We Are Family (1/1)
Author: serafina19
Title: We Are Family
Summary: A simple meet-the-parents weekend turns out to be more than Chloe and Oliver had planned for.
Rating: PG
Timeline: AU, but with canon events. Based post-Finale.
Thanks to: svchlollie for the prompt and artgirltx for choosing this one for to finish from my Coming Soon list (even though I posted something before it...).
Sera’s Scribbles: This is an AU that probably shouldn’t work, but for the sake of storytelling… work with me here.
We Are Family
It was far from the first time Chloe had been in an elevator with Oliver. In fact, it was more common than the average person, but this time, she couldn’t help but be nervous. “Explain to me again why this is a good idea,” she said, staring ahead as the doors closed behind them.
Unfortunately for her, the answer was an easy one for her husband to answer. “There is no way that I’m explaining to my parents that we’re married alone.” Over two months had passed since and he didn’t enjoy lying to them anymore, not when he was excited to tell them.
“Oliver, keep in mind that I’ve never actually met your parents.”
“That’s on you. You know that I’ve wanted you to meet them.” But such were the downsides of their lack of strings, as she called it. Their casual relationship made things more complicated and even though she returned to him after erasing her existence, their relationship kept a small sense of distance.
Their unexpected change of status changed that, kept her in one place for longer than a few months, but with Clark and Lois moving their wedding, Chloe still wanted to keep things quiet.
Chloe wanted to blame that on her lack of confidence when it came to actual relationships, her ugly past, but she knew it was more than that. She also knew better than to doubt Oliver’s feelings, but old habits died hard.
“And you’ve been so eager to meet mine,” she said, however, to her surprise, Oliver was quick to correct her.
“I have met yours.” Seeing his wife’s head whip in his direction, he reached forward to stop the elevator, knowing there wasn’t enough time to explain if it kept going. “I was desperate. Even though I knew you had lost contact with your parents, I was hoping that you reached out.”
He remembered that day perfectly. Chloe’s dad opening the door, him pleading with the man who barely knew him to tell him where the daughter that had distanced herself from them was. All Oliver wanted was a sign that she was okay, but they didn’t hold the answers he was looking for. “Not the ideal first conversation I assure you.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me that?”
“I got the impression that we were walking on eggshells since you got back.” Based on the tone of her voice now, Oliver sensed they still were, which caused his own nerves to return. “Keep in mind what your original reaction was when you saw that certificate.”
How could she forget? The panic in thinking she was married to Clark, the fact that it never occurred to her that she was married to her actual boyfriend, a title they had just agreed upon days before that night. “Okay, I panicked a little, but you have to admit it was far from being part of the discussion.”
It was, but that wasn't the point. “Chloe, we’re not getting into this discussion again.” It was hard enough convincing her that things were okay, that he was fine with being married to her. Sure, it made certain things more difficult, but their unconventional ceremony took away what would have been the hardest thing for Oliver... convincing her to say yes. “Look, next to your parents, mine are going to be easy.”
“Right,” Chloe scoffed. She knew that the Queens were good people, but they were also parents of a single child, and they probably had high expectations for the person Oliver married… and she was pretty sure she didn’t fit that bill.
“Trust me, they already know you’re not after our money, that you have a job and that you’re open to the idea of kids. That’s the trifecta as far as they’re concerned.”
“Oliver Queen, if you did as much as breathe that I’m -” Seeing his expression, Chloe realized that he hadn’t. “I’m sorry, I’m just…” She tried to find the right words, but instead she just sighed.
“I know,” he said, leaning his forehead against hers, smiling as her eyes looked up at him.
Reaching forward, Chloe moved her hands up and down his jacket, getting her nerves out of her system. “Let’s do this.”
“You sure? Because I’m sure they’ll understand if we need to reschedule.”
Chloe gave a short nod before stepping back to activate the elevator. “I’ve faced off against worse things in the world. You’re right, this will be okay.”
She turned around to stand in front of the elevator doors, taking a deep breath before Oliver joined her. When the doors opened, they both knew there was no going back now, except it seemed like no one was there, as the lights were out and there were no sounds in the air besides them exiting the elevator.
“Mom? Dad?”
Chloe stopped to take off her shoes before looking around the corners at the entryway of the penthouse. “Did you tell them we were coming?”
“I even texted them when we landed.” Pulling out his phone, Oliver checked to see if he got any messages as he approached the main room. “I hope they didn’t come out to the airport, especially because I told them that -”
“Surprise!”
Chloe’s eyes popped up as the lights when on in the main room, watching as everyone in their lives emerged from behind couches and other furniture. Next thing either of them knew, a banner reading Congratulations appeared. “Oliver, what is going on?”
“Take it easy on your husband, cuz.” Lois said, fixing her hair as she walked across the room to hug her cousin. “He was as clueless as you on this.”
She wanted to know what Lois meant by that, but Mrs. Queen spoke up first. “We thought considering that we didn’t see our only son get married, the least we could do was throw a post-wedding shower.”
“You knew?” Oliver said, taking the words out of his wife’s mouth.
