Disclaimer: See chapter one
Please see my A/N below for further information.
AAA-FOQ-AAA-FOQ-AAA
Chapter 27 – Promise Unsettled
For as much as he had been looking forward to seeing Oliver Queen face to face since the first time he had died, Slade Wilson had not expected to be struck with a feeling of déjà vu the first time he set eyes on the young woman at his side.
Even as he shook Oliver's hand ( both men turning it into a slight contest of how not to use their strength against each other, especially considering that the elder man would have won, thanks to the mirakuru running through his veins!), he remained slightly focused on her.
He then took the hand that she held out to him, holding it in his own for a moment as he felt her try to free herself from his touch. "Have we met before, Ms Smoak, you seem strangely familiar to me?"
For the first time in nearly five years, he realised that his voice was filled with genuine curiosity.
"I can assure you that if we had, you would remember me." He never could quite work out how she had managed to slip her hand free, even as she spoke in a tone that was also familiar to him.
Behind them, even Moira was picking up on the slight tension between her son and his girlfriend and the man that had just promised to back her mayoral campaign – in a second; she dismissed it as a figment of her imagination and stepped forward to take control of the conversation. "We were about to have a drink of the rum Slade brought as a gift, Oliver, Felicity, would you both like to join us."
It did not take either of them long to remember the familiar name of the bottle of rum on the drinks table and Oliver tightened his hold on Felicity's hand even further as he felt her shudder slightly.
"Of course," Oliver replied as he stepped forward to take one glass to hand to Felicity and then took a fourth for himself.
"What shall we drink to?" Moira asked, actually surprised that the tension in the room had grown even further at the sight of the rum bottle.
Slade however smirked, and then raised his glass, "To friendship."
Somehow, even still watching him, Oliver and Felicity shared a deep meaningful look that said more than words spoken could at that moment in time and drank the rum in one shot.
And once again Slade felt that he had seen it happen before – he just couldn't remember, darn the mirakuru!
AAA-FOQ-AAA-FOQ-AAA
Sitting in his car as he drove away from the Queen Mansion, Slade actually left with a sense of confusion. Although he had completed all the tasks that he had set out to do, a feat that had been surprisingly easy under the circumstances, the presence of the blonde Felicity Smoak had unsettled him.
Yeah, he had managed to rattle the kid, which was a bonus – so was finding out that Sara Lance was definitely back in Starling City and still, surprisingly, a friend of his. He had also not been surprised to find the boy suddenly appear to join the youngest Queen girl but the girlfriend...
There was something about her that was familiar yet at the same time was not – as if he should not know who she was except for the documents that his people had compiled on her yet at the same time, he was almost sure that he had met her before.
And if there was one thing that Slade Wilson did not like, it was a mystery and it was clear that this Felicity was exactly that, a blonde genius mystery that needed to be solved sooner rather later. Opening the car's internal drinks bar, he pulled out the familiar bottle of rum but this time, drank straight from the bottle.
"And then it's time to make good on my promise, kid." He pressed down on the accelerator even harder, his car squealing loudly.
Behind him, having managed to free herself from Sara's hold, Felicity raced out of the house and to Oliver's side. He immediately wrapped his arms around her, holding her as tightly as he could to reassure himself that she was there.
For a moment they stood there, holding each other before she drew back slightly to look up at him. "Oliver..."
He cupped her face for a moment, resting his forehead against her's and then closing his eyes, he finally replied. "He's back to fill his promise, Felicity."
"Oh dear Zeus," She exclaimed softly as she wrapped her arms around his neck, allowing him to pull her completely into his embrace. "Slade's the source of the mirakuru!"
Oliver couldn't stop the smile that crossed his face, even with the seriousness of the situation and merely tightened his hold around her slender waist, lifting her off the ground. Only his girl could still put all the puzzle pieces together when things were going to Hades in a tea-cup.
He drew back slightly so that he could look into her eyes now that they were level with his. "You're remarkable; Felicity Smoak and I love you so very much."
She smiled back at him, running her fingers over his cheek as she replied. "I love you too Oliver Queen and thank you for remarking on it."
AAA-FOQ-AAA-FOQ-AAA
I know, it's short, it's very short but I had difficulty with this one - as for last week, sorry about that.
1. I had difficulty getting in the right mind for this episode.
2. I had blood taken from the back of my hand last Friday and spent the weekend icing it to get the swelling taken down.
So look forward to seeing what you think of Slade's official entrance to AAA ;0p
(Don't mention S3, still don't know when it is going to show here in the UK - it's bad enough knowing whats happened in S3.1 for writing this!)