Note: Hey everyone! It's Wednesday, which means a new chapter of Crumbled Papers for you! ;)

Anyway, this story is slowly coming to an end since the last update will be update 25 (which is the epilogue)... It's been lovely to write and I struggled to decide how and when to end the story, but I'm happy with the outcome and hopefully you will be too when you read it in a few weeks! ;)

But that is not the point. The point is: New chapter, please enjoy and don't forget to tell me what you thought of it! ;)

"Crumbled Papers"

Chapter 21: Things Left Unsaid

Word count: 2,352

Another two weeks passed since Felicity's little scare and things had almost gone back to normal. Oliver went over to her town house and slept on the couch after watching movies with her for as long as she could stay awake, since her medication tired her a lot. She came to the Foundry every other day to help them set up missions and Oliver actually felt a little more relaxed when he went out on the field now that he knew everything there was to know about Felicity's situation.

She had taken back her wish for Dr. Applebeam to keep things from Oliver and Diggle and had told the man that the two of them would always have to hear about whatever it was that they learned secondly after herself.

Now, two weeks later, Oliver was once again walking into the hospital to visit Felicity, who had yet another, stronger treatment, scheduled. Unfortunately, he had had a board meeting at the same time and Felicity had insisted that he shouldn't neglect his duties as CEO just so he could stay with her. After all, Diggle would be just as capable of doing so.

The thing about Felicity was that her behavior had changed a lot since she had fainted that day in his office. Despite the fact that he slept over almost every day, he could feel that she was trying to distance herself from him again. Not in terms of keeping secrets, but more like emotionally distancing herself. Whenever he suggested the two of them do something together, she always called Diggle in as well, seeming to not want to end up alone with him at any cost. He didn't exactly take offense to the way she acted, but he was curious to know why she had suddenly had such a change of heart. He knew that they had been growing closer, although he longed to know what it was that had caused the sudden change.

Diggle texted him and told him which room they were in and Oliver texted back that he would be there soon. He had just gotten out of the elevator and seen the room at the end of the hallway, where Diggle and Felicity could be seen talking about something through a glass window, when someone had stopped him.

"Ollie?"

Oliver stopped abruptly and turned to face the woman who had spoken; Laurel.

"Laurel?" he asked tentatively, taking a step toward her. His face broke out into one of those fake smiles that he used for the public while his brain screamed at him to keep walking to the woman that now, unknowingly, held his heart. "What are you doing here?" he questioned, carefully striking up a conversation.

"Oh, I've had the flu this entire week," Laurel informed him, her voice sounding a little strange, as if she had trouble breathing through her nose. "So I just came back for check-ups."

The flu was going around again?

Had Oliver really been so deeply rooted in everything that was Felicity Smoak that he hadn't noticed anything that was happening in Starling City, besides the crime that he continued to fight at night? Truthfully, he wasn't sure he had seen Laurel these last few months, which was strange, considering that the woman had practically been all he had been thinking about for six years.

"I haven't seen you around much lately," he voiced his thoughts.

"Yeah, I've been visiting my mom in Central City," Laurel explained. "And when I got back, I was so caught up in work that I haven't had time to call you and then of course, I had to go get the flu too," she laughed lightly. "How's your mom? Thea?"

"Mom is still traveling around in Europe, mending her relationship with Walter," Oliver said. "I hear from her once a week when she calls to check up on me and Thea, but I think things are going well between the two of them since she isn't calling so frequently," he told Laurel.

"And Thea? Is everything okay with her? Is that why you're in the hospital?" Laurel inquired, looking around as if she was trying to spot his younger sister.

Oliver's own gaze traveled past Laurel, to the glass window where he could see Felicity animatedly move her hands around as she explained something to Diggle, who was looking quite intrigued. The scene made his chest fill with warmth and he wanted nothing other than to go to them and hear what she was saying.

"Isn't that your assistant?" Laurel piped up, breaking through the haze he had fallen into.