Mrs. Queen nodded as a sly grin came across her face. “You may not be wearing rings and there may not be a video on YouTube, but we stumbled across half a wedding certificate in your office while your father was looking for a pen that worked.”
Finally entering the room, Chloe came face-to-face with her parents-in-law. “He kept it in his desk?” She knew it had to be a copy, as the original was framed in their bedroom in the clocktower. Lois thought it was weird, but they saw it as a reminder of no matter how broken things were, they would have each other, they were a team. But she never realized that was something he took with him to Star City.
Mrs. Queen gave another nod. “And we waited for the whole month for him to tell us the truth, but we’re used to it, especially considering other news.”
Chloe’s eyes widened, but she didn’t want to say anything, as she was a little afraid to ask what the other news was.
“But it was worth it to know it was you, Chloe,” Mrs. Queen continued, knowing how strange it sounded considering they had never met. But based on the way Oliver spoke about her, and what they could find about the woman, it was clear that Chloe was someone who genuinely cared about their son. “We could tell your relationship was changing, but Oliver was suspiciously coy.”
“That said,” Mr. Queen said, “we would have preferred to meet you before the wedding day, but we did our homework. Although to be honest, Lois probably filled in most of the blanks.”
“Actually,” Lois said, wrapping her arm around Clark. “The credit for this particular development goes to Smallville here.”
“Really?”
Clark smiled as his gaze moved to Chloe. “One day, you’re in the barn, telling me that you’re leaving again, likely leaving Oliver behind. The next, you two are practically inseparable.” Glancing down at his friends' entwined hands, his smile grew before wandering to Chloe’s stomach, wondering when she would trust everyone with that development. “Combine that with a missing half of a wedding certificate and a look at your call records to confirm that you never called the chapel… ”
“You looked at my phone records?” Chloe asked, raising an eyebrow, as that wasn’t a typical move for Clark.
“Technically Victor did,” Clark said, as the team came closer to give their respective hugs. “Did you really doubt my journalism skills that much?”
Taking in the faces of everyone around them, the truth was starting to dawn on Chloe. “So you all knew?”
“Pretty much,” Victor said, as the rest of the team nodded.
After a sigh, Chloe leaned her head against Oliver’s arm, which he moved quickly to wrap around her back. “I really should have listened to you.”
“I should get that in writing,” Oliver said with a laugh.
“I’m sorry…are we late?” said a voice Chloe hadn’t heard in years, something that was her fault, but also the fault of distance.
Between Chloe testifying against Lionel Luthor and her dad’s struggle in finding a job, her parents had barely stepped inside Kansas since being relocated. They saw it as a fresh start, but as Chloe was accepted to Metropolis University, they said they’d stay in touch.
It was a sweet sentiment that never really happened. She’d stop by for the odd Christmas, but between everything she put on her shoulders, Chloe had practically abandoned her parents. Which was why she was so surprised to see them here, with smiles on their faces no less.
“Congratulations sweetie,” her dad said, and Chloe almost felt like this was a trick. As much as she loved Oliver, she knew what he was on paper. Then she was reminded of her husband’s first meeting of her parents, so she glanced up at Oliver.
However, her focus quickly moved to Mrs. Queen, who said, “I hope it’s alright that we called them. We wanted this to feel as close to a reception as possible. Moira, Gabe… you’re just in time.”
Her mind still processing everything, Chloe nodded slowly. “Lois, I presume, gave you their numbers also.”
“Well, someone had to,” Lois replied before giving Oliver a knowing look. “Now do the world a favour cuz and relax.” She could see Chloe’s mind working a mile a minute, and that wasn’t the intention of today.
“I will… in a sec.” First, she had to talk to her parents to at least try to explain her current status after radio silence for almost two years. She felt Oliver’s hand on her shoulder, but she gave him a small grin, which fortunately convinced him that she was okay.
Once he walked away, everyone else seemed to follow suit, so Chloe turned her head back towards her parents. “So… not exactly the ideal meeting after all this time.”
“It would have been nice to know you were seeing someone,” Gabe said, looking over his daughter’s shoulder to notice how his son-in-law was keeping an eye on their conversation. “But we understand why with someone of his status that you decided to keep it close to the chest.”
Chloe only wished that was the real reason everything was kept quiet. There was so much more to their relationship that she could never explain to her parents. That’s why Chloe struggled with what to tell them, just how well Oliver and her worked together. “Mom, Dad, I…”
Fortunately, Moira spoke up. “We know there is more to Oliver than meets the eye. More importantly, how much he cares about you.” As it wasn’t just Oliver who remembered that day. That look in his eyes, the concern in his voice. Even though they couldn’t help him that day, once Chloe came back, both of them were comforted that their daughter had someone like that in her life. “It’s good to see now that you feel the same way. You wouldn’t marry a guy if you didn’t.”
In that moment, Chloe felt a little skeptical, flashing back to her short-lived marriage to Jimmy, when she married someone for the idea of someone. That wedding day was also one of the last times she had seen her parents.
