If We Ever Meet Again
Title: If We Ever Meet Again
Author: AG (That would be moi!)
Status: Complete
Rating: PG-13
Fandoms: SMV/BtVS
Pairing: Buffy/Green Arrow
Summary: Green Arrow was captivated by the blonde who literally left him speechless.
Disclaimer: Smallville and all related characters are copyright Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, DC & The CW Network. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all related characters are copyright Joss Whedon and ME. No infringement intended. I own nothing!
Notes: Thanks to my awesome Beta, Akat! She's all kinds of awesome!
(Chapter 1 - Hello)
Chapter 2
The Morning After
Oliver Queen swivelled absentmindedly in his desk chair, coming to a stop in front of the huge window that framed his office. Letting out a deep sigh, he glimpsed down at the Metropolis streets below and let his eyes trace the cars that sped by; from this height they looked more like toys than full sized vehicles.
Pushing his foot against the carpeted floor, he spun himself back towards the desk, the bubbles of his screensaver randomly bobbed across the screen in front of him; he could see a report of the minutes from the shareholder meeting earlier that morning occupying the screen behind them so gave his mouse a nudge. The bubbles disappeared instantly leaving only the report… so far he had read the first line more than ten times but hadn’t made the journey over to the second line just yet. He was completely distracted by what had happened last night and no amount of ‘busy work’ was going to keep his mind on the task at hand.
His intercom buzzed and the shrill voice of his receptionist Rebekah filled the room. “Mister Queen, your twelve o’clock is due in ten minutes. Do you want me to let them in when they arrive?”
“Yes, that’s fine. I’m only going over the minutes from this morning’s meeting anyway,” Oliver replied back.
“Sir…Weren’t you in that meeting?” Rebekah asked, her confusion evident.
Yeah, if I had only been listening then I wouldn’t have to read this stuff. Opting for a more professional response, he replied, “Yep, just making sure everything is in order.”
She let out a small laugh, “Sure you are.”
He smiled; his receptionist had clearly been with him for far too long. “Isn’t this meeting to do with some sort of charity?” Oliver asked, attempting to change the subject.
“Sir, I sent you the dossier this morning that documented the reason for the meeting and the goals for this afternoon… you did read that, right?” Oliver winced slightly at Rebekah’s question. He knew she probably did send it, but he had been too 'busy’ with other things to have noticed. “I marked it urgent and left it on your desk for you,” she explained. Oliver could hear in her voice that she knew he hadn’t seen it.
Oliver looked down and sure enough right there on his desk in front of him was a brown sealed folder marked ‘URGENT’ in red. “Um, you might need to give me the cliff notes version?” he smiled.
Again she let out a small laugh. “Let’s start with a name shall we? They’re called ‘The Council’, and according to the dossier they were established in 2003. It appears that they began as a small but well-funded charity that has grown in numbers over the years and now own many different offices all over the world.”
“And it’s a charity for…?” he inquired, unsealing the folder.
“Troubled young women. According to the report they have grown quite significantly in the last few years.”
Oliver paused before he opened up the folder. “If it's going so well why are they here to see me? I assume that they’re not coming up here with a bucket and asking for my spare change?”
“No, Mister Queen. In fact, they’re here to let you know that they are planning on setting up offices here in Metropolis and within Star City and as Queen Industries currently owns the buildings they want to purchase then they want to go over the final details,” Rebekah clarified for him.
“Why don’t I remember any of this? Who authorised this meeting?”
“You did, Mister Queen.” Oliver looked up from his desk at Rebekah’s answer, before he could ask further she added, “If there is a problem? There is still time to cancel.”
He shook his head; then he quickly realised that Rebekah wasn‘t able to see it. “No… it must’ve just slipped my mind.”
“Like this morning’s meeting, Sir?”
Hearing the playfulness in Rebekah’s question, Oliver smiled. “Yeah, something like that.”
Picking up the folder on his desk, Oliver turned back to the window and the Metropolis skyline. Staring down at the words on the page, his mind once again drifted to the events of last night and to the mysterious ‘Buffy’.
As weird as their brief encounter was, the information he had received when he had returned to Watchtower was even more surreal. If he hadn’t seen the evidence on screen then he would never have believed it.
