Chapter title: Acta est fabula
A/N: Hello, anybody still there? Why am I posting today? Because I can!
This is it, people. Last chapter of LIAKOW. It's been an interesting ride with a few ups and downs, but I've pushed through. Sorry for the occasional delays! This story has accompanied me through most of my pretty shitty internship that is about to end. It's time for new things, not just in the real world but also here. I started writing a football AU with Oliver as a QB (let's be honest, none of us would be opposed to seeing him wear a football uniform, right?). Go check it out ;)
One last time in the LIAKOW universe:
Happy reading and a wonderful week to y'all!
⁂ ⁂ ⁂
She rolled over on her side, Oliver's heavy hand on her hip slipping down a little, but never breaking contact entirely. With a tired smile she took in his appearance. His hair was sticking out in every direction, the scruff on his cheeks a little more prominent than usual, a faint purple-ish mark around his left eye only upstaged by the dark circles under his eyes. She sighed in exasperation. It had been a rough couple of weeks.
After hastily returning from their getaway to the Hamptons to a crippled Starling City, they'd both busied themselves with finding out what happened. She had scoured every inch of the internet, had watched days worth of security cam footage, had left no stone unturned and yet she still came up empty-handed. Suffice it to say that she was pissed off.
Oliver had approached their research in a more hands-on capacity, roaming the streets of Starling City at night, trying to extract information from names on The List. But so far no one had caved to his threats. In addition to that, he and Diggle were patrolling the Glades every night, in a futile attempt to keep the countless looters and gangs at bay. They were losing the battle, especially with the police basically avoiding the Glades altogether.
He'd come home only a few hours ago, and despite being as quiet as possible, Felicity had woken up, having developed somewhat of a sixth sense when it came to him. She could always tell when he was close by and when he was hurt. Like last night.
Someone had managed to stab his arm. It was just a flesh wound that had already clotted over, but it still made her shudder just thinking about it. He of course had just shrugged it off, saying it wasn't a big deal. Her responding scowl had been enough to shut him up while she'd cleaned and bandaged the wound.
His hand tightened on her hip, the unmistakable sign that he was coming to. She sighed loudly in protest. "Go back to sleep, Oliver. You're running on fumes and you're only putting yourself in more danger if you don't rest."
"Can't sleep when I have my beautiful wife sleeping next to me naked," he mumbled without opening his eyes, emphasizing his point by running his hand over her bare back and ass.
She silently shook her head, trying to suppress the smile on her lips. "Well, then I'll leave and you can go back to sleep," she suggested and scooted away from his wandering hands.
Before she could move more than two inches, she suddenly found herself on her back, pressed into the mattress by Oliver's equally naked body.
His lips moved next to the shell of her ear, sending flashes of desire coursing through her body. "Can't sleep when my beautiful, naked wife isn't sleeping next to me either."
She huffed out a laugh. This man was unbelievable. And insatiable, a fact evidenced by his hardness pressing against her thigh.
"Oliver," she scolded playfully, "Sleep, not sex!"
"Mhhh," he hummed and latched onto her neck, sucking at that sport right below her ear that had her vision swim for a moment.
No! He needed the rest.
With her last remaining shred of control she pushed at his shoulders. His frustrated groan almost made her rethink her decision to make him stop. Almost.
"Oliver," she sighed. "I have an idea that I wanted to run by you."
"I have some ideas, too," he replied without missing a beat, wiggling his brows suggestively. "All of them include you being tied to the bed frame."
She let out a garbled sound that she would probably be embarrassed of if she wasn't busy being pinned down by her insanely hot and sexed up husband.
"Actually," she finally managed to squeeze out, "I'm talking about The Undertaking."
His head shot up to meet her eyes, seeing that she was serious. He let out something that sounded a lot like a growl before rolling off of her and slumping into the mattress.
"Talk about buzz kill," he mumbled. "We've been hitting dead end after dead end with The Undertaking and haven't found any leads."
She bit her lip. "Yes, we have."
He regarded her with a questioningly raised eyebrow.
"My mother," she stated matter-of-factly. "We know she's involved in this, otherwise I wouldn't have been kidnapped and used as leverage."
A flicker of pain flashed over Oliver's face, his eyes taking on that distant look he sometimes had when he was remembering something. Her hand stroking softly over his cheek brought him back.
"Don't go there, Oliver. All of that is in the past," she reassured him, sensing that he was thinking of their time apart, quickly leaning over and pressing a kiss to his lips.
