Prompt: "I'm done. I care about you too much to watch this, knowing how it'll end."
"I’m done. I care about you too much to watch this, knowing how it’ll end."
Oliver watched with a dropped jaw as Felicity pushed away from her desk and started for the stairs. He blinked, and the moment her foot touched the first step, he crossed the room and put a hand on her arm.
"Yes!" She threw her arms up unexpectedly. "This- whatever the hell this is! You’re walking on eggshells around me, Oliver!"
"I am not!" He challenged.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “For some reason that apparently only makes sense in your head, you think that keeping me at a distance is the safest thing for me. Hello! Where are we right now? The Foundry where you and I work together to save the city! I don’t know where you’ve been the past couple of years, but that’s as close to danger as I can get without me putting on your costume and aiming arrows at people!”
The sudden image of her in his costume popped into his head, and his eyes widened. But no. That’s not what the argument is about right now. He saved the image for later, and drew his attention back to her.
"So since you want me away from this danger so badly, I think the only thing left for me to do is to quit! So there. Are you happy now, Oliver? I quit. Good luck trying to hack into SCPD by yourself- especially after Lance had me upgrade their systems."
He froze, his mind reeling. She was right. He had been walking on eggshells around her. After their failed attempt at a first date, he’d basically given her an updated version of his ‘Because of the life I lead…’ speech. He winced internally at the memory her reaction- the way she’d blinked downwards and refused to meet his gaze; the way her bottom lip quivered; and the single tear that had fallen down her cheek. He never wanted her to feel that way again, so he figured that the only way for them to patch things up was to go on missions to cross off more names from his father’s list.
"I need you," He blurted out suddenly, causing her to stop mid-step.
"What?" She snapped, turning around. She was halfway up the stairs but decided to descend them again. "You need me?"
"Yes," He said quickly. "You know that."
"No," She shook her head. "You don’t get to do that."
"This! Telling me that to keep me safe is put me at a distance, yet at the same time telling me that you need me in the Foundry! You can’t have it both ways, Oliver! I care about you- about us- too much to watch you act like this, knowing that we can never be together. So I’m done. I’m leaving.”
"Felicity, you have to understand- You cannot get hurt," He said in a strained voice. "I can’t- If someone were to find out how much you mean to me, and they use that against you- I can’t have you getting hurt, okay?"
"You don’t get it, do you?" She scoffed. "You think that pushing everyone away, leaving you to yourself, is the best for everyone. But you’re wrong. You think that if you surround yourself with nobody that we won’t get hurt. But we will, Oliver. That’s just how it goes. What are you gonna do if I drive out of here and a bus collides into my car? What then?" He winced at the idea. "You can protect me from so many things, Oliver, but you can’t protect me from it all."
"I’m willing to try," He muttered.
"And I get that," She nodded. "But what I never expected from you was you protecting me from yourself. Especially when-"
"Especially when that horrible ‘thing’ that you’re protecting me from is the one thing I really, really want. And God, I hate you for keeping me from it- from you." His mouth opened into a small ‘o,’ his eyes searched hers. "I am so sick and tired of you telling me what’s good for me. It’s my life, Oliver- my choice. You don’t think I don’t realize the danger it puts the both of us in? But we’ve gone through some pretty dangerous stuff together already- the Undertaking, the Clock King, the Triad, the Count, Slade. How come we can get through them, but we can’t deal with this? Us? If there even is an ‘us’ because apparently to you there isn’t. You think pushing me away is the best idea- it’s not. You think pushing me away will keep me from danger- it’s not. But us- you and me- we’re stronger together, Oliver. And if the past two years hasn’t taught you that then-" She shrugged. "Maybe we’re not supposed to be together, ever."
Silence fell on them as her words sunk into him.
"I’ll pack up my stuff tomorrow morning when you’re at work. But Oliver," She let a breath before continuing. "When I walk out this door, you’ve made your choice. You’ve pushed me away. Congrats, you won- I’m gone. So that means… Don’t contact me, okay?"
"Goodbye, Oliver," She whispered as tears began streaming down her face. Once she was halfway up the stairs, he bolted after her, grabbing her arm and spinning her to face him.
She gasped as his hand flew to her cheek. She was on the step above him, making them eye-level with each other. His other hand wrapped itself around her arm.
"I love you," He breathed, his eyes pleading for her to understand. "Don’t go."
"I have to," She said, her voice breaking. "I can’t do this anymore if-"
"Then don’t," He said quickly. "Don’t. I’ll stop, I promise. I-I just want you safe. I thought that meant pushing you away, but that did more harm than good."
"You think?" She scoffed.
"I’m sorry," He repeated. "I can’t let you walk out of here. Out of my life. I can’t."
"What do you want, Oliver?" She asked, her hand reaching up to wrap around his wrist.
"I want- I want you to be safe and happy and protected and-"
"Oliver. What do you want?"
"I want-" He blinked, his eyes searching hers. She was pleading. Begging him to say the words he’s wanted to say from the start. "I want you. In my arms, and my arms only. I want to protect you and make you happy. I want to be the reason for your smile, and the person to dry your tears. I want you safe and protected, but I want to be the one to keep you safe and protected because nobody can protect you as well as I can. I-"
"I love you too," She breathed.
"Y-You what?" He stammered, unsure if he’d heard her correctly.
It was like her words were the key to his locked heart. To hear her say those words. Those words. What the hell had he been thinking? He was hers and she was his, and no matter how hard he’d try to push her away, it would always be that way. He had to protect her. That was his job. Because he loved her. And now she loved him too.
"You love me too?" He asked. She let out a soft laugh and nodded her head.
And then his lips were on hers and he felt her melt under his touch and everything was perfect. It didn’t matter if the Foundry was burning down around them. She was in his arms, she had said those words that he’d been dying to hear her say. And that’s all that mattered. She was his and he was hers.
"I love you. God, I love you," He said between kisses, making her smile against him. "I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry."
When they finally broke apart she pulled him into a hug, her arms wrapping around his neck as she buried her face into his chest. His arms wrapped around her torso, his face buried into her hair.
She pulled away and wiped the tears from her eyes. “You do something like that again, Oliver Queen, and I swear I’ll put an arrow in you.”
"Yes ma’am," He laughed, pulling her in for another kiss.