Moira seemed to sense Chloe’s skepticism, so she added, “I know this was more than you wanted to take in this weekend… and you were probably nervous as it was. We all have our secrets and I know you probably preferred it if your relationship remained a secret. But it will get better from here.”
“I know.”
“Just promise to visit more often, okay?” Moira said, squeezing her daughter’s shoulder with her hand. “We want to meet any future grandchildren.”
“I will,” Chloe said, stepping forward to hug both of her parents.
As they backed away, Gabe smiled. “And take Lois’ advice and relax.”
Chloe smirked, as she wanted to relax, but there was one more point that was looming over her mind. Turning around, she located Mrs. Queen in the crowd and she knew that her mind wouldn’t rest until she knew the truth.
She walked across the room, meeting her mother-in-law at the punch bowl. “Mrs. Queen.”
“Call me Laura,” she said as she passed Chloe a glass.
“Laura, I want to thank you for hosting this.”
Laura took a sip from her glass as she turned to lean against the table. “It’s our pleasure, but something tells me that’s not why we’re talking right now.”
Chloe smirked, recognizing that trait in Oliver was clearly hereditary. “No, I… when you said other news earlier...”
“Not here,” Laura said, placing down her glass before looking around the room. “Come with me.”
Chloe obliged, following Laura out of the room and into what she assumed was Mr. Queen’s study. After she entered, Laura closed the door, ensuring privacy from the festivities. “I admit, I was hoping you had missed that comment, but I can’t say I’m surprised you didn’t.”
Laura folded her hands together, taking a deep breath before speaking again. “You had been missing three months when he told us that you were involved. It was the same time he told us that he was going to reveal his secret to the world… that he was Green Arrow.”
Eyes widening, Chloe took a step back, glad that she was near the desk to grab hold of something. “Please say that you’re not serious.”
“He told us first.” Laura sighed as she watched Chloe’s poker face grow back, as even though this was the first time they had met, she could tell the news affected Chloe more than her expression sold. “I had never seen him like that before. Apparently, he thought he could lessen the burden on you by telling the world who he was.”
Staring down at her hand, Chloe stroked her finger, even though it didn’t have a ring on it. It was fitting, as he was always the one who spoke about commitment. Even as he went missing, he told Chloe that he loved her. When she went missing, besides a single email, her default setting of silence and distance returned, no matter how much it hurt this time.
So even though there was a part of her that hated him for thinking that revealing his secret was a good idea, she could understand how she put him in that position. “I never meant to put him through that.”
“Trust me, Oliver explained that you saved him.” Laura watched as Chloe’s head rose up again, so she tried to smile, to put some optimism back in Chloe’s features. “But I still wished you would have been there that day.”
“Things... have been hard.” Sitting on the desk, Chloe’s hand travelled unconsciously to her stomach. “And I wish I could say that things have gotten easier, but… marriage was the furthest thing from either of our minds.”
“But you’ve come to accept it?” Laura asked cautiously, as she was regretting telling Chloe the whole story. It wasn’t intended to upset Chloe, but she had anticipated that her son would have shared that detail with his wife.
“It was quick, yes, and I tried to fight it.” Chloe chuckled as she remembered the first few days. The first one in particular. “Ollie’s gotten more than used to my fight or flight response because I got used to a way of living. It’s actually something that your son helped me fight successfully in the past. The night after we got married, I started having my doubts, but he reminded me why I let him.”
“So you’re happy?”
“Yes I am,” she said, despite all of her apprehension today. The nerves would always be there, and having hyperactive mood swings didn’t help, but she loved Oliver.
Chloe was about to say more, but the door swung open, showing Oliver in the doorway. “There you two are,” he said. “I hope you’re not talking about me.”
Laura smiled before turning towards the door. “I’ll leave you two to talk.”
Eyes narrowing as his mother walked by him, Oliver looked back towards Chloe, taking better note of her body language. It reminded him of the elevator, maybe even worse. “Chloe, what’s going on?”
Sometimes she hated that he knew her this well. She wanted to put this behind her, to celebrate, but Chloe knew that was never going to happen. “Oliver, why didn’t you tell me that you were going to tell your secret?”
She brought her head up, seeing a lack of surprise in her husband’s eyes, only recognition that this wasn’t going to be glossed over. He entered the study, closing the door once more.
When the door clicked shut, Chloe added, “I mean, have you lost your mind?”
“Kind of, Chloe. I lost you,” Oliver immediately replied, albeit louder than he intended. This was one thing he had hoped she would never find out. “I told you, I was desperate for you to come back and I’m sorry for thinking that sacrificing my secret was worth it. Because a cyanide antidote and an email didn’t exactly inspire confidence that you were coming back.”
“I didn’t want to get your hopes up.” Because she didn’t know if she was coming back. She had no idea if the antidote would work. Or if they could continue their relationship when she got back.
Not wanting to focus on this, Oliver walked up to her and took her hand. “Look, do you really want to focus on old wounds right now? We’ve done a lot of questionable things, but things are finally going well.”
