (other than mentioned in business dealings) because I don't have time for that and unlike Arrow, I'm not writing for a spinoff here. Also, assume everyone knows about Oliver, including Thea, and Lance is still being willfully ignorant because he doesn't want to know the Arrow's identity.
Chapter 1 – Until We Break
Every evening, Ward told himself the same thing. Don't look. Don't think about it – about her. Let it go.
And every evening since they'd left Skye at the base, he checked in on her. The tracking bracelet she wore showed her movements, though she seemed to spend most of her time in her bedroom. Jemma had instructed her to rest; he was almost surprised she was taking the advice seriously. After noting her vitals and concluding that she was asleep, he logged off of the tracking system.
It was a weakness at this point. She was a weakness, one that he didn't know how to excise because she'd burrowed deep when he wasn't looking. He'd been trained well to see the enemy coming. His training just hadn't prepared him for her.
He remembered a quote from one of the books on the reading list Garrett gave him.
The saddest thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies.
Irony was a hell of a thing. He'd been betrayed first by Garrett and then by Skye. His rational brain told him they weren't the same situation. On some level he recognized that Skye wasn't the enemy that Garrett had been. It just didn't change how he felt about her lies and secrets, and that cold anger settled bone deep. He'd allowed her to get closer than anyone had in years. He'd trusted her, and he still felt like a fool for allowing himself to be deceived for so long.
May had accused him of nursing the grudge to an extreme, and maybe she was right. Grant still didn't appreciate her interference in forcing him to confront the situation. Training with Skye again wasn't in the best interests of either one of them. He was distracted, so was she, and the result was an injury that likely wouldn't have happened with May. Seeing her hurt brought his carefully compartmentalized feelings back to the surface, and he'd been struggling for weeks to put the lid back on the box.
Ward made his way back to the lounge of the Bus to find Simmons reading while Fitz and Hunter watched a news report. He paused when he saw that the news report featured more violence in Starling City. It hadn't escaped his attention that Skye had been following Starling City news closely in recent months, and he'd even heard Hunter asking her about it once. What concerned him now was how worried Fitz looked.
Simmons looked up from her book and glanced over at Fitz and Hunter. "Really, I can't imagine why anyone would continue to live in Starling City after the terrorist attacks and brutal murders of so many city officials. It has one of the highest crime rates in America."
Fitz looked agitated as the news story wrapped up. Standing, he muttered, "I just need to check on something."
Ward watched him hurry from the room before turning to Hunter. "What's wrong with him?"
Hunter raised a brow and shrugged. "Wouldn't know, mate." He stood and stretched. "Think I'll turn in – big day tomorrow." He stepped around Ward and headed down the hall towards his bunk.
He didn't trust Hunter despite Coulson and Bobbi vouching for him. As far as Ward was concerned, mercenaries were the lowest of life forms. They were paid to do a job, and most weren't all that discerning about which side they played for as long as payment was wired into their accounts on time. Hunter appeared to have a slightly more balanced moral compass, but that wasn't saying much.
He told himself that was the reason he hated to see Hunter with Skye, but he suspected May saw through him. She'd told him that she would ask Hunter to take over Skye's training if he couldn't or wouldn't do it himself. Maybe Ward should have called her bluff; May didn't like Hunter any more than he did and he'd been doubtful she would actually entrust him with such a task. He just didn't want to risk it because as much as it pained him to see them teasing each other, watching them train together would have been worse.
Ward sat at the bar and poured a drink. He could feel Simmons' eyes on him but he ignored her, and within minutes she murmured that it was getting late and left him to his thoughts. He didn't want to think about Skye or her connection to Starling City. They had a mission to finish up tomorrow, and his mind should be firmly fixed on those mission details.
After finishing his drink, he walked back to his bunk, undressed, and slid into bed. Closing his eyes, he willed his mind to let go of her, at least for the night.
The mission went off as planned the following day, and they managed to obtain highly classified files from the small Hydra base they hit. They also picked up one of the higher ranking officers, and May had them back in the air within the hour. Bobbi, Hunter, Coulson and Simmons were eating dinner in the lounge. Fitz, however, was noticeably absent.
Ward walked downstairs to the lab. Fitz was there just as he suspected, and he was again watching Starling City news coverage while simultaneously scanning information on a laptop.
