Work Text:
Goodbyes Are Never Easy
Felicity braced herself as she input the code to the foundry. She quietly entered, her steel resolve melting. She took a deep breath, and gingerly made her way down the stairs. Halfway down she felt herself breaking. She grabbed the handrail, bent over and ripped her heels off her feet. Somehow this grounded her enough to make her way down and to her desk.
She haphazardly threw her shoes on the floor, while simultaneously throwing herself into her chair. She closed her eyes and a single tear escaped.
Diggle and Oliver had been training when they heard the familiar taps of the alarm code being entered and the sound of the door closing. But when they didn't hear the clicking of her shoes, they dropped the sticks and rushed over to the main area to check on Felicity. When they saw the single tear, Oliver immediately went into panic mode, while Diggle assessed her for any visible signs of injury.
"Felicity, are you alright? What happened? Are you hurt?" Oliver asked as he got down on one knee, grabbed her hand and squeezed.
"It's been a bad day, I'm fine. I just need some time to breathe."
Confident that she wasn't injured, Diggle and Oliver backed away to give her some room. They stood there for a few minutes watching her, as if she was going to spontaneously combust in front of them. A shrill of noise emanating from her purse broke the silence.
Felicity fumbled to grab the phone, her hands visibly shaking as she slid her thumb across the screen to accept the call.
"Cisco, please tell me you have good news." She begged.
Her eyes welled up, and she shook her head in response to the obvious bad news she was receiving. "What do you mean? You have to fix it. I can't lose him right now."
Oliver immediately ran to her, cradling her upper body in his arms. Something must be wrong with Barry, something bad. Why didn't she tell them?
Felicity shook, and let out a sigh as she said thank you to Cisco and asked him to have Barry bring him home. Confused, Oliver looked down as she ended the call, debating whether or not to push her.
Felicity threw the phone down as sobs escaped her throat. Oliver glanced at Diggle who responded with an "I have no idea bro" shrug. They stood like this for a few minutes, allowing her to catch her breath and the sobs to quiet down.
"Felicity, you have to tell us what happened. Is something wrong with Barry? With Ray? With Ronnie? Who is hurt Felicity?" Oliver's voice cracked as her asked her, these people had become their friends too and if one of them was injured, it meant a blow to the entire team.
Felicity let out a sigh, forcing herself to concentrate on Oliver and Diggle's nervous faces. "I just don't understand it. I did everything right. I fixed him when he was sick. I gave him checkups. I protected him. I just don't get it."
At this point, Diggle proceeded to close in on her, sharing in Oliver's confusion. He wondered if she had a pet they didn't know about. She'd never mentioned one, but who really mentions fish or hamsters? He stepped next to Oliver, effectively requiring Felicity to look at him. "Felicity, did your fish get sick? Do you have a hamster that got stuck in his wheel? You need to explain what's going on, we're both very worried and --"
"A fish?! A hamster? NO! This is so much worse than that!" Felicity replied using her loud voice.
Both men stepped back. Oliver sighed in frustration. "Fe-li-ci-ty. This is out of control now. Who. Is. Hurt."
"BRUCE IS DEAD OLIVER. BRUCE."
Oliver and Diggle's eyes widened. Everything suddenly made sense. The two men began to chuckle, which soon turned into full out stomach-aching laughs.
Felicity caught Oliver's eyes, causing him to regain composure. Oliver got back down on one knee, grabbed her hand and smirked as she gave him the worst evil eye he'd ever seen. "Felicity!! This is about your tablet?!"
"He's not just my tablet Oliver. He was the first piece of equipment I bought on my own when I started at QC. He's been with me for years. I loved Bruce." Her eyes welled up again as if she was on the verge of breaking down.
Diggle shifted away as the mood in the foundry changed. The smirk on his face grew into a full smile as he bowed and shook his head at the situation. "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone. I'm going to pick up some Big Belly Burger. Don't worry, I'll get everyone's usual" He yelled to them as he took two steps at a time up the stairs.
With Diggle gone, Oliver placed his hand on Felicity's face and saw the hurt in her eyes. "I understand you're upset, but don't you think it's a bit much? Why can't we just go buy you a new one?"
"A new one? A NEW ONE? LIKE BRUCE 2.0? OH SURE! I can call him Damian and all of my hard work will just magically appear on the hard drive." She rolled her eyes at him, while letting out a growl.
Oliver couldn't help but giggle again. She was adorable on a regular day, but this? This was Felicity pouting over one of her babies. And as much as he tried he couldn't stop the smile on his face. Felicity lightly smacked his arm which made the smile grow even more. He could see her body relaxing.
"What if I can get you a tablet from ARGUS? Would that make up for Bruce being gone?"
"I suppose it would help, but I'm still very upset Oliver."
He proceeded to kiss her gently, feeling the tension in her body melt away. He could almost see her brain realize how absurd the entire situation seemed. Pulling back he looked into her half lidded eyes and whispered "well, what about a new ARGUS tablet, a quart of mint chocolate chip ice cream, a Scandal marathon, and a massage from your overly supportive boyfriend?"
Felicity pecked him on the lips. "Oh Mr. Queen, you had me at mint chocolate chip."
End.