Note: That's all for now, folks. I'm marking this complete, though I will post more outtakes here, if I ever get any more ideas (and more importantly, actually put them down in writing).
It's the longest chapter yet, and I hope it makes up for this being the last one for the foreseeable future.
ETA: Oops, I forgot to thank everyone for reading, and for the lovely comments. Of course I could not reply to the anions, so thank you guys, so much!
The phone call came in the middle of the night.
Thea was back in Starling. Roy had heard a rumor about a new club opening up in the glades, and an Internet search turned up a gossip item confirming that Thea Queen was indeed in the process of obtaining the permits necessary to restore one of the buildings damaged by the quake, and open up a club there. Diggle had immediately called Oliver.
"I'm putting you on loudspeaker, Digg." He rolled toward Felicity, putting his phone down on the mattress between them while she groggily fumbled for the light switch and then her glasses.
"Your sister's bought the whole building, man."
Oliver sat up, frowning down at the phone. "With what money?"
Although Thea's fortune had been restored along with Oliver's, she hadn't touched a penny of it. So where was she getting it?
"It seems she has an anonymous investor. We weren't able to find out anything about him. Or her."
He met Felicity's eyes, and she nodded, pulling on one of his t-shirts. "I'm on it. I can't do this on my tablet; I have to go to my office. It'll be quicker."
She was out of the bedroom and on the way to her computers before he could acknowledge her words.
"We're coming back, Digg." He pulled Felicity's tablet over and started looking up flights out of Athens. "I need to talk to her, make sure she's OK. I'll let you know when we'll be arriving. Call me if you find out anything else."
"Will do." Diggle disconnected.
Oliver mentally calculated how soon they could make it to Athens and booked their first-class seats accordingly. Pulling on his jeans, he headed for Felicity's office to see how the search was going. He stopped in the doorway, watching her working at her computers, bare-legged and completely lost in his large shirt. It gradually slid off one shoulder as she typed furiously, propelling her chair between workstations with the balls of her feet.
"How's it coming?" He moved in behind her, looking at the gibberish on the screens.
She held up one finger and continued to work wordlessly.
He waited impatiently, then waited some more. When his impatience got the best of him, he asked her again. "Anything yet?"
"Oliver," she said firmly without pausing.
He bit back a frustrated sigh and started pacing. He was about to throw caution to the wind and ask her again, when she swiveled around in her chair. "Ok, done."
"Finally." He turned to her. "Who is it?"
She gave him a look. "I don't know yet. I'm done setting up the searches. They're running. This isn't the movies, Oliver, these things..."
She stopped when one of the computers dinged, turned, and typed some more. Turning back to him, she continued. "These things take time. Why don't you go back to bed? I'll let you know as soon as I have something."
Another chime sounded, and she was back to work.
Oliver just stood there, shifting on his feet, feeling useless.
"Oliver." She didn't even turn around this time. "Go. You're making me really nervous with your jittering."
He smiled. "How can you possibly know I'm...jittering?"
"I can feel it. Right behind me. Now go. I promise you that when I find out who Thea's secret investor is, you'll be the first to know."
With another sigh, he turned and shuffled back to their bedroom to pack.
He didn't get very far. He was too distracted by his worries for his sister and whose influence she might be under. He paced, put something in his backpack, paced again, and was about to risk incurring Felicity's wrath by searching her out again when she appeared in the doorway, wide-eyed and pale.
He was in front of her in the time it took her to blink, his hands fastened around her upper arms. "Felicity? What is it? Did you find out who it was?"
"It's...it's Malcolm Merlyn." Her voice was barely above a whisper, as if saying his name too loud might conjure up the man himself. "He's alive, and he's back in Starling. He and Thea arrived together."
His fingers clenched reactively, digging into her flesh. "What!?"
Felicity placed her carry-on on the bed and unzipped it, glancing over at Oliver as he tapped away at her tablet. "What are you doing?"
His reply was curt. "I'm canceling your flight."
She paused and looked up from her packing. "What? No! I'm coming with you."
He ignored her.
"Oliver." She strode over to him and grabbed his wrist. "I'm going with you."
He finally looked up at her. "No. That is absolutely out of the question." He pulled his wrist free easily and tossed the tablet on the bed, turning toward the dresser.
