Green Arrow Chronicles - Episode 1 (1)

[jerseyhalliwell]

EPISODE ONE:  “Arrow”

(Metropolis Residence of Oliver and Piper Queen - Queen Towers, Metropolis)
The steel door of the elevator lifted up and a man stepped out into the penthouse apartment.
He wore a long overcoat over his expensive suit and despite his unruly long hair, it was obvious he was a man of many means.
Lionel Luthor carried a bottle of the world’s most expensive malt whiskey as he walked over to a desk and picked up a framed photograph of a smiling couple and their happy young son.
His eyes ran over their faces for a moment, smiling to himself as he remembered the last time he had seen that picture: in a newspaper proclaiming the tragic deaths of the billionaire Robert Queen and his wife Annette.
He failed to notice that he was no longer alone in the living room.
“Lionel Luthor,” a bemused voice said from behind him. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Putting the frame down, Lionel turned, smiling as the young man who spoke stepped out of the shadows. “Oliver,” he said pleasantly. “Just thought I’d do my part to welcome you to Metropolis.” He held out the Scotch in his hand. “I must say, when I saw in the headlines ‘Billionaire Oliver Queen moves to Metropolis’ I was stunned. I told myself, I had to come by and see you in the flesh for myself.”
“That’s very gracious of you,” Oliver said with a smile of his own. “To go to all this trouble for me, I mean.”
“Well, you and Lex go way back,” Lionel said still maintaining his pleasant disposition.  “Tell me, what made you decide to relocate?”
Oliver narrowed his eyes in thought for a moment before breaking out into an easy smile. “Well, you’ve got to love these views.”
Lionel’s smile turned into a smirk as he passed over the Scotch and added, “Here’s a housewarming gift for you. Every successful businessman should have a bottle nearby to fight off the stress of work now and again.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you,” Oliver said with a grin. He took the bottle and ran his thumb over the label. It looked vaguely familiar and he realized it was something his father used to enjoy.
“I must say,” Lionel continued. “You look more and more like your father every day, Oliver.”
“Thank you, I’ll take that as a compliment,” Oliver replied smoothly.
Lionel maintained his smile but his eyes hardened. “I wonder,” he mused. “If your physical appearance is all you inherited from Robert.”
Oliver raised an eyebrow. “Meaning?”
Clasping his hands behind his shoulders Lionel replied, “Your father was a very intelligent man, Oliver. The wheels of his mind were always turning. To the point where many of us would be alarmed at some of his choices.”
This time it was Oliver whose demeanor hardened. “My father was a great man, Lionel. And any comparison people make between us is an honor.” He lifted up the corner of his mouth in a smile and immediately the tension on his handsome face disappeared. “I’d suspect that people think the same thing about you and Lex, am I right? Like father, like son?”
All pretenses of pleasant conversation vanished as the two men faced off.
“I wonder if you plan to make your stay in Metropolis an open-ended one?” Lionel asked.
Grinning sardonically, Oliver shoved his hands into his dress pants and cocked his head to the side. “I wasn’t aware I had to run my long-term plans by you, Lionel.”
“Only if you have ill intentions toward me or Lex,” the older man answered evenly.
“Contrary to popular belief, Lionel,” Oliver said with a hint of disbelief in his voice. “Not everything in the world revolves around the Luthors.”
Lionel’s smile returned without a drop of sincerity. “Touché.” And then his gaze turned cold.
“I’ve received reports of break-ins and research being stolen from Luthorcorp. And two nights ago, my son was assaulted in his own office, you wouldn’t happen to know about that would you?”
Crossing his arms across his hard chest, Oliver’s forehead furrowed in slight confusion. “Lionel, you know me to have my hands in a lot of things being CEO of Queen Industries - but I assure you, criminal activity is not one of them.”
“I thought you might say that,” Lionel said with a thoughtful nod. “Just the same, I thought it only fair to tell you that it’s best you stay that way. Because if anything ever happens to my son again, I will not waste a second in retaliation.”
Oliver jutted his chin thoughtfully at Lionel’s words. “Sounds like a threat.”
The elevator door automatically lifted up again and both men instinctively snapped to attention.
A beautiful brunette dressed in a simple yet tasteful sundress and a beige peacoat stepped out.
Oliver’s brown eyes softened almost immediately at the sight of his wife who didn’t realize she was being watched until she’d walked three steps into the living room.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know we had company.”
