To Sacrifice the Sun
Chapter Thirteen
September 17, 2016
18:01
Lacandon Rainforest, Mexico
The rest of the drive through the jungle was…long.
Excruciatingly so.
Oliver took it slow, which was not only smart, but very necessary. The rough terrain and steady rain made their visibility less than stellar. Plus, poor Oliver was navigating by himself. With the comms not working, there was nothing Felicity could do but hang on.
Communicating at all was hard with the wind and the thick helmets. Felicity had resorted to pinching Oliver when she needed to stop. One just couldn't ride on the back of a motorcycle for hours on end without stopping to drink or pee or just shake out a muscle cramp every once in a while. Oliver might think he was super-human or a robot or whatever, but Felicity held no such delusions. About either of them.
Of course, Oliver couldn't feel it (or ignored her) when she pinched him over the Kevlar, so in desperation (Felicity really needed to pee), she had snuck her hand underneath his vest (and shirt because the sweat kinda had them glued together) and, well, that got both their attentions.
The way Oliver stiffened…well, not stiffened, like stiffened stiffened. Actually…maybe like that. It was possible. It wasn't like Felicity could look. Or even would have if she could. Since that would have so been a violation. Plus, she was seated behind him and couldn't see either way…
And, of course, she made sure her hand found the skin up, on his abdomen, and not down to…Felicity didn't even consider going down. That would have been completely inappropriate. Wrong even. Groping Oliver like that when he was all vulnerable…not that he was vulnerable per se...
There was even the possibility that Oliver might want Felicity to. Grope him, that was. But that was a whole other can of worms.
Not that Oliver resembled a worm. Not in any way. Nothing skinny or limp there. Her memory on that was quite clear on that fact….
Oh. Dear. Lord!
What the hell was wrong with her?
Give Felicity five minutes and her thoughts took off…to the gutter! It was ridiculous. Her thought rambles were…well, she was just glad they weren't out loud rambles, because this might be a new low for her.
But what was Felicity to do? She was stuck, holding on to Oliver, wrapped around the estranged love of her life like a wet noodle. For hours on end. With nothing to do but contemplate the bike between her legs and man in her arms.
Which was actually…completely untrue. There were lots of other things for her to think about. Many, many important things. None of them of a particularly sexual nature. And Felicity tried. God, she tried. But it was so hard. Well, not that kind of hard…
Ugh! There she went again! Ugh ugh ugh!
And, throughout, Felicity couldn't help but wonder at where Oliver's thoughts were taking him. Hers resembled a horny teenager, but…all indications were that his weren't nearly as pleasant.
When Felicity first put her hand on his bare stomach (his beautiful, firm stomach with all its lickable ridges), Oliver's whole body tensed up as if she had placed a white-hot poker on his skin. She barely had to pinch him before he brought the bike to an abrupt stop.
Felicity wasn't sure what to make of that reaction. Or over-reaction as it surely was. But she spent plenty of time analyzing (or over-analyzing it). Clearly, Oliver was as sensitive to her touch as she was to his. Though, the response could have been anything from arousal to disgust. Fear to longing. Which was the truth was anyone's guess.
Oliver's blank expression at learning Felicity just needed to relieve herself held no clues. But, after that, he didn't react as dramatically to her touch or even her soft pinches. They had to stop occasionally for him to get his bearings anyway. Occasionally, she forced him to eat and drink, which was just the weirdest role reversal…
But…maybe not. Felicity seemed to remember this being more the norm all those years ago. Funny, all the small things she had forgotten, or thought she had forgotten, that now came rushing back. It was also amazing all the thinking one could get done when a ride that may have taken 2-3 hours on a bike of this caliber (less on the open road) tripled.
Felicity knew she couldn't be the only one whose mind was racing during the prolonged trip. With each passing hour, she could feel Oliver's tension rise. It was impossible not to feel each and every muscle, because after about an hour, Felicity gave up all pretense of a personal bubble and just collapsed onto his back, exhausted.
Was Oliver worrying about their safety? About finding shelter? Completing the mission? The storm? There was so much…too much to worry about. And he was worried, that Felicity was certain of. Actually, she would bet money that he was flat out brooding.
And chief among the topics for him to brood on…one of the times they stopped to eat, Oliver had asked Felicity to fill him in on what happen with the team and…
God, she couldn't blame Oliver for worrying. Felicity couldn't let herself think about the team and how they left them. Three of their own captured and one bleeding out with a hurricane approaching…
If Felicity let herself think about it, when there was absolutely nothing she could do about it, she doubted she would be able to function. All she could do was trust her team to pull off a miracle like they had done a million times before. To remind herself that they were the best. The best of the best. ARGUS elite. Plus, Lyla and Cisco had their backs and reinforcements were on the way.
They would be fine. Felicity had no choice but believe that and put it out of her mind. She had said the same to Oliver, but that didn't mean he had taking her advice. The idiot man probably thought he deserved his stupid dark thoughts, blamed himself for bringing Roy into this or some such nonsense.