"Come on, where are you?" Fitz muttered.
He was so intent on his screens that he didn't even notice as Ward approached him. "What are you doing?"
Fitz jumped and whirled around. "I wish you wouldn't lurk about like that."
Ward sighed but resisted the urge to point out that he should have better spatial awareness. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing." Fitz's eyes slid away from his and he scratched his chin.
He was lying, that much was clear. The question was why? Ward walked over to his workstation to see he had Skye's tracking system pulled up. It showed she was in her bedroom, and again her vitals indicated she was sleeping. Since it was late, that wasn't a surprise. He scrolled through her day's movements – bedroom, lounge, kitchen, bathroom. There was nothing suspicious there, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.
Fitz had turned back to the news, his brows drawn together in a worried frown. Ward shifted his attention to the news report. As Simmons noted the night before, Starling City had faced its share of troubles over the last couple of years. It had been the target of two terrorist attacks, one of which leveled a section of the city. Countless city officials had been murdered as well, including two mayors, a mayoral candidate, and the district attorney.
Starling City had pinged on SHIELD's radar first because of the earthquake machine used to facilitate the first attack and later due to enhanced soldiers swarming the city streets. They had briefings about both events but Coulson later said ARGUS would be handling it. At the briefings he learned the city was home to a handful of vigilantes, and it appeared they had more to do with putting down the super soldiers than ARGUS did.
He knew Coulson had continued to monitor what was going on in Starling City all summer. When he first noticed Skye's interest, he thought she'd been asked to do the monitoring. Later he learned that another analyst was behind Coulson's weekly briefs, though that didn't stop Skye from following the news on a daily basis.
In the last forty-eight hours, there had been two power surges in the city which caused blackouts. Mob violence followed, and the news footage showed chaos in the streets, particularly in the area known as the Glades.
And now Fitz was hiding something. "Does Skye know someone in Starling City?" he asked, wondering if Skye had asked Fitz to keep an eye on someone for her.
Fitz shrugged but didn't answer. Ward turned back to the tracking system and looked up Miles Lydon, but he was still in Texas. He felt the knot of tension in his chest relax a little.
"There's something strange about these power surges," Fitz suddenly said. "Before each blackout, there was an emergency broadcast."
"Okay," Ward said, crossing his arms. "The city updated their emergency response system over the summer, so that makes sense."
"If it went out to the whole city, yes. But the first broadcast targeted one section of the city, and the second targeted another. Some areas didn't receive the broadcast at all. The areas that received it recorded more violence than other areas – well, that's true of the first one, anyway. I'm still trying to gather police reports from the second one." Fitz was back on the laptop now. "Skye's better at this kind of thing."
"Why are you looking into this?" Ward asked. "Coulson gets weekly briefs on Starling City, but they fall under ARGUS."
A sudden beeping noise distracted them both before Fitz could answer. It was coming from the tracking system; Skye's monitor tag was blinking to indicate she'd gone offline. Ward watched as Fitz hit a few keys while muttering under his breath. A few minutes later it was online again. There was no change in Skye's position or vitals.
"Is something wrong with the tracking system or with Skye's tracker?" Ward asked.
"I don't know," Fitz replied, his tone short. "I can think more clearly if you're not standing over me, though."
Ward raised his brows at Fitz's uncharacteristic display of temper but left him alone to work on the issue. He could check in again when they arrived at the Playground in a few hours. Settling in the lounge, he ate dinner and then worked on writing up his mission debrief notes. But the closer they got to the Playground, the more uneasy he felt. He pulled up the tracking system and checked Skye's position again. Nothing had changed.
Giving up on his report, Ward shut down his laptop and tried to read instead. He'd been staring at the same page for a few minutes when Fitz suddenly ran up the stairs, through the lounge and into Coulson's office. That vague uneasiness suddenly grew teeth and claws, and he knew something was very wrong.
Fitz was already babbling when Ward followed him into Coulson's office, and Coulson held up a hand. "Fitz, you're not making any sense. Slow down. What's wrong with Skye's tracker?"
Fitz took a deep breath, looking more upset than Ward had ever seen. "Nothing is wrong with the tracker, sir. It's doing exactly what we wanted it to do only… Skye isn't at the Playground. She's in Starling City."
