Love by a Different Name (11/14)
Title: Love by a Different Name
Summary: "It was nothing but a chance encounter, a simple set-up that neither of them wanted to attend. But they did, and they had found each other." Sequel to “Time Makes it Harder,” takes place in the Mirror-verse.
Rating: NC-17
Warning: adult content, coarse language.
Dedication: To
daydreamer22688, I don't know if you remembering asking for this, but ask and you shall receive. Special birthday dedication to poetgirl925. If my math's right, it should be your birthday where you are
Thanks to:
alxnhnt22 for the banner.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10
Part 11
It was a place she thought that she would never step foot in again, and yet, this company was part of her life for so long. Nights were spent pouring over books, going through details. Initially it was boring to her, but she learned to get used to a life in business.
It was only the second time Lois had been in the Star City office as even after Chloe died, Oliver maintained his presence in Kansas. Years had gone by, but somehow, nothing had changed. Tess had been in charge but the pictures, the paint, the furniture, it was all the same.
It was like walking back through years of memories just by staring at one.
The door opened, so she turned around to see Oliver walking in. He looked different, but the look on his face still showed one of pain. He was decent at hiding it, but Lois knew him well enough to see what he was really feeling. Trying to lighten the mood, as the reason she was here wasn’t exactly sunshine and roses either, she smirked. “You know, I didn’t believe it when I first read it in the papers. I thought it was fake... all of it.”
Oliver pursed his lips. “I can't say I blame you; it is quite the tale.” He had seen Lois in the papers but actually seeing her now, it was harder than he thought. Especially considering what he knew about her own flesh and blood. Fortunately, he was quickly distracted by the sparkle on her left hand, so he pointed towards it. “Congratulations, by the way. I really do hope for your sake Clark Luthor is the man the papers claim.”
Lois nodded, fiddling with the ring on her hand. “I promise you Oliver, he is.”
He would have to take her word on that, but noticing the folder in Lois’ other hand, Oliver sighed. There was work that had to be done, no point talking around it. “So where do I sign?”
Lois pulled up the folder, opening the cover to show the annulment papers. “I’ve highlighted them in yellow.” She put it on the desk, tracing her fingers on the top. It was hard to be engaged to someone else if Lois was still married, so this had to happen, but it wasn’t the way she hoped to greet Oliver.
“Well, I’ll take care of this now so I don’t have to bother you more than I have to,” Oliver replied as he rounded the desk.
Surprised at the flat tone of his voice, not to mention the speed he was signing the papers, Lois tried to reassure him, “Come on Oliver, our relationship wasn’t that bad.”
Oliver scoffed lightly. “Our marriage was.” Lois believed in him, which meant a lot, more than he ever expressed, but aside from that, there was emptiness in their relationship. There was no lack of passion, but eventually, when the spark died, they realized there wasn’t much left.
Lois thought about a rebuttal, but she held back. “It was, wasn’t it?” Placing her hand over Oliver's after he dropped the pen, she added, “But I am glad to see you now.”
“Thanks, it's good to see you too,” he replied with as much of a smile that he could manage under the circumstances. After closing the folder, Oliver peered up at Lois. “Are you staying in town for Friday night?”
Lois nodded again. “Even if your gala wasn’t a PR gold mine... we wouldn’t miss it.” She reached across the desk to grab the papers, but as she brought her arm back, her elbow hit a frame, causing it to fall off the desk, the glass cracking once it hit the ground.
“I’m so sorry,” Lois said, quickly jumping into action as she dropped the folder on the desk again to pick up the few shards of glass.
Oliver was out of his chair just as fast. “Don’t worry about it,” he said as he lifted her hands away. “I’m sure you have more important things to do.”
But Lois pulled her hands from him just as fast. “This will take two minutes to clean up, I can handle it Oliver.”
He wanted to stop her, but it was already too late, as Lois lifted the entire frame, both photos slipping out. It didn’t take long for Lois to see her cousin’s face in the second photo. “You never got over her, did you?”