But speaking of self-flagellation (which Oliver had a gold-metal in, BTW), Felicity couldn't help but wonder if one of the things Oliver was brooding about was them.
Them them. Oliver and Felicity them.
Was there some small part of their loooong journey where Oliver mind wandered to Felicity pressed against him and…remembered? Contemplated? Dreamed? Maybe even imagined a possible future for them?
Except (hopefully) those were happy thoughts and Felicity felt the negatives vibes coming from Oliver in waves. So…the last thing she wanted was him thinking about her, because if he was he was probably counting all the ways she had hurt him over the last years. And, god, that would suck…
Okay. No. Oliver, most likely, had his head on the mission, because unlike Felicity, he was a professional.
It wasn't like Felicity didn't have more productive things to think about. Like everything that they found in the Temple of the Sun, for example. Or trying to figure out if any of it would help them get through the Door once they found it.
But just as Felicity got herself nice and focused on the Temple of the Sun she would remember how sweet Oliver had been while they were there and how helpful and caring and smart and wonderful and how much she missed him, but didn't deserve him…
And that was why Felicity sucked at being ARGUS Agent.
What was far more important (she kept reminding herself) was getting to the Door. Getting through the Door actually, since with every passing moment shelter became more and more of a priority.
Maybe some of the jewelry Oliver had taken was actually a key of some sort? The ring perhaps? God, Felicity hoped so.
Originally, Felicity had planned to get to the Door, lay out all her photographs and work through the translations. Meanwhile, her teammates (all seven of them) could excavate the rest of the Door and make camp, but now…now it was looking like she would be studying the Door in the middle of a hurricane, while Oliver…did everything else.
Crap, this sucked.
Then there were the butterfly hands. Somehow, that felt important. How, Felicity had no clue but…maybe it was time to listen to these intuitions she was having. She needed something since It wasn't like she could rely on her tech.
Though as bad as the storm was getting, maybe they would have to just find any shelter they could. Then Felicity would have plenty of time to examine the carvings on her tablet and the hands…frak, had she gotten a picture of the corpses' hands?
She hadn't. Damn. Damn. Damn. It had all happened so fast and the corpses were so creepy and Oliver had already broken their fingers…Felicity shuddered at the thought.
She'd just have to work with what she had. Likely, she had the length of the hurricane to study everything, depending on how big a shelter they found. Which couldn't possibly be that big.
Felicity and Oliver. Alone. In a tiny shelter. For the duration of the hurricane.
It would likely be at least twenty-four hours that they would be in there together.
Her and Oliver.
Oliver and Felicity.
Alone.
Together.
In a tiny space.
For the duration of the hurricane.
And every time Felicity's thoughts went there…and, unfortunately, they went there repeatedly…every time, her brain jumped the tracks. Careening off to crazy town.
Felicity could argue it was the exhaustion. The cramped muscles. The adrenaline drop. But none of that explained how the idea of being stuck with Oliver in…a cave…or under some tree roots…or anywhere…
Well...it made Felicity's body hum.
It didn't even make her anxious. Not too badly, anyway. Which was weird. Though maybe Felicity was too tired to panic. But she didn't seem to be too tired to feel anticipation.
Or, maybe, Felicity had just become resigned to the situation.
This was it. She was going to be alone with Oliver for god only knows how long. She was still in love with him. That was undeniable. And…Felicity might not know exactly what he felt for her, she imagined it was quite complex after everything but, still, he felt something. And that something wasn't small.
So…Felicity had to tell him. Had to tell Oliver everything. Before anything else happened between them.
While they were alone.
In a small space.
For the duration of a hurricane.
It wasn't fair for Felicity to keep her reasons for leaving from him any longer. It hadn't been fair of her in the first place. She was well aware of that and completely prepared for Oliver to echo that sentiment. But the longer she kept it from him now, the more wrong it felt.
Of course, if she did it right it was going to be a long conversation. Felicity couldn't afford not to do it right. And their lives were in danger about two dozen ways right now. It wasn't as if she could be like, 'Hey, while you check the GPS and have a drink of water could I quickly explain why I totally abandoned you five years ago after the most horrible experience of either of our lives?'
Yeah. No.
But Felicity had to find the time. The weight of this secret was starting to be unbearable. There had to be moment after they found shelter when she could take to explain this.
And if he asked, she would tell him. Not a piece, the whole story. Felicity promised herself that. She refused to lie to Oliver ever again. She was tired of snowballs that turned to avalanches and holes that became canyons.
But Felicity…god, she was terrified of Oliver's response.
And he wouldn't be able to leave if he was…angry…or disgusted…or anything. They were stuck together. They would have to deal with it, with each other. One way or another. Once the cat (or jaguar as this case may be) was out of the bag, they had to deal with that damn cat.
Alone. In a tiny space. For the duration of the hurricane.