Ward's uneasiness turned to a sense of dread. "What the hell do you mean she's in Starling City? Her tracker still shows she's at the base!" He thought about the chaos in the city at the moment and felt his dread turning to something more akin to panic.
Coulson looked equally concerned but seemed to understand what Fitz was getting at. "You helped her bounce the signal somehow."
Fitz nodded. "She's just been so upset lately and she wanted to see her friend…"
"What friend?" Ward demanded.
"I don't know," Fitz admitted," but that's not important now. Her signal has been interrupted since the blackouts started, so I started tracking her around the city more closely. A few hours ago, she disappeared completely. Her last location was in the Glades, and that area has been hit the worst by crime, so I started searching for her. Then I found this."
Ward watched as Fitz pulled up a video and hit play. The footage was shaky, and from the chatter in the background he thought it was probably recorded by teenagers on a cell phone. It was dark but he could clearly make out a hooded figure fighting two men in an alley. The hooded figure took them down with little trouble and then turned abruptly when confronted by someone at the mouth of the alley.
He heard someone whispering to zoom in. The image blurred and then cleared again, this time closer and in better focus. Ward's heart slammed against his chest as he realized the person entering the alley was Skye. She was speaking to the hooded figure – a woman, based on the build – and she had a gun pointed at her, or most likely an ICER.
The hooded woman drew a bow so fast it was a blur, as was the arrow that almost hit Skye before she dove out of the way. Skye fired back but missed. Suddenly, a blonde woman dressed in black dropped down from the roof. She was speaking, holding out a hand towards Skye.
Then Skye fell.
"What just happened?" Coulson asked sharply.
Fitz swallowed hard and backed up the video, then played it again. This time Ward could see the arrow that hit Skye before she crumpled to the ground.
Get up. His hands clenched, eyes glued to the screen, but she didn't move. His world narrowed to that small figure on the ground and his hands felt cold. Get up.
The women moved closer to stand over Skye, and the masked blonde knelt down to check for a pulse. She shook her head and stood up, turning in the direction of the camera. He could hear muttered curses and the image blurred as the owner started running before the video abruptly ended.
"Her vital signs slowed significantly before her signal disappeared," Fitz explained in a shaky voice. "At first I thought it was just a problem with the signal interference but then I found the video."
Coulson didn't say anything as Ward played the video again, and then again, his eyes scanning her still form for any sign of movement. There was none.
Ten days earlier…
Skye tapped her fingers nervously against the table as she sat in a holding room at Starling City Police Department. She was tired, hungry, and her ribs were beginning to ache from having her hands cuffed behind her back on the way to the station.
When she'd arrived in Starling City, she immediately tried contacting Felicity again. But just like her other calls the night before, it had gone straight to voicemail. She went to Queen Consolidated first and found that their recently beefed-up security meant there was no way in hell she was getting past the lobby without an appointment.
In fact, she couldn't even get the security guard at the front desk to call up to the IT department. Instead he asked for her name and number. When she saw him add it to a similar stack of messages, she somehow doubted Felicity would get it that day.
So she sat outside and waited. When she saw a catering service pull around to a side entrance for a lunch delivery, she snagged a jacket from the truck and slipped inside to the service elevators. She actually made it up to the IT department only to find that Felicity didn't even work there anymore. She was now on the executive floor with the CEO, Oliver Queen.
She'd pushed her luck trying to get up there. The caterer was setting up lunch in one of the large conference rooms when she spied Skye and blew the whistle on her. Skye was summarily detained and then escorted down to the security office where she suffered the humiliation of being photographed for some kind of Stalker Wall of Shame. Then she was left in a room to wait for the police.
Skye had picked the lock and managed to sneak back out of the building. This time she waited across the street, watching as people came and went. It was after five when she spotted Oliver's bodyguard and driver pulling a car around. However, she wasn't able to get across the street before Oliver and Felicity emerged and got into the car. The luxury vehicle was merging seamlessly with traffic by the time the light changed, and Skye was left frustrated as she watched her friend disappear.
