Overheard conversations

A/N: Happy birthday to me! An Arrow one shot because my writers block on my Starkfamily one shots book is driving me crazy, enjoy.

Oliver stares at his sister in shock and anger.

Mom had Walter and I had no one. His sister's words echo in his head as he stares at her.

He scoffs and sucks his teeth. She's about to get  a wake up call. He thinks to himself.

"You had no one? Are you serious, Thea?" Oliver asks rhetorically. "Was it you on the island for five years? Was it you getting tortured? Was it you killing animals for food? Was it you running for your life everyday? Was it you wanting to die every minute of every single day for five years? Were you lonely for five years? Was it you who hallucinated your family and friends who were telling you to fight to get back home to them?" Oliver throw's question after question after question to his sister who doesn't have a chance to answer any of them. Thea opens her mouth to answer at least one of the questions her brother asked her but he holds up a hand.

"No, it wasn't you, it was me. It was me who was on the island for five years. It was me getting tortured. It was me killing animals for food. It was me running for my life everyday. It was me wanting to die every minute of every single day for five years. It was me that hallucinated my family and friends who were telling me to fight to get back home to them. It was me who went through hell, alone. You had Mom, Walter, Tommy and Laurel who kept you safe and loved. I didn't have you, Mom, Walter, Tommy or Laurel to keep me safe and loved. While you were sitting on a velvet couch with a nice soft blanket eating gourmet food, I was sitting on hard rocks, with only the thin, torn and dirty clothes on my back and eating a rabbit that I had killed. So you think you had no one? Try spending even an hour on that island with torturous people in the cold, eating animals that you had killed, then tell me that you had no one." Oliver snaps at his little sister who has tears spilling down her face.

"Ollie." Thea whispers. Oliver shakes his head.

"The only thing that got me through those five years in hell was Laurel." Oliver says with a sad smile as he thinks about his ex-girlfriend who he has hurt beyond repair.

"Whenever I was being tortured, I went to the place in my head that had memories of me and Laurel and when I wanted to give up, it was her who told me to fight, that I was stronger than anyone she knew, she's the reason I fought back, she's the reason I didn't kill myself the days, the loneliness and the coldness got too much for me,  it was her telling me that she was waiting for me back home and to find a way back to her even though I knew she wasn't waiting for me, she hates me for killing Sara and I don't blame her. I loved her and I broke her, I still love her but that doesn't matter anymore, she wants me dead and she's with Tommy now so it's too late. I had plans to propose to her when I came home from the island because I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her and to show her that being tortured for five years can change a person. I have a ring in my bedroom, the ring I had purchased for her just a day before the Gambit. I'm so lucky I didn't take it with me because who knows what could have happened to it. I will never give anyone, except Laurel that ring, ever. It's because of Laurel that I didn't die on that island, so I'll be eternally grateful for her and I will continue to love her until my last dying breath."  Oliver says passionately. The Queen siblings hear a familiar gasp from the living room doorway and they turn to see Moria, Tommy and Laurel standing there with tears running down their faces, sad smiles on their faces. In an instant, Laurel is running towards Oliver and kissing him, Oliver immediately kisses her back, putting his hands on her waist, drawing her closer to him. They pull away when air becomes a necessity and Oliver leans his forehead on Laurel's and stares into her beautiful eyes.

"Ollie, I had no idea that it was me who kept you fighting." Laurel whispers, tears welling up in her eyes. Oliver chuckles and wipes away the tears that are falling on her cheek with his thumb. "You'll always be the reason I'll keep fighting." Oliver tells her before kissing her.

A throat clearing is what breaks them apart again, the couple look at their family and smile sheepishly. "Are you two together again?" Thea asks them like the excited  10 year old she was when they first started dating. Oliver and Laurel laugh. "We have to speak about it first, Speedy." Oliver says, keeping his blue eyes on Laurel who looks at him.

"We don't need to speak about anything. I'm willing to spend the rest of my life with you, if you don't mind spending the rest of yours with me." Oliver smiles.

"I can do anything with you at my side." Oliver tells the love of his life.

"That makes two of us." Laurel responds with a dazzling smile to Oliver.

Page break:

Oliver stares down at Laurel who is laying asleep with her head on his naked chest.

She's even more beautiful than she was 5 years ago. Oliver thinks to himself, kissing her forehead.

"Thank you for saving me." He whispers. He'd never stop thanking her for saving his life several times a day over the past five years.

With the love of his life in his arms, asleep, Oliver joins her in the world of dreams, and for the first time in five years, he sleeps with a smile on his face for the whole night.

"I'll always save you, Ollie." Laurel whispers.

Starling City's power couple, the recused and his saviour, sleep in each other's arms, silently vowing to keep saving each other, because that's what they do.

A few months later:

Oliver smiles as he looks at the ring in his hand. He had this custom made for Laurel five years ago and never thought he'd have a chance to give it to her after everything that happened with them.

Over the last few months, Laurel has become his rock, the person who he can talk about his time on the island without upsetting her, she drops everything for him when he needs her, whether it be in work, in the middle of a meeting, in the middle or kicking ass in the courtroom, she drops everything, she's the one eats ice cream with him in the middle of the night.

She's seen him at his worst and at his best.

And now it was time to make her Mrs Laurel Queen-Lance.

"Ollie?" He hears his beauty's voice floating from downstairs into the foyer. Oliver walks downstairs, and kisses her hard.

"Hi." Laurel says after they separate from the kiss.

"Hi." He says quietly, taking her hand in his. "Why don't we take a walk before dinner?" He suggests. Laurel nods hesitantly.

The grounds of Queen Manor are covered in white snow, fairy lights in the trees which turn on as the couple walk out of the back door.

"Woah!" Laurel gushes, a smile on her face which is infectious.

Oliver gets down on one knee and clears his throat to grab his girlfriend's attention. Laurel spins around and gasps, her hands covering her mouth in shock, tears springing to her eyes.

"Laurel, I was kept away from you for five years and it was you who made those cold days and nights warm, you made those lonely nights bearable, you saved me without knowing it. When I came home, you gave me a second chance, you gave me a chance to show you how different I am. You're the only person I willingly showed my scars to, I love you so much, will you marry me?" Oliver and Laurel have tears falling down their faces. Laurel nods and joins him on one knee in the snow.

"Yes, yes!" She says softly with a laugh as she kisses him. Oliver smiles into the kiss but pulls away to put the ring on her finger.

"Hit it, Speedy!" Oliver calls, and in an instant, the night sky is full of fireworks.

Together, the engaged couple sit in the snow, watching the fireworks that are set off to celebrate them.

Oliver kisses his fiancée on the temple. "Thank you for saving me." He whispers in her ear.

"I'll always save you." Laurel whispers back, kissing her fiancé on his lips.

Oliver Queen will always be grateful for Laurel Lance for saving him all those years ago when he wanted to die.