Dinah Laurel Lance. A woman of many talents. That he knew to be so true. Successful lawyer that has seen many criminals being put behind bars.
A successful crime fighter at night taking up her younger sister's mantle of The Black Canary. A name that had been feared along with his own and a few others over a year ago.
A year. The longest of his life. A year that felt so empty. A year that despite his accomplishments just didn't feel right. Didn't make him feel anything.
And he knew why. She wasn't there. She wasn't there to see him succeed. She wasn't there to smile and encourage him on to do even more.
She wasn't there because he couldn't save her. Couldn't save her from meeting her demise at the hands of one of the deadliest foes that he had ever met.
A memory that he would never forget. Never forget despite what he did. No matter how many sleeping pills he would take every single night.
No matter how many times he would try to clear his mind of everything. A pain that has always stayed with him.
A pain that was too great to bare. A pain that has only intensified when he saw her once again. Or so he thought.
Another version of her from a different world. A version of Laurel that was slightly different. But he didn't care. His heart didn't care.
Didn't care when he had stepped into the cave to find her there waiting for him. Didn't care when without any hesitation he had raced across the room bringing her in his arms.
A feeling that he never wanted to end. Never wanted to let her go. Never wanted for any of this to happen.
But it did. She had revealed herself to be from a different world. Revealed herself to be slightly different from the Laurel that he knew.
Then again was she all that different? She looked like Laurel. She sounded like Laurel. Hell she even acted like a side of Laurel that he had seen a few times once before.
Too many similars traits that as he makes his way through the cave makes his heart only throb in his chest painfully.
Throb with a secret that he had kept from the world. Kept secret from his partners. Kept away from his family.
A secret that no matter what. No matter how hard he would try. No matter how much he tried to stay out of her life in the end he was in love with her.
Always had been and always would be. No matter what version of her would make an appearance. No matter what she had done in her past.
The beating of his heart would always belong to her. No matter how painful it maybe. No matter how much he has tried to ignore it with the thought of sparing her pain.
It was there and would always be. A heart that beats even faster as he nears the room that she is being kept in with only one thought running through his mind.
A memory of her last words to him that would always make him clench his chest at night as he awoke from his nightmare.
The memory of hearing her confess something that he always wanted to hear. Confess how he was the love of her life. He just wished he told her the same before she had left this world.
Left this world only to return a year later in a different form giving him a second chance. A chance that he would not let go to waste.
He just hoped that she would do the same throwing caution into the wind like he was about to do.
" So basically i'm trading a cell in Central City for Salim Starling?"
Hearing the cold tone in her voice looking up from the ground and into her cell only seeing a pair of green eyes staring angrily at him from the other side that only makes his heart throb painfully in his chest as he takes in her words without taking his eyes away from her own slowly a slightly confused look comes across Oliver's face.
" Central City?"
Suppressing the urge for her face to break into shock from hearing how surprised he sounds keeping her face hard with a slight nod Siren takes a few steps closer to the glass.
" Your friend in red kept me in one of his holding cells. Didn't you get the memo?"
Instantly as she sees his face flicker to anger for a brief second unable to keep her eyes from widening Siren watches Oliver's face morph into a maskless expression.
" You really didn't know did you?"
Snapping his eyes to meet her own as he sees her eyes no longer staring at him angrily but instead radiating nothing but interest shaking his head slowly Oliver returns his attention down towards the ground not catching a look of total surprise from coming across her face.
" And if you did? What would…."
" Let's just say Barry wouldn't be walking away with only an arrow in his leg."
Instantly Siren's eyes go as wide as saucers before quickly she masks her emotions into a blank stone cold face.
" Your just saying that because i remind you of her. You can't help but miss me as i…."
Snapping his eyes up to meet her own slowly Oliver watches Siren shake her head and turn to walk away from the glass causing him to take a step forward.
" I'm sorry…."
" Don't!"
Instantly snapping around with pure anger in her eyes slowly Siren stalks her way back over towards the glass before in a sudden motion she slams her palm hard on the glass.
" I told you that Prometheus was going to kill me and that's why i did what i did. Instead of helping me and keeping your promise i'm now stuck inside of a cell once again talking with…."
Suppressing her anger to the best of her ability taking a deep breathe slowly Siren shakes her head as she locks eyes with Oliver.
" On my world you've been dead for ten years now. I traveled to Central City to start fresh and that's when this happened."
Without taking her eyes away from his own Siren gently grasps her throat.
" And from then it was one bad choice one after another. Once you let the darkness inside no matter how hard you try it never comes out.
And now i'm trapped in a parallel dimension telling my sob story to the doppelganger of the man that i loved."
Unable to look into his eyes anymore furious wiping away at her eyes turning on her heels slowly Siren makes her way towards the other side of the cell.
" Your wrong."
Coming to a stop turning on her heels with a thought in mind just as she opens her mouth instantly Siren's eyes widen when she sees Oliver making his way over to unlock her cell's door before joining her inside leaving the door wide open.
