Anonymous requested: Can you do a little drabble about Oliver finding out Felicity's ex boyfriend was abusive?
Trigger Warnings for past abuse/abusive relationships.
He found out completely by accident.
Well, if "by accident" meant running an extensive background check on the guy after Felicity let it drop that he was back in town.
On the surface, everything had seemed fine. But something about how jumpy Felicity had been for the last few days, bordering on anxious, had bothered him. The only change he could attribute it to, was this "ex".
The background check hadn't revealed much. Smart guy, good family… Then he'd come across some old photos of him with Felicity, and she looked so different. Same blonde, curly hair, same bright lipstick and nail-polish. But she was never smiling. And then he'd noticed the shadows. Someone else wouldn't have seen them. They were usually mostly covered by sleeves or skirts, but a few peeked out here and there, and when he enhanced the photos, he was able to make out clear bruising. In a couple of photos, Felicity was even wearing dark glasses. At night.
Suspicion, and a low simmering anger finally got the better of him.
"Did he hit you?" he asked one night, as she walked down the stairs to the lair. Diggle hadn't arrived yet.
The look on Felicity's face told him everything he needed to know.
"How did you find out?" she asked, putting her purse down carefully on her desk, but Oliver could see her hands were shaking.
"You're not the only one who can use a computer."
Felicity nodded.
"Why isn't he in prison?"
She gave a him a wry smile. "I thought you knew how to use a computer? Didn't you see? Daddy's a police officer." Oliver frowned. "I tried to press charges, but justice isn't always meted out as swiftly as you deliver it, Oliver. In some cases, it's not meted out at all."
He froze, eyes widening. "You mean, his father just made it go away?"
Felicity laughed, and he didn't think he ever wanted to hear the sound again. It was nothing like her usual light giggle. This was bitter and dark and raised his hackles.
"I wouldn't say just made it go away. He dragged my name through the mud for saying anything along with it." She sighed. "Why do you think I left Coast City?"
The silence echoed around them as he took in this information with horror.
"Felicity…"
"Oliver, don't. It's a part of my life I put behind me a long time ago."
"But -"
Felicity stepped up and silenced him with a hand on his arm and a sad smile.
"Oliver. I'm okay. I'm proud of how I handled it. I was in a bad relationship, I recognized that, and I got out. It's something many other women haven't been able to do. I refused to stay silent, and it went badly. Really badly. But I spoke up, and I'll always have that. And I still have that. I do everything I can every day to try and make sure the same thing doesn't happen to anyone else. And luckily, I've got these two really great guys helping me do it, so…" she trailed off, looking up at him with a sad smile.
Oliver was speechless. Looking down at this amazing woman who did so much for others, so much for him, and he wanted to help her but he couldn't. He could go out and kick the shit of the asshole, but at the end of the day, it wouldn't stop him from doing the same thing to another woman. There was no concrete proof, and if the guy's father was covering for his son. Well… Oliver had enough experience with making crimes just "go away". He'd had his father do the same for him on many occasions. Never something like this though. Never.
Five years on Lian Yu, one year as the vigilante, and two more as Green Arrow, and he'd never felt so helpless.
He said as much to Felicity, but she just smiled sadly.
"Can I do anything?"
Felicity shook her head. "Just hold me?" she asked, and Oliver gathered her into him, walking them over to the sofa and sitting them down, Felicity sitting on his lap, head tucked under his chin.
Digg found them there twenty minutes later, asleep, and left as quietly as he'd arrived.