He nodded slowly. "You want me to pay her a visit as The Hood?"
"Yes and no," she said. "I don't think you questioning her would work. Whoever is behind this felt the need to kidnap and harm her only daughter in order to make her comply with whatever his demands were. I think she's more scared of the man in black than she'd be of The Hood."
"What are you saying?" Oliver questioned cautiously.
She took a deep breath, steeling herself for his reaction before replying, "I'm saying we should take a page from his playbook."
"No." His reply was immediate and resolute as he bolted upright.
She followed him into a sitting position. "It's the only way and you know it," she said, raising her chin defiantly.
He shook his head and got up from the bed. "I need some air."
⁂ ⁂ ⁂ ARROW ⁂ ⁂ ⁂
His eyes roamed the vast space of the ballroom of Starling City's Savoy Hotel. He recognized almost all of the guests, most of them from his father's list. It made him sick to think that they were all involved in the mass murder of thousands of innocent people.
"Stow your grumpy face, Oliver," his wife scolded from his side. He was pretty sure the annoyed scowl hadn't left her face since she had let him in on her idea to interrogate her mother yesterday. They'd really butted heads over the issue. It wasn't like he hadn't known this before, but Felicity was at least as pigheaded as him, not budging one inch from her position.
After an intense sparring/therapy session with Diggle, he'd finally agreed (still, with a whole lot of grumbling).
So here they were, at the Help The Glades Gala, organized by his mother, waiting for Donna Smoak to leave. Felicity was fidgeting next to him, a clear sign that whatever fervor she'd put into convincing him of her idea, hadn't quite translated into a boost of confidence.
He snaked one arm around her and pulled her into his body, ignoring her surprised inhale, and pressed a gentle kiss to her temple. The effect was immediate: her whole body relaxed into his, fingers finding a way under his suit jacket, roaming over his white dress shirt in search of some warmth and comfort, pulling their bodies flush together.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I shouldn't have pushed so hard. I'm just... frustrated. And tired of not getting anywhere. I do understand that you want to keep me safe, but at the same time I don't see any other way." She rested her chin on his chest so she could look at him.
He smiled down at her. "I get that, believe me, I do. I shouldn't have rejected your idea so rigorously," he told her earnestly. "Just the idea of... using you like that after everything you've been through is making me feel like I've failed you."
"You haven't failed me, Oliver," she assured him, cupping his face with both of her hands.
"I've failed to come up with an idea that keeps you away from the danger."
"We have to do this, Oliver."
He leaned his forehead against hers, letting his eyes fall shut. "I know."
"We'll hold all the power. You'll be in complete control of what happens and wow I just sounded like I was quoting 50 Shades of Grey," she groaned.
A chuckle escaped from his lips. "You wanna tell me something, Mrs. Queen? Wanna spice up our sex life?"
Her decidedly unlady-like snort made him open his eyes, a glint of amusement simmering in them. "I believe we have plenty of spice in our sex life, don't you think, Mr. Queen?
"Oh, my God, please stop talking right now or you can do this whole mission on your own," came the sharp voice of Diggle over the comms.
Oliver couldn't help but smile widely when his wife started blushing profusely. "Sorry, Digg," he said between chuckles, his hand on Felicity's butt saying the opposite.
Her head whipped up to glare at him, but instead her eyes focused on something behind him. "My mom's leaving," she murmured and suddenly all the levity from just a few seconds ago was gone.
He turned discreetly and watched as Donna Smoak said goodbye to his mother. "Digg, you're up. Meet you at the warehouse in twenty."
"Copy that."
⁂ ⁂ ⁂
He fastened the handcuffs around her wrists, careful not to put them on too tight. Felicity covered his gloved hands with her own smaller ones, halting his movement.
"It's okay, Oliver, we've talked about this. Let's just do everything as we practiced," she said calmly. "When all of this is over, we'll hopefully know what the hell is going on."
"Yeah," he agreed defeatedly, knowing full well that there was no going back now. "I love you."
She beamed up at him, stepping on her tip toes and pressing a long kiss to his lips. "I love you, too. Now tie me up, Mr. Queen."
He groaned at the mental images that immediately invaded his mind at her teasing words. Instead of answering, he finished up with the handcuffs and grabbed the black bag from the table next to them. After an encouraging nod from his wife and a deep breath, he placed it over her head.
