Love Over Time 3/3
Title: Love Over Time 3/3
Rating: PG-13
Summary: It should have been the obvious from the start, two young men traveling from the future...
Notes: I need to thank novadelphine for doing the editing. And also thanks to dhfreak for the banner! I have a one shot planned, I've actually already started writing me. So don't crucify me, I beg you.
Cheshire may have been impressive adversary when she ambushed Connor and Chloe, but when she squared off against the combined force of Clark, Elliot, Connor, and Oliver… well, it was a different story. The four men had barely been gone two hours before they returned to the Watchtower with the deadly assassin bound and unconscious over Clark’s shoulder.
“Is she knocked out?” Chloe asked as she stood up from her desk and watched the men file in.
“Tranqed her,” Oliver explained succinctly, holding up his crossbow tellingly before dropping it loudly on the table. “She didn’t want to come quietly.”
Her eyes swept over the group, looking for injuries and she felt herself freeze when she spotted Connor holding his hand to his arm. “What happened?”
“I’m fine,” Connor winced as he grabbed for the towel Elliot offered him and pressed it against his wound. “She just got a little close with that sword of hers.”
“Stop being such a sissy,” Elliot ribbed as he headed over to check on Cheshire. “If that’s still bleeding when we get back, your Mom’s gonna be pissed - ” The young man stopped short and glanced around at the eyes that were pinned to him. “Sorry.”
Fighting to keep herself from glancing at Oliver, Chloe instead focused her attention on Clark. “You’ve got the ring?” She checked, to which he nodded and reached into his pocket. “Okay, Elliot over here,” she instructed. “Let’s get this figured out. Connor, as much as I would like to be able to heal you, I can’t.”
The blond man nodded in understanding. At some point in the future, she’d get her healing ability back, but that hadn’t happened yet so he was stuck with the gash that travelled down his bicep.
“Oliver,” Chloe called out before joining Clark and Elliot. “Fix him up.” Connor opened his mouth to protest, but she simply narrowed her eyes seriously. “Just do it.”
Someone snorted at her side and she looked to her right just in time to see Elliot fighting back a grin while next to him, Clark did his very best to avoid looking at her.
Oliver frowned, but headed towards the first aid kit without a fight, knowing he’d pissed Chloe off enough already.
Connor wanted to say that he’d be fine, but a voice in the back of his head warned him to leave it alone. Even if the Chloe in front of him hadn’t been his mother for twenty years, he recognized her tone of voice from years of having it directed at himself and, on occasion, his father. The thought of his parents had him glancing over to the younger version of his father, watching as the other man moved mechanically about the Watchtower; back straight, face firm and that ever present dark cloud hanging over him. Again, it was something Connor recognized, but he wasn’t used to that kind of dark mood hanging around so regularly. There had been that time when Connor had gotten a hair up his ass to prove to his father that he was just as capable as the Green Arrow, so he’d donned the leather costume and had taken off on the bike. Needless to say, he’d ended up getting a pretty healthy dose of the angry, brooding attitude that Oliver was currently displaying, but this time round, he’d done little to deserve it. Connor had suspected it before, but now there was little doubt that while the Chloe of this time had warmed to the idea of being his parent, Oliver hadn’t.
Moving towards him, Oliver nodded to the chairs around the table. “Sit.”
Following the order, the younger man took a seat and realized that this was the first time Oliver had been near him or said anything to him since Chloe had almost died.
Taking a seat as well, Oliver’s frown deepened as he finally began to notice the obvious resemblance. Even though Connor seemed a little thinner, there was no mistaking their similar, lanky build and their dirty blond hair was one in the same. Surveying the young man’s face, Oliver started seeing features that made him feel as though he was staring in a mirror, that is, until he came to Connor’s eyes. Instead of dark brown like his own, Oliver was struck by the bright, green gaze that stared back at him.
“You don’t believe me,” Connor said suddenly, keeping his voice low.
Pulling away from the young man’s searching stare, Oliver focused on digging supplies out of the first aid kit beside him. “I haven’t made up my mind yet.”
