"You do not need saving. Only reminding of who you are."

Felicity still couldn't believe it.

There she was though, sitting face to face with Oliver. The man she loved with all her heart and soul and had lost...or whom she had thought she'd lost. "You'd dead," she whispered, still very much in shock over the whole thing. "It's been six months-"

"I don't know all the details, all I know is that I'm alive," Oliver told her gently as he reached out for her hand.

She recoiled instantly. The hurt on his face wasn't lost on her and she immediately felt guilt over it all. It wasn't that she was upset with him, it was that she was upset with herself...she'd spent the last six months doing everything she could to kill Darhk. The blood on her hands. The deaths that had been taken at her own hands. All of the hate, anger, and general ugliness that had come out of her in that time. "I'm sorry," she breathed, tears streaming down her face, and her heart breaking inside (all over again). "I'm glad that you're alive…" Her voice broke as she continued. "I'm overjoyed that you're alive! But...I'm not the same person I was six months ago-"

"Felicity-"

"No," she said quickly, sternly, and punctuated. "I'm not. You once told me that I was a light for you… I'm not that light anymore. There's only darkness inside of me now, Oliver," Felicity told him. She knew that he'd try to convince her otherwise, but she knew the truth.

Silence.

It spread between them and it was sobering. They both looked away and Felicity just breathed, trying to calm herself down. Her hands were up at her mouth and all she could think was that this had to have been part of her father's game. He had to take away what she loved most in the world in order to turn her into this...this…monster...and then he only gave her Oliver back in order to prove that she really had that darkness inside of her. A darkness that couldn't be retaken by the light.

"I want to convince you otherwise," he said calmly with a huff. "But I know better than that." He was quiet for a beat. "Will you stay in Star City?"

Stay?

Felicity hadn't even thought about that...whether she'd stay or go. All she'd been thinking was that it was over, that she was free from Darhk. The truth was, it wasn't and she wasn't. Not really anyways. "I hadn't thought about it," she admitted lowly.

"Stay here with us, Felicity?" Oliver requested gently. "We're your family. We-"

"I have killed people, Oliver," she said slowly and clearly, each word punctuated carefully. Her eyes on his, waiting for him to look at her differently.

He didn't.

"Felicity, I have killed people. We all have-"

"Digg did it because he was a soldier-"

"We all have demons, Felicity," Oliver told her. "Some of us more than others." He paused for a moment, reaching out again for her hand. This time, he just held it palm up. After she stared at it for a beat, she reached out and settled her hand on top. They loosely held each other's hand and Felicity felt a bit more of a weight leave her. It was like knowing that Oliver really was alive and there even though she'd already known that. "And something that I learned from somebody...even if you think you're a monster...you can be redeemed. That you can live in the light again. Your past doesn't determine your future." He paused. "You taught me that."

It brought on a whole new onslaught of tears, a sob bubbling up from inside of her. She was a mess. Felicity didn't think she'd been so emotional since she'd first-since she had thought she lost Oliver six months before. Here she was, thinking that he wouldn't look at her the same...and here he was...hopeful and accepting of the person she was. Oddly enough, he seemed calm and clear and- "How can you still look at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you've always looked at me."

"Because you, Felicity Smoak, will always be the same person in my eyes...heart...and soul, no matter how you change," Oliver explained. "I love you, Felicity. No matter what you've done or how much hell you've gone through. I love you and I'm here in any way you want me."

"I love you, too," she whispered. "But things can't just go back to the way they were."

"Well, from what Thea says, our place is gone. Sold. Everything's boxed up," Oliver told her. "But I don't think that it's good for either one of us to be alone."

"I'm not saying we just completely forget about everything that happened between us, I just-"

"Have to take it slow?"

A small smile formed on her face and she didn't flinch when Oliver's fingers touched her face, brushing away tears. "Yeah," she breathed.

"Me too," he said and leaned in, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Felicity squeezed her eyes shut. This, it felt like the forgiveness she felt like she needed. Maybe Oliver really wasn't the person who could forgive her for everything she'd done, but right now...deep down, it felt like forgiveness. "What was the hardest thing for you?"

"Trusting people."

Her eyes opened and she smiled at that. "I know I can trust you...and the team."

"Having hope."

Hope.

That was a little harder.

Felicity shrugged. "I don't know if I still know how to do that."

"I believe in you."

"Maybe that's enough."

He pulled her to him, Oliver's arms wrapping around her, and she allowed the embrace. Felicity melted into him and closed her eyes, taking in everything that was Oliver. The smell of him. The sound of his heart beating as her ear pressed against his chest. The feel of him wrapped around her. "Don't let Darhk win, Felicity. You're so much stronger...and so much better than he ever was."

That didn't feel true.

"I missed being home."

"Me too."

She looked up at him. "I'm home when I'm with you."

"Then I will always be here," he vowed before another kiss was pressed to her forehead. "No matter what the universe throws at us."

"You and me against the world."

"We can do anything, Felicity. Together."

And he was right.

The End.