With a clenched jaw he moved his mask in its place and put up the hood.
Showtime!
He grabbed Felicity's arm gently and led her into the next room where he was greeted by a loudly jabbering Donna Smoak.
"This is preposterous. I demand to be let go."
Oliver came to a stop right in front of her. "Donna Smoak," he growled, voice further distorted by his voice modulator. "You have failed this city." He put some pressure on Felicity's shoulders who then sank to her knees in front of where her mother was bound to a metal chair in the middle of an abandoned warehouse, while he pulled off the bag from her head.
From his position next to her he could see her blinking rapidly, hair in a bit of disarray, mascara smudged, her widened eyes zeroing in on her mother.
"Felicity," the older woman croaked out. "No, not again." Her eyes flitted up to look up at him. "Don't hurt her, please! She's already been through so much."
He ignored the flicker of surprise he saw running across his wife's face. "I don't want to hurt her, but I need answers and you'll give them to me." With a yank, he pulled Felicity up from her position on the floor and maneuvered her into another metal chair, putting mother and daughter back to back to each other. He then proceeded to but the black bag over Donna's head.
"Who's behind the Undertaking?" he asked her.
"I can't tell you," she whimpered. "He'll kill me."
"Who is he?"
"I can't," she basically screamed.
"Wrong answer," he said gruffly.
Like they had planned earlier, he quickly wrapped his right hand in a small towel while Felicity twisted her body sideways.
"Last chance," he offered, but he got no response.
With a deep sigh he pulled his hand back before slamming it into the back of Felicity's chair, just in time with a pained groan coming from her lips. They repeated the action a few times, each hit accompanied by a heart-wrenching whimper from the older Smoak woman.
"No, stop, please," she screamed, letting Oliver's fist freeze mid-air.
"Then talk," he demanded roughly.
"I can't. He will come after me. Please stop hurting my daughter, I can't give you anything."
Felicity gave him a little nod. Time for phase two. He reached into his pocket, pulling out three little red capsules and handed them to her.
She popped one of them against her forehead, just above her left eyebrow, one right under her nose, and she bit on the last one with her front teeth. The grueling effect was immediate, the thick, red liquid running over her face, dripping from her eyebrow. She turned her head for him to look at the "damage". He nodded grimly, telling her silently that it looked authentic enough, at least in the dim light of the darkened warehouse.
With a pained groan she let herself be lifted from the chair and dropped to the floor in front of her mother, hands still bound together by the handcuffs.
In a fluid motion he pulled the bag off Donna's head, giving her only a few seconds to blink wildly at the sight in front of her. "Felicity, no. Oh God, I'm so sorry! Please, baby girl, I'm so sorry."
Oliver could see the pure horror in her face as she took in the "wounds" on her daughter's face, but now wasn't the time to feel sympathetic.
"I was going easy on her until now, Mrs. Smoak. I won't be as kind during the next round."
For a few long seconds, Donna just stared at him with pleading eyes, repeating the word 'no' over and over again. With an inaudible groan, he pulled out a knife from his belt and grabbed Felicity blonde locks, pulling her up as carefully as he could without giving anything away, ignoring the guttural sound that ripped from Donna's throat.
"Your choice," he said and took a step towards the chair Felicity had just been in.
"No, stop. I'll tell you," Donna screamed desperately. "I'll tell you everything I know. Just please, stop hurting my daughter."
Felicity plopped down into the chair, a victorious but also pained smile playing on her lips. Making sure that Donna's head was turned the other way, he quickly cupped his wife's cheek, brushing his thumb over her cheek reassuringly. This had been her plan and despite his reservations, it had worked.
"Talk," he ordered and moved away from Felicity to face her mother.
"Who's behind the Undertaking?"
"You have to promise me that you'll protect her if he comes after us. Please! Promise me you'll look out for her," the older woman pleaded with him.
He nodded his confirmation.
Donna swallowed hard before she started talking. "It's Malcolm Merlyn. He's the one who's behind it all."
Behind her, he could see Felicity stiffen in her seat, trying to process what her mother had just shared.
"Why?" he asked between gritted teeth.
"His wife, Rebecca, she was killed twenty years ago. In the Glades. It pushed Malcolm over the edge. He... he disappeared for two years and when he came back he had changed. He came to us a with a proposition to change the Glades, make them a better place. A safer place."
"Who's us?"
"The leaders of Starling's elite. Robert and Moira Queen, Frank Chen and many others."
