Chapter Text
“What are you- GET AWAY FROM HER!”
It’s a blur to Felicity; all she could hear was the sound of her own heartbeat in her ears and Oliver’s grunts and screams of protest. She was hoisted forward and chains were lowered from the ceiling.
She fought, but it was difficult. Felicity tried to kick out as she was cuffed to the chains, a scream tore from her own throat when the hand holding her stomach was pulled into the other cuff. She tried to focus, keeping precariously on the ground but all she could hear was Oliver screaming. She had never seen anything like it. Ra’s was shouting at him and it took a quarter of the room to hold Oliver. Felicity tried to find composure as Ra’s finally approached her. She side eyed the remaining two guards on her either side and clenched her teeth.
“Why are you doing this?” she couldn’t help but ask and he tilted his head in a way that reminded her of Oliver’s contemplative expression but far more sinister.
“I’m just giving him what he wanted, he wanted the traditional marriage. You accepted his offering ‘Litl Sen, there is nothing I can do.” Ra’s actually shrugged slightly, a shift of his shoulders and Felicity glared openly tugging on her chains.
“Does this look like something he wants?” she hissed still hearing Oliver trying to break free across the room.
Ra’s stepped closer and she tried to shift away, curl in, but it was useless in the chains, she was starting to feel light headed. “You will complete the ceremony.” Ra’s told her emotionlessly and motioned to someone behind her, she tugged again in panic, trying to find a friendly eye where there was none. Most people were busy with Oliver or nursing superficial wounds.
“I will,” she told him and the room went silent as her voice carried. She distinctively heard Oliver make a noise that sounded more like a wounded animal. “After, please Ra’s…the baby. I’ll even do it the very next day just…” she trailed off looking for something in his cold eyes but she could only see her own fear reflected in them.
Ra’s stepped forward towards her and she could feel herself shaking now, “you may be able to control my son, but I control both of you. This will serve as a reminder of that.” He whispered quietly to her, Felicity closed her eyes at his final words. “If you’re strong enough to carry his mark there should be nothing to worry about.”
“Shall we begin?” he said louder as he circled around her, talking to the room now.
“She’s six months pregnant!!” Felicity felt a tear leave her eye as Oliver shouted at the top of his lungs. “I swear to god I’ll kill you.” Felicity opened her eyes at the malice of his threat and found Oliver’s eyes in the sea of assassins. His eyes were focused behind her, at Ra’s.
“Please father,” Oliver begged him, in public no less. Felicity had never seen such emotion in his face in public before. Practically undone, blood on his face mixed with sweat with his exertion as he continued to struggle.
“It’s already done.” She heard Ra’s say from behind her and then winced at the sound of the iron and flame hissing as it heated up.
“Father,” she was surprised to hear Talia’s voice but Ra’s silenced her without even speaking. Felicity twisted in her chains to see. She didn’t have time to ponder her friend when she suddenly saw the two members reach for either side of her robes. She gasped suddenly realising why she was wearing the light satin that closed at the back with three ties, they undid the first two.
“Don’t touch her!”
She felt her robe slipping down her arms slightly, the tops of her chest showing but nothing scandalously indecent. Oliver was turning red and she tried to reassure him with her eyes, wincing as he kicked someone in the head to release himself, another took his place though. Oliver had lost his weapons by now, but blood covered the floor of those who tried to hold him.
“With this symbol you accept Al Sah- Him, with your body and with your life.”
>------------>
“Did it hurt?” Felicity asked quietly and Oliver didn’t have to open his eyes to know what she was referring to as she traced his brand gently.
He was lying on his stomach with his arms underneath his head, one hand was idly sifting through her hair as he watched her face lost in thought.
“I guess,” was all he managed and she huffed placing her palm over the deep marks frowning.
“It was my initiation,” he explained his lips twitching when she frowned obviously thinking about her own. “Not into the league but as the heir, it was an honour.” He said without feeling, like it was just something that he was expected to say.
“Painful honour, couldn’t they just bake you a cake or something?” Felicity muttered mostly to herself and he let out a huff of laughter moving so he could lean in to kiss her softly. He smiled into the kiss when she did.
“Not very assassin-y,” he muttered barely leaving her lips.
“Just seems rough considering,” she said thoughtfully tilting her head to accommodate him as he moved away from her lips to kiss down her neck.
“Do you not like my scars?” He asked suddenly, the rare trepidation filling his eyes as he pulled away. Felicity was almost speechless at how utterly stupid that question seemed to her.
