"Are you sure we have to go to this one?" Laurel asked him as she put her number 657 fuchsia fusion revlon lipstick on in the mirror as she looked around to see who was coming. They came early and were getting ready in a small dressing room at the top of the stairs.
He kissed her neck gently, "We're already here. You have to be here for me. I don't know any of these people, and I don't know how to act at funerals." He told her.
She looked up to him and frowned. "You know I hate funerals, right?" Laurel asked him, because she really did. They seemed like a waste of time to her and they weren't worth the trouble.
"No one you know is going to have a funeral for a long time, okay?" He asked as he rubbed her arms and looked at her through the mirror.
She sighed. She guessed he had a point. He never went to a funeral. He didn't know how to deal with the people at them. But she had entirely too much experience with funerals. And the graveyard for Starling City was already so full with people she knew.
There was a knock on the door and Oliver looked at his watch. He looked to her and nodded. She sighed and got up. He got the door. Diggle. "Hey, thanks for being here guys. I'm sorry we called you around so early, but we just needed some backup in case." He explained.
Oliver shook his hand. "Not a problem, Digg. We're both here for you."
"Yes," Laurel said as she stood by Oliver. "We're here for you. Even if one of us violently hates funerals," She told him.
Diggle looked over at Oliver. "Why'd you bring her? You know the girl hates funerals. And you know I can't blame her. If I had been to as many as she's been to in the recent years, I'd probably hate them too."
"I need her here, Digg." Oliver said.
Laurel sighed as she smiled to Digg. "It's fine. We'll just sit in the back and I'll deal with it." She told him.
Diggle kissed her forehead. "Thank you for coming. Lyla appreciates it too. She thinks you're so strong for coming with this kid, even when you had no obligation to do so."
She wrapped her arms around him. She was here for Diggle as much as she was here for Oliver and she wanted to show him that. She wanted him to realize that they were all family. Her allegiance to Oliver made them all important parts of her life. "We should go down and pay our respects to the dead."
The three of them went down the stairs and saw Lyla with the baby on her hip and greeting the guests with another.
Laurel shook her head. That would not do. Lyla shouldn't have to deal with the baby while dealing with the people who were no doubt a wreck. She took the baby and she saw Lyla mouth a small thank you and Laurel just shook her head more. She didn't need thanks for doing
"You look good with a baby in your arms," Oliver told her as he cooed at the baby, one happy moment before they had to deal with the really undeniable reality of death and the memorialization of it, him for the first time, and for her, the most current in a long long of times.
She looked to him and smiled. "Yeah, well don't get used to it. I don't think I could handle having a little one quite right now."
"It would take your mind off of all the death," He told her.
She looked at the kid and was reminded that life could be chubby and optimistic and yeah, maybe Oliver was right for a minute and she could just focus on this baby who was the product of so much love and love in the stead of adversity. "I still don't want a baby," She told him with a smile, "But if you're nice, I might consider it."
As all of the people assembled into the church, Diggle came and took his child from Laurel and sat with Lyla at the front as the line was formed and they would be the last to pay their respects to the dead. The ones closest always did, she reminded herself.
She stood up and Oliver stood up with her and they waited for their turn to quietly look at the body, say a few words, whatever they could, and return back to their seats.
As they got closer to the body Oliver squirmed. "What happened at my funeral?" He asked in a whispered tone.
"They had a closed casket sitting there for you," She told him without looking at him.
He nodded. He understood. His body hadn't come back and there was nothing to put in the ground, but the casket was a symbol. "What did you say to me?" He asked.
She stopped him fiddling with his hands. "I cursed you. I cursed you for getting on that boat. And I cursed you for doing it with my sister. I cursed you for leaving me because I didn't think I could take my life without you." She said and then they were in front of the body.
Staring at the body was a strange and surreal experience he wasn't sure he was ready for. "We didn't know her. What do we say?" He asked.
"We don't say anything. Just…hold my hand and bow your head for a moment." She said as she opened her hand to face his and bowed her own head.
He did the same, still not quite understanding the ritual. But she was the one who was good at this. They left the body, stood at the side and waited for Lyla and Diggle. He expected Laurel to drop his hand, but she didn't.
During the rest of the funeral, he did as she did and mostly, it was just holding hands. They rested them between them, and they were quiet.
Afterwards, when no one was left except Diggle and Lyla in the church, he looked to her, hands still interlocked and asked her. "Why did you ask me to hold your hand while we were honoring her?"
She smiled. "Because it is the most basic celebration that we are still alive. If nothing else, funerals get together people who are still alive to celebrate the life of a newly deceased person. We didn't know her and so to have a moment where we felt another person's life in our hands, it's important."
"Did people do that at my funeral?" He asked, a little morbid, but the questions weren't off the table.
She smiled a little sad, and kissed him, and nodded. "A lot of people did that at your funeral. You were missed so much more than you realize."
"I don't think anyone missed me more than you." Oliver joked a little.
Laurel scrunched and smiled. "Maybe Thea."
"She's family. It was kind of required."
"You were my boyfriend. It was kind of required for me too."
"But I cheated on you. And you cursed my name at my funeral."
"Only because I was so in love with you. God knows why."
"And you're still in love with me Laurel Lance,"
"I'm still in love with you, Oliver Jonas Queen."