“This isn’t the first time you’ve met someone who has time traveled,” Connor pointed out.
“No,” Oliver allowed as he pulled out the antiseptic.
“So that isn’t what bothers you. The time travel. Is it the fact that I claim to be your son?”
Connor waited for a response, but the man before him didn’t even seem to falter as he unscrewed the cap on the small bottle. Feeling his jaw tighten, Conner pressed on.
“Would it be more believable if I had a different mother?” He asked lowly.
Instead of answering, Oliver just sighed and kept his attention on the task at hand, dabbing the dropper onto a piece of gauze before pulling the blood stained towel away from Connor’s arm.
“Ow,” the young man hissed when he was hit with the inevitable sting.
Oliver glanced up at the short exclamation of pain and snorted, shaking his head as he turned back to his work.
“I know the two of you at least care about each other,” Connor pushed, unwilling to give up. “So what’s the problem? Isn’t it enough to know everything turns out okay?”
“It isn’t that easy,” Oliver dismissed without looking up.
“That’s what she said,” the young man sighed. “Sounds more like excuses from two people who don’t want to get hurt.” This time the younger version of his father did look up; two sharp brown eyes glaring at him, warning him to back off.
“Last time I checked,” Oliver snapped, “I didn’t order and shrink from the future. Feel free to keep your opinion to yourself.” He emphasized his point by pressing the antiseptic more firmly against Connor’s wound, ignoring the way the young man let out another hiss through his teeth. Connor was just like Chloe, Oliver realized grimly; he assumed that everything he thought was fact.
“It’s not an opinion,” Connor stated bluntly. “Of all people, don’t you think I know?”
Oliver looked up at him again and Connor couldn’t help but feel slightly relieved to see that some of the anger had left his eyes. That was all Connor needed to know that somehow, his father was somewhere deep inside the man who was sitting before him, taping a bandage into place. He knew he had to say something before the chance was gone.
“You know I’m good,” Connor said, hoping the older man would catch his meaning. He noticed the bow off to the side and nodded at it. “I didn’t go join any suicidal cults or anything, but I’m still pretty good.”
Oliver smirked at the sarcasm. “It isn’t easy to stop a bullet with an arrow, let alone two.”
“You noticed,” Connor said, the comment a statement rather than a question.
“It was hard not to,” Oliver admitted as pressed the last of the tape over the gauze. “Done.”
Moving his arm tentatively, Connor tested the bandage and once satisfied, he pulled his sleeve down only to find a sizable a bloody tear in the material.
“What?” Oliver questioned as he watched the frown settle onto the young man’s face.
Connor opened his mouth to answer automatically, only to stop himself abruptly. A brief debate seemed to take place behind his eyes before he gave up and simply shrugged.
“Elliot was right,” he explained. “My Mom is going to be mad.”
“Everything okay?”
Connor looked up at the voice that sounded so identical to his mother’s.
“Yea, I’m all ready,” he told Chloe as he stood and looked around. “Where’s the ring?”
Stepping away from Clark and Chloe, Elliot held up the object in question.
Connor nodded and reached towards it. “Hand it over.”
“To the human?” Elliot scoffed as he took an unnaturally quick step backwards. “I don’t think so.”
“Don’t start that shit,” Connor growled. “Your mother’s - ” Connor clamped his mouth shut and glared at Elliot, refusing to even look in Clark’s direction. “Fine, you can carry the crazy broad with the bad manicure.”
“Ooookay,” Chloe interjected quickly, trying to diffuse the situation and press on, hoping that Clark wouldn’t pay too much attention to the confusion she could clearly see forming on his face. “Elliot said the two of you can drop Cheshire off with the authorities.” Connor nodded in confirmation. “Oliver, how long will that tranquilizer dart last?”
“You probably get another two hours out of it, assuming she doesn’t have any other toxins floating through her system that could counteract it.”
