Chapter Text
Felicity descended the stairs to the foundry slowly, trying to ignore all of the disarray left behind by the SCPD: all of their work from the last couple of years scattered and strewn around the room, giving substance to the unbelievable fact that their race was run. It was all over. Everything was changed now - the end of the line had come for Team Arrow.
Felicity paused at the bottom of the stairs and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders. She blew her breath out and opened her eyes, scanning the room for Oliver, spotting him sitting on a worktable with his back to her. He sat very still, staring at a fixed point, and Felicity could swear she could hear the thoughts in his head chasing themselves around like weasels.
Malcolm had told him about the Lazarus Pit at the hospital, and the fact that this pool of water could bring Thea back - but only if Oliver accepted the mantle of Ra's Al Ghul. She'd become accustomed to Oliver coming to her for advice, but he hadn't hesitated this time. He'd nodded at Merlyn and told him to have a jet ready to go in four hours. Only then had Oliver looked to her.
She'd never forget the look in his eyes, how tortured he was, the pain in his face as he sought an answer in her eyes. She had not hesitated at all when she gave him an answering nod, reassuring and confirming him. Oliver had closed his eyes for half a beat before turning back to Merlyn and confirming that he would have his affairs in order and be at the airfield in four hours.
Now she stood at the bottom of the stairs to the foundry amidst the wreckage of everything he had built and prepared herself to be what he needed, choosing her words to -
"Felicity."
It wasn't a question, but an acknowledgement of her presence - just barely above a whisper. The pain crackling beneath the surface cut her, and she closed her eyes again, taking another deep breath. Felicity started towards him, stepping carefully around carelessly emptied drawers and papers knocked off tables, studiously not looking at the fern lying on the ground in a mass of dirt and pottery shards.
"I'm here."
Oliver didn't look up, and Felicity knew he didn't need to. After years of living by his senses, he was fully aware of where everything and everyone was in his vicinity. It had always warmed her that he had always trusted her. It warmed her even more that right now, when he was the most vulnerable that she had ever seen him, he was okay with her walking up behind him. He knew that he had nothing to fear from her, and being reminded of his level of trust in her brought up a wellspring of fierce feelings for this man. Love. Pride. Protectiveness. Love.
She reached him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, feeling his solid warmth beneath the impossibly soft cotton of his t-shirt. He didn't move, didn't flinch, didn't acknowledge her and she walked around the edge of the table, coming to stand beside him, smoothing her hand over his shoulder and bicep - never removing it, sliding it down to his forearm when she came before him.
"I'm here, Oliver." He didn't give any acknowledgement, he just stared straight ahead.
Felicity waited. She knew this man, her man, better than anyone. The two of them had taken the time to see every part of the other, to find out what made each other tick. She knew how to be what he needed. Oliver needed her comfort and strength right now, and he needed quiet reassurance. She would give it to him. Felicity would give him whatever he needed. She silently skimmed her hand further down his arm to where his hand rested in a fist on his thigh. Felicity lightly wrapped her fingers around his fist and waited.
Oliver sat without moving. Felicity said nothing, occasionally stroking her thumb across his fist to let him know she hadn't gone.
"I've lost everything, Felicity."
Felicity looked up at him, but the only change in him was a wetness to his eyes. She sensed he had more to say, so she stayed quiet.
"Everything I have ever loved has been taken from me. I have nothing left anymore. It's all gone. Everything but you."
Felicity's breath caught and she tried to blink back tears. Oh, my poor, poor Oliver.
"I can't lose you, Felicity. I can't. Do you understand? I wouldn't survive it. I have to know that you will be okay, or there is no way I can do this. And I have to do this, I have to become Ra's al Ghul. He hasn't left me any choice. He will kill you next if I don't, I know he will. He has systematically taken away the things closest to me one by one, but he's left the person I love most for last. I can't let him get to you. Going with him should appease him, but I can't go on if I don't know that you are safe." Oliver opened his hand, pulling Felicity's fingers into his and squeezing. "I could not survive it if anything happened to you."
Tears spilled over onto Felicity's cheeks and she swiped at them with her left hand, resolutely keeping her mouth shut and her right hand trapped inside Oliver's, determined to let him finish.
Oliver finally broke his gaze with whatever he had been staring at, looking down at the ground in front of him and opening up his hand to thread his fingers with Felicity's. "Felicity, I've asked you to do some really strange things. I've put you in some really bizarre situations. But I'm about to ask you to do one more thing for me, to do one more strange thing for me so that I can know you're protected. So that I can have just a little peace of mind."
Felicity nodded. Oliver looked up at her, boring into her eyes for just a second, searching, then looked back down at his feet, stroking her fingers between his.
"I'm sorry to do this Felicity. I'm so sorry, for everything..."
"What is it, Oliver?"
He chanced a glance back up at her. She watched him, her expression questioning but open, her thumb stroking his softly, seeking to give comfort.
Oliver turned his shoulders towards her slightly and grabbed her other hand. "Felicity, I wouldn't ask this of you if I didn't feel like it were the only way. I don't want to make you miserable, but I want to keep you safe. I don't know any other w-"
"Oliver, spit it out."
"Felicity, I need you to marry me."
Felicity stiffened and Oliver's hands squeezed hers reassuringly. "Oh."
He watched her for a second then sighed, letting her left hand go and dropping his eyes back to the ground. "I have to be come Ra's al Ghul. There's no other choice left to me. I won't be able to stay here and keep you safe. But if you are the wife of the Heir of the Demon, even in name only, there is no one who would dare touch you, not even Ra's. I can ensure your safety 100% if you are my bride, but not any other way. I can't think of any other way."
Felicity didn't speak, her mind reeled. Oliver's wife. Oliver's *wife*. But in name only? What does that even mean? That's not what I want. What does any of this mean?
"Oliver..."
"I won't tie you down, Felicity." Oliver shook his head and looked away, struggling with himself. "I won't hold you to your vows if I'm not being a true husband to you. Nobody even needs to know. You just need to be my wife to be under the protection of the League. I just need to know you're safe. I have to know that you're safe. I can't live with the knowledge that something may happen to you. The thought of losing you is just-"
"Yes."
"I didn't want - what?"
"Yes, Oliver. Let's get married. Now. John can do it."