"My Executive Assistant," Oliver corrected automatically before nodding. "Yes. That's Felicity..." he trailed off, realizing the way he had practically sighed her name.

God, he had become such a sap.

That was his only thought as he forced himself to turn to look at Laurel again, who was looking at him warily. "Do you have time to maybe get a coffee or something?" she asked him. "I don't want to take you away from your friends, but I feel like we haven't really had a chance to talk lately."

Oliver glanced toward Felicity and Diggle again before turning to Laurel. He owed her that much, didn't he? One cup of coffee wouldn't be the end of the world.

"Yeah, sure. I'll just text Diggle and tell him I'll be a little late," he said, quickly taking out his phone.

"Okay," Laurel nodded. "I think I saw a coffee machine down the hall."

They walked together, away from Felicity's room and into another hallway. There was indeed a coffee machine there and as Oliver texted Diggle, Laurel prepared two cups for them before nodding toward a bench a bit further off.

"Let's sit," she told him and he followed her before taking a seat next to her.

If she noticed the distance he had set up between them, she didn't say anything on the matter. Instead, she sipped her cup before handing his over to her as he put his phone back into his pocket.

"So your friend," she began conversationally. "Felicity, was it? What does she have, if you don't mind me asking?"

Laurel's soft tone struck a cord in him as he leaned back on the bench.

"Stage 3 stomach cancer," he said, repeating the illness he had spent countless of times googling.

"I'm sorry," Laurel solemnly said. "She seems like such a nice person."

"She is," Oliver replied. "But she isn't going anywhere, so you might cross paths with her some day."

Laurel watched him warily. "So she's better then?" she asked.

"How do you define 'better'?" Oliver swallowed, looking down at her.

"I mean, have the doctor's told you of the survival rate?" she asked bluntly, making something inside of Oliver drop.

"Yes, but Felicity isn't like most others," he told Laurel. "She's remarkable and she will make it through this."

He took a long sip of his coffee, wanting to finish it as soon as possible so he could go back to Felicity.

"I don't mean to pry, Ollie," Laurel began, putting her hand on his knee, "but are you sure that Felicity is just your friend?"

The question caught him off guard and he turned to look at her. "What are you trying to say?" he asked.

"I'm not trying to insinuate anything," she replied, "but I'm not stupid. I see the way you're itching to get back to her."

"Laurel..."

"How long has she been sick?" Laurel asked, changing the subject.

"I honestly don't know," Oliver mumbled. "My perception of time has altered a bit... I can't remember when it all started, but it feels like it's been going on for years," he admitted. "Not that Felicity is a nuisance to me or something!" he added quickly. "I just want her to get better, so I haven't been able to think of much else than that."

Laurel watched him briefly before taking a small sip of her coffee again. "Well, now I'm convinced that she's more than just your friend," she informed him. "You've never done this much for your old friends."

"Felicity is...special, to say the least," Oliver admitted slowly.

"Aren't you tired of always hurting?" Laurel inquired, her eyebrows furrowing.

"What do you mean?" he asked, this time genuinely confused.

"I mean, do you really think that it's good for you to stick around Felicity, when there's no guarantee that she'll actually live through this?" Laurel reflected. "You're always the one who ends up hurt, Oliver. This time, if the way you're acting is any indication, you might end up more hurt than ever."

Oliver watched her for a good moment as silence fell between them. When he spoke, he couldn't help the small amount of annoyance that made its way into his tone.

"Are you telling me I should just leave her? After everything we've been through?" he argued. "If you think I'm not aware of the possibility that I might get hurt in the end, you're wrong. I think about it every single day when I wake up in her living room. I think about how much easier it would be to just go back to my old life and ignore her. It would hurt far less, that's for sure," he remarked. "But then, I hear her small snores from her bedroom and I realize that I don't care about the fact that I might end up hurt when all of this is over."

"You sleep in her living room?" Laurel questioned and he nodded.

"I can't be separated from her for too long," he confessed. "It drives me crazy when I'm not around her."

At his admission, Laurel offered him a small smile. "It sounds like you're way past caring, Ollie," she asserted.