“Okay, good,” she sighed as she looked at the two boys she’d come to know over the last day-and-a-half. Really, boys was the wrong word. When she’d first discovered the pair, she’d correctly assumed that they were about the same age as her, but during their time spent together, she’d slowly come to think of them as younger; they’d become her boys. With a worried look she turned to Clark. “This is going to work right?”
“It should,” Clark said as he turned to the two young men. “Just remember,” he instructed with a pointed look at Elliot, “you have to think about the time you left and that should bring you directly back there.”
“Got it,” Elliot nodded. “Thanks for the help.” Turning, the dark haired man glanced at his friend. “Why don’t you go ahead and grab her,” he said, nodding towards Cheshire.
Still perturbed, Connor crossed his arms over his chest.
“Unbelievable,” Elliot muttered as he walked towards the unconscious women and lifted her with ease, tossing her carelessly over his shoulder. “If she scratches me, then you better take care of it.”
“I guess you better be nice then,” Connor quipped.
“Alright, alright,” Chloe interrupted again, pleased when Elliot kept whatever scathing remark he had planned to himself. “Less talking and more getting the woman with poisonous nails back to the future before she wakes up.” She watched as Connor trudged his way over to Elliot and she fixed the pair with a pointed stare. “Do it just like Clark said. We don’t need the two of you landing in another time.” She briefly imagined the kind of trouble the two young men would have caused if they’d managed to arrive a few years earlier.
“I’ve got it, I’ve got it,” Elliot grouched, but when Chloe looked at him sharply, he had enough sense to stay quiet and look away. Turning to Connor she felt her face relax at the sight of him, only to have a sudden pang well up in her chest as she realized this could be the last time she ever saw him. It had crossed her mind that the boys’ time traveling may have messed with the future, but she refused to give the fear too much time. No matter what, she’d go on pretending that Connor and Elliot were out there, somewhere, even if things with Oliver never worked out. Pushing her worries down, she offered the two young men a forced smile, hoping they didn’t notice. “Be careful okay?” She told them both, moving first to Elliot and wrapping her hand around the back of his neck to pull him down and press a kiss to his cheek.
“Aren’t we always?” Elliot grinned, his eyes lighting up with mischief.
Clark was always careful, but Lois on the other hand... Returning Elliot’s grin, Chloe couldn’t help but suspect that the young man in front of her seemed to have inherited his mother’s patented sense of adventure. Poor Clark.
Still smiling, she turned to Connor and took a step forward, only to have him close the space between them to wrap him up in a tight embrace. Closing her eyes, she returned the hug just as forcefully and did her best to remember exactly how he felt, what he smelled like, just in case she never saw him again. “Please, be careful.”
“I’d be more worried about you and that stick in the mud over there that looks like my father,” he whispered, stealing a glance at Oliver. The older man’s face seemed stuck on impassive and for the life of him, Connor wished he could figure out why. Turning his face into his mother’s neck, he squeezed his eyes shut and prayed that when he returned everything would be as he left it. He took some comfort from the arms that held him, happy to know that she hugged the same, felt the same and smelled the same no matter how old she was. Holding her with his eyes closed, he could almost pretend he was home. “Take it from someone who knows,” he whispered softly into her ear, “he does love you.”
Her throat thick with emotion, Chloe could only nod and as they pulled apart, she wrapped her hand around his neck - unconcerned about their audience - and pulled his head down to press a kiss to his forehead. Finally, she released him and forced herself to step away. “Go on you two.”
Elliot turned to Connor as he readjusted Cheshire on his shoulder. “Ready?”
Connor glanced over at the three people before him once more and then nodded. A hand reached out and grabbed his arm and within moments he was enveloped in a flash of light.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“It’s about time.”
Connor barely had a chance to get his bearings before he heard the familiar voice. As he spun around, he opened his mouth to ask what the hell had happened, only to quickly realize who he was seeing. “Uncle Clark?”
“You were expecting someone else?” Clark asked evenly and turned to Elliot. “Ring?”
With a sigh, the young man handed the ring over to his father. “It wasn’t our fault.”