***
10 hours earlier...
Walking into Watchtower, still dressed in his Green Arrow uniform, Oliver stopped short as he found four pairs of eyes watching him intently. He was already feeling unnerved by the encounter he had had minutes before, so this wasn’t helping.
“So, who is she?” he asked.
No answer. Instead, Chloe merely turned to look at the computer screens behind her.
His eyes followed to where hers were now looking. On the computer screens was a picture of Buffy; however, she looked a few years younger. Beside her photo was something that he hadn’t been expecting to see - an obituary. Her obituary.
Ignoring the looks of his fellow league members, AC, Victor and Bart, he wandered closer to the computer screens. Stopping at the console, he began to read the information on the screens.
“She’s dead? That’s unexpected seeing as I just met her… So what are we thinking? Is she meteor infected? Or maybe a robot? That would explain the strength and possibly the speed,” he finally said, turning to face his friends.
Victor was the first to respond. “The strength maybe; however the speed is far beyond anything I have seen manufactured. If she is a robot, then I need to get an upgrade,” he laughed.
“Her speed was impressive. Not as fast as me but catching that arrow was pretty awesome,” Bart said, joining in the discussion.
“Meteor infection is the only thing that could explain it,” Oliver pointed out.
Chloe shook her head. “It could have been, but she’s never even been anywhere near Smallville or any other known meteor sites. She comes from a town called Sunnydale, which no longer exists, but the place appeared to be legit.”
“No longer exists?” Oliver raised an eyebrow in question at Chloe. He had never heard of a town not existing anymore.
“As in it is now a crater.”
“Meteor Shower?” Bart asked.
Chloe shook her head again. “No, the reports suggest that the town caved in to an underlying void due to an earthquake,” she explained to the four stunned faces watching her.
Everyone stood or sat in silence, contemplating what to do next. Nobody had an idea how to handle this situation, as they had never had one like it before. On file, Buffy Summers had died in 2001, but not only had they seen her, they had video evidence.
AC looked at each one in turn. “Ok, I’m gonna go ahead and tackle the pink elephant in the room… maybe it was a ghost?”
Chloe laughed, glad for a light hearted moment. “And how do you suggest we track a ghost?”
“Who ya gonna call,” Bart sang from behind him.
AC looked around sheepishly, “Well, we were all thinking it.”
“I wasn’t,” they all said back in unison.
Chloe lay her hand on his consolingly. “No, I think we can leave the supernatural out of this.”
Oliver laughed, “Yeah, let’s actually stay in the realm of possibility.”
***
“Mr. Queen, your twelve o’clock is here,” Rebekah’s voice rang out, bringing Oliver out of his thoughts.
Giving himself a mental shake, Oliver stood up and made his way around the front on his desk. He didn’t like meeting new people sitting behind it as it gave off an air of arrogance; he preferred a more informal approach.
Staring at the carpet for a moment and trying hard to focus on the task at hand, he hadn’t noticed the doors of his office open.
“Mr. Queen?” came a familiar voice.
Oliver’s head spun around to the owner of that voice, his heart caught in his throat. Standing just a couple of feet from him was the woman who had been haunting his thoughts since he had met her - Buffy Summers.
“You are Mr. Queen, aren’t you?” Buffy asked him, sounding unsure. He didn’t answer her. “My name is Buffy Summers and I had a meeting with you today. I work for The Council.” She still received nothing from Oliver, who was now watching as she looked uncomfortably looked around the office. “I’ll admit this wasn’t how I saw this meeting going,” she joked weakly.
“How the hell?…How?” Oliver stammered, looking from Buffy to the closed doors.
Buffy’s discomfort showed on her face. She looked at both his ears hoping that he was talking to someone else on hands free as she had no idea how to respond. After some very awkward seconds passed, she realised that he was waiting on an answer.
“Um…your receptionist told me to come right through. She did say you were expecting me.”
The reality finally hit that she didn’t recognize him from last night. More importantly, he realized that he was acting like a complete moron. In a panic, he reached forward and pressed a button on his phone, making it look as though he had been talking to someone on it and had just hung up on them.
