A/N: Just so you all know, I have tried very hard not to create a love triangle between Wayne/Felicity/Oliver simply because I myself hate love triangles. They are way over used and too cliché for me. I think at this moment, Felicity knows – deep down – who she is going to choose, so in a sense there is no choice for her to make and therefore no love triangle. Now, we just have to see where she ends up and how things go for her. Also, the reason I called the last chapter, "The Dark Knight" was because in my mind Wayne was her Knight in shining Dark armor saving her from all the pain Oliver keeps causing her. I hope that was made clear in my last chapter. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please, read and review, thank you!
Chapter Eleven: Dark Paradise
"It is a risk to love. What if it doesn't work out? Ah…but what if it does?"
-Peter McWilliams
Three nights, that's how long she stayed with him and despite the fact that he just held her in his arms and let her cry and shared his thoughts with her just as she shared hers with his, it was the most sensual and intoxicating thing she had ever experienced. The first night was the hardest as she poured her heart out to him and told him everything…including her own past, and in return for her honesty and trust he did the same for her and revealed himself to her in a whole new light. How he was once afraid of the darkness and rage that ran through his veins after the death of his parents and yet, how he gained control of that rage and darkness by wearing the mask of the Bat every single night.
At one point she asked him how he had known about Oliver's past with Sara and the Laurel, and he had responded with, "You had told Tabitha and she told be during the few hours that you had been…well, dead." She hadn't been angry; instead she was glad that she had someone to talk to about her problems, her own selfishness on wanting to be the one and only woman in Oliver's life.
When Wayne asked her why what Oliver had done the night before had hurt her so much, it wasn't because he didn't already know the answer – he wanted her to know why it hurt her so much – nor was it because he didn't understand, because the truth was – after his own twisted history with Rachel Dawes a while ago – he understood her perfectly. Her answer was simple.
"I'm not angry that he left me to help Laurel. She needed the help. I'm angry and hurt because…he forgot about me so easily and so quickly in the wake of Laurel's own suffering. Am I so easily forgettable? The least he could have done was call me and tell me what had kept him!" said Felicity in a quiet whisper late that night as her head rested on Wayne's bare chest, her ear right above his heart, where she listened to its steady beating rhythm.
"Well, I guess you have your answer then," said Wayne, his rough hands continued to caress her hair, shoulders, and back until she was lulled into a deep sleep.
They had slept away the night and most of the second day. When they finally had woken up it was later in the afternoon. Wayne had taken her from his room and showed her his own Lair – the Batcave, was what she had named it –and it had shocked them both at the sight of her Cat suit perfectly standing on its own dummy next to his Bat suit, courtesy of Alfred who had given them both their space for the time being. A sort of shiver went down both their backs at the sight of their respective alter egos standing next to each other. It looked so…right.
Later that particular evening, on the second night, Felicity had insisted on running a patrol. She couldn't stay so cooped up for so long and Wayne agreed. Side by side they fought, like in a dance as old as time. Her movements moved perfectly in time with his and she felt…content. A peace settled over her in a way that she hadn't felt in a long time.
At one point that night they had gotten separated. The gang of thugs they had cornered had split up and they had gone their separate ways in order to catch all of them. When Felicity was finished with the two thugs she had chased down, she had gone to their meet up place – the top of Wayne Tower in the center of Gotham – to wait for him to come get her with the Batpod (the name she had given his very cool and impressive black motorcycle) and take them both home. As she stood there waiting her peace was interrupted by a familiar presence. Slade Wilson.
"Slade," said Felicity in acknowledgment, her back still facing him without fear.
"Ms. Smoak…or do prefer Talia?" asked Slade with a smirk, but it playful not cruel. Felicity did look at him then, her eyes wide in surprise. In that moment, Slade was reminded of Shado and how her tough and resilient heart had been carefully hidden beneath a shell of innocence that was both comforting as well as intoxicating. It drew him in. "Don't worry; your secret is safe with me." Felicity gave him a nod in thanks before her eyes went back to search out the darkness in her view of Gotham from her perch.
"What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to…check up on you," said Slade in a rough emotional voice. Felicity thought she heard something in that voice, something akin to worry, care, and possibly…even respect.