“You’re lucky your mother doesn’t know you’ve been jaunting off to the past,” Clark admonished as he tucked the ring away and reached out for the unconscious women. “Cheshire?”
“I’m assuming you already knew that,” Elliot responded as shifted the unconscious form over as well.
“What do you think happens when you go to the past Elliot? We just forget?” Clark ignored his son’s sigh and turned to Connor, digging into his pocket to pull out a set of keys. “Your dad told me to bring you your car.”
Connor groaned and took the keys. “Am I in trouble?”
“Almost getting your Mom almost killed,” Clark slanted his eyes at Elliot to let him know he’d be sharing the blame, “and almost obliterating your own existence? Yea, I’d say you’re in a bit of trouble.”
“But he’s been holding on to this for what? Nineteen years?” Connor exclaimed. “He has to be over it by now.”
“He was, until the two of you took off with Cheshire and reopened old memories.” Clark nodded his head down the alley. “Go on, Elliot and I will deal with her.”
With a frown, Connor took off down the darkened alley, dreading the idea of getting home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He wasn’t even in the door a few seconds before he heard the sound of heels echoing across the floor. Then he saw her, rounding the corner, walking like a woman on a mission and to his relief, she looked exactly the same. “Mom?”
“Come here,” she instructed, waving him towards her, but she was faster and had closed the distance between them after he took only a couple of steps. Raising her hand to his arm she pressed it to his bicep, a warm glow immediately spreading through him. After a moment, she peeled the bandage away and smiled. “Much better.”
“You should have let him live with it.”
At the familiar sound of his father’s voice, Connor turned to find the older man standing in the foyer’s doorway, his shoulder braced against the wall and his arms crossed over his chest.
“Oliver, don’t be ridiculous,” Chloe chastised. “Next time, I’ll let you live with it. He did nothing wrong.”
Realizing where this was going, Connor knew he had no choice but to defend himself.
“We didn’t know Cheshire was going to jump the gun,” he argued. “We thought we were just stopping her from taking the kryptonite. And what do you think would have happened if we hadn’t gone? Probably worse. Mom definitely would have been dead cause you would have gotten there too late and Cheshire probably would have killed you too. And then with the kryptonite, she would have moved on to Uncle Clark next.”
“Are you done?” Oliver asked with a raised eyebrow. Connor opened his mouth again, but seemed to think better of it and quickly clamped his jaw shut. “Thank you. Go upstairs and get changed. You look like hell.”
Chloe watched Connor take off up the stairs and when he was finally out of range, she turned to Oliver with a frown. “Oliver...didn’t we just talk about what we’d do when he got home?”
“You did most of the talking and I never agreed.” Knowing that wouldn’t be the response she was looking for he closed the distance between them and settled his hands on her hips.
“Oh no you don’t,” Chloe warned as she predicted his actions and pushed at his chest.
“Oh, come on Chlo,” he complained as he grabbed her wrists, holding her palms to his chest as he stepped forward again. “I barely said anything.”
“But it was enough. You don’t listen.” Even as she continued to berate him he grabbed her hips and pulled her closer.
“So you’ve said over the past twenty years.”
“I’ve been saying it longer than that,” she pointed out. “Not sure why I put up with it.”
“Because I’m charming,” Oliver grinned as he dropped a kiss to her lips. “And because you love me.”
“But Oliver, we talked about this,” Chloe continued, ignoring his kiss. “It wasn’t really his fault. I mean, how do we even know whether or not his going back wasn’t part of the overall plan anyway? Maybe if he hadn’t, then we never...”
Oliver dropped his head back and groaned before looking down at her again. “Chloe, not again. What did I tell you about starting in on all this time travel, space continuum, messing up the past and/or future nonsense? This is what you wanted right?”
“Yes, but-.”
“Then drop it,” Oliver said, wrapping his arms around her tighter. “And as for Connor, maybe you’re right, but he still needs to know he can’t go jumping around in time. What if he really messed things up and I ended up married to Dinah or something.” She seemed to snarl slightly at the idea and he kissed her nose. “You’re so cute when you’re being threatened.”
