Chlollie Fanfic: Love For Realsies, Chapter 15
Because you all know I love my angst, and because I love laurelnola who got me into Chlollie in the first place, here's an advance birthday pressie for her in the form of an update.
Happy Birthday in advance, Dawnie! And if I fall asleep and drool all over the very important papers on my desk at work, on your head be it!
Enjoy! Or not. Depends on how y'all feel about angst. *bites nails*
Title: Love for Realsies
Author: BabyDee
Pairing: Chlollie
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Angst!
Timeline: Season 9 (Conspiracy - Checkmate), sequel to Just for Funsies
Disclaimer: All characters belong to the CW & DC comics.
Summary: Chloe finds it increasingly difficult to resist Ollie’s affections.
Feedback: gives me goosebumps - nice ones. J
Read previous chapter here.
Read story from the beginning here.
Chapter 15
Surely he hadn't heard her right.
Had she just said she was going to be sick?
Chloe heaved again, looking decidedly green. Hand still over her mouth, she scrambled off the bed and fled to the safety of the bathroom just before the sound of retching assailed his ears.
Looked like he hadn’t mis-heard, after all.
Oliver blinked stupidly at the bathroom door, too shocked to be offended at the fact that he'd just poured out his heart to the woman he loved...and she was puking her guts out.
Carefully he arose and went to the bathroom, stoically running a glass of water for her as she sat crouched over the sink. He pulled a few tissues out of a box and waited while she straightened and glanced up at him furtively.
Carefully he wiped her mouth clean, and then handed her the glass of water which she gratefully accepted. After rinsing her mouth out, she dried her face with a towel and made to walk past him but he grabbed her arm, stopping her in mid-flight.
“Do you think you could be pregnant?” he asked bluntly.
She shook her head. “There’s no chance of that,” she replied evenly.
Damn. He hadn’t thought so either, to be honest, but he couldn’t help wishing that she was. It would have made the current situation a whole lot easier, not to mention what a great bargaining chip it would have been.
“I thought not,” he finally said. “So what’s this all about?”
She shrugged. “Just a bad reaction to something I ate yesterday-”
“…which just happened to upset your stomach round about the time I said I love you,” he finished, nodding sarcastically. “”Not buying it. What’s going on, Chloe?”
“Will you let go of my arm?” she said defensively.
“You’re hedging,” he warned.
“And you’re hurting me.”
He darkened. “If you would just answer the question-”
“Oliver, I’m about to bruise,” she shot back. “So if you don’t mind…” she yanked her arm out of his grip and strode past him into the room.
Oliver stared blankly at her retreating form. He’d imagined this moment several times over the last six months, and knowing Chloe and where she stood on commitment issues, he’d thought up some pretty harsh worst-case scenario reactions. Her getting sick at his announcement, however, was the one option that hadn’t featured in the line-up.
He thought hard for a few seconds while she rummaged in his closed for one of her robes, and decided to change tactics.
“You know,” he began as he walked back into the room, "when someone tells you they love you, it’s not nice to puke. It's just common courtesy to…y’know…kinda, sorta say the words back, so…” He gave her a little wave. “Whenever you’re ready…?”
She belted her green robe tightly and then turned to face him with sad eyes.
“Damn it, Oliver, why?” she whispered.
He frowned. “Why what?”
She sighed deeply. “I only had one rule,” she said blankly. “No mushy stuff, no declarations of love. And you agreed with me. You even told me you didn’t want any of that from me, either. So why did you have to go and…ruin everything?”
“Ruin?” he echoed, surprised. “Chloe, all I did was fall in love with you. How does that ruin things?”
“We had a plan, Ollie. “I told you right from the off, it was supposed to be Just. Sex.”
“Well shit happens, and things change,” he shot back angrily. “I didn't plan to fall in love with you, but I did. Sue me.”
"This isn't what I want from you," she said, folding her arms tightly. "And now I honestly don't know where we go from here.”
He shook his head, perplexed. "I thought you were ready," he whispered.
She blinked. “Ready for what?”
“All this time, I thought…I was sure you felt it, too…”
“Felt what?” she asked. “All we’ve been doing is having sex!”
