Chapter Text
He doesn’t mean to see the bride before the wedding.
One moment, he’s racing across the lawn–in his tux–because Thea said there was some kind of emergency with the ring bearer? And apparently Uncle Oliver is the only one who can console John Junior. While it’s not ideal to be dragging the ends of his suit through the damp grass, Oliver is absolutely not going to let his best man down in his time of need…
But in the next moment, everything changes.
He blinks, and a vision of white in his periphery literally stops him in his tracks. Oliver freezes so abruptly he almost loses his footing–and he never loses his footing. He’s fought Mirakuru soldiers and magic and aliens…but all it takes is one woman in white to make him stumble in the best way. His heart’s been stumbling since the day he met her, since the day his well-thought plans slowly began unraveling. Why should today be any different? Of course all of his previous intentions fall at the mercy of her feet. He’ll happily keep stumbling for the rest of his life, as long as he gets to stumble with her beside him every step of the way.
Even as he struggles to catch a full breath, Oliver can’t help but move closer. The world could be crumbling all around them, and he wouldn’t notice or care.
Felicity stands with her back towards him, a colorful bouquet clasped between her hands, and yet he barely notices, unable to tear his gaze from the flowers tucked in her loose waves or the layer of pink and tan skin peeking out over the top of her dress–not quite as tan as when they were in Bali but a little darker than usual. Since announcing their engagement, she’s been slowly building up a tolerance for whatever “sun-filled excursion” he’s promised to take her on for the honeymoon.
She stands shrouded in greenery, and the branches themselves seem to be converging towards her, creating a natural archway. The earth bends for her. For so long he lived in the woods, but he never felt at home in them. Yet she seems to make everything feel like home.
Oliver is equally struck by how different her dress is compared to the one she wore during that…ridiculous, fake wedding that still felt painfully real to him. While this dress may not fan out like a ballgown, this one flows down her body in an alluring manner, garnished in simple but elegant lace and more buttons. Maybe he’s biased considering the day, but somehow this dress feels more…Felicity.
Oh, he wants to marry her right now. Ten minutes suddenly feels far too long.
Before he has a chance to give it too much thought, he’s pulling his phone out of his pocket and snapping a quick photo of his wife-to-be.
Felicity must hear the rustle of fabric, or her technology-is-near sixth sense must start tingling, because suddenly she spins around, thankfully just as he’s stuffing his phone back into his pocket.
“Hey,” she says, looking surprised but not displeased to see him.
“Hey,” he says, aiming for casual, but his heart gets caught in his throat when she turns around completely. “Oh, Felicity, you look…” He can’t seem to come up with the right words to describe her or how he feels seeing her like this. Beautiful seems too small.
She tips her head, blushing a little. “So do you.”
He swallows, his voice finally coming back to him. “What are you doing out here?”
“Oh, I just…um…I needed to get away for a bit. My mom’s been hovering and I know she means well, but I didn’t get my regular coffee this morning so I’ve been off my game all day. And then when she and Curtis started arguing about which perfume would go best with the bouquet, I started getting a headache, and I just–”
“Felicity.” He takes a step closer, already laying a hand on her shoulder.
She sighs, and he can feel the muscles in her shoulder relaxing. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
She licks her lips, studying him for a bit, before she suddenly asks, “Is everything okay?”
“Yes. Everything’s fine.”
“Fine.” She sounds skeptical. “Not good. Not great. Just fine?”
He tries to ignore the panic the flares inside his chest. Everything is great, of course, but he’s suddenly feeling nervous for reasons he cannot explain. “I was just thinking…”
“About?” When he doesn’t reply right away, she reaches up to run her palm against his cheek. Out of habit he leans into her touch, wondering if he could stay like this forever. “Hey, talk to me,” she says.
There are too many thinks to pin down, so he settles for the one thing he can. “Why didn’t we do this sooner?” he breathes.
And he knows the answer to that. Because they weren’t ready before. Because of the vocations they’ve chosen. Because of a million other reasons and excuses and just…life always seeming to get in the way of them.
“The important thing is we are now,” she answers, sounding so wise and sure.
He nods, needing a few more seconds for her words to fully sink in.
“Oliver, if you’re…you’re not ready, we can postpone–”
“I don’t want to postpone.”
Felicity smiles, clearly relieved.
“Do…do you want to postpone?” he asks softly.
She shakes her head abruptly. “I want to be married to you.”
His heart practically leaps out of his chest hearing her say that, as though he’s asking her to marry him for the first and fourth time all over again. “Good.” And out of habit, he leans in to kiss her, but Felicity starts pulling away from him.
“Oliver, we can’t. It’s bad luck to…before…”
“Okay,” he says softly and settles for kissing the top of her head instead, careful not to mess up her hair. This way he’s not breaking the rules, technically. Besides, what harm can one little kiss do at this point? Will everything they’ve worked for come crashing down because the groom accidentally stumbled into the bride before the wedding? They’ve beaten better odds, surely.
Oliver notices that familiar glint in her eye, just before she winks at him, like she knows what he’s thinking. She always knows. “Don’t worry, Mr. Queen. I can keep a secret.”
And then, much too soon, she’s walking away from him.
He’s antsy for the next eight and a half minutes, until the moment she’s finally walking back toward him.
They spend an unnecessary small fortune having their photos professionally taken during the ceremony and reception. But the photo he secretly took of her in the woods remains his favorite, and it stays set as his phone background during their first six months of marriage.