Author's Notes:
Welcome back to To Sacrifice the Sun! If you are new to the story, thanks for giving it a chance! Happy reading!
To remind everyone what was going on I have "Previously on..." chapter summaries to remind yourself what happened on my Tumblr Emmilynestill.
To Sacrifice the Sun
Chapter Eight
September 17, 2016
07:01
Palenque Ruins, Mexico
Felicity woke abruptly, at dawn, the bright morning light streaming in through the flaps of their tent, her dream still playing in technicolor in her mind. Strange disjointed images of the Great King Pical dancing around his fancy tomb. Then King Cadmeal, the first king of Palenque, and his wife and the Temple of the Sun…
Pushing herself upright, Felicity pressed her palms to her tired eyes and tried to catch the last remnants of the dream before they flitted away completely. It felt…important. Like it was more than a regular dream.
Whether she had just been processing in her sleep or if she wanted to believe in the strange intuition she seemed to experience whenever she spent too much time amongst the Mayan ruins, Felicity just couldn't get the feeling, the urgency out of her head. And there was no way she was going to be able to fall back asleep. She wasn't going to be able to relax at all until she had another look below the Temple of the Sun.
The pounding rain had stopped and the wisps of light permeating the tent indicated that the sun was at least starting to come out. Cait and Sara snored away beside her, sleeping more peacefully than Felicity could remember either of them doing on past missions. No doubt it was due to the rum. And, maybe a little bit, the excitement of the ballgame.
Whatever the reason, heaven help them all if HIVE showed up now. Good thing the world couldn't see their last best chance now.
Hopefully, one of the guys would be up and alert.
But unfortunately…not so much.
When Felicity emerged from her tent, everything was quiet and still, only the distant sounds of birds and tree frogs floating in from the rainforest broke the silence. It was still early, but… Felicity's skin itched to get back down into that chamber and going by herself probably wasn't the brightest plan. Also, she was going to need more muscle than she possessed to do what she needed to do.
First things first. Coffee. Before she ruined someone else's sleep, Felicity should probably make sure she was awake and coherent herself. So, Curtis' french press her she came.
But, of course, while Felicity was able to find the coffee maker rather easily, it was too damn complicated to figure out before the first cup. Didn't Curtis understand that coffee makers needed to be idiot proof? Clearly, an epic fail. So much worse than the exploding communicator incident. She may even have had the unkind thought that she hoped his stomach still hurt from the damn chili. To get her excited about the idea of real coffee, then to make it too difficult to accomplish…not cool.
And, how come Felicity could figure out any machine ever, except the ones that created basic human sustenance? And, trust her, coffee at dawn…the very definition of 'basic human sustenance.'
"Urgh!" Felicity grunted in frustration, pressing the button that really should work. It looked simple enough. Stupid, Curtis! He did this on purpose just to mess with her! "Stupid defective idiotic—"
"Did you remember to add the coffee?"
Felicity jumped embarrassingly high, stumbling back on her uncaffeinated (on top of generally uncoordinated) feet, and backing right into…
Oliver.
Of course, it would be Oliver. Of all people. And, damn, how does the man move so fraken quietly? So unfair.
And now Oliver was way too close. Her whole back felt alive and tingly and she did not have the current faculties to deal with that. She quickly swung around and snapped (which wasn't very nice, but again, still no coffee and Felicity was blaming everything on that), "Don't do that! And, of course, I remembered the coff…"
Oh wait…
"You forgot to add the coffee, didn't you?" Oliver asked quietly, looking down at Felicity with an amused and indulgent smile. It might have even been affectionate.
Also unfair was how incredibly attractive Oliver was this early in the morning, along with being awake and with it. Maybe he slept better than her, which would, again, be unfair since he was the reason Felicity hadn't. Clearly, the universe had become biased against her.
Felicity shot Oliver a death glare and refused to acknowledge that, yes, she was trying to make coffee without actually adding coffee and, instead, tried to gather up her mop of a head of hair into a ponytail so she could at least look somewhat presentable. Her rained out, humidity attacked, slept on, curly mop of a head of hair. It was impossible. Mostly because one hand still held the coffee maker and creating ponytails was a no-go with only one hand.
Oh why did Felicity have to be stuck with Mr. Tall-Gorgeous-and-Dangerous (and by dangerous she meant to her sanity) without her product and straightener? Was Oliver enjoying seeing his ex looking less than spectacular? People did that, she knew. And given the way she'd tromped all over his heart she probably even deserved it.
But Felicity still decided Oliver was a smug bastard when he held out his hand for Curtis' stupid coffee-needing coffee maker (and to be fair there was always freshly ground coffee already in the machines in the Cave).
At least now she had two free hands. Setting about finger-combing her rat's nest, Felicity pulled it into what, she was sure, was a horribly wild ponytail as her eyes followed Oliver's competent hands as they made quick work of adding the coffee…and the water (damn it) to the machine. The coffee was brewing before she had her hair secure.