But putting off the conversation wouldn't do anything but increase Oliver's sense of betrayal. And now that Felicity was actually allowing herself to contemplate a positive outcome…
Her best option was to bite the bullet and find the first quiet moment to tell him. That way Felicity, at least, had some measure of control over how it all went down.
If she were honest with herself, Felicity would admit she spent the majority of the trip rehearsing ways to tell Oliver about her condition and why she had done all the (stupid) things she had done.
It was easier than it had been on the plane, when Felicity had been frozen with guilt and fear at the mere idea of seeing Oliver again. Now that they had spent time together, that she had seen how…natural it all felt, remembered how natural it had always been between them…
Felicity now knew this would come naturally too. It would be hard. She would have to face some difficult truths and some even more difficult emotions, but she was starting to actually believe she was strong enough to get through it. Besides, she knew as soon as the flood gates were open…they'd be open. The hard part would be making sure it didn't drown them both in the process.
The range of possible responses from Oliver did…concern her. So Felicity practiced ways to calm him down, to help him understand. All the many ways she could bring him around.
But perhaps the most dangerous thoughts Felicity had were the ones where she imagined Oliver did understand. That he forgave her. Then…
Then Felicity imagined Oliver kissing her, imagined his tongue and his hands, she…she remembered it all like it was yesterday. As if the time they spent apart was nothing.
But it wasn't nothing. It was five endless, horrible years. For both of them. And with Oliver here now, Felicity could see just how empty her life had been. Even if they could never go back to being more than friends and partners, life without him…she never wanted to go back there.
Sometimes, exhaustion set in and Felicity would close her eyes. She would drift off, leaning against Oliver's back and then…then her thoughts would go to a very dangerous place.
A place where Felicity and Oliver were naked and tangled together amongst the roots of some monster tree, the rain and winds raging around them as they made their own heat…
Felicity wondered how she was going to survive the disappointment when it all went very, very differently.
But now, Felicity knew she would. Survive. She'd survived this far. She would survive this too and it wasn't fair of her to keep anything from Oliver that could give him even a small measure of peace. The most important message she needed to convey was that none of this was his fault. If she did her job right, Oliver would get the closure he deserved, if nothing else.
And then maybe…if he couldn't forgive her, Oliver could at least move on. Be happy. Even if it wasn't with Felicity.
It was a knife to her stomach. The mere thought of him with someone else was an enormous sword followed by a sledge hammer. A blow so harsh it took Felicity's breath away, but if after everything, that was what Oliver wanted, then…then she would have to take some satisfaction in Oliver being happy. And maybe she could find some closure in that as well.
But the last thing Felicity wanted was closure. And if…just maybe there was a small chance they could work through it all. If Oliver could forgive her…she would do anything. All she wanted was the chance to start over, to try again.
And for the first time in…ever really, Felicity allowed herself to think about other options. About what it would mean if they were, somehow, allowed a second chance at a life together.
A future.
A marriage.
A family.
Adoption. Surrogacy. Oliver could have a child of his own even if Felicity couldn't. Maybe she hated the idea of another woman carrying his child, but…wouldn't it be worth it? Were any of these options really that bad? She really should have considered them more carefully years ago. With Oliver. Instead of pushing him away.
Because in the end, it would be their child? Did the biology matter that much? As long as it made Oliver happy. Anything was better than a life without him. And Felicity wanted a child. so much she hadn't been able to bear thinking about it. Doing so now…the emotions it stirred up were overwhelming.
Felicity was so lost in thought that she startled when the bike came to a stop. She shook herself out of her daze and removed the stuffy helmet, letting the rain jar her back into full consciousness before asking, "You need a break?"
Oliver lifted off his helmet and his short hair was quickly soaked. Felicity was sure that what was left of her ponytail was quickly succumbing to the same fate. The only problem was that she was sure she resembled a drowned rat, whereas Oliver looked extra attractive, the droplets clinging to his hair and face making him especially lickable…
Yeah, those day dreams were super dangerous.
Letting out a sound that was half-grunt, half-sigh, Oliver twisted to look at her over his shoulder. "The watch says we're here."
But the expression on Oliver's face…he didn't look pleased. Or relieved. As he should have because they were finally at the place they had been frantically running to (metaphorically, of course) all day.
And Oliver's frown only deepened as he looked around.
Felicity was beginning to understand why, because…this little piece of the jungle, it looked no different than any other spot they had stopped at.
She didn't know what she had expected. She knew ARGUS camouflaged the Door so it wouldn't be obvious but…Felicity had expected to see something, anything. Otherwise, wouldn't they have left them some clue as to where to look? It was pretty damn stupid to hide it so well their own agents couldn't find it. What good was that gonna do?
No, ARGUS wasn't stupid. There had to be a sign, but all that was here was uneven ground and ferns, trees and shrubs, moss covered rocks and plant covered hills. Frak. What if the watch really was well and truly broken and this last half day had been nothing but a wild goose chase?
