An Origin Story: 13/23
Author: BlueSuede
Title: An Origin Story
Rating: R/M
Genre: Friendship/Romance
Pairings: Chloe/Oliver
Summary: AU in which Oliver's parents never died
Warnings: minor spoilers for most early seasons
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Prologue
Previous (Chapter 12)
Next (Chapter 14)
Chapter 13:
Marion to the Rescue
Chloe woke the next morning to Bart waving coffee under her nose. "Wake up, mamacita. I have coffeeeee."
Chloe's eyes opened weakly and she realized she ought to have been up half an hour ago. It was already a quarter to seven. She groaned. Then suddenly she shot up in bed, startling even Bart.
"Oliver," she whispered.
"Um, no. Bart. Remember? The love of your life," Bart joked.
Chloe shook her head, muttering something under her breath and pushing past him to her living room, but the couch was empty. He was gone. She shook her head.
"Idiot," she muttered.
"Um, 'licious?" Bart was waving his hand in front of Chloe's eyes. "What's going on?"
Getting a grip on herself, Chloe smiled at him. "Nothing. Coffee, huh? Thanks, Bart." She pecked his cheek, sending him into a broad grin. "Hey, Can I ask a favor? I'm running late, and-"
"You want me to give you a ride? No problemo, Senorita."
"You're the best, Bart."
At work, Chloe had been dealing with...some issues. There was a reason everyone she worked with was still convinced she and Oliver had been romantically involved.
Everyday since Christmas, he'd been sending her flowers with apology notes. It was a bit much. And had she been willing to speak to him at all, she would have told him to cut it out a long time ago. She wasn't exactly the kind of girl to be won over by flowers. Instead, she'd chosen to hope that eventually the steady flow of floral arrangements would cease of their own accord.
...not that that had stopped her from watering ever bouquet everyday. She'd had to start handing them out to other women when she ran out of desk space.
The day after Oliver had staggered into her apartment, dripping blood across her floor, Chloe did not find a vase of flowers on her desk, though. Instead she found a small rectangular package wrapped in brown paper, a card taped to it.
Chloe smirked when she saw that it was sealed, unlike all the apology notes that had come with the flowers. She had mentioned Annette to Oliver on more than one occasion, and she figured he knew that Annette opened every card before Chloe arrived at work. He'd probably hoped that Annette would take his side up and plead his case. And he'd been right of course.
Sitting down, she opened the card and read:
Chloe,
I know you're still angry, but we should talk.
I wanted you to have this after what happened. It inspired me when I was a kid, and I guess it's my way of thanking you for being there for me.
-Oliver
Brow cinched, Chloe took up the package and pulled the paper off of it. Then she smiled softly, shaking her head. Of course.
It was a book, an old one. It had a hardcover with gold and green embossment illustrating it, a picture of a man clad in green shooting a bow and arrow on the front. She opened it and flipped gently through its worn, yellowed pages, their corners rounded with use.
"The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood." Naturally.
She shook her head, her hand moving for her cell phone. Just as she was about to dial the first digit, however, she stopped short.
What exactly was she going to say? Hi, Ollie. Even though you're stalking my best friend, I completely forgive you. Now we can put all this behind us.
Even in her head it sounded irrational and stupid. She put her phone back and carefully slipped the book into her bag before anyone could question her about it. (Out of the corner of her eye she could see Annette fidgeting in her seat.) She would talk to Oliver eventually. As soon as she figured out her own thoughts.
A week passed and Chloe still hadn't spoken to him. The flowers had stopped, thankfully, but she took their absence to mean he was waiting for her to make the next move. She was being a coward, she knew, but she just didn't know what she wanted anymore. It wasn't that she hadn't forgiven him; she knew she had the moment he appeared on her balcony, if not long before that. She just couldn't work up the courage to make herself vulnerable for him.
However, at the end of the week, fate decided to force her hand. She was pulling another late night, and had the police scanner on again when it happened.
"I've got a report of a break-in. A hooded figure was seen climbing onto the balcony of the Queen penthouse on 42nd."
Chloe choked on her coffee, nearly spraying it across a number of files on her desk.
"This is car 32. I'm in the area. I'll check it out. Should be there in a couple of minutes."
Chloe swore. "Idiot." Panicking, she grabbed her cell phone. It rang twice before a familiar gust of wind sent her papers flying.
"Hola, 'licious! Wh - "
"No time, Bart," Chloe interrupted. She'd called him rather than Clark, knowing her caring farmboy would waste too much time asking questions. "I need a ride. Emergency." She gave him Oliver's address and apartment number.
Before she knew what was happening she was at Oliver's door. "Thanks, Bart. I'll explain later, but you'd better get out of here." Slipping out the key she still carried, she felt her hair flutter with Bart's disappearance. Nervously, she fumbled with the lock on the door, hearing the sound of the elevator rising.
Heart pounding, Chloe burst into Oliver's apartment.
Oliver, hood thrown back, looked up in surprise. "Chloe?" Relief washed over him at the sight of her before instantly being replaced by concern. She looked panicked, she was surveying him with wide, 'Oliver, you idiot,' eyes, and she appeared to be forming some sort of plan.