“Don’t start bringing up Dinah and her attempts to woo you away from me,” Chloe snapped. “If you do, then I’ll have to bring up one of your friends.” She grinned when he let out an unhappy groan and fisted her hands in his shirt to pull him back down to her. “Uncle Brucey maybe?”
“Don’t start with that Chloe,” Oliver warned. “Last week it was, ‘Your wife still looks as good as the day you met her, too bad you’re not aging so well.’” When she laughed, Oliver only frowned.
“Oh come on, you know he’s only trying to get a rise out of you. Besides,” Chloe rubbed her hands over his hard chest, “I think,” she slid her hands lower over his muscled abdomen, “you’ve aged just fine.”
“Stop groping me woman or else I’ll do something that will scar our son for life.” She laughed and pushed at his stomach, making him take a step backwards and drop his hands from her hips.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Halfway to his room Connor turned around and walked back quietly over the hardwood floors. As he reached the end of the hallway where the staircase began, he stopped and slowly peered his head around the corner to spot his parents still standing in the foyer. There was still a fear, deep in his gut, that he had somehow changed something in their relationship because of his foray into time travel. Maybe he’d said too much, maybe not enough. It was just so hard for him to understand how the two people he had just met in the past were able to grow into the parents he knew. They barely spoke to one another and when they did, it seemed more than strained, especially on his father’s part.
Yet when he looked down at his Mom and Dad, their physical proximity to one another told him enough. He watched his father kiss his mother and even though he couldn’t resist the urge to roll his eyes, he was happy.
They were too far away for him to catch any of their conversation, but he heard his mother laugh and then he almost turned away with disgust as their PDA took on a rather gag-worthy turn, but then they parted as she laughed. Under any other circumstances, Connor would have probably tried to burn his eyes out of his head at the sight of his father grabbing his mother’s hand and pulling her back for another kiss that wasn’t fit for public, but this time Connor just sighed in relief.
Everything was at it should be. Maybe, in a few days, he’d ask them what exactly happened after he left them in the past. Somehow, he really doubted they made the transition from the two people he met, to the two people standing in front of him very easily.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For three days she hadn’t heard from Oliver and she’d decided if he needed some space, she’d let him have it, even if they never did finish their conversation where he’d revealed he still cared for her.
After Connor and Elliot had left, she’d retreated to her room, fighting back tears at the sudden loss. She’d never expected to form such an attachment to Connor, but in the short time they’d spent together, she’d come to care for him more than almost anyone else in her life. The pain had been rendered worse still by the knowledge that the future she’d seen in his memory, the future he’d told her about, seemed so unattainable.
Chloe didn’t love Oliver. Maybe in Connor’s time she did, but where they were now... She cared for him to be sure, felt an attraction to him that she felt for no one else, but love him?
As much as she feared never seeing Connor again, the last thing she would do was force something on Oliver he wasn’t ready for. So she’d walked away when Connor and Elliot had left, hoping he would follow her, but never really believing he would. Instead, it was Clark who had followed her into her room with a knowing look on his face and he had been the one who held her while she cried. Even though Clark didn’t know the entire story, he understood enough to know how much the discovery that she was Connor’s mother had affected her, even if Oliver couldn’t see it.
The days went on as if nothing had happened. Any communication that needed to take place between she and Oliver had been done by e-mail and even though they both knew they couldn’t avoid one another forever, they accepted the situation for the time being.
The third day was drawing to a close when she received a text from Oliver.
Are you home?
She’d responded with an affirmative, but hadn’t gotten a reply after that. Even so, she couldn’t help but be anxious at his cryptic question and ten minutes later, when the doors to the Watchtower burst open and he marched in she’d gasped in surprise.
“Is everything okay?” She worried. “You didn’t answer me back and your first message was kind of vague.”
“No,” Oliver surveyed the space around him, remembering all too easily what had taken place there just three days ago and then turned to face her again, “everything is fine.”
