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The crisp air blowed over his face as he stepped outside the vicinity of the prison. It was a place he never wanted to come back to ever again.
It was not exactly purgatory like Lian Yu was but it was close. After all, the prison was on an island and islands in any shape or form were never good to him.
Felicity’s heart thumped wildly in her chest as she saw her husband, beautiful and battered, right in front of her. With shaking legs, she eventually made her way towards him. The silver ring on her finger glistened in the sunlight as she cupped his bruised face with trembling hands.
He found it hard to tell if it was real, if she was real until he leaned into her touch, savouring the warmth that seeped through her fingers into his callous skin. After all this time alone in a cold cell, the warmth seemed somewhat foreign to him and he didn’t know how long he stood like that with his eyes closed, afraid that it would end soon. But this time, it was here to stay and nobody could take that away from him. He wouldn’t allow it. He needed this. He needed her.
His eyes fluttered open. Upon seeing her alive and safe before his eyes, he pressed his lips on hers. He kissed her with all the strength he could possibly muster in his wounded state.
He breathed her in and it was as though he had just taken his first breath in months. Blood and tears trickled down his face but she didn’t care and
kissed him back. The entire pain and suffering seemed to ebb away and all of a sudden, he felt alive again.
However, they both sensed the slight hesitation when they kissed. It was gentle yet a little different.
The difference was that they were holding back but for entirely different reasons.
They both were hurt, tired and emotionally exhausted. Trying to be strong after losing one another took a toll on them and their relationship for sure. Not having forgotten what he had done, he wanted to give her space. He wanted her to pour everything she had in her when she kissed him but he wanted to earn that. He wanted to be able to deserve her again. He knew he had messed up and was incredibly sorry. On the other hand, she was mad at him for making a unilateral decision that changed not only hers, but her family’s lives altogether. So this time around, there was no glass wall separating them, just the inevitable wall created by broken trust, unkept promises and heartache that was making them hold back just a little. It was he who was responsible for this wall and he was willing to do anything and everything to break it down and stop it from ever building again. His wife deserved a love that knew no bounds. She deserved a man that never held back for whatever reason and always gave him his all to her. A man that would never leave her alone. He wanted to badly be that man for her. Now, he only hoped she would give him the chance.
They broke the kiss after what felt like an eon but at the same time it felt like no time had elapsed because they were so lost in eachother. After sparing eachother a longing look, they walked towards the car, hand in hand. It look a fairly long time to get Oliver to the car and make him get seated. He was badly injured and was practically leaning over Felicity. Boy, was he heavy! Was it really all muscle? Probably.
Once seated, he felt like he was losing consciousness. He had lost a lot of blood and his wounds needed some serious medical attention as soon as possible. Felicity laced her fingers through his and he gave her a weak smile in return. His vision started fading to black and he didn’t remember anything after that.
_______________
They were staying in a safe house for the time being, thanks to Lyla. Oliver rose from his resting position feeling stiff from the fight while his eyes adjusted to the bright lights in the room. He glanced around the room but Felicity was nowhere to be found. Just as he was about to panic, she walked in, holding a cup of what looked like tea in her hand.
“Oh, hey. I didn’t think you’d be awake this soon,” she says slightly surprised to see him up again.
“Is that for me?” he asks gesturing towards the cup.
“Yes. I made you some chamomile tea. It’ll help you relax and calm your nerves.”
“Thank you,” he says as she hands the cup to him.
“How do you feel?” she asks.
“Better than before,” he answers.
“Lyla sent her ARGUS doctor over. He’s the one who patched you up,” she tells him.
“Oh.”
“You should eat something so that you can take some painkillers,”
“I’m not hungry.” He already felt sick to his stomach drinking the tea. The last thing he wanted was to down some solid food.
“Do you need something else?” she asks.
“What I need is to talk to you.” Her eyes widen slightly at his unexpected response. She was not ready to talk yet.
“We are not going to talk right now. You need to get better first.”
“I missed you so much,” he says after a pause, looking down with tears welling up in his eyes.
“I missed you too,” she says softly.
“I’m so so sorry, Felicity. I know I failed you and William.” Tears pool in her eyes and she averts her gaze.
“Please look at me. I know you’re mad at me and I know you hate me but-“
“I don’t hate you, Oliver. I could never hate you. You know that,”
A pause.
“I want to know if there’s an us anymore,” he says breaking the silence.
“What do you mean?” Her eyebrows furrow.
“I mean I left you and you had to become a single parent to William. I left you both to fend for yourselves. I don’t think you doing the same to me should come as a surprise to me but I want to know where we stand,”
“You want me to leave?” she says swallowing the lump in her throat.
“After all that I put you through, if that’s what you want then I will understand. I would never ever want you to leave but I would also never force you to stay with me,”
“I’m not going anywhere. I know we have a lot to discuss and there’s a lot of stuff I’m unsure of but this is not one of them. Nothing worthwhile ever comes easy, right?”
“I really am sorry, Felicity. I promise I will make it up to you,” he says meeting her eyes.
“I know. Let’s talk more about this later when you’re in a position to talk,” she replies and kisses him on the cheek.
“Okay.”
“Now, take your painkillers. You’ll sleep better if you’re in less pain. Maybe we could do something special tomorrow if you feel good enough?”
“What’s tomorrow?”
“Oh, nothing,” It’s not like she expected him to remember that tomorrow was their wedding anniversary but she was hoping he would. It didn’t matter though as long as he was here with her.
“Why don’t you go take a shower? Do you need any help?” she adds, trying her best to dodge his question.
“I’ll be fine, thank you but could you please get me some fresh clothes?”
“Of course.”
_________________
After he was done showering, she picked up his dirty clothes where he had left them on the bathroom floor. He was still as messy as ever but this time she wasn’t gonna complain. As she stood up, the torn picture of her and William dropped from the pocket of his trousers onto the dirty floor and she stopped dead in her tracks. It was the same picture that she kept in a frame on her nightstand and she had no idea he kept it with him this entire time. She figured John must’ve given him some of his stuff when he visited him while she was in witness protection but this had not crossed her mind. She was too busy being somebody other than her self and looking after a teenage boy to have thought of this. A tear drop cascaded down the torn picture as she stared at it with a heavy heart. Her heart broke for her family but right now, it hurt mostly for him.
Her train of thoughts were interrupted and she practically jumped when she heard the door to the room slightly slam causing her to drop everything to the ground. It was Oliver. He heard the sound and immediately called for her:
“Felicity?” he says making his way towards the half open bathroom door. She came out before he reached the door with tears in her eyes.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” he asks worriedly.
She looks at him for a moment.
“I love you,” she says before she pulls him in for a tight hug. Instantly, he wraps his arms around her while she buries her face in the crook of his neck.
The string tying the broken pieces of her heart together had been on the verge of breaking free but now that he was back, she felt as if that very string had tightened its hold around her heart, preventing it from opening in fissures. She marvelled over the fact that he was that string. It hadn’t even been a day since he was released but parts of her broken self were already starting to mend and she wondered how the hell she survived 6 months without this man who was clearly her heart, in every sense of the word. In that moment, they were just two intertwined halves embracing each other and making each other whole once again. They were one but more importantly, they were home.