Chapter Text
If you had asked Felicity if she thought that one incident, once accident, one mistake, would have led to this moment in her life, led to this smile threatening to engulf her face, led to her standing where she was, she would have shook her head and laughed in indulgence. She wouldn’t have believed you.
But now, standing here in this moment, she believed.
***
It took a while, but eventually her bruises faded and became a distant memory in her mind. She didn’t forget – it was hard to forget something like that, especially considering that she didn’t have much hands-on experience with violence – but she locked the memory away in a box and shoved it to the back of her mind.
She still occasionally caught Roy looking at her with remorse. Whenever their eyes caught, he would freeze then look away, furtively sneaking glances in her direction. Felicity would always smile reassuringly.
Roy’s actions weren’t confusing. They weren’t what kept her up at night, grumbling into her pillow about unclear signals. They weren’t what caused her to hold in a contented sigh every time a green-gloved hand settled on her shoulder. They weren’t what made her heart flutter.
Felicity could understand Roy’s actions. But she couldn’t understand Oliver’s.
***
If you had told 11-year-old Felicity that a hand on her shoulder would be more intimate than a kiss, she would have scoffed and rolled her eyes in disbelief and continued working on the computer she had built from spare parts. For was there anything more intimate than the meeting of lips?
If you had told her then, she wouldn’t have believed you. She believed now.
***
She would catch Oliver looking at her with an indescribable look in his eyes. She could never pinpoint an emotion because his face expressed such a mix of them at a rapid speed. But she cherished those looks he gave her, because they made her heart thud and filled her stomach with butterflies, even when she didn’t understand them.
Felicity pushed this to the back of her mind too. She was sure this weirdness was just due to some lingering regret on his part, even though she’d assured him enough times that he wasn’t responsible for what happened.
For a while, she was afraid that she had broken something in the team dynamic, but to her utter relief, Team Arrow went back to their normal patterns, falling back into a comfortable routine.
When Felicity witnessed Oliver and Sara’s breakup, she didn’t feel any relief or happiness. Because Oliver’s pain meant her pain.
***
If you had nudged goth-Felicity with a smile and pointed at a gorgeous billionaire with blue eyes and a charming smile, she would have said they would never suit and laughed it off. She would have dismissed your imagine ifs and ludicrous scenarios with a wave of her hand. She wouldn’t have ever believed your fantasy of the billionaire falling for the IT girl.
She believed now.
***
It was another quiet night in the foundry, but instead of Roy sleeping on the couch behind her, it was Oliver working out.
Both Roy and Diggle had headed home earlier after they were done with patrol. Felicity lingered behind to wrap up some updates. And maybe to ogle Oliver a little.
She snuck up a glance at him on the salmon ladder and suppressed a sigh. He was just so beautiful. And he wasn’t beautiful despite the scars, he was beautiful with them. Because of them.
Oliver’s scars showed his history, his pain, his experiences. They showed his strength, his perseverance, his unwavering will to live. His scars were the roadmap she would love to spend hours tracing.
Snapping her eyes away from his exquisite torso, she watched from the corner of her eyes as Oliver dropped from the salmon ladder and headed to towards his towel and water. He tipped his head back to take a sip, exposing his smooth throat, and Felicity almost moaned.
It wasn’t fair. Why did he affect her this much?
And God, she wished it were only physical. She wished she was only attracted to him. But it wasn’t just lust. It was an all-encompassing love; Felicity was sure of that with a bone-deep certainty.
Standing up, she headed towards Oliver and perched on the table housing his arrows, making sure to stay away from their sharp tips. She faced him and registered his quizzical look.
“Can I ask you a question?” she queried.
He grinned and took her breath away, damn him. “I have a feeling that you’d still ask without my consent.”
Felicity gave him a small smile. “Wellll, this question is more of a personal nature. So I would totally understand if you didn’t want to answer.”
He stilled and that was all the encouragement her mouth needed to ramble.
“And it’s like none of my business. But I’m curious. And I want to know. And you know how I hate mysteries and I’ve been thinking about this and it’s not like I can work my magic and find the answer online because you’re probably the only person who knows the truth.”
She paused to take a breath but then didn’t continue rambling when she felt Oliver’s warm hand descend on her shoulder. His eyes were soft as they gazed down at her. “You can ask me anything you want, Felicity.”
And there he went, melting her heart with his sweet words. Did she even have a hope of resisting him?
***
If you had told Felicity that she would recite these vows without her mouth taking over and rambling, she would have patted your arm, said “that’s a nice thought but I sincerely doubt it”, and went back to working on her code.
She wouldn’t have believed that she would unwaveringly utter these words without awkward innuendos and countdowns to regain control. She wouldn’t have believed she would just be able to expose her heart and thoughts and desires on purpose.
Standing in this hall now, facing everyone she loved and cared for, she believed.
***
“That night that you found out about those bruises… Why did you get so angry?”
Oliver closed his eyes swiftly, his brows coming together as if he were reliving an unpleasant memory.
Felicity waited him out, her teeth worrying her bottom lip. Her question had most probably opened a floodgate and she didn’t want to close it just yet with a possible ramble.
After what seemed like forever but was probably only a few moments, Oliver opened his eyes –
And the emotions she saw in their depths made her heart stop, then rebound with a furious tempo. Raw, unadulterated emotions, emotions that resembled the expression he had directed at her after punching the glass case that night.