“Piper Queen.”
Lionel grinned from ear to ear and crossed the room over to her and took the brunette’s hand, bringing it to his lips. “You my dear, are stunning as ever.”
“Still as charming I see, Lionel,” Piper replied. She smiled graciously and pulled her hand back to shift the bouquet of Vanilla Orchids in her hand as well as the brown paper bag she carried. “I hope I’m not interrupting something important.”
“Not at all,” Oliver assured her as we walked around Lionel and joined Piper’s side. He kissed her forehead and automatically relived her of the bag. “Lionel was just welcoming us to Metropolis.”
“That’s very thoughtful,” Piper said turning to Lionel again with another smile.
“Yes it was,” Oliver agreed. He gave the older man an amused look. “Better watch out there, Lionel. Word might get out that you’re not as cold-hearted as you seem in the boardroom.”
Lionel chuckled. “Nice of you to be so concerned about me, Oliver.” He inclined his head slightly at Piper and added, “Although, I might have more reason to revert your concern back to you. A wife buying her own flowers is often a redflag in a marriage. It’s a lesson that Lex eventually learned after his third marriage.”
“Well, I assure you, it isn’t in ours,” Piper answered not missing a beat of politeness in her tone.
Lionel studied the couple before him, specifically the young woman who would have made quite a feather in his familial cap had she accepted Lex’s courtship of her years ago.
Like father, like son indeed.
“Well, I must be off,” Lionel announced. “Piper, always a pleasure.”
“Likewise.”
As Lionel stepped onto the elevator, he turned to face the couple once more. “And Oliver,” he said looking directly at the blond man.
“Welcome to Metropolis.”
When the elevator door lowered and the elevator shaft started to descend, Piper let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.
Feeling Oliver’s nose nuzzle the back of her dark head, Piper closed her eyes and smiled faintly as she felt him breathe in the scent of her hair and then place a lingering kiss on the side of her neck.
She dropped the bouquet of Vanilla Orchids onto the edge of a nearby table and turned in Oliver’s arms to splay her hands on his chest.
Looking up at him, her soft smile deepened until Oliver’s mouth descended on hers. The kiss was slow and lingering and made Piper weak in the knees. She broke away first, her eyes still closed as she wrapped her arms all the way around her husband’s neck and buried her face in his shoulder.
Oliver held his wife in his arms, hugging her tightly. Her dark hair was smooth and soft where he rested his cheek against the side of her head. “Have I told you today how much I love you?” he murmured, actually expecting an answer.
Piper pulled back from their embrace and kissed the cleft in his chin, one her most favorite facial features of his. “Maybe once,” she teased.
“I’m a bad husband,” Oliver said shaking his head regretfully. He reached down for her hand, interlocking their fingers before bring their hands up to his mouth to kiss her knuckles. “Please don’t leave me.”
Piper pressed her lips together in serious thought. “I probably won’t. Today’s a good day and all.”
Oliver grinned and leaned down to kiss her nose. “Every day’s a good day with you, Sleeping Beauty.”
“Right back atcha.” Piper ran her fingers over Oliver’s shaven jaw line and licked her lips before saying, “You knew he was coming, didn’t you.”
Oliver sighed inwardly. She wasn’t even asking a question and he berated himself for thinking that he could spare her from being concerned about him.
“Piper-“
“That’s why you made me take a car to a market that was only six blocks away.”
“It looked like rain.”
“And insisted that take I both Tony and Roy,” Piper said matter-of-factly.
“You like to shop. I wanted to make sure that you didn’t have to do any of your own lifting,” Oliver explained with an innocent shrug.
“And why you didn’t ask if you could come along.” Piper locked her brown eyes with her husband’s own chocolate colored orbs. “And you always ask if you can come along.”
Oliver hung his head in shame. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “I just didn’t want you around in the line of fire in case things got out of hand. I wasn’t sure how much he knew or what he had planned for when he got here.”
Piper gave him a slightly chastising look that made him feel like he’d had in his hand in the cookie jar. “Ollie, I’m not afraid of Lionel Luthor. And I sure as hell know you aren’t.” Her eyes softened slightly as she added, “You can talk to me about these things. And you usually do. Why try to keep me out of it now?”
Oliver drew in a breath as he moved to push Piper’s dark hair back. “Because we’re in Metropolis now.”
