Day Two: Mistletoe
Lyla laughed placing baby Sara on the floor, chiding her to walk over to her father at the window. The room had a soft orange glow from the fireplace, and a dash of yellow from the kitchen light. Thea was setting up the table in the center of the room while Laurel grabbed utensils from the cabinets to the table. Diggle and Oliver leaned against the window, allowing the snowstorm outside to take over the city.
"Where do you think all this snow is coming from?" Diggle laughed.
"I don't know, man, might be another meta-human." Oliver laughed back.
Diggle bent down on his knees to welcome baby Sara into his arms blowing kisses onto her cheeks, "Come here, munchkin!"
A big smile crawled on Oliver's face, "When did you become so…?"
"Happy?" Diggle held baby Sara on his hip, "Not so serious?"
"Yeah," Oliver pinched baby Sara's cheeks, "all that."
"Lyla asked me that question not too long ago." Diggle watched Lyla glide from the fridge to the table with drinks, "And, honestly, I think it's this booger, right here, who changed all of that for me." Diggle nuzzled into baby Sara's neck, "She's taught me to enjoy the lighter things in life and to live everyday, just watching her take her first few steps, laugh, smile, everything, Oliver, makes me happier everyday."
Oliver glanced out the window and back to baby Sara, "Does having a kid really do that?"
Diggle laughed, "Don't tell me you and Felicity plan on popping out kids now."
Oliver felt uneasy about the thought of having a baby with Felicity, and let out a small chuckle, "No, not that, far from it; Felicity doesn't want to have kids anyways."
"But, yes, it does, Oliver. Of course, every day I'm worried about how the streets will be when Sara gets out there. That's why being Spartan really helps ease those worries for me, because I'm making these streets safer for her everyday."
"Yeah?" Oliver looked over to Thea, laughing with Lyla and Laurel.
"Yeah." Diggle put the squirming Sara down.
It's been so long since Oliver spent time with these three, almost too long it felt. Ever since he came back to town, he hasn't spent a single day with just Thea and him or Laurel and him. Maybe it's because he's been so caught up with Darhk and his campaign, but that answer just seemed too simple to be the case.
"What's got you so wrapped up today?" Diggle grabbed a drink for himself and one for Oliver.
"Grape juice?" Oliver choked out a chuckle.
"Lyla says no drinking in front of Sara, one of her rules." Diggle laughed, "But still, what's eating you? You've been lost in thought a lot today."
"What do you mean?" Oliver took a sip.
"Does Pretty Bird ring a bell to you?" Diggle lifted an eyebrow.
Oliver spit up some of his drink, "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, come on, Oliver, I've always been your wingman since you've been back; I know when you've got your eyes on someone." Diggle swirled his glass around.
"Diggle," Oliver leaned in with a harsh whisper, "I'm in a serious relationship with Felicity!"
Diggle laughed and shook his head, moving away, "That didn't stop you with Sara either when you were planning on moving in with her; I'm sure it won't stop you now."
Oliver sighed deeply and looked away from Diggle. That's right, she broke up with him saying he needed someone without a mask, someone who could harness the light inside of him.
"Of course, I always wanted you to separate from Laurel, because I thought you were reckless when it came to her." Diggle took a sip of his drink and looked at Laurel, he remembered the first time he met Laurel, determined, independent, and driven - much like Lyla. "But I was wrong."
Oliver looked over to Diggle, his brows furrowed.
"Ah, don't give me that look, Oliver." Diggle put his drink down on the window sill, "I realized after I re-married Lyla why it is you're reckless, why it is I'm reckless, it's because of 'her'." Diggle shook his head at the floor, "I know that you feel happy with Felicity, Oliver, but all I'm saying is, after I got to know Laurel and Thea, since you two left; I realized why it is you were so reckless with, not just Laurel but, the both of them, why you loved the both of them, and I just want to make sure you don't forget that. Oliver, just because they both can hold out on their own, out in the field, doesn't mean they don't need your attention as much as Felicity does, especially when it hits home."
"Digg-." Oliver tried to protest.
Diggle turned around to face the window, away from the girls, and whispered, "Oliver, I'm only saying this because I don't want to see those girls get hurt because of your reckless actions with Felicity. I know you say you're happy right now, Oliver, but that's the same thing I said when I thought I was in love with Andy's wife, and look at me now, Oliver; I'm the most happiest with Lyla, the person who knows my bones."
Oliver turned away, he couldn't process what was being said to him, was it really all just because of Felicity that Oliver hasn't spent time with either of them?
"Man," Diggle turned back to face the girls, "you are horrible at splitting your time between the women in your life. I don't know how you're going to handle having children - if you do, that is."
Oliver coughed out a chuckle and looked at Sara, "About that-."
"Ollie, Digg, come on, dinner's ready!" Thea motioned the two over.
"Let's go, brother." Diggle smacked Oliver on the shoulder, almost spilling his drink.
"So, Laurel." Lyla slid over to her side at the kitchen counters.
"Oh, no, we already had this conversation before." Laurel laughed.
Thea peered over at the two, creeping from behind just as giddy.
"No, that was last time, but this is now, I need answers." Lyla leaned her back against the counter, "Thea told me."
Laurel furrowed her brows and threw her hair over her shoulder to look at Thea, "What'd you say?"