They were. They are. There was just one problem. “This isn’t a small deal, Oliver.”
“I know, and I know the mistake it would have been,” he replied, as it didn’t take long for his parents to convince him that it was the wrong decision. “At the time, I didn’t consider the long-term repercussions, but my parents immediately reminded me. Even though they had never met you, they were so convinced you were coming back that they told me to think of your life, of our kids’ life…”
Lifting his other hand, he put it on his wife’s stomach, his memory shifting to the night Chloe told him that she was pregnant. “We weren’t married then, but apparently it was clear we were heading in that direction.”
Letting herself smile, she leaned her head against his chest, enjoying his warmth against her. “Your parents share your confidence.”
Oliver followed suit, bringing his head down to hers, wrapping his arms around her, feeling the tension lift the air. “Which was needed in the time when I had lost it.”
He kissed her head, so Chloe opened her eyes again. “Do they know I’m Watchtower?”
“They know you work for me,” he replied honestly, not wanting to tell his parents, but it was the only way he could explain why he was telling the world his secret. “If you’re wondering about your parents, I didn’t tell them.”
Chloe grinned, as that was her next question, but that was pure Oliver. He understood all of her bad habits and allowed her to find a way back to happiness. “Okay,” she said as she took a step back. “Okay.”
“Chloe?”
“Sorry, I…” She shook her head, as she hated doubting everything like she had today, but today made everything official. It wasn’t just them in their little world and that took longer to sink in than she thought. “I always figured that things would settle back to a sense of normal after Darkseid and all, but…I kind of forgot what normal felt like. I forgot how distant I became with my parents, how many secrets we have.”
“I know how you feel,” Oliver replied. “Normal doesn’t really fit us, but I was willing to throw away the hint I had left. The world will never stop needing us, but having you reminded me that I have my own life to live.”
She brought up her head, seeing the way that he was looking at her, knowing that there was something that she needed to say. “I love you. And I’m sorry about today. I want to blame the stupid hormones, but -”
“It’s okay,” Oliver said, as he was used to seeing Chloe like this. “I just hope this doesn’t make things worse.”
Her eyes narrowed, as she didn’t know what he meant by that, but he was quick to fill the blanks, walking up to her and taking a knee. “Ollie.”
Pulling the ring box out of his jacket, he opened it up. “Part of this was my fault. I told my parents to invite your parents, so they would both know at the same time. Of course, that didn’t stop me from wanting to surprise you.”
Watching as Oliver slid the ring down her finger, Chloe took his hand as he stood up, smiling as she did the same. “They’re beautiful.”
“So are you.”
Biting the inside of her lip, Chloe took both of Oliver’s hands in hers. “So when are we telling everyone the other secret?”
“One thing at a time Chloe,” Oliver said.
As far as they could tell, Clark was the only one who knew, and while she couldn’t tell the reason people were happy for Oliver and her before today, Chloe knew she was better at keeping this secret. “Is that what you want?” she asked anyway,
That didn’t matter, as she knew that he wanted to tell everyone, but at least this reason had a legitimate reason for existing. “I love you, and you’re the one doing all the hard work now.”
“I don’t know about that,” she said with a grin. “You’re pretty good about waking up at odd hours to hold back my hair.”
“Regardless, when you’re ready -”
“I think I am,” Chloe interjected, not surprised by the look Oliver was giving her. “This whole time, this has been about just the two of us, but it’s not anymore. We’re a family… and I mean more than just the little one inside of me.”
“Hey you guys,” Lois said from the doorway. “While it’s adorable that you two are being all lovesick and what-not, this is for you.”
“We’ll be right there,” Oliver said, not even realizing that the door had opened. He was too focused on his wife and the happiness in her eyes.
They took a few minutes to enjoy the moment before heading back into the main room, where everyone greeted them with applause. Except for Lois, who was tinging a fork against her glass, wanting a kiss, but they ignored her. Instead, Chloe stepped forward, giving Oliver’s hand a squeeze.
“Everyone, Ollie and I would like to say a few words.” She took note of the smiles around her, how fortunate she was to have this family, how close she was to giving it up. “We’re so grateful to have you all as a part of our family. Blood-related or not, our lives are what they are because of you.”
She took a deep breath before looking over at Oliver. “But there’s one thing that you don’t know… besides Clark.” Looking back at everyone, her smile grew. “I’m pregnant.”
The silence lasted all of two seconds before Lois broke it. “I knew it.” Seeing Chloe chuckle in response, Lois added, “I mean, I didn’t know, but I should have known.”
Again, that led to rounds of hugs and smiles, as everyone took their turn in congratulating them. Once that concluded, everything went back to normal. The team up to their usual hijinks, Clark keeping Lois from doing something crazy, Chloe’s and Oliver’s parents getting to know each other.
Meanwhile, the married couple stood at each other’s sides, laughing as they took the sight in front of them.
“It’s a crazy family we’ve got here, Mrs. Sullivan-Queen.”
“True,” Chloe replied, leaning against her husband, her smile still intact. “But I wouldn’t trade it for any other in the world.”
