Faraway
(SOTY AU. Oliver is The Arrow, Felicity is a vampire.)
“No!” Oliver gasped, but it was too late.
He’d never seen anything like it.
When he’d heard movement outside her door, he’d moved without thought - to cover her, to protect her. He hadn’t questioned the instinct, he’d just acted. But in the process, he’d let her go.
He’d stopped touching her and he realized it too late.
Felicity didn’t even flinch this time, not like before. Oliver felt the air moving at his back, saw the look of surprised horror twisting Digg’s face, and then she was moving. She shouldn’t have been able to get that far - really, she shouldn’t have been able to move that fast at all because of her lack of sustenance - but she did.
One second she was behind him, and the next…
She was pushing him behind her and moving to attack Digg with a primordial roar that he felt in his bones.
“No!” Oliver gasped just as Diggle fell back with a startled, “What the hell?”
Oliver tackled her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, grabbing her right out of the air. One hand slid up her top as he twisted, taking her with him. He shouted her name, his hand naturally contouring to her stomach. He pressed his his arm against her naked skin, his other hand grabbing one of her hands - trying to touch her - but it wasn’t enough.
Felicity clawed at Oliver, growling viciously. It was a feral sound that used to make his insides turn to liquid, and it was quickly followed by the solid snap of her jaw as she snarled at Diggle. What did she think was happening? Was this her animalistic side kicking in? Was she protecting her food, or him?
Before he could comprehend any of it though, the chip suddenly kicked in. He felt the zap it gave her, and he shouted when it nearly made him drop her. She fought it, for a second, still reaching for Diggle… until the pain registered.
The sound tore through him as her entire body radiated with agony. She jerked, undulating against him, her muscles spasming. God, it was like she was being electrocuted. It lasted for an eternity just as much as it lasted one second before it was finally too much, and she lost consciousness.
Oliver didn’t realize he’d been screaming with her until she fell silent. When he looked up, he was on the ground, Felicity’s crumpled body sagging against his. She was so deadly still it made him shudder. It was a silly thing to think, considering vampires were technically dead.
“Felicity?” he whispered, reaching for her face. Her ponytail had come loose, leaving hair draped over her face. He brushed it away, but she didn’t respond.
The silence that followed was brutal, making Oliver’s chest too tight.
“Oliver, what…?” Diggle started. He was still crouched against the wall where he’d ducked for cover. His wide eyes were glued to Oliver and the vampire in his arms.
“We have to go,” Oliver interrupted. People would be coming, reacting to her screams - their screams - and an alarm would be going off that her chip had been fully activated. “Now.”
He gathered Felicity up, cradling her against his chest as he stood. Her head lolled, and he paused long enough to make sure it rested against his chest instead. She was so incredibly light, way too light, and he was afraid if he tightened his hold on her, her bones would break. Oliver moved to leave, but Diggle stopped him.
“Whoa, what are you doing, we can’t take her,” Diggle said. He put his hands up when Oliver tried to move past him again. “I don’t know what the hell I just walked in on, but they’ll find her with the honing crystal in the chip. We can’t-”
“I’m not leaving her!” Oliver snapped.
The ferocity in his voice echoed through Felicity’s workspace, silencing Diggle as much as it made his own heart skip a beat. What was he doing? But he couldn’t think about that right now. He had to get her out; he had to get her to safety.
An alarm sounded in the building, a response to the emergency team alerting the surrounding area to the presence of a dangerous vampire.
“No,” Oliver growled, leveling Diggle with a dark look. “She’s coming with us.”
Without waiting for a response, Oliver swept past the other man. With an aggravated huff, Diggle followed him.
They disappeared just as a swarm of stake-wielding police flooded the floor.