"I'm going with you," Felicity repeated firmly, crossing her arms.
"And I said no," Oliver countered with deadly calm, shoving a rolled-up pair of jeans into his backpack.
"Oliver..."
"Felicity." He cut her off, turning to her so suddenly she took a step back. "Malcolm Merlyn is dangerous. Possibly a lot more dangerous than we ever imagined."
"Duh. I was there, remember? I've seen what he's capable of."
He shot her a warning glance and continued. "The point is, I need you to be safe. I don't want you on his radar in any way, shape or form. You're officially gone from Starling, only a few people know where you are, and as far as Merlyn is concerned, I want to keep it that way."
She pushed past him and grabbed a handful of underwear out of her drawer. "I can keep off his radar in Starling!"
She continued to argue with him, tossing panties and bras into her carry-on. "I can hide out in your...our apartment!"
"Felicity..." There was an edge to his voice now.
She turned on him angrily. "You might need me! I'm..."
"Felicity!" he yelled, surprising them both into silence. She stared at him in shock and watched the fierce expression melt off his face.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I shouldn't have raised my voice. That was uncalled for."
"You did more than raise your voice." Felicity looked at him shrewdly. "You yelled at me," she continued softly. "What's going on?"
He looked away, over her head, the thousand-yard stare appearing in his eyes. "What do you mean?" He shifted on his feet, nervously rubbing his thumb and forefinger together.
"You're not in control of yourself, and that's not like you. What are you afraid of?"
"I'm not afraid," he muttered sulkily, avoiding her eyes.
"Oliver." She walked up to him and took his face in her hands. "Look at me." His eyes shot to hers. "What are you afraid of?"
For a moment she thought he wouldn't answer, but then his expression softened and he sighed in surrender, reaching for her hands and holding them against his chest.
"When Slade..." He faltered. "I don't ever want to..."
Felicity understood immediately, but she kept silent, letting him find the words himself. When he finally did, they came tumbling out.
"I'm afraid that if Merlyn finds out about you, finds out how much you mean to me, he will use that against me the same way Slade did. I'm afraid you will be put in danger because of our connection. I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to do what needs to be done if it came down to a choice between protecting you and...well, anything really. Protecting you will always come first, and protecting you could mean someone else dies."
Tears had sprung up as he was speaking, and by the time he was done, they had spilled over. She tried to pull free, but he wouldn't let her.
"That's not fair, Oliver," she quavered, her lower lip trembling. "That's...emotional blackmail. Please. I want to go with you."
His face hardened again, and he let go of her hands, turning back to his packing. "It's not blackmail, it's fact. It's the plain truth. The answer is no, and that's final. You're staying here."
Felicity blinked back the tears and hardened as well. "You can't stop me from going, Oliver," she said bitterly.
He turned toward her again, and she could almost see him wishing he could contradict her assertion, but they both knew that unless he wanted to take so drastic an action that it would spell the end of them - not to mention open him up to charges of unlawful detention - there was absolutely nothing he could do to keep her from following him. She watched him practically vibrate with the need to snatch her up and carry her off somewhere were nobody could reach her, and where she couldn't escape to get herself in trouble. She was sure she even saw his fingers twitch.
Then the tension melted out of him, and larger-than-life Oliver Queen seemed to shrink in defeat.
"Felicity...please. I'm begging you. Do this for me. Stay here, at least until I have checked things out in Starling. Let me make sure it's safe, figure out what Merlyn is up to, and then if you still want to come, I won't stop you."
She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get a word out, he had crowded her against the dresser, taken her face in his hands, and was desperately, frantically kissing her.
Felicity kept her head, knowing exactly what he was doing. As an absolute last resort, thinking she was going to deny him again, he fell back on an old trick he'd no doubt used countless times as a playboy: kiss a girl senseless to distract her and manipulate her into giving in. She returned his kiss with equal need and waited him out.
Eventually his fervor died down, and his mouth stilled on hers. With one last soft, gentle touch of his lips to hers, he pulled away, his hands moving to her shoulders. She looked at him with undisguised skepticism, a knowing smile on her lips. He returned her smile with a sheepish one of his own.
"Did it work?" he asked, reading her mind.
"No," she deadpanned, shaking her head. "But before you go all broody and tortured on me, hear me out," she continued quickly, as his expression started heading that way.