~End~
.
Title: We Are Family
Summary: A simple meet-the-parents weekend turns out to be more than Chloe and Oliver had planned for.
Rating: PG
Timeline: AU, but with canon events. Based post-Finale.
Thanks to: svchlollie for the prompt and artgirltx for choosing this one for to finish from my Coming Soon list (even though I posted something before it...).
Sera’s Scribbles: This is an AU that probably shouldn’t work, but for the sake of storytelling… work with me here.
We Are Family
It was far from the first time Chloe had been in an elevator with Oliver. In fact, it was more common than the average person, but this time, she couldn’t help but be nervous. “Explain to me again why this is a good idea,” she said, staring ahead as the doors closed behind them.
Unfortunately for her, the answer was an easy one for her husband to answer. “There is no way that I’m explaining to my parents that we’re married alone.” Over two months had passed since and he didn’t enjoy lying to them anymore, not when he was excited to tell them.
“Oliver, keep in mind that I’ve never actually met your parents.”
“That’s on you. You know that I’ve wanted you to meet them.” But such were the downsides of their lack of strings, as she called it. Their casual relationship made things more complicated and even though she returned to him after erasing her existence, their relationship kept a small sense of distance.
Their unexpected change of status changed that, kept her in one place for longer than a few months, but with Clark and Lois moving their wedding, Chloe still wanted to keep things quiet.
Chloe wanted to blame that on her lack of confidence when it came to actual relationships, her ugly past, but she knew it was more than that. She also knew better than to doubt Oliver’s feelings, but old habits died hard.
“And you’ve been so eager to meet mine,” she said, however, to her surprise, Oliver was quick to correct her.
“I have met yours.” Seeing his wife’s head whip in his direction, he reached forward to stop the elevator, knowing there wasn’t enough time to explain if it kept going. “I was desperate. Even though I knew you had lost contact with your parents, I was hoping that you reached out.”
He remembered that day perfectly. Chloe’s dad opening the door, him pleading with the man who barely knew him to tell him where the daughter that had distanced herself from them was. All Oliver wanted was a sign that she was okay, but they didn’t hold the answers he was looking for. “Not the ideal first conversation I assure you.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me that?”
“I got the impression that we were walking on eggshells since you got back.” Based on the tone of her voice now, Oliver sensed they still were, which caused his own nerves to return. “Keep in mind what your original reaction was when you saw that certificate.”
How could she forget? The panic in thinking she was married to Clark, the fact that it never occurred to her that she was married to her actual boyfriend, a title they had just agreed upon days before that night. “Okay, I panicked a little, but you have to admit it was far from being part of the discussion.”
It was, but that wasn't the point. “Chloe, we’re not getting into this discussion again.” It was hard enough convincing her that things were okay, that he was fine with being married to her. Sure, it made certain things more difficult, but their unconventional ceremony took away what would have been the hardest thing for Oliver... convincing her to say yes. “Look, next to your parents, mine are going to be easy.”
“Right,” Chloe scoffed. She knew that the Queens were good people, but they were also parents of a single child, and they probably had high expectations for the person Oliver married… and she was pretty sure she didn’t fit that bill.
“Trust me, they already know you’re not after our money, that you have a job and that you’re open to the idea of kids. That’s the trifecta as far as they’re concerned.”
“Oliver Queen, if you did as much as breathe that I’m -” Seeing his expression, Chloe realized that he hadn’t. “I’m sorry, I’m just…” She tried to find the right words, but instead she just sighed.
“I know,” he said, leaning his forehead against hers, smiling as her eyes looked up at him.
Reaching forward, Chloe moved her hands up and down his jacket, getting her nerves out of her system. “Let’s do this.”
“You sure? Because I’m sure they’ll understand if we need to reschedule.”
Chloe gave a short nod before stepping back to activate the elevator. “I’ve faced off against worse things in the world. You’re right, this will be okay.”
She turned around to stand in front of the elevator doors, taking a deep breath before Oliver joined her. When the doors opened, they both knew there was no going back now, except it seemed like no one was there, as the lights were out and there were no sounds in the air besides them exiting the elevator.
“Mom? Dad?”
Chloe stopped to take off her shoes before looking around the corners at the entryway of the penthouse. “Did you tell them we were coming?”
“I even texted them when we landed.” Pulling out his phone, Oliver checked to see if he got any messages as he approached the main room. “I hope they didn’t come out to the airport, especially because I told them that -”
“Surprise!”
Chloe’s eyes popped up as the lights when on in the main room, watching as everyone in their lives emerged from behind couches and other furniture. Next thing either of them knew, a banner reading Congratulations appeared. “Oliver, what is going on?”
“Take it easy on your husband, cuz.” Lois said, fixing her hair as she walked across the room to hug her cousin. “He was as clueless as you on this.”
She wanted to know what Lois meant by that, but Mrs. Queen spoke up first. “We thought considering that we didn’t see our only son get married, the least we could do was throw a post-wedding shower.”
“You knew?” Oliver said, taking the words out of his wife’s mouth.