He felt like he had been punched in the gut, and took an involuntary step back. Of course he'd known that his father had been a part of this. He'd given him the book of names and the task to right his wrongs, after all. But his mother, too? And they'd been in it from the very start?
"We didn't know how he wanted to change the Glades," Donna continued. "I thought he meant by donations and free clinics and I don't know. Not by completely destroying them. We all wired funds into an offshore account, thinking we were just pooling our money to donate to charities. After it was done he told us his real plan. That he wanted to completely wipe out the Glades and build a new neighborhood from the ground up."
"Why didn't you get out then?"
She let out a sardonic laugh. "We tried, but as soon as we voiced our refusal he started to threaten us. Said that he'd make our transactions to the offshore account look like we were embezzling money and if that wasn't enough reason he gave us each a folder with information about everything, every little detail of our lives. And about our children's lives. Where they went to school, who their friends were, where they liked to go. He threatened to kill them one by one if any of us ever even thought about going against him."
"After a few years, though, we started doubting how serious he actually was. We were all friends for so long, and just couldn't imagine that he would really hurt our children. Robert found someone in China that he wanted to ask for help. Somehow, Malcolm must've gotten wind of it because the next thing we knew is that the Queen's Gambit went down. At our next meeting he said, that that is what happened if you tried going behind his back."
He looked down at her in barely concealed shock. "The shipwreck wasn't an accident and you knew? All of you, including Moira, knew that the Queen's Gambit was sabotaged?"
"Yes," she whimpered, clearly intimidated by his harsh words. "He made an example out of it. And it worked. Everybody was so scared after what happened and we all just... fell in line and helped him realize his plan."
"What exactly was his plan? How did he manage to create an earthquake?"
She wallowed again. "There was a machine designed by Unidac Industries. It was originally designed to conduct research, but Malcolm weaponized it. He planted them somewhere in the city, I don't know where exactly. He then activated them on the 5thof July and it triggered the earthquake."
"Them?" he questioned, a dark suspicion forming in the pit of his stomach.
"There were two, but one of them malfunctioned, that's why only half of the Glades were destroyed. He blames it on my software."
He saw Felicity's head whip around, a shell-shocked expression etched on her face. He shook his head slightly, urging her to stay in her seat and not blow their cover.
"You designed the software?"
"Yes. In order to use it the way he wanted to there had to be changes made to the operating system. I created a software that could circumvent all the safe guards and let the machine be triggered remotely and let it create an earthquake of a greater magnitude. But I swear, I tried to stall him. I tried to delay the completion of the program while Moira and Frank were looking for a way to stop him. But then he had Felicity kidnapped by his associate, the Dark Archer, and forced me to deliver the software in exchange for her life. I had to do it," she said brokenly.
He exchanged a quick glance with Felicity who was staring at him with wide eyes.
"Where is the second machine?"
"I don't know. He brought me a few of the key pieces to figure out why it malfunctioned, so he must've gone back to it at some point in the week after the earthquake. But knowing how distrusting he is, I'd guess that he's keeping the machine close. That is all I know, I swear."
⁂ ⁂ ⁂ ARROW ⁂ ⁂ ⁂
Digg had taken care of Donna, while Oliver and Felicity had driven back to the foundry, the car dipped into an eery silence. Both of them were still processing everything Donna had told them.
When both of them had cleaned up and changed out of their clothes and into something more comfortable, they sat down in front of the computers, staring off into the distance.
"What do we do now, Oliver?" She finally broke the silence.
He looked up at her and shook his head slowly. "I don't know," he said, his voice more than his words telling her that he was just as stumped as she was.
"We have to tell Tommy."
"Tell me what, Lis? That you've finally made up your mind and decided to be with me instead of Ollie?" he quipped cheekily from behind her.
When his quip was only met by silence and a leveling glare by Oliver, he quickly backtracked, "Hey, that was just a joke, guys. Why do you look like someone died?"
Felicity looked up from where her eyes had been glued to the floor and exchanged a long look with Oliver who finally sighed and stood up. They were getting really good at this whole communicating with their eyes thing, she thought fleetingly.
"Tommy," he started. "We just found out who's behind the earthquake. You should probably sit down."
Tommy's face fell and he opened and closed his mouth a few times with no sound coming out before he sank down onto the chair that Oliver had pushed towards him.
"Who's behind it?" he finally asked, his hollow tone indicating that he had a good idea of what their answer would be.