"Why would you feel the need?" said Felicity with a breathless chuckle.
"You…you remind me of someone and because of that I…care for you"
"Shado."
Slade's head shot up as he stocked over to stand directly next to her. "How do know her name?"
"Oliver told me about her back when Sara was first discovered to be alive," was Felicity's calm answer.
Slade gave a bitter laugh. "What did he tell you? A lie no doubt. He's good at telling lies. It's something he knew how to do very well even before he was stranded on that godforsaken island with me!" said Slade harshly.
"You're angry at him because you loved her. It's understandable."
"You know him…all of him and yet, you still stand there talking as if you were loyal to him?!"
"I am loyal to him because I believe he can be more then what he is."
"She would've said the exact same thing," said Slade in a whisper. "You know what angers me more than the fact that she died? It's the fact that he lied about it. Sara convinced him that I shouldn't know the truth and that I would retaliate if I did. But, the thing is…it hurt me more that he didn't have the balls to face me and tell me what had really happened that night…he…"
Oh, Oliver you stupid little idiot, thought Felicity. It was Moira Queen all over again. Oliver had been so betrayed that his own mother hadn't had the guts to tell him and Thea the truth and yet he had done the exact same thing to Slade.
"She was so perfect, too. Everything I had every hoped for in a partner. My love…"
"No one is perfect…until you fall in love with them. It is hard to see the faults in the people we love most," said Felicity.
"You would know," said Slade in understanding.
"As would you." Felicity turned to him then, her face upturned t the moonlight of the night sky. "You have been so consumed with rage and hate and revenge. Did you ever consider that maybe…she would want you to be happy…to move on."
"How can I?" Slade's question was genuine. He truly did not know how to move on. Felicity moved the, to stand right in front of him.
"Don't get the wrong idea when I do this," she said as he lifted to her toes, raised her hand to cup his face and gave him the smallest and most loving kiss a person like him could ever receive. "You just have to have…hope." Felicity moved past him to go find Wayne on her own and see if he was having any trouble with the thugs he had chased after. She was about to leave when Slade's curious voice called back to her.
"Ms. Smoak, would you…ever consider…Suicide Squad could always use another…" Slade fumbled over his words as he tried to ask her if she would consider joining his team. Felicity smiled and tilted her head down. No. he had thought as much, but it was worth a try. After all, Felicity Smoak truly was an amazing woman. But, first…"A word of advice. No matter what happens in the future, my dear. Guard your love – whoever he may be – because everything you do goes back to him. I learned that the hard way."
The third night was by far the easiest and when she awoke to see that Wayne was still sleeping, she could help but let out a breathless whispered giggle as she noticed that even in rest he wore a stern frown upon his perfect face. She reached over and gently ran her hand over said frown and it immediately smoothed out before she moved to cup his cheek in the palm of her hand. He nuzzled it in his sleep. It was then that Felicity realized that there were some things she seriously needed to consider about her future. So, she snuck out of his arms and out of his bed, she tip-toed out of his room; Alfred was kind enough to give her a ride home and all the while she thought.
It was three in the afternoon when Alfred left her outside of her house, and to say she was surprised to see Sara Lance of all people sitting on the porch steps in front of her front door, was an understatement.
"I came to apologize. Haven't really had the time or place to do so…so, yeah. I'm sorry," said Sara as she stood in front of her.
"What for?" Sara frowned at her odd request. "I want to hear you say it."
"I-I'm sorry for stealing Oliver from you?"
Felicity let out a dark laugh then. "Oh, Sara. You didn't steal him from me. Oliver loves me. I know that. He knows that. Hell, everyone knows it. You slept with him…that's it. It was merely a small detour on his way to me. As much as your actions hurt me, it was the fact that he didn't even think before you both acted that hurt me more."
"Ok, um…well, as long as you accept my…"
"I accept your apology Sara, but that doesn't mean I forgive you," said Felicity as she moved forward to unlock her door and step inside.
"But…I apologized," said Sara in genuine confusion and a frown on her face.