He coughed to clear his throat, “Bu…Miss Summers. It’s a pleasure. Sorry about that, you know how it is. ” Mentally kicking himself for his slip up, he walked towards her, his hand extended out.
Buffy gave him a small smile before shaking his hand. “It’s ok. I had a funny feeling I had maybe walked into the wrong office.”
“It’s been a busy morning. Please, take a seat and we’ll get started.” He gestured Buffy to sit as he sat down in the leather chair opposite her. “So, tell me about The Council.”
As he listened to Buffy talk about The Council and the work they had done, their successes and the challenges they had overcome, he was struck by her passion; it was unfaltering. Either this Council was the real deal or she was one hell of an actress. What struck him even more, however, was the fact that she hardly resembled the dangerous woman from the alley. She didn’t seem aggressive or overly athletic and, although he wasn’t trying to be cruel, she was fairly unremarkable. This only increased the mystery surrounding her tenfold -- and he found that he was more than a little attracted to her.
“So, what do you think?” she asked with raised eyebrows.
Oliver panicked; he couldn’t even think of one word she had said in the past five minutes. Taking a gamble, he replied, “I agree….” He noticed instantly that she frowned so he quickly added, “….That it is totally disagreeable.”
Buffy crossed her arms, a deep frown on her face. “You haven’t heard a word I’ve said, have you? I’m sorry that our charity is such a waste of your precious time, Mr. Queen. Evidently all the billions in the world can’t buy manners.” She stood up sharply and headed for the door.
Oliver stood up and called after her, “Buffy, wait.”
Buffy stopped and turned back to face him. “Last time I checked, rudeness doesn't put anyone on a first name basis, Mr. Queen.”
Oliver stopped and pressed his hands together, almost as if praying. “Miss Summers… truly, I am sorry. Let’s start again. Would you like to go for coffee?”
Buffy looked horrified. “No!”
Oliver smiled coyly, “Did you even hear what I asked?”
Buffy put her hands on her hips, clearly annoyed. “Yeah, 'do you want to go for coffee?'”
Oliver took a step towards her, hands still clasped together. “Yes I would, but I‘m buying.” Walking past Buffy he held open the door, “Shall we?”
Author: AG (That would be moi!)
Status: Complete
Rating: PG-13
Fandoms: SMV/BtVS
Pairing: Buffy/Green Arrow
Summary: Green Arrow was captivated by the blonde who literally left him speechless.
Disclaimer: Smallville and all related characters are copyright Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, DC & The CW Network. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all related characters are copyright Joss Whedon and ME. No infringement intended. I own nothing!
Notes: Thanks to my awesome Beta, Akat! She's all kinds of awesome!
(Chapter 1 - Hello)
Chapter 2
The Morning After
Oliver Queen swivelled absentmindedly in his desk chair, coming to a stop in front of the huge window that framed his office. Letting out a deep sigh, he glimpsed down at the Metropolis streets below and let his eyes trace the cars that sped by; from this height they looked more like toys than full sized vehicles.
Pushing his foot against the carpeted floor, he spun himself back towards the desk, the bubbles of his screensaver randomly bobbed across the screen in front of him; he could see a report of the minutes from the shareholder meeting earlier that morning occupying the screen behind them so gave his mouse a nudge. The bubbles disappeared instantly leaving only the report… so far he had read the first line more than ten times but hadn’t made the journey over to the second line just yet. He was completely distracted by what had happened last night and no amount of ‘busy work’ was going to keep his mind on the task at hand.
His intercom buzzed and the shrill voice of his receptionist Rebekah filled the room. “Mister Queen, your twelve o’clock is due in ten minutes. Do you want me to let them in when they arrive?”
“Yes, that’s fine. I’m only going over the minutes from this morning’s meeting anyway,” Oliver replied back.
“Sir…Weren’t you in that meeting?” Rebekah asked, her confusion evident.
Yeah, if I had only been listening then I wouldn’t have to read this stuff. Opting for a more professional response, he replied, “Yep, just making sure everything is in order.”
She let out a small laugh, “Sure you are.”
He smiled; his receptionist had clearly been with him for far too long. “Isn’t this meeting to do with some sort of charity?” Oliver asked, attempting to change the subject.
