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The night was warm as Oliver climbed up to the top of the roof, his green leather suit heavy on his body. His sister Thea was beside him, wearing the Speedy suit, previously worn by her notorious boyfriend and Oliver’s former sidekick. With them was Oliver’s best friend, Dig, who had insisted on coming along with them as opposed to the two siblings going alone. Laurel, by Oliver’s request, had stayed in the Arrowcave with Felicity. He had always felt an obligation to protect her, especially after what had happened to her sister Sara, who had been the original Black Canary. He felt like this mission was too dangerous for him to be comfortable having Laurel with him.
“You guys almost here?” Oliver looked up to see Thea standing on the roof, having barely broken a sweat. He and Dig were still working their way up, much less agile than the younger Thea.
“Almost. There.” Oliver huffed, slightly annoyed as he saw his sister’s ease at climbing the wall.
“We need to stop choosing the aerial attack method to fight criminals,” Diggle muttered as he and Oliver reached the top of the ladder.
“It’s effective though,” Thea pointed out. Oliver nodded in agreement as he attempted to catch his breath.
“Hey guys, it might be more effective if you got there while the criminals are still criminal-ing,” Felicity’s voice came through all their earpieces.
“Damien Darhk is on Fourth and Main,” Laurel added. “Just a few more houses.”
All three of the vigilantes nodded and ran up the houses, leaping over cracks. As they reached the intersection, they saw what Felicity had described. Damien Darhk was in the street, causing havoc. Thea was the first to leap down, shooting arrows toward Darhk. He deflected all of them, and Thea landed hard on the ground. Oliver and Diggle landed behind her. They both shot at him, but it was pointless.
“Any ideas Felicity?!” Oliver desperately cried into his earpiece. He didn’t hear her response. Damien Darhk pushed him aside. Oliver landed hard on the ground and lay there, winded. He could hear the gasps of Thea and Dig as they fought and yearned to help them, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t do anything. The hope drained from his body and he was again glad that Laurel wouldn’t suffer the fate of the rest of the team. And that’s when he heard the Canary Cry.
Shit. Laurel, he thought. Oliver struggled to stand up. He couldn’t let her get hurt. But at this point, she was stronger than he was. He couldn’t help her. She was going to have to fend for herself this time around.
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Oliver woke up in the Arrowcave to the sound of Felicity typing and a harsh argument between Thea and Quentin. He jumped up, thinking that he had to fight, but he felt Laurel’s gloved hand on his chest, pushing him back down.
“Relax,” she murmured into his ear. Oliver grudgingly lay back on the table. Laurel was still wearing her suit, but she had taken off her mask and her beautiful golden hair fell past her shoulders. But not even seeing her unmistakable beauty could push away his anger.
“What the hell were you thinking going out there?!” He scolded her. Laurel raised her eyebrows.
“Really? You’re going to be angry with me for saving your ass?” she protested. Oliver sighed.
“I’m just trying to protect you,” he replied quickly. He hadn’t meant to undermine her. Laurel just shook her head.
“You’ve got to understand Oliver. I’m not helpless. Just like you, I can take care of myself,” she told him. Oliver felt a little bad now, as he realized that she was right. The girl that he knew before the Gambit, before Sara’s death, was gone. Laurel was fierce now. And strong. That just made him love her even more. He didn’t know what to say. How to console her. So, he simply sat up, putting his hand on hers.
“I’m sorry, Laurel. I… I… I guess I’m just always going to try to protect you. I can’t lose you,” he murmured. Laurel nodded slowly.
“I know, Ollie. I know,” she smiled a little.
“C’mere,” Oliver grinned. He wrapped his arms around her, and she sank into him, sighing softly. Their embrace, however, was soon interrupted by Felicity.
“Umm, guys I hate to interrupt your sentimental moment, but I could use some assistance in helping Thea and Quentin work out their issues,” she said quietly. Laurel pulled away from Oliver, to face Felicity. He watched as Laurel approached her father in an attempt to break up the argument. Damn, he loved her. Why couldn’t he just get things right and not trip over himself around her? She had been his friend for the longest time. Why did he still get so nervous?
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Knock. Knock. Knock. Laurel heard soft pounding on her apartment door. Surprised, she sat up and headed toward it to investigate. It was late at night, which made her suspicious that it was someone here to attack her. She slowly looked through the hole and was relieved to see Oliver standing there. She opened the door and smiled at him.
“What brings you by, Ollie?” She questioned. He held up two containers of ice cream. Laurel smiled and opened the door wider, inviting him in.
“I thought maybe you could use some ice cream. A little ‘I’m sorry’ I guess,” he finally responded. Laurel nodded.
“Apology accepted. Thea is out at Roy’s, so it’s just us tonight,” she said as the two made their way to the couch. She grabbed two spoons and sat down next to him.
“So, how are you feeling? You took quite the fall earlier,” Laurel began, trying her best to make conversation. Oliver just shrugged.
Fine, I guess. You don’t have to worry about me,” he replied reassuringly.
Laurel rolled her eyes. “You know Ollie, you are allowed to have feelings. Normal people have those.”
Ollie leaned back in mock hurt. “Did you just call me normal? I’m highly offended Laurel.”
She laughed. “My point is that you don’t have to be strong for the rest of us. We can take care of ourselves. It’s okay to be hurt, and you can talk about it with me if you want.”
Oliver smiled a little. “Thank you Laurel, but I’m okay,” he reassured her. “Thank you for your support though.”
They lapsed back into a comfortable silence, each digging into their separate tubs of ice cream. He had brought Rocky Road for her and Mint Chip for himself, which was each their favorite ice cream flavor. Finally Laurel spoke up after eyeing his tub for a while.
"Can I try some?" she questioned, breaking the silence. He turned to her and smiled.
"Of course. I want some of yours too though," he pointed out. She laughed a little and nodded, swapping ice cream containers with him. He dug into the Rocky Road happily as she examined the Mint Chip.
When she finally started eating it, an idea popped into Oliver's head. He took a spoonful of the ice cream that was sitting on his lap and exercised his slingshotting abilities by flicking the ice cream in her direction, it landing square on her forehead. She shrieked in surprise as a glop of ice cream fell off her face and into her lap. She looks up at him briefly before lightly punching him in the arm.
"Hey!" he protested. She just shook her head jokingly.
"You deserved that."
He rolled his eyes. "Touché."
Oliver returned to eating his (or rather Laurel's) ice cream, assuming that his stunt was over. Little did he know, Laurel was still plotting for revenge.
A moment later, a glob of cold ice cream landed on his face, surprising him just as much as he had surprised Laurel a moment earlier. He wiped as much as he could off of his face, but it still left a sticky residue. He glanced over at her, seeing the look of triumph on her face as she thinks that she got him back.
But he's not going down without a fight. He reaches into the carton, forgetting the spoon, and smears a fistful of ice cream over her face. She laughs, trying to bat his hands away before going to get a fistful of her own. Soon enough, there's ice cream all over both of them, on their faces, in their hair, and all over Laurel's couch.
"I hate you," she mutters jokingly as she leans back on her very-ruined couch. He laughs and wraps an arm around her shoulder.
"I don't know, maybe being covered in ice cream could be a new look," he teases. She just shakes her head.
"I'm pretty sure all you have to do is walk outside and the media will be all over it."
He shrugs. "There are advantages to being famous: your fashion is never wrong."
"All true."
It's not long before they're both asleep on the couch together, Laurel tucked under Oliver's arm. There's still ice cream everywhere, but neither of them care. The only thing that really matters is that they're together, happy.