Piper nodded slightly. “Fair enough.” She pressed her cheek into the palm of Oliver’s hand for a second before fixing her brown gaze on him again and adding, “But please don’t do it again, okay?”
“I can’t promise I won’t do certain things when it comes to your safety,” Oliver said quietly. “But I won’t deliberately keep you in the dark again. I promise.”
A small smile played on Piper’s lips. “Thank you.” She tilted her head back to happily receive another sweet kiss from her husband. “I love you, Ollie.”
“I sure hope so,” Oliver said with an exaggerated wince. “Lionel may be one screwed up bastard but he’s right about one thing: You shouldn’t be buying your own flowers. That’s my job.”
Piper gave her husband a bemused smile. “Honey, you brought me flowers in bed yesterday. At the crack of dawn.”
“I obviously didn’t buy you enough,” Oliver said in mock seriousness.
“Funny.” Piper wrinkled her nose playfully. “Vanilla Orchids are the cooking flower, remember?”
“We’re eating flowers?”
“Only in a vanilla soufflé, I promise.”
“Vanilla, huh?” Oliver’s hands moved up and down Piper’s back before finally settling on the soft swell of her hips and pulling her flush against his hard body. “Well, when I’m in the mood for vanilla, I don’t need flowers.” He kissed his wife under her chin before moving down to the delicate column on her throat. “All I have to do is taste you.”
“Is there no limit to what charms you’ll pull to get me into bed?” Piper asked with a giggle as Oliver pulled away and grinned innocently down at his wife.
“Are you sick of me already, Sidekick?” Oliver asked teasingly. “Because it’s only been five years.”
“Since we got married,” Piper teased back. “I’ve known you a lot longer than that, Queen. I have you all figured out. Nothing you do surprises me anymore.” She grinned innocently as they both knew nothing could be farther from the truth.
Oliver Queen loved to surprise his wife. Almost as much as he loved to spoil her.
“I’m hurt. One that I no longer surprise you and two, because you never told me you developed telepathy,” Oliver sighed heavily, raking a hand through his short blonde hair. “How about we test out the extent of your newfound abilities?”
Without warning, Oliver swept Piper up into his arms, making her squeal. He grinned in delight at her giggles and tweaked his eyebrows suggestively. “See that coming, Sidekick?”
“No,” Piper admitted dramatically. “I may have underestimated my telepathy. Not to mention your spontaneity streak.”
“And after I’m done, you will never make that mistake again, Mrs. Queen.”

(Metropolis Streets - Midnight)
The Green Arrow stood atop the Daily Planet rooftop just beside its spinning globe.
Covering his eyes was a pair of dark glasses which doubled as night vision glasses. Overlooking the city, he scanned the streets for any sign of suspicious activity.
“Is it just me, or is this city a little too quiet?” he asked sarcastically.
His favorite voice in the world answered him through the comm. link in his ear, her voice laced with amusement. “And you say you don’t go looking for trouble.”
Grinning, Oliver replied, “Believe me, with the way you looked in nothing but the sheet when I left - it took everything I had to make it out the door. Or more accurately, the window.”
From her sealed control room in their penthouse, Piper giggled as she pressed a few buttons on her laptop. A moment later the footage from several traffic cameras pulled up on the three massive computer screens in front of her. “I’m sorry - would you rather I just went naked?”
“Yes,” Oliver answered without thinking. When Piper’s giggles got louder, the billionaire grinned again. “Okay, probably not. I don’t see how I’d ever get anything done.”
“Are we talking for your day job or night job?”
“Both.”
“Can’t have that, can we?”
“Hey, I’m always willing to take one for the team,” Oliver stated seriously. “So feel free to make clothing optional, Watchtower.”
“Way to keep your mind on the mission, Arrow,” Piper said dryly.
“Speaking of the mission - what are you wearing right now?”
“How is that related to the mission?”
“It helps me focus,” Oliver informed his wife mischievously as he continued to scan the streets.
“Are you sure?” Piper doubtfully. “Because if it helps Ollie, I’m wearing your shirt from earlier. And the buttons are undone and-“
“Okay, point taken,” Oliver said roughly. The mental image he’d just conjured up of his wife was reminding him of how constricting leather could be.
“Glad I could help, Arrow,” Piper teased. From her computer station, she clicked on several more images and found nothing unusual.
“Metropolis is clean,” she remarked. “It’s almost like they knew you were going to be out tonight.”
