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Seeing Felicity get struck across the face summoned a rage inside of me stronger than I had experienced in a long while.
A second later I was running across the parking lot of my own club. Pushing my body to its limits, I accelerated further, to reach her as quickly as humanly possible.
Once there, I ripped him off of her. I barely spared his life, fighting against every vicious and dark instinct in me that settled there a long time ago. Instead I let her light draw me away from my dark, even in my blackest moments.
Now here we are, safely back in the foundry.
Her cut is treated. There isn't much I can do about the bruise that I know will form.
She is coming down from her adrenaline high, shivering now.
I'm unsure if I should approach her, I know that sometimes I make her feel nervous when I get too close. Not when she is challenging me as the Arrow, never then. But in these quiet moments when it's just her and me.
However, my decision is made immediately when I hear the first sound of a sob leaving her precious lips.
Within seconds I hold her tightly in my arms, drawing her protectively to my chest.
Once her shaking subsides, I offer to drive her home and she hesitantly agrees. All I want to do is keep her safe from harm. Keep her happy.
We head up the stairs and I decide to take the route via the club rather than the side entrance this time, hopefully sparing her from memories that are still too fresh right now.
We enter the main area, everyone having left a while ago with the sun just threatening to rise above the horizon.
It's eerily quiet and I can feel Felicity shiver where I have her securely tucked to my chest. I hug her a little tighter and I can feel her relax slightly in response.
What limbo are we moving in?
The closest of crime fighting partners but not quite anything more.
I should push her away before I can truly get her hurt.
We make our way across the dance floor, when suddenly there is a bright spot light, turned right onto us.
"Well, well, well, who do we have here, sneaking out of the club at this hour? Or should I say basement?"
Works spoken in jest and fun, thousands of times before.
But tonight they sound nearly malicious.
Since when could Tommy's voice take on a tone so ugly?
With a shuddering realisation, I've got to acknowledge I might not be the only one who has changed in five years.
"Back to your old games, Ollie?"
He steps closer to us, wearing a sardonic grin, letting me know exactly how little he had forgiven me.
Tommy.
How I wish I knew how to recover our old friendship.
He draws closer, when he suddenly gasps and tenses, I can see it in the lines of his body, so familiar to me, but yet so foreign after five years at the same time.
"Oliver, you didn't." He sounds horrified and I turn to him in confusion.
I follow his line of sight, landing directly upon the bruise that is now clearly forming on Felicity's cheek, right alongside the cut that I closed with butterfly strips.
With a sudden jolt, I understand Tommy's thought process.
We were best friends.
He knew every thought I used to think.
I know he is far from impressed about my less than legal actions since my return.
"What happened on that island?" I remember clear as day when Tommy said that to me.
But would he really think I would strike a person under my protection?
Did I fall that low in his eyes?
I would've staggered back if it wasn't my full conviction to keep holding Felicity.
"Miss, are you alright?" Tommy is directly addressing Felicity now.
I feel dizzy and light headed.
Is that what Tommy thinks of me now?
That he has to rescue innocent people, women, from me?
Oh if only he knew about Hong Kong.
What happened to our friendship?
"Tommy, come on, you're not seriously suggesting I had anything to do with this?"
"Frankly, I don't know what you would do anymore."
"Oh my, you seriously think this was Oliver’s fault?” Felicity is looking at Tommy with wide eyes.
Tommy stares back at her with a frown on his face. As if he thinks that she might just not dare to contradict me.
If only Tommy knew Felicity - she is the one that dares to stand up to me when I'm at my most menacing, challenging me to be better.
"You better not have had anything to do with this, or I swear to God I will find a way to bring you down."
His words hurt more than any physical punch ever could.
I try to not let it show on my face, but I realise that Felicity noticed the tension in my body.
And yet again she absolutely amazes me.
With a strength that belies the difficult evening she had, she rises to her full height and pulls out of my embrace.
"You, Tommy Merlyn, are an absolute ass. If you spent five minutes actually talking to Oliver, you would realise that Oliver would never attack anyone without a good sensible reason."
She spins around, still talking to Tommy, but facing me now.
"I have no trouble telling Oliver when he is being a brooding, obstinate fool. So I'm definitely not scared of what I say to him."
I look at her, what did I ever do to deserve a friend as amazing as Felicity?
She starts fidgeting under my stare and I realise I made her nervous again. I really do wish she wouldn't be so nervous around me anymore, although I do love the babbles that that usually triggers.
Before I can think about that any further, she continues speaking.
"Except when he makes me nervous, then I am scared of what I might say to him because for some reason I can't stop commenting on his amazing body, especially now after I've seen his abs when he trains...and neither of you needed to know that, so I'll stop speaking now, yep."
Her cheeks are red in embarrassment, and while I wish she didn't feel that way, it makes her look even more adorable and I can't help but grin at her.
Tommy is suspiciously quiet, although I've come to learn that some people don't know how to react to Felicity's occasional tendency to talk too much.
Reluctantly and hesitantly, I turn my eyes away from Felicity to find Tommy, who finally seems to have recovered his voice.
"That smile, that's a real Ollie smile, I don't think I've seen that since you've been back."
Tommy shakes his head in disbelief.
"You were always either badly and insincerely pretending to be the old Ollie or you were this scary vigilante. But it really is still you, isn't it? Just changed and different, but still you."
I fidget uncomfortably on the spot, I've never liked to talk about feelings and this is too close for comfort.
Suddenly Tommy barks out a laugh.
