A/N: Potential spoilers for 2x23 although this is more my thoughts/predictions than anything based off of a spoiler. Just a little thing about how I could see the end of the finale going.
Enjoy, and let me know what you think!
The journey back to Lian Yu was easier on her second trip. There was a chartered flight to Shanghai and then a boat that left Felicity decidedly green and Oliver white knuckled with Digg watching both of them carefully.
Slade's ashes were in a sealed urn inside a specially designed case that Oliver had hardly let out of his sight since they'd left Starling City.
"Go back,"
Those had been the first words he uttered when he woke up in the hospital after his battle with Slade. He'd known the other man had died before he'd passed out from his injuries. Felicity would never forget the way his eyes had glazed over, almost as if the life had left them. For a second she'd felt true and total desolation until she'd seen the shallow rise of his chest. She'd managed to half crawl her way to his side, the stab wound Slade had left in her shoulder coupled with her head injury making her weak.
Digg had found them, her hand limp over Oliver's shoulder where Slade had left him a mark that matched hers. She remembered trying to stem the blood flow, thinking it seemed to be so much more than what was seeping from her own wound but spots were dancing in her vision and her voice was slurred and sounded far away when she tried to get Oliver to wake up. There were hazy memories of her trying to reach for him as Digg carried him away and Roy slid his arms under her.
It wasn't fair that they both almost died right after Oliver had said he loved her.
Truths had been spilled as easily as blood that night although they seemed to now leave a deeper stain neither of them was ready to deal with. Slade's plan all along had been to make her his last target and it had taken both her and Oliver far too long to understand why.
As long as she lived she'd never forget the cold sting of steel against her throat or the slow dawning realization that crossed Oliver's eyes as Slade informed them exactly why he'd chosen her.
It had taken her longer to catch on. So long that she'd already offered herself up in place of Laurel who struggled against the hold of one of the soldiers just out of Felicity's field of vision. The stricken look on Oliver's face hadn't been something he could hide and Slade saw and howled with laughter.
From that moment forward Oliver's pleas were with her and not Slade. He begged her not to do this. Begged her not to give up. Begged her not to leave him.
It was the last one that made her open tear filled eyes and stare at him in shock. For a moment they were the only two in the room. That's when he told her he loved her.
The words had tripped over his tongue so quick and fast and thick she knew they had surprised him as well. But behind them was truth. Pure, genuine truth and it was that tiny spark of hope for something she had never allowed herself to even consider that made her think they had a chance to win.
She'd set her jaw as a peace settled over her and gave Oliver a smile that let him know whatever the outcome this was her choice and she'd always be his girl.
Then she'd pulled the last syringe of the cure from her pocket and slammed it into Slade's thigh.
Everything after that was too quick to process. There had been a roar of noise and sharp blinding pain as she fell to the ground, her back and shoulder on fire. When she'd been able to look up all she could do was watch helpless as Slade and Oliver battled. Even with the cure working it's way through him he was still deadly.
She didn't see the final blow but she'd heard Oliver's pained cry before he stumbled back towards her and collapsed.
There wasn't a chance to talk for three days. She'd woken up in the hospital before he had, arm in a sling and the assurance that her concussion wouldn't cause any lasting damage. As she sat by Oliver's bed she had time to think about what he'd said. She wasn't going to ignore it but she'd also known it had been said in desperation and they both deserved for it to be more than that.
When Oliver had regained consciousness and immediately began talking about returning to Lian Yu to bury Slade next to Shado she'd jumped in with both feet; siphoning funds from Slade's many holdings that had yet to be frozen, ordering supplies with Digg's help, and doing whatever else was needed to help Oliver finally put this chapter of his life to rest.
Oliver never mentioned what had happened or what he had said. They seemed to have come to some sort of mutual unspoken understanding. It was there. It was acknowledged. That's all it needed to be just then. It didn't change how she felt about him. It didn't change how he was the most important person in her life.
Which is why the three of them were once again halfway around the world only five days after Starling burned. Her arm was still in a sling, Oliver had checked himself out of the hospital against medical advice, and Digg spent too much time shaking his head at them.
But they understood why he had to go back and why it had to be then. Slade needed to be finished. And Oliver felt like he owed it not only to his former friend but also to Shado to make this final journey.