A half day didn't seem like much, but with both HIVE and a hurricane chasing them…the lost time could easily mean their death.
Okay, not going there. Felicity put a stop to her thought spiral before her heart and her breathing could catch on and start to pick up…for like the thousandth time that day. She was tired of panicking. For real and imagined threats.
"Now what?" Felicity asked, trying to keep her long list of worries on the inside. The furrow in Oliver's brow told her he had enough of his own.
"Fuck if I know," was Oliver's grunted response and his use of foul language was proof enough of how on edge he was. Oh, he could swear like a sailor with the guys, but he always controlled himself with Felicity. His snooty upbringing with its silly sexist rules were hard to fight. God, he must be exhausted.
Felicity swallowed. It was time to find her inner Sunshine. If there was ever a time Oliver needed it, it was now.
Stretching, Felicity swung herself off the bike, only to have her wobbly legs buckle. She had to grab Oliver's arm to keep upright, which really had not been part of the plan.
Not that Felicity had a plan. A plan would probably be good though. She should get herself one of those.
"Careful," Oliver warned, his arm shooting out to steady her, but neither his words nor his hands were as gentle as they had been earlier in the day.
There were a million reasonable explanations for this, but still, it flustered her and Felicity started to babble, "Sorry, my legs were kinda asleep and—"
"Cramped, I'm sure," Oliver muttered, his tone was curt and distracted, but his arm curved around Felicity's waist to hold her up.
And, even though Oliver's muscles were hard and tense (which very well may have been from the hours on the bike), Felicity's skin started tingling and butterflies settled in her stomach. It was absurd, really. He wasn't touching anything but Kevlar.
But Felicity wound her right arm around his shoulders and leaned into him. Because this was the path she had chosen in these last long hours. To give in. To move toward Oliver, not away. To face the past and fight for them. Whatever the cost.
After, of course, they saw to the little matter of survival. Leaning over, Felicity focused on the watch taped to the handlebars. She would swear she saw Oliver gulp and that his hand convulsed just a smidge at her waist. The stomach butterflies…they were easier to ignore than the way her nipples were now scrapping against the layers of sweat soaked shirt and Kevlar.
Focus, idiot! This was not the time to get lost in her body's sexual reawakening.
If Felicity was lucky, that would come later.
Okay, enough! She was getting way ahead of herself. Felicity's hand tightened on Oliver's shoulders (really not liking how tense he was) and she fought the need to rub his neck in a very unplatonic way.
Instead, Felicity narrowed her eyes and focused on the watch. "It's not all that precise, is it?" she muttered, then reaching over she enlarged the screen and, yup…
"It says we are right at the Door." Felicity barely stopped herself from sighing (Sunshine wouldn't sigh) and looked around again. Seriously? There was no other sign?
"Christ," Oliver spit out, his head falling back and landing on her arm.
Felicity, again, had to fight the urge to massage his neck, to run her nails over his scalp in the way he liked. That always relaxed him. But they were so not there yet. She didn't have the right to dole out those kind of touches, even if they were just meant in comfort.
Not until she told Oliver the truth at the very least. And then…Felicity may never have the right again. Couldn't forget that it was a maybe never. God, that would suck.
"Tell me this hasn't been a wild goose hunt," Oliver muttered, his eyes still closed as he rolled his head on his shoulders, clearly trying to stretch out the stiffness (and not to stroke his hair against her arm).
But, yeah, that was exactly what Felicity was afraid of as well. But Sunshine…she said, "The basic settings probably just aren't as precise and we know that ARGUS sorta kinda hid the Door so…it's gotta be around here somewhere."
Felicity leaned over again and pulled the watch off the handlebars, trying to ignore how her chest brushed against Oliver's. Not that she could feel much. Stupid Kevlar.
Oliver (unfortunately) didn't respond to the contact. He just stared straight ahead and ran his fingers through his wet hair, pulling on the short strands. "Well, the storm is getting worse and it will be dark soon. We don't have time to hunt for the Door now. We need to find shelter. ASAP."
The word 'shelter' sent a shock of arousal zinging through Felicity's body. How sad was that?
"Cisco said he was sending us the coordinates to possible shelters near the Door," Felicity told him, because none of it was going to matter if they couldn't find shelter (not because she was eager to be alone with Oliver).
"Great. Pull it up."
Oliver sounded tired. Bone-deep tired. He stood and stretched, pulling away from her as he got off the opposite side of the bike.
It left Felicity struggling to focus on the watch while her brain misfired with the overload of conflicting stimuli from all the pretty and the feeling that he was pulling away from her…which was obviously a gross overreaction but it felt…
"Oh…frak."
Oliver groaned. "What now?"