“Why did I get so angry, Felicity?” he said, releasing a harsh laugh. “Because it could have just as easily been me.”
Felicity stilled. That was not the answer she was expecting. Her eyes widened and her heart ached as her lips trembled with distress. “Oliver… What are you saying?”
His expression softened from self-derisiveness to fondness, making her blink in surprise. “Felicity, I… When you told me about Roy, all I could think was that it could have easily been me who had hurt you. And I could have done even more damage that just bruises. Damage that wouldn’t have faded. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if that happened. I wouldn’t even want to.” He paused, his eyes searching hers. “Don’t you see, Felicity?” he asked softly. “Don’t you see?”
Felicity didn’t say anything. She couldn’t. For what could one say when one’s fantasies seemed to be happening before one’s eyes? So she just mutely shook her head.
Oliver swallowed hard, emotion clogging his throat. “You’re very important to me, Felicity. I… I can’t lose you. ”
***
If you had told Felicity that dreams came true and fantasies became reality, she wouldn’t have believed you. Yes, people can achieve their goals if they’re dedicated and work hard. But some things just remain unattainable.
If you had told her that the one thing she yearned for in the dead of night, in the middle of the afternoon, in every passing moment of her day, would reach out, grasp her hand and say, “be mine”, she wouldn’t have believed you.
She believed now.
***
For a long while, there was only silence between them. Only it wasn’t a quiet silence, because Oliver and Felicity’s gazes into each other’s eyes was a conversation all by itself. It was a silence that spoke volumes, that poured out declarations, that relayed all the feelings that could not be worded quite yet. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t utter a single word. And yet she still replied to his confession.
Her eyes said it all. I can’t lose you too. You’re important to me too. I… I love you too.
And for the first time in months, Felicity could see everything clearly. Those longing looks she thought she had imagined, those lingering touches she associated with remorseful emotions, those smiles he directed only at her that made her heart flip and race… It wasn’t because Oliver was feeling guilty. It wasn’t because he viewed her as a close friend he could trust and rely on. It wasn’t because she was projecting her own emotions and saw what her heart wanted to see.
It was because Oliver Queen loved her. That realization came with a sharp, shuddering gasp ripped from Felicity’s throat, breaking the silence between them; she never once broke eye contact.
Oliver smiled softly at her, understanding in his eyes. He knew she knew. He wanted her to know. But a warm sadness mingled with the understanding as he slowly looked away from her, expelling a sigh that she felt like a caress across her face. He wanted her to know he loved her… But he didn’t expect anything back.
***
If you had told Felicity that all the pain, all the seemingly hopeless waiting, all the quiet tears and silent dreams, would one day lead to a happy ending, she wouldn’t have believed you. There was too much pain involved. It was too complicated. It just wasn’t meant to be.
She wouldn’t have believed you if you had told her that it would all work out and she just had to have faith and keep holding on. But on this day that was labeled as one of the happiest days of her life… She believed.
***
Closing her eyes in pain, Felicity took a deep breath. There was one more thing she needed to know.
“I know it's been months and you two are always on good terms when she stops by but...” Felicity opened her eyes to look at the man standing before her. “Why did you and Sara break up?” she asked in a rush.
Oliver stilled, his eyes slowly moving up to meet hers. She tried to read his eyes but he hid his thoughts. A long silence stretched between them that Felicity itched to break, but some instinct deep within her told her to stay quiet and wait him out.
Finally, Oliver opened his mouth and replied in an unexpectedly soft voice. “Sara and I... We weren't good for each other. What our relationship was based on...” He seemed to struggle with his words. “It wasn't right,” he finally said, expelling a breath of air. “It was familiar and easy and brought some measure of comfort. But it wasn't right.”
Felicity lowered her eyes. She was surprised by his honesty and how forthright he was. She hasn't expected him to reveal so much.
And that's why her eyes snapped up in shock when Oliver continued. “I couldn't see us when I closed my eyes. I couldn't see us together in the long run. I couldn't see our future.” He paused for a moment, and then said in a voice so soft it cast a spell around the foundry, “She wasn't my happy story, Felicity.”
Felicity sucked in a breath of surprise. Old words she had directed at Oliver filtered through her mind. “Do you have any happy stories?”
***
If you had told Felicity that she would be standing in front of the man she'd never thought she'd have, with him looking at her with love shining from his eyes, she wouldn't have dared believe you. If you had told her that he would utter his vows in a clear, steady voice fierce with emotions and with absolutely no doubt in them, she would have cried because it was too much to hope for.
If you had told her that this man would look at her and expose his heart in front of everyone, saying, “You are my happy story,” she wouldn't have believed you.
She believed now. She will believe tomorrow. She will believe for the rest of her life, because Oliver would always lean over and whisper those words into her ear, through anniversaries, casual dinners, quiet nights and steamy evenings… You are my happy story.
***
Felicity’s heart thundered in her chest. Her mind raced with the implications of his words. Because all those unspoken emotions between them, all those lingering touches, all those long looks and bittersweet words they had shared in the past few years… All of them were on display, proudly shining from Oliver’s eyes.
And so she asked the one question that was burning between the two of them. “Who is your happy story, Oliver?”
When Oliver wordlessly took her hand in his, she only smiled and intertwined her fingers with his. She realized that Roy wasn’t the only one who was startled awake. Somehow, Oliver had been jolted back to reality and his eyes were wide open, finally seeing what was right in front of him all along: his happy story.
They were each other’s happy stories… And they always will be.