"Your father," Oliver whispered. "He had help, though. From... our parents and... others."
"Why? Why would he...? Why would any of them want to destroy the Glades? How do you even create an earthquake?"
With a deep sigh, Felicity swiveled around in her chair and pressed a button on her keyboard. "It's Malcolm Merlyn. He's the one who's behind it all." Donna Smoak's voice echoed through the foundry when the recording started playing.
⁂ ⁂ ⁂
"I can't believe this," Tommy said for the third time.
Felicity walked over to him and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly. "We're in this together."
He nods absentmindedly. "What are we going to do?"
Her eyes flickered up to meet Oliver's who leaned against the work table a few feet way, arms crossed over his chest. "I don't know," she whispered.
Diggle stepped forward from where he had kept in the background. He'd been in the warehouse with them so he already knew what was going on. "We have to go after the man in black, the Dark Archer," he said determinedly. "He's a key player in this whole thing, that we need to take out before we can go after Merlyn."
Oliver nodded. "You're right. He's the one protecting Malcolm and doing his bidding when it comes to doing his dirty work. We take him out and we're one step closer to Malcolm."
"And how do you wanna find him? It's not like I can just google his phone number and set up a meet," Felicity chimed in, eyebrows scrunched up in a frown.
"Have you found anything on the traffic cam footage? If we know where Malcolm went after the earthquake, we might find where he positioned the machine and maybe even follow him to where it is now," Diggle suggested.
"I've been running his face through a facial recognition software that's linked to the camera footage from the Glades one week before and after the earthquake, but so far I've had no hits. Especially after the earthquake the power has been on and off and a lot of the cameras aren't working properly anymore," she said, frustration lacing her voice. "I've also tracked his whereabouts using the GPS chip in his phone, but he hasn't been near the Glades in months. And ever since the earthquake, he's either left his phone at home on a regular basis or he's spending a whole lot of time there. Do you know if he's home, Tommy?"
A frown appeared on his forehead. "Yeah, actually he's been home a lot. I've only seen him in passing whenever I went home from Laurel's, but it is actually kinda unusual for him to spend so much time at the mansion. Chances are always better to go looking for him at the office."
"So maybe..." she let the idea hang in the air.
"Maybe he's home so much because that's where the earthquake machine is," Oliver finished.
"Which probably means that the Dark Archer is also somewhere close, keeping an eye on things," Diggle threw in.
Felicity clapped her hands together, glad that they'd finally been able to make some headway. "So, off to the Merlyn mansion."
⁂ ⁂ ⁂
"Oliver, Diggle, are you in position?" Felicity asked over the comms, fingers flying over the keyboard, pulling up satellite images of the Merlyn estate. She may or may not have hijacked a NASA satellite for this mission.
Both men confirmed that they were in position, Oliver at the bay windows of the living room, Diggle in over watch.
"I'm going in," Oliver said, and Felicity watched as his heat signature moved inside the house.
"I only see one other heat signature in the house, could be one floor below." She pulled up blue prints of the house. "It could be the garage."
Tommy leaned over her shoulder. "Yeah, that's the garage," he confirmed.
"Diggle, can you change positions? I'd rather have you closer in case the Dark Archer shows up. I'll keep an eye on the surroundings," Felicity suggested, biting her bottom lip nervously, always keeping an eye on Oliver's red dot as he moved around the house.
"God, this is nerve-wracking," Tommy said behind her, pacing around in what little space they had in the back of the van.
Felicity had insisted on coming along on the mission, glaring at Oliver when he had opened his mouth to protest. In the end he'd agreed, but not without laying down ground rules for her. Don't leave the van. Keep a gun close. Stay on the comms at all times. Yada, yada, yada
She hadn't protested, just stepped on her tip toes and kissed him softly, assuring him that they'd get through this together.
Now she was (wo-)manning the computers in the van with Tommy hovering over her shoulder when he wasn't busy pacing up and down.
"Can you please sit down, Tommy, you're making me nervous with all your pacing."
He groaned and mumbled out an apology before slumping down in the chair next to her. "I'm glad when this is over."
"We all are," she replied, giving him a reassuring smile before focusing back on the monitors.
"I'm in position," Diggle voice came over the comms.
"I'm at the door to the garage. Entering in 3... 2... 1..." Felicity heard a door bang open and then Oliver's voice was distorted by his voice modulator. "Malcolm Merlyn, you have-"
A shot rang over the comms system, followed by a string of curse Russian curse words.