Hearing the sound of footsteps outside, Chloe seemed to make a frantic decision, marched across the apartment, pushed him back on his desk and kneeled on it to straddle him.
"What th - "
"Shut up and make sure you let me do the talking."
Before Oliver could ask what was going on, she was kissing him. Not just kissing him, but full-on making out with him. For a wild instant, Oliver thought he had slipped into another dream, although those had stopped after he'd seen her a week ago. Automatically, one of his hands threaded into her hair and the other went to her lower back, dragging her closer.
The next instant someone else had burst into his apartment. Oliver, mouth still latched with Chloe's, looked wide-eyed past her at a pair of police officers, who were clearing their throats uncomfortably as Chloe continued kissing him.
A moment later Chloe 'noticed them' and pulled away from him and turned to face the officers. She feigned a surprised look and slid off of Oliver to stand. Oliver followed suit, nervously running a hand through his hair in confusion, all too aware of the fact that he was still in costume.
"Forgive the - erm - intrusion, sir. There was a report of a possible break-in at your apartment. Do you mind if we check the place o - over?" Both of them suddenly appeared to have noticed that Oliver was dressed as the Green Arrow.
Chloe, to Oliver's total shock, giggled nervously. "A break-in? Oh my god," she shifted closer to Oliver, as if expecting him to do something in response. When he didn't - clearly too surprised to play the part of protective boyfriend - she continued unfazed, "Of course you can look the place over. Right, dear?"
Oliver nodded.
The two cops didn't move, both still staring at Oliver. "Is there - " the second cop cleared his throat, staring awkwardly, "a - ah - reason you're - um - dressed like that, sir?"
Oliver's mouth opened slightly, although he had no idea what he was going to say, but Chloe intervened before he could make any attempt. Her face bright red - and he honestly couldn't tell whether she had actually summoned up a blush to make her act more believable or not - she giggled again and slid her hand up his arm. "This?" she asked. "We were - um - " she sounded incredibly embarrassed and shy " - you know," she looked back and forth between the two policemen conspiratorially.
They stared back blankly.
"Role-playing," she whispered dramatically.
Oliver thought the ground was going to swallow him whole, and the police looked sufficiently embarrassed beyond all reason.
Which is nothing to how I feel, Chloe thought ruefully.
The men searched the apartment and eventually gave them an all-clear. To which Chloe gratefully responded, "Oh, thank you so much. You're sure it's safe?"
Neither of them seemed to be capable of looking her in the eye. One of them gruffly answered, "Yes, ma'am. You've got nothing to worry about. Goodnight, folks."
"Goodnight, officers. Thank you again."
The door closed and Oliver turned to gape at Chloe.
"Role-playing?"
She smirked contritely and shrugged. "I was improvising."
"My PR agent is going to murder me this time tomorrow."
"She isn't the only one," Chloe said, walking over to face him. Looking him squarely in the eyes, she slapped him smartly across the face.
He looked at her in shock. "What the hell was that for?"
"You earned it, you imbecile. One of your neighbors reported seeing 'a hooded figure' climbing into your apartment. Lucky for you, I had the police scanner on. Do you have any idea how sloppy that was? You could have been arrested! The Green Arrow isn't exactly the police department's mascot. God, you are so lucky I got here in time! What would you have done if they'd burst in here and you were alone? You'd never have been able to explain this. Besides that, what are you even doing out? You were bleeding to death in my apartment seven days ago! Have you completely lost your mind? You're going to get yourself killed."
Oliver was smirking at her.
"Wipe that stupid look off of your face and say something for yourself!"
"I missed you, too."
Chloe gaped at him.
"So you had five seconds to save my ass, and the best plan you could come up with was making out with me? I have to say, I like the way your mind works."
Glaring at him, Chloe's voice took on a threatening tone. "Ever mention this again, and Laura Queen will suddenly become very enlightened about her son's late night activities."
Oliver's eyes widened. "You wouldn't."
She quirked an eyebrow, daring him to test her.
"Aw, come on. It wasn't that bad. Personally, I was a little caught off guard, so I can't say I was up to my usual game, but from my end it was fairly pleasant."
Chloe pulled out her cell phone and started dialing his mother.
"Chloe!" he said, shocked. "Come on, I was kidding. Take a joke," he said, chasing her around the island in his kitchen. Eventually he tackled her to the floor and pried the phone from her hand, mostly because she was overcome with giggles and therefore unable to defend herself. "You can have this back later," he said, pocketing the device with a grin and helping her up.
"You are going to pull your stitches out," Chloe sighed wearily, resigning herself.
"And you are going to lose your mind if you think you can look after me."
She shook her head at him as he helped her up.
"Thanks, Chloe," he said seriously. "You saved my neck. Again."
She shrugged. "It's what I do. Apparently," she added with a grimace, walking over to his couch to sit down.
Oliver followed her and leaned over the back of the couch to look down at her. She looked tired. Dark circles graced her bloodshot eyes, and her skin was pale. Her body looked fragile and weak. "Not sleeping much?"
She shook her head.
