Book or Cover (3/4)
Aug. 29th, 2014 10:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
serafina19Author: 
serafina19
Title: Book or Cover
Summary: Oliver stays at the Talon after dropping Chloe off after her birthday party. When the morning comes, they work together to fix the wish that Chloe didn’t anticipate coming true.
Rating: PG-13
Timeline: Hex AU
Warnings: Coarse language
Thanks to:aradira for the banner.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Opening the door to his office, Oliver swallowed hard as he saw Chloe-as-Lois sitting there. He had meant to call her right after Zatanna had visited him, but he never had a chance between meetings and other business needs. Seeing her here now only meant that she had taken him up on his help… and he wasn’t there.
“Hey,” he said, watching as her head turned towards him, “I was just going to call you back.”
Standing up, Chloe tried to smile, as she didn’t want to mention the three missed calls and the time she had to reflect here. In the end, the only thing that mattered was that as much as Oliver wanted to help, his plate was already full. “No worries, you’re busy. This can wait.”
Oliver’s head jerked back as she attempted to walk past him, but he wasted little time stopping her. “As far as I’m concerned, whatever you have to say trumps anything I have going on.” When she stopped, he added, “You don’t come here personally unless it’s important, so spit it out, Sullivan.”
Chloe sighed, even though she felt gratitude for his continued intent to help. "She got to Clark."
"What?"
She didn’t see it coming. Chloe wasn’t even sure that magic would affect Clark the same way, despite their past. Instead, the last thing she needed right now happened. "He implied that it would be nice to not worry about being a hero, and well... now Clark believes he's a regular reporter. I mean, in his defence, he had no idea that Zatanna would grant the wish five minutes later." That wasn’t even the worst part. "But when we left, there was a scuffle in the street and you want to know what his solution was? Calling 911."
Oliver failed to hold back his laughter, despite her less-than-pleased expression. "Please tell me that you got that on tape." When her expression maintained, Oliver cleared his throat. "But I see your point."
Taking a few steps back, Chloe reminded herself of the unsuccessful attempt to lift Clark’s spell. “I even tried to tell him the truth point blank, but super strength and hearing were all explained through termites and acoustics.” After shaking her head, she added, “I’ve clearly lost my touch, so I was hoping that maybe a little hero-to-hero talk would fix things.”
Oliver hadn't meant to scoff at her suggestion, but if Chloe, or more technically, Lois, couldn’t convince Clark, there wasn’t much hope for him. "Chloe, I’d love to help, but you and I both know I haven't exactly been the most heroic person lately. And before you ask, me going to Zatanna isn’t going to work any better. Even though she wants my help, she implied that if she can’t change anything."
Chloe blinked, surprised at the latter development. "What are you doing for her?”
"She needed something from LuthorCorp,” Oliver said with a shrug. “Said she'd give me a wish if I did."
She couldn’t believe her ears as she listened to his his casual delivery. Oliver was smarter than this. "And you think that after Clark and I, that you should use it?"
Her disappointment wasn’t a surprise to Oliver, but he wasn’t about to change his mind. The more he considered the proposition, the more it was something he needed. "I wasn’t planning on it… until Zatanna said that I could use it to take something back."
He looked away from her, his head dipped in shame as it didn’t take long for the realization to reach her. Once it came, Chloe felt her chest ache while his suffering come to the surface. "Ollie... no."
Oliver shrugged again. "Can you blame me for wanting to wipe the word murderer from my resume?" There was a time when he felt like he could live with it, but Chloe had almost instantly changed his mind when she found out about what he had done. He may not have showed her then, but the moment he had left Isis that night, he felt that guilt take over him, and Oliver wasn’t sure how much longer he could bear it.
It was something that Chloe seemed to sense, as she didn’t let his reaction deter her. Instead, she allowed herself to come even closer to him.
"Clark wanted to save Lana from dying once and by messing with the past, he lost his father instead. What if changing the past leads to someone else's death? It's not going to be you, no matter how much you want it to be." Closing her eyes, she tried to bury the memory, the pain from the past and present, including the emotions that came with it. Based on the liquid she felt on her cheek, she hadn’t been completely successful. "You have to let the guilt subside and move on."