And, seriously, why did Oliver, of all people, have to stumble upon her early morning buffoonery? She opened her mouth to ask why he was the only one awake, but he held up his hand.
"Eh," Oliver warned, making Felicity frown. "No conversation until after coffee."
Okay, umm…that had been a rule of theirs. And a good one, but…wow, that felt intimate. Like reminding Felicity of something she liked in bed. Or about her morning breath.
But before Felicity could think of a witty comeback, or any comment at all, Oliver was pressing a steaming mug into her hand, all prepared with sugar and powdered creamer, just the way she liked (or as good as it could get in the field).
Had Felicity mentioned Oliver was her favorite? The coffee smelled amazing and even if she hadn't been in love with him for the better part of a decade, at the moment, he would still be her favorite.
The plastic mug was empty in three long gulps.
"Better?" Oliver asked, still smiling indulgently as he filled her cup again.
Why was he so wonderful? It just wasn't okay. And looking at Felicity like he actually enjoyed being around her? What was that about? How could anyone enjoy her in this state? Never mind someone whose heart she had so thoroughly broken? Also, it hurt to look at something that good looking this early in the morning. Clearly, the world was fraking with her.
But that wasn't Oliver's fault and he had made her coffee so she murmured, "Much. Thank you." Felicity smiled back at him tentatively and he met her eyes and his smile widened and…wow, this was getting really dangerous.
But then, Oliver stood up and Felicity bite her lip to keep from demanding to know where he was going. Or maybe pleading with him to stay. Just to drink coffee with her. And keep her company. How pathetic was that? Also, something she did not deserve. He had already been far kinder than she deserved.
Especially since Oliver was barely gone two full minutes before he came back carrying two camp bowls. He handed Felicity one with two hard boiled eggs and a half of a papaya. And while it looked delicious and again he was being very kind, the food thing…
"I think you took Curtis and Caitlin a little too seriously," Felicity muttered, trying not to sound irritated. It wasn't Oliver's fault. "I don't need to be fed." Like a dog. It was humiliating.
"Felicity," Oliver said firmly, making her meet his eyes, "I made three dozen boiled eggs. For the team. You're part of the team."
Now Felicity was even more embarrassed, especially when she noticed that Oliver had four eggs on his plate. She hoped she could pass off her almost continual blush as sunburn. Here she was assuming he was taking care of her, that she was special in some way, but he was just treating her like any other member of the team.
It was a relief. Really. Not a crushing disappointment at all.
Swallowing another gulp of coffee, she picked up an egg and hit it against the side of the bowl, slowly picking off the peal. She peaked up at Oliver from under her lashes and saw him pull out an impressive knife from his belt. Intrigued now, Felicity watched as he efficiently stabbed the top and bottom of the egg, before cleanly decapitating the top. The shell was gone in seconds.
"What?" Oliver asked, when he noticed her staring, as he bit the egg cleanly in half.
Felicity raised her eyebrows. "Are you pealing that egg or assassinating it?" Because not only was it disturbingly violent, it was also impressively skilled. And she wasn't going to tell Oliver it was hard not to stare at him when he had to be so fraking gorgeous in the early morning mist.
Oliver pressed his lips together, amused. Hopefully, from the egg comment. Not from reading her mind. Which would be ridiculous. "The Russians love their eggs."
Ugh. Russia. "That's not how Russian's eat their eggs," Felicity argued, though she had no idea why, other than it was the ass crack of dawn and her already unusual life had taken a bizarre turn in the last forty-eight hours. Arguing with Oliver about how to eat eggs seemed like as safe a conversation as any.
"Oh, it's not?" Oliver lifted an eyebrow at her, again, amused. Apparently wild-haired barely caffeinated Felicity was very amusing. "Pray tell, what is the Russian way?"
Of course, Oliver knew more about Russia than she did, but eating a boiled egg the Russian way was the kind of stupid thing computer nerds prided themselves on.
Picking up her second egg, Felicity cracked one end and peeled off a tiny bit of the shell, then turned it around and did the same, but making a slightly bigger hole, on the other side. She held it up for Oliver to inspect and he nodded indulgently.
Grinning, Felicity announced, "This is the Russian way." She held the small hole to her mouth and blew.
The egg went flying. Oliver caught it because, damn, those reflexes. But then, he let out a bark of laughter that made Felicity grin triumphantly. She may not be able to make coffee at dawn, or actually boil an egg, but she could deshell it in the most entertaining way possible.
"That is not the Russian way," Oliver argued, but he was chuckling, shaking his head as he examined her projectile.
"According to the crazy Russian hacker who blasted it over YouTube it is. It's got like three million views," Felicity told Oliver, using a spork to scoop out some papaya, still feeling pretty satisfied. The trick didn't always work that well. Though she may have been a little disappointed that it wasn't the way all Russians did it. Cisco was going to be devastated.