She knew it was a rhetorical question, but it had been ages since she had seen her cousin’s smiling face, so Lois couldn’t hold back the single tear that wanted to fall. However, after she put down the frame and the photo of his parents, another emotion came to the surface as Lois noticed the photo's other half.
Lois stood up quickly as she took in the details. Peering up at Oliver, taking in few changes he had made to his appearance, the hair, the eyes. They were the same details she saw in the photo in front of her.
It couldn’t be possible. It just couldn’t.
But Oliver was alive, and Lois knew Chloe, even if their relationship had started to strain. Her head shook slightly as suddenly, Lois knew why Oliver wanted to push her away from cleaning up.
“When was this taken?”
Oliver’s mouth gaped open and eventually he said the only thing he could. “It doesn’t matter.”
She watched as he walked to the window silently. If that wasn’t a tell, Lois wasn’t sure what was. Unfortunately for him, Lois wasn’t about to back off. “If my cousin is alive, you bet it matters.”
He said nothing, so Lois glanced at the photo again. They were happy whenever this was taken, which reminded Lois of how she always heard joy in Chloe’s voice when she called while they were together. “My cousin has always been a fighter,” she said softly, glad that Chloe had somehow found a way to survive after all. At this point, Lois could only imagine what she must have felt when she saw the news that Oliver had... disappeared, not to mention the satisfaction upon finding him again. “So have you. I guess my real question is why would you give up after everything you went through?”
Oliver smirked, watching his reflection in the glass. There was no point arguing with Lois and the truth was probably going to be the only thing that would stop her. “Short version... losing me was enough for her once, and she won’t let it happen again.”
There was more to this, Lois knew that for sure, but she wasn’t about to argue with Oliver. This was a pointless battle, but there was one thing Lois wanted more than anything. “I want to see her.”
“Lois, I -”
“Don’t Lois me,” she replied harshly. She had expected some form of denial or push back, but he wasn’t going to keep Lois from seeing her cousin. “You owe me this.”
The sad part was that Lois was right. After all the days that he spent, the downward spirals she had saved him from, he did owe her. But he didn’t know what to tell her. The only thing he had was her alias; he had no idea where Chloe lived in Star City or if she even had an office with the Register. However, there was one person who could tell Lois more information.
“She’s a regular at an off-campus coffee shop.” Leaning down, Oliver wrote the address down, ripping the sheet off the pad to give to Lois. “Chloe hasn’t changed much, but talk to Emily if you need anything. She’s a friend.”
Staring at the address, Lois felt a smile come across her face, but it fell slightly as she looked back up at Oliver. “Thank you Oliver,” she said genuinely before leaving his office, hoping to find more answers.
~0~
Here she was, the location of the lead Oliver had informed Lois of Chloe’s continued existence. It wasn’t much, as he very likely knew where Chloe was living, but Lois was always up for a challenge and she knew it wouldn’t be long before she located her cousin.
The clue itself was fitting, as her cousin did enjoy her coffee. While people ignored her and let her down, coffee became her refuge, her comfort in the shaky life she had been given.
Hearing the bell chime, Lois looked around the bustling cafe. She began to regret coming during the lunch rush, but she had a mission and couldn’t afford to waste any time looking around. So Lois worked her way through the crowd, looking at the name tags on the employees, but it didn’t match the name she was looking for.
Sighing, Lois slipped her way back through, ignoring the yells she was receiving for temporarily cutting in line. She was tempted to yell at them, tell them to take a chill pill, but she held back. This wasn’t the time to get into pointless squabbles. Lois was essentially disowned by the last family she had when Clark and her started going out, so she really wanted to see Chloe again, to have some sort of family in her life again.
And that’s when Lois saw her. Not Chloe, unfortunately, but another cafe worker cleaning up tables without any care in the world. The name tag wasn’t clear from her angle, but Lois had to try. Approaching her from behind, Lois said, “Emily?”
Emily stilled, recognizing the voice from behind her, but she didn’t let it show for too long. Instead, she collected her tray and turned around. “That’s me. What can I do for you?”
“Have you seen her?” Lois hated the fact that the only picture that she had was from six years ago, but it would have to do in this case. She didn’t have the heart to take the photo from Oliver’s office.
