A few days after they all returned home to Star City, the whole team, including Lyla, Thea, Moira. Tommy and even Felicity, had gathered in the Star City cemetery, all of them dressed in black as they prepared to finally let Slade Wilson rest.
Oliver stood closest to the freshly dug grave, since he had known Slade the best out of anyone there and standing to his right was a young man roughly Roy's age who anyone could tell was Slade's son Joseph.
"Thank you for calling me. I'm glad I was able to be here." Joe said to Oliver.
"I was only honoring your father's wishes. He was a good man. He was just." Oliver said.
"Complicated?" Joe supplied.
"Exactly. He'd be happy you're here though." Oliver said.
"There's nowhere else I'd rather be right now." Joe said as ASIS soldiers brought a casket that they all knew contained Slade's body down before it was placed on top of the grave.
After the priest said his piece, Oliver was asked to come forward to give a eulogy.
"Slade Wilson was I think the definition of a complicated person. Over his lifetime, Slade Wilson suffered fates that were far worse than death. He was branded a murderer and a lunatic, simply because of unstable substance in his system. Slade suffered loss," Oliver thought of Billy Wintergreen, Slade's former partner who'd gone rogue, "heartbreak," Oliver thought of Shado while Joe thought of his mother, "pain," Oliver thought of the accident that had required Slade's mirakuru injection in the first place, "betrayal," the incident regarding his and Sara lying Slade about what happened to Shado came to mind, "and finally he was plagued with insanity and believe everyone here knows the rest. But anyways, I only wish that the world had gotten to know the Slade Wilson I knew on the island. The man I called my brother. Slade was a good man who was simply handed a lousy lot in life. But at least now I can take heart in knowing that his long suffering has finally ended and he is at peace." Oliver said as he stepped back to the side.
By nightfall, there was only one person left at Slade's tombstone.
Oliver just sat in front of the stone silently, since even he could speak, he wasn't even sure what he'd say.
"Ollie, you're still here?" Laurel asked as she got out of her car and walked over to him.
"I just couldn't bring myself to leave this place." Oliver said.
"Oliver, are you okay?" Laurel asked.
"I think it will be awhile before I use the word okay again." Oliver said.
"Oliver, I don't understand, you've lost people before. Why is this time different?" Laurel asked.
"Loss does strange things to people Laurel, you know that better than anyone. And I have lost a lot of people. My father, Yao Fei, Shado, Sara, 3 times now, Akio, Taiana, Tommy, I mean I know he's alive again, but still, my mother, Maseo and now Slade. I think I'm one loss away from losing it." Oliver said.
"Oliver, loss is a part of life, no one knows that better than you. You have lost more people over the past 10 years than most people do in a lifetime, but you always come out stronger for it." Laurel said.
"It's only because I have you guys to keep me from quitting." Oliver said.
"I know. You'll always have people to fall back on Ollie. You don't always need to be the strong one. Slade was your best friend. I think you're entitled to let yourself grieve. Take a few days off from both your jobs. My dad can handle things at City Hall and John and I can handle things regarding the team." Laurel suggested.
"Okay, on one condition." Oliver said.
"Which is?" Laurel asked.
"You come with me." Oliver said.
"What do you mean?" Laurel asked.
"I think what I need right now is a week away from Star City and like you said, John and your dad are more than capable of running things here. Besides, considering Thea and Roy are living in your place with Moira, it couldn't hurt for you to have sometime away." Oliver said.
"You want us to go on a vacation together?" Laurel asked.
"Yep. Anywhere you want, being the mayor has it's perks, since it gives me access to a private plane." Oliver said with a smile.
"How about a week in Palm Springs." Laurel said with a smile of her own.
"A week of sunshine, drinks, beaches and you, sounds like paradise." Oliver said as he finally stood up and pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
"Marry me." Oliver before he could stop himself.
"What?" Laurel asked, a little shocked.
"I know it seems sudden, but we never really took it slow and honestly, I want to jump right in with you as my wife. I love you Laurel, so please, marry me." Oliver said.
Laurel's response was almost instantaneous.
"I thought you'd never ask." She said.
Oliver smiled and said "Why don't we go back to our loft and celebrate?"
"I like the sound of that. Our loft." Laurel said.
"Let's go." Oliver said and Laurel could tell that she'd effectively gotten Oliver to shift his focus to something much more pleasant than Slade's death. Their future together.