“I’m not complaining,” Oliver smirked. “I guess its fate telling me to go home and have sex with my wife again.”
“You really do have a one track mind, don’t you?” Piper teased.
“Are you complaining?” Oliver smirked as he pulled out a zip line arrow and placed it into his bow. Pulling back the quiver, he used his night vision glasses to focus his shot on the appropriate target two buildings over.
“Only if you take too long to get back to me.”

(Metropolis Grand Hotel Ballroom)
Three Days Later

Being CEO of a billionaire dollar company meant that appearances at cocktail parties and formal functions came with the job description. Taking over his family company at the age of nineteen meant that Oliver had spent the past twelve years of his life rubbing elbows with the rich and pretentious.
Oliver had inherited this life from the moment he’d been born into the Queen family. His caretakers had followed his parent’s will down to the letter, including his attendance at Excelsior Academy which was a breeding ground for future corporate leaders and politicians of America.
In a nutshell, no matter how much he disliked parts of his world, it was still his world and Oliver had no choice but to grin and bear it in honor of his family’s name.
But at least he didn’t have to do it alone.
“You look incredible, by the way,” Oliver murmured in Piper’s ear as he pulled off her coat and handed it to the attendant. His brown eyes travelled down the length of Piper’s bare upper back, her smooth shoulders and the curve of her neck where she’d swept her long dark hair to one side.
“You already said that,” Piper said with a teasing smile. She looked up over her shoulder at her husband and winked. “Keep it up and I might think you’re trying to soften me up because you’re in trouble.”
“Hey,” Oliver said pretending to look indignant. “Give a guy a break. Haven’t I been on my best behavior lately?”
Slipping her hand into the crook of husband’s bent elbow, Piper gave him a knowing look. “You always try to butter me up when you’re on the verge of saying something you know I won’t like to hear.”
“Name one time I did that,” Oliver challenged.
“When you cooked eggs with my non-stick frying pan using a metal spatula you started telling me about how much you liked the way I re-arranged our closet space.”
“That one doesn’t count - I was trying to make you breakfast in bed. Because you know, I love you.”
“When Lindsay Lohan decided to make your lap her new sleep space and you were worried about how to tell me before the story broke out, you kept telling me that you were finally considering trading in the leather for the material Bruce use’s for the Bat suit.”
Oliver opened his mouth to refute his wife’s claims. One look at her mischievous dark eyes framed by impossibly long lashes and the billionaire sighed, hanging his head. “I’ll never win at this game,” he mumbled.
“Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t play,” Piper teased.
“Ollie!” a loud voice called from somewhere on their right.
Immediately Piper felt Oliver sigh. “Here we go,” he said knowingly.
“Senator Keely,” Oliver said smoothly with his usual trademark grin. “Mrs. Keely.”
“Hello my boy,” Edward Keely, a man pushing seventy said with a wide grin. His grin turned more appreciative when he turned to Piper who smiled graciously. “Senator,” she said letting him kiss her hand. “I heard you speech at Capitol Hill. You were outstanding.”
“Yes he is,” Babara Keely, the Senator’s wife and thirty years his junior eyed Oliver appreciatively as she spoke.
Oliver cleared his throat. “If you’ll just excuse us, my wife and I have yet to greet our host.”
One hand gently pressing on the small of his wife back, Oliver expertly steered Piper away from the toxic couple as she stifled a giggle. “Who were you more anxious to get away from?”
“Hard to say,” Oliver deadpanned. “They both annoy me.”
Piper’s witty retort died on her lips as she whispered, “Show time.” She smiled brightly as an attractive older woman and a too-familiar face came into view. “Senator Kent. Lionel.”
“Hello again, Piper, Oliver.” Lionel smiled in a way that gave Oliver the urge to narrow his eyes. “Welcome.”
Martha Kent smiled warmly at Piper, pulling her into a motherly hug. “Hello sweetheart, you look absolutely beautiful.” She lifted her gaze up to Oliver and gave him a smile as well. “Oliver, it’s good to see you.”
Oliver grinned back and inclined his head respectfully. “Congratulations on your nomination to Congressional Hall, Senator. I can’t imagine a more qualified woman for the job.”
Martha blushed. “Still as charming as ever,” she teased earning a laugh from the married couple. She cupped Piper’s cheeks and sighed. “I can’t tell you how happy I was to hear that you kids decided to move here to Metropolis.”