Felicity looked back at her then and was shocked to see that Sara really did not understand what she meant. "Sara, you and Oliver have the same problems with apologizing. Sorry is not some magical word that once you say it all your sins are whipped away, miraculously. Saying I'm sorry merely means that you acknowledge the fact that you did a wrong and now…now you try to never make the same mistake again. Saying I'm sorry is the first step to learning from your mistakes."
Sara continued to frown. "So, that's it?"
"Forgiveness takes time, Sara. And I think the person you truly need to apologize to…is your sister.
"Ha, I did that and all she did was try to kill herself," said Sara bitterly.
"No, Sara. What you did was for you and you alone. You wanted to confess your sins to her in order to make yourself feel better. You ever apologized, and that is truly what she needs to here. Family is more important than anyone else, including yourself." And with that Felicity bid Sara goodbye and good luck before she shut her door.
It took Sara a good four hours before she had worked herself up to seeing her sister at the rehab center on the edge of town. She paced outside of Laurel's room for another twenty minutes before she had worked up the courage to face her. When she finally did enter the room, Laurel refused to look at her.
"Laurel…I…I'm…" Sara took a shuttering breath and finally realized what Felicity meant. She moved closer to her sister and grabbed her hand as she sat next to her on the hospital bed. Laurel tried to jerk her hand away but Sara refused to relent and held tight to her big sister. "I am so sorry for the pain that I caused you. I can't promise…that it won't happen again because I haven't earned your trust to let me do that, but I will try Laurel. And as much as I want your forgiveness…I haven't earned it. So, please…help me. Help me be better…for you and for mom and dad. I want to be better." Tears ran down Laurel's face as she still refused to look at Sara, but her free hand had slowly and shakily raised from her other side.
Laurel wasn't sure if she wanted to slap Sara in the face or if she wanted to hug her. A mixture of pain and happiness flowed through her. Pain for everything Sara and Oliver had done to her, and happiness that perhaps…they would both have a second chance. Her hand stopped midair as it hovered over their clasped hands, before it dropped and held Sara's strong calloused hand against her own.
Sara could see Laurel struggling with everything that she had been put through. She was still an alcoholic and a drug addict but maybe…just maybe if Sara could save her sister from this dark abyss she had fallen into, she'd save herself in the process.
When Felicity entered her house after her little 'heart to heart' with Sara, she was bombarded by Roy and Digg who had somehow let themselves in and were sitting in her living room as if they owned the place. "Seriously, this isn't some sort of open bar where you all can just come in and pour your hearts out to me," said Felicity with an air of amused frustration. "I'm not your personal bartender/psychiatrist."
Digg simply ignored her little inside joke and came right forwards and said what was on his mind. "Why didn't you take it?" Felicity looked at him in confusion. "Slade's offer to join our new team, Suicide Squad. Why didn't you say yes?"
"Yeah, don't you miss us, miss how it used to be?" asked Roy, a small frown of hurt and confusion planted on his young face.
Felicity walked over to them and plopped down in the arm chair across from the couch they were both now standing in front of. "Because…the last time I was a part of a team…it didn't end so well. And I need to take some time and work by myself. I can't be a part of a team if I don't know what to do with myself."
Digg sighed before he too sat down. "Well, if you ever change your mind…"
"You two will be the first to know. I promise."
They chatted away for another hour or so, which included them talking about the League and any plans they could have, especially Malcolm Merlyn. Their conversation ended with Felicity promising to look into it and find out what she could about it. But, her promise was easier said than done. It wasn't until three weeks later when the arch reactors in both Queen Consolidated and Wayne Enterprises were stolen that she finally figured out what the League and by extension Malcom Merlyn had planned up their sleeves. They were going to combine both arch reactors and make one big nuclear bomb that could blow all of Starling City right off the map.
When Felicity got the call about the missing reactors from Digg and then Wayne, which was when she had gotten the proverbially light bulb going off in her head. She ordered Digg to contact everyone – the entirety of Suicide Squad and Team Arrow – and to meet her and Wayne at a secure location. Wayne had offered a large warehouse outside of both Gotham and Starling that was completely off the grid that he owned. Digg obeyed and was already on his way to pick her up. Meanwhile, Felicity called two people herself. Roy and Sara. She called Roy and told him to stop by her place to pick up some things from her that could help him with what she wanted him to do as well as to pick up her furry little friend, Isis. She wanted him to grab Sin and Thea and get out of town. Roy, surprisingly, did not argue or complain about not being able to fight in the upcoming battle; he knew deep down that Thea's safety was more important.