"As I was going to say - before you rudely interrupted me with your transparent but impressive attempts at distraction - OK."
"O...K?" he repeated uncertainly.
"OK, as in yes, I will stay here in my ivory tower until you slay all the dragons in Starling and make the city safe for me."
And just like that, the ice was broken and tension fled the room. Oliver's relief and gratitude were palpable. "Are you making fun of me?"
She ignored him, continuing dramatically. "I will split my time between pacing the parapets of our home, wearing a billowy white gown and gazing wistfully out to sea, mooning over my absent knight, and lying on a divan somewhere, clutching a lace handkerchief and a bottle of smelling salts..."
He blinked. "What the hell is a divan?"
Felicity rolled her eyes. "It's a chaise longue. That's one definition, anyway."
He blinked again.
"It means long chair. Like a sofa with only one arm and a bit of a back. Or no arms and no back. There are different kinds, and you probably had twelve of them around the mansion growing up."
"I don't think we have anything like that around here."
"I'll buy one," she said airily, waving her hand.
They both grew serious at the same time. "Felicity," Oliver murmured, taking both of her hands in one of his, and putting his other on her cheek. "Thank you."
Her expression hardened. "I don't like it, Oliver. At all."
"I know." He kissed her softly on the lips.
She pulled her head back, looking up at him sternly. "I'm going to be keeping tabs on the situation, and if I find even the slightest hint of trouble, I'm on the first flight to Starling. Understood?"
Oliver, having gotten his way, was more interested in going in for another kiss. She turned her face away. Undeterred, he started nuzzling her jaw instead, his breath hot against her skin, and trapped her against the dresser with his hips.
"Oliver." She tugged her hands free and squirmed her way out from between him and the dresser, putting a good three feet between them and holding up a warning finger. "I'm serious."
He sighed, dropping his chin, and stayed right where he was, knowing better than to approach her. "Yes. First flight to Starling. I understand. I don't like it, but we both know there would be nothing I could do to prevent it."
She nodded. "Good. Now, the first ferry doesn't leave for another four hours. Take me to bed and make me forget my name. I want to feel you for at least a day after you leave."
He smirked and strode purposefully toward her.
They sat in the breakfast nook later that morning, plates pushed aside, nursing their cups of coffee, killing time until they needed to leave to get him to the ferry.
Oliver had been slowly reverting to his pre-Greece self since the moment he woke up. He had made love to her one more time, silently, desperately, before disappearing into the shower while she went to make coffee and rustle up something for breakfast.
Now she watched as he sat wordlessly across from her, the thousand-yard stare gradually coming over him again. His face went blank. It made the hairs stand up on the back of her neck, but she said nothing, her eyes dropping to the coffee cup cradled in her hands. She understood why it was happening, and why it was exactly as he needed it to be.
"I want you to stay at the taverna while I'm away."
Her eyes snapped back up to find his dead ones fixed on her. She nodded wordlessly, noticing the dull flare of relief in his eyes when she didn't argue.
He had become so much a part of her, so integral to her life, that she couldn't imagine occupying their shared space without him. She didn't want to. At the taverna she'd be around people, and she'd keep busy doing the things she did before he reappeared in her life.
Sliding out from behind the table, she got a box and started packing up the perishables from the fridge to take with her. Then she packed her electronics and a few other things she wanted and was ready to leave. It was still too early, but she wanted to go.
Oliver apparently had had the same idea. When their dishes were washed and sitting in the dish drain, he picked up the box to carry it out to the truck. Wordlessly, they left the house together, Felicity locking up behind them. They loaded their stuff in the bed of the truck and were soon making their way silently down the mountain.
"I think I'm going to tell Thea."
She knew immediately what he meant. "I think that's a good idea." She wanted to reach out and touch him but sensed that it wasn't the right time. Oliver was actively turning himself back into the person he used to be, needed to be, to deal with whatever situations would arise back in Starling, and that meant he needed to withdraw, and she needed to let him.
They didn't speak again until they got to the taverna.
They went up the back way, quietly, to avoid Maria who was in the kitchen singing - impressively well - along with the radio.
Oliver set the box down on the island. "I want to say goodbye here," he said, staring over her shoulder. "I'll take the truck and have a couple of the guys bring it back."