"I think so too," he let out in a small breath. "I honestly think I might be in love with her."

As soon as he had spoken the words, his entire body went warm. He knew there was absolutely no denying it anymore. The fact that he had just admitted it to Laurel of all people, told him something about just how deeply rooted his feelings for Felicity were.

"She's remarkable," he continued, still feeling a little out of breath. "She's beautiful, kind, loving. She's been there for me since the moment we first met. She trusts me and she believes in me and I would give my life for her, if it would only make her better," he revealed. It had been building up for a while, after all. "I trust her with my life, Laurel," Oliver whispered. "I don't know what I would do without her."

When he finished his little speech, he didn't care about the fact that he had only drunk half his coffee. He rose to his feet and looked down at Laurel, who seemed deep in thought.

"I need to get back to Felicity now," he announced and the brunette nodded.

"Oliver," she said, slowly raising to stand herself. "If there is one thing I've learned this past year, after everything that's happened between you coming back from the dead and Tommy..." she trailed off, shaking her head at herself. "It's that some things are better not left unsaid, especially when you're aware that your time together might be limited."

She stepped forward and embraced him tightly and he couldn't help himself but hug her back. It was evident that something between them was ending. They were ending, as lovers, but starting over, as friends.

"No matter what I or anyone else thinks," Laurel told him, "Felicity deserves to know how you feel about her." She hugged him tightly one last time before stepping away. "I'll see you around, Oliver," she smiled lightly before walking away from him and walking to the elevators.

He watched her until she disappeared behind the closing doors and then turned to walk back to Felicity and Diggle.

He stood outside the room for a while, watching and hearing Felicity laugh at something Diggle said. It still amazed him how her smile and her laughter could brighten up an entire room along with his dark soul. She made him want to be better, to fight for what was right.

And he was in love with her.

His confession to Laurel had come unexpectedly to say the least, but he knew it was true with every fiber of his being.

As he stood by the door, watching her as she giggled, her eyes closed and a smile wide on her face, he almost wasn't able to keep from blurting it all out then and there. However, he knew that she wasn't ready to hear it. Not when she had been distancing herself from him. Now it all made a lot more sense to him. She must have noticed his own change of behavior before he even knew what was happening to him.

Oliver watched as she opened her eyes, still chuckling as she turned to look toward him, meeting his eyes.

"Finally," she grinned at him. "What took you so long?"

Her question held a double meaning in his mind. How could it have taken so long for him to actually admit to himself that he loved her? He had always used words like 'care' but never actually said 'love'.

"I got lost," he replied and she tilted her head to look at him. It was the truth, in a way.

"Well, why are you still standing over there?" she smiled. "Come in and join us! This show is hilarious!" she motioned to the TV.

Without hesitation, Oliver walked in and took his seat next to her. Somewhere in the middle of the show, as he looked down at her while she shook of laughter, his hand once again found hers. Surprising him, she laced their fingers and he wondered for a moment whether she was aware of it, since she hadn't stopped looking at the television, a bright smile on her lips.

He realized that it didn't matter to him, because he felt happy.

He felt at home.

Note: Oh, Oliver... :)

I just want to say that I don't want any hate on any characters in the reviews. I respect Katie Cassidy and her work and I loved Laurel in season 1 when she was with Tommy. Sure, she had a rocky road in the second season and I sometimes felt they could have handled her story-line a little better, but still; respect is the hey word here!

Oh, and yes, I know that it might be a little random to all of the sudden have Laurel in the story when she hasn't been mentioned, but hopefully, you'll accept the way I explained her absence and understand that what I wanted to show here was that Oliver and Laurel are TRULY over and that Oliver is 100 percent committed to Felicity (even though she doesn't know it yet). So, hopefully, you'll understand it and be okay with this chapter! =)

Tell me what you thought and what you thought of my portrayal of Laurel! Especially since I've never actually written her before... ^^ Oh, and don't forget to review... You'll be rewarded for it, trust me! ;)

Lots of love!