Roy beat Digg to Felicity's place and she was ready with three large bags waiting for him. One held a shitload of cash, fake IDs, and passports, along with Isis' stuff. The second bag held as many small weapons as Felicity could get her hands on that would help Roy defend her friends if need be. The third bag held some of her own things that might come in handy for Roy, Thea, and Sin should things end badly for her and the others. After he phone call with Sara, Felicity knew that the Canary had already started evacuating her own family in the same fashion, and Sara would be going with them. Felicity could not fault Sara for that – family was important, too. Especially now.
Roy was there and gone again in a flash and by the time he arrived at the Queen Mansion he was a bit surprised to see Lyla waiting just outside the front door for him.
"What are you doing here, Lyla?" Roy asked in confusion and concern.
"Digg wants me to go with you guys in case things go south for the others, and he wants to keep me away from this particular fight," said Lyla, the second part was said in an annoyed grumble and a roll of her eyes. Roy understood Digg's reasoning, he loved Lyla and he wanted her in a safe zone. There was no doubt in Lyla's abilities, and the truth was that if things did go south, Roy would need all the help he could get in order to protect Thea and Sin.
Roy left the car running – Isis was sitting in the back seat – as he and Lyla made their way into the overly extravagant home. They barged in as if they owned the place. Thea and Sin – whom Roy had called and told to pack for a very long trip and meet him at Thea's – came running down the grand staircase with a large bag in each of their hands. Lyla stood silently off to the side as she kept her eyes open for a sign of any kind of trouble.
"What is going on here?" asked Moira Queen in a fit of rage as she watched her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend make their way out of the house. Roy looked to Thea as he silently asked her – without even speaking – whether or not they should bring Moira along. Thea shook her head.
"Mom…" Thea paused and thought of what she could possibly say in this situation that could make her mother understand. But…she couldn't. Moira had lied, cheated, and destroyed any semblance they had of a family and Thea – to her own shame – no longer cared enough to explain anything. "Goodbye." They were gone.
The gathering at the warehouse was…interesting. As far as people were concerned, only Felicity, Tabitha, Oliver, and Digg were present who actually knew that Wayne was also Batman. So, suffice it to say that Slade and Deadshot were both pleasantly surprised when they found this particular information out. Although, Felicity was a little un-nerved by the odd smile that Slade kept giving her and Wayne every five minutes along with a disturbing twinkle in his eyes.
Lawton was standing the closest to the one large exit with a very big and intimidating looking gun in his arms. He would be acting as look out should anyone get curious to take a look at their very remote location. It was the position that Slade had ordered him in when they had arrived at their little meeting place.
"So, if anyone gets nosy, just…you know…shoot 'em," said Slade in his calm but rough accented voice.
"Shoot 'em? Don't ask questions first?" remarked Lawton.
"Well, yeah…just make sure you're polite about it."
"Right, got it, Boss. Shoot 'em politely," said Lawton with a lazy salute. Digg rolled his eyes at their antics.
So, there they all stood in one large circle. Lawton by the door a few feet behind Digg and Slade. Oliver stood on Digg's left side with Tabitha flanking him. Right across from them was Felicity and Wayne. Their gathering was complete.
"So, what's the plan, Fi?" asked Digg.
"Merlyn and the League are planning to blow Starling City sky high by infusing the two arch reactors that they stole together in order to create a nuclear bomb. The good news is that if me and a friend of mine, Lucius Fox, can get close enough to the reactors…we can disconnect them and stop the possible explosion. In the meantime, you all need to be…well, cannon fodder basically," explained Felicity.
"Basically, we all distract the bad guys while Felicity and Fox save our asses," summarized Lawton.
"All right. What's our play?" asked Slade. Oliver bristled next to Digg. IT was hard for him to work with the man who had once promised to destroy everything and everyone he loved most in this world.
"The lesser League members should be somewhat easier for you, Oliver, Deadshot and Digg to deal with. You keep them away from the reactors. Meanwhile, Wayne and I will deal with Nyssa," said Tabitha.