Her mouth flew open, a denial on the tip of her tongue, but she bit it back. This too she understood.
"OK. Call me anytime you need me, day or night. Oliver, look at me." She put her hands on his cheeks and his eyes slid to hers, focusing on them. "You call me, often," she said earnestly. "Anytime you need me, day or night. I want to help you any way I can."
He slipped an arm around her waist and speared his fingers into the hair at the nape of her neck, anchoring her head as he kissed her, needy and greedy.
"I love you," he rasped against her lips, his voice deep and rough.
His transformation back into the Arrow was complete. He turned, avoiding her eyes and disappeared silently down the back stairs.
She stood there a long time, wondering how she had possibly found the strength to let him go.
They spoke to each other often and at great length while he was away.
While his reunion with Thea had gone well, something about her felt different, off, and it made him hesitant to divulge his secret. He knew he had to do it very soon, but now just wasn't the right time.
"She lied to me, Felicity. She says she has no idea where Malcolm is. I'm finding it hard to be angry with her when I'm keeping a huge secret from her as well."
"You'll find the right time."
Felicity wriggled her toes in the warm sand and dropped to her back, looking up into the starry sky. Soft voices drifted through the air from the taverna, mingling with the hissing of the waves dying on the beach. "How is Roy handling her return?"
"Not well. She's acting like nothing happened between them, and it's driving him crazy. I'm starting to worry about him; his head isn't in the game right now. I'm considering sending him out to stay with you."
"I don't think he's going to go for that, Oliver."
"He will if I tell him it's for your protection."
"What could I possibly need protecting from on a sleepy little Greek island?"
"Oh, I don't know, shady Greek real estate developers with Bratva connections? You seem to attract trouble wherever you go."
"Point taken. Well, I'd be happy to have Roy here for company. It's lonely without you."
Oliver got serious again. "I miss you too, Felicity. More than I thought possible. I'm going to try and wrap things up as quickly as possible here. In the meanwhile, take care of Roy, and let us know if you find anything that can help us figure out what Merlyn is up to. I'll call you tomorrow, OK? I love you..."
"I love you too, Oliver." Her voice broke on his name, and she quickly ended the call, the stars suddenly going blurry.
Roy arrived a day earlier than expected. It was the middle of the afternoon, and Felicity, having just finished clearing up after the last customers, was sitting at the bar enjoying a glass of wine while Maria finished up in the kitchen.
"Felicity."
She yelped, sloshing some of her wine out onto the bar.
"Shit!" she hissed, putting down her glass and reaching behind the bar for a rag. She looked up in the middle of wiping up her spill and saw Roy, dusty and disheveled and looking like death warmed over, standing in the middle of the taverna.
"Roy!" She gasped. "You look terrible! I mean, hi! You're early. Not that it matters, of course. It's good to see you, anytime..."
Her babbling dried up. Felicity slipped off the stool, headed straight for him and without a word, wrapped him in a warm hug. She was surprised when he melted into her, burying his face into her neck and dragging in a shuddering breath. Pulling back, she took his face in her hands, and ran her thumbs over the dark shadows under his eyes.
"What's wrong, Roy?" she asked him softly.
"Oliver sent me," he said dully. "He was worried about leaving you alone for so long."
"I know. But that's not what I meant. How are things with Thea?"
"They're not." He didn't elaborate.
Felicity patted the stool next to her. "Sit. Do you want something to drink?"
He shook his head, but she poured him a glass of water anyway.
"Drink. You're probably dehydrated after your trip. Planes are horrible in that respect." She waited as he downed most of the glass and set it back on the bar. "Now tell me. What's really going on?"
"It's nothing. I haven't been sleeping well, and my head hasn't been in the game. Oliver thinks I'm going to get myself killed. He thought it would be good for me to get away for a bit, and he wanted someone he trusted to keep an eye on you."
"But what about Thea?" Felicity insisted.
"Thea..."
At that moment, Maria came bustling out of the kitchen. "Roy!" she cried. "I thought I heard the voice of my handsome boy! How nice of you to visit again so soon!"
Roy slipped off the bar stool and into Maria's arms.
"Mama," he sighed. Roy had never quite caught the hang of saying Mana Mou during his last visit with the team and had simply taken to calling Maria Mama. He absolutely adored her, and she treated him like a son.