"Come on Chloe, You know that it’s not that easy. I—" He brought his head up, the single tear in his line of vision stopping his words, furthering his guilt. Here he was, dragging Chloe into his mess when he was supposed to be focused on helping her. "I mean… I’m still trying to figure out why you would wish to be Lois. I get that we're allowed to have regrets, but if you want to go back to journalism so bad, no one is stopping you Chloe."
He could see her fighting her word choice, or at least, he hoped that was what it was, because for a second, he could see through the spell, see the confused woman beneath her cousin’s body. Her blonde hair, her glistening green eyes, for a minute, it seemed so clear. Only the tear remained on her cheek, so Oliver reached his hand out to take it away.
It was an action that surprised Chloe. She hadn’t intended for him to see it, as she wasn’t usually this emotional, but she was so focused on him that she had forgotten about the physical tell of her own frustration.
However, it was more than that. Chloe was tired, over-stressed and with the way things had gone lately, she had gotten to the point where she didn’t even recognize herself anymore. That was especially fitting now that she couldn’t actually separate herself from her cousin’s body. But feeling his fingertip wipe the tear away brought something out of her that she didn’t expect. She actually wanted to lean in and enjoy it, enjoy the moment of someone stopping their life for her.
Instead, she panicked and backed away, seeing the shortly-lived compassion in his eyes fade away before he spoke again.
"Or is this about Clark?"
That remark caused Chloe to glare up at him. "I just got divorced." He knew that, he knew her better than that. But then she looked down at herself and she chuckled. Maybe that comment wasn’t even directed at her.
However, Oliver would waste little time proving her wrong. “Then what is it, Chloe?” Oliver swallowed hard, as it wasn't easy for him to say that either, but he was slowly realizing that maybe he was right all along. He couldn’t be the one to help her.
Still, he pressed on, "Did you never realize that you could have everything Lois has? Did you forget that I partially own the Daily Planet and I have a little say into who gets hired? If that was what you wanted, I could fix that for you right now." He sighed again before taking a more direct approach. "Is that what you want, Chloe?"
Stunned, Chloe tried to answer him right away, but she couldn’t. That was the whole problem with today. Even after Zatanna had told her the truth, Chloe couldn’t find the answers for why she was stuck like this. "I... I don't know."
"Look, I'm going to find that book." He picked up his jacket and headed towards the door, knowing that this conversation wasn't heading in the right direction. "You... you have to figure out what you want. If it helps, I'll understand either way."
"Ollie..."
Stopping in the doorway, Oliver placed his hand against the wall before he felt his head shake. While he wanted to have the answers she was looking for, he realized that what he wanted more was to convince her to stay on as Watchtower. Unfortunately, he couldn’t convince himself that was what Chloe wanted.
"I’m biased Chloe, so it has to be you that gets your spell lifted. Just know that you are valued on the team," he said softly. "You're more than that, you're irreplaceable. But if it's not what you want, then… then you don’t have to be our shrink anymore."
Watching him walk away, Chloe grabbed the edge of his desk, as it felt like weights had been added to her shoulders. Shifting her body to sit there, Chloe realized how much Oliver's words seemed to cut through her. That wasn't his intention, and it was probably the out she wanted, but taking it didn't feel right, no matter how right Oliver was.
If she wanted Lois’ life, she could go back. Lex was no longer a problem, so she really was her only obstacle these days.
Had she really changed that much? Had she really moved that far away from the Chloe she thought she wanted to be? She raised her head and looked towards the window, reminiscing over all she had lost in her journalism days as she stared at the familiar skyline.
Her relationship with her father. Her faith in the story hitting the page. Her... marriage. If she could call it that. Not to mention her friendship with Clark, which seemed strained at best these days, but the cracks started long before she became Watchtower.
The more she thought about it, there had been so much shit in her life lately that she almost couldn't believe that she was standing, that she still had people in her life that wanted her around.
You're more than that, you're irreplaceable.
Moving her head to stare at the open doorway, Chloe bit her lip. That had never been her. She was the figment of someone's life that seemed to be there when there was no other option. But the guys, even Dinah, they respected her, saw her as a teammate as she forced her way in. They didn't argue with it, in fact, they welcomed her with open arms.
And Oliver. He was supposed to be done with Metropolis, especially after breaking Lois’ heart, and likely his own. But when he came back, Oliver had given Chloe a reason to keep fighting as her life swirled below her. Initially, she considered the fact that he only did it because he thought he owed her, but now she knew that wasn't true.