Oliver just shook his head, taking a bite of her egg (guess he wasn't trying to feed her after all). "Well, no one in the Bratva sent their eggs flying across the room."
"Well, that's no fun." It wasn't, but Felicity must be feeling brave that morning to joke about the Bratva.
"No, it wasn't." Oliver didn't elaborate. His eyes became more serious, the way they always did when he spoke about Russia.
Did he want to avoid the topic? Or…maybe Oliver wanted to talk about it? Felicity didn't want him to think she was avoiding the topic and he did bring it up in the first place so…
"Did they have good food in Russia?" Which was as bland a question as anyone could ever come up with. Especially since Roy had answered the same one last night, but it seemed to be a safe way to start a conversation.
"It was different," was all Oliver said so maybe he didn't want to talk about it. He wasn't making eye contact, just polishing off her egg. But then he added, "They had great coffee though. Strong." He refilled both their cups and started a new pot. "They're also insanely fond of cabbage. And, while I make a mean borsht, I would be happy if I never saw cabbage again for the rest of my life."
Felicity couldn't suppress her shudder. "Sounds delicious." But she was unreasonably happy he was sharing.
"It wasn't too bad," Oliver assured. Then, before she knew it, he had assassinated another egg with his scary knife and had the perfectly peeled morsel next to her half eaten one in Felicity's bowl. "What about you? Is the food terrible in the Cave?"
It wasn't until she picked up that egg and took a bite that Felicity acknowledged to herself that she was sitting down to a pleasant breakfast, engaging in idle chit chat with the estranged love of her life. And it wasn't terrible. It was certainly surreal though. And the eating of each other's eggs was…something else altogether.
"The cafeteria is pretty good, actually." Though the more they discussed this, the more it felt like the least important thing in the world. Yesterday, Felicity had prayed for the gift of small talk. Now, it felt like she was wasting time. "I know that Caitlin and Curtis told you I lived off coffee…"
Oliver lifted his eyebrows at her.
"But, in reality, I lived off coffee and ice cream." Because humor was never a waste of time.
And neither was seeing Oliver chuckle in the early morning light. It really was unfair how attractive he was. And…was that the fifteenth time she had thought that this morning? Felicity ran a hand over her frizzy ponytail again, self-conscious. Clearing her throat, she murmured, "You're up early."
Oliver swallowed, his eyes dragging over her. Did he like what he saw? It was hard to believe he could. "I could say the same for you." Did Felicity look sleep-deprived? Did she have bags under her eyes? "Trouble sleeping?"
Did it look like she'd had trouble sleeping? Or was the implication Oliver had? Why did she always think in questions when he was around?
"Not really," Felicity answered. Though, that was a lie since it took a while to settle down and stop imagining him naked…okay, not where she wanted her thoughts to go right then. "I had a dream," she blurted out, because that was a much more benign topic.
Also, relevant. Since it wasn't a sex dream. Would Oliver think it was a sex dream? No, that was a stupid thought. Why would he think that? Why would she think that? There was no reason for Felicity to bring up a sex dream? Even she didn't have that terrible a filter. Usually.
Actually, Oliver was giving her a concerned face, so she really hoped he didn't think it was a sex dream…ohhhhh, he thought it was a nightmare. Frak, Felicity's brain wasn't working at all this morning. The coffee was awfully sluggish in kicking in.
Felicity quickly finished her second (third?) cup of coffee and reassured, "It wasn't a bad dream, it was…" How to explain this without sounding nuts? "It just gave me an idea where to look in the Temple of the Sun."
Did that sound like Felicity thought she was having crazy psychic dreams? She waited for Oliver to question her. Or tease her. Or make a comment about how insane that was. But instead, interest lit up his eyes and he leaned forward and asked, "What did you come up with?"
This was maybe her favorite thing about Oliver. It was something that she had forgotten about until right then. He always took her seriously, no matter how foolish Felicity appeared or how silly her babble. It didn't matter if he didn't understand a word she said. Oliver always listened. He always treated her like what she said mattered, even assumed that it must be, as he said, 'her brilliant mind' at work. It made her feel like she knew what she was doing.
Even if it was following a lead that came from a crazy psychic dream.
"Do you remember King Pical?" Felicity asked, trying to ignore the surge of sentiment in her chest. It was way too early in the morning for her to get emotional.
Oliver nodded. "Yeah, the guy who built this place." Felicity opened her mouth to clarify but he interrupted her, "I know, not the guy who founded it, the one who built most of what we see here. Didn't Pical live like 70 years? Turned this place into a Mayan superpower?"
The corners of Felicity's lips tipped up. Smart was sexy. Just when she thought Oliver couldn't get more attractive. "You did listen."