“Sir, I sent you the dossier this morning that documented the reason for the meeting and the goals for this afternoon… you did read that, right?” Oliver winced slightly at Rebekah’s question. He knew she probably did send it, but he had been too 'busy’ with other things to have noticed. “I marked it urgent and left it on your desk for you,” she explained. Oliver could hear in her voice that she knew he hadn’t seen it.
Oliver looked down and sure enough right there on his desk in front of him was a brown sealed folder marked ‘URGENT’ in red. “Um, you might need to give me the cliff notes version?” he smiled.
Again she let out a small laugh. “Let’s start with a name shall we? They’re called ‘The Council’, and according to the dossier they were established in 2003. It appears that they began as a small but well-funded charity that has grown in numbers over the years and now own many different offices all over the world.”
“And it’s a charity for…?” he inquired, unsealing the folder.
“Troubled young women. According to the report they have grown quite significantly in the last few years.”
Oliver paused before he opened up the folder. “If it's going so well why are they here to see me? I assume that they’re not coming up here with a bucket and asking for my spare change?”
“No, Mister Queen. In fact, they’re here to let you know that they are planning on setting up offices here in Metropolis and within Star City and as Queen Industries currently owns the buildings they want to purchase then they want to go over the final details,” Rebekah clarified for him.
“Why don’t I remember any of this? Who authorised this meeting?”
“You did, Mister Queen.” Oliver looked up from his desk at Rebekah’s answer, before he could ask further she added, “If there is a problem? There is still time to cancel.”
He shook his head; then he quickly realised that Rebekah wasn‘t able to see it. “No… it must’ve just slipped my mind.”
“Like this morning’s meeting, Sir?”
Hearing the playfulness in Rebekah’s question, Oliver smiled. “Yeah, something like that.”
Picking up the folder on his desk, Oliver turned back to the window and the Metropolis skyline. Staring down at the words on the page, his mind once again drifted to the events of last night and to the mysterious ‘Buffy’.
As weird as their brief encounter was, the information he had received when he had returned to Watchtower was even more surreal. If he hadn’t seen the evidence on screen then he would never have believed it.
***
10 hours earlier...
Walking into Watchtower, still dressed in his Green Arrow uniform, Oliver stopped short as he found four pairs of eyes watching him intently. He was already feeling unnerved by the encounter he had had minutes before, so this wasn’t helping.
“So, who is she?” he asked.
No answer. Instead, Chloe merely turned to look at the computer screens behind her.
His eyes followed to where hers were now looking. On the computer screens was a picture of Buffy; however, she looked a few years younger. Beside her photo was something that he hadn’t been expecting to see - an obituary. Her obituary.
Ignoring the looks of his fellow league members, AC, Victor and Bart, he wandered closer to the computer screens. Stopping at the console, he began to read the information on the screens.
“She’s dead? That’s unexpected seeing as I just met her… So what are we thinking? Is she meteor infected? Or maybe a robot? That would explain the strength and possibly the speed,” he finally said, turning to face his friends.
Victor was the first to respond. “The strength maybe; however the speed is far beyond anything I have seen manufactured. If she is a robot, then I need to get an upgrade,” he laughed.
“Her speed was impressive. Not as fast as me but catching that arrow was pretty awesome,” Bart said, joining in the discussion.
“Meteor infection is the only thing that could explain it,” Oliver pointed out.
Chloe shook her head. “It could have been, but she’s never even been anywhere near Smallville or any other known meteor sites. She comes from a town called Sunnydale, which no longer exists, but the place appeared to be legit.”
“No longer exists?” Oliver raised an eyebrow in question at Chloe. He had never heard of a town not existing anymore.
“As in it is now a crater.”
“Meteor Shower?” Bart asked.
Chloe shook her head again. “No, the reports suggest that the town caved in to an underlying void due to an earthquake,” she explained to the four stunned faces watching her.
Everyone stood or sat in silence, contemplating what to do next. Nobody had an idea how to handle this situation, as they had never had one like it before. On file, Buffy Summers had died in 2001, but not only had they seen her, they had video evidence.
AC looked at each one in turn. “Ok, I’m gonna go ahead and tackle the pink elephant in the room… maybe it was a ghost?”