Looking down at her phone, Chloe sighed as she saw Clark’s face on her screen. She had managed to convince him that ‘Lois’ had misplaced her phone, which had led to the familiar sight of a Clark Kent head shake. But Chloe knew that Clark was in this mess because of her and she owed her friend the chance to get back to normal. With any luck, this was the lead they were both waiting for.
He should have listened to Chloe.
It wasn’t as if he had called Zatanna, but it didn’t surprise Oliver that she had found him, that she had called him on his identity. However, being chained to a pole… not exactly on his list of things to do tonight. He supposed that was what he got for denying a mistress of magic of what she wanted, even if she had claimed to still be in training. It was also probably what he got for wanting a dose of the Zatanna dust.
The only saving grace so far was that the alley was abandoned, or at least, that was until he heard a familiar chuckle from behind him. "You know, this may not be yours, but this is definitely someone's fantasy. Do you want me to call your fan club?"
“Funny,” he replied, knowing that the shoe was on the other foot compared to this morning, as he knew that voice anywhere.
Peeking her head around the pole so he could see her, Chloe smiled at him. “I thought so.” After seeing a hint of his smile, Chloe climbed on top of a garbage can behind Oliver to get him out of this mess. She threw her arms out to balance herself, finding her centre before leaning in to pick the lock.
Oliver’s smile widened as he heard her working. "Nice to see you back." It took until now for him to realize that was what mattered most, as what was lost in figuring out what Chloe wanted was the fact that he just wanted her to return to her own body. He could always help her with the rest later.
"It's nice to be back," she replied. If nothing else, it was nice to be in her own shoes again, as she was getting a few blisters in Lois’. Then again, her decision to wear her own clothes was immediately a better decision once she changed back.
Leaning his head against the pole, Oliver stared up at the sky. Part of him wanted to avoid what he was about to ask, but he knew that she was expecting this question from him. "How did that work?"
Chloe chuckled. "Accepting that the life I wanted was mine. Recently divorced, underpaid shrink and all."
A single nod was all the reaction Oliver showed, for even though she couldn’t see anything his face would show, he kept his satisfaction silent. "How did you know where I was?”
"Zatanna mentioned that you were in a bit of a jam. She offered to get you out of it, but… but this was something I had to see." She paused for a minute to momentarily look up at him, wondering if he was looking at her. He wasn’t, but Chloe still grinned as they both knew it was more than that.
She was also grateful that Zatanna did this near a light source, as it made her work easier, but that paled in comparison to her assurance that Oliver’s identity couldn’t be revealed, something Chloe decided not to share with him. "This wasn't your wish was it? Because if you wanted your identity to be exposed, all you had to do was ask."
After a scoff, Oliver turned his head over his shoulder, just barely able to see her blonde head behind him. "I'm... putting the wish on hold."
There was a part of Chloe that saw that admission coming, but that didn’t stop her face from lighting up. "For what it's worth, I think that's the right call. Not even Zatanna got what she wanted. Or at least, she wouldn't have after I accidentally ran into her spell." Hearing the lock click finally, Chloe pushed the chains aside, hoping that it would be enough for Oliver to do the rest. "There, that should do it."
Fortunately, it was, but he wore a look of concern once he turned to face her. "Chloe, are-"
It turned out to be more than just an expression, as he walked quickly towards her, but Chloe put up her hands to reassure him, "I'm fine. And I’m not just saying that.”
Getting the hint, Oliver stopped approaching her. "Is that... what triggered your spell to reverse?"
"No. I did that on my own talking with Clark." She knew it wasn’t what Oliver wanted to hear, as Clark was just the final piece, but she wasn’t about to lie to him now. "A lot of what you said stuck with me. It took pushing Clark to save the day for me to realize that being with you guys, believing in what you can accomplish, it's not such a bad gig."
"As long as you let us do the same thing." Seeing her eyes widen, Oliver chuckled quietly. "I mean it Chloe, you're as much of a hero as the rest of us. Even the shrinks need a pep talk from time to time."
She shrugged a shoulder, as the way Chloe saw it, she had caused enough trouble lately. "I don't want to bother you guys."
Oliver laughed again as he put his hood over his head, as he finally reminded himself of his surroundings. "Are you kidding me? All we want is the chance to return the favour."