“What? No!” she cried indignantly gripping his shoulder before mumbling, “and that would be awfully hypocritical.” He was going to speak to address the slight against herself but she pulled him closer instead, “you’re the strongest person I know Oliver.”
“These,” she began running her hands over the mottled flesh of his chest now that they lied facing one another. “Are just proof of that, their beautiful… Not that I want you to be in pain,” she furrowed a brow before looking directly into his eyes.
“That’s what I meant; I don’t want you to ever be in pain if you don’t have to.” She said quietly and Oliver leaned forward to kiss her forehead before resting it against his own.
“أنا أحبك كثيرا”
Her lips pulled into a smile as she understood his words and returned them in his native tongue. He smiled lovingly and somewhat proudly in return. Good; it mustn’t have been as awful as her Arabic usually was.
“I think your scars are beautiful to.” He told her as his hand dropped to her shoulder and neck where he traced the scar there and she flinched in obvious disagreement.
“Maybe the ones I didn’t deserve,” was out of her mouth before she could think properly.
“This would have killed you Felicity,” He said suddenly seriously, “you told me as much.” She looked confused now; they’d never discussed that scar. He sighed, “When I kissed you for the first time.” he mumbled and her eyebrows still looked perplexed as she ran through that moment in her brain before the moment of realization hit her.
“It bothers you more than the others,” he said quietly, observationally as he traced the scar with his thumb. The rest of his hand curved protectively behind her neck holding her in place as he predicted what he privately called her ‘rabbit eyes’ to appear as they often did when something about her past was brought up. She looked for a way out.
“How could you say you deserved this,” he continued trying to hold her eye’s which were avoiding his.
“Forget it Oliver,” She tried calmly but for once he pushed shaking his head softly with understanding.
“Is it guilt?” he asked quietly knowing he was right when her eyes finally locked onto his for a moment before skirting away again.
She took a deep breath and pulled away to collect herself. Oliver watched her as she mentally and physically prepared to give another piece of herself to him. The sheets drew further away from him as she cocooned herself in them and began to pick at her nails.
“There was a man we met on the island,” She began steadily and Oliver sat up to lean against the headboard as he listened. He deciphered that the ‘we’ she was referring to was the friend she was stranded with. He’d learned that much as she’d had to give his father a brief understanding as to how she ended up on Lian Yu. A boating accident.
“He helped us along with another woman, Shado...” he watched her eyes glaze as she talked. The way they did sometimes still when she heard specific loud sounds or thunder. “Long story short we were captured by mercenaries. The leader tied up Shado and me and held a gun to our heads telling Sara to choose between us.” She stopped her nervous picking to look up at Oliver with the deader eyes than when he found her dying years ago.
“I should have died.”
“She chose you,” Oliver said clearing his throat.
Felicity shook her head, “not really, i-it just happened so f-fast.” Oliver pushed forward off the head board and onto his knees in-front of her to grab her wringing hands.
“Hey hey hey it’s okay, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” He rubbed her hands with more care trying to soothe her anxiety.
“You wouldn’t be here.”
“What?” she asked confused at his words allowing him to reach up and remove her lip from her teeth where it was worrying off her skin, he rubbed it gently with his thumb.
“I’ll be thankful everyday it wasn’t you.” He told her firmly and he watched as the tension sagged out of her at his words before she looked away again.
“H-He he got so mad, he loved Shado... But then he was hurt- the medicine we gave him, it made him crazy...” She slotted her fingers in between his large ones again and again as she spoke a hundred miles a minute determined to finish what she started, no matter how disjointed her words were now.
“He blamed Sara,” She touched her scar again and Oliver felt his confusion grow when she didn’t speak again.
“Then why-“
“He loved Shado, He said he was going to take away what Sara loved the most…He tried to cut my head off, the medicine, it changed him.”
“She loved you.” Oliver said quietly in understanding before he stiffened as another thought occurred to him.‘The last person who kissed me almost killed me.’ Oliver had the feeling that he did more than try to kill Felicity in his rage.
“Yeah I loved her too.” Maybe not in the way Sara had wanted her to but she’d loved her. She always would.
Oliver decided that night after she’d fitfully fallen asleep that if he ever found the man who’d hurt Felicity he’d kill him himself. Maybe he’d even cut off his head. Decapitation wasn’t usually Al Sah-Him’s thing but it would be somewhat poetic...
>---------------->
All she remembered was that it burned.
She already felt dizzy and she immediately began to sway, all noise had muted to her ears but the sound of her flesh burning.
