Disclaimer: I don't own anything that's familiar.

Words: 1447

Prompt: "In The Dark"

In The Dark

It's just them; they're alone in the space that's used for their extracurricular activities. They're alone and apart from the occasional grunt, it's silent. The light clack of keys on the keyboard makes noise that echoes throughout the space their in. It's quiet and she hates that. But she supposes that the quiet is better than an argument. She's been busy researching a couple of lawyers who may be attached to a few murders. And he's been exercising for the past hour. She used to ponder exactly how many hours he spent working out but nowadays, her focus hasn't been much on his physique. They're not fighting, they just haven't spoken much. And she wants to change that because despite everything, he was a friend, a good friend. But now he's an acquaintance and it's strange.

She stops thinking about everything else and focuses on the task at hand. Her hands are flying across the keyboard at speeds that she's damn proud of. Occasionally, she stops furiously tapping to drink and glance up at him using the salmon bars. She doesn't look as much anymore, for obvious reasons. She hears another grunt and goes back to furiously tapping away.

Suddenly, her screen goes blank and the room is engulfed in darkness. She doesn't panic – because things like that aren't high on her panic list since meeting him – and she hears him jump of the salmon ladder. The sound echoes through the room.

"You okay?" He asks her, as the echo dies down.

She nods but stops when she realizes that they're in the dark. "Yeah, I'm fine. The generator should kick in a minute."

"The storm must be affecting it." He states.

"Must be," she agrees, speaking more to herself than to him

They go back to silence and she hates the fact that it's come down to this. She knows that something needs to be done about it. The darkness seems to have given her the confidence boost that she need. And she knows that if she doesn't speak now, the slightly filled tension will go on longer.

So, with a deep breath she says. "Oliver,"

"Yes," he responds after a second and she thinks that he's moved closer to her.

She opens her mouth to speak but the words won't come out of her mouth. As she adjusts to the darkness, she notices that he actually has gotten closer to her. Not very close but closer than he's been in a long while. It seems that thinking has also robbed her of her confidence.

"Never mind, sorry." She tells him with a shake of her head.

She can tell that he's confused but then he brushes it off. "Okay."

The silence continues and he rummages through his bag, pulling out a shirt. As he puts it on, she notices that it's one of his after workout shirts. Really, she can't help but be observant; after all it's been three years. And she reasons that there's nothing wrong with being able to tell that because they were very close at one point.

"Felicity," he says her name and she thinks that she can hear a slight trace of hesitation in his voice.

She also responds a little hesitantly. "Yeah."

"Are we okay?" He asks, quietly.

She's taken back at his question but then she realizes that he still thinks that she's upset with him for interrupting her during her date on Friday. She understands why, because she did give him the cold shoulder on Monday. But that wasn't because of Friday and it wasn't his fault. Well not entirely.

There's an unintentional pause before she answers. "Yeah, we're okay."

It becomes quiet again and after a while, he says softly. "I don't like the silence. It's not us. I mean, it never used to be."

She lets out a breath of air. "I know, I can't stand it. I don't want it to continue but I don't know how we're supposed to get back."

She sees him shrug. "Neither do I."

She chews her lip for a few moments before divulging. "I'm not mad or upset with you Oliver, at least not anymore. I'm actually doing really well."

He finally looks directly at her for the first time that night. "I'm happy for you, Felicity. All I want is for you to be happy."

She doesn't break their eye contact. "I know and I am. So, how about you? Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah, I am." He tells her, nodding his head.

They break eye contact and it becomes quiet but there's something that's buzzing through the air. She knows what it is and she's sure that he feels and knows it too. The room is being filled with unvoiced thoughts and she knows that if they're going to do this, they have to do it right.

So, she licks she lips and with as much courage as she can muster, she tells him. "I thought you meant it. I…I was going to say it back. I really thought that you meant it. "

"I know you did. And…I did mean it." He confesses to her and she almost thinks that she's dreamt it.

The air seemed to have left her lungs. "What?"

He shifts, nervously but continues. "I didn't realize it until I said it. But it was only then when I realized that I meant it, that it was real."

Her mouth hangs open a little and she forces it closed before asking in disbelief. "Then why'd you let me believe it was a lie? Why'd you make me go through that? Why'd you let me get mad at you? Why'd you let me believe tha-"

"Because Felicity, I also meant what I said in Moscow." He told her, interrupting her rant.

Without thinking she shot out. "Well then why are you with Laurel?"

He didn't get mad; he just furrowed his eyebrows, as if tying to find the right words. "Because she's…she's safe. Because she doesn't know so much about this part of my life and she doesn't want to."

She understands what else he means but he says it anyway. "And because of that, she's safe. Because if I'm with you, Felicity I'll put you before the job that needs to be done. And in our line of work, if I lose focus, if I… if I'm not putting all my strength into what I'm doing, it'll get even more dangerous than it is now. And if anything were to happen to you…"

"I thought that I understood you and all of the sacrifices that you've made but I think…I think I get it now. What you're doing, what we're doing is beyond what I thought I could do. It's beyond what I thought I was capable of. And I finally realize why there are rules about having a relationship with someone you work with. I'm sorry that you've had to make these choices. And Oliver, I'm sorry about what's happened." She's close to tears because everything with him is raw and she hasn't felt this open with him in such a long time, if ever.

He steps closer to her and she can see the emotions swarming in his eyes. "It was never your burden to try understand this. I never expected or wanted you to. And you don't need to apologize, in fact you shouldn't. Because what's happened has been my fault, my terrible decisions have caused this."

She shakes her head. "No, it's not all on you."

He opens his mouth to say something but stops, only when she stares at him for him to go on does he speak. "While we're being honest, there's something about Max and I don't like him."

Despite everything, she lets out a laugh and soon he's chuckling too.

The laugh's a little shaky but it's the first genuine laugh that she's had with him for such a long time. "You don't have to because I do."

The laugh fades when she sees the look he gives her. "You really do, don't you?"

She notes the lack of judgment or irritation in his voice, so she tells him. "Yeah, I think I do. More than I thought."

They talk for a while after that, not about Max or Laurel but about the things they wished they could've said to one another in the months without each other. The light fills the room again and she thinks about how – in more ways than one – their not in the dark anymore. Because, they're actually okay again and everything's slowly going back to the way that it should be. Because some days, everything turns out right.

AN Because this is so long, I didn't have time to correct it properly. So, I'm sorry for any mistakes. And yay, they're actually speaking again. I really couldn't help it; this story seems to have a mind of its own. Anyways, thank you guys so much for all the follows, favorites and reviews. They make my day.