"I've hardly been on the team,” Chloe said, shaking her head in disbelief of the conviction in his voice. “How can you think of me so highly?"
He was about to turn the distorter back on, but he lowered his hand to say, "Because you were the piece that we were missing… and your skills speak for themselves.” After a grin, he added, “Deep down, you knew exactly what you wanted. You just have to listen to that voice more often.”
“In your incredibly biased opinion,” she deadpanned.
“Yes.” Oliver put his sunglasses on, sensing an end of this part of the conversation, but when she was still staring at him once he put the distorter on, he couldn’t help but call her on it. “What?”
Chloe bit her lip, as there were a lot of positive signs in this conversation, but she wasn’t about to ignore his actions from earlier, the guilt he had hidden from everyone, including her. “How are you?”
“I’m…” He considered lying to her, but one look into her eyes and Oliver knew it was a bad idea, “I’m not sleeping a lot these days.”
“Can I help?” When he continued walking, Chloe picked up her pace to cut him off. “I mean it… Arrow, you can always talk to me. That would have been true whether I was Watchtower or not.”
“That’s true, but you staying… knowing what you know, helps.” He saw her mouth open, and from her expression, Oliver could see where it was going, so he stopped her. “And please, don’t apologize. I get it.”
“You get it.” Chloe scoffed as she turned to start walking again. “You know, I told that to Clark earlier today when I lied about being okay with him missing my birthday.”
After that, it didn't take long for Oliver to give in. “What you told me, what I saw today… it was a lot to take in. But I can’t argue with it now that your decision was the one I’d hope you’d make.” When she looked back at him again, Oliver had a sense that things were settling nicely after an eventful day. “So now that everything's back to normal, how about a lift back to Isis?”
She stopped walking, eyes narrowing as they gazed up. “Via motorcycle or rooftops?”
Taking a step closer to her, Oliver asked, “Which would you prefer?”
Most nights, she liked her feet on the ground, but tonight was another matter. She had been through just about everything today and she figured that it was okay to flip the script this time. “I can’t believe I’m about to say this… but rooftops.”
Oliver’s grin widened slowly. “I was hoping you would say that because I didn’t drive here.” He wrapped his arm around her before titling his bow towards the nearest roof. “Hold on.”
Chapter 4
.
serafina19Title: Book or Cover
Summary: Oliver stays at the Talon after dropping Chloe off after her birthday party. When the morning comes, they work together to fix the wish that Chloe didn’t anticipate coming true.
Rating: PG-13
Timeline: Hex AU
Warnings: Coarse language
Thanks to:
aradira for the banner.Chapter 1 Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Opening the door to his office, Oliver swallowed hard as he saw Chloe-as-Lois sitting there. He had meant to call her right after Zatanna had visited him, but he never had a chance between meetings and other business needs. Seeing her here now only meant that she had taken him up on his help… and he wasn’t there.
“Hey,” he said, watching as her head turned towards him, “I was just going to call you back.”
Standing up, Chloe tried to smile, as she didn’t want to mention the three missed calls and the time she had to reflect here. In the end, the only thing that mattered was that as much as Oliver wanted to help, his plate was already full. “No worries, you’re busy. This can wait.”
Oliver’s head jerked back as she attempted to walk past him, but he wasted little time stopping her. “As far as I’m concerned, whatever you have to say trumps anything I have going on.” When she stopped, he added, “You don’t come here personally unless it’s important, so spit it out, Sullivan.”
Chloe sighed, even though she felt gratitude for his continued intent to help. "She got to Clark."
"What?"
She didn’t see it coming. Chloe wasn’t even sure that magic would affect Clark the same way, despite their past. Instead, the last thing she needed right now happened. "He implied that it would be nice to not worry about being a hero, and well... now Clark believes he's a regular reporter. I mean, in his defence, he had no idea that Zatanna would grant the wish five minutes later." That wasn’t even the worst part. "But when we left, there was a scuffle in the street and you want to know what his solution was? Calling 911."
Oliver failed to hold back his laughter, despite her less-than-pleased expression. "Please tell me that you got that on tape." When her expression maintained, Oliver cleared his throat. "But I see your point."
Taking a few steps back, Chloe reminded herself of the unsuccessful attempt to lift Clark’s spell. “I even tried to tell him the truth point blank, but super strength and hearing were all explained through termites and acoustics.” After shaking her head, she added, “I’ve clearly lost my touch, so I was hoping that maybe a little hero-to-hero talk would fix things.”