"What about Bane?" asked Oliver. He remembered Felicity fighting Bane as Catwoman that night a few weeks ago and it had scared him half to death. In fact, seeing her here and no was making him go crazy, but she had refused to talk to him or answer his calls since their failed-almost-date.
"I will deal with Bane. No one else touches him," said Felicity with a fierceness that rivaled Batman's voice. Everyone turned to her in shock then. Everyone but Tabitha.
"What? No! Felicity, it's too dangerous! You won't be able to fight Bane!" pleaded Oliver.
"Dude, he did NOT just say that?!" said Lawton with a snicker. He may not know what Felicity – aka Catwoman – was like in a fight, but he had kept tabs on her and looked her up in the news ever since he had joined the Suicide Squad.
"I can and I will," said Felicity with authority.
Digg cleared his throat to try and bring things back to the problem at hand. "What about this Talia character that the League came here looking for?"
Slade looked over to Felicity then and she met his eyes with a nod. "They won't have to look very far," he said under his breath.
"Who? Who's Talia?" asked Lawton.
"The girl from the story that Sara told us," said Digg mainly for Oliver's benefit.
"What story?!" asked Lawton.
"Talia. Talia Al Ghul, the daughter of Rhas Al Ghul," explained Tabitha. "Perhaps her story should be told once more." She looked sideways at Felicity then.
Well, it was now or never.
"Once…once, years ago in Nanda Parbat, a Mercenary worked for a local Warlord. He ended up falling madly in love with the Warlord's daughter, Selena was her name, and after some time they married in secret. When the Warlord found out he was furious and he condemned the Mercenary to death, but after a few days passed he was exiled instead. He knew that it was his wife, Selena that had secured his freedom, but when he learned the price of his freedom he came back to her and they escaped together."
Digg and Oliver were looking on in shock as Felicity began to tell the story that Sara had told them months ago. How was it possible that she knew the story? It was a League of Shadows secret as well as their legend.
"In this particular part of the world, there was a place – it was hell on earth – a pit hundreds and hundreds of feet deep dug into the earth. It was impossible to escape; its flat stone walls with very little ridges caused many who have tried to climb out of it to fall to their deaths. Selena had convinced her father to exile her husband and in return she would die in his place. The Warlord was a cruel man, but even he could not kill his only child and watch her die. So, instead he condemned her to spend the rest of her days in the pit. When the Mercenary learned of this, he returned and took her away. For but a few years they lived in peace and they even had a child, but one night the Warlord had sent a few of his most loyal guards to bring the Mercenary back to him and was going to throw him in the pit. When the guards came, the Mercenary hid his wife and child and surrendered himself to his fate in the hopes that Selena and the child would be free. But, the Warlord was a smart man – he had been hurt by his daughter's betrayal – and while the guards took the Mercenary with them…they were only a distraction. The guards abandoned the Mercenary in the northern mountains of china, near a monastery that was home to the League of Shadows, where he would find his place as the greatest student of Rhas Al Ghul."
Slade listened in awe of what Felicity was revealing to them. He had known who she really was, but he had not known the story behind it or what she had endured. Everyone was silent, even Lawton, as they listened to her tale.
"So, a few days later the guards returned to the Mercenary's home and captured Selena and the child. The Warlord decided that it was only fit that since he had ensured the Mercenary's exile that his daughter and her child would fulfill their promise. Selena and the child were lowered into the pit, condemned to a life of true darkness. In the pit, there's no where you can hide, it is like an open prison where the murderous and rapist inmates roam freely amongst each other – killing and destroying anything that they feel threatened by. For seven years Selena and her child were condemned to live in that hell. We were only safe in our prison cell. One day when the doctor – a fellow prisoner in the pit – was checking on the mother and child, he forgot to lock the cell properly when he left."
Everyone waited on bated breath as her tale of horror grew. Slade's eyes were closed as the full impact of what Felicity…Talia had suffered sunk into his mind and soul. So much like Shado.