Crap. Felicity didn't even want to tell him. She shouldn't have brought up the Cisco thing in the first place. Not until she had known for sure. Blowing out a breath, she bit the bullet and said, "Well…I'm not sure if Cisco shut down the comms before the transmission went through or it was lost in the reboot but—"
"Let me guess, no shelter locations." Oliver rubbed his eyes, his jaw tight. He didn't look surprised. Why would he? At this point, the only thing surprising would be if something went right. "Is there any information that hunk of junk can give us?"
Felicity tried not to bristle. It wasn't the watch's fault it got smashed in the jungle. It was doing the best it could. But she didn't want to insinuate that it was Oliver's fault for crashing so…she chewed on her lower lip and offered, "It's 18:11?"
"And it's already getting dark." Oliver's hands settled on his hips and he stared up at the sky, the rain pounding his face. "The storms getting bad."
Oliver's dark expression was more upsetting than the situation. They needed a plan, an idea, any….
"Oh! Oh! My tablet!" Felicity burst out…cause duh! "Why didn't I think of that before? That still works and its waterproof."
Oliver was pulling off the seat and handing her her bag before Felicity even finished her sentence. She also noticed how he immediately started to strap on his quiver. Almost on reflex.
As soon as Felicity had her tablet in hand, she immediately felt calmer, more grounded. She imagined this was exactly the way Oliver felt about his quiver and bow. It was a relief, a security blanket, a—except… "Frak."
"I'm beginning to hate that word," Jungle Green Arrow grunted, his eyes pressing closed as if he was afraid of what she was going to say next.
Wrinkling her nose, Felicity ignored the dig and confessed in a rush, "I shut down the satellite uplink after I took the pictures so no one could access them. They weren't received initially and now we're cut off from ARGUS so—"
"So, no shelter." This time Oliver sounded resigned. She wasn't sure if that was better or worse.
"No," Felicity winced as she said it.
There was a pause and the only sound for several minutes was the rain and the wind, while Felicity wracked her brain—
"Fuck!" Oliver threw his helmet in a burst of rage that made Felicity jump.
Okay. This was…really…not good. Felicity didn't know why Oliver was reacting this…well, extreme-ly. Sure, lots of bad stuff had happened but no one was dead or dying…well, maybe Roy…but maybe not. Oliver just seemed much more…angry than the situation warranted. Or then he normally would be or…something. It left Felicity feeling lost and confused. There was something very bad happening in his head.
She needed to do something. Like now. The problem was if Felicity didn't know what this bad thing was, how was she supposed to fix it?
Dammit. Taking a breath, Felicity tried, "It's okay. We'll just—"
"It's not okay, Felicity!" The look on Oliver's face was terrifying. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him like this. "We're in the middle of the fucking jungle! A hundred miles from civilization with a bike whose gas supply is not unlimited, with no way to contact help, and a hurricane hours away. We don't have any usable tech—"
"That's not completely true—"
"Felicity, we have no idea how to get out of this." Oliver's eyes were wild in the dim light. "Fuck the mission! I'm not sure how long I'm going to be able to keep you alive, never mind get you home."
And that was the crux of things, wasn't it? All Oliver cared about was making sure she was safe. The way he had failed all those years ago. And all Felicity cared about was him being happy. Weren't they a self-destructive pair?
"Oliver, this is far from hopeless." Felicity pleaded. If this freak out was just over keeping her safe… "I'm fine—"
Oliver scoffed.
"I am," Felicity bristled, because physically she was and she was not in the mood for Oliver to criticize her mental state. Even if it was fair.
"You have a concussion, Felicity. Because I lost control of the damn bike and crashed you into the fucking ground, smashing our most important tech in the process."
Was he still brooding about that? Well, at least it explained some of his melt-down. Oliver didn't melt down often, almost never actually, which made this extra scary. As was the fact that Felicity still felt like she was missing something. Maybe he wasn't as together after Russia and Tikal as he seemed.
"One fucking thing," Oliver muttered, under his breath, quiet enough that Felicity had to strain to hear. "One fucking job. Get you to the Door safely and I couldn't—"
Felicity couldn't listen to any more. "I'm perfectly fine," she repeated, bordering on using her loud voice. But she schooled her features and tried to stay as calm as possible. "I had on a helmet and you are not to blame. There are plenty of things to blame and you are not one of them. The jaguar and the storm and HIVE and the jungle—"
"Fe-li-ci-ty—"
"Are all more to blame than you!" Felicity raised her voice above his protests, continuing fiercely, "But if you want to start spreading blame around, I'm sure we would be doing a lot better if my mental state—"
"That's ridiculous!" Oliver even rolled his eyes at her.
And Felicity really wished that were true. "No more so than blaming yourself for that crash! Or anything else that happened today. You have done everything right." Oliver had. Unlike her. It was insane for him to be trying to find fault in his own actions. "This is just…really terrible luck."
Oliver burst out with a clearly involuntarily laugh. "This is the mother of bad luck."