Oliver hadn't meant to scoff at her suggestion, but if Chloe, or more technically, Lois, couldn’t convince Clark, there wasn’t much hope for him. "Chloe, I’d love to help, but you and I both know I haven't exactly been the most heroic person lately. And before you ask, me going to Zatanna isn’t going to work any better. Even though she wants my help, she implied that if she can’t change anything."
Chloe blinked, surprised at the latter development. "What are you doing for her?”
"She needed something from LuthorCorp,” Oliver said with a shrug. “Said she'd give me a wish if I did."
She couldn’t believe her ears as she listened to his his casual delivery. Oliver was smarter than this. "And you think that after Clark and I, that you should use it?"
Her disappointment wasn’t a surprise to Oliver, but he wasn’t about to change his mind. The more he considered the proposition, the more it was something he needed. "I wasn’t planning on it… until Zatanna said that I could use it to take something back."
He looked away from her, his head dipped in shame as it didn’t take long for the realization to reach her. Once it came, Chloe felt her chest ache while his suffering come to the surface. "Ollie... no."
Oliver shrugged again. "Can you blame me for wanting to wipe the word murderer from my resume?" There was a time when he felt like he could live with it, but Chloe had almost instantly changed his mind when she found out about what he had done. He may not have showed her then, but the moment he had left Isis that night, he felt that guilt take over him, and Oliver wasn’t sure how much longer he could bear it.
It was something that Chloe seemed to sense, as she didn’t let his reaction deter her. Instead, she allowed herself to come even closer to him.
"Clark wanted to save Lana from dying once and by messing with the past, he lost his father instead. What if changing the past leads to someone else's death? It's not going to be you, no matter how much you want it to be." Closing her eyes, she tried to bury the memory, the pain from the past and present, including the emotions that came with it. Based on the liquid she felt on her cheek, she hadn’t been completely successful. "You have to let the guilt subside and move on."
"Come on Chloe, You know that it’s not that easy. I—" He brought his head up, the single tear in his line of vision stopping his words, furthering his guilt. Here he was, dragging Chloe into his mess when he was supposed to be focused on helping her. "I mean… I’m still trying to figure out why you would wish to be Lois. I get that we're allowed to have regrets, but if you want to go back to journalism so bad, no one is stopping you Chloe."
He could see her fighting her word choice, or at least, he hoped that was what it was, because for a second, he could see through the spell, see the confused woman beneath her cousin’s body. Her blonde hair, her glistening green eyes, for a minute, it seemed so clear. Only the tear remained on her cheek, so Oliver reached his hand out to take it away.
It was an action that surprised Chloe. She hadn’t intended for him to see it, as she wasn’t usually this emotional, but she was so focused on him that she had forgotten about the physical tell of her own frustration.
However, it was more than that. Chloe was tired, over-stressed and with the way things had gone lately, she had gotten to the point where she didn’t even recognize herself anymore. That was especially fitting now that she couldn’t actually separate herself from her cousin’s body. But feeling his fingertip wipe the tear away brought something out of her that she didn’t expect. She actually wanted to lean in and enjoy it, enjoy the moment of someone stopping their life for her.
Instead, she panicked and backed away, seeing the shortly-lived compassion in his eyes fade away before he spoke again.
"Or is this about Clark?"
That remark caused Chloe to glare up at him. "I just got divorced." He knew that, he knew her better than that. But then she looked down at herself and she chuckled. Maybe that comment wasn’t even directed at her.
However, Oliver would waste little time proving her wrong. “Then what is it, Chloe?” Oliver swallowed hard, as it wasn't easy for him to say that either, but he was slowly realizing that maybe he was right all along. He couldn’t be the one to help her.
Still, he pressed on, "Did you never realize that you could have everything Lois has? Did you forget that I partially own the Daily Planet and I have a little say into who gets hired? If that was what you wanted, I could fix that for you right now." He sighed again before taking a more direct approach. "Is that what you want, Chloe?"
Stunned, Chloe tried to answer him right away, but she couldn’t. That was the whole problem with today. Even after Zatanna had told her the truth, Chloe couldn’t find the answers for why she was stuck like this. "I... I don't know."
"Look, I'm going to find that book." He picked up his jacket and headed towards the door, knowing that this conversation wasn't heading in the right direction. "You... you have to figure out what you want. If it helps, I'll understand either way."