She knew from the news reports that the Queen family mansion was up for sale, so she didn't think they would be going there. She had no idea where either one of them lived, either. The only other information she had was that Oliver owned a nightclub in the Glades called Verdant. His sister had been running it for the past year, but she'd seen a few clips of Oliver and Felicity entering and leaving the place together. It was worth a try.
Unfortunately, Queen Consolidated security was thorough and they had already circulated her photo. So not only were Oliver and Felicity not at Verdant, she'd been arrested and hauled into the Starling City Police Department on trespassing charges. She'd been here for at least a couple of hours – they'd run her prints, something she hoped Fitz caught before Coulson did.
Skye had cards for the identity under which she'd traveled; they were hidden in a small pocket inside her pants leg, along with her money. Her bag only contained her laptop, a few changes of clothes and an ICER gun she'd taken apart, the pieces hidden among her laptop accessories. She didn't want them running her alias if she could avoid it. It was the only clean one she had, and she hoped she might be able to reach Felicity before that was necessary.
She looked up as the door opened, expecting to see the captain who'd questioned her earlier. Instead a tall, slender brunette walked in and closed the door behind her. Her periwinkle silk blouse, cream business suit, understated jewelry and heels set her apart from every cop Skye had ever seen. Based on the briefcase, she guessed she was a lawyer.
The brunette pulled out the chair opposite Skye and sat, placing her briefcase on the table in front of her. "So… Skye, is it? Can you state your last name for the record?"
Skye sat back and affected a relaxed pose. "Just Skye, actually." When the brunette raised a brow, Skye shrugged. "It worked out for Madonna."
"Okay then." The woman reached into her briefcase and pulled out a few papers. "I'm Laurel Lance, assistant D.A. to the City of Starling. My office was notified of the trespassing incident earlier today at Queen Consolidated, as well as the fact that you showed up at Mr. Queen's nightclub. Mr. Queen has very generously decided to drop criminal trespass charges in exchange for your signature on this restraining order." She tapped a well-manicured finger against the papers.
"I'm not a stalker," Skye protested, feeling an embarrassed flush creeping into her cheeks. She was never going to live this down when Felicity found out.
Ms. Lance's answering smile was tinged with both humor and disbelief. "That's exactly what the last five women said. Mr. Queen is an old family friend, and I know exactly how charming he can be. And maybe it is a misunderstanding, which is why he's willing to let this incident slide as long as you give us proof of identity and you sign the restraining order."
"No, I meant I wasn't looking for Mr. Queen," Skye told her. "I was looking for his friend, Felicity Smoak."
Ms. Lance looked surprised. "Well, that's new and different. Unfortunately, admitting to stalking Ms. Smoak doesn't make this any better. It just means I have another name to add to the restraining order, which I'd urge you to sign quickly before Mr. Queen changes his mind. I can assure you he won't like your interest in his assistant."
His assistant? Felicity was Oliver Queen's assistant?
She shook her head and leaned forward to look the other woman in the eye. "I am not stalking Mr. Queen or Felicity. Felicity is an old friend of mine and I've been trying her phone all damn day but it keeps going to voicemail. If you could just find a way to get in touch with her and tell her that I'm here, she can straighten this out."
A strange expression crossed Ms. Lance's face. Sliding a piece of paper across to Skye, she said, "Write the phone number down."
Skye quickly wrote the number from memory and pushed it back across the table. "Look, I know this seems weird. I haven't seen Felicity since before she moved to Starling, so I'm not sure where she's living now and there's no home address on record. I've left her voice messages, but she hasn't gotten back to me yet."
Ms. Lance glanced up from the paper, her gaze assessing. "So if I call Ms. Smoak and tell her that her friend Skye is here, she'll know who I'm talking about?" When Skye nodded, she stood up. "Wait here."
Laurel stepped out of the holding room and walked across the room to her father's office. When she knocked on the open door, Captain Quentin Lance looked up from his paperwork and smiled at her.
"Did you manage to get a real name out of her?" he asked. "Skye sounds like something she made up to me."
Laurel shook her head. "She claims to be a friend of Felicity's and she has her current phone number. She said she's been trying to call her all day and it's been going to voicemail. I tried to call Felicity a few times earlier and also got her voicemail, so she might just be telling the truth."
"A friend, huh? Do you want us to hold her overnight?"