Chloe laughed, glad for a light hearted moment. “And how do you suggest we track a ghost?”
“Who ya gonna call,” Bart sang from behind him.
AC looked around sheepishly, “Well, we were all thinking it.”
“I wasn’t,” they all said back in unison.
Chloe lay her hand on his consolingly. “No, I think we can leave the supernatural out of this.”
Oliver laughed, “Yeah, let’s actually stay in the realm of possibility.”
***
“Mr. Queen, your twelve o’clock is here,” Rebekah’s voice rang out, bringing Oliver out of his thoughts.
Giving himself a mental shake, Oliver stood up and made his way around the front on his desk. He didn’t like meeting new people sitting behind it as it gave off an air of arrogance; he preferred a more informal approach.
Staring at the carpet for a moment and trying hard to focus on the task at hand, he hadn’t noticed the doors of his office open.
“Mr. Queen?” came a familiar voice.
Oliver’s head spun around to the owner of that voice, his heart caught in his throat. Standing just a couple of feet from him was the woman who had been haunting his thoughts since he had met her - Buffy Summers.
“You are Mr. Queen, aren’t you?” Buffy asked him, sounding unsure. He didn’t answer her. “My name is Buffy Summers and I had a meeting with you today. I work for The Council.” She still received nothing from Oliver, who was now watching as she looked uncomfortably looked around the office. “I’ll admit this wasn’t how I saw this meeting going,” she joked weakly.
“How the hell?…How?” Oliver stammered, looking from Buffy to the closed doors.
Buffy’s discomfort showed on her face. She looked at both his ears hoping that he was talking to someone else on hands free as she had no idea how to respond. After some very awkward seconds passed, she realised that he was waiting on an answer.
“Um…your receptionist told me to come right through. She did say you were expecting me.”
The reality finally hit that she didn’t recognize him from last night. More importantly, he realized that he was acting like a complete moron. In a panic, he reached forward and pressed a button on his phone, making it look as though he had been talking to someone on it and had just hung up on them.
He coughed to clear his throat, “Bu…Miss Summers. It’s a pleasure. Sorry about that, you know how it is. ” Mentally kicking himself for his slip up, he walked towards her, his hand extended out.
Buffy gave him a small smile before shaking his hand. “It’s ok. I had a funny feeling I had maybe walked into the wrong office.”
“It’s been a busy morning. Please, take a seat and we’ll get started.” He gestured Buffy to sit as he sat down in the leather chair opposite her. “So, tell me about The Council.”
As he listened to Buffy talk about The Council and the work they had done, their successes and the challenges they had overcome, he was struck by her passion; it was unfaltering. Either this Council was the real deal or she was one hell of an actress. What struck him even more, however, was the fact that she hardly resembled the dangerous woman from the alley. She didn’t seem aggressive or overly athletic and, although he wasn’t trying to be cruel, she was fairly unremarkable. This only increased the mystery surrounding her tenfold -- and he found that he was more than a little attracted to her.
“So, what do you think?” she asked with raised eyebrows.
Oliver panicked; he couldn’t even think of one word she had said in the past five minutes. Taking a gamble, he replied, “I agree….” He noticed instantly that she frowned so he quickly added, “….That it is totally disagreeable.”
Buffy crossed her arms, a deep frown on her face. “You haven’t heard a word I’ve said, have you? I’m sorry that our charity is such a waste of your precious time, Mr. Queen. Evidently all the billions in the world can’t buy manners.” She stood up sharply and headed for the door.
Oliver stood up and called after her, “Buffy, wait.”
Buffy stopped and turned back to face him. “Last time I checked, rudeness doesn't put anyone on a first name basis, Mr. Queen.”
Oliver stopped and pressed his hands together, almost as if praying. “Miss Summers… truly, I am sorry. Let’s start again. Would you like to go for coffee?”
Buffy looked horrified. “No!”
Oliver smiled coyly, “Did you even hear what I asked?”
Buffy put her hands on her hips, clearly annoyed. “Yeah, 'do you want to go for coffee?'”
Oliver took a step towards her, hands still clasped together. “Yes I would, but I‘m buying.” Walking past Buffy he held open the door, “Shall we?”