"Was there ever a doubt?" Oliver's voice was husky and he held her gaze as he lifted his coffee to his lips…black, secretly saturated with sugar. Felicity remembered things too.
Clearing her throat again, Felicity tried not to fidget in her seat. "Remember how they found Pical's tomb at the base of the Temple of Inscriptions?" Oliver nodded again and she pressed on, excitement starting to rise as she said what she remembered out loud. The pieces fell together and the curiosity blazing in Oliver's eyes spurred her on. "Well, they buried him with all sorts of treasures and…in the Temple of the Sun there were these tombs. Completely unadorned and, well, I'm not sure why but we didn't open them. I didn't think they were really important but now…"
She still wasn't sure they were important. At the time, Felicity had been a little distracted by Caitlin's story. But, still, it was odd she hadn't thought to go back and open them until now, wasn't it? She'd spent all yesterday afternoon combing the rest of the ruins for clues, but never thought the tombs should be opened. And the more she thought about it, the part of Pical's tomb that was so spectacular was on the inside.
"So we open them," Oliver replied.
So simple. Oliver didn't question why the dream came to her or how she was interpreting it. He didn't ask her for the details…which were confusing and fading quickly. All that was left really was the surety that Felicity needed to open those tombs, regardless of the fact that the idea made her cringe. Petrified skeletons…eeeephh.
"That was my thought," Felicity agreed, but then before she could say any more, Oliver was popping the last egg in his mouth (whole, the Nethanderal), taking her plate and his and standing. She frowned up at him. "What…now?"
"You want to get going, right?"
Well, yeah, but…that was before they started to have their nice little chat and…oh, wow, Oliver meant that the two of them should go down into the tiny little box together.
Alone together.
As in now alone together.
And, really, it had never seemed tinier than it did when there was the possibility that she might be down there with Oliver. Alone. Together. And considering they hadn't really been talking twenty-four hours ago, wasn't that…weird?
"What about the others?" Felicity asked, and she was afraid she sounded a little bit panicked because Oliver hesitated, looking disappointed. Oh…oh…she didn't want to disappoint him. No. Stop. How did she stop disappointing him?
"Is there someone else you need?" Oliver asked, his face closing off just a bit. Most people would have thought nothing of it but Felicity recognized it for what it was. He was guarding himself against being hurt.
Oliver wanted to be alone with her. Wow. That was crazy. He was a masochist. Or he trusted her far more than Felicity deserved.
"Nooo," Felicity assured way too vehemently, because the most important thing was not betraying his trust. And not hurting his feelings. Or disappointing him. "Not specifically."
Except as a chaperone. Maybe a chaperone would be good. Because maybe that would break the tension and keep Felicity from babbling incessantly and accidentally dropping truth bombs. Because even if the truth had to come out eventually, truth bombs should be placed. Carefully. With thought. So they didn't explode and destroy everything in their vicinity.
But then again, Felicity imagined being down under the temple with Oliver and Cait…or Sara…or Curtis… or, dear god, Slade.
Um…no chaperone necessary. Felicity would have to control herself without them. Her and Oliver's odd little reconnecting thing they had going on…so not ready for any of their friends' interference.
"If you would rather someone else—"
"No. Nope." Felicity didn't want Oliver to see this as a rejection in any way. It wasn't. Why on earth would she reject him? Except, he thought she had. She hadn't though. Never. "No. You are good." Sounding awkward and desperate wasn't ideal either. "Some of those stone slabs may be too heavy though…"
Felicity trailed off at Oliver's raised his eyebrows, the look on his face insinuating that her concerns were absurd…or, maybe, he took it as a challenge. Really, she was making an excellent point here, one that had nothing to do with her very conflicted emotions about being alone with him. Oliver might have the arms of a Greek god, but he was only human and those slabs were damn heavy. It was one of the reasons those tombs hadn't gotten opened the first time she was down there.
"For any one person to lift," Felicity clarified, resisting the urge to roll her eyes, because though she had no desire to insult him, she refused to pander to his masculinity either. If there was one thing Oliver was secure in, it was that. "And I don't think I can help at all."
The corner of Oliver's lip tipped up and Felicity breathed a sigh of relief, because the closed-off look disappeared. This was the Oliver that joked with her about how to peal an egg. The relaxed normal Oliver.
"I think I can manage," Oliver drawled and, yup, totally confident in his…muscle-iness. Over-confident probably. Those slabs were massive. "But if I can't, we'll wake up Digg. Deal?
Felicity nodded. Probably too enthusiastically. Because Digg was good. Digg was safe. He knew how to handle an awkward situation. He wouldn't tease or push. There might be a knowing glance or two…but it would be subtle and she could deal with that. Maybe they should go wake up Digg now.
But that clearly wasn't what Oliver wanted and Felicity just wanted to give him everything he wanted…dear lord, they weren't even down in the hole yet and already this was getting really dangerous.