"Let me see if I can get in touch with Oliver first," Laurel replied.
Lance went back to his paperwork as Laurel tried Oliver's cell. When she got his voicemail, she assumed he might be wearing his other suit and tried Diggle instead. When he answered, she explained the situation and asked if Felicity was with them at the foundry.
"She's here," he confirmed. "She's a little busy at the moment."
"Okay. Can you ask her if she knows a young woman named Skye? She's about my height, long brown hair and brown eyes – maybe Asian American?" Laurel listened as Diggle spoke in the background.
There was a sudden scrambling noise and then Felicity was on the line. "Skye?"
"No, this is Laurel," she answered. "Do you know a woman named Skye?"
"Yes. Is she there with you? Can I talk to her?" Felicity asked in an anxious tone.
"She's in a holding room here at the police station," Laurel told her. "She said she couldn't reach you on your cell phone, so she tried to get in to Queen Consolidated to find you. She skipped out before the cops arrived but Verdant staff recognized her from the security photo when she showed up there. You know the SOP for these situations, which is where I come in."
"God, no, she's not a stalker," Felicity said quickly. "She's my oldest friend, but I haven't heard from her in months. And I dropped my phone last night and haven't had a chance to replace it yet. I've been using one of the spare burners today."
"I see."
"Laurel…" Felicity hesitated and then continued. "The thing is, I don't know exactly what her situation is right now, or if anyone is looking for her, but there can't be a record of her."
Laurel considered that information before answering. "They already ran her prints, but Dad says nothing popped in the system. I'll take care of it."
"Thank you. I don't want you to think she's dangerous or anything. It's nothing like that," Felicity explained quickly. "I'm just worried about her. We're kind of in the middle of something right now, though. Could you give her a ride here? She can wait for me. Oh, and I'll have Thea pull her photo from security upstairs so you don't have trouble getting in."
"Tell you what. She's been here for hours, so I'll stop for something to eat and then bring her to Verdant."
After she ended the call, Laurel looked over at her father. "It sounds like Skye might be in trouble or might have someone looking for her, which explains why she wasn't cooperating earlier. Is there any way you can wipe her from the system? Felicity sounded worried that her prints were run."
"I noticed she was injured when they brought her in. I thought security might have been too rough with her but when I asked her, she said it happened a couple of weeks ago – looked like bruised or cracked ribs to me," Lance observed, his expression serious. "Think it might be a domestic case?"
"I don't know, but if someone hurt her, I don't want them finding her because we led them to her," she told him grimly. "I'll try to find out more when I see Felicity later so we can be prepared if that's the case."
Laurel waited while her father accessed the system and erased all records of Skye's detainment, starting with the call to pick her up at Verdant and ending with her prints. "I'll have to mosey on over to booking and pull the physical copy, but that should take care of it. Queen will have to pull the security files at his company."
"Thanks, Dad." She leaned over to hug him and went back to the holding room.
Now that she knew what to look for, she could see that Skye was favoring her left side as she stood up and looped her bag over her right shoulder. Her money was on bruised ribs. She also looked tired, and it was the kind of exhaustion that usually built over a period of weeks.
"It turns out Felicity dropped her phone last night," she told Skye as they walked out. "She's a little tied up at the moment with a business function, but she sounded relieved to know you were here. She's going to meet us at Verdant later."
Skye nodded as she followed Laurel to her car.
Laurel waited for Skye to fasten her seatbelt and then asked, "Are you hungry? Because I was in court all day and I'm starving."
Skye's stomach growled in response, and she smiled. "Lunch was a hot dog from a street vendor for me, so I could definitely eat."
Laurel could see that she was tired, so she didn't push her to talk as she drove to Big Belly Burger. Once inside they took a back booth and placed their order. Laurel watched curiously as Skye pulled out her laptop and began typing furiously. She supposed that she shouldn't be surprised that a friend of Felicity's was also good with computers.
"If you're worried about your records at the police station, don't be. My father deleted them and pulled the physical copy of your prints. No one will ever know you were there."
Skye looked up from her screen. "The captain?" When Laurel nodded, Skye said, "He was nice. He brought me some ibuprofen and water earlier."
"Bruised ribs?" Laurel asked.
Skye shrugged and looked back at her screen. "They're healing. The handcuffing didn't help."
