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"It's like a dream- but it's real, because this is me." How could he tell her that he was her ghost, her haunting angel watching over her? "I'm just here for you. It won't be the same, but I'm here. I'm right next to you all the time. Okay?"

"Why didn't you hate me? You should have? I slept with Laurel, I took her from you. You never flinched. How can you be so strong?" He was mumbling, voice slurred with weighing exhaustion.

She nodded her head dumbly, she wouldn't have it any other way. "Thank you," she said softly, it was more of a blanket gratefulness. Thank him for loving her, saving her, protecting her, even when it felt like he hated her, he was there for her.

"Um, okay, look up! I have something to show you. It's amazing and impossible and wonderful but you have to look up to see it." She had no idea what she was going to show him, but it had to be a quick distraction.

"Look, it's clockwork" she explained, pulling a metal butterfly from her pocket "I wind it up, and- okay, most of the time, it can fly. I know butterflies are girly, but I don't have the guy on a unicycle with me. That's the other one I made."

He couldn't stop kissing her; little tiny kisses over her face. "Anytime, sweetheart." He rubbed her back and her arms, trying to sooth her as much as he could.

He was easy; when she ordered him to look up, he just did without thinking much of it. He stared at her blankly for a moment, but then she did in fact produce something wonderful and cool. Tommy felt like a little kid, watching the strange object that could apparently fly. "You make these?"

"I have to keep my hands busy." she explained "Or my mind, or both. It will. It should fly now, since I haven't broken it. I used physics and lots of trial and error." She carefully wound a tiny key, and let the butterfly go. Its wings flapped and it flew for a few seconds.

"There's got to be a way to make it fly a little longer, I just haven't figured it out yet. Adding more gears makes it too heavy"

It was working, slowly, but it was working, she sniffled again, her head turned away for a moment, trying to catch her breath, her emotions.

"That-" Ollie shook his head. "That wasn't strength. She picked you. It was always that simple. If I tried to take her from you, I'd only prove everyone right. That I really was the guy you all thought I was."

Tommy genuinely smiled. "That's pretty neat. You're a talented gal. You make anything else? Besides wind up toys?"

He leaned his cheek against hers and wondered if he felt cold to the touch- he hoped not, but...

"There you go. Nice deep breaths. Calm down."

"Thank you!" She wound it up once more, watching it closely "I build lots of things, or I try to make things better. I did weapons for a while, but not so much anymore. They're only meant to do one thing. It's more fun to add features to things, or make my car more efficient."

"No one can take Laurel- she does exactly what she wants." And that really was the point. He'd tried to make it easier for her, but really, if she wanted to leave him she would have. Oh god he was an idiot. "Ollie- I'm tired. I need to rest a moment."

Terror that his best friend would slip away filled him again. Instead of succumbing to the ache in his heart, Ollie sucked in another sob. "Yeah," he mused, petting Tommy's hair. "Rest. I'll be here."

"I'll come back," he assured. He just felt so heavy. Everything had been too much and he just needed to rest for a little while. "Just hold onto me, yeah?"

With a soft tremor in his voice, Ollie did his best to assure Tommy that everything was going to be just fine. "Always."

She inhaled deeply, her eyes closed as he pressed his cheek against her, she couldn't feel if he was cold or not, Laurel was just so numb at the moment, trying to make sense of all of this madness.