“That’s very kind of you to say,” Oliver replied. “There were a couple of people who weren’t as thrilled by our announcement.” He kept his tone even but it was clear who his underhanded comment had been served too.
Lionel’s smile thinned. “Well, I admit it was surprising to hear that the CEO of Queen Industries and his lovely wife had made the transition to Metropolis, I’ve come to realize how much this…relocation can do for our fair city.” He turned his smile to Martha. “Why, already Oliver has put plans in motion for a new manufacturing plant that will create at least six hundred new jobs for Metropolis citizens.”
Oliver tensed inwardly as he heard Lionel’s clear message to him: he was being watched - very carefully.
Piper put a warm hand on Oliver’s chest and prompted him to break his challenging stare with Lionel. “A feat that’s not easy to accomplish, as I’m sure you would know, Lionel,” she said politely. “But Oliver was determined to do something that would be beneficial to everyone concerned. It’s his nature to help people.”
She smiled up at him when she felt her husband’s warm, brown eyes look down at her in surprise. He stared down at her with nothing but pure love and adoration in his eyes and she felt a blush color her cheeks.
Oliver pressed a quick kiss to his wife’s forehead and said, “How about I get you a drink?”
“That would be lovely. Thank you honey.”
Winking at his wife, Oliver turned to Lionel and Martha, politely excusing himself.
“Mr. Luthor,” a pale-faced man with a nervous stance cleared his throat behind Lionel. “If you’re agreeable sir, we’d like to begin with the ceremonies.”
“Martha, does this suit you?” Lionel asked.
“Yes, of course,” Martha said nodding quickly. Piper noticed the way her hand kept flying up to touch the pristine diamond and ruby necklace around her neck, a clear sign of nervousness.
When Martha turned to her, Piper stepped forward and gave the older woman a hug. “You look beautiful and you’re an amazing Senator. If any of these people don’t realize how much you can do for this country, then they’re fools.”
Martha smiled, emotion clearly on her aged but still attractive face. “Thank you sweetheart.”
“Good luck,” Piper said with an encouraging smile as Lionel escorted her up to the podium in the centre of the function room.
Lionel stood up and called for everyone’s attention. “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s my honor and great pleasure to welcome you all tonight.” He paused as some applause was sent his way. “Of course, tonight is about one, very special woman. A woman who has far surpassed the achievements of-“
Lionel broke off his speech when the function room was suddenly plunged into darkness.
Gasps and murmurs of surprise followed by whispers of panic floated around the room.
Piper could hear Lionel’s voice barking out orders for his staff to fix the lights but a moment later, she heard Martha give a small cry of shock.
When the lights came on not one minute later, everyone was thrown into a frenzy.
“Lionel!” Martha shouted in dismay. “He took your family’s necklace!”

“Eventual night, huh?” Oliver asked, pressing a kiss to the back of Piper’s head as they stepped off the elevator leading to their living room.
“That’s an understatement,” Piper laughed as she covered Oliver’s hands on her waist with her own. She tipped her head back and pressed a soft kiss to her husband’s waiting lips. “I’m glad to be home.”
“And I’m glad to be able to take this damn thing out of my pocket,” Oliver said with a grimace as he reached inside his jacket and pulled out a small bag that was big enough to fit marbles - and toss it onto the coffee table. “That thing weighs a ton.”
Piper stared at the bag where it rested on the glass table. “Martha told me that Lionel said it was a family heirloom. He convinced her to wear it tonight as a favor to him because it was sitting in the Luthor family safe and deserved to be worn.”
“His way of establishing a plausible history,” Oliver mused as sat down on the couch and pulled his wife to sit on his lap. With one hand on Piper’s waist, he reached for the bag and emptied out its contents.
The diamond and ruby necklace that had previously been on Martha Kent’s neck gleamed up at them.
“Why would a man as rich as Lionel Luthor buy something so valuable off the black market?” Piper asked, slightly confused. She hooked one arm around Oliver’s neck, her hand moving to run through his blond hair. His own hand roamed up and down her thigh, the other keeping her in place on his lap.
“I’m betting it was his way of smuggling money out of the country,” Oliver said grimly. “He probably knew he was being watched and didn’t want to leave a paper trail in case it came back to his unscrupulous ways.”