She pulled away, and as Felicity had done, took his face in her hands, wearing a look of concern. "You look tired, agóri mou. Are you hungry?"
"Not really, Mama," he replied tiredly. "I think I just need to sleep."
She observed him with a stern expression. "When is the last time you ate?"
"I...uh...I don't remember."
"Come." Maria ordered. "I will make something for you. You need your strength."
"I'll take your bags upstairs. Your room is ready when you are." Felicity picked up his backpack and duffle and headed to her apartment as Maria towed him into the kitchen to start the process of taking care of him.
She dropped his bags in the guest room, then opened the window, pulling out the screens so she could close the shutters to keep the room cool and dark. Having once housed all her computer stuff, it had been turned into a proper bedroom after they moved to the house on the mountaintop. She brought in a jug of water and a glass, and placed a vase of flowers from the kitchen on the night stand. Once she was satisfied she had made the room as comforting as possible, she headed back down to join Roy and Maria in the kitchen.
He was sitting at the table finishing up a pita stuffed with lamb, tomatoes and lettuce, and a generous amount of tzatziki, listening to Maria chatter away as she made him some herbal tea.
"It will help with the jet lag." She placed a steaming mug in front of him. "You are not to leave the table until you have drunk at least half," she chided him when he rolled his eyes at her.
"Yes, Mama," he said dutifully, and Felicity was relieved to hear that his tone was already lighter.
Roy slept for the rest of the day and all through the night, emerging from his room just before dawn, when the morning was still a soft, cool blue. Felicity was sitting at the island, sipping coffee and adding to Maria's shopping list. She watched him shuffle into the kitchen in his boxers, yawning, hair sticking up every which way.
"It's about time. You've been asleep for eighteen hours." Sliding off the chair, she headed to the stove and assembled a cup of coffee for him, placing it in front of him when he sat down opposite her.
"Thanks." He lifted the cup and took a sip. "Whoa," he said, looking down at the cup. "This is strong. Really good, though."
"It'll get you firing on all cylinders again. When you're done, take a shower and get ready. You're coming with me to the market. We'll grab breakfast there."
He sent a small smile her way. "Yes, ma'am."
They fell into comfortable silence and finished their coffee.
Felicity let Roy drive the Vespa, climbing on behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist. They whizzed along the coastal road, a crisp fresh wind in their hair, singing silly pop songs at the top of their lungs as the sun cleared the horizon, washing the world in the white gold light of a crystal clear morning.
They wandered through the still sleepy market, getting breakfast first. Fresh figs and plastic cups of Greek yogurt laced with thyme honey, and a little further down, a plate of piping hot tiganites, small fluffy Greek pancakes fresh off the griddle, drizzled with honey and topped with walnuts.
Then it was on to shopping for the taverna. Felicity haggled and paid, and Roy carried the purchases, his absurd good looks attracting quite a bit of attention from the young women working and shopping at the market.
When they got back home, Maria was already in the kitchen, coffee bubbling on the stove, getting ready to start cooking for the day. She took Felicity to the side as Roy brought in the groceries.
"I told Dimitri not to come in today. We will put Roy to work at the bar. It will take his mind off his troubles."
Felicity smiled and nodded. It was a perfect way to keep his mind off Thea. "Good idea. He's worked in a nightclub, so the bar will be no problem for him."
She watched as Maria took over the unpacking from Roy, setting him to work putting away the things they wouldn't be needing immediately and having him generally fetch, carry and chop for her. Roy happily complied, doing Maria's bidding with a look of peace on his face.
Propping herself against the door jamb, she had a good look at him. He looked a lot better than he had when he'd arrived. He'd had a much needed, good night's sleep, a couple of mostly healthy meals, and a good dose of fresh air and sunlight. His blue eyes were clear, the shadows under them almost faded, and his skin had lost the sallow cast he had arrived with.
Interacting with the taverna's patrons turned out to be exactly what he needed. When word got around that i̱ Amerikanikí̱ had a handsome young visitor, also an American, the average age of the taverna's customers plummeted. Young women started flocking to the bar in the evenings after dinner, and very shortly thereafter, the young men followed. The older patrons, who had grown accustomed to enjoying their evening drinks and card games in a sleepy, mostly empty taverna, were not pleased. Most evenings, Felicity had to throw everyone out so that they could finally close up. They would scrounge up some leftovers, eating in a daze in the kitchen, and then head for their separate beds.