Chloe pushed herself up from her chair and took a few hesitant steps towards him. “But there is something right? Or else you wouldn’t be here.” He just stared at her for a moment, those deep brown eyes seeming to pry into her soul. She wanted to look away from him, but she was determined to hold her ground against his inquisitive stare.
“I needed some time to think Chloe...” She nodded in what he hoped was understanding. “It’s just that I don’t see any of it the way you do.” He paused, waiting for some sort of reaction from her, but when she gave nothing away, he ploughed on. “I have doubts, even though I can see that he-.” He lost his nerve for a moment, because admitting that the young man that had visited them only three days ago was their son was admitting too much.
She wasn’t used to the uneasy expression on his face. Oliver didn’t do uneasy or anxious of nervous. “The whole thing scares the hell out of you,” she told him plainly. “Don’t you think I can tell?” He stared at her head on, as if he knew it was true, but couldn’t quite say it out loud.
“I’m not that person,” he swallowed uncomfortably, finally finding his voice again. “I don’t know how to be that person. I know how to do what I’m doing now. What happened between me and you, it didn’t work. You know that, you agreed.” He needed her to remember that it wasn’t just his decision to end there short affair. It hadn’t lasted long, maybe a few months, and it was when emotions and feelings started getting in the way that they’d both agreed that enough was enough. They both knew it would never be no strings attached and they couldn’t operate that way, neither one of them were ready for it.
“I know,” Chloe agreed softly, trying to keep her voice from reflecting the pain and regret she really felt. Months ago they had agreed that it couldn’t work, that it wouldn’t work and that it would only be harder to repair the damage in the end. But then Connor had come along and he had been so sure, so positive that it would all work out. Oliver hadn’t seen what she had, hadn’t talked to Connor like she had and wasn’t feeling for the first time like it could work like she was. “Maybe it’s just better if we don’t talk about it anymore,” she whispered at last, resigning herself to the pain.
She was shutting the door on it, closing the book, putting it behind her. He knew he should have been relieved that she wasn’t going to push it or try to convince him that it would work, but it was impossible to feel any relief when every part of him wished he could jump back into it all with her.
Taking a few hesitant steps forward, he stopped when he was only inches from her. “What I said a couple of days ago, before we were interrupted, you know that it isn’t that I don’t care right?” Her green eyes looked away from him, seeming to focus on something on the floor. He waited for the briefest of seconds before sliding his fingers below her chin and forcing her head back up. “Chloe...”
“But it’s not enough right? Wasn’t that the agreement?” She knew the tears were shining in her eyes because she was suddenly trying to bury all the feelings she’d been warring with since Connor had left and Oliver started avoiding her. “I get it. There’s too much going on in the world and caring for someone outside of that can’t compare to the greater good.”
His heart thudded in his chest and it was suddenly impossible to swallow. It felt like it had all those months ago when they’d first decided to end it. The pain was fresh again and he had this eerie feeling that when he walked away, the gap between them would larger still. He didn’t want to walk away yet, but there was nothing for him to say, so instead he just watched her. Slowly, he moved his hand to cradle her cheek and gently brushed his thumb over her lips. They parted slightly, inviting him to come closer, but then she blinked as she realized what was happening and took a hurried step away from him, forcing his hand to fall from her face.
For the first time she actually felt angry at him. Maybe it was because slowly she was changing. Something in her had changed with Connor, but it hadn’t with Oliver, he was the same. “Being alone won’t do forever and one day you are going to find someone you love,” she told him lowly, wrapping her arms around herself. “It won’t be by choice and it won’t be planned, but it’ll happen and you won’t be able to stop it, you won’t be able to say no.” He just stood there watching her with those intense brown eyes, making her feel as if he was peering into her soul. That look, seeing him standing before her, she couldn’t take it anymore. “I hate to be rude Oliver, but maybe it would be better if you go.” She said softly, her voice cracking slightly.
It was like she had shut the figurative door in his face. It was what he had asked for, after all, so he shouldn’t have been surprised, but for some reason, it still felt like a punch to the gut. With a shaky nod he turned away, heading towards the exit
Next: The Origin of Empathy 1/1