Chapter Two

Then

As she made her way down the aisle, Oliver reminisced about all the moments that led to this one. This perfect moment.

Now

As he walked down the hallway, Oliver tried to forget about all the moments that led to this one. This terrible moment.

"Oliver" Diggle called out from the kitchen. There was no answer. No words left Oliver's lips since his outburst the previous night. When he accepted that Diggle was not going to leave him alone as he had requested, he turned a cold shoulder to him and tried drowning his sorrows even more. It didn't work. Diggle just watched him and occasionally checked in on him after he passed out.

"Oliver…" Diggle called out again, but no words were needed as Oliver groggily walked into the kitchen.

"How you feelin'?" Diggle asked. Oliver didn't speak as he grabbed a glass and put it on the counter. He opened and reached in a cabinet, but quickly came to the realization that it was empty. He opened another and another, each one being as empty as the last.

"You won't find any booze Oliver." Diggle stated, looking up from his cup of coffee. He saw Oliver's shoulders tense up in frustration as he hung his head over the glass, "It won't help you. Believe me, I've…"

"What? You've been there?!" Oliver interrupted and continued, "Oh yeah, you've been there. It's all coming back to me. Your brother was killed. By a man you later called a teammate. Oh right, I do remember that now." Oliver grew louder and louder with each word.

Diggle replied, "Oliver that's enough. I'm here trying to help you."

Oliver scoffed, "Help me? Help me? You can't help me."

"I can try. We're brothers," Diggle said as he raised from his seat.

Oliver laughed and threw the glass at Diggle, missing him. On purpose.

"I am not your brother. If I was, you'd be trying to sleep with my wife right about now. Or are you going to wait until I die? I asked you to leave. I won't miss next time."

Diggle hung his head a little and shook it as he made his way out.

Then

"Oliver, are you sure you're ready?" Diggle's voice came through the earpiece. He knew Oliver was nervous.

"We can try this another way if you need more time," Diggle assured him. Oliver considered it, but his need for an answer outweighed his doubts.

"No, we're going to do this tonight." Oliver replied.

"Doing what tonight?" Felicity said, startling him. Oliver was never good at lying to her, but he played it as smoothly as he could.

"We're gonna have a great night, we're going to do that. Tonight. That's what we're going to do," Oliver blurted out as he took a sip of water. She looked confused, but played along.

"Yeah," she said as she raised her glass towards him. "To a great night."

The glasses clinked and they shared a smile as he leaned over towards her and planted a kiss on her right cheek. She was wearing his favorite perfume. When he sat back down, his left hand dropped into his pocket and he smiled at her again.

"Yeah, we're going to do this tonight," Diggle said leaning back in his chair in the foundry. His smile was almost as big as theirs.

Oliver played with the ring in his pocket so much that when he finally proposed that they marry, it almost blinded her with its reflection.

Now

It was 5pm before Oliver moved from the couch to the bedroom. He didn't eat, he didn't sleep, he didn't do anything. He just laid there motionless. The only time he moved was when his senses played a trick on him.

That smell, he thought as he looked up suddenly. He expected her to be there. He wasn't sure why, but he knew she was there. He looked around the living room. Their living room, but she was nowhere in sight. A breeze passed through the house and carried her scent to him, but she was not present with it. A cruel and torturous trick.

Then

"Ollie, are you okay?" Thea asked her big brother as he took a sip of his beer. She had just walked into the kitchen after a long night at Verdant.

"I never see you drink… so ya know, it's weird," she continued. Oliver wasn't much of a drinker, but he enjoyed a cold one here and there. Especially after a tough night guarding the city from the most dangerous people on earth.

"Yeah Speedy, I'm fine. How are you?" He asked deflecting the attention away from him.

"I'm fine, you know. Just another rough night at the club. You would not believe the kind of people in this city. I think I'll have a beer too." She said, as she walked towards the fridge. He smirked when she wasn't looking, because, he could believe the kind of people in this city.

"Tell me about it," he said.

Thea started talking about the issues she ran into at the club that night. From people stiffing the bartenders to sick customers in the bathroom, it was all just a mess. And Thea was the one responsible for taking care of it all. Oliver liked hearing about her problems and complaints, it freed him. It let him escape the world of the Green Arrow and pretend that he was as carefree as the boy he was before being shipwrecked on that island.

They talked for hours after that before Thea decided to call it a night. She was exhausted and the beers had run out a while ago. She kissed her big brother goodnight and thanked him for letting her vent. As she made her way up the stairs, Oliver could feel himself steadily tense up again before she called out to him.

"Hey Ollie… I love you." Thea smiled and was gone before he could say it back. He walked back to the kitchen and picked up his phone just as it began to vibrate.

"Felicity?" he asked when he picked up the phone.

"Yeah, it's me. Sorry to call you so late… can you let me in?" she said, with a guilty tone in her voice.

He walked towards the front door and opened it to find her. She was still wearing the dress from earlier and although it was clear she had gone through hell that night, she still looked beautiful.

"Hey, is everything okay?" his voice carried concern.

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine… well not really, but when are any of us really 'fine' you know?" She sighed, before continuing, "I, um, couldn't bring myself to go home. I drove and drove around my block for hours. I drove and just kept driving. We had a really close call tonight. Diggle is pretty beat up…"

They had conversations like this before, but this one seemed more grave. It was true, Diggle had been hurt badly that night. He would require more medical treatment than they could offer in the foundry and would have to seek out medical help at a hospital, but they needed to come up with a cover story first. They would think of something. They always did.

"That's not the only thing though. You…" Felicity started.

"I stopped him," Oliver cut her off. "He won't be an issue anymore."

"Yes Oliver, you stopped him. But at what cost? Diggle almost died and if it hadn't been for a lucky distraction, you would have died too and I wouldn't have known what to do with myself," Felicity's tears tore into Oliver.

"Hey, nothing is going to happen to Diggle or myself. The bad guys keep getting worse, but we're going to keep getting better. I promise you, Felicity, you won't be alone. Ever." He tried to be as comforting as possible. He embraced her and she returned the gesture. He felt as free as he had ever felt.

A few moments later, she made a series of tired sounds and sighs before Oliver scooped her up and carried her to his room. He laid her down on the bed and began walking towards the door.

"Hey Oliver," Felicity said from the bed. He turned around and walked towards her again.

"I thought you said I wouldn't be alone," she said groggily. Oliver smirked, nodded his head, and climbed into the bed.

They kissed for the first time that night.