"Go grab your gear," Oliver told her with a confident smile and Felicity took a deep breath. Into the breach, as they say.
It only took Felicity a minute to grab her day bag and when she returned, she found Oliver with Cisco's duffel bag over his shoulder and his bow in his hand.
"Expecting trouble?" Felicity asked, eyebrows up, already feeling her anxiety rise. Oliver had crazy good instincts when it came to that sort of thing.
But Oliver's only reply was, "Grappling hook."
Of course. They really should have thought of that yesterday. Felicity wondered if Oliver had gotten an earful about them getting suck in the underground (that was actually above ground) chamber or if he was just smarter than three of the Cave's best minds combined.
When they reached the Temple, Oliver was confident and efficient, completely professional. They didn't speak. Just did what they needed to do, working together seamlessly as they always used to. The floor slab was still off (thank goodness, because no matter what he said, there was no way Oliver was lifting that by himself), so he just shot his grappling hook arrow around a column, grabbed the rope, and jumped into the chamber.
Once inside, Oliver held his hands up for Felicity and she probably should have hesitated, said something, tossed down a glow ball…anything. But she didn't. It was all so fluid, so natural. She never even thought about it.
Felicity jumped.
And, suddenly, she was in Oliver's arms.
She knew she shouldn't stay. Oliver was just helping her into the chamber after all. Making sure she didn't get hurt. That was it.
Of course, Felicity didn't want to pull away too quickly either. That might give him the wrong message…ah hell, she didn't want to pull away at all.
Before she knew it, she had already stood there for far too long. Oliver's hands flexed on her waist and Felicity's were resting on his shoulders and she could feel the muscles tense underneath the thin layers of shirt and skin. There wasn't an inch between them. All she had to do was sway forward and…it was dark and they were alone. No one would know.
If Oliver tilted his head just so, he could kiss her. What would she do if he did? Would Felicity forget…no, ignore everything and kiss him back on the off chance…on the slimmest of possibilities that they could get it all back? That she hadn't destroyed everything irreparably?
But it really was a long shot. An impossibly long no human should even be able to make it shot. She knew that. And if Felicity let herself forget…would she survive the aftermath when Oliver finally did learn everything? And was it fair of her to let something happen before he knew the whole truth?
Felicity stepped back, out of Oliver's arms and immediately the air felt cooler. Looking away, she reached into her pocket and she pulled out one of Curtis' glow balls, showering the room with light.
For a brief moment, Felicity thought she saw a flicker of something in Oliver's eyes, but before she could analyze it, it was gone and his professional mask was back in place. He turned and looked around the small chamber, his hands on his hips. "These them?" He gestured his chin to the four rectangular stone boxes.
"Yeah." Though…duh, there wasn't anything else in this fraken hole.
Though, they weren't as identical as Felicity had first thought. The middle two tombs were slightly taller and wider. They were still completely unadorned. No hieroglyphics or carvings to identify them. Yet, in her dream Pical's tomb had very few outside markings…but maybe her mind had made that up.
It was so odd. Felicity could remember everything she had seen or read about the Lost City, as if she had taken a photograph in her mind, but she could barely remember Pical's tomb, perhaps the most famous, most written about thing in Palenque. Wasn't that odd? It felt odd.
Felicity sighed. It was probably nothing. This place messed with her head, gave her delusions of grandeur…or delusions of psychic abilities.
Of course…Felicity's premonition of doom at Tikal had come true, hadn't it?
Felicity shook herself. Now, she was really being ridiculous. "I don't know why I thought this is going to be anything," she muttered, running a finger along a dusty tomb. "It's not like this is a new discovery. There's no way these haven't been opened before. Archaeologists have been all over Palenque. If these tombs have anything…or anyone important in them, it would be written about."
She was starting to feel pretty stupid for this little dawn adventure. Of course, it would have to be Oliver whose time she wasted and who got a front row seat to Felicity's incompetence.
At the moment, though, Oliver was still taking this all very seriously, barely paying attention to Felicity's litany of self-doubt. He was at the first tomb, measuring the weight and dimensions of the stone top with his arms, seemingly to figure out the best way to lift it. It really did look too heavy for any one man. They didn't even have a crowbar. If he hurt himself trying to prove something down here…
"Well, if it's been opened before, then at least we don't have to worry about getting some ancient and deadly Mayan measles," Oliver mused, his focus clearly split. "That's a thing, right?"
Felicity couldn't help but chuckle. Guess he was paying attention more than she thought he was. But wasn't that always the case? Oliver was so much smarter than anyone gave him credit for. "In Egypt. Yes." So kinda sorta, but the reference made sense.
Crouching next to one of the outside tombs, Oliver looked intently at the seam of the lid, narrowing his eyes. "Besides, maybe those guys…the archaeologists or whoever, didn't know what they were looking for." Then he pressed his palms against the slab and pushed, his jaw clenching as the stone started groan.