Mrs. Queen nodded as a sly grin came across her face. “You may not be wearing rings and there may not be a video on YouTube, but we stumbled across half a wedding certificate in your office while your father was looking for a pen that worked.”
Finally entering the room, Chloe came face-to-face with her parents-in-law. “He kept it in his desk?” She knew it had to be a copy, as the original was framed in their bedroom in the clocktower. Lois thought it was weird, but they saw it as a reminder of no matter how broken things were, they would have each other, they were a team. But she never realized that was something he took with him to Star City.
Mrs. Queen gave another nod. “And we waited for the whole month for him to tell us the truth, but we’re used to it, especially considering other news.”
Chloe’s eyes widened, but she didn’t want to say anything, as she was a little afraid to ask what the other news was.
“But it was worth it to know it was you, Chloe,” Mrs. Queen continued, knowing how strange it sounded considering they had never met. But based on the way Oliver spoke about her, and what they could find about the woman, it was clear that Chloe was someone who genuinely cared about their son. “We could tell your relationship was changing, but Oliver was suspiciously coy.”
“That said,” Mr. Queen said, “we would have preferred to meet you before the wedding day, but we did our homework. Although to be honest, Lois probably filled in most of the blanks.”
“Actually,” Lois said, wrapping her arm around Clark. “The credit for this particular development goes to Smallville here.”
“Really?”
Clark smiled as his gaze moved to Chloe. “One day, you’re in the barn, telling me that you’re leaving again, likely leaving Oliver behind. The next, you two are practically inseparable.” Glancing down at his friends' entwined hands, his smile grew before wandering to Chloe’s stomach, wondering when she would trust everyone with that development. “Combine that with a missing half of a wedding certificate and a look at your call records to confirm that you never called the chapel… ”
“You looked at my phone records?” Chloe asked, raising an eyebrow, as that wasn’t a typical move for Clark.
“Technically Victor did,” Clark said, as the team came closer to give their respective hugs. “Did you really doubt my journalism skills that much?”
Taking in the faces of everyone around them, the truth was starting to dawn on Chloe. “So you all knew?”
“Pretty much,” Victor said, as the rest of the team nodded.
After a sigh, Chloe leaned her head against Oliver’s arm, which he moved quickly to wrap around her back. “I really should have listened to you.”
“I should get that in writing,” Oliver said with a laugh.
“I’m sorry…are we late?” said a voice Chloe hadn’t heard in years, something that was her fault, but also the fault of distance.
Between Chloe testifying against Lionel Luthor and her dad’s struggle in finding a job, her parents had barely stepped inside Kansas since being relocated. They saw it as a fresh start, but as Chloe was accepted to Metropolis University, they said they’d stay in touch.
It was a sweet sentiment that never really happened. She’d stop by for the odd Christmas, but between everything she put on her shoulders, Chloe had practically abandoned her parents. Which was why she was so surprised to see them here, with smiles on their faces no less.
“Congratulations sweetie,” her dad said, and Chloe almost felt like this was a trick. As much as she loved Oliver, she knew what he was on paper. Then she was reminded of her husband’s first meeting of her parents, so she glanced up at Oliver.
However, her focus quickly moved to Mrs. Queen, who said, “I hope it’s alright that we called them. We wanted this to feel as close to a reception as possible. Moira, Gabe… you’re just in time.”
Her mind still processing everything, Chloe nodded slowly. “Lois, I presume, gave you their numbers also.”
“Well, someone had to,” Lois replied before giving Oliver a knowing look. “Now do the world a favour cuz and relax.” She could see Chloe’s mind working a mile a minute, and that wasn’t the intention of today.
“I will… in a sec.” First, she had to talk to her parents to at least try to explain her current status after radio silence for almost two years. She felt Oliver’s hand on her shoulder, but she gave him a small grin, which fortunately convinced him that she was okay.
Once he walked away, everyone else seemed to follow suit, so Chloe turned her head back towards her parents. “So… not exactly the ideal meeting after all this time.”
“It would have been nice to know you were seeing someone,” Gabe said, looking over his daughter’s shoulder to notice how his son-in-law was keeping an eye on their conversation. “But we understand why with someone of his status that you decided to keep it close to the chest.”
Chloe only wished that was the real reason everything was kept quiet. There was so much more to their relationship that she could never explain to her parents. That’s why Chloe struggled with what to tell them, just how well Oliver and her worked together. “Mom, Dad, I…”
Fortunately, Moira spoke up. “We know there is more to Oliver than meets the eye. More importantly, how much he cares about you.” As it wasn’t just Oliver who remembered that day. That look in his eyes, the concern in his voice. Even though they couldn’t help him that day, once Chloe came back, both of them were comforted that their daughter had someone like that in her life. “It’s good to see now that you feel the same way. You wouldn’t marry a guy if you didn’t.”
In that moment, Chloe felt a little skeptical, flashing back to her short-lived marriage to Jimmy, when she married someone for the idea of someone. That wedding day was also one of the last times she had seen her parents.