"The truth." Thea grinned with a wink.
"Did he really call you Pretty Bird?" Lyla whispered into their trio.
Laurel shot a glance at Oliver, "Does that matter?"
"Yes!" They both whispered back at once.
"Come on, Laurel, my mom and I always had these conversations about you two." Thea glided over to set the table.
"You and your mom talked about me that often?" Laurel laughed, grabbing dishes from the cabinets.
"Oh, you'd be surprised by how highly she spoke of you, and my mom is not one to easily impress, you should know that." Thea set the chairs in place.
"I think, you two are adorable and it just makes sense, look at Digg and I." Lyla grabbed the drinks from the fridge and slid over to the table, "I don't think I could be with a man who couldn't fend for himself and him likewise."
"What?" Laurel waltzed over with the cups and utensils, "I think Felicity can handle herself."
Lyla lifted one brow up at Laurel, setting the cups, "Maybe in a fight against a calculator."
Thea gave a tight grin, shaking her head, "She doesn't put any effort into self defense."
Laurel sighed through her nose, "I mean, she can make her own decisions."
Lyla gave a tight smile, setting the drinks, "I wouldn't always trust her decisions, Laurel."
"You don't trust many people in general, Lyla." Laurel laughed.
"So, me trusting you says a lot, Laurel." Lyla poured grape juice into all the wine glasses.
"I can hear my mom rolling in her grave already," Thea attempted to voice her mother, "Thea, why is your brother with that tech girl from the company, don't tell me he's decided to exchange her for wonderful Laurel."
Laurel laughed, "Come on, Felicity isn't all bad."
"Yeah, she's not," Thea set down main dish from Lyla and lifted a brow at Laurel, "but to my mom, she definitely wasn't on her 'favorites' list."
"In all honesty, I don't see the charm in her, I've seen ARGUS agents outdo her in the field all the time. I kept telling Digg, when those two went on their sexcapade, that I could get an ARGUS agent but you know him." Lyla rolled her eyes, "But, I have to admit it's good having Oliver back."
"At least the shell of him." Thea lowered her eyes. "I feel like everytime he leaves, Ollie comes back a whole new person, I miss my brother."
Laurel reached out to Thea, who interrupted her by motioning over Oliver and Diggle,
"Ollie, Digg, come on, dinner's ready!"
"Are you all going home together?" Lyla crossed her arms.
Thea stood out in the hallway, all bundled up and putting on her shoes, and Oliver and Laurel stood in the doorway grabbing their coats from the closet.
"Well, Thea and I are heading back to our place." Laurel wrapped her white-knitted-scarf around her slender neck and blonde hair.
"Rooftop style?" Lyla smiled.
"Is there any other way?" Laurel winked.
"Are you heading there, too, Oliver?" Lyla tilted her head.
Oliver laughed, "No, Felicity-."
Diggle plucked Sara from the floor, "Hey, you two, you can't break the rules."
"What?" Oliver and Laurel looked to where Diggle was pointing.
"Oh my goodness, I forgot we hung that up there." Lyla laughed.
Oliver frowned and Laurel turned away, uneasy.
Thea smirked behind the two, "Come on, you two, it's just like all the other Christmas's."
The world just wasn't right today for Oliver, everything seemed off, or was it just that he hadn't realized that the world has always been a bit off whack. Maybe, perhaps, he's been the one off whack this entire time. Has his crew always been this light-hearted or did everything change since he's left? He couldn't put his finger on it.
"It's tradition, is what Mom and Dad would say." Thea leaned her head to the left.
Uneasy, Laurel began to squeeze her way out the door. Oliver was in a serious relationship with Felicity, and it wasn't right to kiss a man who was in a relationship with another woman, right? Tradition or not, it would be wrong - wouldn't it?
"It's just a kiss, right?" Oliver gave a tight smile and straightened up.
Laurel lifted an eyebrow at Oliver, "I guess there's a first to everything."
"It's the holidays, I need to stop being so serious." Oliver shrugged, gave a big smile, and wrapped his arm around Laurel's shoulder.
"It's just a kiss." Laurel reminded herself.
"It's just a kiss." Diggle stood next to Lyla smiling.
Oliver pressed his lips against Laurel's and a soft breath escaped his lips, this is how it felt - this is how just a kiss felt - exhilarating.
"What do you miss most?" Tommy asked with a smile from the driver's side.
The five years of hell flashed before Oliver's mind, with Laurel's picture in front.
"Laurel." Oliver responded with a condensed smile.
Click! Oliver opened his eyes and looked at Thea with her phone in her hand.
"This is going to be a great memento for this year." Thea smiled as she tucked her phone in her hand.
"Hey," Oliver pointed his finger at Thea, "if Felicity sees that picture-."
"You're going to have a lot of explaining to do - yes, Ollie, we all know." Thea frowned.
"Hey, let's just enjoy the moment." Lyla took Sara into her arms.
"Yeah, man, I'll see you, Oliver." Diggle shook Oliver's hand. "Laurel, Thea, be safe out there."
"Yes, Spartan." Laurel and Thea responded in unison, with a small curtsy.
"What was that all about?" Oliver held his head.
"It was just a kiss." The two reminded themselves walking in opposite directions, holding their lips.