Reluctant Allies

Web of Lies

Felicity stares down at the blood on her hands, trying to make sense of it. Sebastian Blood's body lies on the floor in front of her, but even still she can't believe he's actually dead. After a year of him manipulating their lives from behind the scenes, it's hard to reconcile the arrogant asshole with a lump of flesh and bone in front of her.

Hands shaking, she lets the knife drop to the floor.

"Oh, honey, how I wish you hadn't done that," a voice says from behind her. Felicity doesn't have to turn to know who it is; only one person has ever called her honey. After he saved her from the Stewmaker, Oliver started calling her that, and despite how many times she's asked him to stop in three years, he just ignores her. Some things never change.

Suddenly it hits her: she killed a man. A very bad man, but also the Attorney General of the United States. It won't matter to anyone that he was an evil man. It won't matter that he destroyed Lance's life, that he framed her for the murder of a senator, or that he's been destroying the world from inside the government for years. All that matters is he's dead and she killed him.

This is out of Felicity's wheelhouse. She's never killed a man before, much less a powerful one. With that realization, she turns with wide eyes to Oliver. His expression is stoic, but she knows by the look in his eyes that it's much worse than she realizes. "What do I need to do, Oliver?" she whispers to him, a heavy fatigue suddenly weighing on her bones.

His answer comes with only a short sigh. It's one of the things she's always appreciated about Oliver; he doesn't lie—not about the important things and never to her. "You killed a leader of the Cabal, Felicity," he replies slowly. The way he says her name has weight; he hardly ever calls her by name anymore. She flinches at the words, but there's no judgment in his tone. "While I appreciate your choice, your life just became far more complicated. Unfortunately, my dear, it limits your options."

"So I'm running again," she realizes with a weary sigh. She had hoped it was over, that she could go home after this, but now she's realizing just now naïve that thought was.

Nodding, Oliver replies, "I'm afraid so, honey." Every part of her deflates; this road has been hard for the last week, and it shows no time of ending soon. "If you turn yourself in, you'd be a sitting duck for the Cabal." He shoves his hands in his pockets. "As much as I hate it for you, I think running is our only option."

The word our makes Felicity release a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. A part of her wondered—a part of her always wonders. Three years, and still she doesn't know him as well as she'd like. Or as well as he seems to know her. "You're going with me," she breathes out, more in relief than question.

Flashing her that trademark Oliver Queen charm grin, he replies with a tilt of his head, "Now what kind of man would I be if I left my one and only friend out in the cold?" Felicity resists the urge to break down in tears of relief, but this isn't the time for that. Now is the time to escape.

Instead of flinching from her bloodied hands, Oliver only twists her fingers between his. "You made an important decision today, Felicity," he warns her in a low voice. "When you did, you crossed a threshold I never wanted you to cross." He sighs, shaking his head before looking at her again. "As of today, you're leaving your world behind, in favor of mine. Bad things are going to happen to you now, honey. If there's one constant in my world, it's that bad things happen to good people all the time."

His lips press against her forehead. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up," Oliver says after a moment, with that familiar upbeat tone she's come to learn is false. He gently tugs her along beside him, hand never leaving hers. "If we're going to leave this city, it's going to be more difficult with you covered in blood."