" Stop running. Face the darkness inside. Face it with me."
Seeing a look of interest come across her eyes as her eyes flicker over his shoulder towards the open doorway without taking his eyes away from her for even a slight second slowly Oliver takes a step further into the cell.
" Someone once told me that a circumstance could make something poison or nectar. What they meant was that we get to choose what we are, we get to choose who we are."
Unable to suppress the bitter chuckle that escapes her lips slowly Siren shakes her head.
" That's pretty poetic. You come up with that all by yourself?"
" No actually. You did."
Instantly as he sees her eyes widening for a brief second without looking away slowly Oliver takes another step towards her seeing her glancing towards the ground then back up towards him.
" So you may think differently. You may think that you are different from the Laurel that i knew but your not. I see it and i know that you do too."
" Oliver…."
" Shut up and listen to me!"
Feeling her eyes widening from his sudden outburst feeling his gaze staring a hole into her that instantly sends a chill up and down her spine unable to look away Siren stares into Oliver's eyes seeing him slowly stalking his way over.
" You talk about darkness. I know what you're feeling. What you have felt. I have felt the same exact thing."
Instantly as his mind starts to wander back to the most painful night of his life shaking these thoughts away Oliver continues to stare into his eyes as slowly he reaches up into his vest's pocket to retrieve a small object from within.
An object that makes him see her eyes widen slightly for a split second before they turn hard despite the intense beating of her heart thrashing against her chest.
" This past year has been the most painful experience in my life. All of this. This whole place everything means nothing to me without you in it."
Reaching out gently Oliver traces the smiling face of the small photo in his hand unaware of Siren's facial features softening very slightly.
" The night when you died a part of me died. The part of me that wanted to live. I did what i promised you that i would do.
I found the bastard that killed you and drove an arrow straight through his heart. I kept my promise and ever since then i've…."
Closing his eyes slightly taking a slow deep breathe Oliver reopens his eyes to glance up towards Siren seeing her staring at him with no sign of anger in her eyes.
No sign of hatred. A sense of understanding perhaps?
" I thought the pain would stop but it hasn't. There hasn't been a day that hasn't gone by where, I haven't thought about you in some way. Haven't thought about that night knowing that i failed to protect the one that i cared about the most."
" Ollie?"
" That night when i saw you waiting here you can't possibly imagine what i was feeling. I felt….complete. Like a piece of him had been restored.
When i held you in my arms, I….I didn't want to let you go. I didn't want to feel that emptiness ever again. I should have never let you go."
Tearing his eyes away from the worn out photograph in his hand to look up finding a pair of watery green eyes staring back towards him slowly Oliver takes another step towards her.
" We've been given a second chance and you're just too afraid to take it. You may think that you're different from the Laurel of this world but i don't think so.
I know so. So what if you made some questionable decisions in your life. Who hasn't?
You talk as though you're different but i don't see it. You talk like her. Truly talk like the woman that i love.
You act like the woman that i love without hiding behind a mask or some kind of illusion that someone else in your position might have done.
That is enough for me and if you can't see it. If you can't see what i'm seeing now then i don't want to be here on this Earth anymore."
In a sudden move discarding the photograph down to the ground reaching back Oliver retrieves an arrow out from his quiver before without breaking his momentum reaching out he grabs a hold of Siren's hand and places the arrow down into her open hand with the end pointing straight at his chest catching a look of complete shock to come across her face.
Unable to mask her shock almost instantly as she feels her hand being gently pressed forward causing the end of the arrow in her hand to tap up against his kevlar vest snapping her eyes up Siren sees Oliver staring at her with a blank look across his face.
" You once told me that i was the love of your life but i never got to tell you that you are the love of mine."
Snapping his eyes to look down towards the ground letting out a sigh slowly Oliver shakes his head.
" I'm tired. I'm tired of living a life without meaning anymore. I'm tired of living without you in my life so if you truly don't believe what i'm saying then just get it over with.
My heart will always and forever be yours anyway. At least this way we can be together again."
Unable to look up into the eyes of the woman that he has loved for most of his life straightening himself upward slowly Oliver closes his eyes as he awaits for the end of the arrow to come piercing through his vest not even noticing the sudden shaking of the hand holding the arrow.
Shaking that instantly comes to a stop as a loud clang of the arrow hitting the ground echoes through the cell before a hand gently resting on his cheek causes Oliver to open his eyes and look up to see a pair of green watery eyes staring back towards him.
Eyes that close suddenly before he feels her lips gently against his own that quickly becomes a deep kiss as he wraps his arms around her waist at the same time he feels her arms around the back of his neck.
" You do love me?"
" I do. I would move mountains for you."
Feeling her lips flickering up into a smile not bothering to wipe away the tears that are starting to trickle down her cheek reaching up gently Siren lays a hand down on Oliver's cheek feeling him almost instantly leaning into her touch.
" That's the Oliver, I know."