"Well, I'm not sure I know what we're looking for either," Felicity murmured, but she was a little distracted, taking advantage of Oliver's preoccupation to watch the muscles of his back ripple under his t-shirt. He never had been able to find ones that fit properly. Or maybe they just fit too well.
"Well, they aren't as smart as you," Oliver gritted out as he pushed and Felicity had to laugh, even though, amazingly enough, she didn't think he was joking. Or even flirting. The confidence he had in her…she had never thought she deserved it, but she had forgotten how much she had counted on it.
"I don't know about that," Felicity protested. Some of those Archaeologists were geniuses in their own right. Besides, it felt unduly arrogant to agree.
"Well, it's worth a shot." Oliver let go of the slab and leaned against the side of the tomb, blowing out a breath. It was only halfway off, but there wasn't much space between the tombs, so he would have to angle it up and off.
"That's true enough…do you want some help?" Though, if Oliver was having this much trouble, all Felicity was going to get was squished. "I could…" Get Digg?
Oliver shook his head, his eyes on the slab. He covered his palms in the dust and rubbed them together. "I got it." Bracing himself, he lifted.
Felicity jumped forward instinctively, ready to lend her meager strength, but Oliver somehow managed to lever the slab off and ease it to the ground, even asking, "So what do the archaeologists say about these tombs?" as soon as he was done.
How was Oliver able to lift that and talk at the same time? Felicity could barely watch him lift and talk at the same time. Of course, it didn't help that she seemed to be in the middle of a sexual reawakening of which he was the focus. God, he was beautiful.
What were they saying again? Oh, yeah, archeologists…in this chamber before…right…
"Ummm…nothing," Felicity answered (so very intelligently). "I mean, I haven't found anything important. I didn't do an in-depth search specifically for what was in these tombs, but it never came up in my research." Which was weird, now that she thought about it, because she thought that she had read everything there was to read on the Temple of The Sun.
When he was done with that first slab, Oliver stood, stretching his back and arms. No one should be allowed to look that good. Also, was he trying to seduce her? It didn't seem like he was, but Felicity's body was starting to hum and it was ridiculously distracting. It wasn't too late to call in Digg. Just a comm away.
"Isn't that weird?" Oliver asked, clearly much more focused on the task, and this conversation, than Felicity was. "That there's nothing written about the tombs?"
"Only if there is something significant here." Felicity sighed, because that was the only explanation.
If Felicity couldn't find (or remember) what the text books said about these tombs, it must be because there wasn't anything interesting. Which definitely meant there was nothing here about Kin Cuudad. Their only hope, as Oliver had said, was that there was something that was easily overlooked, that she might recognize that the others hadn't.
But she was beginning to worry that the only thing that they would accomplish down here was an opportunity for Oliver to show off his strength and for Felicity to mourn the fact that all that used to be hers.
Oh…and for Felicity to work herself up into a tizzy of sexual tension, while she buckled under the weight of the secrets she kept between them.
No. This was not the time to obsess over that. Bracing herself for…creepiness, Felicity peered into the tomb and…just as she suspected, a millennia old skeleton. Horrifically creepy and gross. Yick.
"So, is it…carrying a key to the Lost City?" Oliver asked, bringing in just enough humor to break the tension and make Felicity smile. He was slightly short of breath, evidence of just how heavy that thing was.
"Alas, no. Just bones and…deadness." So so gross. An actual key would be far too much to hope for anyway. Advanced as the Mayans were, they probably didn't even have keys.
Oliver didn't seem creeped out at all by the shriveled body. No, he was too brave and manly for that. God, he even smelled brave and manly. So, so not cool. "Well, three more tombs, three more chances for lost keys," he joked.
"One can only hope," Felicity muttered, trying desperately not to over focus on the smell of Oliver's sweat. She wrinkled her nose (not at his smell, because that was quite nice really) as she forced herself to look more closely at the corpse, which was far (so very far) less pleasant.
Oliver peered into the box from his spot next to her. "You'd think that the skeletons would at least be worth carbon-dating."
"You'd think. They were important enough to be entombed in a Temple with jade eyes…" Felicity shuddered. The jade was carved to show open eyes and placed in the skull. It was…unsettling. She'd seen photographs of it, but never in person. "That should warrant a paragraph in a history book, at least."
Oliver nodded. "I'm going to open the far right one next, if that's okay. I think it will be easier to maneuver the outside ones first."
"Of course," Felicity murmured, not looking at him, the…body, finally, grabbing her full attention.
This was once a person. A person with dreams and loves and a life. Family. Friends. He, or she, walked these once great city streets and was important enough to be given a special tomb in the Temple of the Sun. But not important enough to mark said tomb. And now, no one would ever know their story.
Unless Felicity could find some clue. What was she even looking for? All she saw was bones and shriveled…a chill raced up her spine. Best not focus on that.