"Oliver?" she asked worriedly.
"I'm okay, he missed. Diggle some back up would be appreciated."
"Roger that, I'm on my way."
There was a dark laugh in the background and then Malcolm's voice, "The infamous Hood. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I know about the Undertaking," Oliver said. "Drop your weapon."
"I'd rather not," Merlyn retorted and another round of gunshots echoed through the night.
She was on the edge of her seat until she heard the swish of an arrow flying through the air, knowing that Oliver didn't miss, as evidenced by the many impaled tennis balls in the foundry wall.
She heard Oliver gasp in shock.
"What happened?"
"He caught the fucking arrow."
What?!
"You know, you're not the only one who can handle a bow and arrow," Malcolm snarled.
"Shit," Oliver cursed, followed by a series of pained grunts.
On the screen, she could see that the two heat signatures where close to each other, moving quickly around the space of the garage, never stepping more than a few feet apart.
What the...?
Malcolm Merlyn was fighting the Hood? And better yet, he was still standing? And why wasn't the Dark Archer coming to his help?
You're not the only one who can handle a bow and arrow, Merlyn's mocking words echoed through her mind.
And then it clicked.
"Shit," she repeated Oliver's earlier curse. "Diggle, get in there now! Merlyn's the Dark Archer."
Two surprised "what?!" made her flinch. "How do you know?" Tommy demanded.
She ignored his question. "Hang in there, Oliver, Diggle's on his way."
All she could hear where punches being thrown, glass breaking and a few grunts from both men.
Hang in there, Oliver, she repeated silently in her head. He'd told her about going up against the Dark Archer and being beaten by him. She knew that she should probably have more faith in him but she was scared. Scared that Diggle wouldn't get there in time to back him up. Scared that he would lose again.
Her heart plummeted when she heard a loud crash, watching as one of the heat signature remained in one place while the other moved away towards the long wall of the garage.
"Oliver," she whispered, but got no response. "Diggle, where are you?"
"This place is like fucking Fort Knox. All the doors are sealed," Diggle ground out.
"The doors all have keypads. Try 7-1-9-2," Tommy jumped in.
Malcolm's smug voice sounded over Oliver's comm link. "How about we end this once and for all? You should know by now that you're no match for me."
She heard the tell-tale sound of an arrow being nocked. A sound she'd gotten so used to hearing while she was working on setting up her new computers in the foundry while Oliver was out patrolling the Glades or practicing with the tennis balls. The sound had become somewhat reassuring and soothing, the sound that let her know that Oliver was fighting against someone who had harmed others, or that he was defending those who couldn't defend themselves.
But now, now it was his death warrant.
"Oliver, get up," she said forcefully, tears streaming down her face.
Helplessly, she watched as Merlyn's dot moved closer to Oliver's still unmoving figure.
No, no, no. This couldn't be happening. She couldn't lose him.
"Please, get up and fight, Oliver," she sobbed.
Then everything happened all at once. A door banging open, Diggle yelling at Merlyn, a gunshot, the sound of an arrow flying through the air, a scream, another gunshot. And then... everything was silent.
⁂ ⁂ ⁂ ARROW ⁂ ⁂ ⁂
Trembling fingers combed restlessly through his hair. A soft voice saying his name over and over again. His heart pounded in his chest. He knew that voice. He loved that voice. Felicity.
With a sudden surge of energy he inhales sharply and opens his eyes, blinking rapidly against the bright light. Slowly, ever so slowly, everything started to come into focus.
Before he could say anything, his lips were covered with those of his wife, pulling him into a desperate kiss while her fingers gripped his hair tightly.
"Don't ever do that to me again, Oliver, or I swear I'll kill you myself," she said when she pulled back, leaving him a little dazed and light-headed.
"What did I do?" he asked, noting how raspy his voice sounded. "How long was I out?"
"You flat-lined," Diggle said, while patting his shoulder. "twice. It's good to have you back and in one piece."
"What happened?"
Diggle sighed heavily. "I came in just when Merlyn was about to put an arrow in you, I shot him in the shoulder, but he still managed to release the arrow. Got you right in the shoulder. You lost a lot of blood, that's probably why you flat-lined."
"What about Merlyn?" Oliver asked, when he realized Tommy was being completely silent and standing in the background.
"He pulled out a gun from somewhere, trying to finish you off. I shot him again. He died before the ambulance arrived," Diggle answered quietly.