Laurel waited while Skye continued to sort through information on her screen. After a few minutes she breathed a sigh of relief and logged off. "It's fine."
Although she wanted to ask questions, Laurel contained her curiosity. Their food arrived and while Skye only ate half of her burger and fries, she slowly sipped her large chocolate shake until it was gone. Ibuprofen on an empty stomach earlier probably hadn't been the best idea.
When they finished, Laurel insisted on paying and then stopped at a coffee shop for a couple of coffees.
"It might be another hour or so before Felicity can meet us, and you look like you're ready to fall over," Laurel explained as she handed her one of the coffees.
Skye accepted it with a grateful smile. "It's been a long day."
Thea met them at the entrance to Verdant in order to make sure there were no problems. "You'll be happy to know your mugshot is off the wall. And sorry about the whole being arrested thing but Ollie attracts weirdos."
"It's fine," Skye told her as Thea led them to a private alcove upstairs.
"I've never met any of Felicity's friends," Thea continued, glancing at her curiously. "Her mother was here a few weeks ago, which was kind of hilarious."
"Donna was here?" Skye asked, sounding pleased at the mention of Felicity's mother. She slid into the comfortable booth as Thea lifted the 'Reserved' card from the table.
"Just for a few days. I wouldn't have guessed they were related, but I liked her." Thea glanced at the bar and signaled one of the bartenders. "Mark will bring whatever you need – water, food, whatever - no charge. It's nice to meet you, Skye."
Laurel allowed the younger woman a chance to get her bearings. She didn't miss the way she had scanned the room as they entered, almost as if she were making note of the exits. Since she was more relaxed now, she decided that it might be an ingrained habit more than concern about her immediate circumstances.
"So how long have you known Felicity?" Laurel asked, sipping her coffee.
She wasn't crazy about being in the club environment, but Thea had placed them as far away from the bar as possible. She'd been attending her AA meetings regularly as well, and she was proud of nearing the one year sober mark. Reminding herself of how far she'd come helped.
Skye played with the sleeve on her cup for a moment. "Since elementary school," she finally said. "She's the only family I have." Reaching for her laptop, she opened it again and hit a few keys before motioning for Laurel to slide around.
Laurel almost laughed out loud as she saw a photo of a young Felicity with blonde pigtails hugging a dark haired girl with a crooked headband. "How old were you here?"
"Nine," Skye said, smiling. A moment later her smile faded, and she closed out the files before shutting down the computer.
When she leaned her head back, Laurel could see the exhaustion was starting to catch up with her. "Why don't you rest for a little while? I'll wake you when she gets here."
Skye nodded and moments later she appeared to be asleep. Thea came by to check on them once, leaving quietly when she saw that Skye was resting. Laurel sent Diggle a message to let him know where they were and then sat back to wait.
"So who is this girl?" Diggle asked, watching as Felicity shut down the computers.
Oliver hurried to change out of his uniform because he could see that Felicity was anxious to go upstairs. He went into the small bathroom he and Diggle had installed and cleaned up as quickly as possible while also straining to listen to the conversation outside.
"I told you, she's a friend – my oldest friend," Felicity replied. "We've been best friends since we were eight years old."
"We've known each other for two years," Diggle pointed out. "I'm just surprised you've never mentioned her."
"Well, you never mentioned your wife until last year," Felicity retorted. "We've stayed in touch regularly, but I haven't seen her since I moved here to Starling. She was busy and then she was… away."
"Away," Diggle repeated. "Felicity, you had a very strong reaction when Laurel called earlier. You were worried and I heard you say that there couldn't be any record of Skye in the system. I'm just saying that if she's in trouble, it's better to know what we're dealing with."
Oliver finished changing into the suit he'd worn earlier and walked out to see Felicity standing with her arms crossed in a defensive gesture, a mulish expression on her face.
"Felicity."
She turned to look at Oliver, and the stubborn expression on her face faded a little. She sighed and looked over at Diggle again. "It's not that I don't trust you. Of course I do – you know that. But these aren't my secrets to tell, and it's been months since I've heard from her. I don't know what's going on yet, but I know that she was looking into something that might have been dangerous before she dropped off the face of the earth, and so I'm worried."