But there wasn't much else to focus on. No mask. No (surviving) jewelry. No carvings to translate. Amazingly, there were some remnants of what looked like a red shroud wrapped around its torso, but most of the clothing had disintegrated. Maybe Caitlin could take some samples to date, but how would that help them? There was nothing in here for Felicity to examine or translate. A dead end.
"You sure I can't help balance or something," Felicity called out, dragging her eyes away, eager for something to do that wasn't examining a dead body.
There was a grunt and a loud screech as limestone scrapped against limestone. "Got it."
Oliver's new favorite phrase.
He just had to be trying to show off. There was no other explanation. Why else would Oliver be torturing himself when he and Digg could easily just lift these off? And Felicity was starting to get the idea that it would take a serious injury for him to willingly call John. What was he trying to prove?
But while Felicity felt like she should say something (and she certainly would have in the past), she stayed silent, unwilling to say anything that may be interpreted as an insult. Or, if she were honest, break this fragile little bubble they had down here. Even telling him that he had nothing to prove seemed risky. Too risky.
Oliver finished opening the second tomb and Felicity moved to inspect that one for any clues as he moved in front of the third, stubbornly determined to do this all on his own. He did, thankfully, pause to catch his breath. "You know, maybe your dream was you remembering something you read a long time ago."
Felicity looked up from corpse number two, who looked, unfortunately, exactly the same as corpse number one. "Maybe." It was an excellent thought. Except, she remembered everything else she'd read on the subject quite vividly.
"But you don't think so?" Oliver asked and Felicity didn't know how he was so damn perceptive, especially since he wasn't even looking at her face.
Oliver's eyes were glued to the third tomb, examining the slab and and the narrow space between the tall stone boxes. Since it was in the center, there wasn't the same amount of room to slide the slab off horizontally, so unless he found a better way, he was forced to pull and maneuver in vertically.
"It just doesn't feel like…that," Felicity told him and talk about vague. "I mean, it's not like the dream was super specific. It just left me with images and…the feeling that I needed to look in these tombs." Yup and she had circled right back to crazy-town. Guess there was no avoiding it.
Oliver seemed to having a really hard time getting a grip on this slab, but he still argued, "I'm sure your brilliant mind was just making connections—"
"Not my brilliant mind, my crazy mind." Because, suddenly, it was too much. She couldn't let Oliver keep painting this as a product of her genius. Sometimes, Felicity thought he put her on a pedestal and that just may be why he blamed himself for everything, even when it was clearly her fault.
Before she knew it, Felicity was rambling, "The thing is, sometimes, I have these weird senses or sensations or feelings…these odd intuitions or…I don't even know what to call them, but sometimes, I almost convince myself I have premonitions. It's completely insane."
And…blurting all that out…why did she do that? Felicity didn't want to be on a pedestal, but…she didn't want to be in an asylum either.
Oliver froze. Hands on the slab covering the tomb, mid-pull…he went as still as the stone he was gripping. Well, at least he was really listening now. He slowly straightened and pivoted to look Felicity in the eye. "What are you talking about?"
Crap. What was wrong with her? Now he actually thought she was insane. Next thing she knew, Oliver would be questioning her fitness for duty. Which he should, but…things had been going so well and now she was ruining it. Again.
Now what? Did Felicity risk telling the truth and getting a Psych referral or…dammit, of course, Felicity had to tell the truth. Where did secrets ever get her?
"I dunno, I…I guess sometimes I just get these intuitions about things. They're more feelings than thoughts." Felicity wrung her hands together and tried not to grimace as she waited for his response.
The look Oliver gave her was clearly upset. "Since when?"
Since when was she crazy? How the hell did Felicity answer that? "It's just around the Mayan stuff," she babbled, as if that made it better. "Looking back, I think it started right away, as soon as we came here. I just didn't really think anything of it. I…I told you I got this feeling that Reiter was evil." She said the last defensively, because the look on his face…it made her feel like she needed to defend herself.
Oliver shook his head, frowning. But he wasn't looking at her like he thought she was crazy. He looked…blind-sided? Maybe even a little angry? "That was just good sense," he argued. "Reiter was evil."
"Well, that's true—"
"Felicity, that can't be all—"
"The night before Tikal I had this really strong premonition of doom," Felicity finally blurted out.
And the look on Oliver's face…there went the truth bomb…
Peeww…crash…rumble everywhere…
And still, Felicity couldn't stop talking, "That was the first time it really seemed like anything. Anything significant, I mean. I didn't feel it again…until I saw the photograph of the door." She pressed her lips together, praying for the words to stop.
Oliver stared at her, his eyes wide. Then he blew out a breath and asked quietly, "That was why you were crying that night? In Guatemala?"
And…wonderful, somehow, Felicity had managed to bring up that night. Fan-frakin-tastic.