Moira seemed to sense Chloe’s skepticism, so she added, “I know this was more than you wanted to take in this weekend… and you were probably nervous as it was. We all have our secrets and I know you probably preferred it if your relationship remained a secret. But it will get better from here.”
“I know.”
“Just promise to visit more often, okay?” Moira said, squeezing her daughter’s shoulder with her hand. “We want to meet any future grandchildren.”
“I will,” Chloe said, stepping forward to hug both of her parents.
As they backed away, Gabe smiled. “And take Lois’ advice and relax.”
Chloe smirked, as she wanted to relax, but there was one more point that was looming over her mind. Turning around, she located Mrs. Queen in the crowd and she knew that her mind wouldn’t rest until she knew the truth.
She walked across the room, meeting her mother-in-law at the punch bowl. “Mrs. Queen.”
“Call me Laura,” she said as she passed Chloe a glass.
“Laura, I want to thank you for hosting this.”
Laura took a sip from her glass as she turned to lean against the table. “It’s our pleasure, but something tells me that’s not why we’re talking right now.”
Chloe smirked, recognizing that trait in Oliver was clearly hereditary. “No, I… when you said other news earlier...”
“Not here,” Laura said, placing down her glass before looking around the room. “Come with me.”
Chloe obliged, following Laura out of the room and into what she assumed was Mr. Queen’s study. After she entered, Laura closed the door, ensuring privacy from the festivities. “I admit, I was hoping you had missed that comment, but I can’t say I’m surprised you didn’t.”
Laura folded her hands together, taking a deep breath before speaking again. “You had been missing three months when he told us that you were involved. It was the same time he told us that he was going to reveal his secret to the world… that he was Green Arrow.”
Eyes widening, Chloe took a step back, glad that she was near the desk to grab hold of something. “Please say that you’re not serious.”
“He told us first.” Laura sighed as she watched Chloe’s poker face grow back, as even though this was the first time they had met, she could tell the news affected Chloe more than her expression sold. “I had never seen him like that before. Apparently, he thought he could lessen the burden on you by telling the world who he was.”
Staring down at her hand, Chloe stroked her finger, even though it didn’t have a ring on it. It was fitting, as he was always the one who spoke about commitment. Even as he went missing, he told Chloe that he loved her. When she went missing, besides a single email, her default setting of silence and distance returned, no matter how much it hurt this time.
So even though there was a part of her that hated him for thinking that revealing his secret was a good idea, she could understand how she put him in that position. “I never meant to put him through that.”
“Trust me, Oliver explained that you saved him.” Laura watched as Chloe’s head rose up again, so she tried to smile, to put some optimism back in Chloe’s features. “But I still wished you would have been there that day.”
“Things... have been hard.” Sitting on the desk, Chloe’s hand travelled unconsciously to her stomach. “And I wish I could say that things have gotten easier, but… marriage was the furthest thing from either of our minds.”
“But you’ve come to accept it?” Laura asked cautiously, as she was regretting telling Chloe the whole story. It wasn’t intended to upset Chloe, but she had anticipated that her son would have shared that detail with his wife.
“It was quick, yes, and I tried to fight it.” Chloe chuckled as she remembered the first few days. The first one in particular. “Ollie’s gotten more than used to my fight or flight response because I got used to a way of living. It’s actually something that your son helped me fight successfully in the past. The night after we got married, I started having my doubts, but he reminded me why I let him.”
“So you’re happy?”
“Yes I am,” she said, despite all of her apprehension today. The nerves would always be there, and having hyperactive mood swings didn’t help, but she loved Oliver.
Chloe was about to say more, but the door swung open, showing Oliver in the doorway. “There you two are,” he said. “I hope you’re not talking about me.”
Laura smiled before turning towards the door. “I’ll leave you two to talk.”
Eyes narrowing as his mother walked by him, Oliver looked back towards Chloe, taking better note of her body language. It reminded him of the elevator, maybe even worse. “Chloe, what’s going on?”
Sometimes she hated that he knew her this well. She wanted to put this behind her, to celebrate, but Chloe knew that was never going to happen. “Oliver, why didn’t you tell me that you were going to tell your secret?”
She brought her head up, seeing a lack of surprise in her husband’s eyes, only recognition that this wasn’t going to be glossed over. He entered the study, closing the door once more.
When the door clicked shut, Chloe added, “I mean, have you lost your mind?”
“Kind of, Chloe. I lost you,” Oliver immediately replied, albeit louder than he intended. This was one thing he had hoped she would never find out. “I told you, I was desperate for you to come back and I’m sorry for thinking that sacrificing my secret was worth it. Because a cyanide antidote and an email didn’t exactly inspire confidence that you were coming back.”
“I didn’t want to get your hopes up.” Because she didn’t know if she was coming back. She had no idea if the antidote would work. Or if they could continue their relationship when she got back.
Not wanting to focus on this, Oliver walked up to her and took her hand. “Look, do you really want to focus on old wounds right now? We’ve done a lot of questionable things, but things are finally going well.”
They were. They are. There was just one problem. “This isn’t a small deal, Oliver.”