"Ollie..."
Stopping in the doorway, Oliver placed his hand against the wall before he felt his head shake. While he wanted to have the answers she was looking for, he realized that what he wanted more was to convince her to stay on as Watchtower. Unfortunately, he couldn’t convince himself that was what Chloe wanted.
"I’m biased Chloe, so it has to be you that gets your spell lifted. Just know that you are valued on the team," he said softly. "You're more than that, you're irreplaceable. But if it's not what you want, then… then you don’t have to be our shrink anymore."
Watching him walk away, Chloe grabbed the edge of his desk, as it felt like weights had been added to her shoulders. Shifting her body to sit there, Chloe realized how much Oliver's words seemed to cut through her. That wasn't his intention, and it was probably the out she wanted, but taking it didn't feel right, no matter how right Oliver was.
If she wanted Lois’ life, she could go back. Lex was no longer a problem, so she really was her only obstacle these days.
Had she really changed that much? Had she really moved that far away from the Chloe she thought she wanted to be? She raised her head and looked towards the window, reminiscing over all she had lost in her journalism days as she stared at the familiar skyline.
Her relationship with her father. Her faith in the story hitting the page. Her... marriage. If she could call it that. Not to mention her friendship with Clark, which seemed strained at best these days, but the cracks started long before she became Watchtower.
The more she thought about it, there had been so much shit in her life lately that she almost couldn't believe that she was standing, that she still had people in her life that wanted her around.
You're more than that, you're irreplaceable.
Moving her head to stare at the open doorway, Chloe bit her lip. That had never been her. She was the figment of someone's life that seemed to be there when there was no other option. But the guys, even Dinah, they respected her, saw her as a teammate as she forced her way in. They didn't argue with it, in fact, they welcomed her with open arms.
And Oliver. He was supposed to be done with Metropolis, especially after breaking Lois’ heart, and likely his own. But when he came back, Oliver had given Chloe a reason to keep fighting as her life swirled below her. Initially, she considered the fact that he only did it because he thought he owed her, but now she knew that wasn't true.
Looking down at her phone, Chloe sighed as she saw Clark’s face on her screen. She had managed to convince him that ‘Lois’ had misplaced her phone, which had led to the familiar sight of a Clark Kent head shake. But Chloe knew that Clark was in this mess because of her and she owed her friend the chance to get back to normal. With any luck, this was the lead they were both waiting for.
~0~
He should have listened to Chloe.
It wasn’t as if he had called Zatanna, but it didn’t surprise Oliver that she had found him, that she had called him on his identity. However, being chained to a pole… not exactly on his list of things to do tonight. He supposed that was what he got for denying a mistress of magic of what she wanted, even if she had claimed to still be in training. It was also probably what he got for wanting a dose of the Zatanna dust.
The only saving grace so far was that the alley was abandoned, or at least, that was until he heard a familiar chuckle from behind him. "You know, this may not be yours, but this is definitely someone's fantasy. Do you want me to call your fan club?"
“Funny,” he replied, knowing that the shoe was on the other foot compared to this morning, as he knew that voice anywhere.
Peeking her head around the pole so he could see her, Chloe smiled at him. “I thought so.” After seeing a hint of his smile, Chloe climbed on top of a garbage can behind Oliver to get him out of this mess. She threw her arms out to balance herself, finding her centre before leaning in to pick the lock.
Oliver’s smile widened as he heard her working. "Nice to see you back." It took until now for him to realize that was what mattered most, as what was lost in figuring out what Chloe wanted was the fact that he just wanted her to return to her own body. He could always help her with the rest later.
"It's nice to be back," she replied. If nothing else, it was nice to be in her own shoes again, as she was getting a few blisters in Lois’. Then again, her decision to wear her own clothes was immediately a better decision once she changed back.
Leaning his head against the pole, Oliver stared up at the sky. Part of him wanted to avoid what he was about to ask, but he knew that she was expecting this question from him. "How did that work?"
Chloe chuckled. "Accepting that the life I wanted was mine. Recently divorced, underpaid shrink and all."
A single nod was all the reaction Oliver showed, for even though she couldn’t see anything his face would show, he kept his satisfaction silent. "How did you know where I was?”
