Passion Leaves a Trace: Gone

[serafina19]

Author: serafina19
Title: Passion Leaves a Trace: Gone
Series Summary: It started as a simple arrangement, but with their knowledge and understanding of each other, it left a trace of something more to come, something to build beyond what they expected.
Segment Summary: They both realized what they meant to each other, but what they didn’t anticipate was the

Comments

[scout09]

Strange as it might sound, and as much as I missed Chloe, I sometimes feel like her absence was good for their relationship from a storytelling perspective. One, we saw so much of Chloe holding back in season 9 that there were some who didn't quite buy that she was all in. (I blame this on a tragic lack of screen time for the pairing.) Personally Allison's performance sold it for me, but for the doubters, I think her sacrifice to free Oliver spoke volumes about her feelings while remaining true to her character. Two, I honestly didn't trust the writers enough to not screw up their relationship if she had stuck around. You know they would have loved to shove Tess or Dinah in there because that crew never met a triangle they didn't love. In fact, I think Chloe and Oliver were the only pair that didn't have any triangle drama throughout the whole series (unless you count Chloe's issues as one of the corners). :) It was like their lack of screen time forced them to cut the bullshit and just tell their story.

Anywho, Even telling him the truth felt like a cheat, a last hint of desperation.... Not gonna lie, I had some issues with the way Salvation was directed. There were parts that felt completely rushed and the I love yous definitely fell victim to that. It was almost like the scene was over and I had to do a double take, like "did they really say that??". But in another way it was fitting with ...their lives, their messy, complicated lives. Nothing they do is planned and they have to take what they can get when they can get it. I think you captured that element, along with Chloe's frustration, well.

...deep down, he knew the moment that he bumped shoulders with someone, that it was her. Oh, Oliver. I know it's been debated whether or not he realized it was her he ran into in that moment, but he definitely at least suspected something had gone horribly wrong. That look when he turns around in the car after they take the blindfold off, you could just feel that terrified uneasiness passing through him. It makes my heart break every. time.

“I love you, damnit,” he whispered, the words feeling empty when Chloe couldn’t hear them. I loved this part. He's waited so long to be able to say them out loud that even though she's gone he says them anyway, like he can't help himself. Saying it to Watchtower is the best he can do.

I was so happy to see an update on this series this morning. I'm hoping that the title of the next one means you're jumping ahead a bit? ;) Thanks! Loved it as usual! :)

[serafina19]

It doesn't sound strange to me at all. Once the series ended, I realized that I actually liked that the smaller amounts of screentime for them because it left something to the imagination... and it forced TPTB out of the usual tropes.

I don't know why people needed everything spelled out in fictional relationships, because it's guaranteed to disappoint you. As for haters, well, there are always going to be those people, but to me, Sacrifice said so much about their relationship that I could almost buy the "I love you's" when I first saw Salvation.

Almost.

Like you, I did a double take and I didn't like it initially, hence the "cheat" mention. But the aftermath in Lazarus kind of sold me. As you said, nothing is planned in their relationship, so they have to capitalize on the moment, no matter how sloppy it seems. Because oddly enough, that's real life. It's not always perfect.

When it comes to Oliver knowing, I go back and forth, but I agree that he at least suspected something based on that look. It was hard to watch.

Honestly, I thought about taking the "damnit" out, as I wasn't sure if it fit, but that was something I could visualize JH saying, so it stayed. So glad that it stood out to you. Thanks :)

Yep, moving ahead to Collateral, as I did a multi-chapter between these episodes (not my best... but I'm satisfied with it). Mine Again will likely be similar to this one, length-wise, as I'm not about to attempt (spoiler alert?) a longer fic based on that scene when fickery basically nailed it.