Just as Roy regained his equilibrium, Felicity lost hers. Early mornings, busy days and late nights gradually took their toll. She missed Oliver terribly and started spending more time obsessively checking the programs that were scouring traffic and security cams for not only Malcolm and Thea's faces, but Team Arrow's as well, looking for a way to search faster and better, anything to get him home sooner. She checked her news feeds even though she had set up alerts that would go to her phone immediately.
It was all fairly pointless, as she didn't really know what she was looking for. But she found she couldn't stop herself, and not a day went by that she didn't battle the temptation to jump on a plane to Starling to join him. The only thing that stopped her was Roy. If she went, he would go too, and she hated to take him away from here when he was starting to come to life again.
And just as Felicity had been there for Roy when he was at his lowest, he was there for her when she needed him. He tried to get her to stop spending most of her free time with her computers, but she was stubborn. At a loss, he finally spoke to Maria, firmly ratting Felicity out despite her glaring daggers at him. Maria immediately arranged for Felicity to take a day off to show Roy some of her favorite spots on the island. She sent Roy and a resigned Felicity off the very next morning with a picnic.
It did her a world of good, but all the good was undone pretty quickly when Felicity went straight back to her bad habits. Roy sometimes heard her late into the night, pacing or tapping away, muttering to herself. At a loss, he finally called Oliver.
"She's not sleeping, and it's really starting to show." He spoke quietly so as not to be overheard, watching Felicity listlessly clear tables. "I don't know what to do. She won't listen to me, and Maria can't watch her all the time, so she can't get very far with her either."
"I'll call her after you and I are done." Oliver paused. "Roy...something happened. Thea tried to kill Sara. They are both fine," he continued quickly before Roy could say anything, "in fact, Thea doesn't even remember doing it. Sara says it sounds like she may have been manipulated into it by Malcolm. There is an herb, a drug the League of Assassins uses that makes one very suggestible and unable to remember afterwards. We have no idea what his purpose was, though."
By the time Oliver had finished, Roy was almost preternaturally still, scared at the intensity of the rage stirring in his belly at the thought of Malcolm using his daughter in that way. A muscle started leaping in his jaw. "Was Sara hurt?"
"She took two arrows to the shoulder and had a bit of a rough landing coming off a building, but fortunately Laurel was there. She got her back to the foundry and Digg was able to patch her up."
"Wait..." Roy frowned. "When did Thea learn how to shoot a bow?"
"Yeah, that's another thing. Thea seems to have picked up some fighting skills while she was away. The Arrow found out the hard way. I tried to scare her into telling me about Malcolm, and she tried to kick my ass instead."
"I'm not going to make the last ferry, but I'll head back first thing tomorrow." Roy could think of nothing but getting back to Thea's side.
"No! Roy, please. If you come back, Felicity will come with you. I can't have her here. It's too dangerous. Once I find a way to tell Thea about what Malcolm is doing, I'm hoping I can talk her and Sara into coming back with me. Please give me a few more days."
"Oliver..."
Oliver interrupted him. "Please, Roy. A few days."
Roy was about to argue when he caught sight of Felicity's wan face, dark circles under her eyes. She needed him right now, and he owed it to her. Oliver was right; if he went, she would follow. He released a gusting breath he didn't know he'd been holding.
"OK. A few days. But Oliver, if you think Felicity is going to just sit tight when she hears what's going down, you don't know her as well as you should."
"I can handle her. Is she there?"
"She's clearing tables."
"I'm going to call her now. Could you take over for her?"
"Sure."
They disconnected, and Roy waited for Felicity's phone to ring before taking over from her as she took the call down to the beach to talk to Oliver in private. Before Oliver had finished filling her in on all that had been going on in Starling, she had turned around and was back in the apartment, looking at flights on her tablet.
"I'm heading out tomorrow." Her tone brooked no argument, but apparently that meant less than nothing to Oliver.
"Felicity..."
"No," she snapped. "Not this time, Oliver. This is exactly the type of situation I was referring to when I said I would be taking the first flight out to Starling. You agreed. I am coming. End of discussion."