Oliver turned his head towards his best friend, sitting up on the cold med table despite Felicity's protests. "I'm sorry, Tommy."
"Don't be," he countered instantly. "He used my mother's death to justify killing thousands of innocent people, threatening the lives of his friends and their families so that they would help him in this insane endeavor. He deserved to die," he said coldly.
Oliver stared at him for a few seconds, unsure of what he could possibly say. It wasn't like he could argue with his friend's reasoning, but still...
"I'm gonna go home to Laurel. I'll see you guys tomorrow," Tommy finally said, breaking the silence. He kissed Felicity's cheek and shook Diggle's hand before stopping in front of Oliver. "I'm sorry he did this to you. Not just this wound, but for everything. The Gambit, your father, the island... I'm going to do everything in my power to right my father's wrongs."
Oliver nodded sadly and pulled his best friend into a hug. "We'll all right our parents' mistakes. Together."
⁂ ⁂ ⁂
Half an hour later, after Diggle had promised to check on the earthquake machine they had taken from Merlyn's mansion and brought to a safe house, it was just him and Felicity in the foundry. He was sitting on the med table, his legs dangling off the edges while she stood in between them, arms banding around him, her cheek resting against his good shoulder.
"What are we gonna do?" he mumbled against her temple.
She turned her head and looked at him, their position putting them at eye level.
"We'll fight. We'll fight like hell to help the people in the Glades in any way we can. Be it through donations and relief projects or through the Hood protecting the streets," she said, determination in her voice that he couldn't help but marvel at.
"Do we tell them? That Merlyn was behind it all. That our families helped him do it?"
She sighed and leaned her forehead against his. "I think that would do more harm than good. They would completely turn against us, reject our help. And who else is going to help them? If our companies go under and people lose their jobs it'll only get worse."
She took a deep breath. "You know as much as I do how hard it is to grow with a big family name attached to you. With all the expectations and the pressure of being a Queen or a Merlyn or a Smoak. Imagine having your family name linked to domestic terrorism and mass murder. I know it's selfish, but I don't want our kids to grow up with that kind of a burden on their shoulders."
He moved back a little, searching her eyes. "Kids?"
Her eyes widened and she inhaled sharply. "Uh, yeah, someday, right? I know we haven't talked about this, but..."
"I'd like that," he interrupted her with a smile. "Having a little you and me running around, with your incredible wit and my good looks."
She stared at him for a few seconds. "I love you," she finally blurted out.
He couldn't help the grin erupting on his lips. "I love you, too," he said before capturing her lips in a kiss.
When they parted, she huffed out a chuckle against his lips. "What?" he asked, tilting his head in question, a habit he had undoubtedly picked up from her.
"It's a little weird isn't it? Just to think that a few months ago we could barely stand to be in the same room together let a lone have a civil conversation and here we are planning our future together," she said with a reminiscent smile.
"Maybe that was just always the plan for us. It made our relationship just so much more meaningful and real, despite it being anything but in the beginning," he shrugged lightly, bringing his hands to rest on her waist, drawing her in as close as possible. "Wasn't it Shakespeare who said that the course of true love never runs smoothly?"
"Why, Mr. Queen, I'm impressed. Maybe our children should have your brains and my good looks," she teased and kissed him passionately.
"Maybe they should," he quipped back when they parted, resting their foreheads against each other.
"Oliver, what will happen next?" she asked quietly, when she had caught her breath.
He ran his tongue over his lips slowly. "I honestly don't know. But I do know two things: One, I've changed a lot over the past six years but I'll always be someone who will do anything to bring justice this world," he said with conviction.
"And the second thing?"
He smiled brightly at her. "I love you. And with you by my side I finally have hope for a happy future."
⁂ ⁂ ⁂ The End ⁂ ⁂ ⁂
A/N: Done! Am I happy with how things ended up being? Ehh, sure. This whole idea turned out way more complicated than I wanted it to be and I tried to make the best of it without drawing it out too much. Was the conclusion too easy? Maybe. I'm thinking about writing a quick epilogue in the not so distant future that would explain how a few things turned out (e.g. what happens to the parents? How do Olicity et al. help the Glades, etc.) We'll see what happens ;)
Title translation: The drama has been acted out/ The play is over
One last time: let me know what you think :) Don't forget to check out my new-ish story Game Changer, because why stop after one AU, right?