"Okay," Diggle replied simply. "We'll operate under the assumption that we need to be vigilant."
Felicity nodded and glanced over at Oliver as she picked up her coat and bag. "I'm going to need at least a day or two off. Sorry. But Clara from the temp pool is familiar with how your schedule runs, and I'll do my best to find a way to run missions."
Oliver could see how important this was to her, and there weren't any urgent cases since they'd been handling mostly petty criminals for the past few weeks. He nodded. "That's fine."
They left the basement by going out the back door where Diggle had parked and then walking around to enter the club from the front. Roy was already inside manning the bar, and Thea waved as she saw them coming.
"Your friend is asleep upstairs," Thea told Felicity. "She looks like she hasn't slept in weeks, to be honest. Laurel is sitting with her."
Oliver saw the way Felicity frowned, that anxious look returning to her eyes, and her pace sped up as she practically flew up the stairs. Oliver, Diggle and Thea followed closely behind her.
Upstairs Oliver saw Laurel seated at a booth with a girl about Felicity's age. She was dressed down in jeans, a pullover and a light jacket, and her long, dark hair tumbled across her shoulders. Her olive complexion looked pale under the dim lights, and he could see shadows beneath her eyes. She appeared to be sleeping and as Thea had observed, she looked like she hadn't slept well in weeks.
The expression on Felicity's face was equal parts elation and sadness as she stopped beside the table, her eyes never leaving her friend's face. Laurel slid out of the booth to make way for Felicity, who immediately sat and moved around next to Skye.
The young woman startled awake, but her eyes lit up when she saw Felicity. "Hey."
"It's been months, Skye." Felicity took a deep breath and reached out to touch the other woman's hair. "Are you okay?"
Skye sat up and nodded. Then she held up her wrist and said, "I wanted to contact you but…" her voice trailed off. "I hate the news, by the way. It's terrible, and nothing happy ever happens in this city."
Oliver watched as Felicity fingered a bracelet on Skye's wrist, and a flash of anger crossed her expression before she pulled Skye close and hugged her fiercely.
Skye winced. "Ow."
Her hand went to her ribs, and Oliver's eyes narrowed as he saw that she was injured. Bruised ribs, maybe.
"Oh, God," Felicity pulled back. "Are you hurt? Why are you hurt? What happened?"
"Always with the multiple questions," Skye suddenly said, and they both cracked a smile at what was obviously an inside joke. Then Skye's face crumpled, and she sniffed. "It's a long story."
Felicity pulled Skye close, this time careful of her ribs. Skye wrapped her arms tightly around her friend, leaning her head against Felicity's shoulder as she took a shuddering breath. Oliver wasn't sure which one of them started crying first, but they were both in tears moments later, oblivious to anyone or anything else around them for the moment.
It was heartbreaking, and a look at the others showed similar expressions of empathy.
"I'll go pull the car around," Diggle said quietly, and Oliver nodded without taking his eyes off of the two women.
"Is she okay?" Thea asked. Her concern was obvious. "Does she need a doctor? I knew she seemed tired but I didn't realize she was hurt."
"She said that it happened a few weeks ago," Laurel answered as her eyes met Oliver's. "She didn't say how."
"If you and your father hear anything or get any official inquiries, let me know," Oliver told her. "Felicity's going to take a few days off."
Laurel nodded and squeezed Thea's shoulder before heading down the stairs.
Oliver looked over at Thea and put his arm around her, pulling her against him. "Same if anyone comes around here asking questions, okay Speedy?"
Thea nodded.
Oliver watched as Felicity leaned back and kissed the top of Skye's head before resting her cheek against her hair. Her red rimmed eyes met his, and her lips trembled as she tried to smile.
Things obviously weren't okay, but they would be. He'd make sure of it.
A/N: I've never written a crossover fic before, so let me know if anything is confusing. I'm doing my best to explain things as I go along. Most of the story is told from either Skye or Felicity's POV, but I'm adding other POV conversations here and there for the purposes of an outside look into Felicity and Skye, and also for the purposes of clarity. As the story catches up to the beginning, we'll get back to Team Bus to see how/why they arrive in Starling City and you'll find out exactly what happened in that alley. Thanks for reading! Update to UMS up next :)