Day 3: Cuddling in front of the fireplace.
Summary: Oliver needs to convince Laurel to give him another chance... And tries his luck with a cup of chocolate and a fireplace
There was one thing in life Oliver Queen was absolutely sure about and it's that he loves Laurel Lance and she loves him. He's always known this, but for a period he had conveniently ignored this knowledge. Letting himself think that he was in love with Felicity had been easier and less dangerous than facing his feelings for Laurel.
Truth is that Oliver had never really been afraid of losing Felicity, cause deep down he's always known that he could easily live without her. Admitting his feelings for Laurel would mean try and get her back. And try and get her back would mean putting everything on the line, risking everything. Because if things didn't work out he would lose it all. He knew without a doubt that this time they wouldn't be able to go back to being just friends.
So while a big part of him desperately wanted to talk to Laurel and convince her to give them another chance, another part was too scared.
And then one night the Green Arrow had gone dangerously close to hurt himself badly and the Black Canary had saved his ass.
And right then Oliver decided that he was done being scared. If he could go out every night and risk his life for the city, then he could go risk his heart.
Laurel loved him, she had told him as much when Dahrk had almost killed her, he knew he loved Laurel. And she had more reasons to be scared than him, because she had never hurt him, she had always supported him, while he hurt and antagonized her on multiple occasions.
Convincing Thea to leave the apartment she shared with Laurel was surprisingly easy. Thea had always loved Laurel and Oliver suspected that her support of his and Felicity's relationship was way less enthusiastic than she let on.
Now Oliver was waiting for Laurel to come home. He had started the fire and made hot chocolate. He had never been so nervous in his life.
By the time he heard Laurel's key in the door he was a mess, nervous and jumpy and really close at losing his courage.
When she walked in the living room and saw him waiting for her in front of the fireplace she smiled, surprised.
- Hi, Ollie. Thea didn't tell me you would stop by. –
- Hi Laurel. It was meant to be a surprise. – He greeted her smiling.
- What are you doing here? – She asked
- I made some hot chocolate and I was thinking… What do you say we drink it together and watch the flames together, like we used to do? –
- I don't know, Oliver. It's been a long time since the last time we did something like this. – She answered uncertain. She thought she knew what Oliver was trying to do and she wasn't sure it was a good idea. Sure she loved him with all her heart and she still thought that he was her soulmate, the only man she could think of building a future with, but they had hurt each other so much and if this time it didn't work out they would lose everything. Then she saw the sad look in Oliver's eyes.
- You know what? Why not?. Go fetch that chocolate while I change in something more comfortable. –
Oliver's eyes lit up and he disappeared in the kitchen.
When she came back in the living room Oliver was already sitting on the rug in front of the couch, the two cups of chocolate were on the coffee table that he had pushed on the side to make room for them to sit on the ground.
When he heard her walking in Oliver turned and greeted her with a big smile and love in his eyes.
When she sat next to him, Oliver immediately put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. Laurel went willingly, leaning her head on his chest and warming her hands with the cup of chocolate.
- Laurel? – Oliver said after a few seconds of silence.
Sensing something in his tone she sat straight and turned to look at him in eyes.
- Yeah? –
- I remember the last time we sat like this. Right after Tommy died. We wanted to fight together to make this city a better place. And then I left, I disappeared and I left you alone to deal with the pain of Tommy's death. I hurt you. –
- Oliver… - Laurel started to say but he cut her off.
- Just hear me out. I know I hurt you and I know that in these last five years I hurt you a lot. But Laurel… I love you, I've always loved you and I was just too scared to admit it. So please, please Laurel give me another chance. I promise you this time it'll be different. We're both older and wiser and we both know exactly who we are and what we want. I'm not the scared little boy that took your sister on a boat, I'm not the Vigilante who took lives without as much as a second thought. And I'm not scared anymore. I know that this will be our last chance, my last chance. If things don't work out this time we will never get another chance. But Laurel we are so good together, we can be so happy together… Being scared is keeping us from being happy. So what do you say? Let's just close our eyes and jump, like we always do. This time we can make this work. I know we can. –
Laurel didn't say anything for a while. Oliver could see a number of different emotions in her eyes. He saw flashes of hurt, pain, sadness, fear and love. He waited, holding his breath. After a few seconds Laurel smiled.
- Close our eyes and jump, you say? –
- Yes. Close our eyes and jump, be all in. –
She didn't say anything, she just leaned in and kissed him.
Oliver raised his hands to cup her face and kissed her back with all the love he felt for her.
- Is that a yes? – He breathed on her lips leaning his forehead against hers.
- Let's take this chance together. – She said leaning in to kiss him again.
Oliver smiled against her lips and tugged her closer until she was almost sitting in his lap. She turned in his embrace, leaning into him.
Laurel's back leaning into Oliver's chest, his arms around her waist pressed her even closer to him, he buried his head in her hair and breathed in her scent. Laurel entwined their fingers and squeezed. He kissed the top of her head.
- I love you. I love you so much. – Oliver said.
- I love you too. – She said.
Then they just sat there in silence, watching the flames dance in the fireplace and drinking their chocolate, until Thea came home and hurried to hug them. Excited that his brother and the woman that was more than a sister to her had finally put their acts together and had given their love another chance.