"Felicity!"
She used her loud voice. "No, Oliver! I'm coming! End of story!"
There was silence on the end of the line. "Oliver?"
When he finally spoke, his tone was absolutely final. "You leave me no choice. I'm telling Thea about me tonight, then we're going to tell her about what Merlyn did. I'm taking the first flight out to Greece tomorrow. I'll be back in a couple of days."
Felicity was left temporarily speechless. She blinked and then shook her head. "Wait...what? You're just going to leave Thea to deal with Malcolm? And what about Sara?"
"Thea is an adult, and apparently more than capable of taking care of herself. That goes doubly for Sara. They will take care of each other, and they'll have Diggle and Laurel too. You are my priority. If I can't make you stay home, safe, I have no choice but to come back to you. This is the only way I can stop you."
"You bastard," she hissed. "What if I go to Starling anyway?"
"You won't," he replied with calm certainty, and he was right, damn him. There was no point in going if he was heading back. She knew when she was beaten.
There was a long silence while Felicity struggled with her frustration and anger, and Oliver waited silently for her to capitulate. Stressed, exhausted and with no energy left to fight him, she dropped onto the bed and started crying.
"Fine," she sobbed, dashing the tears off her face. "You win. I'll stay here, and you stay there."
As quickly as she had started crying, she pulled herself together and stopped again, her voice turning cold. "But this isn't over. This is the second time you've basically blackmailed me into doing what you want, and we will be having a pointed conversation about this eventually."
"I'm sorry," he said gently, and she could tell that he truly was. "I told you I'd do whatever it took to keep you safe."
"I know." She thawed a little. "I'm just not sure I agree with your methods. But clearly, there is no point in my arguing with you."
"I love you, Felicity. I'm not sure you'll ever understand how much."
She closed her eyes, her anger and hurt melting away completely in the warmth of his devotion to her. "I love you too, Oliver. With all my heart. I just don't like you very much right now."
The ice was broken. "I understand," he laughed. "Listen, Thea just arrived at the club. I'll call you tomorrow."
Almost exactly twenty-four hours later, it was all over.
Right after ending his call with Felicity, Oliver brought his sister into the foundry and shared his biggest secret with her. He had never been so apprehensive in his life.
If he had dared to dream, he couldn't have imagined a better reaction from her at his news. She accepted him wholeheartedly, and even thanked him for what he had done for the city. Weak with relief, he called Digg, Laurel and Sara down to the foundry and together they told Thea the truth about what her father had done.
"How did she take it?" Felicity murmured sleepily, rolling onto her back. She had just fallen asleep when Oliver's call had come through.
"She took it very well. Too well, it turns out."
She frowned. "What do you mean?"
Upon finding out that her own father had tried to use her to kill Sara, Thea had thanked them for telling her, then told them she needed to get back to work. They found out the next morning that she had walked right out of the building to the nearest payphone and made an anonymous call to Quentin Lance, telling him where Malcolm Merlyn, the mastermind behind the Undertaking, could be found.
She sat up, suddenly wide awake. "Whoa. Go, Thea! Finally, that murdering bastard is behind bars and out of our lives."
There was silence for a moment at the end other end of the line. "Well, not exactly..."
Unfortunately, Merlyn had yet again evaded capture. By the time the police had gotten to the loft, he had disappeared without a trace. Now that the world - including the League of Assassins - knew he was alive, he would be forced to go deep underground.
"So, not behind bars, but definitely out of our lives."
"Yeah. Whether the League catches up with him or not, I don't think we'll be seeing him again."
She sank back against the pillows, relief in her voice. "Thank goodness that's over. When are you coming home?"
"I'm at the airport, waiting to board."
Letting out a happy yelp, Felicity rolled over onto her stomach on the bed, reaching for a notepad. "Are you bringing Sara and Thea with you?" She started making a list of things she needed to do to prepare for Oliver's homecoming.
"No. Sara left. Probably back to Nyssa and the League. And Thea is determined to open up and run her own club. She's asking when Roy is planning on coming back. I think she's going to poach him from Verdant."
"He'll be glad to hear that. I think he's still up. I'll tell him as soon as I get off the phone. I suspect he'll be on the first ferry out tomorrow morning."