Tell her about it. Felicity was starting to wonder if they were cursed. Maybe desecrating those tombs…no, she didn't believe in such things. Besides, saying that would just lend credence Oliver's his-fault mentality. "We're still alive and healthy—"
"Pff—"
"I'm perfectly healthy. And we are going to find Kin Cuudad. I know it." And she did. Felicity was certain of it. For the first time, she had no doubt. "We just have to, you know, get through this little hurricane. Which on the upside, should totally slow down HIVE."
The bastard rolled his eyes at her. Again. Oliver was determined to think the worst. "With our luck—"
Enough of the pessimism. "And this tech absolutely works. Just because it doesn't uplink to the satellite, doesn't mean it's worthless. The maps and GPS still work. That's on a separate system," Felicity argued. It had better work, because if Oliver didn't snap out of this soon, she was going to start throwing things. At him. "I can try and run a similar program to what Cisco did and help us find shelter."
Where earlier Oliver might have commented on her optimism, or teased her about it, this time all she got was his Jungle Green Arrow grunt. Felicity was starting to hate that noise. She wanted her Oliver from this morning back. She could handle all the rest…if she could just have him back.
Taking a deep breath, Felicity reached into her bag for a glow ball and found her stash of protein bars. There was an absurd amount of them (she didn't put it past her friends to each, separately, add a stash to her pack when she wasn't looking), but thank god for it now.
"Here. Eat something." Felicity threw one to Oliver and maybe her tone was a bit on the bossy side, but he was totally pushing her buttons. She just hoped a little sugar and protein would help his state of mind. Then maybe with a little rest…
"Thanks," Oliver muttered. He caught the bar without even looking at her. God only knew how he did that. Like he had eyes in back of his head. It was a weird combination of sexy and creepy.
Oliver's eyes were back to scanning the jungle, searching, strategizing…Felicity hoped. As long as he wasn't brooding. They didn't have time for broody Oliver and her Sunshine reserve was starting to run low. He did eat though, so that was something.
Felicity took a seat on a small hill (her legs were still somewhat wobbly), turning on the glow ball as she set to work on her tablet. "The GPS works on a separate wavelength so we should be able to get a lock on the Door and—"
Oliver looked up at the sky, then back at Felicity. "I don't think it's a good idea to even look for the Door with the storm. Shelter has to be our first priority. What about those infra-red features on your glasses…?"
Felicity was afraid to even tell him. She wrinkled her nose. "I'm sure I can get my glasses to link with my tablet instead if my watch…eventually." The last word was kinda small. She just wished she could give Oliver better news.
"Right. Well, I don't think eventually will help us much now." Oliver let out another low growly sound and pulled at his hair. Frak. "I'm going to search for shelter. You stay right here. Don't move."
Felicity might have argued, just on principle, if she didn't think right here was the most productive place for her to be. And if she didn't think Oliver was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She knew what those felt like (intimately) and had the utmost sympathy for him. In fact, she was surprised she was handling this so well, all things considered. Though maybe her subconscious was just well aware that only one of them could melt down at a time.
Also, if Oliver could find them shelter it would probably do a lot for his state of mind…and, well, save their lives. Felicity reached into her bag and pulled out her second glow ball, holding it out to him. "Here, take this."
Oliver stepped closer, his hand closing over the ball, but then…he kind of froze.
At first, Felicity thought it was because their hands touched, which did cause little prickles of sensation to skitter up her arm, but considering they had just been pressed together for hours—
"Felicity?" Oliver's head tipped to the side. "Did you bring a green tarp with you?"
"Tarp? What…?" Felicity narrowed her eyes. Then she followed Oliver's gaze. He was staring at the ground next to her hip, now illuminated by the bright light from Curtis' devise.
Oliver crouched down and brushed aside a clump of vines revealing a dark green tarp. Felicity's heart started to beat faster. A crazy sort of elation came over her. This was it. She just knew it. This was it!
"Oh. My. God!" Scrambling to help him, Felicity swiped away the layers of dirt and plant life that covered the heavy covering.
ARGUS had done a great job. If one didn't know where to search, they would have looked right past this. Which probably meant they should have given them a fricken clue where to look! Still, Felicity felt foolish for not searching for something like this right away. But…hurricane…it was a better excuse than most.
Before she knew it, Oliver had found the edge of the tarp and was pulling it back. As soon as she saw limestone, Felicity couldn't help but let out a squeal of pure joy. Oliver paused and threw her a look that was one part incredulous, two parts amused, and Felicity's joy couldn't help but increase even more. Hopefully, this success would bring back her hopeful Oliver.
When the tarp was finally rolled up to the side and Felicity could see the entire Door…
Dear god it was the Door! The Door to Kin Cuudad! It didn't even seem real.
But it was.
I was real. Felicity placed her hands on the rough limestone just to make sure. Oh wow. Oh wow oh wow.
Felicity was covered in mud and sweat and grass. Soaking wet and exhausted. Her muscles sore and cramped.
And she just stood there and laughed for the sheer joy of it.