Felicity hadn't been able to quell the knot of anxiety that began to churn in her stomach as the island came into view. When they'd anchored offshore the same beach she and Digg had parachuted onto she couldn't take her eyes off the mask with the arrow through it that was still there.
Even as Digg steadily rowed them closer in the smaller boat her eyes had remained fixed on the mask until Olive had reached over and covered her hand with his.
He hadn't let go as they climbed onto the shifting sand, or as they trekked through the jungle. Digg had cracked a joke about land mines but Oliver had just held her hand tighter.
When they made it to the graves a somber silence fell over them. John had offered to dig the space for the urn but Oliver turned him down with a sharp tick of his head. Felicity stood back and watched with tears in her eyes as Oliver ignored his pain and took the small collapsible shovel Digg removed from his pack.
Without a word Oliver moved to the left of Shado's grave and began to dig. Felicity couldn't help staring at Robert Queen's final resting spot as his son worked only a few feet away. The horrors Oliver had experienced on the island went deeper than the scars that littered his body and the small plat of earth they stood on was a stark reminder.
Oliver dropping the shovel made her jolt out of her own thoughts and she was moving towards the case before she could think. With one shaking hand she undid the closure and opened the lid, turning it so Oliver could remove the urn.
Digg's hand was at her elbow helping her to stand and she stepped backwards to give Oliver room.
He knelt down, head bowed as he slid the urn home. There was a long moment where time seemed to still and the normal sounds of the jungle seemed to mute. With her heart in her throat she watched him lay a hand on Shado's grave and then on the urn before looking at the marker with his father's name.
She didn't know how long he stayed there, but when he finally stood all the tension had drained from his shoulders and there was ease about him she hadn't seen in a long time if ever.
Later she'd wonder if she had moved first or if it had been Digg's gentle hand on her back nudging her forward. Regardless she was at Oliver's side in an instant, her hand slipping into the crook of his elbow.
He'd smiled down at her, a light sparking in his eyes that made her vision blurry and her heart swell.
Like he'd done it a million times before he turned to her, both arms banding about her to draw her into his chest. With her injured arm tucked between them she let out a long sigh and let him hold her, good hand softly running over the back of his neck.
She felt the slight pressure as Digg dropped a hand on Oliver's shoulder before he moved past and then it was just the two of them.
Hesitantly she looked up at him through her lashes, over the the frame of her glasses to see him looking at her like a man who knew what he wanted; a man who thought he deserved a future.
She let her hand come forward to cup his jaw, nails scratching lightly through his stubble as they silently came to an understanding.
He dipped his head at the same time she pressed up on her toes, mouths meeting in a slow wet slide that lasted forever because they knew it would be the only one.
One kiss. One.
Not forever, but this was too important. They were too important. It couldn't be rushed. It couldn't be lost.
When they pulled back she wanted to go against everything she knew was right. He'd stoked a fire inside her that was quickly growing into an inferno, but as he held her face in his hands and pressed his lips to her temple she felt that fire quiet some, knowing as long as they held course the reward would be even richer.
He'd whispered a soft thank you that she returned before he took her hand again and led her back to the beach.
They spent the night on the island, but not in the wrecked fuselage. Oliver was through going backwards. His eyes were on the open water, and their boat anchored offshore, away from the sunken freighter. He was focused on getting back home.
As she lay in her sleeping bag staring at millions of stars she'd never been able to see before she thought about the raw beauty of the island and how it had sculpted and formed Oliver into the man she knew today. She give up her own soul to save him from pain but she also understood the importance of what the island had given not only to her but the city as well.
Oliver and Digg still sat up, staring into the black water with driftwood at their backs, not talking but not needing to. She thought about joining them, but the warmth of the fire and slap of the waves on shore was surprisingly peaceful. Felicity fell asleep feeling safe and protected, in the one place she probably shouldn't.
When they left at sunrise Oliver never looked back and she didn't either. Eventually she couldn't resist the urge and cut her eyes over her shoulder but all there was to see was open water, as if the island had never existed. She stepped closer to him, sliding her smaller hand over his larger one until her fingers could slip between his.
He'd get to mourn now. It was something he'd never allowed himself, his guilt getting in the way of properly letting go of the most important people in his life. But he was ready. He was ready to go back and help rebuild not only the city but himself. She could tell he was finally ready to see himself as a hero.