***Author's Note***
My father died at the beginning of this year. He was the biggest Arrow fan. He was always recommending Arrow to me. I saw a couple of random episodes with him after I had had spinal surgery and was staying with my parents. I liked it a lot but I hadn't gotten a chance to actually watch the show from the beginning until now, so I didn't really understand it a whole lot. I just finished binge-watching it and I totally understand why my father was obsessed with it. It is one of those rare perfect shows. I ship Olicity soooo much! *Spoiler!* It absolutely rips my heart out that Oliver and Felicity broke up. I totally saw it coming, but I really hope that they get back together. If they don't, it'll devastate me.
This fan-fiction takes place in season 3 when Oliver goes to duel Ra's al Ghul after he takes responsibility for his sister, Thea, unknowingly murdering Sara Lance. This is my first attempt at fan-fiction, so please be gentle with your critiques. I don't expect this to be good by any means. I'd appreciate any feedback for improvement you can give me. Feel free to contact me if you're interested in being a Beta for me too. This story is rated M for occasional mature language and eventual lemons.
After the Fall
Chapter 1
~`**`~ Felicity ~`**`~
Fighting the exhaustion that threatened to overtake her, Felicity stood alone in her office at Palmer Technologies and gazed out the window. Her continuous lack of sleep over the past several days was starting to eat at her intellectually, physically, and emotionally. Being occupied by something important or engrossing was the only thing that gave her moments of respite from the angst that dominated her mind of late. Felicity found she was losing herself in her work at Palmer Technologies and The Foundry and spending less and less time at home.
The blackness of the night outside did nothing to calm her overactive and anxious thoughts. The tiny patches of illumination from the lit office lights in nearby buildings seemed to reflect her mood. Felicity felt lost and awash in all-consuming worry, but she occasionally found something that gave her a tiny reminder of Oliver's love. She gripped onto those reminders and her dwindling hope with every fiber of strength she had left.
The shrill sound of her cell phone ringing broke through her revelry. She reached to glance at the caller ID and, as usual, hoped against all hope that Oliver's picture would be on the screen because he was alive and calling her. She was disappointed and concerned to see it was a blocked number. Decidedly, she answered the call with a slightly wary, "Hello."
"Hello, Miss Smoak," the voice said confidently. Fear, disgust, and anger seized her while shudder went through her body.
"What do you want, Malcolm?" demanded Felicity.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to relay some unwelcome information."
"What could you say that I… or we, could ever believe?" said Felicity, voice dripping with distain.
"This concerns Oliver. I successfully located where he went to duel Ra's al Ghul. I can tell you all with certainty now that Oliver did not survive." Malcolm said cautiously.
"I don't believe you. You're the reason he went there in the first place," Felicity said with disbelief and anger.
"You should believe me, Miss Smoak. I have no reason to lie about this. I truly believed Oliver would succeed in killing Ra's al Ghul. I did not want him to die. His death means my own, "Merlyn admitted. "My orchestration, and Oliver's failure, in this have doomed both me and my daughter to living as fugitives and ultimately experiencing a horrific death, I'm sure. This news will also devastate Thea. I know this will incur all of your hatred, but I cannot allow my daughter to live in denial any longer. None of you should. Oliver is gone," Malcolm finished firmly.
"This coming from a man who claims to love his daughter but made her murder a friend, then blackmailed Oliver to go fight for her. All to save your own ass! You don't care about anyone but yourself. Did you even see Oliver's body?" Felicity questioned aggressively.
"His body fell into a ravine so he cannot be recovered, but I have proof of his demise. Ra's al Ghul always leaves the instrument of murder at the location of his duels to lay claim and honor the fallen warrior he slew. A sword with Oliver's blood was left on the mountain where he and The Demon's Head dueled. Oliver is dead," Malcolm replied seriously
"No. Oliver will come back. He always comes back," Felicity spoke assuredly.
"This truly pangs me as well. I looked on Oliver as a son. I will have to live with the guilt of Oliver's death the rest of my days. But you all need to accept that he is not coming back. I can see you love him and he certainly loved you…" Merlyn started.
With that, Felicity could not stand another syllable of Malcolm's deceit. She forcefully hung up her phone before he could finish his sentence. In no universe would she allow Malcolm Merlyn to talk about her and Oliver's love for each other. He had no idea what love was. He had absolutely no place commenting on theirs.
Felicity hadn't even had the opportunity to tell Oliver she loved him yet. She didn't know why she was so afraid to say "I love you" out loud to him. Oliver had told her he loved her several times now. It was the last words he spoke to her before leaving for the secret location where he would duel Ra's al Ghul. She wished with all her heart that she would have said it in response to his last declaration. Felicity now thought perhaps having told him the truth before he left for his duel would have given him even more motivation to succeed and return to her sooner.
Felicity wondered if the first time Oliver had told her he loved her was subconsciously sabotaging her efforts to confess her love to him. The first time Oliver had told Felicity he loved her she was sure it had been entirely a ruse to flush out and defeat Slade Wilson, who they discovered was secretly monitoring their conversation in attempts to discover the identity of Oliver's true love. Felicity was devastated to discover mid-confession from Oliver that his pronouncement of love had most likely been melodrama all along. After telling her he loved her, Oliver slyly handed her a weapon that would hurt Slade Wilson when their conversation assuredly drew Slade out of hiding. That was the moment she knew he hadn't meant what he said and it broke her heart.
Felicity had been slowly falling in love with Oliver since the moment they met, despite his initial many ridiculous lies to her and frequent emotional distance. She was too shocked by his admission of love in that moment to even admit to herself, never mind him, that she loved him back. Felicity was now profoundly grateful she hadn't previously realized she was in love with Oliver and therefore returned his sentiment in kind because she was still unsure if he meant it, and she most definitely wouldn't have wanted her first time telling Oliver she loved him being observed by Slade Wilson.
By then Felicity had become so angry that she was sure that if Malcolm Merlyn had been in front of her she would have physically assaulted him, even though doing so would have undoubtedly accomplished nothing. Malcolm Merlyn lied with every breath he took. He would never be trustworthy in regards to anything, never mind something as important as Oliver's survival.
Felicity resolved that telling Dig, Roy, or Laurel about her conversation with Malcolm Merlyn would be unnecessary. Telling them what Malcolm had said would only cause undue worry and strain on the group. When it was proven he had been lying about Oliver's death, they would discover they will have been upset (or at worst grieving) because Malcolm Merlyn was playing some twisted game all along. She would inform Team Arrow when she got legitimate information about Oliver's whereabouts and not sooner. She hated keeping something from the group but because of Merlyn's proclivity for falsehoods, she had no choice but to do so if she wanted to spare Diggle, Roy, Laurel, and eventually Thea from potential unwarranted heartache.
Suddenly wanting nothing more than to be out of her office and away from the conversation she'd had with Malcolm, Felicity grabbed her bag, turned off her computer, and headed towards her office doorway to leave. She dreaded going home and being without the distractions afforded by her office, but she had nowhere else to turn that wasn't enveloped by memories of Oliver. She'd simply have to survive until the morning when hopefully she would come back to her office and find a modicum of solitude in it again.