Playing dumb, Emily took a couple seconds, even made a couple faces to waste time. Looking back at Lois, she shook her head. “I’m sorry, I don’t.”
She was quite convincing; Lois would give her that much, but Oliver had given Lois her name for a reason and she had every intention of figuring out why. Allowing Emily to have a few steps of victory, Lois stated confidently, “I have on very good authority that’s not true.”
Emily turned her head over her shoulder, narrowing her eyes at the other woman. Fortunately for her, Emily had played this game for people who had less genuine intentions that Lois. “Who? I’m curious.” The answer was clear, but it was also an answer Lois couldn’t admit aloud and Emily knew it. “Admit it, you’re fishing at the only clue you have.”
Lois caught the scoff in her tone as Emily took off again, but Lois quickly cut off her path, cutting to the chase this time. “You’re protecting her.”
“Believe what you want, Lois Lane, but I’m not going to tell you anything.” After her last less than stellar encounter with Oliver, Emily wanted to start distancing herself from people in Chloe’s life. However, things weren’t that easy, a fact reminded to her as she noticed Victor entering the cafe. It was only a matter of time before Oliver figured out who Emily was to Victor, he was his boss after all. Knowing her identity would make things more difficult, more awkward, as years worth of blanks would be filled. And there was no way to avoid it because Emily wasn’t going to leave him over something like this.
“Excuse me for a minute,” she told Lois, surprised when the woman just nodded and took a seat at an open table. Approaching Victor carefully, Emily whispered as she walked by him, “The usual?”
“Yeah.” Turning his head to look subtly at Lois, Victor couldn’t help but ask, “What is she...”
Emily shrugged, not wanting Victor to finish that thought. “You know what to do.” Lois being this close likely meant that it was only a matter of time before she found Chloe and they both owed her enough to warn her of what was ahead.
So Victor just nodded, taking his coffee, all while ignoring the people around him who were there first. “See you later.”
Emily smirked and then turned her head to catch the eye of Lois, who gave her a knowing look before Emily left the counter. “On the house,” she said, placing the coffee on the table.
Lois took it, even sipped it before asking, “Boyfriend?”
“Just a regular,” Emily lied, figuring that the truth will come out soon enough, but for now, she had to be cautious. “You can try to figure me out Ms Lane, but it’s not going to work.”
“Look, she’s my cousin.” Lois placed the photo back on the table, getting momentarily lost in the happiness in her cousin’s expression. If nothing else, all she wanted to know was if Chloe was okay. “I thought she was dead.”
Then again, if she would give up Oliver, Lois wanted to know why and to help Chloe see her mistake. Sure, when Chloe first told her that Oliver and her were friends, Lois scoffed. But Oliver proved that he was a good guy to her, even to Lois... but for him, it was always Chloe.
Biting her lip, Emily felt guilty now. She could see the worry in Lois’ eyes and despite the need to be firm, she felt herself slipping again. “It looks legit, and I want to believe you... but you have to understand.” Lois had already figured out that Emily was protecting Chloe, so Emily saw no point in lying about that much. “Do yourself a favour, forget all this.”
Lois shook her head, pulling her chair out to meet the other woman’s eyes. “Then you don’t know me at all.”
But Emily never broke the stare. “I know more than you think,” she stated, knowing Lois would get the implication.
“Fine,” Lois lied. What this Emily didn’t know was that Lois had another plan and if she worked fast, she might just be able to catch up to him.
~0~
It had taken awhile, but it seemed like Chloe was finally back into her writing groove. Her latest piece was just about finished, all she needed was a decent closing. Tapping her fingers against the desk, she almost missed the sound of the knocking on the door, but on the third knock, Chloe shook out of her trance. Standing slowly, she headed to the door, knowing who her visitor was before she even opened the door. “Victor, hey.”
Noticing her gesturing for him to enter, Victor was quick to oblige, but decided to get straight to the point. “Lois is on your trail.”