Piper pressed her lips into a slight frown. “Ollie… with everything we know about Lionel… do you think it’s possible that…” She swallowed hard and Oliver instinctively grasped her a little tighter.
“That what?” he prodded gently.
“That Martha may be in danger.”
Oliver lifted up the corners of his mouth in a small, encouraging smile. “No,” he answered honestly. “Because Lionel loves her. For some insane reason, I think he really believes he might have a chance with her.”
“That’s highly unlikely,” Piper replied without missing a beat. At the slight tweaking of Oliver’s eyebrows in a questioning look, she explained.
“Martha was so in love with her husband Jonathan. He died last year from a massive heart attack. They were college sweethearts and I truly think they were happy together every day that they were married. And they were for almost twenty five years.”
“That’s a lot to live up too,” Oliver agreed. “For anyone.”
“I know,” Piper nodded, playing with the unbuttoned top of his dress shirt. “And I also think that Martha isn’t looking for any type of companionship. She was happy - like ultimately happy - she doesn’t need anything else, you know?”
Oliver watched his wife as she undid his tie for him. A small smile played on his lips. “Yeah, I know what that feels like.”

(Metropolis Residence of Oliver and Piper Queen - Queen Towers, Metropolis City)
Oliver raised his quiver and aimed it at the red bulls-eye on the round target exactly thirty feet from him.
He closed his eyes and released the arrow. He expected to hear the familiar sound of an arrow hitting its intended target but instead he heard a faint whoosh sound followed by silence.
He opened his mouth and smirked at the sight of his old friend Clark Kent holding the arrow in his hand. “Clark,” he greeted the slightly younger man. “I was wondering if my security system would keep someone like you out.”
Clark quirked his eyebrows innocently. “Looks like you need an upgrade,” he replied pointedly as he walked over to hand the arrow he’d caught, back to its owner.
“Or maybe you just need to learn to knock,” Oliver remarked dryly. He shook his head at Clark’s outstretched hand. “You know what, you can keep that. I’ve got plenty more. Call it a house warming gift - only backwards since you know, this is my house and I’m the one that actually did the moving in.”
At Clark’s blank look, Oliver rolled his eyes. “That was a joke, Clark.”
“I’m laughing on the inside,” Clark retorted sarcastically.
“Maybe one day we’ll all get lucky and it’ll bubble to the surface,” Oliver deadpanned as he placed his bow on the table beside the stack of carefully arranged arrows. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Clark cocked his head. “Would you believe it’s my good manners? You did just move to Metropolis and I wanted to welcome you to the city.”
“And?” Oliver prompted.
Clark cleared his throat. “And to ask you if the Green Arrow had taken a page out of Robin Hood’s playbook to rob from the rich and give to the poor.”
Oliver raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “I assure you Clark - I write my own destiny. I don’t believe in deferring to anyone’s personal history - even if they are great literary characters.”
Clark narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “So you didn’t happen to swipe the necklace off my mother last night at Lionel’s fundraiser? I know you were there, my Mom mentioned it. And witnesses say that they saw a hooded man walking around but disappeared too quickly for them to be sure.”
Oliver crossed his arms and held Clark’s stare. “Clark, I realize that you’re not a team player and that you have your own issues to deal with that require a great deal of your time and energy - but trust me, not everything is directly related to you.”
“It is when it concerns my Mom,” Clark argued. He immediately felt ashamed for raising his voice. He was accusing Oliver of something pretty serious in the man’s own home. “I’m sorry - I just… I need to understand why you did it. I don’t want my mother indebted to Lionel Luthor.”
“I understand how you feel, Clark, I do,” Oliver replied. “But you need to know something - this wasn’t a personal attack on your mother, or even on Lionel. Let’s just say that Lionel and a few of his close, personal friends have been buying valuables on the black market at prices highly questionable to all those involved. Turns out they’re using these artifacts as a means to smuggle money out of third-world countries. As if those people weren’t suffering enough.”
Clark’s blue-green eyes widened. “My mother was wearing stolen goods?”
“Goods worth nearly half a million dollars and from the poorest part of Africa,” Oliver confirmed with a grim nod.
“Damn it,” Clark cursed.
“You didn’t know, Clark,” Oliver pointed out. “There was no way you could have known.”
Shaking his head, Clark set his jaw. “I should have known better then to think that Lionel Luthor could be trusted in any way, shape or form.”