"You even fidget the same when the conversation turns too close to your feelings."
I can't help the puff of amusement that escapes me. Tommy still knows me so well.
Felicity hesitantly joins the conversation again.
"Does that mean the two of you will finally talk to each other?"
In a conversational whisper that still carries easily, Felicity turns to Tommy. "You know, he has been even more broody since the fight you had."
Now Tommy looks startled again. "He told you about the fight?"
Now it's Felicity's turn to look confused. "Yea, why? We are friends and we do tell each other about our day."
Tommy's eyes find mine. "I never thought he'd actually let someone in."
I shift uncomfortably again. "Felicity is easy to talk to, she never pressures me to answer questions I'm not ready to answer."
Realising the magnitude of such an admission from me, Felicity reaches over and squeezes my forearm.
"He likes to open up at his own pace, but when something is bothering him, he does tell me eventually." She is looking at Tommy, but turns towards me now. "And Oliver, I really appreciate everything you've told me about the island."
I give her a soft smile. Her knowing both my identities and her easy going nature, makes it easier for me to share some stories. Admittingly it also helps that Felicity didn’t know me before the island.
"He talks to you about the island? He hasn't said anything to me, Thea, his mother or Laurel."
"I offered to explain to you." I mutter almost sullenly.
"Yes, but only after I found out some secrets, which you never planned on telling me, your supposed best friend." Tommy eyes me with a hurt look.
Could it be that he was mostly bothered that I kept my vigilante self a secret from him rather than him having an issue with me being the vigilante?
Before I can question this further, Tommy continues.
"Yet you tell her, but not me."
All the secrets I have had to keep since coming home, caused a pressure that I could barely stand. Only the fact that I had Dig and Felicity around helped me to shoulder this burden. At least I had two people who I could be myself around, without any acting.
Maybe this would be the chance to finally explain to Tommy.
"It's not easy for me to talk about the island, because anything I might say, would make it immediately clear that I'm not the old Ollie anymore and to keep everyone safe, they have to believe that. I can't have anyone suspect that Ollie Queen might be capable of being the vigilante."
"But I'm not just anyone, Oliver!" By the end of the sentence, Tommy's voice has become a roar. "I'm, I'm your.." His voice has gone quiet now.
He is struggling for the right word, best friend just doesn't cover it. We've always been so much more, especially right before the Gambit sank.
"I know, Tommy, I know. I was so afraid to let you see how different I am now, that you would hate the new me and that's exactly what has happened."
I can't bear to look at him any longer, too afraid to see his expression.
"Ollie.." His voice breaks at the end.
Is this where he says goodbye forever?
My eyes startle open, when I suddenly feel his hand come to rest on my neck.
He looks into my eyes.
"I could never hate you, you just hurt me by not trusting me."
"Tommy, that was the one thing I always wanted to avoid, I never want to hurt you." This time it is my voice that breaks and a distinct part from me is amazed that I'm comfortable sharing my emotions. Another part of me realises that I'd do anything if it gives me the chance to get Tommy back.
"Then promise me, no more secrets."
With a renewed force on my neck, Tommy gets me to look him in the eyes again.
Taking a deep breath, I reply. "No more secrets, I promise."
Apparently I'm not the only one slightly uncomfortably showing so much emotion, because a second later Tommy lightens up. He recovers his trademark, easy going smile and slings an arm around my shoulder.
"So who is this beautiful lady, that you have kept a secret from me."
A slight growl escapes me. I can't decide if I like or dislike that Tommy considers Felicity beautiful.
I officially introduce them to each other and they fall into easy small talk, neither minding that I only rarely contribute to the conversation.
This normalcy of talking to someone as easy going as Tommy seems to be exactly what Felicity needs to start to get over the memories of tonight.
There is a lull in the conversation, when Tommy suddenly asks. "So you've seen Oliver's abs, do they look as impressive as his tight fitting jumpers suggest?"
I startle out of the comfortable stance I was in. What was Tommy thinking?
Felicity also looks startled for a moment, but then quickly recovers. “Well if you come down at roughly 6.30 pm, you can see them for yourself, that’s when Oliver starts his round of training, shirtless, shirtless all the time..” Felicity trails off and I feel slightly alarmed at the delighted grin Tommy throws both Felicity and me.
“Let me guess, he still preens like a peacock when he realises someone is watching him.” Tommy comments with an amused smirk.
Felicity gives a delighted laugh. “Yes, definitely, but I’m telling you, for good reason. And his tattoos, they really work for him.”
“Seriously, he has tattoos now?” Tommy looks way too delighted for my liking and I suddenly remember all the times he tried to convince me to get a tattoo together.
I feel my ears getting hotter by the minute. Where they really discussing me as if I’m not even in the room? I clear my throat in hopes of interrupting them.
Tommy immediately turns to me. “Aw, Ollie, don’t tell me you're turning shy on us now. You were always happy about any excuse to walk around shirtless.” Yes, but I’m not the guy from 5 years ago, besides there are also the scars now. But I don’t voice any of that and just silently glower at them.
This just seems to amuse both of them further. They grin at each other and Felicity decides to to follow Tommy’s lead. “Yea, Oliver, you know I’m the shy and rambling one here, Tommy is clearly the resident comedy relief, so you gotta take the role of preening peacock and entertain the rest of us.”
Looks like Felicity is finally over that shyness around me. I’m not sure if I should be delighted or terrified..if Tommy and Felicity decide to join forces they might just yet be the death of me.