"Yeah." She couldn't even look at Oliver. Not if they were going to talk about that night.
"Why didn't you tell me?" The hurt in Oliver's voice was palpable.
Oh. So that was why he was upset. It all made so much sense now. Oliver would have been gentler if he thought she was off her rocker. The look on his face would be concerned not…betrayed. Frak.
Felicity shook her head. "Lots of reasons. At first, I didn't think it was anything…I still don't know if I think it's anything. Because…it's insane. Insane enough that it feels really, really weird to even say out loud. Which I never have, by the way, not even to the therapist they made me…anyway…"
"And that night?" Oliver asked, sounding a little bit lost. It broke Felicity's heart all over again. "Why didn't you tell me then."
"I didn't want to upset you…" Oliver frowned, starting to interrupt her, until Felicity quickly added, "I didn't want it to be true. I didn't want to say it out loud, because I couldn't…" Great, now her voice cracked. "I wanted it to be nothing."
"Well…" Oliver rested his hands on the limestone slab and let his head fall forward, his jaw clenching, looking like he was gathering strength. "It wasn't nothing, so we can't rule out this being something." Then he threw himself back into his task, pulling at the slab with new strength, making it creak and give way.
Felicity swallowed, tensing. She really didn't like the way Oliver was yanking on that thing, his full weight behind it. He really was going to get hurt this time and it would be entirely her fault. "If it's any consolation…it isn't a premonition of doom this time. It's just a feeling. Like that something is here."
"That's good," Oliver gritted, between clenched teeth, sounding like he meant it not at all. His whole body was engaged in a fight against the monumental weight of the stone. He seemed irritable now. And really, really tense.
Oliver got the slab more than halfway off before stopping, his chest heaving with the effort and Felicity held her breath. She had this terrible feeling it was going to fall on him and she hoped that wasn't a premonition.
Oliver had to concentrate so, of course, Felicity started babbling again, "You know it's probably nothing. All of it. I'm just overthinking everything. That so-called premonition of doom at Tikal was probably just good sense too—"
But, somehow, that seemed to upset him even more, if Felicity judged by the way Oliver pushed the slab down with a little too much force and—
Thunk!
The floor shook and Felicity jumped, her hands flying to her chest. The slab flipped over and crashed to the floor.
Bang!
"Shit! Fuck!"
"Oh, my god, Oliver! Are you okay?!" Did it land on him? It didn't look like it landed on him, though maybe his foot—
"I'm fine, just…fuck!" Oliver swore again, looking more frustrated with himself than anything. That didn't stop Felicity from rushing over to him to inspect him…but not touch. She had no right to touch, especially after distracting him and babbling and spewing truth bombs like an idiot.
But of course, Oliver blamed himself. Shaking his head, he looked down at the fallen slab. "Sorry, I…"
Then Oliver's breath hitched, his tone changing dramatically when he said, "Oh wow, Felicity…"
Her eyes followed Oliver's. The top of the tomb had careened backward, hitting the floor. Hard. And what looked like a layer of red clay on the inside surface had cracked.
Oliver crouched over, brushing the dust aside and as he did, carved limestone was revealed. Felicity's heart stopped, then accelerated rapidly, excitement washing through her. She fell to her knees next to Oliver, frantically helping him wipe away the red flakes and powder, moving faster and faster as more and more was revealed.
It couldn't be…
But it was.
A carving of the Mayan Sun, the symbol of Kin Cuudad, a full foot in diameter. And below that, a girl with long gilded hair…covered in real gold, kneeling in front of a man. The Daughter of the Sun and the Sun Warrior…
Oh, dear god in heaven. This was what they were looking for. They found it.
Oliver shot Felicity a wry half smile. "Looks like this premonition wasn't nothing either."
Author's Notes:
(More photographs and art for this chapter here)
This chapter is the beginning of a huge turning point for this story. I'm very excited for everything that is coming up. The pace will be picking up so I hope you enjoyed a few quiet moments between our heroes.
About how a Russian eats an egg…I have no idea if they have any special way. Before writing this I had in my head that there would be some super cool efficient way Oliver could teach Felicity about. When I googled it, all I got was a video you can find the above link. That was the inspiration for the scene.
Follow me on Tumblr or Twitter for updates on all my stories and extra tid-bits.
Now I need to thank the lovely Ireland1733 for her tireless support and efforts to help me with my writing. Especially for being available for every insecure freak-out I have. Welcome and a huge thanks to imusuallyobsessed for pinch hitting for me at the last minute to help me beta this while Fairytalehearts is away. Thank you for the awesome feedback and keeping me endlessly inspired. (And Fairytalehearts. Miss you! Can't wait until you are back1)
Please leave your thoughts. I'm so excited to see what you think (and if you liked it a quick kudos is a nice treat too :- ))
Thanks, and Happy Reading,
Emmy