Chloe’s eyes widened, but her surprise faded fast, as Lois must have figured it out through Oliver somehow. If there was one thing she knew about her cousin, it was her persuasive nature. However, she still needed a decent lead to go on... and she wasn't finding that from Queen Industries or from Victor. “She’s seen Em?”
Victor nodded. “I don't know much more than that... but she is covering for you as long as she can.”
Chloe had expected as much, for despite their disagreement, they would always take care of each other. However, that didn't explain why Lois was in Star City so early. "I thought the gala wasn't for another couple of days."
“Annulment paperwork,” Victor replied, seeing her expression fall further as she had clearly forgotten about that. Stepping closer to Chloe, he asked, “How are you?”
Chloe shrugged it off, walking back towards her desk. After considering telling Vic about her progress, she decided against it and told him the truth. Things were better, however, there was still the fact Chloe was, “Getting used to the feeling again.”
All this time, Victor had avoided the conversation with Chloe, seeing Emily take the fall for everything. He knew they would find a way to patch things up, but Victor couldn’t take the silent approach anymore. “Why not come clean? It worked with me.”
She knew that, knew the way the press reacted to the infamous lab subject being hired at Queen Industries, his fast rise to the VP chair, yet Victor handled it with confidence and class. He knew the sacrifice and he took it when Emily and Chloe asked him. Yet in the end, they always knew it was his choice, not theirs to make.
However, she avoided what he wanted to hear, settling on, “I was never supposed to be more than someone to help save Queen Industries. As far as I’m concerned, I fulfilled my role in Oliver’s life.”
“That’s a bunch of crap and you know it,” Victor deadpanned, watching as Chloe’s head popped up. Seeing that he had her full attention, he pressed on, “What role do you think Em was supposed to play in mine? Because I sure thought she had fulfilled it too.” However, Victor knew he couldn’t make this about him anymore. If Chloe was going to make this decision, she had to work through each insecurity and break through it. “But forget all that, because I think there’s more to this than I think even you realize.”
“I can’t go back on this now, not after I’ve hurt him like this.”
“If you truly believe that... then you underestimate how much Oliver loves you.” It was easy to see the demeanour switch in his boss since the fallout. Victor wanted to reach out, to say he knew everything, but for now, everything had to be approached with an air of caution. Because if things changed too fast, they risked an even worse aftermath.
Rolling her eyes, Chloe admitted. “That’s what Emily said.” It was her fallback line, the reason she was so insistent on Chloe coming forward. It was something she knew all too well, but Oliver stood there and... it seemed like the fight was gone.
Victor wasn't about to broach that subject, but now that Chloe had, he risked asking, “Can you two make up anytime soon? I really prefer not being the go-between... and she wasn’t the only one who knew about this.”
“You’re different because...” Chloe paused, realizing that Victor was right. Maybe she had been a little tough on Em, but it wasn't like her comments didn't have merit. “You and I both know that she needs to -”
“Yeah, she does. But she’s not alone,” Victor interjecting knowing exactly where Chloe was going with that statement. “I don’t know the full details, but I’m almost willing to bet you both pushed the limits here.” After all, it's a lot easier to tell someone to do something than to personally commit to an action. “In the end, it’s about taking one of two choices. Stay with what you’re comfortable with, or venture into something new. Oliver was never part of your plan then, just like becoming Chloe Sullivan again isn’t now.”
He sighed, knowing it wasn’t that simple, but he knew her decision was something she hadn’t faced properly. “I’m not telling you how to live your life... I’m asking you to think about the night you walked away.” With the stubbornness of both their characters, Victor figured that at least one of them was misunderstood along the way. “Then think about how the last month has been. If you think this is what you want, then that’s fine. But I think all this time, you’ve been living under assumptions instead of facts.”
Chloe appreciated his words and the concessions he took, and she wanted to believe him. Unfortunately, even if he was right, that didn’t fix anything. “What about it?”
“You need to face the facts and see what happens. Because you’re wrong if you think it’s too late to change your mind,” Victor said before reaching into his jacket pocket, slipping a card onto the table. Without a further word, he left the apartment, hoping that this would help Chloe see her situation in a new light.
Part 12