“Come on, Chloe, do you honestly think I could just screw you like you were some nameless whore?" he roared. "The 'just sex' thing was never going to work, and you know it!"
"It was working fine until you…said what you just said!" she yelled back.
Cursing, Oliver grabber her arm again and yanked her towards the bed, pointing at the rumpled sheets. "Look at that bed, Chloe. What we did in it last night wasn't 'just sex.' We haven't had 'just sex' in a very long time. To be honest, I don't think we ever did. There was always something more, and not just on my side.”
She shook her head stubbornly. “I don’t feel that way about you-”
“Liar,” he said swiftly. “The way you made love to me, the things you said…are you honestly trying to tell me those are the actions of a woman with someone who’s just her fuck buddy?”
Alarm spread across her face, and he knew she couldn’t deny her own feelings to herself. Still, she wouldn’t be Chloe if she didn’t at least try.
“You’d been kidnapped, and I was worried-”
“Oh give me a break!” he yelled, exasperated.
“…and then you got upset when I was taken by Checkmate…” she babbled on, rationalising to herself.
“Unbelievable,” he muttered.
“…so at best, it was just really intense reunion sex-”
“I’ve been in love with you for six months!” he bellowed.
She stopped mid-diatribe and stared at him in wide-eyed shock. “Six months?” she whispered.
He took a deep breath and calmed down. “Ever since the night we made love after I thought you were stealing from me. Possibly even before.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You mean since the night you used sex to punish me?” she said tartly.
He shrugged. I was inexplicably angry and upset at what you did, and now I know why.”
“Anyone would be angry if they discovered the person they were sleeping with was taking their money, Oliver,” she said dismissively as she started getting into her clothes. “It doesn’t mean you’re in love with me.”
He stared at her in disbelief. “What are you so scared of?” he whispered.
“I’m not scared of anything,” she shot back defensively. “I just don’t believe in wasting my time and energy on being all emotional. You knew this from the start.”
He sighed and threw up his hands. “Okay, fine. I broke the rules. But I can’t help how I feel about you, and I won’t apologise for it. Besides, I think what we have is worth breaking a few rules for, and if you would at least consider-”
“I’m tired of arguing about this, Ollie,” she interrupted, rubbing her temple wearily. “The only way this will work for me is if we go back to the original terms of the relationship. No strings.”
He gaped. “You’re kidding me, right?”
She gave him a steely stare as she buttoned up her blouse. “We go back to the beginning. It’s that or nothing.”
Oliver shook his head without a moment’s hesitation. “I can’t do that.”
“Well I can’t do this.” Chloe walked over to where her jacket lay on the floor and shrugged her arms into it.
“What-? Where are you going?” he asked harshly. “We are not finished here!”
“I am.” She pulled the zipper up on her jacket with an air of finality, calmly picked up her purse and headed for the elevator.
“Chloe, wait!” he pleaded.
She stopped, but didn’t turn to face him.
He swallowed. “Don’t…don’t you want to be with me?” he asked hoarsely, dreading the answer but hoping with his last breath that she’d reconsider.
He saw her shoulders rise as she took a deep breath, as if steadying herself. Finally she turned to face him, unshed tears in her eyes.
“Not like this,” she whispered. “It’s over, Oliver.”
His eyes widened in shock and his heart hammered hollowly in his chest. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m sorry.” She pressed the button for the ground floor and the elevator doors began to slide shut.
“Chloe, no!” Quickly he raced to the doors, but they closed a fraction of a second before he got there. Oliver burrowed his hands in his hair, unable to believe what was happening.
The woman he loved had just walked out of his life without a backward glance.
***
(See link to Chapter 16 below).
And before you all hate me and drive me out of Chlollie-dom, spare a thought for the fact that:
(1) I haven’t finished!
(2) ‘ Over The Linesies' is proof of my happy ending, and;
(3) we have Nekkid!Oliver for the duration of the chapter.
*pause*
Yum.
…
Okay - now you can pelt me with rotten fruit! *cowers fearfully*
***
Chapter 16...