"A few of the prisoners noticed the open cell door, and before Selena could lock herself in they attacked. They raped her before they killed her. But, the child was kept safe, it had a protector. One of the prisoners saw the innocence in the child as their only redemption and that it should be protected. One day he fought off all the prisoners as the child made its way up the stone walls of the pit, until it had reached the top and was free. For all of those years the Mercenary had trained and learned under the teachings of Rhas Al Ghul. He was Rhas' greatest student and when Rhas died, the mercenary took his name. You see, every leader of the League of Shadows carries that name – Rhas is not so much a person as it is a legacy. When the mercenary, Rhas, was reunited with his child he exacted terrible revenge on those who had killed his wife. He killed her father the Warlord, and entered the pit…destroying everyone except for the one who had saved his daughter. The man who had protected his child was welcomed into the League and trained by Rhas."
Everyone stood frozen. Digg was the first to speak as he voiced the question that Roy had once asked when Sara had first told them the story in the Lair. "What happened to the child?"
"She lived. Talia lived and found a home with her the woman who had returned her to her father and then saved her from his fate," said Felicity as she gazed thankfully and lovingly at her guardian. "The child grew up…and I succeeded where my father did not."
Oliver, Digg, and Lawton looked at her with shocked faces at what her words were implying.
"My father, Henri Kyle Ducard – formerly known by the world as Rhas Al Ghul – had let the darkness twist his heart, until there was nothing left." Felicity turned to look Oliver in the eye then. "Bane was my protector in the pit. I can reach him; I can change the course that my father put him on."
Oliver was in shock at what she had just revealed to them all, but it was Digg's whispered words that solidified it as true. "You're the child from the story. Talia…you're the daughter of Rhas Al Ghul."
"You can't risk your life for something that you don't know that you'll be able to fix! You don't know if you can reach Bane!" Oliver could not…would not let her place herself in danger.
"I can and I will. Bane loves me. Always has always will. And even if I do fail, it would not be in vain. I will do this. It may be crazy but…people to crazy things for the ones they love," said Felicity.
Oliver flinched at her words before he practically ran out of the warehouse with Digg hot on his tail in an effort to calm his sort-of-friend down.
"Well, damn! I think she just our ranked all of us on the bad-ass scale," said Lawton with an air of newfound respect for the petit female that called herself Catwoman. Felicity could not help the nervous smile that spread across her face.
Slade just looked at her before finally nodding in understanding and recognition. "We'll do as you ask and give you and Fox the chance you need to fix this." He too walked out of the warehouse, but there was a resigned acceptance to his stance. He liked Felicity, she was a good person and if she got killed…he'd be royally pissed off. Lawton fallowed him out just as Tabitha made herself scarce as she melted back into the shadows.
"He's upset with me," said Felicity, referring to Oliver.
"He'll get over it. Oliver needs to realize that you can take care of yourself. He needs to have faith…in you," said Wayne as he held out his hand in a silent offer to take her home…with him. She took it without hesitation. Thankfully, Wayne had not been at all surprised by her tale, since she had already told it to him during their three day long nightly chats.
They walked out of the warehouse and around it to the other side – hand in hand – where Alfred was waiting with the car. The ride back to Wayne Manor was silent but comfortable. Once they arrived home, Alfred made himself scarce very quickly. Felicity wandered the halls of the grand house with Wayne trailing a few feet behind her, watching her, as she moved around making herself familiar with his home. They found their way back to his room and slowly, ever so slowly, Felicity walked up to him. Her hands found the sides of his face as she gently pulled him down for a slow searing kiss that had them both shaking with unresolved emotions.
"The only humanity I have left…belongs to you," said Wayne as he looked her deep in the eye. Looking straight into her dark and secret soul.
"I take it gladly, and whatever pieces of my soul are left…they are yours," whispered Felicity as she dragged her fingers down his chest, opening the buttons of his shirt as she went.
They found themselves naked and standing before each other. Wayne placed his hands on her hips and yanked her towards him as his mouth fell upon hers repeatedly. He broke away from her for a quick breath as he said with a rough growl, "I'm going to show you what your body was made for," before he lifted her into his arms, her legs and arms wrapped themselves around him like the tentacles of and octopus. His words alone drew a whimper of longing from her.