Oliver was about to reassure his friend when he heard faint footsteps followed by his wife’s voice. “Ollie I was thinking-“
Piper broke off and smiled lightly when she realized that they had company. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t know you were busy.”
“It’s okay honey,” Oliver said moving up the steps leading to the kitchen to take his wife’s hand and walk her back down to where Clark stood. “This is Clark Kent. Clark, this is my wife, Piper.”
Clark’s eyes widened slightly as he mentally kicked himself for forgetting that Oliver was married. “Wow,” he said to himself as he stared down at Piper. Then his face turned beet red. “I mean, hi,” he stammered.
The beautiful brunette gave him a bemused smile as she felt Oliver put an arm around her and give her an affectionate squeeze. Already she liked Clark Kent because it was obvious Oliver trusted him enough not to be jealous of the farmboy’s blunder.
“Hello Clark, it’s nice to meet you,” Piper said warmly as she held out her hand to him. “I’ve heard a lot about you and I know your mother pretty well. She’s an amazing woman.”
“Yes she is,” Clark said shyly.
Feeling a little bit sorry for the man, Piper turned her attention back to her husband. “I’m going to make turkey sandwiches for lunch,” she informed him.
“With the moist-maker?” Oliver asked hopefully.
Leaning up to knock her forehead lightly with his Piper asked, “Do I ever do it another way?”
Oliver grinned and pressed a kiss to her forehead when she settled back down on her feet. “Do you need a hand?”
“No, it’s fine,” Piper said smoothing down the material of his shirt - really just an excuse to run her hands over his well-defined chest. “You and Clark go back to what you were talking about.” Hopeful that Clark got his bearings together, she turned back to the farmboy. “I’d love it if you stayed for lunch Clark.”
“Well um… I uh…” Clark trailed off, still embarrassed and unable to look her in the eye.
Oliver felt Piper’s elbow lightly jab his ribs and he mentally sighed, as she silently told him to stop his fun at Clark’s uncomfortable state. “C’mon Clark, my wife’s a wizard in the kitchen. And she loves to feed my friends so do this for her.”
Clark glanced up sheepishly at his older friend and saw that Oliver was sincere and he nodded weakly. “Sure.”
“Great.” Piper gave her husband an approving smile before ducking out from under his arm and heading to the kitchen.
Clark stole a glance, watching the stunning woman walk away before he caught himself and turned to Oliver - who had his back turned as he watched Piper disappear into the kitchen.
“Sorry about that,” Clark said with a flushed smile. “I uh… I’m not really good at talking to pretty girls.” He closed his eyes and mentally kicked himself for his blunder yet again. “Oh crap - I’m just gonna go.”
Oliver chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t worry about it Clark,” the billionaire said clapping his younger friend firmly on the shoulder. “Happens all the time.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet,” Clark said sheepishly.
“At least you’re a friend,” Oliver pointed out. “A lot of the time perfect strangers hit on Piper and it’s all I can do not to gauge their eyes out with an arrow,” he added as he walked over to his desk and rummaged through the stack of folders for the file he’d prepared on Lionel for Clark’s own benefit.
Clark shared Oliver’s grin but his eyes held a look of seriousness. “How did you tell her?” he asked.
Oliver merely raised his eyebrows and Clark shrugged. “I mean, I know it’s none of my business or anything but… I was just wondering… how did you tell Piper about… your other life?”
Snapping the file shut and tossing it back onto his desk, Oliver crossed his arms across his hard chest as a thoughtful look crossed his brown eyes. “I told her the truth,” he said with a short nod.
Clark let out a small noise of disbelief. “You make it sound so easy.”
Oliver smirked and walked around to the front of his desk, leaning against it. “It’s not,” he said unnecessarily. “Not even close.” He jutted his chin and shook his head. “But the alternative was to lie and eventually hurt the woman that I love.”
“But that’s just it,” Clark pointed out. “Weren’t you - aren’t you - afraid that somehow she’ll get caught up in all of this? That some people out there might try to hurt Piper to hurt you?”
“I think about that possibility every day, Clark,” Oliver said with a level of tension in his voice. “But I’m no martyr - despite what I do as Green Arrow. I knew from the beginning that I can’t live without Piper and I wasn’t willing to try. Nobility isn’t my strong suit - unlike you, Clark,” he added with a small smirk.
Clark gave the other man a thin smile. “Nice.”