"Yeah, me neither." He paused. "Chloe - "
"Attempt to explain yourself one more time, and I will walk out of this apartment," Chloe warned. Then her face softened. "Look, I'm just chalking it up to you being an idiot and leaving it at that. Why don't you tell me what you really want to know about Clark, and handle this the way you should have in the first place?"
Oliver studied her. Then, at length, he spoke. "Is he the traveler?"
Chloe bit her lip, not certain it was her place to answer that question. "Say he were. Hypothetically. What do you want with him?" Chloe asked.
"Do you know about Veritas?"
She frowned and he took that to be a no.
"It was a group of people who were supposed to be dedicated to helping Clark. My parents were among them. So was Lionel Luthor and - "
"The Teagues and the Swanns," Chloe finished suddenly, a look of revelation dawning on her face.
He nodded. "Lionel had them killed off. He went after my parents, too, but fortunately, they were okay."
Chloe suddenly remembered the night when Oliver had pinned Lionel Luthor against a wall, accusing him of attempting to murder Mr. and Mrs. Queen. "But," she started, her frown deepening, "what's he playing at?"
"What do you think? He's a Luthor. He wants to be the one to influence Clark for his own purposes, and he doesn't want anyone else to interfere."
"Naturally," Chloe muttered bitterly. With a sigh, she added, "I'm going to have to talk to C - him about all of this. What about your parents?" she asked abruptly, looking back up at Oliver. "What do all of you crazy rich people want with my hypothetical best friend anyway?"
Oliver mocked a hurt expression. "I thought I was your best friend."
She rolled her eyes.
"My parents have no idea I know about any of this. From what I understand, though, most of what they would have liked to have done has been handled already."
"Meaning?"
"Clark was raised by a couple of really good people from what you told me. He grew up into the proverbial 'nice young man' or whatever."
Chloe's lips tugged into a small smile. It was true. "So now?" she pressed.
He shrugged. "To let him know he's got friends. He'd have access to all our resources, help whenever he needs it, although," a twinkle lit his eye as he looked at Chloe, "I'd say he's had plenty of help so far."
Chloe's cheeks burned but she dismissed the compliment. "I'm his friend - "
"Hypothetically."
" - What else am I supposed to do?"
"Which is why I have to ask: have you ever made out with him in the name of justice? Or am I just special?"
Chloe smirked evilly. "Like I'd tell you."
His brow lifted suspiciously. "Oh my god, you have."
"Well," Chloe shrugged noncommittally, "not exactly in the name of justice, per se..."
Oliver's jaw dropped. "Okay, I just became jealous."
She laughed.
"So," Oliver transitioned awkwardly. "You get the book?"
Her laughter softened and she smiled up at him. "Yeah. It's amazing. I didn't need flowers or gifts, though, Oliver."
"You weren't taking my calls," he reminded her.
"I was angry."
"But you're not now?" he asked tentatively, his voice hopeful.
She sighed. "I don't know. I guess not. I'm upset that once again C - he's influenced yet another aspect of my life, even if it's not his fault - it almost never is. One of the minor benefits of moving out here was to put a little distance between myself and all things hero-related." She glanced at his leather outfit ruefully. "But I guess some things are not meant to be."
"That reminds me, did you seriously tell the Green Lantern to call you when he ended up needing your help?"
"You know him?" she asked eagerly.
Oliver nodded, disliking her excitement. "Yeah. Why?"
"He was hot."
"Oh was he?" Oliver mocked, rolling his eyes before lunging at her and wrestling her off the couch. "Woman, you have got to stop throwing yourself at masked vigilantes. It's not a healthy habit."
She rolled her eyes, futilely trying to push him off of her even though he had her wrists pinned to the floor.
"By the way," he said, grinning at her. "I hope you know that tonight's little adventure officially makes you my sidekick, right? I'm thinking we should get you a fun code name and a sexy leather costume to wear."
"I think I'll pass."
"Sorry, team rule," he told her. "Uniform is required."
"What team?" she snarked. "So far it's you and your ego."
"Plus you," he smirked. "And three's company."
"Oh get off," she said, finally catching him off guard enough to roll him off of her, snatching her phone from his back pocket in the process. "You really are going to rip out those stitches, and I need to go finish an article." She pushed up off the floor.
He frowned at her. "Chloe, it's almost midnight. Go home and go to bed."
"Yes, dear," she said, and he knew she wasn't going to listen.
He followed her toward the door, a sudden impulse overtaking him. She had the door open when he pulled her to face him and without waiting for his better judgment to return, he leaned down and kissed her, a real kiss for once, not an innocent peck under mistletoe, not feigned face-sucking, but a real, honest, soul-warming kiss that had her lost for words when he pulled back.
"Thanks for everything, Chloe. I really missed you."
A blush was creeping into her cheeks. "W - wh - " she stammered, searching for the words.
He let go of her. "Just wanted to know what it would be like," he said casually, turning away from her to head back and change out of his costume.
His response seemed to return her senses. "Because obviously you had no idea?" she laughed after him.
He lifted a shoulder, glancing back at her. "First two didn't count."
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Next (Chapter 14)