Their lovemaking was a contradiction. At times his hands, mouth, and body were rough and unforgiving as they demanded she give him everything – her heart, body, and soul – forcing a fire in her very womb to spring forth with heat and longing; while at other moments his touch was so gentle and feather-light that her body shivered with so many emotions that desperate tears of want and happiness fell from her eyes. Their bodies twisted in an age old dance that left them both desperate for more and so they gave into their desires and continued until they were too weak to do so. The bed, the floor, his desk in the corner…they had all been victims of their passion. The room was in shambles as they lay content and breathless on the bed. Their limbs intertwined with each other's so much that you could not tell where one began and the other ended.
Marks littered their bodies. Red hickies and raw claw marks ran up and down their forms. Wayne was collapsed on top of her, his head resting over her left breast as he listened to her gasping breaths, the feeling her chest rising and falling beneath him, it was music to his ears and soothed the tension from his body. Their breathless state calmed their minds and hearts despite the upcoming battle they knew they'd have to fight very soon. But right now…in that moment, nothing but them mattered.
"New lovers are nervous and tender, but smash everything. For the heart is an organ of fire."
-The English Patient
A/N: Felicity did NOT sleep with Wayne at all during the first three nights that she stayed with him, if that wasn't clear enough at the beginning of this chapter. All they did was spend time with each other and talk and listen. I did it this way because I feel like people today do not understand or appreciate the simple things about love – especially the people on the Arrow show. It's always just about the sex and I wanted to emphasize the fact that when you are with the right person, the simple things – the faint brush of the lips, a kiss on the cheek, holding hands, laying down in each other's arms – can be just as beautiful and sensual as the actual sexual part of the relationship. They did, obvious, make love at the end of the chapter.
As for Laurel and Sara's conversation in this chapter, I did it this way for two reasons: one, because I felt like Sara and Laurel need each other in order for them to move on, heal, and grow into better less selfish people; two, because I didn't want to be overly harsh – but still be truthful on my opinions of these two women – with the Lance sister's and I hope that both Felicity fans and Laurel/Sara fans will be able to understand and be pleased with the outcome of it. As for the reason Sara did not stick around for the final upcoming battle and instead just took her family away to someplace safe is because she herself needed to understand that family comes first. She let Oliver get between her and Laurel and forsake her family already once before, now she is making up for that mistake by focusing on them and only them…and that's ok.
Another thing is that I hated how on the show Laurel forgave Sara so quickly. Laurel does have a good reason for being angry at her sister, and the fact that it just took a single episode after Sara's return for her to get over what Sara/Oliver had done to her as well as her drug/alcoholic addictions was just downright insulting to both characters. It's like the enabling thing that I've mentioned in the past with Oliver. Laurel needed to make her sister work to get her forgiveness because only then could Sara truly learn from her mistakes and earn said forgiveness. Only then would their relationship be healed. Laurel has not forgiven Sara in this chapter, but she is giving her a chance to make up for the wrongs she had done. Sara has finally started on her own path of redemption and I hope everyone of you is ok with how I did it.
NOTE: This is officially the last we will see of the Lance sisters in this story and I hope that it ended well on that particular front.
When it comes to Slade, I know a lot of what he has said and done in the past had been truthful (IMO) if a bit harsh. But, this is Slade we're talking about…he's going to be harsh because that is how his character is. However, as you can see I have Felicity straighten him out in this particular chapter, and now that Slade is a part of his own team (Suicide Squad) he has a new course to fallow and hopefully that will lead him down a path that will help him feel again.
As for the small kiss that Felicity and Slade shared together. It was NOT about love. In that moment, Felicity – whether by her similar character and personality or by spirit – was being Shado and giving him the thing he never got to experience with the woman he loved so long ago. Slade is NOT in love with Felicity – though he does love and respect her the way he did Shado – it is nowhere near the same level that he felt for Shado. Felicity merely reminded him that instead of focusing on the past (as so many of the characters of Arrow do) he should look towards his future and the possibility of loving another Shado someday. She was merely giving him some semblance of hope and I hope you all as readers can understand that.
Anyway, I hope you all were pleased with the ending love scene in this chapter. I wanted it to be passionate without it getting to be too trashy. I hope I succeeded. Please, read and review!
NEXT UP: Chapter Twelve – The Edge of Darkness…the final battle! Duh, duh, dun…