It kept burning.
She was on fire.
It hurt; it just kept hurting until it didn't, until everything turned black.
“FELICITY!”
Now it felt as if she was under water, the voice was far away, but just from her grasp.
“Felicity? Felicity baby open your eyes for me,” there was pressure on her face.
“Saheem you need to move away so I can help.” She heard Talia foggily through the rushing in her head.
“Ol-ver?” she tried to sit up but winced as blinding pain rippled through her shoulder.
“Ahhhh!”
“Shh shh everything’s going to be okay habibti” She felt Oliver’s hands on her shoulders easing her back down.
“The baby!” She shouted trying to sit up again, frantically moving her hands to her stomach.
Oliver didn’t answer and she watched him look to Talia speaking softly to not alarm Felicity, “can we move her yet?”
“I need to get her to my equipment, but she has to stay flat,” She told him calmly but he could hear his sister’s worry seeping into her tone, she was worried about the baby.
“Then we use a stretcher, I’ll carry her.” he told her briskly trying to remain on task even though his mind and body were screaming. Talia quickly stood nodding, “I already called for one they’re-“
“Get out, leave it and get out,” Oliver told his team who were standing at the door; he turned quickly when he felt Felicity squeeze his palm.
“Snot t-air faul.” She said trying to clumsily pat his hand.
“We have to move now brother,” his sister warned sternly and he let out a roar of frustration as his team moved in with the stretcher, laying it beside her, he glared for good measure as they watched him warily with down cast eyes. They hadn’t fought him during the ritual, but they hadn’t been anywhere, deep down he didn’t blame them but he was to angry now, angry and blinded with worry. He smoothed Felicity’s hair out of her face, and she winced in pain groaning slightly.
“Hurts,” she muttered.
Oliver felt his heart constrict realising she was talking about her stomach. “I know habeeb I know, everything will be alright.” Oliver gestured more with his eyes to the three members of his team present to bend and shift her onto the stretcher carefully. She was raised and moving out of the door in seconds with careful precision as they followed Talia to her working courters. She was laid on a bed as Talia began her tests, Oliver by her side. She wanted to dress the wound on her back but Felicity only rasped out, “baby first” and then later, “no drugs, my baby.”
They were now waiting for movement from her stomach; Felicity hadn’t felt too much yet in her pregnancy, nothing beyond what only she could feel to Oliver’s dismay. But his sister was worried; he could see it in her eyes. He’d also seen the blood on the bottom of Felicity’s robe his sister had concealed from her.
Oliver had moved after Talia banished him, but only to pace across the room. His team guarded the doors promising resolutely that no one would be getting past them. Sarab and Tatsu looked somber as they did so. He’d stepped outside to be updated by Sarab when he could hear Talia and Felicity fighting weakly. He approached quickly hoping to dispel the disagreement, “what’s going on?”
“She keeps refusing my medicine.” Talia said glaring at a stubborn Felicity who was barely functioning after Talia had taken a look at her brand.
“Drugs hurt babies.” She’d replied drowsily.
“There won’t be a baby endless you listen to me!” His sister suddenly snapped slamming down a medical tool on her cart.
“Silence sister!” Oliver growled looking at Felicity’s scared face. “Just do what you have to do to make them safe,” he told Talia looking right at Felicity; “Both of them.”
There was a lot of waiting and checking. It was terrifying. Talia had left them at some point, sleeping in the other room until she was needed again.
It was hours later when she felt the baby move, she gasped and he leapt from his chair in a panic leaning over her side, “what-“ Felicity grasped his hand and pressed it firmly over her abdomen.Tears were in her eyes as she choked, “I can feel them.”
Oliver felt his own tears falling on their joined hands and before he knew it he was sobbing uncontrollably, he couldn’t even remember the last time he’d cried and now he couldn’t stop it.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” He kept saying over and over again and Felicity’s hand moved carefully to his head. She was more lucid now and therefore more withdrawn from touching, but despite this she raked her nails over his head like she used to when he was upset.
“You didn’t know, I know that Oliver.” She whispered to him but he shook his head that had now taken residence over their hands on her belly.
“No, no, no. I took you away Felicity. I’m so sorry.” His tear streaked face turned sideways to look at her expression. “None of it matters now, only you, always you. Both of you.” He rubbed her stomach and he saw Felicity’s tears again as her body shook with her crying. “I couldn’t get to you.” He said brokenly into her stomach. “I’m meant to protect you.” He thought of the way she crumpled, crying out with muffled resistance before she blacked out completely, limply hanging from the chains. He remembered screaming and breaking through them to get to her. He held up her body as he violently ripped at the cuffs with one hand before his sister helped him.