"No doubt. Oh, gotta go. My flight is boarding. I'll call you when I land. Love you..."
She dropped her pen and rolled onto her back again, smiling dreamily up at the ceiling. "I love you too, Oliver."
Oliver had seen the glow of firelight on the roof by the time they were halfway up the mountain. That, coupled with the darting glances Costas kept throwing his way, and the way he was practically bursting to tell him something, told him that Felicity had quite the welcome waiting for him.
"Ef̱charistíes, Costas." He opened the door, and hopped out as soon as his friend came to a stop in front of the house, getting his duffle out of the back.
"Parakaló̱, Oliver." Costas could barely keep from snickering as he made a u-turn and headed down the mountain again.
Oliver waited until he had disappeared from view and then turned, looking up at the rooftop from the shadows.
Looking down at him, her face in darkness and her hair a swirl of living fire around her head and shoulders, was the love of his life.
He had no idea how tense and miserable he'd been until that moment, and he couldn't believe he'd spent so much of his post-Lian Yu life feeling like that, never realizing that there was more for him than the life he had been leading, even when it had been right under his nose in the beautiful form of Felicity.
Every muscle in his body unclenched as he looked up at her, a happy grin spreading on his face. Bounding to the front door, he let himself in and dropped his duffle in the front hall, wasting no time in getting himself onto the roof.
He emerged into a fairy tale. The entire space was festooned with fairy lights and ringed with candles. Every conceivable jar, candle holder and plate had been pressed into service, and when she had run out of containers, Felicity had simply placed the candles on the tile. The hot tub was bubbling away, tea lights dotting the base and the corners. A table was set for two, and another table held an array of dishes and wines.
Then there was the bed. A simple king-sized mattress on a pedestal, it was piled with pillows, and Oliver suddenly wanted nothing more than to press his girl into those pillows and bury himself inside her.
Speaking of his girl... He started laughing when she saw her, grinning cheekily at him. As promised, she was wearing the billowy white gown that she had joked about before he left.
Her eyes never leaving his, Felicity reached for the ribbon over her breasts and pulled. The gown slithered down her body, pooling like gossamer at her feet and leaving her standing there completely bare. She stepped out of the gown and started toward him.
Oliver had never undressed that quickly. Naked, he strode toward her, meeting her halfway. They stood very close, staring at each other, tension vibrating off them. A brief pause and they clashed together, wildly grabbing and clutching, kissing as if it were the first and last time.
He backed her toward the bed and guided her down onto her back, crawling over her and wasting no time settling himself between her parted thighs.
She cupped his face. "Welcome home," she whispered against his lips, crying out when he finally slid into her.
Oliver woke to the bright light of an almost full moon bisected by a wispy ribbon of cloud. Shifting carefully, he gently peeled Felicity from his side, and she rolled away from him with a contented hum, splaying out on her stomach and sinking into sleep again.
He rose to his feet by the bed and looked down at her, damp tendrils sticking to her cheeks, her skin glowing like mother of pearl in the silvery light. White bedding under a bright moon had turned the bed into a spotlight on the otherwise darkened rooftop.
They had blown out the last of the candles hours ago. After making love, they had eaten, made love again, made out in the hot tub, then stumbled dripping wet onto the bed and made love twice more before finally letting sleep take them.
They had been some of the happiest hours of his life, coming on the heels of some of the bleakest days he had been through since Lian Yu. He had missed her terribly, from the moment he had boarded the ferry to the moment he had caught sight of her again, standing on the rooftop, waiting for him to come home. The ache that had bloomed in his chest as he watched the island that held his heart recede into the distance hadn't left him until he set foot on the docks again.
Becoming the Arrow again had been more unpleasant than he'd expected, and it had only been made worse by her absence. Starling City held nothing but bad memories and seemed dingy and dirty compared to the clear air and ever present sunlight of the island. He spun away from the bed and walked to the edge of the roof, staring down moonlit slopes to the sleeping town below, beyond which the ocean refracted the light, like scales on a sleeping sea monster.
"Oliver?"
She appeared by his side, and he turned to her like a magnet, the last remaining shreds of the Arrow falling away as he looked into eyes turned silver in the moonlight. His time away faded into insignificance, and it was as if he had never left.
"Felicity." It was a sigh of relief.
He was finally home again.