"We did it! I can't believe we're here." Felicity turned her (she was sure) beaming smile on Oliver, wanting to share this amazing moment with him. Only him. "See, I told you our luck wasn't all bad!"
Oliver gave her a small half-smile in the glow of Curtis' device. With his hands on his hips, dripping wet and filthy, he was still unfairly beautiful.
"Guess not," Oliver conceded, looking at least somewhat more centered. Though, not nearly as ecstatic as he should be. "But unless you have an idea of how to get through it right away, shelter is still the priority."
And with that, Oliver somehow found a way to throw a bucket if cold water on someone who was already dripping wet. Felicity shook her head, frowning as she fought the urge to stick out her tongue at him.
"I have more explosive arrows," Oliver suggested, one eyebrow raised.
He was kidding, of course. At least, Felicity hoped so. She shot Oliver a death glare just in case. No more destroying priceless artifacts and almost getting himself killed in the process. They had enough bad karma. Maybe she should tell him her ridiculous theory about the curse, just so he would stop considering it.
Oliver let out a deep sigh and looked back at the quickly darkening jungle. "Back to plan 'A' it is. You try to figure out what you can here. I'll search for shelter. I won't be far. Yell if you need me."
Felicity wanted to protest, mostly because she hated the idea of being separated, even for a short time. And there was a part of her that felt like they should be celebrating or…something.
But really, everything Oliver said was completely logical. Unless Felicity could open this Door in the next hour, finding it did them little good when it came to the storm. Besides, with the darkening skies and the glow ball in his pocket, she could see him from a distance. Hopefully.
"Just don't go too far," Felicity called after him, not even trying to hide her anxiety. She wanted Oliver close and she wasn't afraid to admit it.
Oliver nodded. She watched until he disappeared into the jungle, the light trailing behind and letting her know his direction. Then finally, Felicity was able to put her full focus on the Door. As her whole being seemed to want to do.
Falling to her knees, Felicity ran her fingers over the grooves created by the intricate carvings. She had translated much of this in the Safe House back on the coast, but…the photo didn't do justice to the dimensions and the details. The real thing was…incredible.
The glow ball gave her plenty of light and the rain washed away any lingering dirt or dust. Soon Felicity didn't even feel the steady fall, though she had to stop and wipe off her glasses periodically.
She really wished she had her contacts…but no, she wouldn't be able to change them in the field and that would just suck. Maybe Felicity should just get over her fear of needles and get that eye surgery ARGUS offered. For a (supposedly) world class ARGUS Field Agent, she really did have a lot of fears.
Felicity's finger traced the large carving of Kinich Ahau, the Mayan Sun God. She bet he wasn't afraid of anything. Though why should he, being a god and all? Not to mention he was flanked by two super-scary jaguar companions.
She shivered as she remembered the beautiful real-life version that had almost killed them only hours before. Who they left sleeping and defenseless on the jungle floor. Felicity really hoped he was okay. She'd feel terrible if the jaguar was attacked by another animal because they had drugged him.
Which was absurd and Oliver would so yell at her for even thinking it…maybe Felicity was a little too tenderhearted for this business. It had broken her rather easily.
Okay…moving on.
Below the Sun God was that strange sun. And now that Felicity saw it up close…it looked even stranger, with weird rays, rounded at the tip…but straight.
It reminded her of something.
Felicity shook her head. She just…she couldn't think of what. Dammit. Well, it would come to her, she was sure. Her eyes drifted down and wow. Oh wow.
She dug into the earth with her bare hands, pushing dirt and mud away from the final carving (at least, she assumed it was the last, who knew what was still buried), because the visible part was familiar. So very familiar.
As in it was the exact same carving of the Daughter of the Sun and Warrior King as the slab from the Temple of the Sun.
Her hands were sore and her nails caked with mud by the time she was able to clear it…but yes. Yes, it was exactly the same scene.
Well, there was no gold. No color of any kind. No moonstone. But in all other ways it was the same.
What could this mean? Did it help them in any way? It just had to be important. It felt important.
Taking a deep breath, Felicity wished she could turn to Oliver and share this discovery with him. Ask what he thought. Get his input. It felt like all the pieces were there, she was just too close to them to see how they connected.
Sighing, Felicity held up her hands and let the rain wash away the mud. The dirty water ran along the curved groves of the odd sun…
The sun with the curved indentations for the rays…
Oh. Ohhhh.
Holding her breath, Felicity spread her hands into the butterfly position the way she had in the Temple of the Sun and…palms down…and oh oh oh…they were hand prints!
Felicity fit her fingers into the grooves and…oh wow…wow! What was more, her hands fit! Like perfectly fit!
Except there were two larger hand prints at an angle to hers and—
"Oliver! Oliver!"
Immediately, Felicity heard rustling over the noise of the pounding rain and, looking over her shoulder, she saw the light quickly moving back towards her. When Oliver appeared, only seconds later, it was with an arrow notched in his raised bow and his eyes alert, seeking her out.