He remembered his father leaving, just walking away without a word.
He remembered begging her to wake up.
He never wanted to feel that way again.
He wouldn’t survive it.
“We’re okay.”
“But you were’nt….and now you have it, my mark, all of me…the bad… he’s right, I did this to you, I really am a monster.”
“Oliver you listen here. No matter how I feel right now, where we are, I’m not ashamed of you. You didn’t do this to me, only one man is responsible... You’ve loved me for five years Saheem there’s nothing monstrous about that.”
“Six, I’ve known you six years.” His eyes snapped to hers with sheen.
She smiled softly at his firm words in response; she’d loved him from the beginning too.
>-------------------->
“If you detest me so much why did you insist on partnering with me?” Oliver asked annoyed as he stood atop the roof top with Felicity’s Robin Hood crossdressing friend.
“I don’t trust you, or like you.” She added with a sardonic smile he couldn’t help but hum at.
“The feelings mutual,” He muttered as he scanned the building they were waiting for Slade to appear in.
“Why is that? I’ve met you a total of twice and you ended up kidnapping my best friend.” Sara asked with genuine curiosity.
“Felicity has plenty of friends at home.” Was all he said going back to ignoring her presence.
“Do you hear how deluded you sound?” Sara sneered but he kept his composure easily. She may fight now but she wasn’t raised a warrior. She wasn’t skilled at regarding the whole picture, seeing the whole board, concealing her emotions to not jeopardize the mission.
“It’s not a lie, she’s a likeable woman.” He said with a slight tilt of his lips knowing it would anger the small blonde woman.
“I’m aware,” she drew out with restraint, “it’s why we became friends after she broke my Gameboy and then fixed it all in the same apologising ramble when we were six.”
Oliver’s eyes flashed dangerously and she smirked finally getting a reaction out of him.
“Are you honestly threatened by me?” She asked with an incredulous scoff.
“Don’t flatter yourself” he mocked with a cruel smile.
“Well then what is it? I know she’s in love with you. I saw it that day when you came for her.” Sara snapped annoyed.
“She liked this; you and your team. Your attempt at being a civilian, a careful construction on your part seeing as how you spend your spare time beating up thugs in poorly camouflaged costume…But when you appeared in the media alive…”
“She wanted to see me?” Sara asked with incredulity and hope that Oliver pitied.
“She thought she could do it to, be normal.” he said the word with a bad taste. “She wanted me to come with her, but returning here, to this. It would have ruined her, she wasn’t ready.”
“She chose you.” Sara said observationally with similar distaste although restrained.
“She did.” He said trying to squash the petty part of him that felt the need to throw that in her face.
“She didn’t choose you this time.” Sara replied just as cooly.
“Yet I have her all the same.” He retorted with the possession he used when he snapped at Thea in the lair. It was a tone that set her teeth on edge.
“What’s staying going to do to her now?”
Was the last thing she said before they were forced into action as the siege descended upon them.
>-------------------------->
She’d almost been killed; their child had almost died because he was a coward. Because he refused to let her go, refused to let go with her.
He’d failed her.
Staying here was going to kill her one way or the other.
She’d been right. His father would sabotage them.
He couldn’t get her out now though. If the pregnancy continued as it should it would be even harder to flee with a small child. That and his father would come for them.
His father.
Oliver gritted his teeth in anger. He had to confront him. It was the only way to leave. But Oliver wasn’t sure he was strong enough to defeat Ra’s in combat. What if he fell? What would become of Felicity? Their child? They weren’t safe now, clearly, if this night had taught him anything it was that.
He couldn’t confront his father right now with Felicity so vulnerable. He’d have to bide his time and put certain measures into place first. But there was one thing he could do now and that was send his father a message; One that wouldn’t be misread.
A bloody one.
He ran their own spears right through their bodies that night, pinning them to the wall like flies. He made sure to nail their hands together above their heads to the wall with one of his arrows; the hands that had touched his Felicity, that had been complicit to her branding when they held her down and pawed at her dress.
Al Sah-Him wiped the lingering blood off his hands as he turned and left the entrance to his father’s wing.
Game on.
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AN// So sorry for the delay, i had so many technical problems with this story. its still not uploading to ff either. Thanks to everyone whose messaged me wondering about the story it kicked my but into gear, so thanks for sticking with me i really apreciate it:):)