Title from 'Metal & Dust' by London Grammar


The first arrow hit the guy in the shoulder just like Oliver had intended to, but by the time he shot the second one the man had moved Felicity in front of him and the arrow stuck itself into her thigh.

Felicity's pierced scream and Oliver's loud curse alerted Diggle who was for once on the other side of the comms, courtesy of a sprained ankle.

"What? What's happening? Oliver!"

"I shot Felicity," Oliver answered in a blank tone.

"What?" John roared but Oliver ignored him, running to Felicity. The bad guy had tried to escape but had ran into Roy who had knocked him out.

The younger man dropped on his knees next to his friends.

"What the hell happened?" he asked.

"I don't know! The guy moved, and…my aim was off, or…Felicity, can you hear me? Shit, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

His hands were all over her leg, trying to measure the damages. It was a clean shot, and there was barely any blood.

"I'm fine," Felicity gritted between her teeth. "Well, not fine because it hurts like a bitch," she practically yelled the last word, "but beside the agonizing pain I'll be ok," she told Oliver, trying to speak calmly, as she could see he was freaking out. He was looking between her leg and her face frantically, not knowing what to do.

Roy noticed it too and took out his phone, calling 911.

"They'll be here shortly," he said once he hung up. "You need to leave," he reminded Oliver in a pressing tone, trying to shake him out of his apparent stupor.

It seemed to do the trick as Oliver stood up, hearing the sirens in the background. Leaving Felicity like this went against his every instincts, but he had no choice.

"Take care of her," he told Roy and there was a warning in his voice that the younger man heard loud and clear.

"She's like my sister, so I'm actually offended that you feel the need to tell me that," Roy replied.

The ambulance was now very close but Oliver crouched down again, kissing Felicity on the top of her head. "I'll meet you at the hospital, ok? Hang in there. I don't even know…"

"Yes, Oliver, I know, but you have to go now! Please."

By the time the medics jumped out of the ambulance he was gone.


He practically stormed into the hospital. Roy was waiting for him.

"She's in the ER. She should be out soon."

Oliver let himself fall on a nearby chair, putting his hands on his face.

"How could I let this happen?" he muttered, his face a mask of guilt.

"Hey, you couldn't see it coming, ok? Don't beat yourself up over it or Felicity will have your ass."

Oliver smiled at that, his shoulders relaxing a bit.

A couple hours later they were brought in her room. Roy called Diggle to let him know she was fine while Oliver sat on the bed, taking her hand in his.

"How are you feeling?" he asked softly and she gave him a sweet smile.

"They pumped me with the good stuff, so I'm feeling pretty good," she replied, giggling slightly.

Roy gave her an amused look. "You're high."

"Pretty much," she agreed and laughed again.

"Felicity…"

"Oliver, I swear to God, if you apologize once again I'll beat you senseless with that pair of crutches over there. It was an accident. Nobody died. The end."

"Told you," Roy mouthed and Oliver glared at him.

Diggle walked into the room, his left side supported by a crutch. He came to the other side of the bed, briefly caressing her temple with his knuckles.

"Hey girl. You look pretty good for someone who got shot. What happened exactly?"

"Felicity started to ramble again and that's the only way Oliver found to shut her up," Roy deadpanned and Felicity laughed again. As Diggle sent her a look, she just said, "Morphine." Before adding, "It was an accident."

Diggle raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I kind of figured that he didn't shoot you on purpose."

Oliver scoffed. "Only Roy has that privilege," he said.

"I feel so special," the younger man replied good-naturedly.

"Hey, we can have a club now and swap stories," Felicity told Roy excitedly, "like, 'Remember that time when I was shot by the Arrow'?" and as she heard Oliver groaned she turned to him with a grin. "What? Too soon?"

He sent her an exasperated yet affectionate look and she squeezed his hand before letting out a huge yawn.

"That's our cue," Diggle said and bent to press a kiss on her forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Roy followed suit. "Don't talk the nurses to death," he said with a smile and she hit him slightly on the arm.

"We'll wait for you in the hall," Diggle told Oliver with a knowing look.

Felicity turned to Oliver with a soft smile.

"Isn't there a saying about getting an arrow in the leg and getting married?"

He smiled. "It's an arrow in the knee."

"Oh. Ok. Good thing you hit my thigh then."

He gave her a pensive look. "Maybe."

He stood up, pressing a kiss on her forehead. "Maybe next time I won't miss," he whispered.

"I...what?"

But he just winked at her and left the room, leaving her speechless.