"Are you okay?" he demanded.
"Yeah, yeah," Felicity waved a hand dismissively. There was no time for that. She could soothe Oliver's ruffled feathers later. Her heart was pounding and her excitement building to a fever pitch. "Come here! I need to show you something."
Oliver's bow fell and his jaw clenched. In any other circumstances, she may have even winced at his dark glare. "Fe-li-ci-ty, I thought you were—"
"Sorry, didn't mean to upset you," Felicity interrupted quickly, trying to placate him so he would get the hell over here. Because seriously?! Didn't he get how important this was? "Come on!" She waved him over frantically. Could he just move! She had to know if his hands fit. Like…now.
Grunting, ('cause he just looooved grunting) Oliver stomped over, "Fe-li-ci-ty, we do not have time for more discoveries. If we don't have shelter when—"
"Look!"
His grumbling was really starting to get on Felicity's nerves. Oliver needed to stop and listen to her.
"See how my hands fit into this sun shape! It's the same configuration as the slab! And see here, it's the same scene below and the corpses—"
"Felicity…" Oliver was almost whining now, but he came to stand over her. Thankfully. "It's amazing but—"
She didn't even bother pausing to let him complain. Felicity just reached up and grabbed his wrist, pulling him down to his knees next to her. "Just come here and put your hands in the other groves."
"Felicity, I need to—"
"Please, Oliver. It's important."
Felicity didn't know how she knew, but she did. More important than…well, she just knew this is what they had to do. In this moment. Right now. Besides, if it was a bust how much time were they really wasting?
The next sound Oliver made was half-grunt, half-whine, but when his head fell forward, Felicity knew she'd won.
"Here, come behind me," Felicity instructed, dropping Oliver's wrist and giving him a little shove toward the position she wanted him in.
Oliver was stiff as a statue. "Is this really necessary?"
Felicity wasn't sure if Oliver meant taking a break from the shelter search to help her or the fact that he would be effectively embracing her from behind. But he did as she asked. Stiffly, but he did it.
Once he was behind her, Oliver hesitated. He didn't immediately reach around her, so Felicity grabbed his hands and pulled them into place, settling his fingers into the larger grooves, before placing her hands next to his.
It was like when they held their hands together over the slab, only it felt even more intimate. Yet Felicity felt none of the panic she had the last time. But…the almost kiss…the anxiety attack…was that why Oliver was so rigid? Was he worried it would happen again?
Felicity didn't have time to analyze that, because…
"Look," Felicity breathed, excitement and awe bubbling up like champagne. "They fit perfectly."
And they did. Their hands fit as if they had pressed them into concreate themselves, creating a perfect impression.
"Felici…"
Her hands suddenly felt warm and there was a shaking under her knees. Felicity laughed.
"Christ!" Oliver barked, leaning back. "We need to move!"
"No! Stay!"
And, amazingly, he did. Oliver's hands stayed firmly pressed next to Felicity's, as if they were glued in place, but the man behind her was coiled and tense. Ready for anything.
"Felicity, we need—"
The Door was moving, shifting, pulling to the side and—
Oliver's arm banded around Felicity's waist and, at the last second, he rolled them out of the way. Just as the Door gave way and disappeared into the hillside…
Felicity scrambled out of Oliver's arms, crawling back to look...
The Door was gone and in its place…
She looked down a steep staircase…
The entrance to Kin Cuudad.
Author's Notes:
(More photographs and art for this chapter on my Tumblr)
If you are confused as to why Oliver is acting so…out of sorts, that's okay, so is Felicity. One of the fun things about this story is that anything Felicity doesn't know, you don't know. It's a fun mystery. Right? (So, no, I'm not going to be writing anything in Oliver's pov. Sorry.)
If you think it's a stretch to say the GPS and maps aren't hooked up to the same satellite system as the rest of the ARGUS …yeah, probably. I tried my best to explain this away, so I'd appreciate the suspension of disbelief. (Aftercall Arrow writers have done far worse).
On the lighter side…my husband and I recently had a discussion of what makes a "Superfan." He argues that I qualify based purely on the sheer number of hours I spend on anything Arrow related. But if I didn't before, I think I crossed the line, my friends, when I recruited my ten-year-old daughter to make a triple batch of salt dough so I could create my own Door/Handprint/Key. I am going to post the whole ridiculous process on Tumblr shortly so you can all marvel at my insan—devotion to my fanfiction on my Tumblr.
And speaking of devotion. The limits of those belonging to my betas, Ireland1733, Fairytalehearts, and imusuallyobsessed were certainly tested these last weeks. I worked on 13-17 in a big chunk, so I think I asked them to beta 80 pages in a week. Then I plagued these poor ladies incessantly with anxious questions. If they aren't sick of me, it's a miracle.
Please, take the time to comment and/or kudo.
Happy Reading,
Emmy