"Zatanna mentioned that you were in a bit of a jam. She offered to get you out of it, but… but this was something I had to see." She paused for a minute to momentarily look up at him, wondering if he was looking at her. He wasn’t, but Chloe still grinned as they both knew it was more than that.
She was also grateful that Zatanna did this near a light source, as it made her work easier, but that paled in comparison to her assurance that Oliver’s identity couldn’t be revealed, something Chloe decided not to share with him. "This wasn't your wish was it? Because if you wanted your identity to be exposed, all you had to do was ask."
After a scoff, Oliver turned his head over his shoulder, just barely able to see her blonde head behind him. "I'm... putting the wish on hold."
There was a part of Chloe that saw that admission coming, but that didn’t stop her face from lighting up. "For what it's worth, I think that's the right call. Not even Zatanna got what she wanted. Or at least, she wouldn't have after I accidentally ran into her spell." Hearing the lock click finally, Chloe pushed the chains aside, hoping that it would be enough for Oliver to do the rest. "There, that should do it."
Fortunately, it was, but he wore a look of concern once he turned to face her. "Chloe, are-"
It turned out to be more than just an expression, as he walked quickly towards her, but Chloe put up her hands to reassure him, "I'm fine. And I’m not just saying that.”
Getting the hint, Oliver stopped approaching her. "Is that... what triggered your spell to reverse?"
"No. I did that on my own talking with Clark." She knew it wasn’t what Oliver wanted to hear, as Clark was just the final piece, but she wasn’t about to lie to him now. "A lot of what you said stuck with me. It took pushing Clark to save the day for me to realize that being with you guys, believing in what you can accomplish, it's not such a bad gig."
"As long as you let us do the same thing." Seeing her eyes widen, Oliver chuckled quietly. "I mean it Chloe, you're as much of a hero as the rest of us. Even the shrinks need a pep talk from time to time."
She shrugged a shoulder, as the way Chloe saw it, she had caused enough trouble lately. "I don't want to bother you guys."
Oliver laughed again as he put his hood over his head, as he finally reminded himself of his surroundings. "Are you kidding me? All we want is the chance to return the favour."
"I've hardly been on the team,” Chloe said, shaking her head in disbelief of the conviction in his voice. “How can you think of me so highly?"
He was about to turn the distorter back on, but he lowered his hand to say, "Because you were the piece that we were missing… and your skills speak for themselves.” After a grin, he added, “Deep down, you knew exactly what you wanted. You just have to listen to that voice more often.”
“In your incredibly biased opinion,” she deadpanned.
“Yes.” Oliver put his sunglasses on, sensing an end of this part of the conversation, but when she was still staring at him once he put the distorter on, he couldn’t help but call her on it. “What?”
Chloe bit her lip, as there were a lot of positive signs in this conversation, but she wasn’t about to ignore his actions from earlier, the guilt he had hidden from everyone, including her. “How are you?”
“I’m…” He considered lying to her, but one look into her eyes and Oliver knew it was a bad idea, “I’m not sleeping a lot these days.”
“Can I help?” When he continued walking, Chloe picked up her pace to cut him off. “I mean it… Arrow, you can always talk to me. That would have been true whether I was Watchtower or not.”
“That’s true, but you staying… knowing what you know, helps.” He saw her mouth open, and from her expression, Oliver could see where it was going, so he stopped her. “And please, don’t apologize. I get it.”
“You get it.” Chloe scoffed as she turned to start walking again. “You know, I told that to Clark earlier today when I lied about being okay with him missing my birthday.”
After that, it didn't take long for Oliver to give in. “What you told me, what I saw today… it was a lot to take in. But I can’t argue with it now that your decision was the one I’d hope you’d make.” When she looked back at him again, Oliver had a sense that things were settling nicely after an eventful day. “So now that everything's back to normal, how about a lift back to Isis?”
She stopped walking, eyes narrowing as they gazed up. “Via motorcycle or rooftops?”
Taking a step closer to her, Oliver asked, “Which would you prefer?”
Most nights, she liked her feet on the ground, but tonight was another matter. She had been through just about everything today and she figured that it was okay to flip the script this time. “I can’t believe I’m about to say this… but rooftops.”
Oliver’s grin widened slowly. “I was hoping you would say that because I didn’t drive here.” He wrapped his arm around her before titling his bow towards the nearest roof. “Hold on.”
Chapter 4
.