“I know, and I know the mistake it would have been,” he replied, as it didn’t take long for his parents to convince him that it was the wrong decision. “At the time, I didn’t consider the long-term repercussions, but my parents immediately reminded me. Even though they had never met you, they were so convinced you were coming back that they told me to think of your life, of our kids’ life…”
Lifting his other hand, he put it on his wife’s stomach, his memory shifting to the night Chloe told him that she was pregnant. “We weren’t married then, but apparently it was clear we were heading in that direction.”
Letting herself smile, she leaned her head against his chest, enjoying his warmth against her. “Your parents share your confidence.”
Oliver followed suit, bringing his head down to hers, wrapping his arms around her, feeling the tension lift the air. “Which was needed in the time when I had lost it.”
He kissed her head, so Chloe opened her eyes again. “Do they know I’m Watchtower?”
“They know you work for me,” he replied honestly, not wanting to tell his parents, but it was the only way he could explain why he was telling the world his secret. “If you’re wondering about your parents, I didn’t tell them.”
Chloe grinned, as that was her next question, but that was pure Oliver. He understood all of her bad habits and allowed her to find a way back to happiness. “Okay,” she said as she took a step back. “Okay.”
“Chloe?”
“Sorry, I…” She shook her head, as she hated doubting everything like she had today, but today made everything official. It wasn’t just them in their little world and that took longer to sink in than she thought. “I always figured that things would settle back to a sense of normal after Darkseid and all, but…I kind of forgot what normal felt like. I forgot how distant I became with my parents, how many secrets we have.”
“I know how you feel,” Oliver replied. “Normal doesn’t really fit us, but I was willing to throw away the hint I had left. The world will never stop needing us, but having you reminded me that I have my own life to live.”
She brought up her head, seeing the way that he was looking at her, knowing that there was something that she needed to say. “I love you. And I’m sorry about today. I want to blame the stupid hormones, but -”
“It’s okay,” Oliver said, as he was used to seeing Chloe like this. “I just hope this doesn’t make things worse.”
Her eyes narrowed, as she didn’t know what he meant by that, but he was quick to fill the blanks, walking up to her and taking a knee. “Ollie.”
Pulling the ring box out of his jacket, he opened it up. “Part of this was my fault. I told my parents to invite your parents, so they would both know at the same time. Of course, that didn’t stop me from wanting to surprise you.”
Watching as Oliver slid the ring down her finger, Chloe took his hand as he stood up, smiling as she did the same. “They’re beautiful.”
“So are you.”
Biting the inside of her lip, Chloe took both of Oliver’s hands in hers. “So when are we telling everyone the other secret?”
“One thing at a time Chloe,” Oliver said.
As far as they could tell, Clark was the only one who knew, and while she couldn’t tell the reason people were happy for Oliver and her before today, Chloe knew she was better at keeping this secret. “Is that what you want?” she asked anyway,
That didn’t matter, as she knew that he wanted to tell everyone, but at least this reason had a legitimate reason for existing. “I love you, and you’re the one doing all the hard work now.”
“I don’t know about that,” she said with a grin. “You’re pretty good about waking up at odd hours to hold back my hair.”
“Regardless, when you’re ready -”
“I think I am,” Chloe interjected, not surprised by the look Oliver was giving her. “This whole time, this has been about just the two of us, but it’s not anymore. We’re a family… and I mean more than just the little one inside of me.”
“Hey you guys,” Lois said from the doorway. “While it’s adorable that you two are being all lovesick and what-not, this is for you.”
“We’ll be right there,” Oliver said, not even realizing that the door had opened. He was too focused on his wife and the happiness in her eyes.
They took a few minutes to enjoy the moment before heading back into the main room, where everyone greeted them with applause. Except for Lois, who was tinging a fork against her glass, wanting a kiss, but they ignored her. Instead, Chloe stepped forward, giving Oliver’s hand a squeeze.
“Everyone, Ollie and I would like to say a few words.” She took note of the smiles around her, how fortunate she was to have this family, how close she was to giving it up. “We’re so grateful to have you all as a part of our family. Blood-related or not, our lives are what they are because of you.”
She took a deep breath before looking over at Oliver. “But there’s one thing that you don’t know… besides Clark.” Looking back at everyone, her smile grew. “I’m pregnant.”
The silence lasted all of two seconds before Lois broke it. “I knew it.” Seeing Chloe chuckle in response, Lois added, “I mean, I didn’t know, but I should have known.”
Again, that led to rounds of hugs and smiles, as everyone took their turn in congratulating them. Once that concluded, everything went back to normal. The team up to their usual hijinks, Clark keeping Lois from doing something crazy, Chloe’s and Oliver’s parents getting to know each other.
Meanwhile, the married couple stood at each other’s sides, laughing as they took the sight in front of them.
“It’s a crazy family we’ve got here, Mrs. Sullivan-Queen.”
“True,” Chloe replied, leaning against her husband, her smile still intact. “But I wouldn’t trade it for any other in the world.”
~End~
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